kapachino

Category: domestication

  • Time To Get Cooking

    For the first several weeks of maternity leave we had a network of wonderful people bringing us dinner. I can’t recommend this enough. Delicious food would just magically appear! And then, all of a sudden, it stopped. Another couple weeks later and we ran out of leftovers and frozen meals. After a few days of really pathetic meals I realized that there is nothing stopping me from cooking.

    I’ve never been “into” cooking and haven’t done all that much of it. The preparation overwhelms me, I’ve never had anyone teach me anything,  and my husband is kind of a picky eater. BUT, we can’t afford to eat out much and convenience foods are unhealthy, so I know that cooking is the way to go.

    So this week I broke out my cookbooks and analyzed every recipe. I picked ones that looked good to me and that I thought I could make, then ran them by my husband and he vetoed several. The rest I wrote down ingredients for and I chose a few meals to make in the next week. My husband grocery shopped on the way home from work and last night I actually made a meal! And it was good! And pretty easy!

    Maybe it’s because I have more time on my hands at the moment, or because I have a child now and I want her to grow up eating homemade meals and be able to teach her to cook, but I think I’m finally ready to master cooking. I’m also ready to enjoy it.

    One thing I think will help is to get organized and inspired. My next project is going to be making a recipe binder like this one. I also want to start watching the Food Network more. What are your favorite shows? Also, do you have any cooking magazines or websites you recommend?

    I’m determined to conquer cooking!

  • Holiday Tradition Help

    [via]

    With Christmas just a week away I’ve been finishing my shopping and sending out my cards. But I’ve been spending so much time and focus on work that it all feels a bit rushed. I was thinking the other day that it’s time for David and I to come up with some traditions for our own little family; some things that will be set in place ahead of time to help us remember and enjoy the holidays.

    My family growing up wasn’t completely steeped in tradition, but we had some, most of which we still adhere to today. They are:

    • Having Christmas lists prepared and distributed by Thanksgiving
    • Going shopping with my dad
    • Attending Christmas Eve church service
    • Starting out Christmas day eating pigs in a blanket for breakfast
    • Opening stocking gifts first
    • Getting an ornament from Mom every year
    • Someone volunteering to play “Santa” and pass out gifts
    • Having a big dinner in late afternoon
    • Seeing a movie Christmas evening

    Since we still have Christmas with both of our families, I want to come up with some traditions of our own that don’t interrupt the flow of the day. They could involve how we decorate, gifts we give each other, holiday activities we spend time on, or anything else related.

    So I’m wondering, what are some of your family traditions? Is there something that you’ve always wanted to try or make a part of your holiday season? Any ideas for our little family?

  • friday things: odds & ends

    I started watching Glee from the beginning tonight. My brother had told me that there was zero chance that I wouldn’t like it, and he was right. In fact, I teared up in the first episode because of how happy it made me. My husband watched it with me and commented on all the stereotypes and how it’s basically just a cheesy high school movie. I looked him in the eye and said, “I like that.”

    ***

    My in-laws have been keeping Oliver for us since before David’s surgery, but since they’re going on vacation in the morning we got him back tonight. Even though we’re a little nervous about how it’ll work out with the big guy around, I have to say that I’ve missed him.

    It wasn’t two seconds after I sat down that his whole body was in my lap!

    ***

    Here’s a little TMI for you: today was day one of my feminine cycle. I can honestly say that I’ve never looked forward to it so much, because after almost 20 months of trying & waiting for one reason or another we are finally proceeding with fertility treatment: ovulation induction with intrauterine insemination. I debated on whether or not to share this, but I figured I already went through one miscarriage with you and it turned out okay. So today, despite dealing with my usual horrendous cramps and accompanying nausea, I was actually excited. I got a baseline ultrasound and a prescription for Clomid, which I start on Sunday. For anyone who has taken it before, what can I expect?

    ***

    On my way home from the doctor’s office I dug around in my wallet and discovered a long-forgotten gift card to Smoothie King with $7 left on it! Total score. It’s the little things. Then I stopped by a store I had a Groupon for called One Green Street and picked up a few new organic products.

    One of my goals is to transition to all-natural personal care products, so I’m trying out some different kinds to see what I like best. I’ll be sure to let you know how I like these.

    ***

    Today was a success! What about you?

  • How We’re (Eventually) Going Green

    Number 85 on my 101 in 1001 list says: Make an achievable plan of steps to take to have a more environmentally friendly life. Since today is Earth Day, I figured now is a good time to make that list!

    But first, here are some things we already do:

    -Recycle cardboard, paper, aluminum, plastic

    -Drive a hybrid vehicle

    -Use cold water for laundry & dishes

    -Minimize use of electricity & use energy efficient bulbs

    -Use cloth bags for groceries

    -Drink out of reusable mugs for coffee

    -Water lawn at night

    -Buy used when possible

    Now for the list:

    Holidays

    -Put up a real, locally grown tree each year

    -Make my own cards

    -Buy energy efficient outdoor LED lights

    -Choose experiential gifts like show tickets, spa gift certificates, etc.

    -Use homemade wrapping paper like paper bags, magazines, or newspaper

    Home

    -Make our own cleaning supplies

    -Ditch paper towels in favor of microfiber cloths

    -Keep the amount of “stuff” we own to a minimum (we don’t have a lot)

    -Reuse, donate, or recycle anything we don’t need

    -Stem the tide of junk mail

    -Turn off the power strip to the TV when not in use

    -Call electric & gas companies to ask about alternative energy sources

    -Buy used: everything from gadgets to clothing to furniture

    -For future appliance purchases, consider energy-efficient models

    -Install low-flow faucets, showerheads, and low-volume toilets

    -Start harvesting rainwater

    Food

    -Start composting

    -Start shopping at farmer’s markets for produce

    -Find a source of local meat, and eat less of it

    -Buy organic when possible

    -Buy in bulk to reduce packaging waste

    -Cook at home more often, and cook just enough

    Personal

    -Shop thrift stores for clothing

    -Take good care of clothes and wash them sparingly

    -Use less products

    -Buy organic products from companies whose philosophy I believe in

    ***

    There are so many more ways than this in which a person can live an environmentally friendly life, and for a comprehensive guide I suggest you visit this website. However, the above are the things I feel are achievable for us. There are some ideas I’m just never going to get behind (anyone heard of the “selective flush”?), and some that just aren’t feasible (like building our own, entirely green home).

    Some of the items on my list will be easy, and others will take time and effort. But if we can get to a place where we’ve basically achieved them, I’ll be proud.

    Tips, links, and advice are always welcome. I’d love to hear about what works for you. :)

  • a weekend like that

    Y’all. I had such a great weekend. I didn’t even realize how much I needed some time off where I wasn’t having my insides ripped out of me, puking my guts out, or recovering from either of the above, but I can tell you now that I needed it. I know because today I am happy, and I didn’t even mind getting up at 4:30 a.m. on Daylight Savings weekend to go to work. It was such a great weekend that I am about to relive it right here – not for YOUR benefit, per se – but for my own.

    After I got let off work early on Friday I unknowingly headed straight into a traffic catastrophe that put my commute home at 2 1/2 hours. I admit that my good mood faded somewhere around an hour into the drive when I had only made it a few miles. But the ease of driving my new car and a good audiobook made it bearable. I arrived awhile later, only slightly frazzled, at my in-laws’ house to meet my husband for dinner, and we enjoyed a meal that I realized was an exact replica of the one I ate immediately before I got sick a week ago. The fact that I did not, in fact, get sick again I took to be a sign of better things to come.

    After sleeping in on Saturday morning, I indulged in something I should be ashamed of, but am not:  Farmville on Facebook. Yes, I play it; I enjoy it because it is a mindless and soothing distraction. And did you know that there are more Farmville players than Twitterers? So I promise not to be annoying about my Farmville habits if you promise to just block it already and not make fun of me. Anyway, on Saturday morning I had some time and I made a lot of changes to my farm and now it’s pretty and yeah I can’t believe I’m actually still talking about this but that’s what happens when I’m in a good mood! I ramble!

    During this time my three dogs, who were quietly sunbathing in the backyard, suddenly went into an uproar. A stray dog had approached the gate, and they were beside themselves. They got so riled up that Cleo and Oliver transferred their fury onto each other and launched into a full-fledged battle, while Eddie stood by and barked. I know a person is not supposed to get in the middle of a dog fight, but my other option was to let them kill each other or at least injure one another to the point of very high vet bills. I hate to brag, but at this point I’m kind of an expert at breaking up dog fights. Unfortunately in my weakened condition I managed to stick my leg in the wrong place and ended up with a rather painful bite to the calf muscle. Don’t worry though! Not only am I okay, but we just kept the dogs apart overnight and they made up the next day.

    Next on the agenda was a couple of extremely satisfying errands such as picking up my Nintendo gear from the FedEx office (more on that later this week) and getting a new EZ tag for my car. The EZ tag lets you breeze through the tollways in Houston, and although I’m not in the habit of using the tollway unless I must, you can understand that I was dying for one on Friday night when I was stuck on the feeder road because I didn’t have any cash for tolls. The best part was that it didn’t cost me anything because I still had money left on my truck’s old EZ tag.

    Afterwards I met my sister-in-law for the much-anticipated pedicure, and I believe this sentiment sums up my feelings perfectly:

    Then David and I made good on a Christmas present we gave to his parents and took them to eat at Friday’s (the bruschetta chicken pasta was excellent) and saw “Shutter Island” which was an extremly well-done movie.

    After a lovely church service on Sunday morning a friend of mine told me she’s pregnant and I didn’t even cry! I allowed myself to feel miserable for just a little while, but then I channeled it and went on a surprising cleaning/productive spree that I hadn’t planned. In fact, I had purposefully devoted this weekend to NOT cleaning in order to simply relax, but it turns out that my idea of relaxing is doing laundry, sweeping and vacuuming the floors, shopping for groceries, washing my truck to get it ready to sell, and wiping down every possible surface in my home. I have to say that I don’t regret it, because a clean home is better than almost anything.

    David and I finished off the day by spending a couple hours doing our taxes, and let me just say that Turbo Tax is worth every penny. We are getting a rather large tax return, which is not only a blessing but a relief because going into it I had no idea what to expect. But it turns out that if you get yourself a mortgage, pay a ton of money in student loan interest, and give a lot to charity you get a bunch of deductions. When you look at it that way it’s not near as much fun, so I’ll just continue to think of this as free money.

    Why can’t it always be the weekend?