Happy, um, yeah.

So remember I posted that I'm not going to worry about money until the day it runs out? We're two weeks away. I'm wondering if I should start looking for a job now. It's not likely the tax refund will be here by then, and the few bits of cash we are expecting are taking longer than we expected.

Moving on.

We had some yummy food yesterday. We had a turkey salad for lunch with the last of the frozen Thanksgiving turkey, mangoes and a salad dressing I made. The dressing was amazing, so I'm posting it for you.

Lime Ginger Dressing
Run a bunch of washed cilantro leaves through juicer. Peel and run a one-inch knob of ginger followed by a peeled lime. Mix with 3 tablespoons rice vinegar and 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil. Particularly refreshing and warming at the same time.

For dinner we had a skillet gnocchi thing. I browned the gnocchi (yes, it was whole wheat, which made it taste a tad strange) and took it out of the pot. I browned up some olives and garlic in coconut oil, then tossed in a couple cans of cannelini beans, a couple cans of chopped tomatoes, some basil, oregano and marjoram. When it was simmering, I tossed in some spinach and let it simmer down a bit before I put the gnocchi back in. I served it topped with a sprinkle of mozzarella and a sprinkle of parmesan. Out of all that, the only thing I had to put on the shopping list was the gnocchi and spinach. The rest I had in the cupboard and garage. Nice. We had it with a big green salad and Kate made chocolate meringues for dessert.

As for the rest of the news, there isn't any. Still looking for a job, still hanging on, still freelancing. Still trying to stay calm.

Love Dollar Tree, but be careful

With the shrinking economy, I'm looking to save as much as possible wherever possible. Because I maintain a price book, I know when I'm being bamboozled at Costco, Dollar Tree, Walgreens, etc. and when I really am getting a bargain.

During a recent trip, I found some strange toothpaste at Dollar Tree. It had a strange label on it an mentioned Canada. Canada? I asked the manager who said she puts on the shelves what comes in the shipments and doesn't know much more about her products than that. I came home and Googled it, and sure enough, found warnings like this one: Dollar Store Toothpaste

Okay. Now that is disturbing. I guess to save money, perhaps baking soda and salt with a nice hydrogen peroxide rinse after?

We love cereal

Okay, the below photo is NOT photoshopped, this was an actual flake found in my daughter's cereal bowl this morning:


I guess that proves it, cereal loves us, too!

Happy New Year!

If you believe in resolutions, here's my list:

Focus on eating as many raw veggies in a day as I can bear.
Move at least once a day, walk if knees are up to it.
Be more vigilant about the kids' schedules.
Smile every time I'm annoyed.
Talk less. MUCH less.

If you don't believe in resolutions, that's okay too. I know what they say about goals, resolutions and the like, needing to be specific, but the above is all I can manage today.

I'd like everyone's input on something.

If I get up and cook for breakfast, the family will usually eat it, then come back an hour later to have cereal. If I don't cook, they have cereal and don't come back an hour later for anything. I'm not a morning person, but I can get up and cook if necessary. They just don't seem to like it, and they're eating the same amount of cereal on top of my cooking anyway.

Should I cook so that the better nutrition is available to them and hopefully wean them of the cereal habit, or should I just let them eat cereal and save myself the expense and frustration?