I realize that my goal of blogging more regularly has gone astray. Oh well. I have spent the past ten months of my life living the dream. Well, if you include dream to mean crazy brides, mothers, bridesmaids and co-workers. My second season at my job went well. Much better than my first season. And now soon I will have to deal with 12-15 new consultants that need trained before January. Oh boy. Hopefully though, I have had some inspiration for a book, and also starting a new blog. Not here, not my private thoughts, but those of others. Stay tuned hopefully for some new developments. All of you on the East coast--stay safe.

pasta!

Just made pasta for the first time since high school...looks good and hopefully will taste great after some air-drying. Can't wait to make deliciousness later. I feel so happy to be cooking and creating again; it's so cheap and tasty and just makes me want to do more!

Stock time

Well, plans are going well...didn't mangle the chicken up too bad (only a little), and now with some fresh veggies and herbs, I'm making some stock for tomorrow's dinner and hopefully will have some leftover to refrigerate/freeze for the upcoming days!

I never thought I'd be this into doing the homemade thing ALL the time, but it's so much cheaper and healthier and hopefully soon I'll be more adventurous in my explorations.

First, some stock, next stop...jam?

PS: Can't find my camera, so a pic from my iPhone will have to do :)

Making frugal choices

Phew. Today was a grocery day, which I was not looking forward to because I've had some bad leg/foot pain lately from work. But still, Safeway had some massive good deals right now, and trying to keep things as economical as possible, I needed to get it done.

All in all, it was slow and I was in and out in under 20 minutes (good for me!), with a bounty of deliciousness! And I am undertaking something I haven't done in over ten years---cutting up a whole chicken because they were so darn cheap! I have a feeling I may need to look up a video on YouTube or something for a refresher course. And after that, some stock will be made, a first time for me as well. But some nice chicken and noodles will be the result tomorrow night, even with homemade egg noodles.

I think next week, I may make a foray into canning some jam, or maybe even making some homemade yogurt!

Getting back on the lame, dead horse.

Frankly, I believe that this is my third attempt at a blog in years past. While perusing a few blogs that I have started frequenting, I decided to dust off my keys and give it another whirl.

Why? Because maybe this will help me to be accountable for my actions, and to help me go forward in what my goals are right now--to be healthier, happier and more content with what I have. I am also trying to do a lot more cooking, baking, and money-saving ideas than ever before. With both my husband and me going to college (again) and both working as well, it takes a toll on your health, time, and relationship.

Trying to balance this with a healthier lifestyle has been entertaining (to say the least) and hard. My life has been so crazy the past four years especially that a stable diet and exercise plan has been the least of my worries. I figured that moving three times in less than two years, dealing with my husband deploying and things like that were more important.

But now, this is my time to take charge of my life. Even if it's making homemade food all the time, learning to can, or forcing my butt out of bed in the morning to take a walk--it's all going to be worth it.

And after all, the small things all add into one big life changing thing.