Surviving Without Checks

I ran out of checks several months ago. You know...the personal paper things that you physically tear from a tangible checkbook.

I haven't replaced them since.

Why, you ask? Two reasons, really.

1. I'm hypothosizing that they are unnecessary and, thus, are a deletable expense.

2. I wanted to see if I could really survive without them (gotta put a little spice in my life).

So far so good. Sure, there have been times when I really wished I'd had some checks...like at Christmas time, when I wanted to send my out-of-state nieces and nephews a gift. I knew sending cash was not smart and, to me, sending gift cards seemed equally risky. I wound up ordering them books from Barnes & Noble, because, hey, books are always good gifts and they were shipped free.

When the Girls Scouts came around seeking payment for their cookies, I cursed myself for not being better prepared. In one case, I put off the delivery, because I had no cash on hand. (Oh, why don't they take credit and debit cards, I found myself wishing, along with, why doesn't my family stay away from the cash in my wallet?) In another case, my husband accepted the baked goods with a promise that I'd run to the bank for cash and deliver to the girls later (which I did, by the way...you can't cheat good little samaritans, especially when they live next door).

So, how have I been handling all my other payments? On-line banking. It really is so convenient...the bank writes the checks for you, stuffs them in envelopes, and picks up the expense to mail them. My service is free, but I can imagine it would still be cost effective, even paying a small monthly charge.

For all other transactions, I pay cash or use my debit or credit card. It isn't all that bad being checkless. I have a friend who finds herself in the same situation and she's doing fine, too.

My banker just let me know that I am entitled to free checks with my account, but, you know, I think I'm going to pass. I'll let you know how things turn out....

How about you? Do you write many checks nowadays? Could you survive without them?

I'm Gonna Be Rich...or Disappointed

Much to the chagrin of my children, when I find a mistake on a receipt, I get my money back...before I even leave the store. I'll do it for a few bucks, a dollar, even a lousy nickel...it doesn't matter.

I march myself, sometimes leaving a mortified preteen a bazillion feet behind me, right on up to the customer service desk (or the register where I made my purchase) and point out the mistake. Although I do this with all the politeness I can muster, I do not think these stores or employees (or my kids) much like me.

Well, I don't give a hoot. Money is money...or maybe I'm just plain crazy.

Keep in mind that every store has a different price-guarantee policy and every employee of every store seems to handle things differently. More often than not I get the price difference refunded. Occasionally, I'll get the item free (this is rare, but it does happen). If it's my mistake, I either return the item or keep it and chalk it up to a learning-to-remember-better experience.

I do, however, have to warn you that my mistakes are few and far between. After being home with my family surviving on one income for so long, I am slow approaching expert level at bargain shopping. I can pretty much remember the price of ANYTHING. (Such talent, I know.)

That said, I thought it would be fun and educational to keep track of how much these mistakes can add up to...just how much money can be saved in a single year.

Here's where we stand today, February 26th, 2010 (Day 1): $2.58. I'll post updates periodically.

What's your guesstimate on the one-year total? Do you keep close track of your purchases, or could you care less?

Those Forwarded Personal Emails

It's like nobody wants to read them.

"Mom, I'm about THIS close," my daughter says as she shows me her thumb and forefinger about a half inch apart, "to marking you as spam."

"You wouldn't!" I say, shocked and rather offended.

"I would." I think she means it.

Ms. Smarty Pants. Forget soap in the mouth, I think to myself, how about a nice run through the washing machine?

After hundreds, OK maybe thousands, of forwards sent his way, my husband came home from work one day, put his foot down and said, "Enough with the forwards already," in his I'm-trying-really-hard-to-be-kind voice. Nice guy and all, but man he could use a sedative.

My sister-in-law...now, she was smart. She caught it right away, nipped things in the bud, as she politely asked me to remove her from my forward list--after the very first one!

Still, I remain strong. I continue to pass on emailed inspiration to those not brave enough to tell me to stop. And even then, I press on...ignoring my very own sister, my own flesh and blood, when she tells me I'm cursing her forever because she doesn't know 10 people to pass the stinkin' chain mails on to.

It's like a sickness, an addiction really, that they just don't have a name for yet.

I'm not blaming, I'm just saying, it's my friend Mary. I do so love Mary (for the benefit of Mary, who may very well be reading this). She sends me them, I read them, and then feel compelled to pass them along. They're cute (especially the animal ones)...I just can't help it.

The intentions are good. I always imagine the recipient smiling (as I do when I get them) when they see my name and insightful message in their in box; but, in reality, they are... flinching...or sighing...or ignoring...or deleting. Yet I refuse to see it.

I've heard of other people with the forwarding addiction going so far as to send the messages with the "FWD" part removed to trick people into opening them. There's no other way around it. I'm going to have to get sneaky.

Now, I'm no expert at human relations, but it seems people might get a bit angry (angrier) with me.

How do you feel about forwards? Are you a fan...or do you simply get annoyed by them?

The Kid Knows...Her Morning Routine

This just in...

My youngest daughter (11) just informed me she's setting her alarm clock (unusual)...10 minutes earlier than I normally wake her up (what?).

She says she realizes it's hard for her to get up with any sort of energy when I'm the one doing the waking up. So she's preempting the matter.

What's she doing with her extra time? (I asked the same thing.) Warming up the curling iron and reading while she waits.

Now, why the heck don't I think of these things?

Time management lessons from a kid. Sounds crazy, but I'm going to keep my ears open for more such wisdom around our house.

In the meantime, would you like to share some set-you-straight advice or inspiration you received from a child in your life?

Just a Thought...Kids and Energy

I think I know where kids get all their energy.

They suck it out of all the adults around them. That's why you get so drained watching them.

Little energy suckers. Think about it. :)

Book vs. Movie: Gone With the What?

Wind? What wind? There is no wind in that movie. What...so...ever.

In fact, all I saw on screen was a bunch of overheated, overdressed aristocrat-like (at least in the beginning) people trying hard to beat the windless heat of the South by doing a whole lot of nothing, farming out their every chore to slaves.

There really is no making light of the movie either, which may be, in part, the reason I've put off seeing Gone With the Wind until this past weekend, at the ripe old age of 41. I was curious to see how the movie compared to the book I'd finally read last summer.

I do realize, by the way, that author Margaret Mitchell's main character, Scarlett O'Hara, uttered the book's title as she wondered if her home, Tara, had been burned down by the Yankees. What I don't understand is just why I liked the movie better than the book. That almost never happens for me.

It must be that the book was difficult reading. I found myself beginning to understand the Confederate side of things and that made me uncomfortable. I didn't want to feel that way. (I guess that's great writing.) And, I have never before read a book containing characters I couldn't stand. At all.

The movie, on the other hand, offers two likable characters in Melanie Hamilton and Mammy, in my not-so-expert opinion. They are portrayed differently (wiser, almost) and offer some relief to the whole tragedy of the Civil War. I enjoyed the fine acting and condensed time frame (yes, condensed, when compared to the book).

Overall, I'm glad to have read and seen this important story. No wonder it's a classic. It gives a much needed view of the losing side, and is quite a departure from the happily ended movies of today. I'm going to appreciate my Scarlett O'Hara shrub all the more.

What do you think of Gone With the Wind? Do you usually like a book more than the movie, or the other way around?

Easy Cooking: Chocolate Pudding

Ah, chocolate pudding...delicious and nutritious. Sure, you can knock it for its sugar content, but you can't deny pudding's ability to deliver bone-building calcium and powerful antioxidants to dessert and snack lovers everywhere.

If you're fortunate enough to have fond memories of your mother's or grandmother's homemade chocolate pudding like I do, you probably seldom if ever touch the processed stuff.

There's really no need...so long as you keep the recipe simple. I'm no expert, but I think today I finally stumbled upon the keeper recipe. It's by Kelly Powers at http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chocolate-Cornstarch-Pudding/Detail.aspx. And, chances are, you have all the ingredients you'll need already on hand.

Chocolate Cornstarch Pudding

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 3/4 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons margarine or butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

 
In a saucepan, stir together sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt. Place over medium heat, and stir in milk. Bring to a boil, and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Remove from heat, and stir in margarine and vanilla. Let cool briefly, and serve warm, or chill in refrigerator until serving.

 

We ate this pudding cold, warm, and warm with a dab of milk (just like my dad did). How do you prefer your pudding?

Buttermilk Meatballs Bomb

I'm not sure exactly where things went awry with yesterday's recipe--Mildred Knopf's Buttermilk Meatballs from the last post. The sauce was rather "boozy" tasting, for lack of a better word.

Don't get me wrong, I like a glass of red wine as much as the next guy, but in my meatballs? I was sort of afraid to feed it to the under-21 bunch in the house.

Maybe the taste was so strong because I used a malbec wine instead of a dry sherry. Maybe I didn't let the sauce cook long enough (I was pressed for time, needing to drive a daughter and friends to the movies). I forgot to add the paprika, but I think that may be more for color than for taste.

The good news is that it tasted a whole lot better the second day. When re-heating for lunch, I added a pinch of sugar, which I figured was lacking from not having used sherry, and some skim milk for moistening and dilution. That seems to have done the trick.

Next time, though, I'm giving Brian's Meatballs a try. See yesterday's comments section for the scoop.

Have you ever had a recipe turn out not quite the way you expected?

Easy Cooking: Buttermilk Meatballs

Let me tell you this right off the bat. I do NOT love to cook.

I don't mind it...sometimes I even look forward to it...like to experiment with it a bit...but I definitely don't love it.

What I do love is providing my family a nutritious meal that they enjoy (or somewhat so) that doesn't cost me an arm and a leg, or in more modern terms, an early withdrawal from my retirement account. That's what gives me joy. You might call me cheap; I prefer frugal.

Which brings me to my favorite cookbook, Simple Fare: Rediscovering the Pleasures of Real Food, by Ronald Johnson. This was my very first cookbook. I believe I bought it on clearance not long after moving from Michigan to Chicago. I still use it nearly 20 years later.

Were I to copy the Julie & Julia cooking blog, I would use this book. Hmmm...Jackie & Ronald. I love this book because the recipes are simple (as the name implies) and, best of all, they usually require cheap ingredients. I can expose my kids to flavorful, worldly dishes without a costly passport.

So not an expert at traveling or cooking, I enjoy Johnson's interesting personal notes for every recipe, along with his side dish suggestions. I especially appreciate that his recipes don't call for any fancy or hard-to-find ingredients, but if one is mentioned, he provides an easy alternative.

Tonight, I'm making for the first time Mildred Knopf's Buttermilk Meatballs. Johnson adapts this old-world recipe from the 1960's self-taught cook's Perfect Hostess Cook Book.

Mildred Knopf's Buttermilk Meatballs


- 1 lb. lean ground beef (I'm using ground sirloin since that was on sale for $1.69/lb.)
- 1 c. buttermilk (you can actually make your own with vinegar and milk...see this link http://frugalliving.about.com/od/condimentsandspices/r/Buttermilk_Sub.htm
- 1/2 c. fresh rye bread crumbs
- salt and freshly ground pepper (my pepper won't be freshly ground)
- flour
- 3 T vegetable oil
- 3 T butter
- 1 c. sour cream
- 4 T dry sherry (I'm using red wine from an already opened bottle)
- cooked noodles or rice (I'm using whole wheat pasta)
- paprika


Place meat in a bowl with buttermilk and bread crumbs, and blend mixture thoroughly with your hands. Add salt and pepper to taste--not too much salt because the buttermilk tends to give the meat a lively enough flavor. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.


Roll into 1" balls and roll lightly in flour. Put vegetable oil in a frying pan large enough to hold all the balls in a single layer. Cook over high heat until golden on all sides--about 5 minutes is enough, for they should not overcook. Scoop balls out into a bowl and discard the oil.


Put butter in the pan and heat over medium heat. Stir sour cream with sherry and then stir into the sizzling butter. Lower heat and stir the sauce smooth, adding a little salt as you wish. Do not let the sauce boil or it will curdle. When it is hot, stir in meatballs until they are coated. Serve over noodles or rice sprinkled with a blush of paprika.

I'll let you know how this turns out. Meanwhile, do you have an easy meatball recipe or a cookbook you'd like to tell us about?

The Group Hug

Yesterday my house was chock full of emotions. The people inside it, I mean.

The kids beat me home--they from school and me from my second run of the day to the grocery store. (I needed matches to light the stove that hasn't worked properly in years for dinner preparations...quite possibly another post.)

Enter Emotion #1: Happiness (the kids felt it because they were free...free from questions about their day, free from kisses they'll wipe right off their faces, free to raid the pantry for expensive snacks normally reserved for school lunches). Unsupervised, they'll eat the floorboards if packed individually in a box of 5 for $3.98.

Disappointment is probably the second emotion they felt when I walked in to foil their plans.

"We're having smoothies for snack," I said. "I have fresh strawberries firming up in the freezer." (OK, maybe that's worded a bit better than how I really said it, but you get the idea.) Plus, secretly I knew we had to eat up the homemade yogurt no one will touch unless it's buried deep beneath or hidden inside something. By the way, I also hide it in mashed potatoes, since it really does taste like sour cream.

Fueled up and sugar levels elevated, the kids entered Emotion #3, Excitement. Let the wrestling and floor sliding begin. And the laughter, hysterical almost. Then the playful teasing, which inevitably goes too far, leading to Emotion #4, Anger.

A bit on the slow side these days, I was still stuck back at the laughter part.

"Everybody come here. I think we need a group hug," I cajoled. Because they're 11, 12, and 13, this takes some effort, but in good time everyone was hanging on one another, smiling, giggling, and, quite frankly, having trouble standing. Not until I caught a foot in my stomach did I realized we had some simultaneous kicking going on. The whole emotional ball of wax, these kids are.

Group hugs, at least around our house, can be very deceiving.

How are the emotions and group hugs at your house?

Where in the World Have All the Razors Gone?

Seriously. Do you have this problem?

The last year or so has brought everyone in my house together. At last we are all on the same page about something. We're all working toward the same goal: the pursuit of hairlessness.

Both my girls are shaving. My son is even in on the act, albeit periodically. My bearded husband does his usual trim. Only thing is, while they all look real neat and tidy, I've got hair GROWING OUT MY HEMS!

I can't find a razor for the life of me.

And yet I'm afraid to bring another pack of disposables home.

They disappear as fast as the potato chips. I don't know what in the world my family does with them.

Am I missing something? Am I deficient in yet another area? Could there be another force at work here? Any help at all would be appreciated.

Thanks!

My President Ford Scare

No doubt, the late, former President Gerald R. Ford was an honorable man. He succeeded Richard Nixon in 1974 during troubled, post-Watergate times and helped heal the nation. Never mind that he pardoned Nixon...maybe he had good reason.

According to the White House website, http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/GeraldFord, Ford maintained our country's prestige after Cambodia and South Viet Nam collapsed, prevented war in the Middle East, and set new nuclear weapons limitations with Soviet leader Brezhnev.

Unfortunately, when I covered his press conference announcing the opening of a nursing facility for the local radio station some 20 years ago, I didn't quite remember things that way.

Oh sure, I remembered that Ford had attended the University of Michigan decades before me and played football there. U-M named a library after him. He had a beautiful family. But mostly, and probably undeservedly, I recalled his reputation for being, well, a bit clumsy--probably due to Chevy Chase's impression of him on Saturday Night Live. See http://www.zimbio.com/10+Awesome+Moments+in+Political+Satire/articles/9YKaxlCQOJb/7+Chevy+Chase+Redefines+Gerald+Ford.

So, here's pretty much how things went...how my 21-year-old mind worked:

I'm rushing into the conference room sort of hunched over (because I am late, as usual, and I think that people won't notice)...I grab a seat up front, but on the aisle in case I need to make a speedy getaway (I do have a lot of outstanding parking tickets and the secret service agents are eying me)...Ford is talking about figures (I check my lap to make sure my press kit contains all the information I'll need for my report)...wait, he's falling...no, he's OK...wow, I can't believe I'm here...I can reach out and touch him...it seems those agents are really looking me over (maybe I look suspicious craning my neck around)...he's talking...he's not going to fall, is he?...he seems stable enough...they're still staring...I realize those agents are wearing sunglasses indoors to throw us for a loop...I'm listening...he's wrapping things up...people are helping the former president off the stage...the stage that's framed by ropes and posts...he's OK to walk, isn't he?...he's not falling?

And then it hits me (no, not a secret service man). That barricade between the president and the press? That wasn't for Ford's protection...it was for ours.

The power of television.

None of that bias made my report.

How about you? Have you an experience with a former or current president you'd like to share with us?

Only the Best Sugar Cookies for My Valentines

In case you're wondering what I'm doing today (the day before Valentine's Day), besides watching my daughter's indoor soccer game, I'm baking cookies. Not just any cookies.  Classic Sugar Cookies from the Southern Living Incredible Cookies cookbook with a simple glaze, in heart shapes, of course.

Although I'm so-not-an-expert baker, believe me when I say that I've tried a lot of sugar cookie recipes in my day and this one is the best. It's a true favorite around our house--even my 13-year-old son likes the recipe and he claims he doesn't even like sugar cookies. Over and over again we turn to this--birthdays, Valentine's Day, Halloween, various parties, etc....

There's a reason these cookies are called classic. They're perfect as they are. They're easy. They withstand the test of time. There isn't a need in the world to mess with them.

Enough said. Here's the recipe....

CLASSIC SUGAR COOKIES

1 cup butter or margarine, softened (I've never used margarine, only butter)
1 cup sugar
1 lg. egg
1 t. vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 t. salt

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer 2 minutes or until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating well. Add egg and vanilla, beating well. Gradually add flour and salt, beating until blended. Divide dough in half; cover and chill 1 hour.

Roll each portion of dough to 1/4" thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut with desired cookie cutters. Place on lightly greased baking sheets. (Oh, oops. That's why my cookies are a little tough to get off the sheets. I do not know if I've ever greased the sheets. I'll try that today.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges of cookies are lightly browned. Cool cookies 1 minute on baking sheets; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

GLAZE

1 (16-oz.)  pkg. powdered sugar
6 T warm water
Liquid food coloring, optional

Stir together powdered sugar and warm water using a wire whisk. Divide and tint with food coloring, if desired; place in shallow bowls for ease in dipping cookies. Yield: 1-1/3 cups. (I rest the dipped cookies on a wire rack and wait for them to dry there. They make a drippy mess, but are so worth it.)

If you prefer an prettier online version of the recipe, try one of these links:

myrecipes.com      (and search for the recipe by name)
or
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1933327

Do you have a favorite treat you like to make for Valentine's Day? Do you have a fun tradition you'd like to share? I'd love to hear how you liked this recipe.

Happy baking and Happy Valentine's Day!

Easy Gardening: Just Throw the Darn Seeds Out There

Those are the words of my dear friend Kerensa. And, it's exactly how she gardens.

Her yard is ab-so-lutely magical. With railroad ties, rocks and tons of colorful, water-loving plants, the woman even makes her front ditch* look like she wanted it there all along. Her father was a landscaper. I figure she knows what she's talking about.

I, on the other hand, am known to kill every indoor plant I've ever had. I'm forever defending myself against such charges from my husband. "I keep children alive, not plants," I contest with my head held high. My front ditch had cat tails in it for years.

So, naturally, I wanted to heed Kerensa's advice.

Not because I didn't trust her completely, but because I just invested a small fortune in seed packs, I conducted my own quasi, so-not-an-expert experiment first.  Here are my completely non-scientific results: 

Scenario 1: Just as I've always done, I nursed the baby seedlings growing on my sunny window sills since the beginning of spring. After all danger of frost had passed, I transplanted them all to the garden area in my backyard, watered, and treated as usual. 

Scenario 2: I took the extra seeds (and I always have them...they give you so many...you can't possibly use them unless your entire yard is a farm) and scattered them in somewhat organized fashion in a dirt patch just outside my kitchen door. I watered them and treated them as I did my other green offspring. 


Results:  Wouldn't you know it? Hands down, the darn scattered seeds from Scenario 2 outperformed the pampered, window-hogging, messy seedlings from Scenario 1!

So, there you have it.

All I know, and it's not much, is I like to avoid wasting time. If I don't have to invest time, energy, and space on my window sills to get great produce from the garden, I won't. It's Easy Street for me. I'll take that route anytime.

How 'bout you? Do you tend to take Easy Street or Proper Place? Do you garden? Do you have your own experiment to share or one you'd like me to conduct? Do you just throw the darn seeds out there? 

* A front ditch is an unattractive path--sometimes filled with stone, sometimes covered by grass--carved into the front yards of all those homes in our community without sewers. It guides run-off water to a reservoir, which in my case, is a small lake, from which no one eats the fish.

Did the Earth Move For You, Too?

Ah ha. Got you. I bet you thought this post was about something sensual, something telling, something, well, ANYTHING other than an EARTHQUAKE in Illinois. Who would have guessed?

In light of all of Haiti’s recent earthquake troubles, I suppose it’s pretty tasteless to even joke about such things.

But come on. I live in Medinah, a small, unincorporated town--my friend Colleen likens to Andy Griffith’s Mayberry--west of Chicago, and I felt it. Unusual things like this just don’t happen around here...unless, of course, you count the mom fight at the school art fair, but that’s another blog.

Anyway, I woke up about 4:30 Wednesday morning to the sound of my windows rattling and because it felt like everything around me (including me) was vibrating. I remember wondering if it was, in fact, an earthquake, but once I heard the airplane engines overhead (we live in the flight path of O’Hare airport), I figured I was being rather ridiculous...and went back to sleep.

Go figure that it actually was a quake and registered 3.8 on the Richter scale! I do notice that some books on a top shelf of one of my bookcases looks a bit disheveled, but aside from that, nothing seems out of the ordinary. In all fairness, the messy books could be the work of one of my cats or kids. It’s also entirely possible that the books have been that way for days and I am just now noticing.

Realistically, I shouldn’t see any damage from such a minor shake...not until magnitude 5.0, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). For more kid- or adult-friendly information, visit http://www.fema.gov/kids/quake.htm. I just love websites and books for children. They’re so easy to understand.

Since, obviously, I am so-not-an-expert, let’s find out what in the world you should do during an earthquake? Not fall back to sleep, you say? Correct. If you’re inside: drop, cover, and hold on. “If there isn’t a table or desk near you,” FEMA says. “Cover your face and head with your arms and crouch in an inside corner of the building.” For more tips, such as what to do if you happen to be caught outside during a quake, visit http://www.fema.gov/hazard/earthquake/eq_during.shtm.

Just curious...if you live in the Chicago area, did the earth move for you? If you live elsewhere, have you ever experienced an earthquake? How did you cope? This was my first one.