Family Money

No, I don't have any "family money" in the born-to-wealthy-parents/trust-fund-baby kind of way. I am referring to the money my husband and I bring home every few weeks. I am always curious to hear how other families manage their finances, especially two-income families like ours.

Both of our paychecks are direct-deposited into our joint family bank account. All of our bills, expenses, etc. are paid out of that account. We each have our own bank account for our "allowance" or "fun money". Every two weeks we transfer our Fun Money into our personal bank accounts. What is Fun Money used for? I use it for books, clothes (that I don't need), Starbucks trips, itunes purchases, eating out for lunch, and anything else that does not fit into any particular category on our budget. Michael uses his for golf, cards, mancations, Starbucks trips and itunes. My account is usually depleted by the end of the two-week period. Michael saves his money and his account is rarely running on fumes. This is one of the reasons why Michael handles the finances in our family. It has nothing to do with him being the head of our household...because he is not...we are partners...but he is much better with the dollars and cents.

So, Anonymous Commenter, this is why I am 31 years old and still get an allowance!

How Green Am I?

Environmental awareness hit me late in life. I half-heartedly recycled once I bought my own home, but I did not start to understand the implications of our wasteful lifestyle until I had my children and started thinking about state of the world they will inherit. I must confess I spent several years just thinking, but around age 30, I started making small changes in my lifestyle. Our family still has a long way to go, but I am trying. Here my is Green list:

1. I use cloth wipes for #1. Not nearly as gross as that may sound, but I won't elaborate unless you ask.
2. I use lunapads. Again, see my explanation for #1.
3. I use small flannel cloth squares instead of cotton balls for toner and eye makeup removal.
4. We do not use any disposable paper products for dining. That includes napkins, paper towels, paper plates, plastic cups, forks, spoons, and knives.
5. We recycle.
6. I have a composter and all kitchen scraps (that are safe for composting) go into the composter.
7. I have a clothesline that I use when the weather is warm.
8. We are in the process of replacing all of our windows with uber-energy efficient Champion windows.

This is a start. We still produce a lot of garbage, and we use too much electricity and gas. I am looking forward to late winter/early spring because I am going to experiment with gardening. So, am I granola enough yet? Nope, but I try.

Yummy Dinners

This week's meals come to you from Weight Watchers cookbooks. FYI--you cannot purchase these cookbooks in book stores. They can be purchased at your local Weight Watchers Center. I only planned through Thursday evening because Alex and I are heading to Charleston Friday morning for my bro's gold star parade at The Citadel. A bit of praise: despite all the stress and trauma of 1. first semester of freshman year of college and 2. being a knob and being hazed early and often, my little brother Andrew has over a 3.7 GPA. Go Pooh!

Anyway, back to my meals:

Sunday: Yankee Pot Roast Dinner (Best Eats Cookbook)
Monday: Chicken with Andouille and Peppers (Shortcuts Cookbook)
Tuesday: Pasta Salad with Apple and Chicken (Momentum Cookbook)
Wednesday: Honey Glazed Turkey with Sweet Potatoes (Shortcuts Cookbook)
Thursday: Tilapia Escabeche (Shortcuts Cookbook)

I hit the grocery store today and bought everything for our meals except arugula and shallots which I intend to buy fresh on Tuesday. I also got everything we need for the boys' lunchboxes this week. Planning is the ultimate stress reliever.

Running Scared

I know this sounds ridiculous for someone who was a public defender for 3 years, but I am incredibly naive about crime in my neighborhood. Sometimes I don't lock my door. My kids often play in the front yard while I am in the house. I run in my neighborhood at ungodly hours of the morning (try 4am). We travel on foot to the grocery store, book store, Starbucks, 5 Guys, Dunkin Donuts, the drug store...I am never afraid in my home when Michael is out of town--and I promise it isn't because Zeus and Athena are fierce.

YESTERDAY changed all that. I am totally creeped out, and my selfish worry this morning is when am I going to run? According to Runners World and other running magazines and websites, early morning is actually the safest time to run because all the bad guys are asleep, hiding, passed out, etc. But early morning is dark, and bad guys lurk in the dark. The robbery yesterday took place at 8:45am, so I guess daylight isn't all that safe either. Supposedly afternoons and evenings are the most dangerous times to run because the bad guys are awake and on the prowl. Whatever. I don't know who gathers all these statistics. My best choice is probably to run at work during my lunch break. We have a great area for running around my company and the neighboring nursing/residential care home. I don't like this choice because I will have to take an extended lunch break and then work later in the evening. I also hate having to shower and do hair and makeup AGAIN in the middle of the day. Anyway, I know I sound like a total whiner, but I am just really pissed off because I have a right to feel safe in my home and my neighborhood. I don't sound or feel very public defendery right now.

This Week's Menu

Last week's meal planning was a bust because I was a bit under the weather. I am back on my game this week, and most of my recipes came from magazines. Check out my menu:

Tonight: Barbeque chicken, sweet potatoes and bean salad (Michael is grilling!)
Tuesday: Tilapia with Roasted Corn (Everyday with Rachel Ray)
Wednesday: Arugula and Goat Cheese Pizza (Health)
Thursday: Curried Lentils and Rice (Fitness)
Friday: Baked Cheese, Spinach and Bean Burritos (Fitness)

Book Love

I am such a book nerd. Really, you should see my stash. I got my allowance this week, and I hit the bookstore after I picked up my car from the urgent care center Saturday morning. My original intention was to buy Eclipse by Richard North Patterson, but I left the store with a stack:

Eclipse, Richard North Patterson
2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, Daniel Pinchbeck
The Yiddish Policemen's Union, Michael Chabon
Mayflower, Nathaniel Philbrick
The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoevsky

A Russian Classic, a couple works of fiction, history, and a New Age metaphysical epic. Happy reading!

My Mama's Kitchen

After a week of bedrest and Michael's cooking, I busted out my Le Creuset dutch oven this evening and made a chicken and sausage pileau. Michael and the boys love pileau, and the meal makes me very sentimental.

I blogged about this several weeks ago, but I am homesick. My mom is stingy with her pictures, and I have very few pictures of myself as a child. Many exist, she just doesn't share. After Christmas I found several pictures of my old house in Andrews. From age 3 to 18, I lived about 1/2 mile down a dirt road behind my dad's nursery. We were surrounded by a forest that my brothers and I were convinced was haunted and magical. We had blackberry fields, strawberry patches, pecan trees, a natural spring, a sandpit, a creepy kudzu field, and Agatha the Witch's old abandoned cottage. I know I am romanticizing...and I know my bros and sis will make fun of me if they read this...but it is my homesickness and my memory.

My favorite room in that house was Mama's kitchen. When we first moved in the house when I was 3, the kitchen had green and white gingham wallpaper and green formica countertops. That kitchen had many transformations, and I think it had white tile countertops and a floral wallpaper when my family moved to Kingstree in 1997. When I am an old woman and I think of my mother, I will picture her in that kitchen. How I envy people who can still return to their childhood home! I love my parents house in Simpsonville and I think it is awesome that I can drive 5 minutes to a Starbucks when I visit. I love their neighborhood, the playground, and the pool. I just wish that one weekend I could go HOME, sleep in my old bedroom, and eat breakfast with my parents in the kitchen with the view of the haunted woods. I wish I could show my husband where I grew up. Not going to happen, though. My parents sold the house in 1997, the nursery in 1999, and the land we Rowells jokingly referred to as Rara (think Tara from Gone with the Wind) is a hunting club called Chigger Acres or Chigger Pines or some other reference to an annoying harvest mite that crawls into its host and feeds on its skin cells.

I surrender...

I did not go to Arkansas this week. In fact, I can't even drive this week. You see, although my Monday was really bad, my Tuesday was horrible. I spent my Tuesday afternoon in the Urgent Care Center in Chapin having a "procedure". Now, I am a very direct and honest woman, but even I don't have the kahunas to blog about this recent event in my world. Until I summon the courage to humilate myself on the worldwide web, I will just limit my discussion of this procedure to embarassing, painful, requires many days bed rest to recover and probably an indirect result of two rounds of prednisone.

So here I blog, in my bed, watching season 6 of Buffy, nursing a Lortab hangover and waiting to see if my non-prescription painkillers will kick in. I spent Tuesday afternoon and evening in tears with the "why me" mentality. Two rounds of shingles, this new problem...why me?

Two days later...new attitude. Recovery. I never really allowed my body to rest and recover from shingles. I don't really have a choice now. I gotta tell you, though, it is nearly impossible for me to REST. So much to do, so much time, I feel so unproductive! Any tips for chilling out?

It just got better.

Check out my husband's blog, Life's Buffet.

My husband is awesome.

Bad. Monday.

Ewww. What a bad day. A really yucky health day. No details on this one, people.

Lets focus on the good today: It is a gorgeous day. My laundry hamper is almost empty and all the clean clothes have been put away. My house is mostly clean...give or take some dog hair and a few dishes in the sink, dinner is planned, and I have 1 1/2 hours of game time planned with Alex tonight while Jackson and Michael are at basketball practice. If I can just make it to 4:45pm, all should be ok.

Is Prednisone Such a Bad Thing?

Today was my last day in the office for the week. I have a 2-day CLE on deposition strategies to finish up the first work week of 2009. The past 3 days have been incredibly productive--hooray for steroids! I still have shingles, and my face hurts. However, I have to work and function in the world, and that means I just have to suck it up and deal with the pain. Hopefully my meds will get rid of the shingles this go around, and I am eating healthy, running, and getting as much sleep as I can. Postive thoughts...everything will be fine...Jedi mind tricks really are effective.

In other news, this is also my last full week at home for the next few months. I will be in Little Rock, Arkansas next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I will be in Atlanta the following Monday and Tuesday. I am finalizing trips to Tallahassee, New Orleans, West Palm Beach, and El Paso. At least I am not going anywhere that will be cold...

Running update: Michael and I have not run any races since October. We did a really hilly 10K, and I think we both sort of burnt out for awhile. We have the bug again, and we have already signed up for 3 10Ks this year. We are doing the Red Nose Run to benefit the Ronald McDonald House in January, the Lexington Race Against Hunger in February, and the Bridge Run in Charleston in early April. I find it really romantic in my own geeky way that my husband and I love to run together...not to mention how totally cool it is that my 6-year-old wants to run with me! The family that sweats together stays together.

The Plague, Meal Planning, and Other Monday Thoughts

I am in quarantine in my office today. Door shut, nobody popping in to visit, and I get yelled at (all in good humor) when I venture outside my four walls. There are a few people around this building who haven't had chicken pox, and they have all been warned that I am a carrier of disease. Nice, don't you think?

Otherwise, it has been a very productive first real working day of 2009. It is nice to be back into our family routine. Both boys were so excited to go to school today. Lots of public school teachers read my blog...did you ladies and gents have the same reaction? Jackson and Michael resume Upward Basketball practice tonight, and my menu planning is on for the week.

Monday: Barbeque Chicken Pizza
Tuesday: Lemon Chicken with Broccoli and Couscous
Wednesday: Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas
Thursday: Roasted Pork Tenderloin
Friday: Date Night (if I can find a sitter)
Saturday: 5 Guys for Lunch and Chicken and Sausage Pileaux for Dinner

Sunday...don't know yet. Some kind of football food. Maybe I will plan for Michael to grill burgers. Meal planning is fun and takes all the stress out of grocery shopping. I am a total convert. It does take effort, but as a working mom The Dinner Question has always stressed me out. Michael and I used to make dinner decisions at the last minute, and that often leads to a crappy meal at home or an expensive meal out.

And no, the boys will not eat most of these meals. They won't eat with us on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, but they like pork tenderloin and pileaux. Michael and I struggle with family mealtimes. Jackson and Alex go to bed early and are both really picky eaters. Michael and I enjoy our dinners alone. I am making a goal to have at least 2 family dinners a week, and then we will see. While I am ok with our current situation, I know it bothers Michael. Maybe we can just cover everything in ketchup and see how they do?

Letter From A Disgruntled Patient

Back on steroids. No sleep for 12 days. Here we go. Oh, and by the way, check out the letter I sent to my doctor's office a few hours ago. Certified mail, return receipt requested. Names changed to protect the guilty.


January 2, 2009

The Nurse Practitioner, CFNP
The Doctor, M.D.
The Family Practice
Columbia, South Carolina

Re: Stacy Owings
DOB: 6/14/1977

Dear The Doctor and The Nurse Practitioner:

Today I contacted The Family Practice regarding an ongoing medical condition. In mid-December, I contacted The Doctor's nurse because I was experiencing sharp stabbing pains in my face and head. I suggested it could be a sinus issue and offered to come in to be examined. I received a return phone call that an antibiotic had been called in to treat the infection.

After several days without relief, I contacted The Family Practice and scheduled an appointment to meet with The Nurse Practitioner because shingles appeared in the area where I had been experiencing pain. She examined me and prescribed Prednisone and Valtrex.

I finished my medication on Sunday, December 28 and my condition had improved considerably. On January 1, 2009, I began to experience stabbing pains around my right eye again. On January 2, 2009, I contacted The Family Practice and left a message for The Nurse Practitioner’s assistant Amy stating that I was experiencing pain around my eyes again and was concerned the shingles were returning. I also left my contact and pharmacy information. I received a voicemail from her that my prescription was called in to my pharmacy. I returned her call within 5 minutes because I had questions about taking a steroid again. I do not like taking medications unless absolutely necessary and I feel that steroids are very serious medications. The receptionist put me on hold for just a moment and then conveyed Amy’s message that she left all the information I need on my voicemail. I told the receptionist that I received the voicemail and needed to ask Amy a question about the medication. She again put me on hold for just a few seconds and then told me that Amy was leaving. This ridiculous exchange of messages leads me to believe that Amy was right there and just did not want to take my call.

I would appreciate a call from The Nurse Practitioner or one of the physicians who supervises the staff at The Family Practice. I appreciate the care I have received from The Nurse Practitioner and The Doctor, but I think it is unprofessional and irresponsible for your assistants to refuse to accept patient phone calls regarding the dispensing of serious medications, especially after I was incorrectly treated by telephone for a sinus infection instead of the shingles just a few weeks before. I don’t think I would have taken up much of her time, and I would feel a lot more comfortable about starting another round of steroids.

Sincerely,

Stacy R. Owings

New Year, New Shingles

Yep, they are back. Don't know how bad yet. I started feeling pain again yesterday, and tonight my right eyebrow and forehead are throbbing. I have had a really busy 24hours. I worked until 5pm yesterday. Michael taped the foyer and hallway while I was at work, and we painted the basecoat last night. This morning I ran 3 miles and ragrolled the faux finish in both rooms. We also rearranged furniture, took down our Christmas decorations, and cleaned the house. Too much, maybe? I don't know. I thought I was all better, and no reason to lay around if you aren't sick. I plan to go to bed early, think positive thoughts, and hopefully wake up pain-free. Prayers, positive thoughts, Jedi mind tricks are all welcome. I really don't want to go through this crap again.