Thoughts on Turning Fifty

On May 31, I turn fifty years old. I am kind of excited about this birthday, though I know lots of people who fear turning fifty.

I really don't understand why people act as if a number will define them. These days who cares what the calendar says? I remember seeing pictures of my grandmother, whom I absolutely adored, with me as a baby. She was in her early fifties at the time and looked like a little old lady.

On my fiftieth birthday, I will probably be in my yoga clothes doing a downward dog. I am pretty happy with where I am right now in my life. I lost 46 pounds and now weigh within five pounds of my weight in high school. I am writing and planning to make a living writing, which is what I have always wanted to do. My children are all adults. I have two adorable grandsons. I have a lot to celebrate!

Turning fifty has also made me a bit introspective. I think that it is a good thing to take time periodically to evaluate what works and what isn't working in one's life.

I will keep you posted on how turning fifty went for me. I have a feeling I will be receiving lots of "Wow, Mom you are old comments!"

On Education

Some of you know that I homeschool my children and some of you just learned that I homeschool my children by reading this sentence. This has been a great choice for my family. It may or may not be a fit for your children. We are all different and each family has its own needs and requirements.

Oftentimes, when my husband and  I meet people and they learn that we homeschool, they say, "Oh, I could never do that!" or "Well, you must be more patient than I am." Many seem to feel that because my husband and I chose to teach our kids at home that we don't think that their choice to send their children to public or private school is just as good a choice as the one we made for our children. That is not our viewpoint at all.

In my point of view, education is about helping someone to learn what they need to learn in the atmosphere where they can best learn. For some students, public school is where they learn best. Others learn better at home. Some need what a private school provides.

Where a child attends school should not become a competition between friends and family members. We should not compare the parameters of our own situations and decisions to those of others.

Let us focus instead on making sure that our children receive the education they need to prepare them for their future and being an encouragement to those around us.

Stop Learning, Stop Growing

I am wrapping up a very busy weekend. I took on a new challenge in the midst of an already overbooked life. If I waited until the timing was perfect to add anything to my life, I would never have had my children, or ever tried much of anything.

I LOVE learning new skills and information. I seriously do. When things change-roads, hairstyles, technology, I am usually intrigued by the change instead of bothered.

About four years ago, I was showing a picture of a car driven by a joystick to my youngest daughter, who was about 17 or 18 at the time. She had a very visceral reaction to seeing this photo and was not at all interested in even attempting to think how she could drive a car with a joystick. I, on the other hand, started thinking about how it would be done as soon as I saw the picture.

This is a short post today because I still have to go to the grocery store to get provisions for tomorrow and it is nearly 10 p.m. here.

I just want to encourage you to keep learning, look forward to change, and embrace the possibilities that change brings.

Is Being Poor Awful?

The current administration and news media would like everyone to believe that being poor is a terrible,  horrible thing to endure. I don't agree and I fortunately (or unfortunately depending on your viewpoint) have experience in this area of financial strain.

My dad used to say that being poor wasn't awful, just inconvenient. I have at times been poor and other times not so poor and I can relate to my dad's viewpoint.

When finances are tight, it can be inconvenient to have to cook meals from scratch rather than swing by the local fast food place to get a quick meal for the family. Shopping the thrift store for clothes takes time (people either have time or money in my experience) and can be inconvenient. Getting up early to go to yard sales to find furniture is not the most convenient of activities but can be quite a boon to a tight budget.

I don't find that I lack anything I truly need due to my reduced income. I do find that I have opportunities to exercise my creativity and intelligence when money is tight. I am more mindful of using what I do have responsibly. I have learned the difference between my needs and wants. Many Americans are confusing wants with true needs and teaching their children this faulty thinking as well.

Here a few examples of how we acquire needed items on our currently restricted budget:

Last week, my two youngest sons both let me know they needed new shoes. They had actually worn their shoes until they began to fall apart. I went to a well-known discount store to see what was available on clearance and found each son a pair of shoes they really liked. Total spent for TWO pair of adult men's shoes...$23.00!

A couple years ago my husband needed some shoes. He wears size thirteen and this size is hard to find and a bit more expensive so he usually makes do with just a couple pair of shoes. A person in my area posted on Freecycle (http://www.freecycle.org/) that they had a bag of size thirteen shoes available for pick up. I quickly claimed them for my sweetie. He got eight pair of  really nice ,name brand, barely worn footwear: tennis shoes, slippers, dress shoes, and walking shoes-all of which fit and have filled his shoe needs for the past two years. Obviously this isn't a sure way to get shoes or anything else we need but by watching carefully we have gotten a full size Ikea bed for one of our sons, shoes for my husband, closet organizers, and more and didn't have to spend our earnings on these items, freeing up the money for other needs.

After a couple decades of honing these skills I don't think that I will suddenly go hog wild buying things at retail as my income increases. I enjoy the hunt and thrill of finding just what I or a family member needed and not spending a big chunk of the family finances.

I don't feel that my life is much harder than those who have more disposable income. My life has to be more intentionally planned and may be a little more inconvenient at times but we live a very rewarding life and are very appreciative of everything we have.

So, is being poor in America awful? I say emphatically, "NO!"

Super Saver Saturday Mark Down Foods

My husband and I live very differently from your standard American family. We have five kids-we had a girl followed by a boy and people thought we were done. We kept going and had another girl followed by two boys.

Our choice to have five children led to some other non-standard choices: we live in a double wide mobile home, we moved to a semi-rural area on 3/4 acres of property, we shop at thrift stores, yard sales, and we buy clearance and markdown food items.

Many people would shy from purchasing food items that bear a large red sticker but we are actually excited to buy these products because of the HUGE impact they have on reducing our food costs. Meal planning is very interesting when the components are acquired in this random fashion.

Yogurt can be quite expensive purchased at regular price but on a markdown I can often obtain it at 75% off. Many people do not know that yogurt and many other dairy products are perfectly fine up to a week after the sell by date on the package. I actively search for mark down items in the dairy case because the savings are so great.

Meat is another item where one can realize great savings. As long as the meat is cooked soon after purchasing or frozen right away, it is perfectly fine and a huge boon to the budget. I have a lot of fun calculating the cost of a meal at times when I have created it from all mark down items.

One very successful meal I make using mark down items is Southwest Chicken. I got the three canned items at 50 cents each. I used only part of the bag of chicken tenders and the rice I cooked was from a bag that had been marked down as well. I fed 5 people for about $6.00 and we ate very generous servings.

Ingredients for Southwest Chicken

Making Southwest Chicken is very easy, too! I just brown the chicken in oil with garlic, throw in a drained can of diced tomatoes with green chiles, a can of corn kernels, drained, and a can of drained black beans. Add some powdered cumin and salt and pepper to taste. Heat through and serve over rice.

Southwest chicken ready to eat!

I think that buying markdown foods offers an opportunity for creativity while freeing up money for other expenditures. Try it-you and your budget will like it!

What do you do to live within your budget?

Super Saver Saturday Landscaping

I have to confess right now that my husband and I are scroungers. If someone has a pile of nice looking rocks, lumber, furniture, or whatever piled up on their curb for the taking, we are the folks who are likely to be carting it away to use in our home or yard.

I like to make good use of still useful objects. I also like to re-purpose items to extend their lifespan. I am not a rabid recycler type but I do like to live within my means and if that means scrounging to accomplish something I am trying to do I am not averse to doing so.

A while ago, my father-in-law had my husband help him to neaten up his yard. In the process, he showed Joe a large amount of landscaping edgers he no longer wanted. Hubby contacted me to see if I thought they might be useful to us and I agreed that we could put them to work in our yard.

Yard sale purchased lawn furniture in front of house before I began creating new garden bed.

 We have lived in our home for 16 years and we are now in the process of of
repairing and remodeling what the years and a restricted budget have done to the house.

Today I spent some time arranging these edgers in my front yard so that I could have a new garden bed. Since I am off work this week for Spring Break, it is the perfect time to get some tasks done!

Looking much improved even before adding soil and plants!

I spent about 1 1/2 hours digging the soil to insert the edgers and moving the edgers to the garden bed area. I have a bit more to do before I am done installing the edgers and can add soil and plants. I got a Home Depot gift card for Christmas from my sweet husband and I plan to finally use it to get the soil for this project. I will do a combination of purchased plants and planting seeds to fill in the area. Purchased plants will give me color right away and seeds will be very affordable and fill in around the purchased plants to make the garden bed lush and full over time. 

Just need to dig in five more edgers and the new bed will be complete!

Once the plants are in the new garden bed, we will have a nice view when relaxing around the fire pit!

I am in need of some new cushions for the lawn furniture that hubby acquired for me about five or six years ago through a great yard sale deal. The current cushions have seen about four summers here in central Texas and will be allowed to retire before much longer. I bought the current cushions one or two at a time until I had the four cushions I needed. I may try my hand at making the new cushions by using the old cushions. My favorite thrift store often has great deals on fabric and I could sew new covers for the old cushions. The firepit was a gift from my three younger sisters a few years ago for my birthday.

It may take me longer to get things done the way I would like since they need to be done with little to no budget, but when I see what I have been able to accomplish I am very happy and satisfied with the results. What are you doing on a shoestring in your home and yard?

Food Restrictions/Food Freedom

Many of you know that I eat gluten free and dairy free (except for lactose free yogurt, butter, some cream cheese, and Parmesan cheese). When I meet new folks and have to share this info, they always look at me with pity.

"What? You can't eat bread? No ice cream? I can't live without cheese!" It seems almost incomprehensible to people that there is anything available to consume. Believe me, I have plenty to eat. Though I eliminated gluten in late 2006 and dairy in early 2012 I still have plenty of variety in my diet.

Last night, we had a delicious meat loaf made in the crock pot with cut up potatoes and baby carrots. No gluten, no dairy and all five of us devoured it. The other four people in my home can eat gluten and three can eat dairy. Since I am the main chef though, they all eat gluten free and dairy free often without really noticing that is what they are doing.

Sunday evening's dinner was shrimp creole served over rice and salad for those who wanted salad. Dessert was a gluten free pineapple cake with cream cheese frosting.

Right now I am eating roasted red pepper hummus with baby carrots. Yummy!

Since I am the only one in my home that has to eat gluten free, I don't buy a lot of gluten free (GF) ingredients. They can be pricey and I won't eat enough of them to justify the cost most of the time. So instead I make naturally gluten free foods. The gluten eaters can always grab a slice of bread if they want it.

I make about 95% of the meals we eat for many reasons: it is cost effective, the food is fresh, and  I like the security of knowing my food is not contaminated with gluten or dairy products.

I am currently working on a 30-day gluten free dairy free menu with recipes that I will have available as an inexpensive download, hopefully sooner rather than later. Even if you don't have to restrict your diet as I do, you may know someone who does that is struggling with how to do so.

One of my goals this year as I forgo full-time employment is to develop ways to create an income for me and my family that allows me time to enjoy my life. Creating useful, helpful products and publishing articles are two of the ways I hope to do this.