money, money, money, mon-eeyyy....

Recently, for the first time in over 15 years, I began receiving Child Support checks.  Well, they aren't actually "checks" anymore.  DHS now sends out a debit card for your own personal use.  I know...so exciting right? 

So I used my new debit card for the first time last Sunday.  I probably had the biggest smile on my face!  I mean, I was finally receiving past support.  I only bought groceries, but it basically made my day.

Now tell me, what would you have spent your $9 on??

What it looks like; Nike style

This is what my drying rack looks like when I've worked out all week. 

And what it should look like every week!  Now, if I could just keep up all of this motivation...

P.S. Hello my name is Amber and I am a Nike-holic.  aka Nike Whore 

What it looks like

If you know my family at all, you know that dinners are somewhat of a headache at my house.   Makena became a vegetarian more than 2 years ago and she is not what you would call "open minded" to trying new foods. Jamie is a 'meat and potatoes' guy and he is what you would call "a picky eater".  And I eat pretty much everything except red meat.  Makena and Jamie both have a few things that they would eat three or four times a week.  I would like something new every single day.  I also like the healthier options - whole wheat, lots of veggies and very little sauces.  Not those two - give them white pasta, slathered with Alfredo sauce and a protein and they're happy as can be.  A salad, what for?

Basically it's a no win situation.  The usual responses are "what's that green thing?"  "what's in the sauce?"  "why are the noodles brown?" "what is it?"  "is there meat in it?"  "is there anything else?"  And, it becomes very frustrating.  And then sometimes it's something that they both like and I slide the recipe into a special place and jump for joy inside!

Like most families, we have different things going on each day/evening.  Because we work from home, it's often easier for me to get things going right away, but I'm usually working until 6pm or later.  I've tried meal planning over and over (and over) again but I just can't get it to stick.  Yet almost every weekend, I'll spend a few hours pouring over pages of my cookbooks or recipe binders to create a week's worth of menus.  But, this is what it looks like when I try to find a recipe using items that I already have sitting in my fridge or pantry.

Eventually I have 4 binders, 5 cookbooks and a mess.  But no dinner.

So, this week, I tried something a little different.  I spent hours going through all of the above to come up with the below.

I found 8 recipes that I could throw in to a ziplock bag and freeze.  Then either Jamie or I can throw them in the crock pot for dinner that night.  (Like how I worked him in there?)  Now, these aren't things that Makena can eat because they all have meat in them, but half of my battle is already won.

It did take me several hours to gather the recipes and get all of the groceries, but once I had everything organized the process went rather quickly.  Now....hopefully they taste good!  We don't have to use them all next week, but they'll be ready for when we need them.

I do have to admit that I was a bit overwhelmed shopping for so much food all at once.  I usually shop every couple of days for veggies and little things, but I wanted it all done at one time.  And because I buy mostly organic veggies, fruits and meats, my bill was quite a bit higher than normal too.  But we don't usually eat boxed or canned foods, so I'm used to that as well.  (Although I did purchase 15 different cans of beans, but I'm okay with that!)

BUT, this is what it looks like when you have everything ready for lunches or side dishes for the week too!

I also bought everything Makena and I would need to make salads in a jar for the week.  I finally found this guest post over at The Paleo Mama to help me plan.  (There are several people that have posted/pinned about salads in a jar, but I found this post by Dusti Lynn to be the most helpful and more to my liking.)  I made 6 of these jars last week and ate them in 4 days, so I know these are a good thing already.

I think dinner will always be a battle at my house.  Always a source of frustration.  But, I'm not giving up.  I want my family to be healthy and happy.  You have to pick the battles you want to fight and which ones are worth working on.

P.S. Yes, I've tried the 'you eat what you get' but that's just not how I work.  I've tried changing things slowly or sneaking foods in, sometimes they work and sometimes they don't.  I've tried many things and I'll just have to keep on keepin' on.    

F word

I have a favorite word.  Well, I have a lot of favorite words and phrases but my very favorite word is the F word.  Yep, fuck.

FUCK   -Verb

Fuck can be used in many ways and is probably the only fucking word that can be put every fuckingwhere and still make fucking sense.  Fuckers.

Yes, I use it a lot.  No, it doesn't bother me that I do it.  BUT, I do try to be respectful of the people that I'm around.  I mean, I'm not that fucking rude.  I don't want to offend anyone or get the 'potty mouth' look.  (I sometimes get that look from Jamie.)

It can be used simply...

Or as truth...

(I've said this often. Possibly to the same person.)

 

And at work...

And in normal life...

 

 (I need this shirt)

Most importantly...

I've been so busy and overwhelmed lately, that it seems to come out of my mouth a lot more.  "Fucking computer", "fucking IRS", "I don't have the fucking money for this", "fucking computer"...  But I've also had a chance to say 'fuck yeah!' so that evens out the good with the bad I'd say.

Happy 2014!

I had been talking with Jamie about New Year's Eve for over a month.  The plan was to spend a nice, quiet weekend at the lake and ring in the New Year.  That was my "plan" apparently, not Jamie's.  Most of the residents of Walden Island had flown to warmer, dryer temps and Jamie didn't want to be stuck in The Shed when it was so cold out.  So...we invited people over to Nighthawk!  (In all honesty, I probably would have missed having everyone over to celebrate with us.)  

And what kind of party do you throw on Nighthawk??  A Pajama Party of course!  We rang in the New Year in style and comfort.  (Jamie's original idea was a lingerie party but that didn't work for our family-friendly party.)

I did a bit more planning and decorating this year.  (THANK YOU Pinterest!)

I had crafts for the kids.

They made some fabulous hat and head bands.  Unfortunately, the 'fast drying' glue wasn't fast enough and I had quite a few pompoms glued to Makena's carpet the next day. :)

I was finally able to use items for a photo booth.  That was a lot of fun!

 

 

 

 As usual, the kids often end up hanging out with Makena.  And she's perfectly happy with that.

 And the big kids play downstairs.  And I'm perfectly happy with that.

Because it gets a bit crazy when they all come upstairs.  There were over 35 people in/out of Nighthawk that night.  My OCD did pretty well I think.

 This family of two will soon be three!!  We're so excited for them!

CHEERS!

 

 HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, we all love each other on Nighthawk.

 

 

A poker game isn't usually planned, but almost always happens.  And can be a l-o-n-g game for those who haven't had as much to drink as the others.

 

I tried to have everyone write a wish or resolution, but as you can see the bucket is not all that full.  This was the first time I've tried this and we'll read them all on New Year's Eve this year.  Then I think it will catch on!

No one was left out on the Midnight Kiss.

 And everyone got a box of good fortune to go home with.

I think we got to sleep sometime after 4am.  I was up, as usual, about 7am but went back for a nap as soon as I could.  We spent most of Jan 1 relaxing...until it was time to finish cleaning up on Nighthawk.