Putting Some Prepped Foods To The Test - Tacos!

 

Last summer I got a good buy on ground beef (on sale + I had a coupon) and decided to cook it all up with taco seasonings and can it in half pint jars.  I usually can in pint jars, but the idea was to have some smaller portions on hand to try and see how I liked using them.  I figured that way I didn't have to eat the same thing for several days in a row in order to use it up.  So how did that work out?

 

A quick reheat in the microwave

Perfect!  I love a good taco or taco salad so having a half pint jar of meat ready to reheat and use made it not only super simple, but it was the right size for me to enjoy for just two meals.  The flavor and texture of the meat was great and I can see the versatility in having this item in my pantry, for sure.  I could add this to a rice side packet for a quick and easy meal, or make my own rice and combine it with some salsa and a bit of grated cheese.  I could add some to homemade refried beans and use that to make burritos or chimichangas.  I could add this as my meat next time I make taco soup.

 

Home canned taco meat

Topped with home canned salsa

Moving forward, as I'm canning, I think I'll do more of these smaller jars.  It will be very nice to have pint sized jars as well as the half pint jars to make meals for one or two people without a ton of leftovers.  I love leftovers, but sometimes it is really nice not to have leftovers so I can enjoy a bit more variety in my menu.  I will declare home canned taco meat a complete success!

 

 

My Tireless Retirement - Week 32

 

Brrrr!  I'm ready for spring folks!  My body is not happy with the change in our weather.  Cold, wet and breezy, goodness sakes!  Anybody else freezing their keister off?  That's okay, it gives me a really good excuse to grab my fuzzy throw blanket and snuggle with the kitties in front of the fireplace.  Who doesn't love that?

 

Daylight savings ended on Sunday and usually that is a great time to catch an extra hour of sleep.  Not this girl.  For some reason I could not sleep that night so I gave up and headed downstairs to do something else thinking it was 4:00 in the morning but it was only 3:00!  So I adjusted all the clocks in the house and brewed a pot of coffee.  I did a bunch of writing so all was not lost.  What did you do with your extra hour on Sunday?  I hope it included a good night of sleep.

 

Tuesday was my day to run errands and also it was election day so I got myself ready and headed out.  It was a sunny 45° day and a little breezy, but tolerable.  I headed off to the post office first to mail a journal I made for my aunt and pick up some really cute Christmas stamps.  I am all stocked up on postage stamps for a while. 

A sweet little journal I made for my aunt

Then off to the gas station to put in my $25 monthly budget of fuel into my car which topped her up quite nicely with six gallons of gasoline.  Now both vehicles are full as we head into winter and I probably won't need to buy fuel again until after the New Year.  How about that?!  After I voted I headed back home and Jack was very happy to get my lap back while I enjoyed a hot cup of coffee and put my feet up.  Voting is hard work!  Ha, ha, ha.

 

Sorry for the glare, I did a collage of some of the places I want to go
It's good to have goals!

I'm really glad I got my errands done on Tuesday because I woke to snow again on Wednesday morning and then our lows were in the twenties after that so it has stuck around.  The rest of my week basically consisted of staying warm, a little cooking, a little housekeeping, a little laundry and a whole lot of crafting and working on the travel section of my 2023 dayplanner.  I'm making a bucket list and coming up with some plans.  I love planning stuff!  I also did some work in my Christmas journal, yes I did!  I made a big pile of Christmas cards too.  I had loads of fun.

 

I tell you what, warmer temperatures are calling my name already, but according to Alexa I have four months and one week until spring.  That seems like a long time, but we all know how quickly time passes.  It will be spring soon enough.

 

I started a bucket list!

I hope you all enjoyed a great week.  Has anyone started decorating for Christmas yet?  I have not, but I am getting excited about it.

 

Decluttering My Gift Wrap Organizer

 

A couple years ago I invested in a gift wrap organizer that I could hang up in a closet.  At the time it was a good upgrade from the bin I had been using because it held everything including the paper rolls.  However, since that time I have stuffed it full to the point that it had become so heavy I feared it might break the closet rod or the organizer itself.

 

I definitely do not need this many bags & gift boxes

The other day I decided to take it down and go through it because I realized I had collected way too much stuff for wrapping gifts.  I went through each and every item in each and every pocket and literally was able to get rid of half of what I had squirreled away.

 

This is what I chose to get rid of

No way did I need this many gift bags and boxes.  Or so many stick on bows.  And because I really enjoy making my own gift tags I got rid of a bunch of those too so now I have a good excuse to make some more.

 

Much more manageable

Now I feel I have just the right amount of gift wrapping supplies, probably still more than I need at the moment, but far less than I had before.  I have a nice selection of tissue paper good for all occasions, a small selection of birthday and Christmas gift bags in assorted sizes, a couple small Valentine gift bags plus three wine gift bags in no particular theme.  I kept a few Christmas gift boxes and a couple plain white ones too.

 

and a lot lighter

The organizer is so much lighter now and fits neatly in the closet of the upstairs spare bedroom which I think is the perfect place for me to do my gift wrapping.

 

Ready for a porch pick up

I figured someone else could probably get some good use out of the items I decluttered so I offered it all up for FREE on my neighborhood Facebook Buy Nothing page.  It always feels good to me whenever I take on a declutter project and even better when I'm able to share things that can help out another person.

 

 

Working On My 2023 Dayplanner

 

This may sound odd to some of you, but I derive a great deal of comfort as well as joy in having a dayplanner.  I wondered if, once retired, I would even need a dayplanner anymore and I've decided yes, I still can find it quite useful.  So I got busy and began working on my 2023 planner as I usually do this time of year.

 

I pulled out lots of fun goodies to use to make my dayplanner

My planner has changed and evolved to fit my needs as my life has evolved and change as well.  I think flexibility is an important part of life, especially when it comes to planning and mapping out our daily lives.  I love the predictability of my routines, there is a lot of structure and comfort in that, but here are so many variables that will come into play as we navigate our days so the ability to be flexible helps a lot.

 

I prefer to use a month at a glance calendar with a monthly planning page

Writing things down makes my life so much easier and less stressful if I'm not trying to remember everything I need to do inside my head.  Grocery lists, meal plans or ideas, recipes, appointments, projects and goals, it all fits neatly inside my dayplanner.  I've often joked that while I do have a head on my shoulders my brain is in that book.

 

I use all kinds of pretty papers to inspire me and make me feel good

Right now I don't really need a dayplanner as much as I did when I was a working full time busy mom with two active children with loads of extracurricular activities and school.  Nonetheless I can still see the value in having one to use.  I still want to know what day it is, I do have appointments every now and then that need to be remembered, I still go to the grocery store and pay bills, I still have projects to complete, I still have dreams and goals I'd like to see come to fruition.  Plus, retirement has not made me suddenly better at remembering things.

 

I included labeled tab dividers to keep it all organized

I'm always looking for ways to improve my dayplanner and this coming year I'm adding a monthly journal page to document anything special that may have happened.  Time is scurrying by at a rapid pace and I think it would be nice to be able to look back at these pages and see whatever it was I highlighted each month.  I also think this will be a lot of fun too.  My planner will now be a partner to my daily journal.

 

I already have a new daily journal ready to go for next year

I use a 5 X 9 mini binder to make my planner, I really like that size,
and I like to change out the cover each year too

I keep a pencil pouch of colored gel pens, mechanical pencils, an eraser, glue stick, post it notes and correction tape.  I have stickers, and pretty papers in my planner, calendar pages, monthly planning pages and blank pages, as well as postage stamps, contact information and places to tuck whatever else I feel needs to be included inside.  By creating my own planner I'm able to fit it to my needs and make changes as I need to.  I am very much looking forward to the remainder of 2022 and all that 2023 may have in store.

 

 

My Tireless Retirement - Week 31

 

Our winter weather has definitely arrived.  All last week the temperatures steadily decreased and on Friday morning I awoke to our first snowfall of the season.  It got cold enough that night that sometime in the early morning hours the house got cold enough that the main heating kicked on downstairs.  Yep, winter weather is here.

Snow falling and still lots of leaves on the trees

I spent the majority of my week inside.  I went to Albertson's at the beginning of the week to pick up a few produce items on sale and then came right home.  I think last Monday was the warmest day of our week too so I was glad I decided to get my errands done that day.

 

The kitties just want a warm place to snuggle up and take a nap

I don't do well in cold weather, my arthritis settles in and makes it difficult to get around.  It has settled into my knees, ankles and wrists.  The kitties don't do well in cold weather either so I played door monitor quite a bit as they headed outside to do what they needed to do and then wanted back inside.  Of course they won't go out together at the same time, that would be sensible, so I do have to get up and down quite a bit, which is good for me.

 

I celebrated the end of October by putting away all of my Halloween décor Tuesday, taking my time to wash the holiday dish towels with my laundry and making sure I got it all gathered together before I packed it up and put the bin away in the garage.  I'm always sad to put it away because I have such cute Halloween stuff.  On Wednesday I set out the "special turkey", lit a vanilla jar candle and declared my Thanksgiving decorating complete.

 

Last week I did a lot of writing, some planning and some paper crafting so I kept myself fairly busy.  I finished up making my 2023 dayplanner and I'll be sharing more about that in my next post on Wednesday.  I also started a big journal binder to organize and store my writing journals in each year.

 

I tried out the jar sealer out on some leftover Halloween candy

A friend sent me a jar sealer and I've already tried it out.  It works perfectly and I am super excited to have this to add to my food storage and preservation supplies.  My head is spinning now with all the things I can do with this thing.  He knew I would like it and boy, was he ever right.  It is like Christmas came early!

 

I made a hot and spicy curry soup to work on throughout the week.  It is delicious and warms me right up.  It is also the perfect soup to have if you get sick and have a cold.  It will certainly clear your sinuses.  I also made myself a little Fall themed cake (not low carb), just because, and I've been enjoying a little piece of that each day with a cup of hot coffee or tea.

 

I hope you are all doing well my friends and I wish you a great week ahead.  Stay warm and take care.

 

Making My Own Wall Art

 

I gave up.  I have to be honest, I haven’t been enjoying the thrift stores of late.  Their prices are ridiculously high and the selection is less than stellar.  I've been hoping to find some cute and affordable art to hang on the walls of the bedroom I redid this past summer but, no luck.  So I did what I felt was necessary and I just gave up.  And then I made some myself.

 

I had an idea in my head of what I was looking for and I found a lot of inspiration on pinterest.  Of course, who doesn't?  I printed out my own pictures on plain copy paper, picked up a couple plain white frames at Dollar Tree and made my own wall art.  I think they turned out super cute!

 

I was further inspired to take an embroidery piece I had made several years ago and frame it as well.  Then I added a couple pieces my daughter's had made for me and that was it, I was all done.

 

A combination of making my own stuff and using what I already had on hand and I was all set.  I spent a whopping $3.75 on supplies to make this happen too.  Not too shabby, huh?

 

 

Recession Proofing Christmas

 

This year is going to be much different than in years past.  For one thing, I will most likely be on my own this year.  It is a first for me and I'm actually looking forward to it.  Something different.  And for another thing, things have become really expensive and postage rates are higher than they have ever been before.  I could easily spend more on shipping than I did on the gift I am sending.  Over the years I've been steadily whittling away and scaling back on the whole gift giving at Christmas thing.  Open conversations with friends and family got this ball rolling quite a while ago.  This year seems especially difficult for so many people right now as far as finances go, but I still want everyone on my list to have something under their tree.

 

So what do I plan to do?  In a nutshell, not much, but that doesn't have to mean I am doing nothing, it just means I'm not spending much.  I always try to make sure my gifts are useful and meaningful.  Here are some ideas of what I have given in the past.

 

You can easily fit a couple baking mixes inside and wrap it up

Dish towels, dish cloths, scrub sponges & potholders - these items wear out and right now people are less apt to replace these items.  A nice selection of these items would likely be well received.  If you are crafty and have a stash of fabric start there. 

Candles - I purchased a gob of Christmas themed candles a couple years ago on clearance after the holidays and put them aside, but right now I noticed these same candles have been on sale. 

Gift cards - I use my rewards points from my credit card to redeem for various gift cards.  In fact, this year I am planning to give one of these gift cards tucked inside one of my handcrafted Christmas cards as the gift for each of my children.  Also, watch for sales and special offers on gift cards at stores and restaurants. 

Food gifts - cheese, crackers and summer sausage purchased at the grocery store, a jar of mixed nuts or homemade snack mix, an assortment of baked goods using items you already have in your pantry.  A bottle of wine or spirits, a six pack of their favorite beer or soda.  A meal that includes pasta, sauce, parmesan and a loaf of French bread. 

Baking dishes - I've given a nice Pyrex pan with a lid along with a box of brownie or dessert mix I pulled out of my pantry.  A pie plate with a homemade pie baked inside and a note telling them to keep the dish as a gift.  Baking sheets with cookie mixes, muffin pans with a box of muffin mix or a bundt pan or cake pan with a cake mix and tub of frosting. 

Family gifts - instead of individual gifts consider giving a family gift instead like a board game, Farkle or a card game, jigsaw puzzles, movie tickets or a DVD and some microwave popcorn, or simply an invitation to come over for dinner. 

Coupons - handmade coupons for a home cooked meal or a nice dessert, babysitting, grass mowing and trimming, leaf raking, a carwash, oil change, help with a project, time spent visiting, etc.

 

I think this is pretty clever

I think we just need to put on our thinking caps and get creative this year.  We can still have a nice Christmas and not break the bank, recession or not.  Are any of these ideas helpful?