Completely Obsessed with Home

Back from the dead. I mean,ahem two kids.

2010-08-21T05:12:00.000-07:00

Random Blogging Stranger: "Why, Ruby Mama, did you fall of a cliff?"

Me: Nope. Just had another baby and been busy trying to keep my marbles intact.

Random Blogging Stranger: "But, Ruby Mama, I mean, come on. How hard can managing two little babies POSSIBLY be? I mean, REALLY?"

Me: *glaring*

Random Blogging Stranger: "I mean, really, you're just a stay at home mom. What do you do ALL day?"

Me: Now, bloggy friends, this is where us mamas with filthy mouths would unite and give RBS whatfor. But now I have been TRYING to keep the potty mouth to a minimum with the kiddos starting to repeat things, so instead, I will just glare. A lot.

So, what do I DO all day, you ask? That's what this little blog is all about. I do quite a bit, thank you very much. I do the cleaning, I do ALL the cooking, the menu planning, the shopping, the diaper changing, the bathing, the planning, the budgeting, the checkwriting, the vacation research and booking, the ironing, the organizing, and, oh yeah, all that baby raising so my kids don't turn out to be total snotty nose punks. Just a few things.

But here's the thing---ultimately, when it really comes down to it, does it really matter to me what y'all think? (this is me trying to be a bit Southern even though I'm a Northeast Jew.) Nope. The truth of the matter is, when my husband walks through the door every night after a hard day's work to put this roof over our heads and the food on our table and the occasional chinese takeout dinner on our plates, he is welcomed by a clean house, hot food (yes, sometimes chinese, but rarely these days), bills paid on time, and well mannered babies that are fed, bathed and ready for bedtime. That's the only approval methinks we need. Just sayin'.

Kisses!
Ruby Mama

Boiling Your Sponges

2010-02-22T05:21:00.000-08:00

So, I've been working with my beloved sponges for quite some time now. I don't buy just any ordinary sponges, oh no, my friends. I buy special Israeli sponges that have cleaning superpowers. They motivate me to clean. No, really. I guess holy land sponges really are special.

So on my special superpowered sponges are tons of germs, grease, grime, and soap. Yes, soap. I kid you not. Here's why: after realizing how much paper product I was wasting and how much moolah I was wasting on buying said wasteful paper product, I decided instead I would wipe down all surfaces with a wet, hot, soapy sponge. Sounds a little dirty, doesn't it? *oh yeah* So, after wiping down counters with wet, hot, *cue sexy voice* sponge I mop excess soapy hot water with a good old fashioned plain white kitchen bar towel. Every day I throw the used one in the laundry and rotate them. I just throw them in with a load of whatever is going in. I'm not a fussy laundry lady, I know, horrible right? I don't even seperate lights from darks! *gasp!*

So today I am boiling my sponges to kill off all the germs. I figure I should do this about once a week to keep the life of my special sponges going.

Do you boil your sponges?

Me :)

Doing it yourself--Cleaning That Nasty S%$t Out of Your Tub

2010-02-13T09:26:00.000-08:00

Well, as I posted before, we got rid of our cleaning lady about two or so weeks ago. I had her coming 2x/month to help with the heavy duty cleaning. What I have found out is this: having someone else do all the heavy cleaning is much nicer than doing it yourself. HOWEVER, and this is a biggie--there is no more sense of a pride you have when your house is clean, smells fresh, the beds are made with freshly laundered sheets, and YOU DID IT ALL YOURSELF. Golly gee, I feel awesome. I just finished wiping down all the surfaces in our home and scrubbing the tub out. I like a nice, fresh, white tub.

So onto the point of this post--I think there is NOTHING more disgusting than when you go to someone's house and take a peek inside their bathrooms and you see nasty films of SHIT lining their tubs. *I say this with love to all my ladies out there with this very problem--clean that shit up, cuz it's gross--you know it, I know it, we all know, just bite the bullet and clean the shit up.*

So, having said that, let me also say this. I fucking hate cleaning tubs. I hate cleaning that nasty shit out of the tub, and I hate getting on my knees to do it. BUT--here's the thing! Ready? I bought new awesome lemony cleaning products and special cleaning brushes to do it, and I timed myself. Guess what? IT AIN'T SO BAD! It took me about 10 minutes from start to finish to clean out the tub, wipe down all the tiles, and scrub out the sink. I didn't get to the floor today because I had already vacuumed the bath rug and floor and am waiting to do the floors when I clean the other hard surface floors.

So here's what I did--I bought a nice new lemony fresh scented bottle of Comet, some new scrubby sponges, and a long brush with sharp, hard bristles (gotta get that nasty scummy stuff out of that tub!), and I got to work. I put the water on hot shower mode for a few seconds to wet all the surfaces. Then I sprinkled the comet on all the hard surfaces I wanted to scrub. (A little goes a long way here.) Wet my sponge, and in sharp circular motions scrubbed down everything on the walls. Then for the tub floor, I used my long brush to scrub out all the nasties until that tub was shining up at me. Then with the sponge, wiped everything down. Ran the water, and with an old washcloth, I washed everything down. Did the same with the sink. It really didn't take long at all and I realized if I keep up with this every week, my tub will thank me for it and it will take even less time next time I do it.

I don't need no damn cleaning lady! I can do this myself!

Just wanted to share.

Hmmm...now what else can I use that lovely smelling lemony scented Comet on???

Me :)

Work That Dutch Oven Like a MoFo!

2010-02-11T16:10:00.000-08:00

Anyone else obsessed with your Dutch Oven? Do you even own a Dutch oven? if you don't, why are we EVEN TALKING???? Get thee to the store and get yourself a big fatty, pronto! I own a deep blue beauty, a 5 quart Le Crueset suckah. I received it as a wedding gift, so don't go getting all snotty like, where the fuck does she get off advising me to buy some stupid ass dutch oven that costs like a million dollars. Bitch. No, I kid, I am not a bitch and I'm just as broke ass as the rest of you, I really did get it as a gift. Like I would go spend $250 on a piece of cookware. *snort* Right. Ok. Maybe?

So check it--I have resorted to using my dutch oven pretty much on a daily basis. Why you ask? Not only because it causes spontaneous orgasm from the food that exits said dutch oven, but in all honesty, simply because it really is the easiest tool in my kitchen. I think of it as my crockpot on crack, sort of. I make just about EVERYTHING in that sucker, and I also feel like I am a REAL cook, not just some bullshit stay-at-home-mom trying to cook. As my best friend Leslie said, "It's the Louis Vuitton of cookware." So true, my friend, so true.

So what can you make in a dutch oven, you ask? Well just about every fucking dish known to mankind. Sorry for the cussing, but it was necessary to get the point across. What did I make last night? Roast chicken, roasted potatoes, and yes, all in my one, big, fatty, blue dutch oven.

You want the recipe, doncha? *Cue pussy cat dolls music: doncha? doncha!*

Ok, so here it is: ready? Super easy. (While you are reading this, set your oven to 350 degrees, 375 for a larger bird)

You will need:

one big fat bird, any brand, any weight, I usually buy a 5-7 pound oven roaster, whatever is on sale. Sometimes I buy a chicken cut up, it's cheaper and hey, they did the heavy work for me. There is usually a $2-3 dollar difference in price, so it's worth looking into. Put your big fatty bird in a baking pan or big baking tray on your counter and set it aside. I find this easier to season the chicken and you won't get chicken juice everywhere. Can we say cross contamination? Fucking gross.

potatoes cut up in huge chunks (I do yellow yukon gold potatoe, but I've used all kinds--they all work just fine, it's a matter of, again, what's on sale and my wallet allows me to buy without throwing a fit)

cut up 1 or 2 onions (do NOT use frozen for this recipe, you actually have to cut the fucking onion for this. ugh.)

chicken bouillon of choice, I use the Israeli brands (telmek or osem)

some olive oil, kosher salt (cuz hey, I'm a Jew! no really, it does cook better with kosher salt. It's a Jewish chicken. Oy!), paprika, and garlic powder.

So here's whatcha do:

Start your oven up. I use 350 degrees for a long slow cook or 375 for a faster cook and with a big bird or multiple birds.

Sprinkle some olive oil on the bottom of your big fatty dutch oven.

Ok, you ready for the difficult part? Get ready for me to blow your mind! Throw your diced potatoes and onions and a heaping TABLESPOON of chicken bouillon into the big fatty dutch sucker with the oil already in it. Toss everything around to get it nice and evenly coated. Make love to those taters. Love 'em down, nice and slow like.

Now, once that is on the side, (it took you like, what, ten seconds to put that together, right?) lets get to your big fatty chicken. So, you have her laying like an anxious lover on her baking pan. Take the innards out and set them aside. I do this in the baking pan in my sink so that I don't get any gross chicken juice anywhere else. I do NOT want bacteria chicken juice getting anywhere near my counter where I sometimes put a formula case or a baby bottle. Fucking gross.

Contrary to popular belief, you do not need to coat the skin with oil or butter! You also don't have to wash the chicken! Just taker her right out of her package and season her ass!Sprinkle a very generous amount of salt all over the chicken, then garlic powder, and last, the paprika. Turn her ass over and do the same to the other side. Rub everything into the skin, and get all those little crevices. Don't worry if you think you put too much salt, it's supposed to have a nice coating.

Put your seasoned bird on top of your nice patient potatoes and close the lid. Bake that big fat sucker for about a good 2 hours and serve. For a cripy skin, leave the lid off the last 45 minutes.

Now the best part about working with the dutch oven? You have leftovers? Put the whole pot right in the fridge and take it out the next day and throw it in the oven and serve all over again.

Give her a try. I dare ya!

Needs vs. Wants--The Coveted Tupperware Cereal Container

2010-02-06T05:35:00.000-08:00

Hi--Well, I seriously thought I was just sending random thoughts out to noplace in nowhereland (a.k.a. the blogosphere!), but apparently people are reading! So touched! It's inspired me to FIND the time to get with it and jot my thoughts and digital pics down. So, here's my update:

Yesterday, hubs and I went to Target to do a little pantry shopping for snacks, cereals, cleaning products, and a birthday present for a friend's baby. I love one stop shopping. Saves my ass with the two munchkees. You know that whole conversation we had about making sure what we were purchasing was stuff we felt we really "needed" and not "wanted?" It's PAAAAAIIIIINFUL.

Example: We were strolling down the tupperware aisle in Target. And if you are like me, tupperware and organizational boxes stacked in neat, orderly, classified manners makes my 'lil heart do dances and flips. I want to scoop them all up and bring them home and organize to my heart's content! So there I am, about to do the pee-pee dance when I see IT! The new amazing item that will totally make my organizational dreams come true! The cereal tupperware container! Oh how beautiful it was! All shiny, new, plasticky and clear! How it would organize my pantry! I had visions of beautiful pantryness and started to breathe heavy. This was it! I needed to have this item! IMMEDIATELY! Well, then. I picked that little puppy up and hugged her tight and put her right in our shopping cart. And then I looked at hubs. Not. So. Fast.

Said dear, amazing, saintly man of mine: "Um, honey, what is that?"

Said I, wifely, domestic goddess that I am: "Babe, duh! It's a cereal holder. It's to keep our cereal fresh! And see? It's clear! I can see what cereal is in it!"

Said dear, amazing, saintly man of mine: "Babe. Come on. We don't need that. Remember, we're supposed to be careful with our money."

Said I, wifely, domestic goddess that I am: "Hon! I totally need it!" Insert hair flip and furrowed brow. "You spill flakes all over the kitchen floor all the time from those stupid cereal bags. With THIS amazing totally needed product, you won't spill any flakes."

Then hubs looked at me with a "You know you are totally ridiculous here, right?" look, and said, "Babe, if the flakes spill, I'll clean them up. We only have one type of cereal in the house, and there's a label on the damn box. We don't need the container. Put it back." Sadly, he was right. We really do only eat one kind of cereal, and the truth is, we didn't really need that amazing airtight clear plastic container. I just really, really wanted it. I gave her one last little hug and whispered, "Someday, you will be with me." *sniff* So, off we went to continue our shopping.

This being on a budget and consulting each other about everything we buy is going to be hard.

I'll post soon on how that whole cleaning-on-a-schedule-to-keep-up-with-what-my-cleaning-lady-did-thing is going. Holy crap, it sucks.

Ruby!

New year, new goals-let's cut the shit.

2010-01-26T11:26:00.000-08:00

Ok people, sorry it has been so long, BUT with 2 babies, life leaves minute time blocks to play around on the internet. But I want to share a real honest to God epiphany that has occurred to me--we be broke! No seriously, we are spending like my husband makes a jillion dollars and really, he doesn't. Hello!? Where has my brain been? Seriously? Every time I blow $20 here for a new shirt from Target or get a pedicure for $30, I am digging away at our savings account. Real quick, here's where I'm at before baby #2 wakes up--

menu planning is now a necessity, not a "I think I'll be responsible and sort of plan what the hell I'm making for dinner now and then."
after reviewing our monthly disposable income and how sad the amount really is, hubs and I made a decision to REALLY BE careful about what we are putting each dollar toward. Do we really NEED that thing? Does it even have a space in our house? can we do without it? For the most part, you bet your sweet money saving ass you can, I just haven't been making the effort!
In an effort to keep more dollars in our bank account, we let our cleaning lady go. While I love her to death and she does an amazing job, that $150 per month is a better use of our money in our bank account.
I am now creating a new cleaning schedule to keep on top of said messy house after firing said wonderful cleaning lady.

Ok, baby crying--gotta run. :) Wish me luck!

Ruby :)

Menu Plan for this week...

2009-12-28T11:49:00.000-08:00

This one is tough. Today I am feeling like POOP, I have not slept properly in DAYS, am still pumping milk like a machine, and have NO CLUE what I will be making for dinner this week. I'm also having MAJOR panic attacks over how much I completely overspent this season on holiday NONSENSE. (Mental note--make it a goal to set aside money every month for the holidays!!!)

So here is what I THINK we will be having for dinner this week:

Monday-Chicken cutlet, rice pilaf, steamed broccoli
Tuesday-italian Chicken sausage and pasta
Wednesday--leftovers :)
Thursday-steak, roasted pots, string beans
Friday-grilled chicken salad wraps and soup
Saturday-grilled cheese and tom soup
Sunday-eating at inlaws

Easy Peezy Pea Soup--A FRUGAL recipe!

2009-12-23T09:27:00.000-08:00

Ok lovely ladies--for those of you looking for the EASIEST, cheapest, fastest, and tastiest meal out there, this is it. It feeds a ton of peeps for, like, NOTHING.

Here's what you need:

bag of cheapo frozen diced carrots ($1)
bag of cheapo frozen diced onions ($1)
bag of cheapo dried peas ($0.79)
ham steak ($3.19) and/OR ham hocks (these are usually around $2.00 at the market)
'lil bit of butter
'lil bit of salt/pepper
'lil bit of chicken bouillon ( I use the Israeli brands that are found in the Kosher section of the grocery store, but any kind will do.)
Ten cups of water
This part is important: A HANDHELD BLENDER. Makes creaming the soup nice and fast. If you don't have one, throw the whole pot of soup into the blender, however, this is highly time consuming.

So, here's what you do--get a big ol' pot, heat up some butter. There's no exact measurement, I threw in a half a stick 'cuz I was feeling saucy. A pat or two will do just fine, though. Once butter is melted, throw in a good chunk of frozen diced onions. This is the greatest invention of all time, they come out tasting totally fresh, I promise. And, you don't have to let your mascara run from dicing and slicing! Let onions become a bit clear. Throw in a half a bag of frozen diced carrots. Stir with butter and get 'em all buttery. Dice up the ham steak to small cubes. Thow that in. Open your bag of dried peas. Throw them into the mixture. Stir everything so it's nice and buttery coated for a few moments, then add about 10 cups of water. Add about 2 heaping tablespoons of chicken bouillon, or a couple of cubes if you are using those, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Stir it up, cover the pot, turn the heat on high until boiling, and then simmer for about an hour. Once it's been boiling for a good long while, you will smell something fantastic coming out of your kitchen, and it will feed an army for super cheapo bucks. Take your handy dandy hand blender and blend away for about 2-3 minutes, more if you prefer a smoother soup. The hand blender leaves nice chunks of carrots and ham pieces. Add any additional salt/pepper to taste and serve with a crusty toasted bread and croutons! Enjoy!

Rubymama :)

**Note about ham hocks--they add an aroma and flavor to the soup that cannot be beat, so if you can get these, they are in the pork section of the meat department. I take them out before blending the soup and serve without them.

An update on that horrid pantry....

2009-12-21T18:14:00.000-08:00

Hi! So remember my horrible pantry that looked like it was a hot ol' mess? She and I spent some quality time cleaning her out and here's how she's looking now. And remember my cluttered dining room table that was becoming a "catch-all?" She's cleaned off! My, she looks good!

Menu Plan for this Week

2009-12-21T04:52:00.001-08:00

Good morning to y'all, and a Happy Christmas Week!

This week's menu plan is short due to travel for the holidays, but here it is!

Monday- Middle Eastern Meatballs
Tuesday-Chicken Parmesan
Wednesday-Easy Peezy Pea Soup & Garlic Bread

Thursday-Saturday we'll be in Albany visiting my sister-in-law's boyfriend's family for Christmas.

Happy Holidays!

Me :)

Problem Areas of My home...

2009-12-18T07:55:00.000-08:00

Hey there and Happy Friday! A few things to keep you in the loop on what I am working on--
Reading a new book by Emilie Barnes--She was a Jew turned Born Again Christian and the lady is just elegance in the written word. I love all her books, and the new one I am reading currently is Simple Secrets to a Beautiful Home-Creating a Place You and Your Family Will Love.
Interestingly enough, I am so NOT loving my home right now. (Take a Look-See at these pics!)Don't get me wrong, I love my home and am thankful to have a wonderful roof over my head as many around the world do not, but I am super Type A clean/neat/declutter freak and I am finding lately that things are just ADDING up and making a mess! Oy! Hello? Can we say COUNTER TOPS????? Ughhhh....

In any event, going to read the book and let you know my thoughts, but in the meantime, I have taken pictures of a few of the problem areas in my home that need SERIOUS tending to. Try not to flinch as you enter my very cluttered and disorganized problem spots! If you have any tips, PLEASE SHARE!!!!

This is one of the shelves in my hallway pantry. That's a bottle rack in the back. What is it doing there?????

This is the top shelf of my pantry. Totally disorganized. Those big tupperware boxes to the right are my flour and sugar. (I bake a ton.)

Here is the full view of the pantry in all her disorganized glory. She was might purty at one point, but *sigh* she needs a little bit of work now.

This is my hutch in my kitchen. It was in the dining room, but after we moved into the new place, it found a nice home in the kitchen.

Ah, now here is a view INTO the kitchen, you can see the disorganized hutch and all the crap that gathers on my countertops!

Keeping up with the house...

2009-12-17T08:49:00.000-08:00

So I am rereading an old favorite, Elizabeth George's A Woman After God's Own Heart. If you have not picked yourself up a copy of this book, do so immediately as it is chock full of FABULOUS advice and a great inspiration. I am Jewish, and while the author is a Christian inspiration writer, I am a well read lady and like to read anything that praises G-d and praises a lady that is interested in her home.

Lately I have been struggling to live the same busy lifestyle I had when I had but one small child, my baby girl Gracee Belle. (Yes, that is actually her name! Some in my family think it sounds a bit too much like a stripper's name, but I think it's adorable.) Anyways, now that I have the little hulkster, it is SOOOO much harder to get out the door. I have to prepare way in advance with my diaper bag. It sounds like it would be no biggie, at least I thought it wouldn't be, until I realized every time I try to get out the door in a timely manner, someone needs a diaper change or clothing change or feeding or sippy cup or snack or SOMETHING. I usually don't get out until at LEAST a half hour after my intended trip! That aside, I have also been feeling major guilt and failure about the upkeep of my home. Don't get me wrong, my home is clean and well kept to a degree, but there is clutter build up from the kids' stuff and sometimes I cannot get my chores done for the day AND get out of the house like I used to.

To get back to my original point--I picked up my old, faded copy of "old faithful," and referred to the chapter on the home, or as she puts it, "weaving a tapestry" of beauty. I was reminded that in order to have a well-kept home, you need to BE HOME. You need to be the "keeper of the home." So, with that in mind, I am resigned to staying home more, getting those piles of laundry done, and realizing that it's ok not to go out every single day, it's just not going to happen with two small children, dinner getting made, AND having a well-kept home. Something has to give, and it seems the out of house trips are it.

That's it for now!

Love-
Rubymama :)

My Menu for this week...

2009-12-14T08:07:00.000-08:00

After all the junky food we have been eating, my hubs has requested a lighter fare this week. Here's what is on our menu for this week:

Monday-grilled steak, baked waffle fries, and salad
Tuesday-pasta with chicken sausage
Wednesday-grilled chicken breasts, salad, and potatoes
Thurdsay-Linguine with clam sauce (not the lightest dish, but it sure is TASTY!)
Friday-Pot roast, potatoes, and salad
Saturday-soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, and leftovers!

Holiday Partying! And mountains of laundry...

2009-12-14T07:55:00.000-08:00

Real quick because my hulk of a son is going to wake up any second and demand to be fed, yet again! Just kidding, he's a doll and such a good baby.

So here is what you must be wondering about:

-how is life with 2 under 2? Oy. Oy vey. *shaking my head*

Honestly? It's wonderful. A little hairy at times, usually the early evenings before both babies are ready for bed, but here's what I have learned in the last weeks: PLAN AHEAD. If you know your evenings are nuts, make sure everything is ready beforehand! That includes dinner for hubs! If you know you need to be out the door early in the morning, have everything ready the NIGHT BEFORE, even when you are drop dead exhausted, you will thank yourself! As I am typing this, I am looking at my kitchen sink with the deepest of dread. It's filled! There are about ten thousand bottles that need rinsing and putting into the dishwasher, and the kitchen counters need to be decluttered. Both babies will need baths tonight and I can't wash the little one in a sink full of dishes!

So, here is what I am up to today:

-menu planning for this week

-Decluttering after all the holiday partying this past weekend (Chanukah stuff!)

-cleaning up around the house

-finish holiday shopping for X-mas party we will be attending at inlaws

-and about ten mountains of laundry!

On a separate note, can we all just note my little Chanukah vignette as you walk into the house? Just look at that menorah! And my table??? It's looking like Chanukah threw up in here, I just love it!

I hope you are all having loving holiday times and getting ready for the rest of the festivities as the year is coming to an end!

Kisses!

Me :)

I'm back!

2009-11-08T05:36:00.000-08:00

Shalom!

I'm back from the last few weeks of hellish, nightmarish moving, closings, packing, and unpacking, all with a newborn and toddler. Oy. I'd like to announce the birth of my son, Michael Jerome, 8 pounds 14 oz, 22 inches long. Holy fat baby! I'd also like to inform you that I am 4'10". No wonder I couldn't walk at the end! I had a c-section and they STILL had to vacuum him out! That's how BIG he was!

I'm going to post some before and after pics of the new place to get some feedback on some things. The pic of my livingroom is what it looks like right this very moment. See my very large mushroom color couch? It's great because it goes with everything, but see the sad, unhappy pillows? They need more stuffing and the throw pillows need some love. Currently, I am working on purchasing new curtains, and then buying coordinating fabrics to redo my livingroom pillows. My mom and I went to the fabric store yesterday, me thinking I would buy fabric and just do a window "mistreatment" as seen at Nester. However, after looking at the cost comparison, we realized it was cheaper to buy the already insulated panels from the home store at $39.99 a panel vs. the $32.50 per YARD price tag of decent fabric at the fabric store. Hubs is going to install the curtain rod and I am going back to the fabric store today to try and mix and match some coordinates.

Will keep you posted as progress happens!

Happy Sunday!

Me :)

A Cheap, Easy Dinner-Eggs a la Leftovers

2009-10-22T08:05:00.000-07:00

Ok--So, I was really tired tonight after visiting my friend and her new baby and traveling and being pregnant. You know, the usual. My husband was working late, and I figured it didn't make sense to make my scheduled dish for tonight-Shephard's Pie. A real meat and potatoes dish. Literally. Ha ha.

So, I checked the fridge, I had eggs, some tomato, frozen onions, a small baggie of leftover baked fries I had made with steak last night, and about a 4 inch stick of turkey kielbasa hanging out, all lonely like. So, I decided to throw it all together and make a great egg dinner for me and my mom. What a great way to get rid of leftovers, huh????

Here's what I did:

Beat up some eggs. I used 4, but add as much or as little as you like. Whisk away, some people add milk, I left them well enough alone. I just beat the hell outta them.

Next, add some butter, like a pat or so, to a frying pan, and add diced onions, 1 tomato, and cut up some turkey kielbasa or regular, and simmer away. When the frozen onion was good and tender and started to brown up, that's when I diced up my previously baked leftover fries from dinner the night before. I use the Orieda frozen steak fries when I make a big fat london broil, so I had a small baggie leftover. Diced them suckers up and threw 'em in the pan. Here's what it looked like:

When the tomatoes are soft, and the onions and potatoes are thoroughly cooked, add your beaten to hell eggs, and then toss until all the eggs are totally cooked through. A pinch of salt and pepper at this point throughout the whole dish go a long way. But not too much--kielbasa is a salty meat to begin with. Good thing we're going low fat with turkey kielbasa!

While you are waiting for everything and making toast to go with your fantastic amazing egg dish and feeling so good about using all that leftover stuff hanging out in your fridge, wash a dish or two or three. Multitasking, ladies, it's all about multitasking. I washed my big, ridiculously heavy Le Crueset dutch oven that weighs about fifty thousand pounds. It's good for your arms though!

And then, serve with toast and enjoy. An absolutely delicious, SUPER EASY, quick dinner when you are totally pooped and don't have time or energy to make a huge dish. You can make this for brunch or an afternoon meal, but I only reserve my egg dishes for nights when Hubs is working late. He's HIGHLY allergic to eggs and nuts, so egg dishes are not really served in our home.

Enjoy!

How I Save Money on Baby Clothes

2009-10-21T11:11:00.000-07:00

So take a looksee here: that would be my daughter who is 17 months old sorting through 2 boxes of very much appreciated boys clothing for the new little man set to arrive in a couple of days. This is how I save money on baby clothes. I don't friggin' buy 'em!

There is a saying: What goes around comes around. You've all heard this, I'm sure of it. Well, you've also heard of "Give and you shall receive." Well, let me tell you, I did a ton of giving recently. I gave all my newborn girl stuff away, I gave to various friends, homeless shelters, and I gave to various churches. I was lucky enough to have 2 family members have girls before me, so I took whatever they gave me, and bought very little for my daughter. Baby clothes are NUTTY EXPENSIVE and they outgrow them in, oh, like FIVE SECONDS, so I was happy to not have to buy new outfits for my kid to puke and poop on. Go me, right? Well, I started panicking because I said, what if I have another girl? What am I gonna do? I will have to buy all new clothes again! Well, none of my friends had boy stuff that they could spare because they were saving it for the same reason, what if they had another boy? I said screw it, and gave everything away anyways. Guess what? It's true. Give and you shall receive. Suddenly, I have boy baby clothing coming out of my damn ears! I have not had to buy a thing, honestly! I bought about 2 outfits just because I felt like it, but other than that, I'm set! My friend who has 2 boys shipped me, yes SHIPPED me 2 boxes of clothes today, bless her heart! And one of my husband's coworkers gave us an entire garbage bag of clothes with tags still on them! So, I will continue giving because it seems the saying is true-Give and you shall receive.

Splurging on Skin and Hair? How much do you budget?

2009-10-20T06:30:00.001-07:00

Since I have recently become obsessed with personal finance, budgeting, running a household, being an amazing mother, organizing my home, decorating my home on a budget, and just being the amazing wife and partner that I strive to be, I also have been thinking about how I spend our money on my upkeep. That means my makeup, my hair, my skin, my clothes. Clothes I will get into on a whole other post as I have some GREAT tips that I have picked up along the way, but here's my latest discovery on hair and skin.

When I was a teacher working for the city school system, aka making very little money while working my buns off, I worked with a good girlfriend who had the MOST amazing skin and hair. Long, luscious locks that seemed to shine like silk, perfectly soft, supple skin, and her eyebrows were always shaped to perfection. I once asked her, "How in the hell do you manage to keep your skin and hair in such beautiful condition?? What are you doing or using?" She told me her secret--Spend money where it counts the most. She told me she only uses the best products on her hair and her face because as she sees it, these are the things you cannot fix later on. You cannot get rid of really bad skin and wrinkles without some serious cosmetic surgery, and you will have your skin and hair forever, so you should take the time and money to take the very best care of it. How do you do this? What is your budget for beauty needs?

Before we had our little discussion, I used to use decent products you would find in your typical drug store. I'm talking I would spend $7 MOST on facewash. I don't really use moisturizer as I have oily skin to begin with, so as long as I use a good facewash, my skin stays great. Anyways, after she told me about the Chanel facewash she was using, I bit the bullet and tried it out. I have to say--I almost guffawed at the price, it runs around $48 for one bottle. But hang on to your knickers, my frugal friends---it lasts about 6 months! One tiny dab washes an entire face full of makeup off and leaves your skin feeling and smelling AMAZING. And the difference in your skin texture is UNREAL. I started using it about 3 years ago and tried going back to regular products that don't cost a small fortune, but you know what? There really WAS a difference. So, that $48 is incorporated into our budget. I figure if you break it out by month, it's $8 you need to set aside every month to personal grooming. I'm ok with that.

Now for hair--I used to go to a salon and have my hair highlighted--this was becoming ridiculously expensive. Especially when we went from an income of $115K income to $85K and had a baby on the way. (For those of you gasping and saying, wow, what a great income, let me assure you, living where we do, you need about $150K to start living remotely comfortably. One bedroom apartments in a decent neighborhood will run you $1200 a month.) I am a brunette, so quite honestly, I didn't even notice the difference between when I would get it highlighted with reddish brown pieces and when it was dyed all one single color. Guess what? Nobody else did either! I used to pay $65 for a haircut until I discovered the joys of growing my hair a little bit longer and getting it trimmed at Supercuts instead. I now budget $20 every 2-3 months for a haircut at Supercuts. Now for hair color--I started dying it myself, and I look for deals on the weekly circulars and then purchase. I have VERY VERY stubborn horrible greys, so I need to dye my hair pretty much every 4-6 weeks or I start to look a bit, how shall I say? Old and worn? I switched to home coloring products about 3 months ago when I got the OK from the doctor to color my hair, and while it took me a little while to figure out how to do it correctly, I am getting pretty good at it at this point. Some of you may ask if I have a favorite product--I don't. I have found they all do EXACTLY the same thing. Except, I will say, I tried the new Loreal 10 minute dye, and it sucked. Waste of money. I switched to Clairol, worked great, Garnier Nutrisse worked great, and Revlon cheapie color worked great too. But, like I said earlier, I'm a basic brunette, so I really didn't need anything fancy.

The Long and Short of It:
So, here is the rundown of my beauty upkeep budget:

$10/month for Chanel Facewash, purchase a new bottle every 5-6 months--(I use the Radiance pink label one)
$8/month for haircut every 3 months (I grow my hair a bit longer, and trim as needed)
$7/month for hair dye at home every 4-6 weeks (I usually can find this much cheaper, but I put it in the monthly budget all the same)

I have found I can skimp on my hair color and haircuts as long as I trim regularly and condition my hair well with good product, but I can't skimp on my facewash.

What is your beauty upkeep budget? Any suggestions on products? I am going to try out the new Olay Regenerist that just came out and claims to be better than the expensive creams. I'm willing to give it a shot!

Remember: Spend the money where it counts the most--on things that matter! Your face and hair MATTER!!!!!

How do you look at a really bad time?

2009-10-20T05:04:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!! I am so excited because a lovely lady, Sharon, left me a comment on my post about the Swedish meatballs. I gotta say, if you have not tried them, TRY THEM. They came out SOOOOOO tender, the gravy is delish, and it took me about five seconds to make them and I was good for dinner for the family for the day. It was such a pleasure to come home and have half the meal done!

Now, onto latest news--I will be a bit MIA for the next few days/weeks as it is THE CRAZIEST time of my life. One of these days, probably when I am in the hospital and bored to tears from crappy TV and taking a break from breastfeeding my new baby, I will share how we got here. But let me give you the brief rundown so if you are having a crazy time, you can feel a little better about your situation!

Checklist for the Next Week:

-Wednesday, blood work for C-Section.

-Thursday, be at hospital for C-Section, give birth.

-Friday-Sunday, try and look somewhat presentable while recovering from surgery, nursing, not sleeping while various friends and family come up for visits. (Let me say, I am a big believer that if you are scheduled for birth, you might as well try and look good if you don't have to go through any labor process as I did not. Take a look at my fab makeup and hair from my first birth! That's the pic with me and my mom...)

-Monday, get released from hospital, come home, finish packing up house.

-Tuesday, finish packing, clean up apartment, make sure home is presentable for walkthrough with the buyers.

-Wednesday, back to back closings on our 2 bedroom apartment to buy our new 3 bedroom apartment. Must sit at closing table for at least 3-4 hours with newborn and still recovering from surgery and breastfeed amongst various lawyers. Hmmm.

-Thursday, Baby's Bris at father in law's house. (For those of you who don't know what this is, it's the Jewish ceremony where we circumsize a baby boy. In our culture it's a really joyous occasion where this newborn little boy is welcomed into our faith and he is officially named and his life is celebrated. I'm of course not excited for the procedure, but the gathering of family is something to look forward to.) Then go home and pack some more.

-Friday, Official move date into new apartment.

PHEW!!!! Anyone wanna cry with me???

So here was why I titled the post the way I did:

When I think about it, I get ridiculously overwhelmed, but then I remember all the people that are currently without jobs or in the process of losing their homes, or just trying to make ends meet--then I realize what the hell am I whining about? Sure, it's a stressful time, things could not all be happening at a worse time (hello? Surgery, not sleeping, breastfeeding, plus a toddler running amok? Moving, packing, mortgages, closing documents all while trying to set up for a newborn to come home? And ordering catering??? ugh.), BUT I am lucky enough to be moving into a new bigger apartment. I am lucky enough that my husband has a good, stable job in a shaky economy. I am lucky enough that I have a supportive family willing to help out where I need it. (Thanks mom!) I am lucky enough to have one amazing baby girl and a new son on the way. What the hell am I whining about? So what if my bank account has been screaming at me? So what if I am nervous about closing costs? So what if I have to sit at closing table for four hours less than a week after major abdominal surgery--it will be worth it all in the end, right?

How do you handle your really stressful times? Please share. Especially share if you have a REALLY hairy story about moving or buying/selling a place!

Ammie :)

Results of Swedish Meatballs a la Crockpot

2009-10-13T16:49:00.000-07:00

I have to say, this recipe turned out GREAT. This was my first go at it, and it was awesome. Since I was only feeding 3 adults and a baby, I used half the package of meatballs, 1 can of mushroom soup, 1 jar of gravy, 1 big heaping scoop of sour cream, and set it on low for about 6 hours. I threw in half a box of al dente penne and served it up with some parmesan/garlic bread that I had made and frozen previously. I was going to serve it with sauerkraut, but it was so good on its own, honestly, it didn't really need anything. Hubs, who is an uber picky eater, was practically licking the plate. Enjoy! I will definitely be trying this one again!

On a seperate note, called my Vanguard 401K plan to try and get them to roll it over into my husband's account and found out I couldn't do it. Instead, I rolled it over into a traditional IRA and since we are young enough to play with the money, I picked an aggressive growth income fund. The cool part about this is that I get to monitor what fund it is sitting in and how it is doing. It's not a big fund, only $7800 right now, but it's better than nothing!!! (And at least I stopped procrastinating and got something done!)

Long day out, must have crockpot!

2009-10-13T04:55:00.001-07:00

Hey there! Today I have to be out all day. My mom and I are visiting my girlfriend who is giving birth on Tuesday (2 days before me!). This is her first, so we are going to go over and check out her nursery and go over any last minute things she might need. Since she lives out in New Jersey about an hour away from me and we will probably be the majority of the day, I need to prepare some kind of dinner that is painless for my poor pregnant self. Then the bulb goes off--the crockpot.

Anyone out there new to the crockpot world like me? I was lucky enough to receive one as a gift from my wonderful mother in law, complete with one of those books that have about a billion crockpot recipes. Well, one weekend when we were visiting friends, my girlfriend made a WONDERFUL recipe of Swedish Meatballs a La Crockpot. The best part was that most of the ingredients were ready made or could be easily made. It feeds a ton of people, so you either have to cut the recipe in half, or freeze the leftovers. Since it's just me and the hubs and the baby (and the one on the way!), I will probably freeze a good half of it and pull it out next week or over the weekend.

Here are the ingredients:

-2 jars of Heintz beef flavored gravy

-1-2 cans of cream of mushroom soup (I'm using one for this time as I don't want too much gravy)

-about a cup or so of sour cream (you can lessen or add to your taste)

-1 package of frozen ITALIAN meatballs, not SWEDISH meatballs--this is important as the italian ones have a better flavor in my opinion--don't worry, it comes out great! (FYI, I buy the turkey balls, lower in fat!)

Throw everything in the crockpot, set it on high for 4-6 hours or low for 9-12 hours. I serve over pasta with crusty bread and saurkraut, my girlfriend serves it with crusty bread and red cabbage --I couldn't find it at my supermarket though, so I use saurkraut. Did I spell that right??? hmmmm.

Hope you have a lovely day!

Starting off...

2009-10-12T18:29:00.001-07:00

Hi there and welcome! This is a totally new experience for me, so until I have my bearings straight up--let me start off by letting you know where I am and what I stand for.

Currently, am 9 months pregnant with baby #2, due next week (wish me luck!), I have a daughter who is the light of my life and is 16 months old. We are currently waiting on the closing of our 2 bedroom apartment so that we can finalize the sale of our new 3 bedroom apartment. I'm at home full time with my baby and learning how to run a tight ship, steward my husband's hard earned income to our benefit, become a coupon savvy shopper (this is totally new to me as well!), menu plan, decorate on a budget, CREATE a budget, get us out of debt, save for retirement, and try to do it all with a smile and cute outfit. I greatly admire the proverbs 31 woman, I am always seeking spiritual guidance and reading new books on how to be a better wife, mother, lover, and woman. I'm certainly not where I want to be, but a gal's gotta have goals, right? We live in one of the most expensive counties in the country, Westchester, right outside one fo the most expensive cities in the country, NYC. Still, we are somehow managing to move up, save, plan, and live. Are we where we need to be? Certainly not. But I am going to share how we do it, how we did it, what are our challenges, goals, and what still has yet to be accomplished.

So here is where we are now: OCTOBER GOALS. And this will probably change about ten times.

Start the process of calling all the brokerage firms that have all our different 401K plans from all me and hubby's jobs so that we can roll everything into one big fat account that will hopefully grow to MASSIVE proportions by the time we are in our sixties. This has been a goal that is looming and not getting done for a while, even though we have talked about it a million times. Stop procrastinating and get it done, already! Ugh!
Read the manual for Quicken 2008 that I just rented from the library and acclimate myself to the program. Still totally confused by it, but I'm a smarty pants so I'll figure it out. (The actual reading and playing with the program may take place while I am in hospital recovering from my c-section, but that's life. Gotta have something to do while recovering from surgery, right??)
Stick to our budget that I set up in mint.com (just tried the online software for the first time last week--I'll post a review of this shortly as I become a bit better aquainted with it, but so far so good.) I will also post details of our monthly budget so you can see how we are doing and give me your thoughts and suggestions.
Finish reading All Your Worth, a new recommendation that I read about on the Get Rich Slowly website. (If you haven't checked out that blog, do so NOW, it's chock full of WONDERFUL advice!)

On a seperate not money involved goal--get baby stuff ready for new bundle of joy coming in 10 days! Oy vey!