Strong Independent Women

This weekend I was lucky enough to spend the weekend with two of the most influential women in my life.

My Mother and Grandmother.

As Friday and Saturday developed, I was struck by these proud feelings of coming from a family with women (for lack of a better word) don't take any SHIT.  They are Independent, intelligent, and beyond loving.  They know what they want in life, and don't let LIFE stand in the way.

From them, I learn more about ME and (to be honest) why I am the way I am.

I have always been proud to be female. I have always been proud of what my sex and gender mean, and never have I felt "less than" because I was not born male. I'm happy to say, my family of STRONG woman has allowed me freedom of oppression.

I have never felt like cooking is strictly my duty (and am often forcing D into chopping onions, garlic, etc).  I know that if the house is dirty 50% of that came from the other people in the house, and they are equally responsible for cleaning it up! (oh and thank goodness D's family has the same values!).

I am the sole female member of the Executive Team at my work, and that is something I am really proud of.  (Did you know my Grandma was a supervisor of men and woman! - wooohoooo Affirmative action!)

I won't lie, at times I do feel these "50's House Wife" feelings (especially since Christmas FINALLY went down tonight in our home - don't judge).  But this weekend was a breath of fresh air!!

If you want to be a stay at home mom.... KUDOS TO YOU.

If you want to be a CEO for a fortune 500 company... KUDOS TO YOU.

If you want to never have kids... KUDOS TO YOU.

If you want to have 2 kids, work full time, and run a household on a budget.... KUDOS TO YOU.

As a woman I can do anything.  I am not perfect.  That is NOT because I am female.

It is because I am human. :)

(CSA) Community Supported Agriculture

Curious?  I know you are! 

I think I'll let the majestic Wikipedia step in and give you an excellent over-view:

Community-supported agriculture (CSA; sometimes known as community-shared agriculture) is an alternative, locally-based economic model of agriculture and food distribution. A CSA also refers to a particular network or association of individuals who have pledged to support one or more local farms, with growers and consumers sharing the risks and benefits of food production.

Need more info?  Check out what elisfarms.com has to say:

By purchasing a CSA subscription, you are purchasing FRESH, LOCAL, seasonal produce directly from the farmer. You now help support that farm's operation. The farmer benefits by bringing in a consistent income to help plant crops, work their land, and plan their production.

I learned about this awesome idea from a young woman that I work with.  And, you can't go wrong with someone who wrote an entire book. 

(Yes people, a ENTIRE BOOK! With a cover, start, middle, and even an end)

A book that I really haven't been able to get my hands on it because it's a travel/cookbook that D has been hogging on his side of the bed since I brought it home in late December.

Okay, back to CSA.

I texted D the instant I learned about it, I knew that it was something that would peek his interest and since the weekly box we would be getting can/will change each month it's a WILD CARD for fruit and veggies (which excites us both!)

Best news, it fits into our new budget PERFECTLY.

So, we did it folks!  I'm happy to say that we get our first box on Wednesday, the pick-up location is just a hop-skip-and-a-jump from work, AND I didn't have to scour through the grocery store for veggies and/or pay ungodly prices for items that claim to be "organic".

Here is what I will be picking up on Wednesday:

(No waxes. No preservatives. No GMO's. No chemical pesticides. NO KIDDING!)

• Navel Oranges
• Limes
• Tangerines
• Parsley or Cilantro
• Spinach or Kale
• Broccoli
• Strawberry
• Onion
• Arugula or Radish
• Lettuce
• Bacon or Fuerte Avocados

All of that for $20.00/week, the option to adjust to bi-weekly if needed, change pickup date/location, and an option for an upgraded box for $30.00. 

Oh, I just can't wait!

Interested?  We opted for Elis Farms since they grow in our hometown, and also have several pick-up spots (including the local farmers market). 

Click right HERE for more information. (you know you wanna!)

I will keep you all posted on this new adventure, and let you know if any other awesome things come my way!

PS - If you are interested in learning more about the book I mentioned earlier, please reach out - I'm happy to get you in touch with the author and see if there are any copies left, or if there will be future orders.

Weekly Budget Update :: Week ONE

D and I sat down and thought long and hard about how much money we realistically wanted to spend each month on food.  Both of us are notorious "eh - I'll just grab food at work" people.

(FYI - I'm not knocking that lifestyle, for many years that served me very well!) 

For us (and the hope to live without a roommate + add more traveling to our year) that type of life just isn't realistic anymore.

So, step one.  The HARDEST STEP.  How much money am I going to set aside for this each month.

That question is not easy to answer when you have no data to start with.

Let's reenact January 4th, 2014.
This is how that conversation went to myself, in my head, while watching re-runs of X-Files:
Q:  "How much do you spend each week in groceries?" A: "I dunno"Q: "What would you make for lunch besides leftovers each week?"A: "I dunno"Q: "What is normal/average/typical for people to spend?"A: "I dunno"

The initial decision was $60.00/per person for M-F Dinners + $15.00/week for my lunches.  I figured D could take leftovers for lunch (he typically does), and that would be a good starting point.

Then, we started thinking about it more and more and figured if we only cooked 3 meals during the week (M/W/F), then we could make something fun as leftovers (opportunity to be creative!) and at the same time be creative.  The hope was to go to the store ONCE, on Sunday for all food that we would need M-F.  Then, Saturday would be a wild card (D and I are HUGE experimenters, and you'll never grow your recipe collection... unless you continue to try new things!).  Sunday would be "Hash Day".  We love hash, and throw just about any leftovers you can imagine into it, so easy-peasy.

Lastly, D decided that he wanted to take lunches to work as well!  Which is great, because 2 people paying into ONE lunch budget = better lunches!

And suddenly, it was done.  A real BUDGET that we could both fit into our lives.

SO, here it goes folks.  The OFFICIAL "Wayne Manor" Budget:

$40.00/Per Person for M-F Meals

$15.00/Per Person for M-F Lunches

Total: $110.00

Ready for Week One?  You know you are!

We spent: $108.59

This included 2 shopping trips, because we changed one dinner 1/2 way through the week.

This ALSO included BREAKFAST!  Woohoo!

I will not bore you with a gory details of the shopping list, but I will let you know what we ate for lunch and dinner. Breakfast is almost always eggs and ham.  :)

Day One: 

• 1/2 Sandwich + Salad for lunch
• Chicken Casserole (click HERE for recipe!) for dinner

Day Two:

• Salad (Me) + Yogurt / HUGE Sandwich + Yogurt (D) for lunch
• Weekend leftovers with eggs + potatoes

Day Three:

• Salad (Me) + Yogurt / HUGE Sandwich (D) for lunch
• Chicken Casserole (D) / Leftover-pa-looza (Me) 
• Side Note: D worked a late shift, and we didn't eat dinner together

Day Four

• 1/2 Sandwich + Salad for lunch
• Kung Pao Chicken (click HERE for recipe!) + Mixed Veggies for dinner

Day Five

• Kung Pao Chicken + Mixed Veggies for lunch
• Meat Loaf + Salad for dinner

I am really proud of this system.  While in some ways, I can see this as "cheating" since we had a lot of "base ingredients" (like corn starch) already... and I know that these will factor into further budgets.  I feel like this week was a true WIN.  Also, we still have food.  Food that we are eating this weekend (leftovers of meals, veggies, and sandwich fix-ins).

One thing we did learn is Yogurt is a great snack, but isn't always the BEST snack because of it's need to be refrigerated.  So, next week we are going to see if we can add some home-made trail mix ingredients into the budget and hope for the best.  

Updates. Soon. Soon. Sooooooon.

I'm back! :)

Holy MOLY it's been about a year since I posted here.

Geeze, that's a shame.

Get ready people, because I'm back... and I have goals!
 

• First, I'm learning to live on a budget.  You get to experience that with me!  Congrats.  :)

• Second, I will be posted lots of amazing recipes to go along with that budget.

• Third, I will be dedicated to keeping this blog up to date.

Lucky, lucky, lucky you.