Very Miscellany: Guilt, Babies, and Makeup

Miscellaneous- consisting of a haphazard assortment of different kinds, dealing with or interested in diverse subjects....

First, the subject of Guilt. I could devote an entire series of posts to this subject, being that I grew up Baptist- which soaked me in the warm southern summer sunbath of guilt like a potent sun tea, steeping, steeping. Yum, tea.  Plus, I simultaneously assume responsibility for things beyond my control, while at the same time wash my hands of everything while muttering a crazy, breathless, Serenity Prayer.
Current Guilt: I'm an awful friend. In fact, I'm practically a foe. My pal, Mary, from MN, who is pregnant with twin girls, has called me several times within the past few weeks. I haven't called her back. Sure, I've been busy (trying to sell our house, plan our move, etc.), and I have diagnosed myself with Pollen Poisoning- which has caused me to crave nothing but sleep and clear nasal passages. But really, these are just excuses. I don't really dig the phone. I'm a 'listener', and often people take liberties with that and babble on and on and fail to breath or ask me how I'm doing. I may adore that particular person (and I'm not referring to Mary), but I don't like to devote much more of my time than necessary to someone's rambling smalltalk. That's what blogs are for! So, I'm a selfish friend. I would much rather spend some time with a pal, maybe enjoying a great dinner, taking a hike together, making toasts and listening to music, or chatting over coffee. But on the phone, I have Noah or Michael tugging at me (usually the friend on the other end of the line has a little one tugging away too), and I'm distracted. And I'm a visual person, I want to see your face, your smile, your eyebrows raised in exclamation. I'm an awful phone friend. But I will call Mary as soon as I finish this post.

Second, babies. I am still not pregnant! There is a sea of bulging bellies all around. But, nope, not mine...well, it bulges slightly, but for all the wrong reasons. By the time I get pregnant again, all the awesome baby names will be taken. Dear Danielle, from co-op and bookclub, bestowed upon her newest addition, the magnificent name of Desmond. I swoon over that name! Thanks, LOST. And Michael, with every intention to make me feel better about not being pregnant yet, says that it's pretty much all in my head, that when I stop wanting it so much, when I feel more secure (ie, after we have moved and settled in our new home turf)...then that is when I will miraculously release that destined fertile egg. He's probably very very right. He means so well, but that all translates to: Madona, you're crazy, once you stop being so crazy, you'll get pregnant.
Well, Patti has loaned me her Fertility God, which she claims worked for her. So, cross your fingers, say your prayers, send electronic fairy dust, whatever it is you do, and let's get me preggers, people!

Third, makeup. I don't know how aware you are of the Crunchy Chicken. Well, she is one extraordinary blogger, who irreverently puts the 'mental' in 'environmental'. I'm a loyal reader and Diva Cup convert (too much info, I know). Anywho...she has fantastic giveaways, and she so kindly selected lil' ol' ME as a winner of her Gabriel Cosmetics giveaway. Yep, she mailed me $50 worth of makeup. Now I am not rubbing poison into my eyes or swallowing lead from my lipstick. I'm very very grateful.
So this brings me full circle to that ever-present Gulit I mentioned earlier. I feel indebted to Crunchy now. I feel guilty that I don't deserve to be a winner! How can I ever repay the Chicken?! I hope she never becomes my friend and expects me to actually call her. On. The. Phone. I would be totally and completely paralyzed by my guilt.
 

Make Yogurt Yourself

I mentioned in my last post that I made the yogurt that I used for Noah's delicious smoothie.
Yogurt making is just another one of those adventures that I've just discovered. I am a total novice.
I've only made 3 batches so far. But I love it! It's easy. It's frugal. And I know what's in there. Plus, I can feel the satisfaction of doing it myself. Really, acquiring new skills like that is very empowering.

If you would like to try your hand at making your own yogurt, you can google 'make your own yogurt,' which is what I did. Or you can use the site I used.  The only equipment that I had to invest in was a candy thermometer...which I found for about 4 bucks at the farmer's market/flea market. You'll need a heating pad or hot plate to keep the yogurt warm. But I have seen recipes for slow cooker yogurt, so look around and find instructions appropriate to you.

I make plain non-fat yogurt and use it in smoothies, parfaits, mix it in biscuit batter, enjoy it as a sauce with falafel, etc. Be aware, homeade yogurt tends to be of a runnier consistency. Yogurt companies add pectin to thicken it. And because my yogurt is a bit runnier than what Noah is used to, he won't eat it! But he will drink it in a smoothie without complaint.
There are also tons of recipes for flavored yogurt out there too. In fact, The Crunchy Chicken has a Coffee Yogurt recipe that I am excited to try...if I can ever find it in the archives of her blog.
Like I said before, I'm a yogurt-making novice. If you have any tips, suggestions, recipes, yogurt tales...
I'd love to hear them!

Food Waste Saturday

No waste this week! Oh yes, victory is mine...
Noah and I were a reclusive pair this week, didn't venture out much due to the drabnabbit snow. Plus, Noah had a little cough and runny nose. So, we were home playing card games, watching Alvin and the Chipmunks (the show- haven't seen the movie), and apparently eating up all our leftovers.
I almost let a jug of grape juice go to waste, but luckily I saw a post over at The Frugal Girl's blog on how to make Grape Jelly. Hooray! Grape Jelly! I made it today. It was easy peasy.  I just keep my laptop right there on the kitchen counter and follow instructions. I love the internet.

Notice how the label says, "Madona's Pumpkin Butter"? That jar is from when I rescued my Halloween pumpkins from becoming food waste too. And that was some awesome stuff, if I do say so myself.

Have you signed up for Crunchy's Food Waste Reduction Challenge? Have you checked out how Kristen or Angela try to prevent food from being wasted in their homes?

Food Waste Friday

Kristen at The Frugal Girl photographs and reports what food she has wasted for the week in an effort to be more aware, and therefore reduce her food waste.
Also, Deanna at The Crunchy Chicken has dared her readers to participate in the Food Waste Reduction Challenge this month. And I have accepted the challenge.

I thought I was doing really well last week.
But this week...not so much...

Here is a photo of my food waste for the week:

What you see before you is about 1/4 of a Banana Cream Pie (with fresh blueberries and banana slices on top) and about 1/4 of a cup of Vegetarian Chili. Sigh.
The Banana Cream Pie was delicious. However, I didn't know that my husband didn't care for Banana Cream Pie in general until AFTER I had already made this beautiful pie. I love pie. All pie. Especially Chocolate Cream Pie or Pecan Pie. But I'm only one woman and just couldn't tackle the entire thing by my lonesome. I learned something new about my husband though- Banana Cream Pie- he's not a fan. So, I won't make it again, and therefore, I won't waste it again! And if we ever happen to find ourselves on the Newlywed Gameshow and there happens to be a question like- what pie does your husband hate- well, then we are totally winning that all expenses paid trip to Acapulco.
The Vegie Chili. We enjoyed it, froze some leftovers. But the little bit remaining was pushed far in the back of the fridge and forgotten. Next time, I'll just freeze all the leftovers.
This isn't too too horrible. But I didn't include food that my 3 yr old wasted. For example, I sent a handful of grapes in his lunch yesterday for co-op (preschool, sorta). He usually loves grapes. Yet, yesterday, his class had a little Valentine's Party and he filled up on rice crispy treats, cupcakes, and lolipops. By the time the grapes made it home, they were brown and mushy and Noah wouldn't touch them. They will be composted, but I would have rather they be eaten.
Do you monitor your food waste? Are you participating in the Crunchy Chicken challenge? Have you checked out The Frugal Girl's Food Waste Friday posts? How do you use it all up?
Happy weekend!

February is Food Waste Reduction Month

I've been reading the Crunchy Chicken blog for a few months now, and I think Deanna is great. She challenges her readers to do all kinds of crazy stuff...the craziest being the Golden Showers garden parties...in which you use your pee to nourish your plants. I'm not kidding. She's done the research on this. There's also the Freeze Your Buns Off challenge...in which you turn the thermostat way down. She has a naughty sense of humor, but a serious focus on the environment. Read her blog!
Anyways, I've not summoned the courage to join one of her challenges until now.

February is Food Waste Reduction month, which is pretty self-explanatory-
reduce the amount of food you waste.
I can do that. In fact, I'm cheating a bit here because I've been trying to reduce my food waste already.
I also have to give credit to Kristen at The Frugal Girl blog for first making me think about my food waste as a financial issue. She takes pics of her wasted food and posts it on Fridays. Read her blog too!
Not only do I want to reduce my food waste for thrifty reasons, I also want to reduce food waste for environmental reasons. Here's where Crunchy enlightened me. A bunch of food waste (50% edible!) sits in landfills giving off methane like a motha. Also, when you throw away your food, you waste energy...all the energy that it took to grow, harvest, transport, package that food.
I never really thought of it that way.
With this in mind, here's an example of what I did this week to reduce my food waste:
On Monday, I cooked a delicious (if I do say so myself) Veggie Chili for Meatless Monday. I made much more than needed for me, my husband, and 3 yr old. I put half of the leftover chili in the freezer. On Tuesday, I made Spaghetti Marinara...and acrued more leftovers in the fridge. On Wednesday, I made pizza dough from scratch and we enjoyed homeade pizza. On Thursday, I assembled an awesome Chili Pasta dinner out of the leftover chili (Monday), pasta (Tuesday), and mozzerella (Wednesday). And I will easily find something to do with my leftover marinara sauce...maybe throw in a few meatballs and make meatball subs.
I will tackle fresh produce and other perishibles in another post. Perhaps I'll take some pics of my waste (a la The Frugal Girl) on the way out to the compost pile. 
Anyone care to join me on this challenge? Anyone care to share creative ways that you reduce food waste? I'd love any help I can get!
 

Kreativ Blogger Awards

I am honored that Catherine at The Vegan Good Life, (http://thevegangoodlife.blogspot.com/)  has bestowed upon me a Kreativ Blogger Award! This is my first blog award, so it's pretty awesome to me. I don't blog with a particular focus, it's more of an ordinary rambling sort of cyber therapy, and a way to share photos and poems and projects and thoughts. I consider myself fortunate that anyone reads it at all...that means that I'm not alone...that there is some form of connection there. So to be recognized by a blogger I respect, in the company of other blogs that are meaningful, is a small victory to me. 

The way it works, see, is I will now divulge 7 things about myself that you may not already be aware of, and then I'll  pay it forward to 7 other creative bloggers.

7 things, without further ado:

1)  I have trouble making up my mind with certitude on many issues. You may call that 'indecisive.' I consider it a positive trait- I am open to unfolding possibilities and ever-changing viewpoints. I do have some ground beneath my feet, however, but I'm willing to ponder whether that ground is solid or imaginary.

2) I had to look up the word 'certitude' just now, to make sure it exsists and that I spelled it correctly. And I'm not sure if I used it properly in that sentence anyway.

3) I am currently on a personal quest to try to keep my mind and spirit fresh and childlike. I challenge myself to learn new things, pick up skills, take myself out of my comfort zone, have adventures, experiment, and listen. Because I'm taking risks, it can be stressful and scary, and I often fail. But I'm enjoying the ride!

4) My son Noah (3), and I play Monster Games daily. They consist of me hiding behind a door or under the covers, and Noah stomping through the house chanting menacingly, "Fee fi fo fum...I smell the blood of an English mum!" When he finds me, I have to squeal and flee. Then he hides and I pretend that I don't know where he's hiding even though it's usually painfully obvious.

5) I'm very interested in homesteading, farming, becoming a pioneer lady. Yet, I am more drawn to the conveniences of urban life, the complexities of people, the rich diversity and cultural opportunities of the city.

6) I'm a Zumba-holic. Can't get enough of that booty-shaking and those life-affirming rhythms. In my mind, Zumba is gallantly fighting off the doldrums of an enduring winter.

7) I try very hard not to stalk my friends on Facebook...to no avail. I'm just so fascinated by people and this phenomenon of revealing bits and pieces, statuses, and I can't help but read between the lines and psychoanalyze everyone.


Now I pay it forward. Here are 7 blogs that I deem noteworthy.

1) The Crunchy Chicken  at http://www.thecrunchychicken.com/ . Deanna puts the mental in environmental, for sure! And that results in irreverent greatness.

2) Jane, at Spain Daily, http://spaindaily.blogspot.com/ , inspires me with her photos and wit.

3) The lovely other-worldly-ness over at Isle Dance, http://isledance.blogspot.com/ .

4) Fantastic recipes by the Chubby Vegetarian, http://chubbyvegetarian.blogspot.com/ .

5) Ashley at Small Measure is awesome,
 http://small-measure.blogspot.com/ .

6) The Frugal Girl, Kristen, http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/, has much wisdom.

7) Heather over at Dooce, makes me laugh so hard, I had to include her. http://www.dooce.com/ .

These blogs have a great number of followers already. That's because they are pretty darn cool, and if you haven't checked them out yet- YOU SHOULD! And tell them Mad on a Gray Sea sent you...and they will not have a clue what you're talking about!