Home Economics 101

What’s for Dinner? Spaghetti Squash!

April 19, 2018 by VintageMama 6 Comments

“Who ever heard of spaghetti squash?” I asked, astounded. That’s not really a thing, is it? At the time I was talking to a friend about carbs and different things that could be used to replace some of the carb-heavy foods that is in most Americans’ diets. In an effort to gradually replace some foods that might not be so great for my family with alternatives, I was just curious. When she told me about spaghetti squash, I really didn’t give it much thought. After all, we actually like regular ol’ squash . . . you know, the kind that you bake in the oven with lots of butter and brown sugar in the autumn and winter months . . . . but spaghetti squash really didn’t sound all that appealing to me. So I kind of forgot about it. For a long time.

Then, the other day, my girls and I were talking about making some substitutions in our regular grocery purchases, including trying almond milk to limit dairy intake, and trying a recipe for baked zucchini chips (which didn’t turn out so great the first time, but we’re going to give it another go because we LOVE zucchini!). One of my girls (guess who???) suddenly announced, “Let’s try spaghetti squash!” Hmmmm . . . .where have I heard that before?

Well, I’m up for a new adventure and challenge, even in the area of cooking occasionally, so when I went to the grocery store I bought one spaghetti squash. ONE. Just in case. But then, I was thinking, “I don’t have any idea what I should actually do with this thing so that we can try to eat it.” So it sat on the kitchen counter for two days, while I kept hoping that the genius daughter who suggested that we try spaghetti squash would help me figure out how to cook it. No such luck. Too many other important things to do (I get that!), so Mama decided to figure it out on her own.

There’s ONE spaghetti squash currently cooking in the oven. Still don’t know what I’m going to do with it once it is cooked, so I decided to look up some ideas of different ways to serve spaghetti squash. And WOW was I surprised at how many different recipes I found! Apparently you can do just about anything with spaghetti squash that you can do with pasta spaghetti noodles. Here are a few of the recipes that I found . . . . I’ll let you know how ours turns out tonight and we’ll decide whether we like it or not.

The hardest part so far was cutting the silly thing open! It’s as hard (almost) as a rock, and I couldn’t quite figure out how to cut the squash without slicing off my hand in the process. Eventually I stuck the huge chopping knife into the side and once I had it lodged firmly in the squash, I picked it up and whacked it down on the cutting board. I opened up alright! That’s probably not the best way to do it, but since this was an experiment, I felt rather successful. I’ll figure out the cutting part next time. If there is a next time!

How to Cook Spaghetti Squash

Pesto Parmesan Spaghetti Squash from Shape.com

Spaghetti Squash with Tomatoes, Spinach + Garlic from Purely Elizabeth

Spaghetti Squash . . . Spaghetti from Trusty Chucks

Four Cheese Garlic Spaghetti Squash from Recipes B NB

Spaghetti Squash Chicken Parmesan from Shape.com

Well, there you have a few new (to me) ideas of what to do with spaghetti squash. Our ONE spaghetti squash is baking in the oven right now, and I can begin to detect a roasted, yummy squash smell coming from the kitchen as I try to finish writing this blog post. We might just go with regular plain ol’ tomato spaghetti sauce on top tonight, just to see. We’re not exactly adventurous or very brave when it comes to trying new foods, so I’ll be sure to report back on how it turned out.

If you ever read my blog, you know that cooking is just about at the bottom of my list of favorite things to do . . . I’d be happy eating a peanut butter sandwich for supper pretty much every night (that way I don’t have a messy kitchen to clean up!) . . . . but I’m doing my best to feed my family and not lose my mind. I’ll let you know if spaghetti squash is going to help me with that task. I hope you can join us for this week’s Favorite Things Blog Hop and Linky Party. That is actually one of the things that I really do love to do each week, and I would love to connect with YOU at this week’s party. Hope to see you there!

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Please join us for this week’s

Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop and Linky Party

Katherine-Katherines Corner

Nina-Vintage Mamas Cottage

Marilyn-Marilyns Treats

Bev-Eclectic Red Barn

Angelina- Petite Haus

Theresa Begin – Shoestring Elegance

An InLinkz Link-up

Home Economics 101: Wash the Dishes

January 24, 2018 by VintageMama 2 Comments

You would think that a family that has a dishwasher really shouldn’t ever have to worry about washing the dishes . . . . right? But it seems like when you have an automatic dishwasher, Nobody thinks it is their job then to do the dishes. So after Somebody eventually loads up all the dirty dishes into the automatic dishwasher, Nobody still thinks that the job should be done by . . . Somebody. Who is usually Mom. Sometimes Dad, but around here, our Dad works at a job that takes him away from home for long hours and he really shouldn’t have to do dishes after all that. But since he likes to cook (and make HUGE messes in the kitchen!), he often does help out with washing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen on the weekends.

I lived a long time without an automatic dishwasher, and it seemed like the dishes actually got washed quicker and more often than once we got that built-in machine that was supposed to make our life so much easier. I guess because the perception is that since there is an “automatic” dishwasher, that the human beings who live in this house shouldn’t have to wash a dish. Or two. But that’s not how this works, they said, that’s not how any of this works!

It’s been a challenge lately trying to keep up with washing the dishes at our house, but that’s not because I hate doing dishes. I actually hate piles of dirty dishes just about as much as I hate anything else in a messy house. I don’t mind washing the dishes, and I love having a clean kitchen, with the counter tops washed down and everything all spic and span. But the rest of the family . . . not so much. You know what I mean.

It’s just that it doesn’t bother them as much as it bothers me. Or maybe it’s just that they don’t even notice. But when the piles start to spill out of the sink, and onto the counter, and eventually there are no more clean dishes in the cupboards, that’s when I simply CAN’T. STAND. IT. ANY. MORE. And that’s when I stop what I’m doing and shift into my drill sergeant persona. Mostly that’s been happening when I am distracted with other projects that have deadlines, like writing and editing, and my focus is on what’s right in front of me. The other time that those piles seem to take on a life of their own is at night.

I’m a morning person, so pretty much anything that gets done in a day that requires a significant amount of brain power or physical energy has to happen before 5:00 or 6:00 p.m. And since the rest of my sweet little family are all night owls, they think nothing of fixing up a seven course meal at 9:00 p.m after I’ve cleaned up the kitchen for the day. They’re doing better about cleaning up if they mess up the kitchen that late at night because they know I’m NOT going to do dishes (or much of anything else!) at that hour of the day. I’m just done.

Unfortunately what that means is, if for whatever reason those who created the Big Mess in the kitchen get distracted with a television program or reading a book or watching a movie and they “forget” to wash the dishes, the kitchen looks like the gremlins came in and stirred everything around with a giant wooden spoon. The worst part is when they don’t clean the yucky food leftovers off the plates or bowls, and it sits there overnight.

We’re making progress in this department (I know, your kitchen is NEVER a mess, so bear with me here . . . . ) I’m doing better at reminding them to rinse the dishes and put them in the dishwasher before they go to bed OR . . . . JUST. DON’T. MAKE. A. MESS. THAT. LATE. AT. NIGHT. If you are hungry before bed, make a peanut butter sandwich or eat a bowl of cereal, but please, please, please, don’t start making tacos, or fried chicken, or hamburgers (the grease! I HATE the grease!).

As I’ve been determined to focus on making our home a place of peace and comfort, I’m trying to balance my family’s tendency to have fun (which is a good thing!), and eat good food (which is also a good thing), and just hang out in their jammies watching Netflix and eating chips and guacamole, with the very real necessity of keeping our home clean, tidy, and rodent-free. It’s a never-ending task, but I’m committed to making this work for my family. So I start every day by making sure that I wash the dishes (if my sweet little family didn’t remember!), and make the bed, and brush my teeth. Then I’m good to go. To work. In my jammies at the computer.

What about you? Does your family ever leave dirty dishes in the sink? Didn’t think so. But if they ever do, remember that you will feel so much better about your day if you wash the dishes!

Your Budget Might Not be the Same as My Budget!

January 16, 2018 by VintageMama 7 Comments

I sometimes wonder how other people do it. I mean, how do other people pay all the bills (on time!), put the recommended amount in their “emergency fund,” feed the kids, and still have money left over for things like dinner and a movie. Well, of course, the first thing that comes to mind is that those people must have more money that we do. And that’s a very real probability. But there are just some people who have the ability to manage whatever amount of money they have and make it work for their family.

After years of reading all kinds of financial planning and budgeting advice, and trying this and trying that, and still finding that we have unexpected expenses (like the flood and the $2,500 deductible on our home owners insurance), and emergency doctor and dentist bills, and needing new tires on the car, and a few other necessities, I have come to the realization that all of the theories about budgeting in the world might be helpful, but there are always exceptions.

One of my goals this year is to do my best to be prepared for those unexpected events by attempting to build up that emergency fund of $1,000. Which wouldn’t have covered all of the “emergencies” we’ve had over the past three months anyway, but it would have helped. But that is tricky to do when the paycheck comes in and after the bills are paid (mostly on time!), there is only about $16.00 left over. Makes it hard to do much else, especially putting aside money for that ambiguous “emergency” that is looming on the horizon.

So I have gotten a bit discouraged with reading all the theories about budgeting, because as helpful as they are in theory, they don’t always work in the real world. If you are in a place where you’ve tried budgeting based on the rules and suggestions of those famous money management gurus, please know you are not alone. We’re doing our best, and some months are better than others, but sometimes when the kid needs a winter coat, it can be challenging to decide whether to buy the coat or buy groceries. Especially if you are TRYING to follow the advice of the professional budgeters and not use credit. But then sometimes you really have no choice.

Here’s what has worked for us – and it is probably not what will work for you – but at least it might be an encouragement to someone who is rather frustrated with all the stress that comes from money management.

In our family, there are two parents and two teenage daughters, one of whom is now driving and has a job away from home. That helps. When she wants a pair of ripped up jeans that cost $59.99, she can invest her own money in stuff that I couldn’t afford, even without all those holes in them. But the basics, like paying the mortgage and the electric bill, putting gas in the car and the car payment, the monthly orthodontist payment, life insurance, car insurance, etc. still add up even if we’re not buying ripped up jeans.

It helps that I was raised to be very frugal. The truth is, I wouldn’t pay $59.99 for a pair of jeans, holes or not, under any circumstances, including if we were millionaires. For starters, then, we are very frugal. (Hope Miss Holey Jeans gets that lesson one day!) But even so, there are times when there is just more need for dollars than there are dollars to go around. I’m doing my best to work from home, and I do work everyday, but not everything that I do here at home generates consistent income.

So basically, we are a one-income family. Most of the time we are doing just fine (see above for note on house flooding and insurance deductible), and this is how I’ve been able to keep things going even on weeks when it is a challenge to balance all of the needs with the real, actual dollars available . . .

1. I made a list of all of our payments. I included the day each payment was due and how much (sometimes I have to estimate, because we don’t know for sure on things like the utility bill, but I can guess pretty close).

MORTGAGE 1st of the month $******

CREDIT CARD 7th of the month $*****

CAR PAYMENT 10th of the month $*****

ORTHODONTIST 10th of the month $*****

UTILITIES 20th of the month $*****

LIFE INSURANCE 23rd of the month $*****

AUTO INSURANCE 24th of the month $*****

TRUCK PAYMENT 25th of the month $******

And whatever else is on the monthly rotation for payments.

2. Then, when a bill comes in (or there is an automatic withdrawal scheduled -which I HATE but some things like life insurance won’t let you do it any other way), I know which envelope to put it in. This is a bit like the Dave Ramsey approach of putting money in envelopes, which is actually a great plan if you can do it, but I kind of work backwards by organizing the bills into weekly categories. Like this:

JANUARY 6

MORTGAGE (set aside for the first of next month) $******* (The largest monthly payments are divided by 4 and put into the weekly budget. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t!)

Car payment $*****

Credit card $*****

Orthodontist $*****

JANUARY 13

MORTGAGE (set aside for the first of next month) $*******

Utilities $*******

JANUARY 20

MORTGAGE (set aside for the first of next month) $*******

Insurance $*****

Truck Payment $*******

January 27

House Payment $***** (DUE on the 1st of each month)

I write all of this out on my individual envelopes (or on a piece of paper that I clip to the specific bills that need to be paid each week / or bi-weekly for some people) that looks like this:

I’ve been doing this type of budgeting for several years, and it usually works. Depending on the latest “emergency” expenditures, I can usually set aside part of the monthly mortgage payment each week, and sometimes even set aside a little bit for the “emergency fund” savings account. But all of this is based on one, rather old-fashioned financial planning theory: when the money is gone, stop spending it!

Unfortunately for most of us, there are times when we do need to use credit cards. We try our best to avoid those kinds of situations, but when your house floods and you need to replace the floors and some of the walls, over and above what the home owners insurance offers, well, there you go. But we do try to pay off a credit card before we use it again. Another one of those good intentions that doesn’t always work in the real world. But we try!

Finally, after planning this out for every week of the month, I then schedule payments online to make sure I don’t forget and miss a payment. After the necessary payments are made or scheduled, then I look at what is left over and we plan for groceries, gas in the car, and maybe a family pizza night. “Extras” come along when I do a free-lance editing job, or teach a class, or sell something online, and then we might go out to our favorite Chinese restaurant or even be able to buy a new snow shovel. Or something else that we just can’t live without!

So you see, my budget probably is not the same as your budget, but it has worked for us for a long time. The bills always get paid (usually on time but not always), and we have a bit left over for groceries and gas in the car . . . and sometimes we even can put aside a few dollars for that elusive “emergency fund.” Until the dentist bill comes . . . but I’m trying, I really am!

I would love to hear how you budget for your family. I’m going to be working on this a bit more in the coming weeks to see if I can make it more specific, so if you are looking for ideas for your family budget, some of my ideas might be helpful. Works for us!

Hope you are having a good week and staying warm on this blustery winter days. Would love to hear from you!

Favorite Things: Fold the Laundry!

January 11, 2018 by VintageMama 6 Comments

I love fresh, clean, folded laundry. That’s unfortunate, because I have a terrible time keeping up with the laundry in our house. Well, actually, washing the laundry isn’t much of a problem. I can usually manage to get a couple loads popped into the washing machine in the morning, and I very often get a load of wet clothes tossed in the dryer . . . but sometimes I completely forget that there is a load in the washer so they don’t always get transferred to the dryer for a few hours. Or even overnight. I know, you never do that, but I’m being brutally honest here.

So even though I don’t have that part perfected, the washing and drying is definitely much easier than the folding. That’s not because I don’t like to fold laundry. I actually do enjoy the task of folding clean laundry and stacking it into neat, tidy piles. But the problem comes around here when there’s a fresh load of dried laundry that gets taken out of the dryer and piled in a laundry basket . . . and then the phone rings. Or the kids ask “Mom, what’s for lunch?” Or I suddenly realize that it’s time to head out for the orthodontist appointment. So then the laundry basket filled with fresh, clean laundry gets plopped on the bed, or on the dining room table, or on the couch so that I can fold it . . . . later. Or never. Whichever comes first.

This has always been a challenge for me, even back in the “good ol’ days” when the ONLY thing in life that I had to do every day was keep the kids alive and take care of our house. Well, that probably wasn’t the ONLY thing I had to do, but it certainly seemed as if life was a bit less – ummmm – technical. No computer to keep me distracted, no cell phone to interrupt me a hundred times a day, and barely even any television time. That actually WAS a long time ago!

Since I’ve determined to refocus a bit in this new year and make all of this domestic stuff a priority, I’m still finding that folding the laundry rarely jumps to the top of my To Do list. Like today. There are two loads of clean laundry in baskets right here in the room with me – that’s a technique that I hope will remind me that I need to do something with those baskets (or if not, at least if someone comes to my door unexpectedly, it will look like I’m trying). There just always seems to be something else that is WAY more urgent than folding the laundry. But I’m trying, really I am.

As I continue on this journey back in time to Home Economics 101, my goal is to tackle one aspect of old-fashioned housekeeping each week. I’m making progress, and I would encourage you if this is important to you, just to keep on putting one foot in front of the other. It is easy to get overwhelmed with it all, especially after the holidays or any other “event” in life that breaks our daily routine. Having a baby, having a houseful of little ones, going on vacation, being sick, caring for others who need our full attention – there are so many things that keep us from having the time and energy to focus on making our home peaceful and nurturing. But don’t give up!

(Some days I feel like this about laundry . . . . )

Here’s one of the “tricks” that has worked for me: when I’m feeling overwhelmed with my surroundings or the demands on my time. I make a list. Now I know that isn’t a genius or earth-shattering concept, but here’s what I do . . .

Making the list gets all of that clutter out of my brain. So I break it down like this:

Clean the kitchen
Start tax preparations
Do the laundry
Write two blog posts
Clean out one closet

Who knows what might be on your list, but I limit myself to 5 things if possible. By then I feel like I’m moving in the right direction. Then I break each task down into smaller tasks, like this:

Clean the kitchen: Wash dishes, scrub sinks, clean off counters, sweep floor
Start tax preparations: Gather all documents, receipts, forms, etc.
Do the laundry: Wash two loads, fold two loads, put away two loads
Write two blog posts: Monday, Wednesday
Clean out one closet: Take out 10 items and do something with them! (give away, store, or keep – then take care of just those 10 items)

THEN I make another list that might look like this:

wash dishes (15 minutes)
do one load of laundry (10 minutes)
pull out file folders with tax information (STOP! just pile them all up in a corner for now) (30 minutes)
put laundry in dryer, start another load of laundry (10 minutes)
write one blog post while laundry is washing (30 – 60 minutes)
remove 10 items from closet and lay on the bed (you did make your bed didn’t you??)(15 minutes)
remove first load of laundry from dryer, put the second load in the dryer (10 minutes)
FOLD LAUNDRY (15 minutes)
PUT LAUNDRY AWAY (15 minutes)
Clean kitchen counters, sweep kitchen (20 minutes)
write one blog post while second load of laundry is drying (30 – 45 minutes)
sort through 10 items from closet and make decisions: toss, store, keep (20 minutes MAX.)
put stuff to give away in a bag, put stuff to store in storage container, return stuff to keep to closet (20 minutes) DONE!
FOLD LAUNDRY (15 minutes)
PUT LAUNDRY AWAY (15 minutes)
If you still have time to work on anything else, start organizing tax documents into separate piles or file folders (30 minutes then STOP!)

The point of this exercise is to help me realize that each individual task can take a relatively small amount of time. When I think, “Wow, I have to paint the whole living room and it will take forever!” (which it actually does seem to take forever when you tackle a huge project), then I immediately feel overwhelmed and just quit. But when I break it down – even painting the whole living room can be broken down into manageable tasks – I begin to see that I can at least do SOMETHING, even if I can’t do everything.

So even if I only get three or four tasks accomplished before I have to stop, drop, and run to the next thing screaming at me for attention, at least I don’t feel like I’ve just been wandering around in circles all day waiting for the next emergency to trip me up. I know this is really challenging if you have lots of little ones running around, but it is something to think about just to get you moving in a direction that feels productive.

When I’m confused and feeling rather lost, I just remember what my mama always said, “Just do the next right thing.” Even if that is feeding the kids, making dinner, holding a sick baby, going to the grocery store, or . . . .folding the laundry. Just do one thing and I promise you’ll feel better about your day. I would love to hear how your days are going in this new year. Next week I think I’m going to tackle budgeting. Or maybe meal planning – probably not, but we’ll see!

In the meantime, I hope you can join us for this week’s Favorite Things Blog Hop and Linky Party. It’s one of the things that I put on my schedule every week to make sure I don’t forget – and it’s a great way to meet other bloggers, make new friends, and discover tons of creative and inspirational posts from other women just like you. Hope to see you there!

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Join us for the Favorite Things Blog Hop and Linky Party –