Could I get on Dr. Phil with this?

You’ve heard adult children make comments referring to their parents’ ways right? Good and bad: Such as my Dad always (cut down our Christmas tree) and that’s what I will do, type stuff. Or, my mom always (had me make my bed), I won’t make my kids do that. I think we more silently incorporate the good stuff our parents taught us and loudly declare against the ‘bad’stuff. It is harder to put the good stuff into words I guess.

This is how bad my childhood was, here is my I WILL NEVER, wait for it….. I will never by cheap shampoo. It is so interesting the way people spend their money. Growing up, we never really wanted for anything. We didn’t get to school shop at Nordstrom but we didn’t have to shop at K-Mart either. There was as ESPRIT sweatshirt that eluded me, but I did have my fair share of BUM Equipment. I wanted Keds for years, and eventually had a pair that I wore to shreds. I also had several really cute shoes from PayLess.

We ate name brand cereal, not the other stuff in those big bags that didn’t taste quite right. Looking back, I see that my mom afforded us these luxuries at the expense of our shampoo and conditioner. There are many levels of hair products. Grocery store brand, grocery store but name brand, beauty supply, salon brand, and high end salon product. The price range is probably $2 to $50. My mom managed to find the .99 cent bottles. I don’t know why she did it; she bought us the Beer Beer of hair product that only seemed to exist in our house. Why mom, WHY?? I imagine the shampoo was a mashed up bar of cheap hotel soap mixed with some water and the conditioner was hotel lotion, again mixed with water and funneled into a bottle. Not good for hair, mixed with the fact that me and my two sisters permed our hair every few months, spent hours drying, curling, teasing and then hair spraying our 3 feet of mane.

It wasn’t too far into teen years when my sister Kim began buying her own products. I believe she started with Aussie. Oh, it was nice. I would sneak little dabs out of her purple bottles hoping she wouldn’t notice. She did. I bought my own. She then moved on to Salon products…Paul Mitchell. I sneaked, she noticed, I bought my own. By the time I was half way through college I had worked my way up the product chain to Salon brands. It wasn’t until about 3 years ago when I reached a new level. The professional line of salon products. I was using Pureology. The 44 oz bottles were approximately $50 but my mother in law was able to purchase them half price. So for a combined $50 I could buy a shampoo and conditioner that would last me about 3 months. About a year ago I stepped up once again, to the pinnacle of product. A line of professional excellence so revered that my mother in law couldn’t even find it in the professional beauty supply stores. No more discount, but that didn’t stop me, I persevered. Look at me everyone, gather round, I just spent $60 for 2 months worth of shampoo and conditioner. Doesn’t my hair look fabulous, isn’t it amazing?? Yeah, I know it is in a ponytail like every other day but can’t you see the silky gold shimmering in the sun? What, what is that, a split end, two, three, frizz and color fade? This is worse than the Milli Vanilli debacle.

Yesterday I did the unthinkable. I bought Kirkland brand (Costco) shampoo and conditioner. I got 4 bottles – 44. oz each for $14. I imagine it will last me at least 6 months. I used it this morning and it smelled curiously of Paul Mitchell. I slowly pulled my comb through my wet hair, wetting for it to catch in a mat as it did so many years ago. It didn’t, hmmm. Maybe they changed the soap and lotion formulas. Well, it’s 10:30 am and so far my hair hasn’t fallen out, though it is in a ponytail…it probably takes at least 24 hours before total hair devastation begins.

Winner Winner… Ramen Dinner

So, it is no secret that Josh does most of the cooking around our house. He does it for many reasons, but mostly because if he didn’t we would eat every meal at Red Robin. I do NOT like cooking. Never have, but hopefully someday will. My biggest hang up with cooking is the intense pressure of getting it right. If you come upon me cooking dinner with more than two items being served you will see my twirling around the kitchen (think less ballerina more hurricane) with a spatula in one hand, whisk in another, dishes piled to the ceiling and one, if not two crying children being ignored underfoot.

I have been able to relax a little bit more in the kitchen after hearing some genius advice: “You don’t have to cook everything on high”. What a difference that has made. Anywhoo, getting on with it.

Josh is a fairly healthy eater. He works out regularly and always has a race ahead of him that tends to keep him on a pretty healthy eating track. Nothing crazy like tofu and mung beans but he sticks to lean protein, veggies and low carbs. These are the types of dinners he makes for our family. This is great for him and me but it is sometimes a struggle to get a 4 year old and one year old to fill up on chicken breast and broccoli. I came home from yoga the other night and Josh was flabbergasted that Ella wouldn’t eat her turkey patty and edamame… Plus this kind of eating isn’t super cheap. We try and stick with lean cuts of meat, we used to do organic but that’s out the window, and good quality vegetables and fruits. It adds up.

Well, daddy’s out of town this weekend, the first in awhile so mama’s cooking! For dinner Friday night we had WAITFOR IT… Top Ramen. I mix in frozen peas and carrots, boil, season and serve. No hurricane, one dirty pot, no crying children. Keaton was shoving food into his face with both hands and signing for more while his bowl was still full. Ella proclaimed that this was her favorite dinner and she could eat it every day. I ate a small portion along with some yogurt and grapefruit. Cooking dinner took 5 minutes, eating dinner took 5 minutes, and I think it cost about .05 cents a serving. Doesn’t get much cheaper than that!

When I do cook I am more of a casserole, slow cooker, one pot wonder type of gal. My goal for this weekend is to find a few recipes that are healthy, one pot easy, and frugal. I will share my findings.

PS. I took ramen bliss pictures but can’t find my card reader, so please check back.

HealthyMama

So, for the last few years I have been able to use the excuse of my kids as to why I don't work out. Not that I had to offfer an excuse to any one in my life, except myself. A week ago today I decided it was time to get back to exercise. Another excuse i have been using is the cost. The studio I joined is approximatly $1oo a month. A week ago today I joined up and I dove into it. I worked out 6 times in 8 days. My goal is to work out 5 times a week which equates to about $5 a workout. So far I am really enjoying it but was still feeling a little guilty about the cost.

Well, today I had a realization. On the way home from work each day I rotate between driving through Wendy's and Taco Bell. My average lunch costs be about $6. I down about one thousand calories and go home to promptly nap with my kids. Guess what, since I started working out I haven't eaten fast food once, not once. I have been eating turkey sandwiches, cottage cheese, salads, just crazy stuf!

My membership still costs me slightly more than my fast food habit did. However, considering that I have 3 pairs of jeans that cost more than $150 each I am saving money in the long run. AND, I am feeling pretty good about myself.

Safeway on the Cheap

I have been a coupon clipper for some time now, but not a very deligent one. I clip here and there and let most coupons expire before getting around to redeeming them. As the "pain at the pump" increased with each passing day this summer I got much better at using my coupons. I also started to pay close attention to the store circulars I would get in the mail each week.

I always assumed that Frey Meyer was the least expensive grocery store in our area. Maybe because the buidling is totally ghetto and the shelves are ususally ransacked I perceived it as value shopping. Much to my pleasant surprise I discovered the Safeway a mile up the street beats FM prices the majority of the time. This Safeway is only a few years old and is really posh for a grocery store. Hardwood floors, nice lighting, beautfully stacked produce, clean floors etc. They beat FM customer service 100% of the time. I am usually asked about every 5 minutes at Safeway if I need help finding something. Most of the time I don't, but it seems that taco seasoning always eludes me, so I appreciate their effort.

Most importantly, as the blog implies, it helps me stay frugal. I LOVE their weekely circular, they offer 6 to 8 coupon items for next to nothing, the milk is the cheapest anywhere when you buy two gallons and at least once a month the offer BOGO on lean ground turkey. What could be more exciting than that?

Bowling is Expensive!

In an effort to do something family friendly and inexpensive we packed up and headed out to the neighborhood bowling alley - Tech City Bowl, Kirkland WA. I packed snacks and drinks to keep the kids fulfilled, once again patting myself on the back for the cha ching I was saving the fam by packing PB&J's.

Back in the day (when I walked uphill both ways to school (in the snow)) bowiling cost a family of four approximaty .50 cents. I was shocked and dismayed to see the pricing guide as we enetered the building... 1 HOUR $30, $4 per person for shoes. WHAAAA? Did we really owe $42 before walking through the doors? I could buy the Bobbi Brown moisturizer I've been coveting for that?? Ok, ok, all in the name of family togetherness. However, after two minutes of pins crashing, flourestent lights and Def Leopard it was certian I would need a beer. There goes tuition as UW.

Frugal is the New Pink

As the New Year begins I find myself contemplating the changes I aspire to in 2009. Most people are glad to see the financial disasters of 2008 in the rearview mirror. The problem is people forget too quickly, and history repeats itself, even in small seeminly unsignificant ways. People are once again buying SUVs that only 6 months ago seemed extravagant when gas topped $4. Credit cards will be abused, savings accounts will be pilfered.

A major topic of conversation between my husband and I and also our 4 year old daughter has been diserning between wants and needs. After opening what seemed to be a mountain of presents over the holidays our daughter commented tonight - January 1, that she was interested in a new gadget she saw on TV. My husband patiently repeated our speech of the difference between wants and needs. Food, shelter, heat vs. barbies, pretty ponies etc. I nodded my head approvingly while giving myself a mental pat on the back for teaching frugality and financial repsonsibility. Not 30 minutes later I found myself sitting at this very laptop searching for any "deals" on the Martha Stewart kitchen line in that gorgeous Tiffany Blue. I rolled my eyes, closed the window, and opened up to blogger.

Deep down I know that less is more, I want to practice it and teach it to my family. I know there will be many people struggling with financial responsibility in the year to come. Hopefully I can offer some inspiration and motivation through trials and triumphs, as well as silly antecdotes, suggestions, and food for thought. My grammar will not be perfect but my intention will be honest.

Let's do this together. Frugal is the new PINK!