The Bare Necessities of Life

I grew up not having a lot. Things that I had got sold or stolen.  My first stepfather was constantly selling our belongings so we could have money to either pay the bills we racked up or to move once those bills lead to things getting turned off. It was a constant cycle of him having an influx of money to buy us all kinds of stuff then selling it all when we were broke. This cycle continued for about 10 years. Then a few years after my mom divorced him, I experienced my first theft. I was 16 years old and my mom's boyfriend stole several pieces of nice jewelry I had (plus some other stuff of ours) and pawned it for drug money. Two of the pieces of jewelry were quite precious to me. One was my mother's engagement ring from my real dad. The other was a ring that belonged to my great aunt. It was given to me by her husband after she passed away a few years before. I was devastated that something like that could happen. And by someone in our home, that we trusted. I left my mother's home shortly thereafter. But would return a little over 2 years later when I found myself pregnant and alone. I then began to realize how hard life was. Money was not easy to come by, we were struggling to make ends meet. My mother and I worked some and we got assistance from the state. We shopped at thrift stores and yard sales. We lived wondering if we would have food for the next meal, or enough money to pay the rent.  I realized it was the same as when I was growing up only we didn't get influxes of money and go on shopping sprees. We were wise with our money. We didn't have a whole lot but we made it.

All throughout my twenties I lived this way. I had 2 more kids and more times than not I was living away from my mother. I was married but separated from my husband. I didn't do so well. I had a hard time keeping a job, I was still constantly moving. It was hard as hell. I had boyfriend after boyfriend who more often than not helped out financially but it was still hard. When my husband and I got back together it was no different.  We lived in an apartment that had a laundromat but I hardly ever used it because we couldn't afford it. I washed clothes and towels out by hand and hung then throughout the apartment to dry. I remember one time counting 17 loads of dirty laundry on my bedroom floor. It was overwhelming to say the least. I didn't work and my husband would only give me enough money for the bills.  No extra. Ever. We had food stamps so that bought the groceries.

I was in college, taking classes online and was receiving financial aid. Every so often I would get a nice chunk of the money left over from my Pell grants after my tuition was paid. I spent that money like there was no tomorrow.  I was frugal with it. I still bought things secondhand but I had this intense desire to have THINGS.  Clothes, shoes, stuffed animals, purses, THINGS. Things I no doubt could live without. Well some of them at least.

My husband and I separated again and I moved home.  I stayed with my mother for a bit. Once talk of a divorce was in the works and I had seen firsthand that my husband had moved on and found someone else,  I did the same.  I met Nick.  A self-employed, hard working man. We moved in with him and his children and he and I married the next year. Nick makes a decent amount of money. We're not rich financially but we somehow make it. My desire for THINGS was still there and for the last 6 years I have continued to feed that desire. Some of it has been frugal, some has not. I guess after not having much for so long, I've gotten a little crazy now that I find myself with a little extra money. My husband (Nick) gives me full access to the money. I always pay the bills (though I did forget the gas bill a few times and it got cut off but I learned my lesson lol). When I first moved in here, he didn't have a whole lot (he says he likes it that way, he doesn't need a whole lot), I also didn't have a whole lot, having to leave behind a ton of stuff when I left my first husband.  Now our home is cluttered,  we have too much. Way too much. I'm a little ashamed of it. But I know how to fix it. I have to get rid of all the unnecessary stuff we don't need. I'm working on it slowly but surely.  I'm ok with it. I'm slowly realizing I don't need THINGS.

Another area I'm working on is our groceries.  I buy a lot of food. We have 3 teenagers. But the more food I buy, the more they eat. Nick and I are obese. That's from eating a lot of food. Plus we go out to eat more often than we should.  I spend way too much money on food. I make what Nick calls "elaborate" meals. I don't think they're necessarily elaborate. I never really learned how to cook, plus I hate cooking. I'm a mess I know. Pintrest has been my life saver. So many recipes!!! Anyway Nick and I had a come-to-Jesus meeting last night over the groceries.  We are fixing to go bare minimum there too. Lots of beans and rice!!!! Sandwiches, pancakes, oatmeal,  grits, chili, soups. Cheap stuff!!! So that's where I'm at. Letting go of THINGS and learning to do with the Bare Necessities. 

An Open Letter to My Cat

My Dearest Midnight,

Three years ago I decided I wanted a cat. A playful, cute, loving kitten that would provide me with endless hours of joy. Instead I got you.

I drove to Petsmart and stood behind the window watching all the cute kitties up for adoption. I watched them play and meow and sleep. I saw you there in the cage with your siblings and thought you were the cutest thing on four legs. You were playful and cute. I asked if I could pick you up and hold you. You loved on me. I fell in love.

Like any new mother I then spent hundreds of dollars on all the necessary essentials for you including food and cat litter. I bought cute food and water bowls, an awesome dome litter box that had filters to trap the smell of kitty business. I bought a poop scooper and scented poop bags. I bought cat treats and toys, a cute collar and an engraved tag. I wanted you to have the very best.

Then I brought you home to meet your new family. For about a month you were everything I had hoped for. You played with your toys and jumped around being all cute and sweet. You were very loving and purred so loud it made my heart sing. And then you changed. You played less and less, you got fat and lazy, you ignored us and became very demanding, only paying us attention when your food bowl was empty or you wanted to go outside. (Apparently you were now too good for that awesome and expensive litter box.) By now we were all quite attached to you and the honeymoon stage was over. You had showed us your true colors. Well played Midnight, well played.

I still loved you with all my heart but longed for the kitty you used to be. Then last week we were told of an adorable kitten who needed a home. My hopes for a playful, cute, and loving kitten were ignited once again! Then Ollie moved in. He is wonderful! He plays all the time and is so adorable. He's so loving and curls up next to me and sleeps with me all night. He's funny and friendly. All the things you used to be..... And you hate him.

You growl at him and swat at him. You even eat his food. On purpose might I add because after three years you know darn well where your food bowl is. You're intimidating and mean. And might I add, JEALOUS.

Have I not still loved on you since he got here? Do I not still play with you? And don't I still feed you and let you out at 3 AM when you demand it? The only thing that has changed here buddy is you!

Well you're just gonna have to chill out mister because Ollie is here to stay. And so are you..... My heart is big enough for the both of you. You're my first love and nothing is gonna change that. Not even you being mean to the baby cat. So stop. He is not replacing you. I was hoping you two could be friends and maybe he could teach you how to be playful and loving again (cause you're still cute in my eyes.) But my luck you'll just teach him to be grumpy and demanding like you.

Oh well, guess I'll have to get a dog.........

Homeschool Day 2

Yesterday we began our 2nd year of homeschooling.  I'm homeschooling my 3 little ones. Morgan is still in public school.  I woke up at 5:45 and got Morgan off to school. I did my devotional,  did 30 minutes on the elliptical,  took a shower, got dressed,  got the kids up and ready and started school. It went well. It was fun. We took a break mid morning and still finished by noon. I cleaned house after lunch, watched a little Netflix,  ran some errands,  cooked dinner, cleaned some more, relaxed a little and went to bed. I was very productive and proud of myself......
Today it is raining. I am tired. I am sitting at the kitchen table in my pjs. The kids are trying to get up and motivated. I didn't exercise this morning.  I didn't get dressed.  We haven't started school today yet. I wanna go back to bed......so do the kids. So we'll get started and finish a little later than yesterday and then......I'm taking a nap!!!!!

Successfully Strawberry

So I like ice cream. And by like I mean LOVE. I was tickled to death when Nick bought me an ice cream maker for my birthday last year. I immediately began making ice cream and searching for recipes. The recipes are hard to find. I don't like the ones that call for eggs. Something about it just doesn't sit well with me so I avoid those. Which leaves me very few choices. Of course the instruction manual that came with my ice cream maker had several recipes in it. I did find a mint chocolate chip that I absolutely adore! Nick wanted me to make him blueberry ice cream. He said when he was little he had gotten a blueberry milkshake from somewhere and he says it was to die for. He suggested I make a vanilla ice cream and add a can of blueberry pie filling. I did. He LOVED it. SCORE!!! I like strawberry ice cream and figured I could do the same thing and just add strawberry pie filling. I did. I HATED it. FAIL!!! So I made a peanut butter and a chocolate and a chocolate chip with red food coloring (that one was for Alyssa's birthday)  but I really wanted a strawberry. So I started with the vanilla ice cream base and instead of pie filling I added strawberries and strawberry syrup (same dang thing). Genius!! I used frozen strawberries instead of fresh because I'm lazy lol. Anywho, it turned out delicious. I am so pleased. So here is what it looks like:

Strawberry Ice Cream

1/4 granulated sugar
2 cups half and half
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup fresh/frozen chopped strawberries (I used my little veggie chopper)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup Hershey's Strawberry syrup

Pretty much just mix everything together in a bowl, stir really good then pour it into an ice cream maker. Voila!!!!

Victory In Spaghetti!!

I love spaghetti. I love making spaghetti. My kids love spaghetti. My hubby DOES NOT. Pasta is not even in his vocabulary. So since we have been married (almost 4 years) I have not been able to make spaghetti as much as I would have liked. And I like to make it A LOT. When I make spaghetti I like to saute onions and green peppers and then add it to the meat and jar of sauce. I found out last night that apparently this is where I have been going wrong. Using jarred sauce (I stopped using the sauteed veggies cause the kids complained too much). Why was I using jarred sauce? Because I have a lazy tendency and popping open a jar of sauce and pouring it over the meat is soooo easy. Well last night I decided to try a recipe for homemade spaghetti sauce that I found on Pinterest. I tweaked it some of course :) And you will never guess what happened!! My beloved hubby ate a bowl of my spaghetti..... You're shocked, I know, me too!! Not only did he eat a bowl of my delicious spaghetti but he begged me to make it again exactly the way I made it last night. And he said next time he would even put onions and green peppers in the food processor so the kids wouldn't complain so much about the texture. I was in wife heaven. Spaghetti is one of my favorite foods and now I do not have to suffer any longer by making it only once in a blue moon. The reason I decided to make homemade sauce is that our finances have been a little tight lately (cold weather has slowed hubby's business) and I thought about saving money on our groceries by trying to make as much homemade stuff as I possibly could. I was already making homemade ice cream ever since my hubby bought me an ice cream maker for my birthday. I haven't bought store bought ice cream since. I figured since I am a SAHM and have a decent amount of time on my hands, why not spend a little extra time in the kitchen (and less time on Facebook and playing games on my phone lol) So I have now begun to make more homemade foods and am excited to share them with ya'll! So first up my spaghetti sauce:


Ingredients
1 and 1/2 (29-oz) cans tomato sauce (probably could get away with 1)
1 (8-oz) can tomato paste
2 Tbsp minced garlic (mine comes in a jar lol)
1½ Tbsp oregano
2 Tbsp basil 
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
3 dashes red pepper flakes or crushed red pepper
¼ tsp cayenne
1½ Tbsp sugar 
A few dashes of onion powder (since I didn't do the sauteed veggies)

I added all the ingredients into a big pot, stirred it and brought it to a boil then added my 2 pounds of ground beef that I had already cooked and let the whole thing simmer for 30 minutes.....Ta Da- Perfection!!!