My Grandparent's Example

Grandpa's current dresser. Just the essentials.

I couldn't sleep last night so I took to Pinterest to at least be productive and plan ahead. I started off by creating Easter Sunday's dinner menu. Then, I went to pin's related to finances/saving which led me to pins regarding penny pinching diy projects and then I saw it. A pin about, "Tips from your Great Depression Grandparents."

My Welch grandparents are babies/young children of the depression and would talk about it when I was younger but only if I asked naturally it stuck with them for life and influenced how they ran their home.

My grandmother hated to see ANYBODY go hungry especially a child. They were the king and queen of cooking and baking from scratch and their leftovers were DELICIOUS. So there was always something in the fridge or she'd whip up a grilled cheese or peanut butter and jelly sandwich. My mom reminded me earlier this year how Grandma would ask and please correct me if I'm saying it wrong Fether, "Have you had enough to eat?" Like, she'd keep busting out those pb&j's until you were good. ❤️
 
So, I devoured each pin with these Great Depression era tips and felt closer to my grandma and grandpa. I came across things like:

- Do without
- Grow a garden
- Everyone contributes
- Use a clothes line to dry clothes
- Good to the last drop
- Make it yourself
- Find free entertainment (*cough*libraries*cough*)
- Make do with what you've got
- Make your own cleaning supplies
- Bulk up your meat (with lentils or oatmeal)
- Stock your pantry with staples/buy in bulk
- Cook from scratch and double the recipe (freeze what you don't eat)
- etc

When we travel now we hit up all the Starbucks and drive thru's but with my grandparents? It was stopping at a rest stop and unloading the cooler with last nights meats (cut up chunks of cold ham) to make sandwiches, mason jars of his berry juices (man they were so tasty!), their potato salad (grandma would always save a bowl without onions just for me and she'd even remember while on our trips and there a second bowl was!) but it was great! I'm sure I was probably looking at the McDonald's down the road wanting nuggets but looking back I am so glad we had those experiences.

We have really gotten away from this.

Don't get me started on their pantry! Theirs make mine look like a joke.

I realized that I am blessed to have bad financial habits which I know sounds weird. I get to do stupid things with my money, lol. Like, I get to eat out way too often and that's just for me. Not eating out with someone and connecting. Just me on the way home from work. I'm also buying that other red lipstick at Ulta to join the family of red lipsticks I already have and am not using as of late. Which reminds me, I made it to PLATINUM status at that damn store. Wtf. Lol. I need to stop giving them my money.

I realized that I know nothing and I regret not having interest, partly due to insecurity, to be taught how to can food by my grandparents. Maybe aunt Jeanette can teach me?

If you have a recipe to share, please do. Or come over and let's cook. I know just a bit about cooking but more about baking. I want to know it all.

I don't know how to sew and thankfully I got a sewing machine for Christmas and Tia Reyna is going to give me my first sewing lesson on Monday. Thank you, tia!

I wish there was a course at the local community collage or through the city with the title: Skills that your Grandparents had that you don't! Lol. I'd totally sign up for it!
 
I also want to garden again! Benjamin, are you still down? I'll start preparing the lower levels in the backyard. We'll compost, too. It's easy.

Anyway, basically I got a real wake up call last night that I kind of have to start making some changing of habits. No, I will not stop buying books but I'll read them at the library first and if they're AMAZING then I'll buy them and no I will not stop backyard parties because they're too important and everyone contributes but everything else needs to kind of change.

If you're still reading, you deserve a cookie and a nap.

Valentine's Day

I love spending holidays with family members and friends but Valentine's Day I usually find myself more and more alone since 1) I'm single and 2) They are married or have a significant other that they're spending a romantic evening with. No biggie. 

This year, I wanted to do SOMETHING. My past valentine's day evenings have been sucky so I was determined to make it a day of love, laughter, good times, and great food. So I tried to round up as many single friends who had nothing else to do and I put together a lovely dinner.

It was small in number but strong in the spirit of love. Definitely one of my FAVORITE and BEST Valentine's Day to date.

Goodbye 2013, Hello 2014!

2013 was a pretty amazing year with a lot of highs and some lows, all in all it was well balanced.

Now it's 2014 and everyone is talking about New Years Resolutions; I've talked about them and even set my own. Last year I set a lot of emotional/physical/mental resolutions and I kept them in my mind all year long. Well after people stopped talking about their goals, I was still chipping away at them and it made for some great memories.

This year I find myself really just focusing on Spiritual and Physical resolutions. The spiritual ones are really private (read: personal) so I will keep those to myself but the physical ones are rather cliche. I actually want to get to my goal weight this year (or as close to it as I can) but not doing anything crazy that I won't be able to maintain for the rest of my life and I want to continue to participate in 5k/10k events and be a stronger and faster runner.

That is about it. Not easy by any means but extremely important just the same.

Run, Julia, Run

Fitness New Years Resolution at a Glance

I am one of those people that when I get an idea in my head, no matter how crazy and unlike me it seems, I have to do it. When it comes to my body and how I like to keep it active I am more of a dancer but things like CrossFit and running in races really appealed to me because I was so heavy and out of shape that being able to run long distances and lift heavy weights seemed amazing!

I figured I could tackle doing a 5k over Crossfit and I tried my first 5k in 2012. Even though I was in pain, couldn't run or even power walk, I crossed the finish line a little under an hour. Then came a chance to do a 10k four months later, which I did not train for due to being distracted with a broken heart, but boy did I learn my lesson! The 10k took me almost two hours to complete. I really loved the energy of the local running community and decided that if I ever got a chance to register for a 5k or 10k I would do it!

In 2013, 30 pounds lighter thanks to Weight Watchers, clean eating, and some paleo, I did eight 5ks and one 10k. I invited one friend, who invited another friend, and another friend overheard us talking about the upcoming race and she jumped on board too. By years end our crew ranged from 8-10 people. I was so happy that my girlfriends were dedicated and excited for these races and it was super cute to see their supportive husbands join them too.

I was able to not only wog (walk/jog) all of my races but I was able to learn how to deal with various injuries. My ankle is still a little weak but I know how to listen to my body now and I am getting stronger. By the end of 2013 5ks took me 40 minutes (super close to 39 minutes) to complete and my 10k took me 1:28 to finish. Sharing those finish times is a bit embarrassing to me because it makes me feel less of a runner. But you know what? Screw that! Those finishing times represent the miles I logged in on my Nike app as I ran along West Cliff Drive with my dog. I would love to be able to say that I did a 5k in 20-25 minutes or something like that because that would make me feel like a legitimate runner. However, if it takes me 14 minutes or 7 minutes to do a mile it means that I still did it. That's something to be proud of.

Busy Bee

It has almost been a week since my family members bought me some amazing KitchenAid appliances. Today my little sister presented me with her Christmas present to me a KitchenAid Dish Drying Rack. That box went directly with the other boxes and it sat there all afternoon until my friend came into the house and told me that I needed to get myself together and start cooking things.

Jerk.

My kitchen needs to be more than clean. It needs to be organized and decluttered. But who has time for that?

The dish drying rack is now assembled and I threw away my old nasty one. My KitchenAid Stand Mixer is now on my counter and it looks completely glorious. I just need to figure out where I am going to store the food processor. I am currently waiting for The Pioneer Woman's second cookbook to arrive so I can make her Tequila Lime Chicken and Virgin Mango Margaritas (I don't drink). That is the recipe that I am going to use in order to break in my food processor. But I've been cooking up a storm this week and even tried my hand at homemade Vanilla Almond Milk. It needs more vanilla!

I will be taking some cookbooks to bed with me tonight and thinking of recipes I want to try out because I have a few gentleman that I need to cook dinner for seeing as they have spoiled me by cooking me dinner. You've gotta love a man that can cook though; it's a great look on them.

It has been a busy week but I love stealing moments on the couch with my baby girl Kaja. I miss sleeping in with her and cuddling while watching King of the Hill or Family Fued; she's more of a King of the Hill fan.

Kitchen Aid Queen

Last Friday my brother wanted to go on a Costco run and we went after we got off of work. I found it slightly odd that we weren't going his usual route to pick up his standard items and somehow I realized we were in the section with all the kitchen appliances.

Initially he was looking for a certain version of a Vitamix (the one we saw an amazing demonstration on a couple of weeks prior) and he split the beans: He did not need to go grocery shopping at all. He knew how much I loved the Vitamix and everybody chipped in to buy me one for Christmas but they no longer had it and now our only option was going to be ordering it online for a much more expensive price.

Being the frugal brat that I am I asked him if he would be entirely upset and offended if I got something else, which would be much cheaper than the Vitamix blender. He asked me what I was thinking and I walked up to the KitchenAid Stand Mixer and hugged it. He wanted to make sure that it was what I absolutely wanted and my sister called his name and just nodded her head. In fact, she said that she knew for a fact that I would use the KitchenAid more than the Vitamix. He grabbed the box, put it in the cart, and I started crying. *Clean up on aisle 35!*

He asked if I wanted to walk up and down the aisle to make sure there wasn't anything else that I wanted more than the mixer which I just laughed at but I took a little stroll. Then I saw a food processor and I was like, "Balls." Now I was torn because I "need" one of those. A friend that is currently staying with us knows how much I want one and he tells me all the time, "Julie, I've been keeping an eye out for a food processor but I can't find any." Of course, I tell him he doesn't need to buy me one but he chipped in and bought the food processor for me. More tears and hugs. It is my Christmas gift but the gratitude and meaning behind it means a lot to me. Of course baked goods and home cooked meals are now expected from these folks but it's okay because I love family time.

When the cashier began to ring us up the bagger asked, "Wow, who is this for?" With slightly teary eyes I meekly pointed to myself. He was pretty impressed and said, "That's so awesome. I never realized how valuable these were until recently, I hope you enjoy it." There may or may have not been some flirting but I blame it on being shocked and wanting to get my appliances home! Hahaha.

We got home and my boxes were placed in the kitchen, every one went their separate ways except for my brother and he asked me, "So...are you going to cook anything?" I looked at him and laughed because he thought I was going to go Betty Crocker and make dinner. Silly brother, IOU.

Everett Family Farm Stand

Kirsten and I.

This past July I did a little house and pet sitting and the owner's home was absolutely beautiful. It was the highlight of my entire summer and I still have tan lines to prove how many hours were spent in the sun since they had a swimming pool. *sigh* It was magnificent but enough with the nostalgia. Whenever I would head back into town from said house I kept seeing a sign for a family farm stand and decided that I wanted to check it out. Displayed in this charming and rustic barn are flowers and organic/seasonal produce that is local; in fact you can see what is growing in their fields as you drive up. I had to go back the next day because I didn't have cash but I brought a friend with me and she fell in love with it too. It is all done on the honor system. You write down what you took, how much, add up the cost, and drop the money in a box. 

Last Day of Summer Vacation

I have been back a few times and I always buy a few things just because I want to support this family and love this idea. It's a beautiful drive and the produce and set up are extremely picturesque.

For my last day of Summer Vacation I went with a friend and I bought a ton of dahlia's and strawberries which I made strawberry jam out of. It was my first time and I did it by myself while I flirted with a handsome man via texting. I was not paying attention but it still tasted good despite the complete mess I made. Whoops. *blush*

Pumpkin Picking

As I mentioned before this farm stand is seasonal so in the next month or so they will be slowing down and then closing up until probably March or April. Just in case I can't make it up there anytime soon I decided to go back one last time with my mom (who loves to take photographs) and my sister because she had no choice in the matter but she thought it was pretty cool.

I picked my pumpkin, took some pictures, and will look forward to going back to see what delicious things they have in store for us next Spring.

Life is meant to be enjoyed. Seek out the light and make memories. There are many good ones for me here.