Lately I've had to fight the urge to spend money frivolously. All I want to do is go to the grocery store and buy steak, fancy cheese, good wine, some avocados. Heck, I really just want to buy some turkey and provolone and make a sandwich. After that, I want to go to the local mall and buy about 4 dresses, new shoes, and new jeans. All stuff I don't "need" at all I just "want"
The truth is, I wish I was above these selfish feelings. When I look around me, I see people who make it with so much less than I have. They didn't grow up with the luxuries that I have had and they don't have the emotional and financial support from their families that I have always had. I am only human though, so it's natural to have some selfish desires.
After 10 months of this however, I am just tired. I'm burnt out. I am getting so tired of being on such a tight budget. The reality I have to face though, is that I am going to be on a tight budget for awhile. Maybe not as tight, and maybe not for the next decade. But realistically, I will have to budget tightly for some time. For comfort, I keep telling myself that all of this budgeting and stressing about money will make me appreciate money when I have it. It will make me be smart with money when I have it. If I can make the little money I'm making now stretch so far, I will be able to make more money stretch even farther.
I just hope that's true and that this experience will truly prove to be as beneficial as I want it to be.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
End of the School Year
Last Thursday was the final week of school. It was really sad for me. It's making me realize how little time I have left down here. I also know how much I'm going to miss the kids and I'm realizing how much of an impact they have made on me.
Here's a picture of the last day of school, which also happened to be 5th grade graduation.
Eccence, Me, Natayshia, Shaumarie
Now that it's summer I am still working at the school. Except now I am answering phones in the front office. I miss the kids a lot! My job is not as much fun. I need to be challenged to be happy and excited for work and I don't have that right now. It's only temporary though. I also picked up a babysitting job for every Monday and Wednesday night for this adorable 2 year old girl. So I have been keeping busy.
I may have outdid myself with how stingy I made this months grocery shopping. I have Fridays off now so I had the time to go to a bunch of different grocery stores to do my shopping. Luckily, most of the grocery stores are really close to it's not a huge deal.
First I went to Bi-lo. I had to get olive oil because I am a HUGE spaz and dropped an entire new bottle on the floor the other day. Gahh
But it was originally $9.96, it was on sale for 3 dollars off, then I had a dollar off coupon, so I ended up paying 5.49 for a huge thing of olive oil.
Then apples were by one get one free so I got two bags for $4.00
I also got cottage cheese, on sale for $2.00
Total -$11.47
Then I went to the bread outlet and got my english muffins for $1.80
Then I went to Publix where I just got
Ego Waffles - 2.99
I had a target coupon and Publix will take competitors coupon so I only paid $1.99
Total - $1.99
After that, I went to Food Loin
Lean Cuisines were on sale for $1.99. I got 4 of them and used a coupon I had for $1.00 off - $7.00
Then I got Kraft 100 calorie cheese cubes. They were on sale for 2.79 and used a coupon for a dollar off- $1.79
Then I got a skinny cow ice cream cup- They were 1.25 and I had a dollar off coupon.. so I got it for 25 cents
The total was $9.00
So I think I did pretty good. I also cooked some pulled chicken in the crock pot today. The recipe for that is-
1 cup canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. cider vinegar
2 tsp. garlic powder
red pepper flakes
mixed the above in the crock pot. Then I halved four pieced of raw chicken (that I had bought a couple of months ago on sale...) and coated them in the sauce. Put it in the crock pot for 7 hours, shredded the chicken with a fork, then put back in the sauce.
It's sooooo good!
Here's a picture of the last day of school, which also happened to be 5th grade graduation.
Eccence, Me, Natayshia, Shaumarie
Now that it's summer I am still working at the school. Except now I am answering phones in the front office. I miss the kids a lot! My job is not as much fun. I need to be challenged to be happy and excited for work and I don't have that right now. It's only temporary though. I also picked up a babysitting job for every Monday and Wednesday night for this adorable 2 year old girl. So I have been keeping busy.
I may have outdid myself with how stingy I made this months grocery shopping. I have Fridays off now so I had the time to go to a bunch of different grocery stores to do my shopping. Luckily, most of the grocery stores are really close to it's not a huge deal.
First I went to Bi-lo. I had to get olive oil because I am a HUGE spaz and dropped an entire new bottle on the floor the other day. Gahh
But it was originally $9.96, it was on sale for 3 dollars off, then I had a dollar off coupon, so I ended up paying 5.49 for a huge thing of olive oil.
Then apples were by one get one free so I got two bags for $4.00
I also got cottage cheese, on sale for $2.00
Total -$11.47
Then I went to the bread outlet and got my english muffins for $1.80
Then I went to Publix where I just got
Ego Waffles - 2.99
I had a target coupon and Publix will take competitors coupon so I only paid $1.99
Total - $1.99
After that, I went to Food Loin
Lean Cuisines were on sale for $1.99. I got 4 of them and used a coupon I had for $1.00 off - $7.00
Then I got Kraft 100 calorie cheese cubes. They were on sale for 2.79 and used a coupon for a dollar off- $1.79
Then I got a skinny cow ice cream cup- They were 1.25 and I had a dollar off coupon.. so I got it for 25 cents
The total was $9.00
So I think I did pretty good. I also cooked some pulled chicken in the crock pot today. The recipe for that is-
1 cup canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. cider vinegar
2 tsp. garlic powder
red pepper flakes
mixed the above in the crock pot. Then I halved four pieced of raw chicken (that I had bought a couple of months ago on sale...) and coated them in the sauce. Put it in the crock pot for 7 hours, shredded the chicken with a fork, then put back in the sauce.
It's sooooo good!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Field Day!
Today was the last full day of school. It was also Field Day. In my opinion, Field Days are one of the most fun days of the year. Even a thunder storm couldn't ruin the fun of today! I really had a wonderful day watching the kids play and compete against eachother. One teacher put it best when she said to me "It's so nice to hear such happy sounds in the hallway on a rainy Tuesday..."
Rajon and Me
Indoor Field Day = Improvising at its finest
Some 4th grade girls being silly
Rajon and Me
Indoor Field Day = Improvising at its finest
Some 4th grade girls being silly
Monday, May 31, 2010
Black Bean Burgers
So in an effort to use ingredients I already had I decided to make homemade black bean burgers. It's something I've wanted to do for awhile, I was just a little intimidated. I looked at a few different recipes online and then just kinda winged it from what I had on hand. This is basically what I did:
1. Cooked brown rice
2. Drained a can of black beans and smashed them with the back of a spoon (This took forever.. there has to be a better way!)
3. Sauteed an onion, a couple cloves of garlic till they were brown. I seasoned it with cayenne pepper, more garlic, oregano and basil.
4. Lastly I added a cup of the brown rice and the onion/garlic mixture to the bowl of smashed beans. Then I just mix it as thoroughly as I could.
This is what it looked like
It wasn't staying together too well so I tried to refrigerate it for 20 mins to see if that would help. I made a ball in the shape of a burger and cooked it on the stove top with some olive oil. All seemed fine until I tried to flip it and it just completely fell apart. I just kept trying to put it back together as best as I could but it wouldn't really hold the shape.
I still ate that "burger" on an english muffin with tomato and some homemade bbq sauce, and though it was messy, it still tasted really good.
To try to salvage the problem for the remaining mixture I mashed up a bunch of ritz crackers and made "bread crumbs" and then made five more balls out of the mixture and froze it. I'm hoping the combination of the crackers and cooking from frozen will keep them together.
So all in all, it tasted good and I didn't have to go out and buy anything I didn't have so I am going to say it was a success. However, I didn't feel confident enough to bring them to the Memorial Day BBQ I was going to that night which was sort of the original plan. Next time I'm going to try to drain the beans better. I also need to figure out a better way to smash them without some fancy food processor.
I'll still enjoy them today for "Meatless Monday" which I almost forgot about since it's Memorial Day!!
Update** They were delicious the next day. Not sure if it was the freezing or the crackers that did it, but they held together perfectly the next day. I made mini burgers and ate them open on top of a toasted english muffin with salsa and hot sauce. Great Success!
1. Cooked brown rice
2. Drained a can of black beans and smashed them with the back of a spoon (This took forever.. there has to be a better way!)
3. Sauteed an onion, a couple cloves of garlic till they were brown. I seasoned it with cayenne pepper, more garlic, oregano and basil.
4. Lastly I added a cup of the brown rice and the onion/garlic mixture to the bowl of smashed beans. Then I just mix it as thoroughly as I could.
This is what it looked like
It wasn't staying together too well so I tried to refrigerate it for 20 mins to see if that would help. I made a ball in the shape of a burger and cooked it on the stove top with some olive oil. All seemed fine until I tried to flip it and it just completely fell apart. I just kept trying to put it back together as best as I could but it wouldn't really hold the shape.
I still ate that "burger" on an english muffin with tomato and some homemade bbq sauce, and though it was messy, it still tasted really good.
To try to salvage the problem for the remaining mixture I mashed up a bunch of ritz crackers and made "bread crumbs" and then made five more balls out of the mixture and froze it. I'm hoping the combination of the crackers and cooking from frozen will keep them together.
So all in all, it tasted good and I didn't have to go out and buy anything I didn't have so I am going to say it was a success. However, I didn't feel confident enough to bring them to the Memorial Day BBQ I was going to that night which was sort of the original plan. Next time I'm going to try to drain the beans better. I also need to figure out a better way to smash them without some fancy food processor.
I'll still enjoy them today for "Meatless Monday" which I almost forgot about since it's Memorial Day!!
Update** They were delicious the next day. Not sure if it was the freezing or the crackers that did it, but they held together perfectly the next day. I made mini burgers and ate them open on top of a toasted english muffin with salsa and hot sauce. Great Success!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
My horoscope
Well, I was thinking that I would write a long post about this week and how emotional it's been, but then I saw my horoscope. I'm not a huge believer in this kind of stuff, however, this particular horoscope I read in the morning and it's scary accurate (sometimes...) So this was mine this morning-
Leo
By Rick Levine
It's one of those days when you are hyper-aware of the difference between the events in your life and your inner processing. You understand what's appropriate now and are able to move through a situation without having to bring up what's troubling you. Keeping conversations simple is a good idea. The fewer words you say, the less likely you'll open a can of worms.
Hmm. I better save my thoughts :)
Leo
By Rick Levine
It's one of those days when you are hyper-aware of the difference between the events in your life and your inner processing. You understand what's appropriate now and are able to move through a situation without having to bring up what's troubling you. Keeping conversations simple is a good idea. The fewer words you say, the less likely you'll open a can of worms.
Hmm. I better save my thoughts :)
I'm just walkin'
I found this blog this morning. It's written by a guy who is walking from New York to Oregon. It's really interesting and reminded me of a similar adventure that my friend Carl's brother went on. His brother biked from Seattle to upstate New York I think.
Anyway, this guy just really loves to walk and just kinda hit a 20 something crisis where he didn't know what he was doing with his life. So, he came up with this idea as a way to recharge. I can relate in the way that when I need to recharge or clear my head I like to go on long walks. I could never do this though!
http://imjustwalkin.com
Anyway, this guy just really loves to walk and just kinda hit a 20 something crisis where he didn't know what he was doing with his life. So, he came up with this idea as a way to recharge. I can relate in the way that when I need to recharge or clear my head I like to go on long walks. I could never do this though!
http://imjustwalkin.com
Thursday, May 27, 2010
K wang wit it
I promise a more indepth update later, but to give ya'll a good laugh I'm posting the dance that I'm doing with 10 other teachers tomorrow for the reading celebration. Reading Celebration is an all day carnival for the students who read 25 books all year. And know that the kids who don't read their books (and do book reports) on time stay inside and do homework. For real. There's a bunch of things going on, and part of it is some dances that the teachers do.
The dances we are doing are a step, Mary J Blige's "Just Fine", Cotton Eyed Joe, and K WANG WIT IT. Video here-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJq4_MUXPF4&feature=related
Please watch and laugh. Everyone knows I have no rhythm. More to follow.
Ps- MOM, to watch the video you have to select the url up there, press copy, then open a new window and paste it in your browser. :)
The dances we are doing are a step, Mary J Blige's "Just Fine", Cotton Eyed Joe, and K WANG WIT IT. Video here-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJq4_MUXPF4&feature=related
Please watch and laugh. Everyone knows I have no rhythm. More to follow.
Ps- MOM, to watch the video you have to select the url up there, press copy, then open a new window and paste it in your browser. :)
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Weekend
I had a great weekend this past week. On Friday Katy and her boyfriend came over to the house. My roommate Michelle cooked a delicious vegetable curry, I made a salad and Ashley made cupcakes. It was nice to have a relaxing night.
On Saturday I took Eccence and her sister to a block party in a local neighborhood that just won an award for "green" construction. There were house tours, live music, food and games for the kids. We had a lot of fun! Then later that day I went to the Riverdogs game. The Riverdogs is the local minor league baseball team. We won the game in over time after being down by six runs, so it was a very exciting game to be at.
Then on Sunday I spent the day at the beach. After that a friend and I went to a picnic at the Angel Oak tree on Johns Island.
Isn't that gorgeous? It must be one of the most interesting trees ever. I don't really know much about it, but they put a gift shop next to it to make it a little tourist spot.
Later that afternoon I had a double header softball game. It was about 95 degrees and sunny out. We won one and lost one. But I really like the group that I play with because although they want to win, we still have fun if we lose!
On Saturday I took Eccence and her sister to a block party in a local neighborhood that just won an award for "green" construction. There were house tours, live music, food and games for the kids. We had a lot of fun! Then later that day I went to the Riverdogs game. The Riverdogs is the local minor league baseball team. We won the game in over time after being down by six runs, so it was a very exciting game to be at.
Then on Sunday I spent the day at the beach. After that a friend and I went to a picnic at the Angel Oak tree on Johns Island.
Isn't that gorgeous? It must be one of the most interesting trees ever. I don't really know much about it, but they put a gift shop next to it to make it a little tourist spot.
Later that afternoon I had a double header softball game. It was about 95 degrees and sunny out. We won one and lost one. But I really like the group that I play with because although they want to win, we still have fun if we lose!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Chili Update
The consensus is that soy crumbles are good, but you gotta put it in something with a lot of flavor. Figuring out what else to make with this will be a nice little challenge for me! The chili turned out pretty well. I forgot to mention that I used a can of plain tomato sauce in the chili (the 44 cents can) I probably could have left out the 1/2 cup of water because it's a little runny, but all in all it's very good. My dad was skeptical about the soy crumbles because they have almost no fat, and he thought that the fat added flavor that the chili needs. However, I think that because it's on the spicy side, the flavor is still there.
I'm glad I like it since I'll be eating it every day for awhile! haha
I'm glad I like it since I'll be eating it every day for awhile! haha
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Budget
So I haven't been doing super great with my budget the last couple of weeks. I've been in Summer Mode (only 2 weeks left till the end of the school year!!) We just completed the state testing and the attitude of the school is "We're done" You can feel it in the kids, feel it in the teachers, and feel it in the administration. Everyone knows there's no point in teaching kids anything new with only 2 weeks left before summer vacation and the feeling is definitely contagious.
I've been going out and socializing more, and everyone knows that socializing costs money. I've also been working out less and eating like crap. In my defense, when I am out socializing and starving, I feel guilty getting a chicken sandwich and fries for 10 dollars when I can just get a side of french fries for 3 dollars that will still fill me up. That combined with having little time to grocery shop or make food has left me eating unhealthy. It's not a huge deal and I know I can get back on track. I'm starting today! I went grocery shopping today and this is what I came up with:
Food Lion:
MorningStar Soy Crumbles- $3.50 (on sale from $4)
Iceberg Lettuce - 99 cents (sale from $2.99)
Chicken Breast- $6.99 (on sale from $12.99)
Red Kidney Beans- 79 cents
Carrots - 99 cents (on sale from $1.29)
No fat Cottage Cheese - $2.69
Tomato Paste- 44 cents
Total $17.98
Not too bad. I decided to make a huge thing of Chili in the crock pot, even though it's 90 degrees outside. I didn't follow any recipe because I've made chili a bunch of times. I've never tried to Soy Crumbles but Hungry Girl uses them a lot and she never steers me wrong. I had to admit that when I tried it today I was a little put off by the texture, but I'm hoping I won't notice it as much in the chili.
Basically this is how I made it:
Chopped up a whole onion, cooked it with about half a bag of the soy crumbles and a leftover taco seasoning packet I had, put it in crock pot.
Added a can of tomatoes with green chili, corn, and the kidney beans. Then I had about half a jar of salsa left over so I added that too. I added a half a cup or so of water. Then I liberally added chili powder , garlic, and red pepper flakes. I was gonna add hot sauce but I thought it might be a little too spicy with the other stuff, so I figured I could add more later.
I hope it's good because I made a whole huge pot and I plan on eating it all week. The whole thing must have cost around 10 dollars and I made enough to last at least a week. I'll let you all know how the soy crumbles work in the recipe!
I've been going out and socializing more, and everyone knows that socializing costs money. I've also been working out less and eating like crap. In my defense, when I am out socializing and starving, I feel guilty getting a chicken sandwich and fries for 10 dollars when I can just get a side of french fries for 3 dollars that will still fill me up. That combined with having little time to grocery shop or make food has left me eating unhealthy. It's not a huge deal and I know I can get back on track. I'm starting today! I went grocery shopping today and this is what I came up with:
Food Lion:
MorningStar Soy Crumbles- $3.50 (on sale from $4)
Iceberg Lettuce - 99 cents (sale from $2.99)
Chicken Breast- $6.99 (on sale from $12.99)
Red Kidney Beans- 79 cents
Carrots - 99 cents (on sale from $1.29)
No fat Cottage Cheese - $2.69
Tomato Paste- 44 cents
Total $17.98
Not too bad. I decided to make a huge thing of Chili in the crock pot, even though it's 90 degrees outside. I didn't follow any recipe because I've made chili a bunch of times. I've never tried to Soy Crumbles but Hungry Girl uses them a lot and she never steers me wrong. I had to admit that when I tried it today I was a little put off by the texture, but I'm hoping I won't notice it as much in the chili.
Basically this is how I made it:
Chopped up a whole onion, cooked it with about half a bag of the soy crumbles and a leftover taco seasoning packet I had, put it in crock pot.
Added a can of tomatoes with green chili, corn, and the kidney beans. Then I had about half a jar of salsa left over so I added that too. I added a half a cup or so of water. Then I liberally added chili powder , garlic, and red pepper flakes. I was gonna add hot sauce but I thought it might be a little too spicy with the other stuff, so I figured I could add more later.
I hope it's good because I made a whole huge pot and I plan on eating it all week. The whole thing must have cost around 10 dollars and I made enough to last at least a week. I'll let you all know how the soy crumbles work in the recipe!
Week Roundup
Following the fun weekend I had a very fun week! On Tuesday, my friend's Kelly and Celia had their recital for the improv class they'd been taking for the last seven weeks. This was their second class, so they are pretty much experts at that point. They were so funny! I think I can be funny but improv is challenging because you have to be able to think fast on your toes. The host asks for audience suggestions and they have to immediately go from there.
There's a shot of Kelly. I'm very impressed with her!
On Wednesday I met up with my Dad's good friend Richard "Pitch" Picciotto He was in town giving a speech. He was the highest ranking Fire Fighter to be pulled out of the World Trade Center when it collapsed. He wrote a book about his experience "Last Man Down" which was a NY Times Best Seller. (http://www.kepplerspeakers.com/speakers.aspx?name=Richard+Picciotto) I heard his speech when he spoke at Siena back when I was the speaker's chair. It's very inspirational.
On Wednesday night I met Pitch and the group at Boone Hall Plantation. It was cool because we got to tour the house and plantation. There was an open bar and a very delicious dinner. There was also bands and dance groups. We had a lot of fun and the weather was beautiful.
Pitch and I near the water
Pitch said these were the best oysters he's ever had.
Also this week, we received a notice in the mail that the show "Army Wives" would be taping in our front yard. Way to ask permission, right? But my roommate and I took the opportunity to be nice and nosy and the crew didn't mind. We got to see a scene be shot (it took forever) and poke around in one of the houses they tape in. It was pretty interesting. They even paid us $100 to use our driveway over night. Here's some pictures I took-
We didn't know who that woman was, but we figured she must be famous because someone was following her with an umbrella
Pretending I'm famous hehe
There's a shot of Kelly. I'm very impressed with her!
On Wednesday I met up with my Dad's good friend Richard "Pitch" Picciotto He was in town giving a speech. He was the highest ranking Fire Fighter to be pulled out of the World Trade Center when it collapsed. He wrote a book about his experience "Last Man Down" which was a NY Times Best Seller. (http://www.kepplerspeakers.com/speakers.aspx?name=Richard+Picciotto) I heard his speech when he spoke at Siena back when I was the speaker's chair. It's very inspirational.
On Wednesday night I met Pitch and the group at Boone Hall Plantation. It was cool because we got to tour the house and plantation. There was an open bar and a very delicious dinner. There was also bands and dance groups. We had a lot of fun and the weather was beautiful.
Pitch and I near the water
Pitch said these were the best oysters he's ever had.
Also this week, we received a notice in the mail that the show "Army Wives" would be taping in our front yard. Way to ask permission, right? But my roommate and I took the opportunity to be nice and nosy and the crew didn't mind. We got to see a scene be shot (it took forever) and poke around in one of the houses they tape in. It was pretty interesting. They even paid us $100 to use our driveway over night. Here's some pictures I took-
We didn't know who that woman was, but we figured she must be famous because someone was following her with an umbrella
Pretending I'm famous hehe
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Family Time
I've felt different these past few weeks. I'm feeling a little lighter, a little happier. I feel like a pro at my job and I've been spending more time with the people I work with. I feel comfortable. It does make me wonder if it's normal to take 9 months to feel comfortable. Granted I did move to a new city, far away from home, by myself and started my first real job. But it still seems like a long amount of time.
I had a really good weekend last week. On Saturday I participated in the "Superintendent's Tennis Cup." Basically every school in the district made a tennis team and we got points for different things. We got points for making a billboard, for having a pep rally, and for other staff members to come out and watch us. We practiced once or twice a week leading up to the tournament. It was nice to do a different work out and I had forgotten how much I liked tennis! The tournament was really nice and although we didn't win, we had a lot of fun participating.
The next day I traveled up to Charlotte, NC for my mom's cousins son Christening. It was a really nice ceremony and great
to see some family. The Murphey's are always a good time and this occasion was no different. Tommy and Lisa had a very nice after party back at their house and I got to catch up with a lot of cousins. It was particularly nice to spend time with my Aunt Jane.
I had a really good weekend last week. On Saturday I participated in the "Superintendent's Tennis Cup." Basically every school in the district made a tennis team and we got points for different things. We got points for making a billboard, for having a pep rally, and for other staff members to come out and watch us. We practiced once or twice a week leading up to the tournament. It was nice to do a different work out and I had forgotten how much I liked tennis! The tournament was really nice and although we didn't win, we had a lot of fun participating.
The next day I traveled up to Charlotte, NC for my mom's cousins son Christening. It was a really nice ceremony and great
to see some family. The Murphey's are always a good time and this occasion was no different. Tommy and Lisa had a very nice after party back at their house and I got to catch up with a lot of cousins. It was particularly nice to spend time with my Aunt Jane.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Meatless Monday
I was already planning on writing about this today when I saw that one of my new favorite blogs just wrote about it too! http://fedupwithschoollunch.blogspot.com/2010/04/guest-blogger-meatless-monday.html
It's really cool what NYC is doing, especially the entire notion of giving parents this kind of voice in a public school. Basically, NYC public schools are giving parents an option to create a wellness team and request to meet with their SchoolFood manager from the Department of Education's Office of SchoolFood. This Wellness team in particular was concerned with the heavy amount of fat from meat and cheese in their children's school lunches. One of the changes they made was incorporating "Meatless Mondays" into the menu. And I'm not talking about grilled cheese and fried fish like Siena used to serve during Fridays of Lent. The NYC school's meatless Mondays consist of healthy vegetarian food such as Vegetarian Chili with rice and African Gumbo. Ummm if my school served this for lunch I would actually buy the school lunch at my school!
But I've been hearing a lot about the Meatless Monday Movement. San Francisco's Board of Supervisors approved a resolution pushing for more vegetarian offerings on Mondays, without requiring them.http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/homestyle/04/26/meatless.mondays.green.healthy/index.html?hpt=Sbin
So I've been thinking it's a good idea for a number of reasons. I'm not doing it because of animal rights or anything like that. For me, it's more of a money issue and just the challenge to see if I can do it. I think it will help me be a more creative chef as well. Is anyone else up for the challenge? I would love a buddy to do this with - (Michelle, you are my #1 buddy as a vegetarian every day)
This is what I ate today for my first Meatless Monday:
Breakfast- Oatmeal (quaker quick oats) with Almonds and Splenda and Green Tea
Snack- Pistachios
Lunch- Corn and Potato chowder I made yesterday, an orange, and a chocolate chip cookie
Snack- Grapes and 100 calorie bag of popcorn., I also had another cookie, whoops.
Dinner- I made a black bean quesadilla. I sauteed onions and spinach with taco seasoning then put it in one whole wheat, high fiber wrap (only 100 calories and it's huge!) then I smothered it with black beans and canned corn. Then, since I stopped buying shredded or block cheese (it always got moldy before I could finish it)I shredded and cut up a light string cheese and topped it all with hot sauce. Grilled that on the George Forman for about 10-15 mins then I was done! I ate it with salsa and it was awesome and filling.
Meatless Monday= Success!
A huge shout out to my Grandma (who is very computer savvy) and my Aunt Jean (you are too!) for sending me the most amazing care package today!! This may be the best one to date! Peanut M&Ms are my favorite and with this cold I got the chicken noodle soup will be perfect tomorrow :) You two are the best, I love you!!
It's really cool what NYC is doing, especially the entire notion of giving parents this kind of voice in a public school. Basically, NYC public schools are giving parents an option to create a wellness team and request to meet with their SchoolFood manager from the Department of Education's Office of SchoolFood. This Wellness team in particular was concerned with the heavy amount of fat from meat and cheese in their children's school lunches. One of the changes they made was incorporating "Meatless Mondays" into the menu. And I'm not talking about grilled cheese and fried fish like Siena used to serve during Fridays of Lent. The NYC school's meatless Mondays consist of healthy vegetarian food such as Vegetarian Chili with rice and African Gumbo. Ummm if my school served this for lunch I would actually buy the school lunch at my school!
But I've been hearing a lot about the Meatless Monday Movement. San Francisco's Board of Supervisors approved a resolution pushing for more vegetarian offerings on Mondays, without requiring them.http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/homestyle/04/26/meatless.mondays.green.healthy/index.html?hpt=Sbin
So I've been thinking it's a good idea for a number of reasons. I'm not doing it because of animal rights or anything like that. For me, it's more of a money issue and just the challenge to see if I can do it. I think it will help me be a more creative chef as well. Is anyone else up for the challenge? I would love a buddy to do this with - (Michelle, you are my #1 buddy as a vegetarian every day)
This is what I ate today for my first Meatless Monday:
Breakfast- Oatmeal (quaker quick oats) with Almonds and Splenda and Green Tea
Snack- Pistachios
Lunch- Corn and Potato chowder I made yesterday, an orange, and a chocolate chip cookie
Snack- Grapes and 100 calorie bag of popcorn., I also had another cookie, whoops.
Dinner- I made a black bean quesadilla. I sauteed onions and spinach with taco seasoning then put it in one whole wheat, high fiber wrap (only 100 calories and it's huge!) then I smothered it with black beans and canned corn. Then, since I stopped buying shredded or block cheese (it always got moldy before I could finish it)I shredded and cut up a light string cheese and topped it all with hot sauce. Grilled that on the George Forman for about 10-15 mins then I was done! I ate it with salsa and it was awesome and filling.
Meatless Monday= Success!
A huge shout out to my Grandma (who is very computer savvy) and my Aunt Jean (you are too!) for sending me the most amazing care package today!! This may be the best one to date! Peanut M&Ms are my favorite and with this cold I got the chicken noodle soup will be perfect tomorrow :) You two are the best, I love you!!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Food Budget Update
Part of the reason I wanted to keep up the blog about my food budget is so I would stick to it. Accountability will hopefully act as a motivator!
I worked more hours than usual this week so my eating has suffered. We had a lot of extra pizza at work so I ate Domino's like three days last week. Can't turn down free meals!
But I also made a huge portion of a pasta dish that lasted for about a week. All I did was make a box of penne whole wheat pasta and I added cooked broccoli, onions, zucchini, and squash. I melted some laughing cow cheese in there and then added pasta sauce. I used a ton of spices- basil, garlic, red pepper flakes, oregano.
So this weeks grocery shopping consisted of this-
Target- Salsa- $2.00 (don't take ebt cards)
Costco- 4 pack of Healthy Choice Frozen Meals - $6.02 after my coupons (also don't take ebt cards, so sad)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bi-Lo
Thomas multi grain, 2 for $5.00
Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream -$1.85- It was on sale, I couldn't say no
Spinach - $1.97
Total- $8.81 which leaves me with $6.44 till the end of the month.
I worked more hours than usual this week so my eating has suffered. We had a lot of extra pizza at work so I ate Domino's like three days last week. Can't turn down free meals!
But I also made a huge portion of a pasta dish that lasted for about a week. All I did was make a box of penne whole wheat pasta and I added cooked broccoli, onions, zucchini, and squash. I melted some laughing cow cheese in there and then added pasta sauce. I used a ton of spices- basil, garlic, red pepper flakes, oregano.
So this weeks grocery shopping consisted of this-
Target- Salsa- $2.00 (don't take ebt cards)
Costco- 4 pack of Healthy Choice Frozen Meals - $6.02 after my coupons (also don't take ebt cards, so sad)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bi-Lo
Thomas multi grain, 2 for $5.00
Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream -$1.85- It was on sale, I couldn't say no
Spinach - $1.97
Total- $8.81 which leaves me with $6.44 till the end of the month.
Here comes the sun
Well, it's been sort of a rough week. First I had to take my car in the shop, then my computer caught a nasty virus, my Youth Service Day didn't quite go as planned, and this morning I woke up with a sore throat. Oh, life. But, even though there's a thunderstorm outside right now, I feel like things are clearing up. My car was fixed in an hour and I successfully removed the virus from my computer! phew!
Yesterday I had a group of about 25 students sign up to do a neighborhood beautification project. Basically, I put the students in small groups and divided the students between ones that would pick up trash and ones that would collect recycling. We did this for three hours in the rain!! A HUGE shout out to my roommate Michelle and my friends Kelly and Joe for helping out, I could not have done it without them! In the end it was successful in that we collected a ton of garbage and that felt good because these kids don't deserve to live in a place that's completely trashed. I can't even tell you how many beer and liquor bottles we picked up from the play ground. Completely appalling.
The only real bad part came after at the "post event." The local High School hosted a bbq after that had local DJs, games, face painting and burgers/hot dogs. The Major spoke as well. There must have been something in the air. My kids were getting into fist fights everywhere I turned! I'll spare you the details because they are so mundane. It was just a huge damper on what could have been an otherwise great day. Anyway, here are some pictures-
A group picture of everyone
Michelle working hard
Eccence and Me
Yesterday I had a group of about 25 students sign up to do a neighborhood beautification project. Basically, I put the students in small groups and divided the students between ones that would pick up trash and ones that would collect recycling. We did this for three hours in the rain!! A HUGE shout out to my roommate Michelle and my friends Kelly and Joe for helping out, I could not have done it without them! In the end it was successful in that we collected a ton of garbage and that felt good because these kids don't deserve to live in a place that's completely trashed. I can't even tell you how many beer and liquor bottles we picked up from the play ground. Completely appalling.
The only real bad part came after at the "post event." The local High School hosted a bbq after that had local DJs, games, face painting and burgers/hot dogs. The Major spoke as well. There must have been something in the air. My kids were getting into fist fights everywhere I turned! I'll spare you the details because they are so mundane. It was just a huge damper on what could have been an otherwise great day. Anyway, here are some pictures-
A group picture of everyone
Michelle working hard
Eccence and Me
Sunday, April 18, 2010
No more Miss Nice girl
Most people would say that I am a really nice girl. And I am. But the other day I made my first student cry.
Now I am no expert, but I've come to learn that in general, children respond to being disciplined differently. There are some students who need to be yelled at, while if you try to yell at certain kids, it will have the opposite effects. I think this distinction is even more important for "at risk youth"
Luckily, with my role in the school, I can pretty much avoid being the disciplinary. Though I've had to discipline kids for the recycling team and also for acting out on their mentor, I mostly see them outside the classroom so it's never really my place to scold them. However, the times I have had to, I really try to be gentle with the kids. I almost always give them the benefit of the doubt and try to treat them with respect, and find that effective because many of them aren't treated with respect outside of the school.
Anyway, so this marking period I have front hall duty. Basically the staff in the school who don't have classes are in charge of greeting the students in the morning when they first arrive. My job is to stand at the top of the stairs and make sure the kids are walking on the right side of the hallway. Usually I spend this still half asleep trying to drink coffee as fast as I can. There's another woman who does this at the bottom of the stairs who I call Chief because she is an Ex Military woman who still thinks she is a colonel and the kids are cadets. I've seen Chief make at least 10 kids cry because she will SCREAM at them to get on the right side of the hallway and pretty much berate them. It usually ends in them coming to me all teary eyed and me hugging them telling them it's ok.
So this is a pretty average morning. I'm standing on top of the stairs and while my back is turned, one of my favorite 2nd graders, Zapporiah, sneaks past me in the hallway. So I call her
Me- "Zapporiah, come back sweetie, you went up the wrong way"
- she keeps walking-
Me- "ZAPPORIAH, you have to come back and walk back down the stairs and go up the right way please"
-Nothing-
So I walk down the hallway and tell her she has to come back and do it the right way. At this point I really don't care that much but I feel like out of principle, she just has to do it.
Zapporiah- "SHUT UP, NO"
Now I have had my full cup of coffee yet. I'm cranky and I don't like to be yelled at.
Me- "Zapporiah, please don't yell at me, you know the rules. You have to go back and walk up the right way"
Zapporiah- WAILS, Then like a flood she is hysterically crying so hard, "Miss Erin, wah wah wah, Miss Erin wah I- wah wah- I just DON'T WANT TO, MISS ERIN I JUST DONT WANT TO"
Me- "Sweetie, calm down, it's really not that big of a deal"
Zapporiah-"IT IS A BIG DEAL, IT'S THE BIGGEST DEAL"
This was like a dagger to my heart. This poor little girl is so upset about something I'm making her do and I really don't care about. It took everything in me to not just tell her not to worry about it because it really was not worth her starting her day so upset. In the end, I knew I couldn't back down after that and we basically sat there for ten minutes before she got up the strength to walk down the right side of the stairs and back up the right side.
Maybe I'm not as big of a softie as I thought.
Now I am no expert, but I've come to learn that in general, children respond to being disciplined differently. There are some students who need to be yelled at, while if you try to yell at certain kids, it will have the opposite effects. I think this distinction is even more important for "at risk youth"
Luckily, with my role in the school, I can pretty much avoid being the disciplinary. Though I've had to discipline kids for the recycling team and also for acting out on their mentor, I mostly see them outside the classroom so it's never really my place to scold them. However, the times I have had to, I really try to be gentle with the kids. I almost always give them the benefit of the doubt and try to treat them with respect, and find that effective because many of them aren't treated with respect outside of the school.
Anyway, so this marking period I have front hall duty. Basically the staff in the school who don't have classes are in charge of greeting the students in the morning when they first arrive. My job is to stand at the top of the stairs and make sure the kids are walking on the right side of the hallway. Usually I spend this still half asleep trying to drink coffee as fast as I can. There's another woman who does this at the bottom of the stairs who I call Chief because she is an Ex Military woman who still thinks she is a colonel and the kids are cadets. I've seen Chief make at least 10 kids cry because she will SCREAM at them to get on the right side of the hallway and pretty much berate them. It usually ends in them coming to me all teary eyed and me hugging them telling them it's ok.
So this is a pretty average morning. I'm standing on top of the stairs and while my back is turned, one of my favorite 2nd graders, Zapporiah, sneaks past me in the hallway. So I call her
Me- "Zapporiah, come back sweetie, you went up the wrong way"
- she keeps walking-
Me- "ZAPPORIAH, you have to come back and walk back down the stairs and go up the right way please"
-Nothing-
So I walk down the hallway and tell her she has to come back and do it the right way. At this point I really don't care that much but I feel like out of principle, she just has to do it.
Zapporiah- "SHUT UP, NO"
Now I have had my full cup of coffee yet. I'm cranky and I don't like to be yelled at.
Me- "Zapporiah, please don't yell at me, you know the rules. You have to go back and walk up the right way"
Zapporiah- WAILS, Then like a flood she is hysterically crying so hard, "Miss Erin, wah wah wah, Miss Erin wah I- wah wah- I just DON'T WANT TO, MISS ERIN I JUST DONT WANT TO"
Me- "Sweetie, calm down, it's really not that big of a deal"
Zapporiah-"IT IS A BIG DEAL, IT'S THE BIGGEST DEAL"
This was like a dagger to my heart. This poor little girl is so upset about something I'm making her do and I really don't care about. It took everything in me to not just tell her not to worry about it because it really was not worth her starting her day so upset. In the end, I knew I couldn't back down after that and we basically sat there for ten minutes before she got up the strength to walk down the right side of the stairs and back up the right side.
Maybe I'm not as big of a softie as I thought.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
93.3 JAMMZZZ
After being so stagnant in my writing, I'm really trying to update this more regularly.
Katy (the most awesome mentor in the entire world) and I have been trying to start a new mentor program at the school. We are a communications magnet, so it made sense to expand the relationships with our business partners in the communications field and to also gain new ones.
So we devised a program where professionals in the communications field (journalists, tv anchors, radio personalities, etc) could come in and work with a group of students to produce some kind of advertisement for a local non-profit, thus making it a service learning mentoring program (sounds fancy, huh?)
Well, like many projects, it hit a few bumps in the road. Even I was wondering who we could get to come into the school in the middle of the day to work with these students. Where would they find the time? Would they even care about a school with in a neighborhood like ours? The questions went on. But Katy sincerely has the most "we can do this" attitude of maybe anyone I know. While I sit there stressing about the big picture "where to begin? " "How will this ever get done?" She's already ten steps ahead of me taking care of the details and organizing a plan to execute this. It's very helpful to me working with someone who can focus on the step by step process of things because I tend to see the big picture without taking time to consider details. We make a good team.
So long story short, the program started on Tuesday and it went better than I could have imagined. We had someone from the local newspaper, someone in the advertising business, someone from the local news station, and two local DJs from the students favorite "hip hop" radio station 93.3.
That's right, Charleston's very own "Baby J and Tessa" from the 93.3 JAMZ morning show. You would have thought that we got Jay Z and Mary J Blige. The kids went nuts. They couldn't believe these celebrities that they listen to every day on the radio took time to come hang out with them. They had a group of three students and helped them produce a radio PSA for mentoring. The kids took turns saying what their mentors mean to them and then they Tessa and Baby J's voice saying how cool mentoring was. As mentor coordinator, I was so touched by the entire thing. It's so important for kids to have mentors, but these were real people that they look up to and think are really cool. I even heard "Ronald" a kid I had to kick out of the Recycling Team for bad behavior ask them how to be DJS and Baby J told him he was an English Major in College and Ronald was all wide eyed and like "YOU went to college?" And Baby J goes "Of course I did, and you can too"
You can't make this stuff up.
Katy (the most awesome mentor in the entire world) and I have been trying to start a new mentor program at the school. We are a communications magnet, so it made sense to expand the relationships with our business partners in the communications field and to also gain new ones.
So we devised a program where professionals in the communications field (journalists, tv anchors, radio personalities, etc) could come in and work with a group of students to produce some kind of advertisement for a local non-profit, thus making it a service learning mentoring program (sounds fancy, huh?)
Well, like many projects, it hit a few bumps in the road. Even I was wondering who we could get to come into the school in the middle of the day to work with these students. Where would they find the time? Would they even care about a school with in a neighborhood like ours? The questions went on. But Katy sincerely has the most "we can do this" attitude of maybe anyone I know. While I sit there stressing about the big picture "where to begin? " "How will this ever get done?" She's already ten steps ahead of me taking care of the details and organizing a plan to execute this. It's very helpful to me working with someone who can focus on the step by step process of things because I tend to see the big picture without taking time to consider details. We make a good team.
So long story short, the program started on Tuesday and it went better than I could have imagined. We had someone from the local newspaper, someone in the advertising business, someone from the local news station, and two local DJs from the students favorite "hip hop" radio station 93.3.
That's right, Charleston's very own "Baby J and Tessa" from the 93.3 JAMZ morning show. You would have thought that we got Jay Z and Mary J Blige. The kids went nuts. They couldn't believe these celebrities that they listen to every day on the radio took time to come hang out with them. They had a group of three students and helped them produce a radio PSA for mentoring. The kids took turns saying what their mentors mean to them and then they Tessa and Baby J's voice saying how cool mentoring was. As mentor coordinator, I was so touched by the entire thing. It's so important for kids to have mentors, but these were real people that they look up to and think are really cool. I even heard "Ronald" a kid I had to kick out of the Recycling Team for bad behavior ask them how to be DJS and Baby J told him he was an English Major in College and Ronald was all wide eyed and like "YOU went to college?" And Baby J goes "Of course I did, and you can too"
You can't make this stuff up.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Army Wives
As many of you know, they tape the show "Army Wives" In my neighborhood. I've never seen the show, but I know some people who enjoy it. And now my mom watches it! They have been taping every day for the last three or so months. So who knows, maybe I'll be seen driving or jogging in the background ;) It's on Lifetime at 10 and it started this week. I don't know if I'll be able to stay up late enough to catch it, but I will try!
I also thought this was kinda cool - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q_x3i6MPrs
a youtube video of the set- I wish it were a little better but if you start at 2:26, it's a house identical to mine and it shows some of the other houses on base.
I also thought this was kinda cool - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q_x3i6MPrs
a youtube video of the set- I wish it were a little better but if you start at 2:26, it's a house identical to mine and it shows some of the other houses on base.
A different kind of post
It has come to my attention that the amount that I spend on groceries and daily life expenses is absurdly cheap. Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I had been naïve and didn’t know that I was living at a much lower cost of living than just about everyone that I know (outside of my AmeriCorps friends) It’s just that sometimes I don’t realize just how little I live off of until I step outside my little North Charleston bubble or speak to my friends and family about it.
Let me supplement this by saying that living like this would not be possible if it weren’t for the HUGE amount of help I get from my family. They really help me out A LOT. I am eternally grateful for the amount of financial assistance I get from my family, and one day when I make it big ,you will all have fancy cars and vacation in the tropics like rock stars.
I know it’s sort of “tacky” (Your word, Mom) to say how much you make, pay for rent, etc, I know that no one reads this except for my family and friends, and I’m sort of an open book when it comes to these things anyway. Plus, most of this stuff (like my stipend) is public knowledge.
Though I do live off of a stipend of around $10,000 a year, I hardly have any real expenses.
Things that my family covers: Over half of my cell phone bill, car insurance, and recently, my gas
Things that the government covers: $29/a month in food, my utilities
My expenses: $250/rent, $30/a month in cable and internet, $30/ a month cell phone bill
A huge part of the “AmeriCorps experience” is living well below the poverty line. I knew this signing up, and in all honestly, it was sort of appealing. I love a challenge and approached it with a “bring it on” attitude. I think one of my best skills is living frugally without appearing to do so. And honestly, I think I do a pretty darn good job of this.
Another huge thing that my family has helped me out with that I did not mention up there, is food. When I drove down here, my parents stocked me up with a TON of non perishable food items. And since I am normally cooking just for myself, I have been able to preserve a lot of it. Examples: Rice, beans, soup, tuna fish, nuts, cereal, popcorn, canned vegetables, peanut butter, etc.
I should also mention that I am really into exercise and nutrition. Although I am not trained at all ( I took one class at Community College ) I am constantly reading about proper nutrition and ways to get it. One of my main concerns with my extreme budgeting is lack of protein. See, a huge way that I cut down on my grocery expense is to eat less meat. It’s not too challenging for me to do this because I really don’t love meat that much. In particular, red meat. I have more or less given up red meat, save some special occasions. It is expensive and not too healthy, especially as a woman. But like I said, it is easy for me to do this because I don’t love it. In general, I still eat chicken and turkey, because I like the way those taste more and they are less expensive and more lean.There are some unhealthy foods that I love and refuse to give up. I can afford to do this because of how active I am and because I have a relatively good metabolism (another thing to thank my family for!) Although I fluctuate between about 5-10lbs, I always maintain a healthy weight. In general I also try to be disciplined during the week and kinda let myself do whatever I want on the weekends.
This is less about losing weight and more about staying on tasks. Like a machine, I feel like a better and more productive person when everything is in line. I feel that eating healthy is directly associated with my being more on task at work, spending less money, and getting enough exercise, which in turns makes me less stressed on a number of levels. When one of those factors is up to par it is easier for me to maintain all of them. However, without letting myself go on the weekends and vacations and special occasions, I would totally go off track all the time.
So in essence, eating well and saving money go hand in hand for me, which is why I’m discussing both of these in the blog.
Protein: My biggest challenge. My sources of protein usually come from the following foods:
Eggs- I eat a lot of eggs. I prefer egg whites or egg beaters, but these are usually more expensive than just eggs, so I only buy those if they are on sale.
Nuts- I love nuts. I eat a handful of almonds every day at work for energy as one of my snacks. My Aunt Jean sends me huge Costco bags of almonds, so that is a huge help! I also put nuts in Oatmeal, salad and even pasta sometimes. I also eat a lot of peanut butter.
Canned Tuna- Inexpensive and healthy
Fish- Salmon and Shrimp are my favorites.
*When my mom visited in January she took me grocery shopping and bought me a lot of frozen goodies, including Salmon, Shrimp, and Turkey Burgers. Again, an enormous help
Cheese- I like cheese, but, it’s something I tend to stay away from. It’s just so much fat and honestly it is not that cheap and hard to buy for one person because I never finish it fast enough to keep it from going moldy. And I really hate to have to throw away food because it goes bad. One form of cheese I do eat almost every day is string cheese. It forces me to eat slowly because I peel it (which is good for me because I tend to eat too fast sometimes) and the protein helps me stay alert at work. The other cheese I eat a lot is laughing cow cheese wedges. They taste more like cream cheese than real cheese but they are so good and only about 35 calories.
Dairy Products- Fortunately, I get free milk and yogurt at work. There’s always left overs from breakfast or lunch and since it goes bad quickly, there are always a ton extra lying around. Yes, it forces me to put individual milk cartons in my fridge and work with that but it’s ok. The yogurt is from the free lunch that all my students qualify for, and is sort of disappointing because it is not the most nutritionally dense yogurt (How upset I get about the nutrient value of school lunch is an entire other subject) But for me it’s free, so I still eat it. It’s also a good snack.
One thing I could never stop eating is Carbohydrates, which is good because as someone who is very active like me, that would be dangerous.
Bread- I try to only eat 100% whole wheat bread. I also like weight watchers wheat bread and sara lee 40 calorie bread. When I get coupons for the sandwich thins I will buy those, but they are not my favorite. My favorite bread is the Thomas English Muffin High Fiber bread. They are only 100 calories and have like 8 grams of fiber. I’ll eat these for breakfast with an egg or peanut butter and I can usually stay full till snack time. (ugh sorry I work in an Elementary School, I talk like an Elementary School child sometimes...)
Pasta- I really don’t love pasta. It’s kinda bland to me for all the calories it gives you. However, pasta is cheap, versatile and easy to prepare so I will eat it. I only eat whole wheat pasta and I will usually make it with as many vegetables as I have lying around, olive oil, a bunch of spices and maybe some tomato sauce.
Brown Rice/ Whole Wheat CousCous- I love both of these.
Potato- Call me simple, but potato’s are my favorite food in the world. Mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, home fries, french fries… so good. I eat a lot of baked potatoes where I’ll usually put some salsa on it, a laughing cow cheese wedge, black beans and whatever veggies I have lying around.
Vegetables- I am blessed to love vegetables. All vegetables. I love salads, but again, preparing for one person is hard because vegetables go bad quickly. So typically, I will try to buy canned or frozen vegetables although I prefer fresh veggies. I always try to have at least one raw veggie on hand for snacks at work- carrot sticks, celery, broccoli, cauliflower. I always have canned corn, tomatoes and peas on hand because those are my favorites. I love onions and they add flavor for a very little cost. I try to get whatever is in season from the farmer’s market because it’s so fresh, and I also try to support local businesses whenever I can.
Fruit- I really try to like fruit, but it’s harder for me. I really don’t have a taste for berries or melons. So what I typically do is buy either apples, oranges or grapes (whatever is on sale) and try to have that stretch for at least two weeks to bring for snacks at work.
It is really important to me to try to still eat fresh foods even on a tight budget. That being said, I mix it up with packaged foods for cost efficient reasons, and because sometimes I am just busy or lazy and don’t have time to prepare food.
Also, I try to stick to the “5 small meals a day” diet. I like to constantly eat rather than eating three big meals. Big meals make me tired and I have a sensitive stomach so the smaller meals are easier on my digestive system.
So I will use today as an example of what I eat on a typical day. For breakfast I had a whole wheat English muffin with half peanut butter and half laughing cow cheese wedge. Then about halfway between breakfast and lunch I had a handful of almonds. I was feeling more tired than usual, so I made sure I had three huge glasses of water before lunch. At lunch I had a pasta Lean Cuisine, some carrot sticks, and a fun sized M&Ms packet. My friend from work remembered that I told her I liked pistachios and gave me a huge bag of them. So I munched on those throughout the day too. Then about an hour before school was done I had an orange. I went grocery shopping after work. After shopping I was tired so I had a 100 calorie bag of popcorn and 2 Hershey kisses from easter before I played tennis. I played tennis for an hour and a half with a local tennis league, came home and had 2 scrambled eggs with broccoli, onions and hot sauce. Then I had a handful of special K chocolate Cereal. Not exactly gourmet, but it was good enough. All day I drink water, water with lemon, crystal light, or unsweetened ice tea. I have 2-3 cups of coffee every day and occasionally will have a glass of wine or beer with dinner. I completely stopped drinking soda and juice.
That’s what a typical Monday-Thursday more or less looks like.
Now on to my original plan, to show you how I limit it to $29 a month on food. I first want to point out that I only get $29 a month from the government. I have enough money saved that I can spend more, but I don’t want to. I like the challenge of keeping to the $29, and with a little help from my family, it is possible. Sometimes I do spend more than $29, but with an oil change and a hair cut throwing some unaccounted expenses into my budget this month, that is not going to happen.
So here are the groceries I bought for the week:
First I went to Bi-Lo. There I got:
Broccoli which was on sale for $1.99 (it is huge)
Grapes on sale for $3.42 (2.7 lb bag)
Total: $5.41
Then I went to Publix
Special K granola was Buy One Get One ( I can bring this for breakfast) so I got two at $2.00 each- $4.00
Zucchini sale- 1 lb for 99 cents
Cottage Cheese (Cheap protein) - BYGO- $2 each- $4.00 total
Total: $8.76
This leaves me $16.15 for the rest of the month
Yeah it's annoying to go to a bunch of different grocery stores. Every week I look at all the weekly ads online and map out where I need to go to get what. Luckily, there's three grocery stores (Bi-lo, Publix, Piggly Wiggly) in the same area so it's not too hard. I usually only buy what is on sale. All the above stuff was on sale.
Other Sites I use on a daily basis:
http://print.coupons.com/CouponWeb/Offers.aspx?pid=13306&zid=iq37&nid=10 - for this site you have to download a coupon printing application, but it's very easy. And they are manufacturers coupons, and Bi-Lo will double them so it's even better savings!
http://www.commonsensewithmoney.com/ Awesome blog for living frugal
Recipes-
www.hungrygirl.com - I have a minor obsession with hungry girl. I've been reading her blog every day since High School. I love her.
http://greenlitebites.com/ - I like the woman who writes this. Especially because she's always trying to save money too.
www.weightwatchers.com - Good recipes for real people who don't like a lot of fat
Well that's it. I don't know if this will be a normal kind of post, but I had fun writing it. I'm always open for suggestions and recommendations.
Let me supplement this by saying that living like this would not be possible if it weren’t for the HUGE amount of help I get from my family. They really help me out A LOT. I am eternally grateful for the amount of financial assistance I get from my family, and one day when I make it big ,you will all have fancy cars and vacation in the tropics like rock stars.
I know it’s sort of “tacky” (Your word, Mom) to say how much you make, pay for rent, etc, I know that no one reads this except for my family and friends, and I’m sort of an open book when it comes to these things anyway. Plus, most of this stuff (like my stipend) is public knowledge.
Though I do live off of a stipend of around $10,000 a year, I hardly have any real expenses.
Things that my family covers: Over half of my cell phone bill, car insurance, and recently, my gas
Things that the government covers: $29/a month in food, my utilities
My expenses: $250/rent, $30/a month in cable and internet, $30/ a month cell phone bill
A huge part of the “AmeriCorps experience” is living well below the poverty line. I knew this signing up, and in all honestly, it was sort of appealing. I love a challenge and approached it with a “bring it on” attitude. I think one of my best skills is living frugally without appearing to do so. And honestly, I think I do a pretty darn good job of this.
Another huge thing that my family has helped me out with that I did not mention up there, is food. When I drove down here, my parents stocked me up with a TON of non perishable food items. And since I am normally cooking just for myself, I have been able to preserve a lot of it. Examples: Rice, beans, soup, tuna fish, nuts, cereal, popcorn, canned vegetables, peanut butter, etc.
I should also mention that I am really into exercise and nutrition. Although I am not trained at all ( I took one class at Community College ) I am constantly reading about proper nutrition and ways to get it. One of my main concerns with my extreme budgeting is lack of protein. See, a huge way that I cut down on my grocery expense is to eat less meat. It’s not too challenging for me to do this because I really don’t love meat that much. In particular, red meat. I have more or less given up red meat, save some special occasions. It is expensive and not too healthy, especially as a woman. But like I said, it is easy for me to do this because I don’t love it. In general, I still eat chicken and turkey, because I like the way those taste more and they are less expensive and more lean.There are some unhealthy foods that I love and refuse to give up. I can afford to do this because of how active I am and because I have a relatively good metabolism (another thing to thank my family for!) Although I fluctuate between about 5-10lbs, I always maintain a healthy weight. In general I also try to be disciplined during the week and kinda let myself do whatever I want on the weekends.
This is less about losing weight and more about staying on tasks. Like a machine, I feel like a better and more productive person when everything is in line. I feel that eating healthy is directly associated with my being more on task at work, spending less money, and getting enough exercise, which in turns makes me less stressed on a number of levels. When one of those factors is up to par it is easier for me to maintain all of them. However, without letting myself go on the weekends and vacations and special occasions, I would totally go off track all the time.
So in essence, eating well and saving money go hand in hand for me, which is why I’m discussing both of these in the blog.
Protein: My biggest challenge. My sources of protein usually come from the following foods:
Eggs- I eat a lot of eggs. I prefer egg whites or egg beaters, but these are usually more expensive than just eggs, so I only buy those if they are on sale.
Nuts- I love nuts. I eat a handful of almonds every day at work for energy as one of my snacks. My Aunt Jean sends me huge Costco bags of almonds, so that is a huge help! I also put nuts in Oatmeal, salad and even pasta sometimes. I also eat a lot of peanut butter.
Canned Tuna- Inexpensive and healthy
Fish- Salmon and Shrimp are my favorites.
*When my mom visited in January she took me grocery shopping and bought me a lot of frozen goodies, including Salmon, Shrimp, and Turkey Burgers. Again, an enormous help
Cheese- I like cheese, but, it’s something I tend to stay away from. It’s just so much fat and honestly it is not that cheap and hard to buy for one person because I never finish it fast enough to keep it from going moldy. And I really hate to have to throw away food because it goes bad. One form of cheese I do eat almost every day is string cheese. It forces me to eat slowly because I peel it (which is good for me because I tend to eat too fast sometimes) and the protein helps me stay alert at work. The other cheese I eat a lot is laughing cow cheese wedges. They taste more like cream cheese than real cheese but they are so good and only about 35 calories.
Dairy Products- Fortunately, I get free milk and yogurt at work. There’s always left overs from breakfast or lunch and since it goes bad quickly, there are always a ton extra lying around. Yes, it forces me to put individual milk cartons in my fridge and work with that but it’s ok. The yogurt is from the free lunch that all my students qualify for, and is sort of disappointing because it is not the most nutritionally dense yogurt (How upset I get about the nutrient value of school lunch is an entire other subject) But for me it’s free, so I still eat it. It’s also a good snack.
One thing I could never stop eating is Carbohydrates, which is good because as someone who is very active like me, that would be dangerous.
Bread- I try to only eat 100% whole wheat bread. I also like weight watchers wheat bread and sara lee 40 calorie bread. When I get coupons for the sandwich thins I will buy those, but they are not my favorite. My favorite bread is the Thomas English Muffin High Fiber bread. They are only 100 calories and have like 8 grams of fiber. I’ll eat these for breakfast with an egg or peanut butter and I can usually stay full till snack time. (ugh sorry I work in an Elementary School, I talk like an Elementary School child sometimes...)
Pasta- I really don’t love pasta. It’s kinda bland to me for all the calories it gives you. However, pasta is cheap, versatile and easy to prepare so I will eat it. I only eat whole wheat pasta and I will usually make it with as many vegetables as I have lying around, olive oil, a bunch of spices and maybe some tomato sauce.
Brown Rice/ Whole Wheat CousCous- I love both of these.
Potato- Call me simple, but potato’s are my favorite food in the world. Mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, home fries, french fries… so good. I eat a lot of baked potatoes where I’ll usually put some salsa on it, a laughing cow cheese wedge, black beans and whatever veggies I have lying around.
Vegetables- I am blessed to love vegetables. All vegetables. I love salads, but again, preparing for one person is hard because vegetables go bad quickly. So typically, I will try to buy canned or frozen vegetables although I prefer fresh veggies. I always try to have at least one raw veggie on hand for snacks at work- carrot sticks, celery, broccoli, cauliflower. I always have canned corn, tomatoes and peas on hand because those are my favorites. I love onions and they add flavor for a very little cost. I try to get whatever is in season from the farmer’s market because it’s so fresh, and I also try to support local businesses whenever I can.
Fruit- I really try to like fruit, but it’s harder for me. I really don’t have a taste for berries or melons. So what I typically do is buy either apples, oranges or grapes (whatever is on sale) and try to have that stretch for at least two weeks to bring for snacks at work.
It is really important to me to try to still eat fresh foods even on a tight budget. That being said, I mix it up with packaged foods for cost efficient reasons, and because sometimes I am just busy or lazy and don’t have time to prepare food.
Also, I try to stick to the “5 small meals a day” diet. I like to constantly eat rather than eating three big meals. Big meals make me tired and I have a sensitive stomach so the smaller meals are easier on my digestive system.
So I will use today as an example of what I eat on a typical day. For breakfast I had a whole wheat English muffin with half peanut butter and half laughing cow cheese wedge. Then about halfway between breakfast and lunch I had a handful of almonds. I was feeling more tired than usual, so I made sure I had three huge glasses of water before lunch. At lunch I had a pasta Lean Cuisine, some carrot sticks, and a fun sized M&Ms packet. My friend from work remembered that I told her I liked pistachios and gave me a huge bag of them. So I munched on those throughout the day too. Then about an hour before school was done I had an orange. I went grocery shopping after work. After shopping I was tired so I had a 100 calorie bag of popcorn and 2 Hershey kisses from easter before I played tennis. I played tennis for an hour and a half with a local tennis league, came home and had 2 scrambled eggs with broccoli, onions and hot sauce. Then I had a handful of special K chocolate Cereal. Not exactly gourmet, but it was good enough. All day I drink water, water with lemon, crystal light, or unsweetened ice tea. I have 2-3 cups of coffee every day and occasionally will have a glass of wine or beer with dinner. I completely stopped drinking soda and juice.
That’s what a typical Monday-Thursday more or less looks like.
Now on to my original plan, to show you how I limit it to $29 a month on food. I first want to point out that I only get $29 a month from the government. I have enough money saved that I can spend more, but I don’t want to. I like the challenge of keeping to the $29, and with a little help from my family, it is possible. Sometimes I do spend more than $29, but with an oil change and a hair cut throwing some unaccounted expenses into my budget this month, that is not going to happen.
So here are the groceries I bought for the week:
First I went to Bi-Lo. There I got:
Broccoli which was on sale for $1.99 (it is huge)
Grapes on sale for $3.42 (2.7 lb bag)
Total: $5.41
Then I went to Publix
Special K granola was Buy One Get One ( I can bring this for breakfast) so I got two at $2.00 each- $4.00
Zucchini sale- 1 lb for 99 cents
Cottage Cheese (Cheap protein) - BYGO- $2 each- $4.00 total
Total: $8.76
This leaves me $16.15 for the rest of the month
Yeah it's annoying to go to a bunch of different grocery stores. Every week I look at all the weekly ads online and map out where I need to go to get what. Luckily, there's three grocery stores (Bi-lo, Publix, Piggly Wiggly) in the same area so it's not too hard. I usually only buy what is on sale. All the above stuff was on sale.
Other Sites I use on a daily basis:
http://print.coupons.com/CouponWeb/Offers.aspx?pid=13306&zid=iq37&nid=10 - for this site you have to download a coupon printing application, but it's very easy. And they are manufacturers coupons, and Bi-Lo will double them so it's even better savings!
http://www.commonsensewithmoney.com/ Awesome blog for living frugal
Recipes-
www.hungrygirl.com - I have a minor obsession with hungry girl. I've been reading her blog every day since High School. I love her.
http://greenlitebites.com/ - I like the woman who writes this. Especially because she's always trying to save money too.
www.weightwatchers.com - Good recipes for real people who don't like a lot of fat
Well that's it. I don't know if this will be a normal kind of post, but I had fun writing it. I'm always open for suggestions and recommendations.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Happy Six Months to me
Ok. I know I have been terrible with the updates. So much has happened in the past few months that every time I went to update it seemed too overwhelming. I apologize.
So here it goes. According to my "VISTA Manuel" I received during my Pre Service Orientation in September, the sixth month mark is defined by a feeling of "what the #%$% did I get myself into?" The scary part is that I've had that thought well before this 6 month mark. The awesome part is that I've persevered!
These past few months have been a roller coaster. It has been very challenging physically and emotionally . It's also been great in many ways. I've been so fortunate that the people I love have been able to visit. My Mother, Aunt, Grandma came down for a weekend and about a month after that my sister visited.
Instead of trying to catch ya'll up on everything that's happened I thought I could just make a list of some random things, both serious and humorous that I've learned, in no particular order.
- Coupons are great, but it's not smart to use them on stuff you wouldn't normally buy without coupons
- Southern people care a lot about their oysters
- The Crock pot is an economically friendly way to make food and requires little skill.
- Most people and businesses are willing to help out, all you really have to do is ask.
-It's a great skill to learn how to confidently say "no" to things you could physically do, but don't have enough time for
- Never underestimate the power of "stability." When a person does not have any stable people in their life, they will fall
- You can think you have someone's personality pinned in a couple of minutes, but most people are really layered
- If you love what you're doing than you won't mind not getting paid well or working long hours
-Blenders can catch fire
-Sometimes meetings seem like an excuse for a lot of people to sit around and not get a lot done
-Sunshine and warm weather makes people more calm and happy
That's all I got for now. Now for some pictures!!
Me and Eccence. The 5th grader I mentor! She makes me smile
My Family on their trip down here. Took the girls out for a drink at my favorite pub around here.
Kelsey and I at the park near my house
So here it goes. According to my "VISTA Manuel" I received during my Pre Service Orientation in September, the sixth month mark is defined by a feeling of "what the #%$% did I get myself into?" The scary part is that I've had that thought well before this 6 month mark. The awesome part is that I've persevered!
These past few months have been a roller coaster. It has been very challenging physically and emotionally . It's also been great in many ways. I've been so fortunate that the people I love have been able to visit. My Mother, Aunt, Grandma came down for a weekend and about a month after that my sister visited.
Instead of trying to catch ya'll up on everything that's happened I thought I could just make a list of some random things, both serious and humorous that I've learned, in no particular order.
- Coupons are great, but it's not smart to use them on stuff you wouldn't normally buy without coupons
- Southern people care a lot about their oysters
- The Crock pot is an economically friendly way to make food and requires little skill.
- Most people and businesses are willing to help out, all you really have to do is ask.
-It's a great skill to learn how to confidently say "no" to things you could physically do, but don't have enough time for
- Never underestimate the power of "stability." When a person does not have any stable people in their life, they will fall
- You can think you have someone's personality pinned in a couple of minutes, but most people are really layered
- If you love what you're doing than you won't mind not getting paid well or working long hours
-Blenders can catch fire
-Sometimes meetings seem like an excuse for a lot of people to sit around and not get a lot done
-Sunshine and warm weather makes people more calm and happy
That's all I got for now. Now for some pictures!!
Me and Eccence. The 5th grader I mentor! She makes me smile
My Family on their trip down here. Took the girls out for a drink at my favorite pub around here.
Kelsey and I at the park near my house
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
December update
To my faithful readers- I have slacked a lot! I apologize for the delay of an update. I have many good and exciting things to report! I'll start with just before my Christmas Break.
On Thursday, December 17th, Chicora had our official Holiday Celebration. Ashley Hall, a local prestigious private all-girls school whose famous alumni include Barbara Bush, sponsored the most selfless holiday celebration I have ever witnessed in my life. The families of the students at the school donated so much money and gifts, that each of the 400 students who attend Chicora received a huge shopping bag filled with- socks, underwear, an outfit, and at least five brand new toys. Some children even received new winter coats and shoes. Prior to the 17th the teachers at Chicora visited a warehouse that Ashley Hall rents out just for this occasion, and picked out items for their students. Every teacher also received a huge bag full of pens, pencils, paper, and other teaching supplies. I had previously heard about how generous Ashley Hall was, but this far exceeded my expectations. I had the pleasure of taking pictures of the children when they received their presents from Santa and it brought my to tears! I am in awe at how selfless people with wealth can be. It even made the front cover of our local newspaper! You can read the article here- http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/dec/18/season-of-giving/ The entire day left my heart smiling and a warm feeling all over. It made me truly thankful for what I have and truly proud to work at Chicora.
That next day, Friday the 18th, I was supposed to work a full day, come home and pack, then head to Myrtle Beach for the night where my friend Andy lives. The two of us were going to get an early start on Saturday and spend the day in Washington DC sightseeing with our friend from high school Ellen, who lives in Fairfax, VA and is finishing up an engineering degree at George Mason University. Well,it turned out that mother nature had other plans for us! On Friday, the news was flooded with urgent reports of a heavy snow storm coming. So, I worked a half a day, ran home and threw what I could into my car and headed up to pick up Andy. Our plan was to try to beat the snow to Washington DC. South Carolina was hit with a torrential down pour. The kind of driving conditions that make you go about 20mph so you don't hydroplane. It took me over two hours to get to Myrtle Beach, where it normally takes a little over an hour. From there, Andy drove the rest of the way.
The rain did not slow down and stayed the same until we reached North Carolina where we reached our old friend SNOW. We hit it earlier than expected. The snow was coming down just as steadily as the rain did. The driving conditions were AWFUL! Luckily, Andy had some experience driving in the snow. Not so luckily, the coastal areas of North Carolina/Virginia rarely sees snow, therefore the people who live (and drive) in the coastal North Carolina/Virginia areas DO NOT KNOW HOW TO DRIVE IN THE SNOW. Sorry for the caps, but it is the only way to emphasize how bad these people were driving! Now, I know that I am not a good driver in the snow. I know, I know, I grew up in New York and went to college for 4 years in upstate New York. I really have no excuse. However, I do not get behind the wheel of a car when it snows. Other non snow drivers should do the same! We were going between 5mph-20mph the entire way on Route 95 from the middle of NC up to Fairfax, VA. A half a mile did not pass where we didn't see cars on the side of the road, either because they consciously decided to pull over or because they slid there. At one point we were in the left lane, a good sized pick up truck was in the middle lane, and an 18 wheeler was in the right lane. We witnessed the pick up truck lose control of the car and slam right into the 18 wheeler. It made an awful noise and scared me to death!
To make a long (13.5 hours long to be exact) and boring story short, we made it to Ellen's at 3:30am where our wonderful host was curled up on the couch waiting for us. We made dinner and a drink and went right to bed. We woke up to a winter wonderland and a van stuck in her front yard. Really people, learn how to drive in the snow, drive with someone who knows how to drive in the snow or stay at home! I'm not staying the storm wasn't bad, but I have seen worse in New York. We made the best of it in Fairfax. Although I did not get to see the sites of Washington DC we had fun trekking to the grocery store in the snow and catching up. We even roughed it to walk to a sports bar to watch the Cowboys/Saints game. All in all, it made for a good story and we made it home Sunday without any trouble.
I had an amazing two week vacation at home. Having a nice long break is an excellent perk of working in a school. To all my education major friends- you picked well! I kept busy during my time home. On that Tuesday I met three of my college roommates in NYC to do some fun touristy things. We saw the tree- which we all thought looked a little smaller than normal, but I guess we are just getting older. We just enjoyed each others company and took in the sites. There's something about the notoriously cold and unfriendly city on New York around Christmas time that just gives it a warm and inviting character. It's one of the many reasons I am in love with the city! I got my New York pizza fix, and besides the calories being posted on the pizza (I hate this NYC law) I throughly enjoyed it- Hey I walked a lot that day! No one makes pizza like the hole in the wall NYC pizza joints.
Christmas was just the four of us and it made for a nice and quiet holiday.It marked my first Christmas of almost all adult gifts! I got a lamp, a george forman grill, some fancy coach coasters, a spice rack, work clothes and lots of groceries. All things I needed and will enjoy. I also got money and a gas card! yay! That night we had a delicious dinner of surf and turf. It was a truly wonderful Christmas with a lot to be thankful for!
In between Christmas and New Years was packed with lots of fun events as well. On that Saturday, I got together with my girl friends from High School and we had a pot luck dinner as our Christmas gifts to eachother. I made my mom's famous taco dip and some quessidilla roll ups. We also had chicken parm, penne a la vodka, vegetarian lasagna, salad and cookies. It was a fun and budget friendly way to celebrate Christmas with old friends. The next day, my Aunt Jean and Grandmother came to visit from Pittsburgh. We had a lot of fun! We went into NYC for a day and also saw the tree and other sites. Times Square was crazy getting ready for the New Year's Eve Celebration. We considered eating somewhere else for lunch but went back to our favorite little Italian place on Restaurant Row called DaRosina. Don't fix what's not broken, right? It was fun to have another Christmas celebration and great to see them as well.
I got to go to a Siena Basketball game while I was home as well and spend a night in Albany. It was really great to see everyone. Before meeting up with my friends I got a chance to stop by my old job at the Siena Friary. It was so great to see my old boss Mark and a couple of the friars. I worked there for four years during college and it was the best job I ever had! It might be the only job I'll ever have where I looked forward to going to work. We caught up with each others lives and promised to keep in touch more. Then it was off to Kaitlyn's cute Brownstone apartment right off of Lark Street. A lot of Siena grads settle in the Albany area. Hanging out with everyone made me miss my alama mater a lot. The game was great- We played St. Josephs and were tied at half, but the Saints continued their 28-game winning streak at home and won in the end!
I rang in the new year with friends in Long Beach. A lot of people have been hating on 2009. It was a tough year financially for just about everyone, jobs were lost, graduation threw a lot of my friends into the real world with no direction and no job prospects. However, I still think 2009 was a good year. I had a lot of changes in my life, but things are great for me right now. So, 2009, hate to see you go, but I am excited about the new changes and transformations that will happen in 2010. So bring it twenty ten!
On a sad note, the Siena community lost one of their own on Sunday Night. Our friend Kellie Duggan lost her battle with cancer at the young age of 21. I was extremely sad to hear the news and would ask everyone to say a prayer for Kellie and the Duggan family. Kellie was a great friend and person and will sincerely be missed. You can read her obituary here- http://www.legacy.com/SouthOfBoston-Ledger/DeathNotices.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=138179567
On Thursday, December 17th, Chicora had our official Holiday Celebration. Ashley Hall, a local prestigious private all-girls school whose famous alumni include Barbara Bush, sponsored the most selfless holiday celebration I have ever witnessed in my life. The families of the students at the school donated so much money and gifts, that each of the 400 students who attend Chicora received a huge shopping bag filled with- socks, underwear, an outfit, and at least five brand new toys. Some children even received new winter coats and shoes. Prior to the 17th the teachers at Chicora visited a warehouse that Ashley Hall rents out just for this occasion, and picked out items for their students. Every teacher also received a huge bag full of pens, pencils, paper, and other teaching supplies. I had previously heard about how generous Ashley Hall was, but this far exceeded my expectations. I had the pleasure of taking pictures of the children when they received their presents from Santa and it brought my to tears! I am in awe at how selfless people with wealth can be. It even made the front cover of our local newspaper! You can read the article here- http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/dec/18/season-of-giving/ The entire day left my heart smiling and a warm feeling all over. It made me truly thankful for what I have and truly proud to work at Chicora.
That next day, Friday the 18th, I was supposed to work a full day, come home and pack, then head to Myrtle Beach for the night where my friend Andy lives. The two of us were going to get an early start on Saturday and spend the day in Washington DC sightseeing with our friend from high school Ellen, who lives in Fairfax, VA and is finishing up an engineering degree at George Mason University. Well,it turned out that mother nature had other plans for us! On Friday, the news was flooded with urgent reports of a heavy snow storm coming. So, I worked a half a day, ran home and threw what I could into my car and headed up to pick up Andy. Our plan was to try to beat the snow to Washington DC. South Carolina was hit with a torrential down pour. The kind of driving conditions that make you go about 20mph so you don't hydroplane. It took me over two hours to get to Myrtle Beach, where it normally takes a little over an hour. From there, Andy drove the rest of the way.
The rain did not slow down and stayed the same until we reached North Carolina where we reached our old friend SNOW. We hit it earlier than expected. The snow was coming down just as steadily as the rain did. The driving conditions were AWFUL! Luckily, Andy had some experience driving in the snow. Not so luckily, the coastal areas of North Carolina/Virginia rarely sees snow, therefore the people who live (and drive) in the coastal North Carolina/Virginia areas DO NOT KNOW HOW TO DRIVE IN THE SNOW. Sorry for the caps, but it is the only way to emphasize how bad these people were driving! Now, I know that I am not a good driver in the snow. I know, I know, I grew up in New York and went to college for 4 years in upstate New York. I really have no excuse. However, I do not get behind the wheel of a car when it snows. Other non snow drivers should do the same! We were going between 5mph-20mph the entire way on Route 95 from the middle of NC up to Fairfax, VA. A half a mile did not pass where we didn't see cars on the side of the road, either because they consciously decided to pull over or because they slid there. At one point we were in the left lane, a good sized pick up truck was in the middle lane, and an 18 wheeler was in the right lane. We witnessed the pick up truck lose control of the car and slam right into the 18 wheeler. It made an awful noise and scared me to death!
To make a long (13.5 hours long to be exact) and boring story short, we made it to Ellen's at 3:30am where our wonderful host was curled up on the couch waiting for us. We made dinner and a drink and went right to bed. We woke up to a winter wonderland and a van stuck in her front yard. Really people, learn how to drive in the snow, drive with someone who knows how to drive in the snow or stay at home! I'm not staying the storm wasn't bad, but I have seen worse in New York. We made the best of it in Fairfax. Although I did not get to see the sites of Washington DC we had fun trekking to the grocery store in the snow and catching up. We even roughed it to walk to a sports bar to watch the Cowboys/Saints game. All in all, it made for a good story and we made it home Sunday without any trouble.
I had an amazing two week vacation at home. Having a nice long break is an excellent perk of working in a school. To all my education major friends- you picked well! I kept busy during my time home. On that Tuesday I met three of my college roommates in NYC to do some fun touristy things. We saw the tree- which we all thought looked a little smaller than normal, but I guess we are just getting older. We just enjoyed each others company and took in the sites. There's something about the notoriously cold and unfriendly city on New York around Christmas time that just gives it a warm and inviting character. It's one of the many reasons I am in love with the city! I got my New York pizza fix, and besides the calories being posted on the pizza (I hate this NYC law) I throughly enjoyed it- Hey I walked a lot that day! No one makes pizza like the hole in the wall NYC pizza joints.
Christmas was just the four of us and it made for a nice and quiet holiday.It marked my first Christmas of almost all adult gifts! I got a lamp, a george forman grill, some fancy coach coasters, a spice rack, work clothes and lots of groceries. All things I needed and will enjoy. I also got money and a gas card! yay! That night we had a delicious dinner of surf and turf. It was a truly wonderful Christmas with a lot to be thankful for!
In between Christmas and New Years was packed with lots of fun events as well. On that Saturday, I got together with my girl friends from High School and we had a pot luck dinner as our Christmas gifts to eachother. I made my mom's famous taco dip and some quessidilla roll ups. We also had chicken parm, penne a la vodka, vegetarian lasagna, salad and cookies. It was a fun and budget friendly way to celebrate Christmas with old friends. The next day, my Aunt Jean and Grandmother came to visit from Pittsburgh. We had a lot of fun! We went into NYC for a day and also saw the tree and other sites. Times Square was crazy getting ready for the New Year's Eve Celebration. We considered eating somewhere else for lunch but went back to our favorite little Italian place on Restaurant Row called DaRosina. Don't fix what's not broken, right? It was fun to have another Christmas celebration and great to see them as well.
I got to go to a Siena Basketball game while I was home as well and spend a night in Albany. It was really great to see everyone. Before meeting up with my friends I got a chance to stop by my old job at the Siena Friary. It was so great to see my old boss Mark and a couple of the friars. I worked there for four years during college and it was the best job I ever had! It might be the only job I'll ever have where I looked forward to going to work. We caught up with each others lives and promised to keep in touch more. Then it was off to Kaitlyn's cute Brownstone apartment right off of Lark Street. A lot of Siena grads settle in the Albany area. Hanging out with everyone made me miss my alama mater a lot. The game was great- We played St. Josephs and were tied at half, but the Saints continued their 28-game winning streak at home and won in the end!
I rang in the new year with friends in Long Beach. A lot of people have been hating on 2009. It was a tough year financially for just about everyone, jobs were lost, graduation threw a lot of my friends into the real world with no direction and no job prospects. However, I still think 2009 was a good year. I had a lot of changes in my life, but things are great for me right now. So, 2009, hate to see you go, but I am excited about the new changes and transformations that will happen in 2010. So bring it twenty ten!
On a sad note, the Siena community lost one of their own on Sunday Night. Our friend Kellie Duggan lost her battle with cancer at the young age of 21. I was extremely sad to hear the news and would ask everyone to say a prayer for Kellie and the Duggan family. Kellie was a great friend and person and will sincerely be missed. You can read her obituary here- http://www.legacy.com/SouthOfBoston-Ledger/DeathNotices.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=138179567
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