Just Curious

Saving money and calories can help us feel better, right?


After I shared Prince CuddleBunny's treat recipe with you yesterday, I thought about a moment a few days ago when Princess Eager suggested we pick up a drink from a local coffee shop, but I preferred to go home to the Prince's brew.  I started to wonder how much that cup of deliciousness cost... or, actually saved, both in money and calories.

Per 16 oz serving, here are the ingredients in our homemade treat:

1/8 c. (0.4 oz) coffee beans, making 1/4 c. espresso

2 Tbsp pumpkin spice creamer

8 oz vanilla soy milk

2 Tbsp whipping cream

1/2 Tbsp powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

cinnamon

nutmeg

These total 290-320 calories... with variation figured in for the inexact measurement on whip cream.

The cost is roughly $1.50, trying to be generous for the powdered sugar, vanilla, and spices, since their amounts and cost are more difficult to estimate accurately, but they'd be small.  Also, there would be tiny costs for the water for the espresso, and gas to heat the stove.

According to Starbucks, their 16 oz/Grande, (Soy) Pumpkin Spice Latte with whip cream has 370 calories.  Our drink isn't as sweet, so I think that's where the difference lies.

At approximately $4.50, though, it's cost is 3 times that of the beverage I can enjoy at home.  Plus, I'd miss that (priceless) grin of pride on my prince's face.  ;-)

31 Days at The Nesting Place

I Know You're Waiting...

I promised more on the oven saga, but things have been buzzing around here.  I haven't had time to sit and write about oven options, but thought I'd fill you in on why:

From NFLrush.com

 - Of course, we had to take time out to sit on the edge of our seats, sometimes groaning, sometimes cheering, then, after the exciting go-ahead score with only about 30 seconds to go, ultimately yelling in disbelief as our Seahawks ended their quest for the SuperBowl yesterday.  :'-(  It seems forever away, but next year will be here before we know it, and with the amazing and underrated Russell Wilson at the helm of the strong, young team Pete Carroll's built, we should be watching them in the play-offs again.



 - Hubby and I, with the help of a trusted financial adviser, are reconsidering our life insurance, and possibly other insurances.  This means meetings, research, phone calls, and will also mean the requisite physicals.  We are arranging part of our savings into longer term "vehicles" that we hope will help us out in the future, while staying partially available if at all necessary for major, unforeseen emergencies.  This requires learning some new terms, like "annuitize" and "single-premium life policy." We will keep some for more likely and smaller unexpected needs, and it's hard to know how much that should be. 

What Is An Annuity? Find Out More

 - We are refinancing our home from a variable rate to a fixed-rate mortgage.  It seems the worst part of any refi is the appraisal, which is today.  It's always 'fun' to have a stranger come and walk through the house, especially when their job is to judge the value, which, of course, looks less impressive if cluttery or less-than-pristine.  Why am I sitting here instead of cleaning?!

 - Prince Go-for-It has had quite a few diving meets in the last couple of weeks.  Because of one, 11-dive meet, he qualified for "leagues," so I run him from the junior high to the high school for daily practice for an additional 2 weeks.  That OK.  We're proud of him for trying this new sport and giving it his all.  I am thankful, though, that the junior high has its own track team, so he'll stay put after school in the spring.  

 - Princess Artiste took her drive test at the driving school on Saturday, instead of at the DMV, which is a new process in our state.  But we can't avoid the DMV completely, so this week we get to brave the afternoon wait there to do the paperwork (and pay more $$, of course) for her official license.  

 - I need to make sports physical appointments for Artiste and Go-for-It before their respective track seasons, and many of us are behind on dental appointments.  

 from Free Coloring Page Site

It's bad when the 8-year-old needs to remind me to call the dentist.   It's probably because he likes to go!


 - Tomorrow, the phone company will be updating our DSL lines, requiring a new modem, which means being without internet for part of the day, followed by the installation of a new modem... by moi.  Then we will have to reconfigure all our devices to recognize it.  Not being a computer whiz, tasks like this seem to take me major time, as the 'instructions' are sorely lacking and these things never want to go smoothly.

 - The Wolf oven also leaves tomorrow.  Hubby doesn't seem to have any idea when he'll have time to adjust the cabinet for its replacement.  Prince Go-for-It's 15th birthday is this weekend, for which he'll want a cake, and probably, pizza.  With no oven?  Hmm...

Oh!  And I haven't printed and sent my Christmas letter yet.  I guess now it's a Start-the-Year letter!

OK, so in the time I've written about all of this, I could've probably written about ovens.  Oh, well. There are also things to share regarding garage progress and Princess Sassy's baby-building, but those will make their own posts on another day.

These Floors are Made for Walkin'

To replace the Marmoleum Click flooring in our kitchen, we want to make sure it's right for us in a few important ways.  These include...

Durability:  I didn't really mind too much that the Marmoleum scratched and scuffed, as any of these problems hid well in the pattern, and suited the old-fashioned essence of linoleum.  But I sometimes wondered how its "patina" might look in 5 more years.  As long as we're starting over, I hope to have something a little tougher and less prone to minor damage by normal busy-family wear. 

Significant Water Resistance:  I want to know that if we have another minor leak, another unseen spill, or if we want to give the pets water indoors, that it means simply wiping up a mess and not replacing flooring.  

Reasonable Affordability:  Since the Marmoleum flooring extends from the kitchen to our back door, and covers the sewing room, too, it totals over 1200 square feet.  Any dollar amount multiplied by 1200 is a lot of money!  There is also the question of installation... Is it DIYable?  With Hubby's limited time, we'll also be weighing costs of having it installed.

Comfort and Appearance:  I've liked how the Marmoleum feels to walk on, and the cork on the underside makes it friendly to feet, legs, and backs.  Of course, the flooring should also suit the decor, style, and quality of the kitchen and our home.  Especially in the kitchen, which has a lot of things going on already in colors and textures, the floor needs to be pretty, but also pretty (visually) quiet.  --A background that's an integral piece of the whole room design, but not a scene stealer.

Upon visiting our local flooring store, we immediately eliminated any with wood fiber core, as the Marmoleum Click has... The part that swelled when exposed to water.

The salesman and I narrowed to 3 options, each with their own pros and cons.

Based on these pros and cons, I am strongly leaning toward vinyl tile planks, and am having trouble choosing between 2 of them.  I'm actually surprised by one aspect of my choices.  I'll show you those in the next post.... and opinions will be welcome!  :-)

There Must Be a Lesson in this Somewhere

I've told you previously (here) that our nice and always-reliable 2002 Toyota Sienna van made a horrible, metal-grinding/scraping noise upon trying to start it the evening of Princess Bossy's wedding rehearsal.  Hubby tried it a few time a couple days later, and had the same issue.  He quit trying, as, from the screeching cacophony, he was sure he was ruining something. 

 It's been sitting in our yard, dead, ever since, awaiting funds to fix it, as any financial flexibility to do our usual...pay, then play catch-up... was absorbed by the 2 summer weddings. 


We meant to take care of it "soon," but time flew by, and it was suddenly past a year.  

We'd spent all summer inconveniently sharing vehicles to cover errands, activities, and 2 kids with jobs, and we needed it back in the line-up, especially with another kiddo about to get her license.

Letting a car sit for that long, ignored, is not a good plan.  --Unless you like to clean mold/mildew from virtually every surface and relish a musty odor.  Ewww.  The discovery of colorful and strangely textured things, like former oranges that had rolled under the seat and a cup from cereal left in one of the back storage trays, didn't exactly add fun to the adventure, either!


During a hot, dry spell, I opened all the doors and let it air out for a few days.  Then I went after the hard surfaces with a white vinegar solution, and scrubbed the carpets and upholstery with help from Resolve Carpet Triple Oxi Advanced Carpet Stain Remover, which has proved itself over and over again to us when the newlywed's puppy soiled our house carpets and for other stains.   It did a good job in the car, too, and soon it was looking pretty clean.  

After some further airing, I sprayed down all with Lysol Neutra Air sanitizing spray, hoping to kill off any remaining mildew (which it seemed to), and in an unsuccessful attempt to clear the air. (I think I was asking too much of it.)
I am now hoping that Auto Vaccine ClO2 car interior odor eliminator will take care of the remaining smell.  --It's on it's way and I'll let you know how it works.





ANYway... We finally had it towed to the garage for repair.  

Of course, after all the time, and because it was the original, the battery was dead.  The mechanic wanted to see what he was up against with the starting issue, so he jumped the battery.





Then he started the car.  Then restarted the car.  And started the car again!

No grinding.  No scraping.  No hiccups at all, just purring.  So he replaced the battery, changed the oil, and did other timely maintenance.  It still started fine every time and still does.  That's nice, and it was cheaper, I'm sure... But it also would've been nice to know the problem was found and eliminated.

So WHY did it sit, worthless, in our yard all that time?  Was it a blessing in disguise?  Were we supposed to learn something?  I do have a renewed appreciation for the smooth-running, reliable machine, which handles a trip to Costco for our family with ease, and allows 7 of us to go to church or Grandma's in one car.  

So, I guess,

Ours is not to reason why... Ours is but to thank and drive!

Let Them Eat Lobster

On their anniversary weekend, Prince Steadfast and Princess Sassy treated themselves to a weekend in Portland, OR.  The first night away, they sent photos from their dinner in Vancouver at Joe's Crab  Shack.


Princess Sassy had lobster and king crab, while her groom dined on mussels, prawns, and snow crab... Yum!






Well, I assume it was yum, as I haven't tasted all of those things myself... Particularly lobster.

Princess Bossy ate lobster, cooked fresh, in New England during her senior year of college.

You see, our kids occasionally do things that we've questioned.  --Bossy's trip to Boston in the midst of finishing college while facing imminent payments on 2 college loans.  Prince Stoic's flight to New York alone (including navigating his way from JFK to Northern NY) to visit a friend while he was in college. Sassy and Steadfast have purchased kayaks and done a lot of day-tripping while facing a few more years of college tuition, as well as married-life expenses. 

It's not the actual activities or purchases, but the financial ramifications that concern us. We keep saying things like "Don't you know you're starving college students?" But...

I am (terminally) practical and Hubby is (fatally) frugal.  Our week-long honeymoon in Lake Tahoe became 3 days at a lodge a couple hours' drive away.  We don't travel.  We rarely go out on dates.  The most we've ever done for our anniversary in 27 years is go out to dinner; dinners that never included lobster.  "It's too expensive."  Not that our lives are 'funless,' but our fun has been on a quieter, smaller scale, and mostly, there have been other ways we think we need to spend our time and money. 

But life is short, and getting shorter. We still live month-to-month, constantly concerned about our own finances... So would a lobster dinner along the way really have made such a difference?  Living life with 8 kids on one income has financial limitations, but definitely offers joys and blessings others don't experience.  We've done our best.  I think that, in retrospect, there could have been a better balance.  The princesses both tell me that they weren't all that impressed with lobster, and don't really carry any wish to have it again.  I thought I was missing something all this time.  At least the girls won't get to 52 and just wonder. 

Our kids seem to be making the most of opportunities and moments in a way I haven't been able to.  It just might be OK to reach out there and live a little more once in awhile.  I'm so glad they do!

CRASH!

Prince CuddleBunny and I were just beginning dinner prep, and Princess Eager was upstairs... I knew she'd been showering.  We heard a tremendous crash and things falling...as if a whole wall of glass shelves fell and broke, dropping also breakable contents.  Since we have nothing like that, I was clueless.


But, the last time I heard a loud crash upstairs, it was Prince Go-for-It crashing into the vanity on his way to the floor, passing out because of dehydration due to an undiscovered sinus infection... So we RAN upstairs, hollering Eager's name.


I was thankful to see her emerge from her room.  We asked her what happened, and she asked, "What do you mean, I thought that was downstairs?"

My mind was spinning, trying to figure out what may have made that type of noise, and where it might be.  The princess made the discovery.  One shower door was in billions of pieces!  


She thought the glass shower door had somehow fallen out of the track and broken, but upon inspection, I could tell it had broken in place.  For whatever reason after dealing with the heating and cooling of 20 - 25 showers a week for the last 4 years, it gave up.  A weakness in the glass or some other kind of stress point, I guess.  


I sure never expected this, and I am certainly very thankful that Princess Eager was not in the shower or the room when this happened!  I often dry off within the shower stall, then stay in the room to lotion, dress, etc.  She does most of that in her bedroom, and had been out of the shower room for at least 5 minutes.   There is one door remaining in that shower, and 2 for our shower.  Are all 3 just waiting to explode?





It was a huge mess to clean up, and I'm sure there's still glass in the track, and I wouldn't want any of the kids stepping into the room or shower stall with bare feet.  A friend tells me wiping with alcohol will somehow help attract the glass shards and make sure it's clean.  Not sure of the science of that, but it's worth a try.  


I'm also not sure if the manufacturer has any responsibility for this after 4 years, or if it's another expenditure to add to our long list...

Out of Touch...

What we all looked like in our
internet withdrawal state.  ;-)

We were without power Tuesday evening 
(-Thankful that was so short) and without internet until this morning, because of Tuesday's wild wind storm.  Hope to be back on track here soon!





I'm also busy spending much too much time communicating with our medical insurance company.  We were supposed to be within $49 of meeting our family's maximum
deductible, per the benefits status report printed and mailed to us on January 4th.  But on January 11th, they left approximately $350 in claims unpaid, marked "Applied to the deductible."  Does that make sense to anyone?!  Apparently it does to the insurance company...


And, by the way, I recommend against getting pneumonia.  Hospital charge for 3 hours in the ER and 1 night in the hospital with IV fluids and standard antibiotics... Oh, and some ibuprofen: $21,700.  
(Our part is approximately $3K.)  This does not count doctors' fees/charges, or the cost of the ambulance ride, which are bills still to come...  Yikes.  This is not helping my quest to get us out of debt and overspending...


In other news, Prince CuddleBunny's and Princess Eager's toes were to the ends of their respective sneakers, and grown out of their jeans.  Life goes on.  ;-)

Looking Back...

January:
Reading through the titles of old posts, I see 2 significant steps. Changes in our pizza crust recipe made a difference in our lives on a weekly basis, with improvement in the taste and texture of our pizzas, and an easier pizza-making routine:                                                                                                                                         

Pizza Crust....The continuing quest for the best.

And making our own yogurt was a new and successful experiment, although I haven't done it since.  I will again, someday, though, when I gather all the right equipment, so the process can better fit my multi-tasking life.

Bucket List Item: Making Yogurt

February:
A gadget that's made a big difference in our breakfast menu and added to our nutrition:

New Oat Flaker/Roller

March:
I shared routine things that brighten my days...                                                                                                                                                                            

Routine Sustenance

and my weakness.

My Not-so-secret Problem: A Bowl Addiction

April:
We have 3 birthdays the first week in April, which are usually the big events of the month.  This year however 2 engagements took center stage!                                                                                                              

Good Things Come in Twos!

May:

Twosome Tuesday: Wedding Dresses

We, of course, started prep at a quick pace, aiming for 2 summer weddings.


We finally met Prince Helium in person, and he was a blessing on the spot when Prince Go-for-It passed out from a sinus infection, resulting in a worrisome trip to the ER.                                                               

A Princely Scare and the Comfort Food Hug for After

June:
Wedding prep and discussions continued, and the in-laws' house remodel, with the kitchen I designed and built by Hubby, and with other decor choices I'd made, was coming together.                                                                                                               

Update...In-laws' Remodel

July:
Nothing could beat out our first wedding for the #1 blessing and accomplishment!                                                                                            

Wedding #1: Check!

August:
The in-laws' remodeled house selling in one day was big news (In-Laws' House: SOLD), but, certainly, Wedding #2 ruled this month.                                                                                                                                                                

Twosome Tuesday: I suppose you want photos?

Twosome Tuesday: Photos from Wedding #2

September:
It was time to get life back to normal.  I tried a few new things in cooking, we started excavation for the garage addition, and I made a gruesome discovery in the sewing room (I'm Not a Screamer...).  But my biggest project was refinishing the kitchen table and refreshing the finish on the island.

More Stripping at our House, Part 2

October:
We discussed finances in the Money Monday, the Series in adjusting to our adjusted (lower) income... and fed 26 for the cross-country team pizza feed.                                                                                                      

Pizza for 26

November:
I celebrated my Blogiversary, but mostly enjoyed Thanksgiving, headed up by the newlywed chefs.

Thanksgiving Prep - The Day Before

Thanksgiving Meal

December:
This has been a month full of activity, joy, and busyness.                                                                                                                             

Getting a new oven is always a biggie...

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday- Oven #5

Family Christmas Festivities

and hosting a Christmas party for my side of the family was an honor and a delight.










  

 Hubby-built Bookshelf

Also, so great to have the bookshelf up and operational for that.


But Christmas with our own brood in our own home is always the best.

Glimpses of our Blessed Christmas

Link up: Top Projects of 2011 Party

Thanks to seeing it on Sugar & Spice in the land of Balls & Sticks, I'm linking to Southern Hospitality's Link up: Top Projects of 2011 Party.  I hope this post suits the theme well enough.  My 'projects' this year didn't all have before and after, and weren't all home-oriented, but it's been a wonderful, wonderful year full of great blessings, projects, and progress.  


I am thankful for all the events of 2011, and look forward to what God has planned for us in 2012.

Happy New Year to you and yours!!

Cutting too Many Corners

I went into this Christmas season, set on not spending one more cent than necessary, only to turn around and see that I was buying Christmas decorations and lights that weren't in the budget at all.  First, I accused myself of irresponsibility and wanting to 'keep up with the Joneses,' because all of this was prompted by photos of others' warmly decorated homes shown on a discussion on the Gardenweb kitchen forum.


Truthfully, although one could argue that any spending over that which one can afford is too much, I was being very frugal in my selections.  Light sets from $2.79 to $9.99 were the priciest things I bought, and the other decorations probably totaled under $40.  It still seemed like frivolous spending with weak justification.

BUT, my attitude about this changed a lot when my 7 year old Prince CuddleBunny expressed appreciation for the extra efforts I was putting into decorating our home.  
He had been noting the extra touches I kept making to the stairway lighting, turning it from just a string of lights to garland and lights, then to a more polished garland with ornaments and other festive additions. I wish I could remember his exact words, but it clearly made a difference to him, and he didn't see it as frivolity, but as a gift.

Without being motivated by his inspiration, I would've left my gift for
Hubby (on the right), just like it was, but I added ribbon and made a bow

This week he and I were wrapping Hubby's birthday gifts together, and I watched him painstakingly tie and curl ribbon for the nicest looking package he could manage.  It was so important that he do it, and it didn't even occur to him to do something simpler.  So, thinking of his comments about the Christmas decorations, and in sharing the package-wrapping moment with him, I wondered, what happened to me?!


I used to be famous... in my family... or, at least, with one of my brothers who especially appreciated it... for the creative ways I decorated packages with ribbon.  I remember doing things like forming a Christmas tree shape of ribbon with a curly topper, or at least, doing more intricate designs with multiple ribbons and bows.  I put the same amount of effort into each, and made sure not one was like another.


Eventually, I switched to ribbon with pre-made bows.  Later, I skipped the bows, and then, finally the ribbon.  Instead of making a little card to attach, I'd write directly on the wrapping paper.

From the post: Who Was That Woman?

I've shared previously about my bare-bones Christmas decorations (tree, lights, and Nativity scene), and about how I no longer craft the interest-focused birthday cakes I did for the older kids.  I have planned less, and been stingier with my time.  And accomplished what with that time instead?  I couldn't say.  


The other kids either didn't notice the downhill slide in such things, or haven't verbalized the things they've noticed, like Prince CuddleBunny has.  I am thankful to be reminded-- while I still have time --to do a better job warming my home and going the extra mile for my family.  Definitely a new thing to work on.  It will enrich my own days, too, I'm sure.


It's not that I want to give myself more stress, or become some sort of 'Stepford wife' or, even, a 'SuperMom.'  I just want to do what I take on to a fuller, more intentional extent, and be more present in the moments... Blessing my family in special ways, rather than dashing things together and moving onto something else, when that something else is, too likely, sitting at the computer.