The Snow is Coming! The Snow is Coming!!

What is your reaction when you hear these words? We don't worry about laying in food -- we have plenty. Well, I don't, anyway. Steve is worried. I'm not sure what food he wants to get, we have everything but milk and bread. We've got plenty of dried milk (which he won't drink) which can be used for making bread or in sauces. He will eat it, not drink it., And, since we have yeast and plenty of flour, bread would not be an issue.

The lack of milk-in-a-jar doesn't disturb me since I'm lactose intolerant anyway. And.........so is he. So I don't understand the need to have milk.

My concern is toilet paper. However, we have plenty of that, at least enough to last a week. So I'm not worried about TP.

The latest report was that this area could get up to two feet. Now THAT worries me!

Snow!

I don'thave to tell you about snow; right now the majority of the country has snow. For the first time in years, all 50 of the states had snow in one day, even Hawaii (not that I know that from experience; I only heard it on the news). Snow brings its own challenges. It takes longer to get the car going, longer to get to work, and longer to keep wiping up the icy wet mess on your floor. If you have young children to let in and out, multiple your time exponentially.

Today's advice is to put on a pot of soup, and keep on mopping!


Angel's Chicken Soup
Several pieces of chicken, no sert amount
a handful of carrots, more or less
an onion or two
celery if you'd like
chicken buillion
parsley
several cloves of garlic
olive oil
Noodles or spaghetti

Chop the onion, garlic, and celery. Brown in the olive oil along with the chicken. Use a large pot. Once the chicken is browned and the vegetables cooked soft, Add in a potful of water. As you can tell, this is an "inexact science". Grate the carrot and toss in. Boil until the chicken falls off the bone.

Use a slotted spoon and pull out the chicken bones. Add a teaspoon of bullion for each 2 cups of water (estimate if you need to). Cook for a good long time. Toss in oregano and parsley. If you are using spaghetti, break it into small pieces. Toss in the spaghetti or noodles and cook till tender.

Serve liberally; sniff often!

Enjoy your snow.

Dealing with the Circumstances You've Been Dealt

Everyone's life is different. Yours is different from mine and mine is different from the family next door's even if the situation may seem similar. Everyone is different and has different things on his or her plate, and things in your life have to be dealt with when you are making changes. As Steve would say, "It is...what it is." You can make changes, which may change the circumstance a little, but it won't alter the circumstance materially. By this I mean that if your elderly father is living with you and he is a hoarder, you may be able to change the way the house looks and you may even learn to keep it clean, but in his heart, dad will still be a hoarder.

The rate of autism in America is now at roughly 1 in every 91 children (according to the American Academy of Pediatrics). This means that many, many families today have a child with autism. If your child has autism in any of its forms, this is a circumstance you will have to deal with. It is what you've been dealt, and the hand you have to play. Thus your approach to changing your life and reorganizing your household will simply have to accommodate that factor. Whether you have diabetes, your child has autism, or your cousin with triplets moves in, you'll have circumstances that you cannot change. The trick is to learn to work with them, to the extent possible.

This is a picture of my daughter, Angel. Angel has a remarkable view of the world. Angel has autism, and most of the time people don't realize it when they meet her. Every so often, though, something happens that brings Steve and I up cold and makes us remember, hey, this is something we just have to deal with or accommodate. There will be things in your life like that too. What are they? Make a list. It's a good step towards clarifying your needs.

Resolutions?

I hate the idea of resolutions. Resolutions fail. We make them, play with them awhile, and then trade them in for a better toy. Still, most of us admit that there are things we would like to change and the beginning of the year is a natural time to think about these things. Here's my list of things I'm not happy with. What does yours look like?

• My house needs to be cleaner
• My butt needs to be smaller (there's probably a correlation there).
• I need to go to the gym more (or clean more, which is definitely cheaper than the gym).
• Our meals need to be more consistent. All carbs one night and just beef another does not balance out!
• My budgeting and checkbook keeping needs a transfusion. Calgon, take me away!

In the next blog, we'll start addressing this list and how changes can occur, one thing at a time. As Flylady says (you'll meet Flylady later), "Baby Steps!"

My house, which is practically crying out for TLC.

Introducing 2011

Yesterday was supposed to have been the 'inaugural blog' for well-rounded living but for some crazy reason, the edit wasn't working. No matter what, it was impossible to add text. You'll find out that I have a very fateful approach to much of life. Another way of looking at it is "stuff happens". I save the stressful stuff for interpersonal relationships, which I'm just not that good at. It's not for lack of trying -- sometimes trying isn't enough. Anyway, about the blog....

This blog gives my views on well-rounded living: budgeting, changing, families, and frugality. I'm hoping that Steve, my other half, will occasionally write a blog here. Heck, I'm hoping he adds something on a regular basis. You'll find that we have quite a different view on life. It certainly spices up things around the household!

Let me introduce myself. I'm a 53 year old mom of 5, with one child still at home. Wait, she'll be very upset if she reads that. I have one TEENAGER still at home....15 year olds can be picky!  I live with Angel, my 15 year old, and Steve, the aforementioned other half. Steve lost his job in a down-sizing at a major hotel chain about two years ago. Now he works for the nation's largest retailer and definitely works hard for every dollar. I wish he worked as hard around the house, but that's another story; he wishes I would do more around the house too! Angel feels that she does all the cleaning. In reality of course, Angel does NOT do all the housework, but with the drama of a 15 year old, it undoubtedly seems like it. The reality is that with a 100+ year old house and two workign adults, we're like nearly every other American family: Not enough money, not enough time, not enough energy.

Steve works hard for a living, but I write. It's hard too, but a different kind of hard. His work is physically demanding, mine is mentally taxing. I work longer hours than Steve, but luckily have all the comforts of home. It's only a few steps to the restroom, the fridge, and the hug of a smelly dog. Steve, on the other hand, has a 25+ mile commute each way. Up here in the mountains of West Virginia, near the Pennsylvania and Maryland borders, that's nothing to laugh at. Two words: I worry. No doubt anyone with a commuting spouse knows just how I feel.With roads this snowy and a drive that long, I'll worry every trip.

Okay, that's enough for now. Tomorrow, we can talk about what you'd like to read, and what kind of info you'd like to have. My slogan is: If I don't know the answer, I'll find it for you!   So until tomorrow.......