Getting Nervous

We have the absolutely incredible opportunity to go to Israel for eight days (not including travel).  So far I've been great- no nerves, just that vague thrill of excitement that comes when a trip is far away.

Now I'm getting freaked out- in that super excited but oh-no-what-am-I-forgetting? 

We ended up spending $35 today (ouch) on a travel alarm clock and a voltage converter for charging our appliances.  While we thought we could get away without the voltage converter, we ultimately decided it wasn't worth risking the more expensive Kindle Fire to save $25.

This does mean I can bring my cell phone.  We're planning on going to check on long distance texting costs- I realize that International calls will be entirely too expensive, but hopefully we can send a few "We're here and not dead" texts to family members without going broke.

I can't wait to go, but it's going to be so different from anything I've ever experienced- my first time out of country! Eeek!

-Kristen

Debt Proof Your Christmas- (12 Months of Christmas Post)

No, this isn't an accident.  I am really posting about Christmas in January.  GASP! I'm doing a blog series this year that I have entitled the 12 months of Christmas.  Each month there will be a post about getting ready for Christmas, saving for gifts, or whatever! :).

I'm reading a book called "Debt-Proff Your Christmas", by Mary Hunt.  As something that made me giggle, I bought this book at 90% off just recently, as it was considered a "Christmas" item.

The book centers around the Christmas rush and how we get caught up in the frustration of the season, often spending way more than we can afford in order for our families to be happy (or so we think), when a simpler approach really is the best way.  It's chock full of great homemade ideas, new ways to do gift exchanges and helpful advice.

I sat down last night and made a file called Gifts.  In it, I wrote the names of my Mom, Mother-in-Law, Sister-in-Law and Grandmother.   Then I broke them down farther by Christmas, Birthday, Mother's Day, etc.  Any occasion I buy for, I wrote down.  Then I wrote down what I planned to give to each of them on each date.  Some might be more vague than others- for instance one might say "bath gift basket" while the other might say "K-Cup spinning tower from Kohls".

This is going to go a long way to help me this year.  No more buying something, then finding something better. No more hustle and bustle around crowded malls because I thought I had something that I didn't have.   I have 11 months (to the day) to get ready for Christmas, there is no reason to put it off until my only option is to choose something too expensive and charge it.

If you find the New Year brings you lots of debt, I highly recommend you check out this book.  If you live locally, I'll even let you borrow my copy.

Stay Tuned for another blog post that is going to be entitled "It's Better Than Good-Enough, It's Great."

-Kristen

HOT Amazon $5 credit Promotion!

Go here and answer the question (sharing your answer to facebook) and get a $5 Amazon promotional credit, good through June 30th!

It doesn't get easier than this! My answer was "nifty".

YAY Free money!  Expired already, darn it!  Congratulations to everyone who got it.



While you are there, you can check out the free Mumford and Sons song "I Will Wait"

-Kristen

Reading

bookishly.com

I'm a voracious reader- I always have been.  Sometimes it is almost like I am afflicted with the desire to read.  In the past 5 days, I've devoured 6 books.

So what- 6 books in 3 days? Geez.

If I enjoy a book, I will read it over and over again- sometimes back to back.  I've had to replace several worn out copies of my favorite paperbacks thanks to reading them so often- thank God for the Kindle!

Sometimes when the mood to read strikes me, it becomes an obsession.  Even as I type this, as I sit at work, all I can think of is the plot in one of the stories I'm reading.  Thankfully I was able to leave it this morning on a good note- if they were in danger, if there was a problem, it would have been almost impossible. 

I almost rush through the books, in an eagerness to find out what happens, to predict the outcome.  I never flip to the back and read the ending first- that's cheating.  I will admit I often rush the journey to get to the destination.  Maybe that's why I reread novels so many times?

Tim, on the other head, reads a book once and he's done with it.  Occasionally, years later, he may pick up a book and read it again but that is a rarity.

At least I can say that rereading books is frugal- after all, I don't have to buy new ones if I'm content to read the ones I already have!

-Kristen

Free Bath & Body Works

Click on the Bath & Body Works facebook page to claim the newest offer- Free 1 of 3 NEW America's Sweethearts Signature Fragrances.  Choice of Honey Sweetheart, Daisy Dreamgirl or Berry Flirt. Limit 1 per customer. No purchase necessary.


-Kristen

Canning French Onion Soup

We enjoy French Onion Soup, but it's such a pain to make fresh- so many dishes to mess up, etc.  So I pressure canned some!

You'll need:
Canning jars
Pressure Canner (you can not process this using a water bath)
8 cups of beef broth
8 cups of chicken broth
2 cups of white cooking wine (optional)
4 tbsp of garlic
7 medium onions
worcestershire sauce (to taste, I used around 20 quick shakes)
butter

Slice your 7 medium onions, then half them.  I've found that a mandoline slicer makes this step incredibly easy.  It was an onerous task the first time I made this soup.  Set your onions aside.

Mix your beef broth, chicken broth, white wine, garlic and worcestershire sauce in a big pot.  You may have to do it in two pots unless you have a large stock pot. If you do it in batches, just split the ingredients in half.  Stir well, then heat up over a burner until it starts to boil.

While your liquids are heating up, caramelize your onions in a pan with 2 tbsp of butter.  This is another step I had to do in small batches.

When your onions are ready, split them in to your canning jars.  I made 4 quart jars and 3 small pints of soup based on this recipe.  (Please note, on the original recipe I tried, I found that the lady called for 12 cups of broth only and it supposedly filled up 5 quart jars.  I did not find this to be the case and increased the amount of liquid to 16 cups of broth and added the 2 cups of wine).

Pour your broth over top of your onions, leaving about an inch of headspace.

Add your tops and rings, then place in your pressure cooker.  You'll want to process them for 75 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure.

When you are ready to eat your soup, just pop open a jar, add some crusty french bread and some gruyere or mozarella cheese and voila! Delicious.

-Kristen

A little bit of organization-

 So, I've been working on being more organized and I decided to tackle our pantry.  I didn't get a before picture, but suffice it to say it was a disaster.

In fact, I'm pretty much only posting these pictures because I know as soon as a few days go by, this will be absolutely destroyed.   You can see a bit of my stockpiling- mac & cheese, pasta, homemade canned salsa, though most stockpiled items are in a separate closet.

It feels so nice to have everything organized.  I can tell what we have, what we need and I tossed out all the old stuff. I even found an old, empty BOX in there.  Nothing in there- just taking up space.

Anyway, this is just a little brag post.  Buwahaha.

-Kristen