sarah's blog

I have been thinking about Christmas and starting early to pace myself for awhile now. I’ve tried it in the past with some success but I need to turn it up a notch this year, for two obvious reasons.

So when I read a post today on a blog I frequent I knew it was a sign to switch into high gear. I tend to agree with the author, it’s the gift buying, second guessing purchases and wrapping that slow me down and drag on until the last minute. I love the decorating so that is always done in a day, babies or no babies. Even last year with two month old twins still eating every three hours I didn’t neglect my holiday decor. It would take a lot more than that to keep those two green tubs on a storage room shelf through December.

So knowing what I know about gift giving stress, here’s my plan of attack. I’ve always wanted to try buying everything online and I think this may be the year to do it. Not that I can’t take the twins out for some shopping but a) they are too young to enjoy the holiday spirit and b) it is stressful to be bound by the clock, nap times, the hunger/impatience/ants-in-the-pants of two one year olds.

So I’m going to try it. I’ve made my list of people to shop for and some preliminary ideas. I’ve even purchased a gift for my nephews already. I predict I still run into the problem of indecision (is it just me or are there certain people in our lives who are SO easy to think of a gift for that they are actually the hardest ones for which to settle on just one thing??) and I’ll have to do my research to stay away from expensive shipping/stores that don’t ship to Canada, but I think it can be done.

First stop, Etsy. I’m a fan of small businesses and one-of-a-kind gifts and I think that’s the place I want to start.

As for me and my Christmas wish list… that’s another whole post which I am itching to write and will hopefully do so this afternoon. That makes me sound greedy but in truth it actually leads into a bit of bigger discussion I’ve wanted to have with you. Or this blog. Or myself if I’m the only one here.

If you don’t get that joke you have missed seeing a very important film.

Oh the highs and lows of a new computer.

High: I’m here posting this because I have a new MacBook Pro after the untimely demise of a lovely MacBook who gave me 4 good years. I LOVE this computer.

Low: All my files are locked in the mind of the previous computer (her name was Bianca and she will be missed) leaving me without most of my pictures, videos, other random files, all my passwords, bookmarks – the things a Mac handles for you so you don’t even know you don’t know them yourself – and the photo books I was making for So and Lo’s first birthday.

High: Those same exact files are backed up on an external hard drive in our office.

Low: After hours of trying to get said hard drive to communicate with my new MacBook Pro’s Lion OS we gave up and tried to go the long way around through J’s computer and another hard drive only to realize it doesn’t matter because the login and password for that hard drive is saved in the keychain OF MY OLD COMPUTER.

Thanks for keeping that information safe, Bianca. Next time maybe write it down before you decide to split.

And I have tried every combination I can think of. I have no memory of creating one and nothing is working. It was my Time Machine backup so it just did its thing daily without my help.

Sigh.

The long and short of it is I may have to pay to have the old files retrieved off my dead laptop. Unless the mystery login and password for the hard drive can be retrieved from the computer in my head. Which is running kind of slow these days.

Here’s some randomness for ya. I’ve probably been asked 5 or 6 times over the past few months how to make something that I’ve had success with: a fruit fly trap. Gosh my life is glamourous.

But seriously I once had a fruit fly problem, the first time I had dealt with this, and I researched solutions online. I perfected one that worked for me so when we moved into our new place and found that they show up pretty easily (it’s true living downtown we’ve noticed more flies of all kinds because of the close living situation and the dirtier streets) I attacked the problem with my technique and am able to keep it under control.

So because you asked, and begged and pleaded, for my secret, I’ll go ahead and reveal it here. For only three payments of $99.99 I’ll send you two traps handmade by Sarah herself. Think about it.

First I get a small glass bowl (like very small or else you’ll have to use too much vinegar and that’s a waste), clear is best for attracting flies and viewing your catch. Pour in about two or three tablespoons of white wine vinegar. You’re welcome to try other kinds but I’ve tried balsamic and plain white and never saw near the results. Fruit flies are classy.

Add a couple drops of dish soap in the center. I’ve used lavender, orange and other scents, it doesn’t seem to matter.

Finally I pour tap water directly onto the soap so it creates a lot of bubbles. Turn the water up pretty strong to make this happen quickly so you only add enough water to approximately double the amount of liquid in the bowl.

Some people tell you to cover it with plastic wrap and poke holes in it. Don’t bother. You’ll drive yourself crazy trying to figure out of the holes are the right size or if the plastic wrap is keeping the bugs away. The soap bubbles are specifically to coat their wings and keep them in the bowl, you won’t have a problem with that.

Now set your trap near a problem area, usually near where you kept some fruit out or the sink where it’s moist and warm. Moist. Yuck. Make sure though, that it’s also not going to be disturbed so the flies stick around. I’d show you a picture of all the flies I caught but then you’d know how many flies were in my kitchen and I just realized that’s what this post implies and I’m kind of regretting it.

Plus Marlow just took a bite out of a business card.

It’s that time again folks: John and I are Eating Down the Fridge!

We’re going out of town for a family wedding (yay little brother!) and we need to not buy groceries and use up perishables before Tuesday. I realize this is not a full week this time but it is a good excuse to be creative and get some new recipes. Or maybe revive some old ones?

Remember the Slow-Cooked Fruited Millet, or Beet Goat Cheese Salad? Yum. Well we don’t have any of the ingredients to make them, so maybe new recipes is where we’ll go.

As is tradition, here is a list of randomness from our kitchen, this time focusing on perishables that need to go before our trip.

3 Limes
4 Oranges
A dozen eggs
3 Red potatoes
Bag of onions
3 Packages of vanilla pudding mix
Half a can of lima beans
1/2 Cup quick rolled oats
1 Block of sharp cheddar

Today, Day One of Five, we ate leftover Indian food from our date last night (get those coupon books and use all the two for one deals for affordable dates) and if John is still hungry he is getting sliced cheddar cheese on crackers.

Due to the fact that I’m 3 months pregnant with deux bébés I can’t get by on unbalanced meals so this will be more of a challenge than usual. Couple that with the fact that the usual rules don’t apply because the food will spoil while we’re gone, it will be interesting to see what we come up with.

I’ll let you know if I test and approve any good recipes, or suggest some of your own.

I find it strange that I am way more chilled out as far as my schedule goes than I was the first time I did Eat Down the Fridge (e.d.t.f as I am calling it, probably a move I should have made on, say, the second day) and yet I seemed to have a harder time with it. I found less recipes to make and had a generally lower attitude of creativity.

I did follow the rules though, so I guess that’s what’s important. And we saved money on groceries. I would say the only thing that was borderline were two bags of dumplings we bought at Crystal Mall and were eaten alone but I’m going to excuse it because we didn’t eat them until last night, after e.d.t.f was technically over. See how I just did that.

So what did we eat the last 3 days of e.d.t.f.? Let me tell you. (more…)

Let me think back now, need to catch up on the next couple days of eating down the fridge. Because we didn’t have a lot of meat in the house when we started we have very quickly hit a roadblock of not having much to work with. I predict I’ll be at the store by tomorrow getting something to help us make it through the week. I think I could be a vegetarian but because I haven’t been I don’t know how to feel full without some meat in my diet.

Saturday’s meals were a bit altered because I had an all-day training for volunteering at the Paralympics. I’m going to post separately about the day but it definitely saved some money on meals for me.

Let’s get to the facts: (more…)

I have not yet reported on our first day doing the kitchen cleanse on this, our second round of this game.

I am happy to report that our first day (Thursday) started off with a bang. I decided to do an Eat Down The Fridge week mid-day so we started with supper. I used the chicken breasts we had, stuffed them with goat cheese, sprinkled them with Shake n’ Bake and served them on a bed of buttered egg noodles (of which we barely had two servings left).

It was a huge hit which was thrilling, being the first time I have ever done a stuffed chicken breast of any kind.

The day shaped up like this: (more…)

Eating down the fridge! My loyal readers who have been with me for awhile will remember we’ve done this before for a week in an effort to save money, get rid of food that just hangs around and challenge my creativity as a cook (I just threw that last one in so I could refer to myself as a cook and offset my usage of frozen meats from M&M).

To review the rules, here’s what we can and cannot do during a week of eating down our fridge/kitchen: (more…)

My Christmas craft 2008 will be on display this year, too

As I mentioned last time, I am going to follow along with Simple Mom’s 12 Weeks to a Peaceful Christmas, starting with doing a couple weeks at a time to catch up.

The first post dealt with the Christmas budget. You can download a budget worksheet from her downloads page, it’s really eye-opening how holiday costs add up. At first you think, it’s only the gifts I have to worry about… but the truth is the real costs also include baking supplies, wrapping supplies, stamps, etc.

I think the idea of budgeting for Christmas spending throughout the year is a great one. Simple Mom recommends doing a budget worksheet of how much you spend at Christmas then divide it by 12 and put aside that much each month. Then when December arrives it’s not a financial strain. Obviously too late for that this year but I am definitely going to see how my budget worksheet estimates hold up and then implement a holiday savings account in January.

We’ll have to go easy with our budget this year as we’re flying to spend the holidays with family and have more family members to buy for each year! But leaving home for Christmas does have it’s advantages as we never host meals or house guests and skip the real tree and other decorating expenses.

Ok, Christmas budget, got it. Next thing.

Since I’m catching up let’s do 11 Weeks Till Christmas: Gather Your Addresses.

I already have all our family and friends in a database because we raise financial support for our jobs. So that part is handled. But the second part of the task is to decide how we’ll be sending our Christmas greetings and what supplies we’ll need for that.

I think we’ll end up with a photo card for everyone, a letter for those who don’t have email and an email letter for the rest. It would be cheaper and more environmentally friendly to skip the written letter but alas, we still have loved ones without computers!

So now I have to finish this budget and plan what supplies to buy for our letters. I think I’ll even get a head start on making the those photo cards…

I’m already feeling the stress these days with a lot on my plate but start talking Holiday Season and the days get really full. I love Christmas so much (and yes I am talking about this in October but stay with me on this one, there’s a reason) and look forward to the sights, smells, sounds, shopping and traditions. (I tried to think of an S word to keep the theme there but couldn’t come up with anything.)

But I will admit that I do get pretty stressed trying to balance all that I love and not take on too much of a good thing. So I got pretty excited when my exploring on Twitter (which is currently my stress reliever and connection to all things I’d rather spend my time on) and led me to simplemom who has a site called, well, Simple Mom. (‘Life hacks for home managers’, love it.)

On 12 Weeks to a Peaceful Christmas she starts the first week of October with a post-per-week on what you should do that week to be totally prepared before Christmas. The idea is, do a chunk of things a week for 12 weeks and you’ll be able to enjoy some peace during the holidays.

I’ve already missed 3 posts so I am going to have to do some catch-up but since we don’t have kids and we’re spending Christmas away from home there should be some things I can cut out.

First up: Week 12 (Oct 2) Prepare Your Holiday Budget

I’ll read up and let you know in the next post how I do completing this step. Maybe you want to join me and see if we can stay sane together?