Find your moral compass - and use it

I have been a fan of simplifying my life ever since my absolute melt down about ten years ago, trying to "do it all" and still keep a clean house.

I can't do either. At least, not while I have active teenagers and a husband who insists on helping out around the house (a blessing, I know).

I am hopeful that some of you have been entertained and were able to find some solace in our commiseration about the woes and woahs of parenting, married life and trying to make sense out of the jumbled world that started with the first diaper change.

I have published two books, under the name De Austin, and I hope to do more of that. I also want to finish painting the inside of our house, start a garden, and clean up the landscape around our home, and one day, empty that dirty laundry basket.

Guess what? That means some things have got to go! Bye, bye, blog. You've been good to me.

I can still be found on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter in case you'd like to keep up with the Austins.

If I could impress upon you anything that may make a positive difference for you, then what I would say is this:  we all must make choices that support our souls, and our family. Find your moral compass. Embrace personal rules that you pass onto your children and you model in your daily life. Seek these rules out, create them with your children, adapt them as needed with honesty and humility.

Think: Does working extra hours to make more money serve your children or does it take you away from your children? Does worrying about the cost of a birthday party overwhelm you? Then, my friend, that birthday party has cost you more than money.  The world we have is only temporary; the world we create within and for our families is forever. Know your limits, accept your responsibilities, use your talents to do good. The mistakes you make are the memories which will sustain you. Laugh often.

Be well.

Meatball Stroganoff Lives On!

This is easier than you think.

Crumbled bread crumbs help to stretch the ground beef plus make for a lighter, not so heavy, meatball.

Roll in onions, garlic powder, salt, pepper,  celery salt (optional).

Pan fry with more diced onions and chopped mushrooms. The cream of mushroom soup is on stand-by.

After stirring in the soup, add a little beef broth to thin it somewhat. Lastly, add a generous dollop of sour cream, stir in, just before serving.

Ready to be served with your favorite pasta or rice!

Tah dah!

Beans, beans, they're good for your heart!

Boiled pinto beans can make a nutritous inexpensive, side dish. They will look like refried beans, but, technically speaking, since they won't be refried, they aren't.

This is closer to Frijoles de Olla, or "bean of the pot" stew. You need to start this in the morning if you want to eat them for dinner.

Pour some beans into a pot.

Cover them with at least an inch or so of water.

Soak'em for a few hours until the beans have swollen up. It might be 2-3 hours. I never pay attention. I'm doing other things like laundry or playing Boom Beach.

Boil'em. (Yes, I switched pots.) 

Now, some sources say drain after soaking and add new water. The reasoning is that pre-soaking removes the gassiness BUT only if you throw out the soaking water (which apparently now contains the leeched fart makers). 

I do a combo - part fresh, part beef broth. In my family, one pre-soaked pot of beans won't solve the problem, regardless. 

These look mashable.

They are.

Adding the ever-present bacon grease for a little flavor.

Salt, pepper, garlic & onion powders, cayenne pepper, maybe a dash cumin to taste.

Tah dah!

Beans combined with rice make a perfect protein, so I hear, thus a cheap meatless plate is created for this Lenten season.

:)

Hangover Helpers for the New Year

Ouch! If you drank a little too much, you may instinctively reach for coffee and a sweet muffin to help you out of your daze. It’s not the best choice because your body’s sugar levels are all over the place and a stimulant like caffeine is only going to leech your body further of the all important water that it desperately needs right now.

Here are some better alternatives:

6 Ways to Help Control Blood Sugar

We have a hard time with diabetes and blood sugar control in our family. We are dealing with Type 2 diabetes, so the best news is that it's controllable through diet and exercise. I've done some research and have learned through experimenting, reading and observations, six effective ways to help control blood sugar. As always, check any diet change with your family physician.

• Lemon juice mixed with water daily helps to control blood sugar. We learned this though the fabulous book The Fat Flush Plan by Gittleman. Squeeze half a fresh lemon for its juice and mix with hot water, according to Gittleman. 
•  Honestly, I prefer it in cold water since we live in the swelter belt of Kihei, Hi.  I can't say if the temperature affects it because my diabetic husband was drinking it hot, like he was supposed to, and we noticed a significant drop in his blood sugar on the days he kept to his routine of lemon water.
• The diet itself is wonderful, but it takes more discipline than we have apparently, because we've stopped and started it about three times now, in ten years
• Unsweetened cranberry juice mixed with water (Again, thanks to Gittleman) is a favorite drink which appears to help as well.
• Potatoes, pasta, rice and white bread are evil. Drop them completely. I know. I'm sad.
• Exercise is essential. Blood sugar points drop considerably, even after a simple walk around the block after dinner
• You don't need a gym membership to get that needed exercise. Lawn moving and gardening are forms of exercise. My husband's blood sugar is better and and our landscape is looking marvelous!
• Eating dinner earlier rather than later is important. For example, if my husband eats about 5:30pm, then has very little else in the evening, say, except an apple or hot tea, his blood sugar doesn't explode the next morning after sleeping off a banquet. Unfortunately, we don't hit the 5:30pm as often as we would like, because we are frequently rolling into the house about that time. Yet we still try.
• Six small meals a day is better than three meals a day. It looks something like this: 7am, 10am snack, 11:30am snack, 1pm, 4pm snack, 5:30pm. 

We find that eating any carb snack is better with some type of protein. Fruit and cheese; crackers and yogurt, etc. are some examples of snacks.

Diabetes is not an easy situation but it can be managed with a little planning and healthier eating.

The Network - Social Parenting

When we moved to Maui, one of the most difficult challenges was connecting to the local parent community.

In California, we grew up as parents with other parents: skiing through one crisis or joy after another, commiserating when needed.  In Maui, we did not have those roots, so simple questions about this friend or another friend were unanswered once again. We didn't the have the comfort of knowing "whose house" was having the stay over party, nor the confidence that our children were being picked up by the right people from school. Previously, we had a network. A parent network.

Get Rid of Pasta, Rice, White Bread and Potatoes NOW

Living with a diabetic has made me take up the flag of fighting against the onslaught of white food. No, not white people. Food that is white.

Pasta, rice, white bread and potatoes are classic mercenaries in the battle for a healthier diet. It's time to grow up and eat the other vegetables.

As always, before making any diet change, consult your physician.

How We Got Our Teenaged Son to Find a Job

Our son has just crossed the threshold into the working world.

A few months ago, his computer broke. For some of us (adults) this is a sigh-moment. Even a da*n-it-moment. For others (people younger than us) it's THE END OF THE WORLD.

We try to be honest with our children as often as possible and there was never a more painful moment than I announced, in response to his coy statements about how computers help with homework, when I revealed to my doe-eyed son: We don't have the money.

THAT was the motivating moment. That was when Alex knew: he needed to find his own money. Somehow.

How to Preserve Garlic, Ginger and Basil - up to a Year!

I ADORE Garlic. My husband swears that when we were dating - that's all he could smell - but he wasn't offended. He loved me that much.

Sending Children to Travel Alone - Example Documents, Tale of Terrors, and a TIP

Goodbye, my dearest pony - I mean, son.

Well, we did it. Our children are off on on their own, flying to the mainland to spend time with California friends and family.

You may scoff, pointing out that my son is sixteen and my daughter twelve; hardly children! But they are. It's a point worth making that age and appearance do not necessarily combine to make someone an adult and there are things that concern children - okay, teens - which can make for a confusing landscape. As their adult, it's my job to help them navigate that landscape as wisely as possible.

Meatless Mondays

Foregoing meat, - of any kind -periodically, can be very healthy.  It's also cost effective.
Today's meatless Monday meal was outstanding.

• Cous Cous with Black Eyed Peas - better than I thought it would be!
• Roasted beet and fresh papaya salad, dressed with Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil.
• Spaghetti squash with Tomato Basil Pesto, with grape tomatoes and mozzarella.

There were splashes of broth, salt, pepper, paprika and I think I added some butter to the cous cous.

Yummy and then this bird sang to me: cheap, cheap, cheap!

I liked the alliteration of Meatless Monday but it also forced me to get a little more creative with meatless dishes... which are also generally inexpensive.

Please include beans, cheeses, nuts or other protein sources into the meal you plan. If you don't, you'll be cheating yourself out of very necessary proteins and you'll end up feeling hungry afterwards. Meatless does not have to mean you are depriving yourself or your body.

Interestingly, beans and rice together make a perfect protein. I learned this from a nutritionist turned teacher many years ago and I have never forgotten it.

Here are some other meatless, main dish ideas for you which are less common than say, cheese pizza or bean burritos - which are still good.

• Lentils with Farro or Orzo pasta
• Chili beans with corn chips
• Pasta with butter, garlic and spring vegetables like Asparagus, Snap Peas, Carrots (sliced super thin so that they cook evenly with the other veggies - or you can cook them separately).
• Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Tomato Soup
• Italian Bread Soup
• Stuffed Zucchini with Lentils and Onions

Bear in mind I never said all meatless food was super healthy (note the grilled cheese sandwich - very fatty). I also don't recommend you stuff yourself at any meal. So it's all about balance.

3 Recipes to Use Beef to Help You Make It Toward Payday

Although I am thankful that these days we are better off than we were, and we are certainly far better off than most of the planet, I am still very conscious of what it's like to be broke, so I keep on-hand a few food ideas to stretch our dollars.

If you are looking for more ideas of how to feed your family on a very low-budget basis, you've come to the right place.

Every Which Way But Chicken

I have a habit of buying in bulk, then so tired from shopping, freezing in bulk...which means.. defrosting in bulk... HONEY, I have got to discipline myself into making those neat little Suzie Homemaker packages. But I just. Can't.  

Chicken N' Dumplings - Quick and Easy

I have fallen in LOVE with Chicken and Dumplings. Just the dumplings, really. Such a cute name, such a easy way to stretch the pot and the dollars. Yummerz. Dumplings can go on anything but I think the most well-known version is over a pot of creamy chicken and vegetables. Yaassss....

 Brace yourself because it's super-easy. Seriously. I take chicken (I prefer thighs because they are usually cheaper than other cuts or packages),

De-Mess De-Mystified: Hey, a Tiny Organizational Thing that works for Me!

You got a purse or wallet stuffed with receipt, coupons and heavy change. You leave it in your purse or wallet because you don't know what to do with it. OR you dump everything into a jar or bowl. Well, let's take that two steps further... and this a very simple "trick" that I've been using for awhile and it ACTUALLY works for my lazy butt.

We Can't Pay for Our Son's College Tuition

For a couple of years now, my husband has been stressing about the college costs for our children, particularly our son, who will be eighteen and college-ready in 2018. We have three thousand dollars set aside for him today. We might have double that in 2018. We likely won't have much more. Should he still go to college?

Hell, yes.

Wrap It Up - Scrapbook Paper Refreshes Recycled Bottles

 I used to scrub the dickens out of my bottles and jars which had the remains of their sticky labels so that I could re-use them like the good little recycler camper that I am. Then it hit me: DUH

Five Zero Waste Tactics on the Home Front

We are attempting to go "zero waste" in our house. Rather, I am attempting it, and my family is tolerating me.

I've always been interested in reducing my dependence on plastics. I've further learned that it's not just the recycling that's effective for our planet, but to be truly effective, I must rid myself using plastics and other wasteful items entirely.


I read ZeroWasteHome and this other amazing blog, ZeroWasteChef, and these women are blowing my mind with all the minute and large-scale changes one can do to reduce plastics dependency and wasteful habits. Zero Waste Home author and blogger Bea Johnson puts it the most succintly I have ever heard: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot.

Here's a few of what I have gathered so far:

1. Use glass or metal for containers and shopping.
order 

2. Use one product for multiple things, thereby reducing your need for more products which require plastics or other products to be manufactured. Cocoa powder for make up (blush, eyeshadow), and Coconut Oil for cooking, cleaning, and skin and hair maintenance.

3. Buy in bulk. I'm a little at a loss for the question of storage because we have critter issues in Hawaii. I am still thinking about it. I do buy rice in bulk, and pinto beans, but that's about it. I store THOSE items in re-used (happy face) plastic (sad face) milk jugs, but those damn critters have made their way into those containers. 

Therefore, I am considering a larger size metal or glass container, which is going to be expensive. Sad face again.


4. Do not accept unnecessary things - like items that would become trash at your home.

This is so easy for me. I do not like people who offer to me 'free stuff'. That seems contrary to my songs about frugality and love for free stuff; however, I take things that I will actually use.

I find that sometimes I am on the receiving end of someone else's guilt: they can't bear to throw it away themselves because there's still some vague use for it, but they also can't make it to a local thrift shop or charity in their own car, either.

It's been slow-going, but I now am pretty comfortable, "Oh, thank you, Aunty So and So, but we do not need that ill-fitting, slightly stained, orange and green coverlet for our house. But thanks." I think that the "sandwich Thanks"

- both at the front and end of a sentence - adds a certain finality.


5. Start a compost pile. We had had this one going for a couple of years now - without reading these blogs. It was definitely helpful for reducing the output to our curbside trash cans. Simi Valley, CA has an amazing curbside recycling system. There seems to be problems with starting a similar program here in Maui. I think being an island our community will have to eventually put some serious thought into it. 

There is no exact step by step process to become zero waste but we are on the journey. We may never be completely zero waste, either, but I am pleased to contribute some effort into helping out the planet.

The $1,000 Wedding. Seriously.

As you may  know, I cannot stand to waste money. It kills me. My soul shrivels into my knees if I imagine I could have saved ten more dollars if I had gone to the next store.

My husband and I were having a conversation about his friend's son's forty thousand dollar wedding. Yes. You heard me right. That's two cars or a house down payment of a wedding. That's two years worth of college. However, that price tag is not too far off from many people's expenditures.

When we had a our wedding, without too much thought, really, we spent around twelve thousand dollars. We fed over two hundred and fifty people at a community banquet hall, my family is filled with excellent musicians, and we spent our honeymoon camping on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Why do people spend so much more?

Because the media lies to us.

Sit and Save: Amazon vs. Thrift Shop

I saved about $160 thanks to my usual favorite: the local thrift store.