Make yourself useful and...prep yourself before you wreck yourself

I know that it's been quite a while since I've done a "Make Yourself Useful" feature. Frankly, in my current condition, it's been a while since I've done too much that could be considered even remotely useful. So I figured I'd make this one count, and also make you really hate me if you don't already. You ready? Good, cuz it's time to gird up your loins and prepare for Christmas! 

You know, Christmas is only like, 92 days away, right? RIGHT? That's like, 3 months, and if you like to do holidays in a big way, you need to get yourself in gear.
 (You really hate me now, don't you?)

What that means is that some serious planning is in order. With a new baby on the way sometime between Halloween and Thanksgiving (in all probability), I'll lose about a month and a half of planning, shopping, wrapping, and prepping in general. That means that I need to be on the ball, or at least somewhere near the ball. Here are some ways that you can get ready too:

1. Start planning who to buy gifts for, and what to buy for whom. Make a list of everyone you bought for last year and amend it as needed. Any new additions to the family, like babies, boyfriends/girlfriends, new spouses, anything like that? Anyone eliminated (ouch)? Try to be sure that everyone is accounted for before you start assigning girfts, otherwise you're liable to forget about them altogether.
2. Start saving money for presents and activities. What's that you say? You've been saving all along? Well that's good for you, honey, but we humans spend our money on things like groceries and Netflix and pumpkin scented candles and can't be bogged down by things like setting aside a few bucks a week. Here's how this works in my house: each of us has a piggy bank that we contribute to and then dump twice yearly, once before our summer vacation, and once before Christmas shopping. Then we supplement with what we can use out of our budget (generally one chunk of cash comes out of the bank for Black Friday and another for the other day I Christmas shop...yes I only shop 2 days, more on that later). There are a number of other ways to do this. If your bank offers the option, sign up for a Christmas Club or separate savings account just for the holidays. It likely won't do you much good this year, but next year when this time rolls around, you'll be good and ready with a nice chunk of change. Also you could try the envelope budgeting system for the next few weeks, putting $20 (or $5 or $50 or whatever you can) in an envelope each week and saving it for when you've finished planning and started shopping. Do whatever works, but don't rely on credit cards to get you through the holiday season. You'll only be sorry come January.  
3. Decide if you want to make anything. The Modern Mrs. Darcy had a great post last year on what to buy vs. what to make. There's a flowchart, and I'm a sucker for charts. Basically it boils down to: make it if it's easy enough and you have the skills to do it, or if it will make it more special. If you don't have the skills or time and/or you won't enjoy the process, go the consumer route. One side of my family makes things for all of the other adults (there are like, a bagillion of us) for the sake of cost-effectiveness. I like this strategy, because everyone gets the same thing, and you don't have to go elaborate or spend a ton. I've made truffles, flavored butters, family cookbooks, dulce de leche, and all kinds of other food-related goodies over the years (everyone loves consumables). Take into consideration that somethings can be made way ahead of time, while others (like baked goods) need to be completed last-minute. PLAN FOR THIS! You don't want to run out of time on Christmas Eve.
4. Make a plan for when you want to buy things. Electronics are generally better buys on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and some stores will start leaking their ads for these "holidays" in the beginning of October. And as I mentioned above in #3, I only shop on two days, taking in a full day during the big Black Friday sales, and another full day at a huge mall some distance from my house. This includes all wrapping paper, supplies, gifts, etc. If I really need something I can't get on either of those days, I order online. So in general once my list is made, I can plan out all of the stops on one of my two days. The rest of the season is family time.  
5. Shop. Do some research and shopping online if you can. Right now is a good time for stocking stuffers since a lot of back-to-school necessities are clearanced out and you can get them for pennies on the dollar. But don't limit yourself to one type of item. My favorite stocking stuffers? Travel-sized toiletries (then I never need to buy them for a trip), small candles and food items, and lottery tickets. My husband never expects anything in his stocking but chocolate. You'll know what works best for your family. Stockings can be done for under $10 if you plan well! One more shopping-related tip: Wrap and label presents as you buy them, so there's no mad dash to do this all a few days before Christmas. Keep the presents in piles or large bags by family, and then organize by when you'll see them. This makes it super-easy to grab a bag of wrapped presents if you know you'll be seeing someone at a party, and you won't have to worry about it last minute
6. Plan your yuletide activities too. If you go carolling or sledding, when? Make sure it's on everyone's calendar now. The holidays get pretty crazy, and you'll need to know what days are available in advance. Within the next few days, I'll be opening my cookie exchange facebook group to search for a day that works for all of our crazy schedules, just so that with all of the commotion, our yearly tradition doesn't get lost in the shuffle. (*An aside: organizing group activities on facebook is so much easier than playing phone tag, and almost everyone has facebook. Give it a try this year. It has simplified my party planning like woah. Still send out invitations and whatnot, but use this to get a feel for invite lists and dates and whatnot.) Remember not to over-schedule; you want to have time to relax as a family and just enjoy the season too. 

When you've had enough, sit back, drink some hot cocoa and reflect on how awesome you are and how you've helped your family have the best Christmas ever.

If you get a chance, head over to Pinterest and check out my board, Jingle Belling, for easy DIY gifts, decoration ideas, holiday food inspiration, and lists to help you organize. Don't say I never gave you anything!

Learning to Tie a Bowtie: The Single Worst Way to Spend the 4th of July

I hope you all had a wonderful, lovely, firework-filled, not too hot July 4th. Here, it was HOTTT and hubs and I had to finish rounding up all of the accoutrements and trappings he needed for a friend's wedding (which happens to be tonight). While on the upside we got to spend some time in the air-conditioned mall, it was looking at men's accessories, so not too much fun. We ended up buying hubby a non-pre-tied bowtie, because with his electric blue linen suit (seriously), he decided that he also needed a snazzy bowtie (also not kidding). 
Ladies, let me just emphasize here that learning to tie a bow tie was the single most painful thing I've ever had to do, and that the level of discomfort tops that caused by shoe shopping, bathing suit shopping, childbirth, or a brazilian wax. While I would say skip the regualr bow tie and go for the pre-tied, everyone knows that they are pretty much for those under the age of 10 and don't look nearly as cool as the real thing. Plus knowing how to tie many different kinds of ties is a life skill, and you (and the men in your life) should totally know how to do it.
That said, no one in my immediate family or (local) circle of friends knew how to tie this thing, so we turned to the answer machine interwebs. After several incredibly frustrating attempts to figure the whole process out through picture tutorials and youtube videos with hands in the way, we finally found a single good video and after several views and about a half an hour of practice, we got it (now hubs can do it better than I can, so I don't have to...whew!).
Here's the video. You're welcome.

We did do other stuff for the 4th of July too. We had a picnic and played some baseball at the Legion field near our house. We went swimming at my folks'. And of course, we watched the Twilight Zone marathon, at least for a while. Here's to hoping your holiday was just as much fun (and productive too)!

Make yourself useful and...prepare an emergency kit

 Those of you who know me well enough know that I'm a pretty big fan of The Walking Dead. I started reading the comic books when I was pregnant with my daughter, and pretty near went into shock when I found out that AMC was making a TV show some time later. The show is my Sunday night, meaning nothing else exists during Walking Dead season. I've always had a thing for zombies (I wish there was a less creepy way of saying that, but I can't think of one), as they are by nature terrifying, somewhat realistic, and completely unsettling to a girl who read too many horror novels as a kid and horror comics as a grown-up (and no, I didn't reverse that). They also constitute a "real" emergency, one for which it's good to have a plan, and maybe a plan B too.

The kinds of emergencies that generally befall my family usually require staying indoors. Things like hurricanes, blizzards, torrential rainstorms, etc. don't require us to leave our home, since we are in a reasonably secure area. We live in what is technically a "valley" between two mountains, but are at a high enough elevation that flooding is certainly not a concern for us. If our house ever flooded, you could kiss all of NJ goodbye, because it would be under water. The same is not true of all of my neighbors...even a few houses down, they have seen more "50 year floods" in the past few years than I'd care to count, and many of these have caused significant damage. But despite our relative security, we are by no means safe from all disasters, and the house's proximity to a weapons testing area is a constant reminder that something scary and devastating could happen at any moment. 

For quite a while I've been tossing around the idea of making a family emergency kit, just in case. During Hurricane Sandy last year, my family was without power for almost 2 weeks. We though we were prepared, but we had no idea just how unprepared we were for a storm of that magnitude. We learned the hard way, but thankfully, we learned in time to keep ourselves safe, at least. 

Here are some resources to help you to make a basic emergency kit for you and your family:

• http://www.ready.gov/
• The NJ Office of Emergency Management
• 72hours.org

It is pretty much agreed that you'll need a first aid kit, a good supply of non-perishable food (things like peanut butter, granola/protein bars, dried fruits, crackers, etc. are good bets), water (rule of thumb is 1 gallon per person per day...I know because during Sandy, we ran out after a week), flashlights, a radio, extra batteries, cash, matches, a manual can-opener, and toilet paper and sanitation supplies. It's also good to have a complete change of clothes for everyone, bedding, and some activities to keep everyone busy. Some other things you might think to include are basic tools (in case you need to shut off gas or water service), a fire extinguisher, dry shampoo, hand sanitiser, baby wipes, multivitamins, a fire extinguisher, and (gasp!) disposable plates, cups, and silverware. You should have enough of all of these items to last the whole family for THREE WHOLE DAYS, and even longer if you expect the emergency to last longer. Remember to plan for everyone in your family, including pets, infants (formula, diapers, wipes), and the elderly. Include any medications you will need and food for special diets, as well as doctor and insurance company contact information and policy numbers.Think of the things your family uses every day, and plan accordingly. After almost two weeks without power after Sandy, I was SUPER glad to have a battery-powered portable DVD player. Was it strictly necessary? No, but it sure helped pass the time. So after you've covered the necessities, think, what would it be nice to have?

You can also purchase ready-made kits with all the extras at many websites, including the Red Cross Store online. Some are MUCH, MUCH more in-depth than others and include a lot of things that you might not need.  Again, tailor it to your family's needs, and the types of disasters that are likely to befall you and your family (like, we don't need flood-specific items, but we sure do have a lot of power outages, so...).

Here's to hoping you're better-prepared than I've been in the past, and to keeping you and your family safe!

make yourself useful and...

 

host a cookie exchange.
it's not only useful, it's totally awesome. plus its an easy excuse for holiday mingling. all you need is a clean-ish house, some appetizers and maybe a few (possibly adult) beverages. it's like a cocktail party with a purpose. that purpose is making sure you have a ton of different kinds of cookies for platters that you can use at work parties, family get-togethers or as last-minute or hostess gifts. oh, and everyone loves cookies, especially homemade cookies. seriously. go ahead and try to prove me wrong.
i promise that this is one of the easiest holiday parties you'll ever give (the only hard part is making the cookies. but you can do that beforehand). here's how:
first, pick a few friends, family members, co-workers, or other people that you at least kind of like. every year, my mom and my sis and i get together with a the ladies of a family we've known forever. one is stenni's Godmother, her mom is my sister's Godmother, and her sister and daughter are also friends that we consider family but don't get to see nearly often enough. so it's us, the same core every year. 7 of us in total, so each of us makes 7 dozen cookies so that we can share a dozen of each kind and keep a dozen for ourselves.
then, invite them to your house at a time you know they're available. don't wait until Christmas eve, or a busy weekend evening. pick a "school night" so it's easier for everyone to schedule, and hold the party around 7, after dinner.
then pick a cookie recipe and cute packaging. i usually make a drop cookie or a spritz, something easy. i learned my lesson after i made 7 dozen cream-filled florentine lace cookies one year. while it might be a time to let your baking prowess shine, it's also time to be realistic. it's the holidays. everyone's busy. don't go the florentine lace route. there's nothing worse than getting frustrated, because then it becomes a chore instead of a joy. then bake the cookies and package them nicely, so that they can be given out as a gift.
lastly, put out the snacks and wait for everyone to come over. remember, this does not have to be formal, and in fact it's better if it's pretty casual. you don't even need any kind of activities (our group actually does Christmas trivia sometimes, but it's not competitive or anything, and if we're in the middle of something, we don't bother). the most important activity is distributing the delicious cookies! this time of year everyone's overdoing everything. you want yours to be the one get together that everyone enjoys because they don't feel rushed or pressured.
so that's it. remember, the party can be short, as in 2 hours or so. we're all tired this time of year. don't push anything. but maybe you'll want to linger with friends around a cup of coffee, and that's alright too. there are no hard and fast rules for hosting a cookie exchange, except that you have to exchange cookies. that's it. do what comes naturally.
looking into the future: my next cookie exchange will take place in the middle of December. I'm not actually hosting this year, so I can use a little more energy on baking! in the past i've done the aforementioned florentine lace cookies as well as some classic oatmeal raisins, snickerdoodles, and some miniature chocolate whoopie pies, among others. some of the other ladies have made pignioli cookies, mint chocolate chip cookies, macaroons, double chocolate cookies, and even oreos wrapped inside chocolate chip cookie dough! it's getting harder and harder to pick my cookie recipe every year, but i've narrowed it down to  zimtsterne (German cinnamon stars), pfeffernusse (German spice cookies), or maybe even gingersnaps. what do you think? have you ever hosted or attended a cookie exchange?

make yourself useful and...

start a family tradition.
it doesn't have to be big or expensive or complicated. my side of the family has like, a zillion traditions despite the fact that we are not ethnic in any way nor is any branch of the same faith denomination. somehow we just kind of fell into having certain traditions (like going to the radio city Christmas spectacular, going away for my mom's birthday, a Christmas eve party at my aunt's house, family reunions, going on vacation together to the same house every year despite the fact that there's no air conditioning, and that sort of thing). my husband's family has like, zero. we have accordingly ended up with something of a happy medium (meaning, not everything has to be a tradition because then it becomes an obligation but we have fun stuff to look forward to doing together throughout the year). here are some examples of things we've started doing each year:
-we go apple picking every year around the same time (in the middle of october, when my mutsu apples are ready) and pack a picnic and hang out in the orchard all day. we have done this since a few weeks after my daughter was born...on that first trip she was a bit of a nightmare, but i put her in her little apple outfit and took a ton of pictures and loved it anyway (no matter what the hubs might tell you). usually, we go pumpkin picking the week after that, complete with a hayride, and even my parents get in on the act.
-we throw a few different parties each year. i don't mean like Easter or Thanksgiving, because we host on those occasions, but that's different because we didn't invent them for ourselves. we throw an annual "Chrismukkah" party for all of our friends, and an "Opening Day" party for the first game of the baseball season.
-we enter things into the NJ state fair each year. hubs and i delight in getting our entries ready together, even though we enter different classes (i do baking, obvs, and he sticks with agriculture). then we get to go and put the entries in together and then come back on a date night so see how we did! it's really romantic and even a little competitive, although we don't compete against one another. 

the only real guidelines for your tradition are that it should mean something to you and it should be something that you can share with others. a good tradition will bring a family closer together and create awesome memories for years to come (i admit i think fondly of the prospect of stenni throwing opening day parties when she has a home of her own!). it should also be something that you can do every year (like Christmas carolling) or on a semi-regular basis (like a monthly game night). and it should be something that you enjoy! if you don't like it, it won't ever be a fun memory. so build a tradition with your family today!

make yourself useful and...

sort through your seasonal things.
you know, May starts tomorrow. I know, I know, it's shocking. this means several things. firstly (and most importantly) it means my birthday is right around the corner. but more on that another day. it also means that it's time to dig out those spring and summer digs that you should have appropriately stored some time in October (or November, or even December if you're like me and want to really hold on to those flip-flops for all they're worth). It also means it's time to put away winter coats, hats, gloves, ski apparel, and all things winter, despite the fact that here in nj it dropped below freezing last night and we've still been lighting the woodstove every night. that being said, there will most assuredly be no more snow tubing, skiing, snowboarding, tobogganing, or any other fun winter sport that i've never participated but can think of the name of at this moment. so put the gear away! remember to label appropriately, and if space allows reserve one of those air-tight storage bins for each family member and one for general purpose items. giant pink fuzzy blanket? that's one for the all-purpose winter bin. my gazillion scarves? those go in my bin. stenni's head-to-toe snow suit that makes her look like a starfish? she's got her own bin for that. you get the picture. i like to label the bins with index cards instead of writing on them so that i can change them up seasonally, but how you label is of course up to you.
if anything's too ratty or should have been tossed a few seasons back, now is the time to part with it. another 2 seasons in storage won't do it (or you) any good. also, if something's in perfectly good condition but you've got no use for it, you really shouldn't hold on to it. they have scary tv shows about people who do that, you know. you've got a few options here. you can:

• toss it
• repurpose it
• give it away to someone who needs it more than you do

i like to repurpose old t-shirts into headbands because it looks cute and require absolutely no money or crafting skills, but if you can think of something better to do with them, please be my guest! i also take hubby's old shirts and rip them up to use as ties in the garden and rags for cleaning. if something's in good condition but you don't need it, take a second and think if there's anyone you know who does. if your mom needs your old snow boots, fork 'em over. my church usually has a big rummage sale the first weekend of June, so it's the perfect time for me to look through and see what I no longer need and also raise a little money for my church. anything they don't take i give to Goodwill (make sure to get a receipt. it's never too early to start thinking about tax time, my friends).
but now comes the fun part. you get to dig out the spring and summer stuff! but remember that the same rules apply when looking through these things: if you can't use it or it's not usable, it's gotta go.remember to wash anything that's been in storage even if you did it before you put it away (you don't want any surprise critters or anything funky smelling) and to have fun in your shorts and flip flops. nothing says warm weather like a nice sundress and a pair of sandals...i know you have them somewhere, so go find them!
think of the excitement!

make yourself useful and...

start planning your garden.
spring is here. i know it is. it doesn't say so on the calendar, but it's like 70 degrees out and they've started to send seed and garden catalogs. oh, and every store is selling bathing suits and flip flops. we usually start some of our seeds this weekend (St. Patrick's Day, for all you non-Irish) every year, and this year will be no different.
so what are you waiting for? start planning your garden TODAY.
if you've never had a garden, i'm talking especially to you. (if you have, you'll know what i'm talking about already.) there are literally hundreds of reasons to keep a garden, but for me, it boils down to about 3 really big ones.

1. you'll know where your food is coming from. with all the GMO's and pesticides and other assorted gross things that your food can be/come in contact with, it's more important than ever to know about your food. this could include buying local and/or organic or just from people and companies you trust, making more things yourself at home, and yes, planting a garden. you'll know exactly what goes in and what comes out, because you'll be the one in control. that is a rarity these days, folks.
2. you can get some sun and some exercise. depending on the size of your garden, you may get a lot of exercise. stooping, weeding, picking, pruning, squatting, and digging is a lot of hard work. like, skip the treadmill hard.
   
3. you can save some serious dough. have you ever bought a little package of fresh basil in the supermarket? you can buy like 3 basil plants for that same price and have it all season long. and that is just the tip of the iceberg, my friends. i make "gourmet" local, organic sauce that would cost $5-$7 bucks a jar at the supermarket or farmer's market. then i use it or freeze it to thaw out later on and make my house smell like the summer in february. you can't put a price on that.
   

so make a list of what you need to start a little garden. if you think you don't have the room, you're lying to yourself. all you need is a window. sure, a windowbox is better, a patio or balcony is better still, and a yard? well then you're a lucky duck. because you can grow enough food in a little plot in the yard to save you hundreds of bucks and keep you and another person in fresh salsa (or salads) throughout the summer. when i started gardening, i had a total black thumb. my husband (who was then my boyfriend) built me a windowbox full of fun herbs...rosemary and lemonbalm and maybe catnip for my cats. i killed it within a week and a half, and hubs was super disappointed (his family has always kept a large garden). but eventually i learned what plants were the easiest to keep alive/hardest to kill, and started off small. things like mint take over everything and are super hard to kill, so they may be easiest to start with.
anyway, my point is i started out terrible at gardening, and now as a couple we win a few blue ribbons at the state fair for our produce every year. it's not as hard as it seems.
so besides the space, what else do you need to start? seeds or small plants, which can be had from any discount, dollar, hardware, or garden store or through a number of reputable websites and catalogs, and a small seed starting kit (ditto), plus some seed starting mix or potting soil. oh, and gloves, if you've got nice nails (i don't). you can grab some basic tools (such as trowels, watering cans, etc.) for about a buck a piece at any dollar store or you can use stuff you've already got around the house (or you could go for broke and buy good ones, if you know you'll use them). then just decide what you want to plant and get to work. read the back of the seed packet to see what the proper conditions for the plant should be (full-or partial sunlight, for example, or how frequently to water), and a little research on the internet or in a gardening book about the plant in question couldn't hurt. a little time planning can save you hours of grief later.
in smaller gardens, you may just want to plant what you can fit. herbs are especially good for small spaces, as well as some kinds of lettuce. if you have a bigger space where you can fit a few pots, try tomatoes, strawberries, bell or hot peppers, or "bush" varieties of cucumbers or beans. with much larger spaces, you can use your imagination and try planting almost anything that grows in your area. we recently added onto our garden and began planting more root vegetables, corn, sunflowers, and asparagus than we could before.

anyway, here's a few links to get your research started (or you could just look at the pictures and long for spring. your choice.):
GRIT is a magazine that is full of "rural American know-how" but has immensely helped this subarbanite (who btw lives on 1/10 of an acre) learn about gardening, composting, and cooking, among other things.
herbkits.com may sound a little sketchy, but they sell very space-efficient stacking planters in which you can grow several different things at once.
hgtv actually has a pretty useful site that covers topics like container gardens and raised bed gardens, among other things.

so get outside and get moving.

also, i know it's not monday. it's thursday. oops.sorry.

make yourself useful and...

learn how to tie a necktie.

this is a skill you need if you are a man or know one. it is immensely helpful. i do not possess this skill. my husband, thankfully, can tie like a million different kinds of knots (he worked in the macy's men's department for a little while when we were in college, and also has a semi-foreign family that places importance on this kind of thing). my father had a dinner dance to go to for my mother's work agency on sunday night, and when we were over during the day, he realized that he had a new tie to wear for the occasion but it was (obviously) not tied! since my father works in a very blue-collar field, he never has to wear ties and his dress-up gear usually involves a sweater and a semi-clean pair of pants, excepting Sons of the American Legion functions for which he has to wear a tie with his dress colors (but it's already pre-tied). thankfully my husband knew how to tie his tie with the right knot for the occasion, and at the right length for my father, who is a good deal shorter than him. but my mom confessed that she didn't know how to tie a necktie either; if we hadn't been over, she would have gone on the internet to find out how to do it. so really, this is for mom. and for me. i may need this skill someday, and hubs isn't always going to be around to help my very sorry self.
Tie-a-tie.net has very good, easy-to follow instructions and seems to be updated at least semi-regularly (but really, how often does tie tying change?). there is also other useful men's dress-up information here, like how to properly fold a pocket square. there's even a tie blog. yeah. really.
this nifty little page is from a former MIT student, but has a handy, printable cheat sheet that includes the ever-classy bow tie. i love bow ties and find them to be a terribly underutilized accessory. whenever i watch the twilight zone (or mad men, obvs) i always long for their stylish menswear.
anyway, hope this helped!

make yourself useful and...

start planning your vacation early.
like, really planning. pick a location. pick some sort of lodging-you have a million options here, ranging from campgrounds to all-inclusive resorts with everything in between. check out tripadvisor and the location's local chamber of commerce website for some lodging and activity recommendations. think about whether you'd like to drive or fly or take the train or bus or whatever.
will it be a family vacation? a girls' only trip? will you be going solo, or bringing your mate? all of these things factor into the kind of vacation you plan, how much you spend, and what you decide to bring.
make a realistic packing list based on where you want to go, and then give it a good once-over. what do you need that you don't have? wait until it goes on sale or clearance, and then pick it up. most things are seasonal and will be deeply reduced withing a few weeks if you play your cards right. if you have the list in advance and know what you need (like sunscreen, a new scarf, hiking boots, a new tent, a little black dress, whatever you need based on the vacation you plan to take), you can watch the sales and pick the items up on deep discount, saving you loads of cash in the long run. i grab sunscreen and beach towels when they first go on sale around memorial day, and then i don't need to worry about it for the rest of the summer. also i stock up on flip-flops at the old navy $1 sale and then have new pairs for every outfit for the entire year (whenever there's no snow on the ground, i wear them. i used to know a girl who wore hers even in the nj winters when the snow was a foot deep. i never understood that, but to each her own).
then, most importantly, set a budget and start saving. the kind of vacation (and the location) will help inform you as to how much you'll need to spend. think about what you'll spend each and every day on things like food, transportation, lodging, activities, and souvenirs. multiply that by the length of your trip, and then give yourself some wiggle room. it's always better to have too much than not enough, especially in a foreign country where it may be more difficult to exchange currency. also, if you're planning on staying at an all-inclusive resort, you can take out a few variables from the expense category.
then, once you've got a budget planned, start saving. a few dollars a week can really add up. i like to pay for vacations cash (besides the lodging, as most hotels and resorts make you use your plastic), so the hubs and i take money from side jobs, birthdays, and everything else we can scrounge, and literally put it into a piggy bank. no, we never outgrew this method, and it's super effective. if we want extra spending money, we try to put a dollar each into our piggy banks every day, more if we have it (and obviously less if we don't). that way we don't have to worry about where it'll come from the week before we leave.
also be sure to be honest with yourself. if you can't afford a two week tour of the european countryside, you may be able to afford a weekend at a bed and breakfast a state or two over, or a trip to a cabin at a state park for a week. "stay-cations" are becoming increasingly popular, and honestly, they're not bad. if you live in a metropolitan area, there are tons of things withing a half an hour drive that i promise you aren't even aware of. just do a little research and you can always find something. at this stage of the game, sometimes i consider a night at home with take-out a vacation in its own right.
we are planning a couples cooperstown, ny trip in april, and a family seaside park vacation in july (and hopefully another weekend away in october for our anniversary), and we've already started planning. i keep my packing lists and then just update them from year to year to make it easier on myself when the time comes to drag everything out. a little organization saves a ton of aggravation.
so where will you be you be going on vacation this year?

Make yourself useful and...

tackle one project in your house that you usually avoid like the plague.
Let me tell you why this is what I'm doing today:
I am super-determined to sell my house. Like, last week.
I'm so over it. It kills me too, because I loved it so much for such a long time. I always wanted this house, because my grandparents have always lived next door to it and I've just seen it forever and for some reason knew I'd live here. My husband was not so sold on it. He still isn't sold on it. I think he resents ever having had to live here at all. We bought it from my father for WAY more than he paid for it and I think that at the time we were too starry-eyed to haggle or walk away, since we were already renting here anyway. But alas, when you're like 21 years old, you usually don't buy a house in the first place and now we own property which I guess is good in the grand scheme of things. So we've been here for a long, long time (I moved in here in the summer of 2004, and the hubs moved in after we got married that October. I was slightly more old-fashioned about those things then. *Sigh*), long enough to have replaced almost everything, like floors and walls and cabinets and water heaters and every single appliance in the kitchen. Someone is going to get what amounts to a brandy-new house. For a while after we moved in, we ripped up the floors and painted all the rooms colors that made us feel good. My kitchen is lemon yellow. My bathroom is orange, like as orange as a pumpkin. The bedroom? Hunter green and purple. Yeah, really. The living room walls are covered with reclaimed barn wood that will probably be the only thing left standing when the house eventually makes the slow slide down the hill and into the lake. Stenni's room is a plain mocha color but we figured that when she's old enough to know what she wants we would change it. I guess now we won't have to. It's very strange to deconstruct the house to the way someone else would want it instead of the way hubs & I want it. The "red room," which always had black and red walls and black carpet and red furniture since we built it, is now a subdued blue color that just seems disappointing. The new backsplash in the kitchen, while very nice, is definitely not what I would have chosen. It's white with a little strip of copper-colored glass tiles at the top. They had to take down the giant shiny copper tiles that I installed myself as a backsplash when I first moved in. It broke my heart.
Here's the a link to the listing on craigslist. I think we'll meet with a realtor within the next week to get the ball rolling. There are still a million projects to be done but it feels like everything I do to get the house ready to sell is killing a little piece of myself. We have been so close to selling so many times now, and this time I found a house that I really do love and could see myself living in for a long, long time. I know that in order to have room for more kids and for hubs to be closer to work this is the next logical step, and I know that I can't stand in the way of it. A new house is an adventure, and the idea of decorating and furnishing it is honestly thrilling to me. Plus there's a bar in the basement, which helps. But I just can't help but thinking that as a homemaker, I've made this home. And I've made it mine. And without it, I won't know what to do with myself. It's terrifying. Any suggestions, besides suck it up? Because that's what I'm going to have to do in the end anyway.
Anyway, for make yourself useful Monday, I'm going to make myself useful and tackle my bathroom. The tub needs a-scrubbin and I have too many creams and oils and other various potions that have been sitting in the medicine cabinet unused for years. I want some potential buyer to think "ooh, this bathroom looks clean and bright and awesome, and there aren't 17 hand soaps all over the place" instead of, "seriously? what does one person need with 12 kinds of moisturizer?"

make yourself useful and...

get a jump start on your tax returns.

you know what a pain it is to wait until april, or even march to try to get an appointment with a tax prep service or CPA. you know what a bother it is to have to sort through piles of bills and mail to find everyone's W2's, 1099's, etc. i say, get yourself started right now. it's not hard to be prepared since you know what you'll need. all agencies have to send out any and all tax forms by the last week of January, so you'll get them by the end of the first week of February at the latest. but while you're waiting for these forms to flutter into your letterbox, here's what you can do to prep:
1. find a file folder with pockets. put anything tax-related into that folder. this includes all of the deductions for which you should have been keeping receipts throughout the year, including but not limited to church and charity donations, goods and clothing donations (you MUST have a receipt for these as well now, so dumping them at the bins will not earn you anything except a gold star for the day), and the like. also look around and find your medical bills and receipts, if you plan to itemize. remember to keep your mortgage statement (1098), which includes your interest paid and your real estate taxes paid. in most cases you can deduct these, as well as interest paid on student loans.
2. figure out how you'll do the taxes, or who will do them for you. if you plan to use a CPA or a tax service, ask around for recommendations. if you want to do them yourself, consider whether you'll use an online service or file a paper return. if you want to do them online, do a little research. some services offer more perks than others, such as live chat or phone-in for questions, but you may pay a premium (still not as much as you'd pay to have someone else do them though, usually). the paper forms to file can often be found in your town library. mine has a tax display out front, and free tax help for seniors. if you qualify, take advantage of these programs! and remember, the more difficult your return (if there are special circumstances like rental property income, dividends and sizable interest payments, self-employment, child support issues or what have you), the more you may want to consider talking to someone who is a professional and can help you make all the right moves.
3. check the internet for tax tips and free estimated tax calculators. tax laws change constantly, and you may be able to claim more (or fewer) deductions than the last time you filed. H&R Block has a nice tax calculator (here) for those who would like to figure out if they may owe or be entitled to a refund. it's not exact, but it's nice to know and gives you a jumping-off point.
4. continue to collect things in your tax folder, and remember to hold onto it for at least 5 years, in case the men in black come a-knocking. you'll have to show the back-ups for any claims that you make in case you are audited in the future.
5. eventually, do (AND FILE) your taxes. i like to wait until february, but that's just me.

remember, i am not a tax expert, and this isn't really even advice in the strictest sense. i'm just a girl who has done her own taxes since she was 14 (yes, 14...i got a job as soon as i could and tried to get as much back from my taxes as possible). so get on it, and get it done. you'll feel better, i promise. unless you owe money, in which case i'm sorry i reminded you.

make yourself useful and...

bake me something.
starting today, i'm going to try to post a tutorial, recipe, etc. every monday, as part of "make yourself useful mondays." because you should be useful every day, but at least once a week is fine by me too. i can only be so useful for so long. but when it comes to baking, i'm somewhat useful on at least a semi-regular basis.
so a friend of mine LOVES this recipe and went nuts when i brought it to her house for a playdate a few months back (and who wouldn't? it's amazing.trust me). while the kids were playing and throwing food and making assorted baby noises, we almost housed the whole thing. yeah, it's that good. and easy? you betcha. i wouldn't make something too difficult with a bunch of toddlers running around. plus, it's semi-healthy with the oats and apples and whatnot, super-portable, and really good for cold nights (i like it in the fall when i can buy huge bushels of apples and make it in bulk, but any time you can get apples, it'll be spot on. i like it with mutsus/crispins, but use whatever you've got laying around). should you make it tonight? of course you should. plus if you live in the northeast like me, the oven helps heat your house. that's just a little added incentive.

apple crisp:

6 or so apples, cored and sliced. peel them if you like. i don't.
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup flour (use unbleached white or wheat if you've got it)
1 cup sugar
1 cup quick oats
2 T. cinnamon, divided, or 2 T. apple pie spice
1/4 c butter, cut into little piece

1. Preheat your oven to 350.
2. Put apples on the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish (or if you want to get fancy, a big pie plate). In a separate bowl, mix melted butter, flour, sugar, oats, and 2 T cinnamon, and form a crumb mixture. Sprinkle over the apples. Dot with the 1/4 c. butter pieces and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon or apple pie spice.
3. Bake 50 minutes or until crumb is lightly browned and apples are tender (or until your house smells so good you can't stand it. just let it cool before you stuff your face).

also, this is my 37th post. my last blog only made it to 37 posts, so i'm pretty psyched that i'm kind of taking this one a little more seriously. well, as seriously as i take most things, which is not very, but still it's something of an improvement.