Frugal families
Nothing makes my day like finding a great new blog. I came across the Frugal Family Fun Blog this morning, and have been scouring over old posts like it’s my job!
… Oh, wait, I am at my job. Oops.
Here are a couple of great tips from Valerie’s post on budget-friendly — and eco-friendly — baby-raisin‘:
- Make your own organic baby food. Valerie recommends checking with your pediatrician first, but says organic carrots and sweet potatoes are cheap, long-lasting options. You just add a bit of water, blend in a food processor, and freeze in ice cube trays.
- Use cloth diapers. I’m already sold on this idea, and she even recommends the BumGenuis ones that I’ve been coveting.
- Make your own wipes. She uses baby wash cloths, and sprays them with a watered-down solution of baby wash. I am totally loving this idea.
- Knit/sew your own clothes. I agree with Valerie that this is a fun hobby as well as a practical investment. I may have to re-learn knitting … I never could purl.
- Know your organics. Organic food can be pricey. She says if you can only afford to buy some of your baby’s food in the organic section, remember which items are traditionally grown with the most pesticides (apples, strawberries, raspberries, potatoes, peaches, pears and cherries) and buy the organic option of those.
One trend I’m keeping up with …
I have always been late to get on board with the current popular movie, book, food — anything.
Always.
I didn’t read Confessions of a Shopaholic until I’d endured about two years of people telling me what a fun book it is. I have yet to watch an episode of Big Brother, so I’m sure I’ll catch it once it’s no longer popular.
I didn’t even try wraps — wraps, pitas or anything like that — until last year!
It’s not like I’m trying to avoid anything mainstream, because I always end up watching/reading/trying it eventually. I’m just … slower on the uptake, or something.
And then I continue to like the item in question long after it becomes unpopular. It’s a curse.
Anyway, it was the same situation with Twilight. I listened to friends and colleagues rave about the books, and I said I wasn’t interested. Little Sis was/is over-the-top gaga over Edward and his sexy vampire ways, and I still wasn’t convinced.
I only started reading the first book a few months before the movie came out, and wasn’t really into it. I put it down and read others for a while, until Little Sis finally parked me on the couch and make me watch the movie.
It was freaking fantastic.
Since watching the movie, I plowed through Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse. I just started reading Breaking Dawn the other night, and am totally and completed hooked.
* SPOILER ALERT for those who have not read Breaking Dawn *
I can’t believe she gets pregnant! I stayed up way late last night because I couldn’t put it down. I’m a sucker for any book about a pregnant woman, obviously, so yayyyyy for this plot twist!
I also can’t believe that for once, I’m “into” something while it’s still popular.
A healthier alternative
I have said before that Pop-Tarts are my secret little “anti-depressant” at work. I keep a box in my desk, and when I feel like I’m going to explode, I toast one and eat it slowly. It’s a yummy treat that I would never buy for at home, and it really does perk me up.
In light of my new running regime — well, it’s been once so far, but whatever — and realization of how to curb my snacky-snacking at night, I decided to try a new “anti-depressant.” Because even I know that using food as a reward is not a good idea.
About an hour ago, I thought I was going to quit on the spot from the STRESS and FRUSTRATION from it all. Blah.
Instead of toasting a strawberry Pop-Tart, I made a cup of light hot chocolate and watched a six-minute long New Moon trailer.
Ah … lower in calories, and a healthy dose of Edward and Jacob sexiness …
The case of the un-eaten Revello bar
Last night, while eating dinner, I wanted a Revello bar. Like really bad.
I figured I would have one as soon as we’d finished dinner and cleaned up. But then I had my brilliant idea — I can hear Darling Husband groaning as he reads this — to go for a walk/jog/run.
We did, and I lived to blog about it. Then I had a bath to scrub off the Eau de Exercise, did a little reading, and went to bed.
Notice the part where I did not eat a Revello bar?
Shocking, I know. After the run, I was actually not wanting one anymore. I didn’t even have chips and pop a bedtime snack, like I usually would. It was like the world was turned upside-down, and I wasn’t hungry!
Apparently I have discovered the secret of skinny runners — running not only burns off calories, but also prevents you from wanting to eat.
I know what I’m doing again tonight!
… and I lived to blog about it
Well, I certainly didn’t waste any time with my hours-old goal. Just got in from my first-ever official walk/jog/run combo — and first-exercise-except-tennis-or-Wii-games in a long time.
I am still in my running hoodie and yoga pants, panting hard, but wanted to record my observations for posterity:
- Ears are hurting badly — is this normal? Is it the cold air, or is this some kind of running side effect?
- Breathing is ragged
- Feel gross and sweaty
- Running down the hills was great, but it made my shins hurt — again, normal?
- Darling Husband is much faster than me …
- … and so is Little Dog.
- I have an extremely … flighty … run. Arms sort of flailing, ponytail bobbing like crazy.
Kind of like someone I once knew …
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Heather's Handmade Life 