Flipping Your Own Switch

Sandi Krakowski is a mompreneur millionaire. Every once in a while she responds to my posts on her blog, A Real Change. This past week I had issues with being too creative, and those creative juices were getting in the way of doing anything- imagine grape juice all over your desk and making everything stick together- that was me in my creative state.

Here was her answer- She recommended a really great book, Flip The S.W.I.T.C.H. To be honest, I groaned inwardly. Oh no, not another book to buy! But no, surprisingly enough it was free, and so far a really great read.

The best part is, I'm already starting to see a difference in the way I do things. It's not an overnight change mind you, but it really is like flipping a switch in your head. It's a book about mindset- something I've written about on many occasions.

You will need some paper and a pen though. Don't roll your eyes at me and groan- I did the same thing when I read that (Bad mindset! Bad!), and though I really, really hate writing stuff down (at least journaling stuff), when I wrote stuff down, it opened my eyes to a lot of hidden garbage I've been ignoring or holding on to for years.

I'm currently on the 'C' in SWITCH, and I can't wait to get back to reading more!

This isn't some wispy little 'love yourself, love everyone' type book, like so many other positive thinking books are. This book helps you break down the reasons you stop yourself from succeeding, and teaches you how to break down those barriers to make yourself a better and stronger person- and more successful!

And it's FREE.

I don't usually 'advertise' for other people- but I will give kudos to those that impress me- and PJ McClure impressed the heck out of me. Just saying.

Click the link. Get the book. And join me in a journey to become a stronger, better person who can do anything you set your mind to!

WOOHOO! You can now get replies!

I am SO proud.

After Gooling for stuff to make my blog even awesomer (I know that's not a real word- but it's my word, so there), I found this great link to allow Blogger authors to reply to their readers- something I've been wanting to do for ages.

For the curious, here's the link to the code: 

http://yabtb.blogspot.com/2012/01/blogger-threaded-commenting-hack-v2.html

Now I can reply to your comments, and we can get some conversations going! All I ask is that you don't post as Anonymous- I'd like to know who you are- even if you disagree with me. That's what makes life interesting, after all!

There are just a few rules though:

Be respectful of me and my other readers- no flaming, or blame-gaming. 

Don't use foul language, or I won't post it.

Negative comments are fine, as long as the comment has merit. I won't approve of posts like 'This post is stupid' for instance- unless you have good reasons to back it up! So far I've never gotten comments like that, but you never know- I'm just covering my bum here.

That's basically it!

So let's hear it from you, my Dear Readers- you should be able to reply to all posts now-including past ones!

Vaccination Vexes

Here in Philadelphia, they're starting to pass more restrictions on allowing kids into school who are not immunized. In fact, I heard on the news that if the kids aren't proven immunized by April 30th, they'll be sent home until they are. I'd signed an exemption form a few years back, but I'm not sure if it still covers my kids- I'm looking into it as we speak.
But that got me to thinking- when will they start passing more laws restricting the exemptions? When will I lose the right to stop the government putting Lord-Knows-What into my kids bodies? I looked at the chemicals used in those vaccinations, and it was scary- and it seems the more kids are forced to get them, the more they get sick.
I really don't like the government dictating what I can and can't do concerning my kids health. If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it. 
Would you put duct tape on your brand new car bumper in case it might fall off one day? No, you get it fixed when it does fall off. The funny thing is in the schools they attend, my kids get blamed for being carriers and actually spreading sicknesses.

Horseturds!

Let me give an example:

My kids were fine the entire weekend. No one in the house was sick, and we all stayed inside due to bad weather. The kids were not exposed to anyone else but us, and go back to school healthy and happy. 

They have no other contact with anyone except school kids, and they come home within a day or two, sick- yet my kids are the carriers? I think not!
In fact, my kids were out of school due to sickness less than three days- for the entire school year. I hear the other moms talking, and the more they get their kids shots, the sicker they seem to be; yet no one seems to make the connection.

So let me ask you this- if these shots are so wonderful, why does the government have a fund to cover 'permanent damages' from reactions to these vaccines? And the side effects aren't pretty either- the more serious ones are deafness and death. Death, to prevent something my kids don't even have? No, thank you!

Even these new shots are causing all kind of havoc within our bodies. And when you look at the side effects, the cure is sometimes worse than the disease! Yet we are told over and over again that we need to have these vaccinations in order to be healthier. I beg to differ. They even have them available in places we regularly frequent, like big chain stores and supermarkets. Not the first place I would think to get proper health care! I don't want someone to shoot me with a needle at the same place I get my milk and bread- you know what I mean?

And let's take a look at our futures, shall we? Those that have been immunized as children (like us) against chicken pox, measles and the like, now have to get a booster shot because the so-called immunity wore off- and get this- we are now more susceptible to these childhood diseases! Except that now as adults, if we get the chicken pox, measles or any of the others, there's a better possibility of serious illness or death. But if we got these diseases as kids, not only would it have been a milder case (in which you would be treated medically after you got it anyway), we would be permanently immunized naturally by or own bodies!

Which sounds better to you? A little sick as a kid, or a lot sick as an adult? And if people were immunized for this stuff, why are people still getting these same diseases? I don't have all the data, but I bet you more than one person who had gotten their immunizations got afflicted anyway- it's just worse now because they're adults.

Maybe our grandmothers had the right idea after all- when one kid got the chicken pox, everyone would send their kids to that child's house to also get it- and be done with it. Get it, get it treated, get naturally immune and never have to worry about getting anymore shots for it ever again. Sounds good to me! Better a one-time event than a series of what-ifs with chemicals we don't need floating about our bloodstreams!

Simply put- if it ain't broke, stop trying to fix it! All we're doing is putting duct tape on a new car bumper- it doesn't help the bumper, and messes up the finish!

(In)Effective Time Management

Time flies..but I have yet to figure out whether I'm having fun! So I decided to write out what I do during the day and see just what's happening that sucks my hours into a time vortex. Let's see:

5:30 am - 6:00 am- wake up, wake kids up, pray and answer Mother Nature.
6:00 am - 6:15 am- wake kids up again, yell at them to be ready for breakfast in ten seconds, get dressed, fold laundry, refill empty baskets with the dirty stuff everyone tossed into the hallway, yell- er...gently remind the kids that they better have their teeth brushed, else they'll have no teeth by the time they want to get married, and toss cats off of the clean laundry they just disheveled all over the bed.
6:15 am - 7:00 am- Kiss husband goodbye, try to kiss the kids and faint from the combination of morning breath and breakfast, make them brush their teeth and do chores before school- including putting away their semi-folded clothes.
7:00 am- 7:30 am- Make lunches and have kids pack them, I go through emails and play a game on the computer while the kids finish up, then we pray before the bus comes for my son, all the while tripping over hungry cats that were supposed to be fed by my daughter at 7:00.
7:30 am- 8:00 am- Peace and serenity wafts over the house since it's just us girls- she goes to play in her room, and I finish my computer game.
8:00 am- 8:05 am- Run around like mad people because she forgot to pack her schoolbag, make her lunch and feed the cats- who made my life miserable when they practically sat on my computer mouse and meowed in my face for thirty minutes begging for food, then feeling guilty for thinking they were just being greedy furry ogres who just love me for my kitty treats. 
8:05 am- 8:30 am- walk my daughter to school, then walk back towards the house, looking forward to playing another computer game of two. Unless I'm going to the gym.
8:30 am- 10:00 am- I walk to the gym and work out, chat, then go home- if it's an off day from the gym, I usually spend it playing computer games, watching videos, or facebooking.
10:00 am- 12:00 pm- on rare occasions I get some baking, cleaning or writing done, but never all in the same day. There are just too many games to play on the computer.
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm- scarf something semi-healthy down while I play a new computer game.
1:00 pm - 2:45 pm- make calls, do errands, and other homemaker stuff- including playing computer games if I don't have anything else scheduled. I try not to schedule anything.
2:45 pm - 3:30 pm- Walk to the school to fetch my daughter, and greet my son as we make it to the door just as he is dropped off by the bus. They go relax in their own ways for a half hour, while I...well, I did see this neat looking game I wanted to try....
3:30 pm- 4:30 pm- totally engrossed in games, I forgot to remind the kids they had to start homework at 4:00. They count on this and always put on a movie, then claim it's not over yet. Wrenching myself from the computer, I have them turn the TV off, while I try to figure out what to make for dinner, because I completely forgot to defrost anything.
4:30 pm- 7:00 pm- I become a woman of miracles- not only did I manage to make something for dinner that was healthy, edible, and well-cooked, but the kids got their homework done and the house is in some semblance of order- even the cats were fed on time tonight. I go celebrate by playing a game- I needed to finish the last few levels anyway.
7:00 pm- 9:00 pm- dishes get washed (sort of), and when we aren't playing cards together we're often in our own little worlds- the kids are playing the computer (theirs), my husband is on his Nook...as for me? I hadn't really played anything much all day- I think I'll play a computer game!


After having looked this schedule over, I could definitely see a pattern. I could see where most of my time went, and I made a plan to rectify the situation. 


I'll be putting the kids and the cats up on Ebay next week.







Addendum:
Just so people don't start sending me hate mail and telling me what a bad mom I am, I'll have you know a few things- One, this was a half serious post- yes, I do play way too much on the computer (that's what I'll really be rectifying, by the way), and Two, I would never put my kids up on Ebay. Not only is it illegal (I looked), but there would be no one here to feed the kitties or give me stuff to laugh about (and write about) a week after it happens. 
God Bless, and remember the most important thing of all is to not take yourself or others too seriously!

Cake Boss I Ain't!

My son, my first born child, turned fourteen this past Friday. I was going to dazzle him with a cake that had a Star Wars theme, but I wasn't sure exactly what I could make him. And after watching way too many episodes of Cake Boss, let's just say I got a little overly eager.

Everything had to be homemade- not only is it cheaper, but a lot more tasty. I also had to make the right cake shape for my idea, and to make it look just right, I was also going to be rolling some fondant. So I broke out my cookbooks for the cake and frosting, and looked to the internet for the fondant- because that just had to be homemade too.

I chose a Paula Deen pound cake for the base, buttercream frosting for the 'dirty icing', and a marshmallow-based fondant that got good reviews for workability and taste- apparently store-bought fondant doesn't taste very good, and this was highly recommended.

It's a good thing we buy our ingredients in Lancaster in bulk, because I needed a whopping fourteen cups of powdered sugar to make both recipes. And have enough left over to dust my surfaces when I knead the fondant. Lucky for me I had about 20-25 cups of the stuff, because I was going to 'knead' it. Get it? Knead it?

Don't look at me like that.

The cake was the easy part, despite the fact I had to bake it twice. I used the cake form I'd used to make my daughter a doll cake- the form was a half-egg dome that had a dowel in the center for better baking. but when I pulled out the cake, the middle still wasn't done, so I took out the center rod, and finished baking it. It was perfect- at least until I tried moving it after it cooled- my thumb went right into the side of it. All I can say is thank God for buttercream frosting!

Fourteen was the magic number this weekend. My son was turning fourteen, my cake needed fourteen cups of powdered sugar, and it probably took me fourteen hours to make the dang thing, cake and all, because the ding-dang fondant (as tasty as it claimed to be) stuck to everything, no matter how I dusted the surface.

I used plastic wrap, I used waxed paper, I used a bed of powdered sugar- but the stuff wasn't rolling out thin enough, and kept sticking the moment I tried to do that rolling pin trick I saw on Cake Boss. My husband was out at the time, and I needed two people to do this. My daughter was baking cookies for him so she was busy, and my son wasn't allowed anywhere near the kitchen for fear of death-by-spatula.

After rolling out the stuff nine times in three hours, I gave up in a puddle of Cake Boss misery and waited for my husband to get home. Of course the moment he walked in the door, he helped me talk out my issues and helped me come to a solution. We had the cake covered within a half hour. I could have swatted that smug look off of his face, but I was too darn giddy about getting that stupid cake covered that I let him slide- this time.

It was now an hour before his party, and I still had a cake to decorate. Not having time to color the fondant like I wanted to, I took the scraps and rolled them out (and this time the little bits of fondant rolled together perfectly- ARRGH), and I cut all the pieces out and laid them across the surface of the cake. Then I colored them with concentrated food color, hoping it would turn out okay. I baked the cake Friday, and started the other stuff at 8:00 that morning. I got the cake done at 12:00- right when my son's party started. And I hadn't even started making their pizzas yet. Yes, homemade pizza with a fantastic olive oil dough I got from Artisan Breads in Five Minutes a Day.

Here is the finished product of my herculean efforts:

Don't look at the top- I tried covering it with my cake cover, and the thing stuck to it because it was too tall. I told my son that R2-D2 was shot by Darth Vader after I had left the room- not my fault. He loved it.

No, I'm not Cake Boss, but it was a good first try. And even better, it tasted good too. It tasted so good that I gained a pound and a half this week. Not sure of the gain was from the cake and sugar, or the stress- probably both. And the pizza too- I'm not supposed to have wheat, but I ate it anyway, only because I wanted to get the cake done so bad I'd forgotten to have breakfast!

As of this morning the cake plate now bears just crumbs and some blue-colored frosting smears. And I am the best mom on the planet- according to my son. So who am I to argue? After all, teenagers are always right, aren't they?

Toss In Some Raisins

My husband drives me crazy.

Not because he doesn't do anything around the house, or isn't my moral support, or doesn't help with a kids, cooking, and chores- He does all of that. In fact, he's a better wife than I am, simply because he can do everything by the time I get out of bed- and we wake up at the same time.

He drives me crazy because he's a genius. He knows exactly what to do to shut me up.

We have issues as to what exactly constitutes a good breakfast. I think of eggs, waffles or cereal, and he thinks of sticky buns, doughnuts and rice pudding. Homemade rice pudding. He considers it healthier than rice krispies, but then I add that the kids can add bananas to the cereal, thus making it better for them. So the next time I come down to see what they're eating, I see rice pudding- with raisins tossed in.

Now I can't say anything in rebuttal, because the dang pudding had fruit.

Apple pie? Put raisins in it. Bland cereal? Put raisins in it. Life is sweeter (and healthier) when you toss in some raisins. Tastes better too.

Another thing that makes me nuts is that he doesn't clean up after himself when he cooks. Every pot, pan, bowl, and kitchen gadget has been used to make his creations, and he leaves me the mess. I cook, I clean up, he cooks, I clean up. I pointed this out to him several times, and sometimes he would clean up the mess. Sometimes. But then he found a way around it.

He makes me goodies.

This is done after dinner to distract me from seeing what he did to the kitchen. By the time I'm done being distracted, I forget all about the mess and wind up going to bed without stepping a foot past the dining room. Morning comes, the sun rises; and by the time I find out what he's done, he's long gone at work.

Last night was a perfect example.

He offered to make dinner. I foolishly let him, enjoying the time off. We ate dinner while watching a movie, and afterwards he decided to throw something together to snack on. He made something with reduced-down raspberry jam and homemade hot fudge. I didn't even have to move- he served me my little tidbit as I sat on the couch. I was Queen for the Evening, and I reveled in it, foolish mortal that I was.

This morning I came down to find the kids eating rice pudding (with raisins). I just sighed and went into the kitchen. I stopped dead in my tracks. My clean kitchen was no longer- in it's place was a nuclear bomb site, complete with a crusted over rice pudding pot, last night's dirty dishes, and every appliance used to make the stew we had for dinner.

Did I scream? No. Did I howl in frustration? Nope. I just pictured the raspberry chocolate goodies in the fridge, and I'd eat some after I'd cleaned up this mess. And who knows? Maybe I'll toss in a few raisins just to see if it tastes better. He got away with it again, and made me smile in the process!

Yes, my husband drives me crazy, but he truly is a genius. The worst kind of genius too- one that knows when to toss in some raisins!

Budgeting and Breaking of (Homemade) Bread

I've been thinking a lot since my last post, and seriously wondered if my complaints were justified. In my mind's eye I felt we had been proper Scrooges throughout last year, so I dove into the accounts and took a long look at what we spent.

Everything we spent, in fact. Because we are anal enough to actually use our bank card for sales as little a 1.99. It took me three days to organize, tally and separate the good spending from the bad (which is harder than it sounds!), but I've finally finished. And the numbers were shocking.

I can honestly say I had no idea I was having that much fun, or I was that generous at Christmas. Last year was a pretty fun year; I must have complained my way through it and missed out on all the frivolity. But not this year!

I'm breaking out the Yardstick of Really Strict Budgeting, and whacking the snot out of our Finite Financial Status, slapping silly the Income and Payments of Uncertainty to try to make the money stretch like Gumby on a griddle.

Here are a few things I'm doing to cut costs that you can do too!

Bake you own bread. It sounds hard, but it really isn't- just a little time consuming. Most of it is waiting anyway, and you can do other things while it's rising. I've found it better to not use a bread machine. Why? Because I can do four loaves of bread in the oven vs. one loaf in a bread machine- and I don't have to worry about taking that stupid little mixer-thingie out before the bread bakes! I always forget to remove it- then I have a loaf with a hole big enough for a weaver bird to nest in. Besides, with a teenage boy in the house, that one loaf might only last 3.2 seconds. I need to bake in bulk- I just wish my oven was bigger- about the size of Indiana- then I might satisfy Mr. Hormonal Growth Spurt for more than an eyeblink.
One of the benefits to baking your own bread is that great fresh-baked smell that wafts through the entire house. Anyone who's had a bad day walks in and just can't help but smile! That smell ought to be used during Congressional meetings- there would be a lot less arguing.
I don't just mean loaf bread either- you can make rolls for sandwiches or as a side for soup or dinner, bagels take more effort but are a lot cheaper if you make them, and don't forget tortillas- those suckers are easy to store or freeze and are great for making wraps for school lunches- just toast them before packing lunches, and you suddenly become the Best. Mom. Ever. And no preservatives either!

Make your own goodies. Cookies of almost any kind, cakes big and small, soft pretzels, popcorn, krispy treats- it doesn't matter- they'll be appreciated and gobbled up. Just ask my husband who made rice pudding last night and put the leftovers in the fridge to tempt me. Let's just say I did a really good job of cleaning out the fridge this morning. Don't tell him, and I'll share his next batch with you.

Not only will you save a lot of money doing all this, but the homemade stuff tastes better.

Stretch what you have. Pasta, rice, potatoes or leftover veggies can make a meal go a long way, but since I refrain from eating anything with wheat flour, my choices are a bit more limited. I still make meals with pasta or bread, but I switch my portion out with rice, potatoes or vegetables. Soups, stews and casseroles are great one pot wonders, and there's very little cleanup afterwards. If you have canned soups, stretch them out with a little more water and add rice or pasta (or milk and potatoes if it's a cream soup). I've made one can stretch to feed all four of us this way (at least when the kids were younger), or use that cream soup as a sauce for a big pile of pasta or rice- and watch your family make it disappear. Gumby on a griddle, I'm telling you!

I might just take this one step further and see how long I can live out of my pantry and freezer. Any fresh stuff I would buy, but what kind of wacky concoctions could I come up with if I did this? I'll keep you posted if I do!

In the meantime, I'm going to bake some fresh bread before my husband comes home- maybe the bread will distract him from wanting any pudding....