Monday, January 31, 2011

Smoothie Luv

I just made the most amazing smoothie by throwing a bunch of random stuff in the Vita-Mix. The only problem is I'll never be able to replicate it!! Well, I'll try; here goes. I threw in some...

~ frozen fruit: pineapple, mango, peaches, and the last few blueberries in the bag
~ then I added some delicious practically-fresh-squeezed OJ
~ and a splash of coconut milk
~ Oh, almost forgot- I started out by blending up about half a dozen dates. You have to blend them up first or you get date chunks throughout the smoothie. (Which I like, but the kids have a fit.) The dates are the sweetener, better than sugar or honey.

Then I used the Vita Mix plunger to jam it down while I blended it all up into almost a soft sherbet consistency. It was the BEST EVER.

I think I'm going for seconds...

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Organizing

The beginning of the year is an important milestone in my efforts to keep my papers in order. I've been filing by the month for several years now, so when the new year rolls around I have to clear out the old files to make way for the new. I LOVE filing this way. Here's how it works. All of my bills, statements, receipts, and other business-y paperwork goes in one folder for each month. I do NOT separate out the water bill from the phone bill from the grocery receipts, which saves a ton of work. I pay what needs to be paid, enter it all in my computerized check register, and plop it all in one folder instead of spending 20 minutes filing everything individually. IT WORKS. When I need a receipt to make a return, for instance, I am able to find it easily. When I need to refer back to a bill, I can find those pretty easily, too. It's no harder to look up a bill in my files by the date than by the company.

I do have two exceptions to everything-in-one-folder. The first is credit card receipts and bills. I have one folder for my cards and one folder for DH's cards. Those seem to be the one item where I might need to access more than one month at a time, so it's easier to keep those separate. I try to match receipts to bills and keep track of my spending somewhat (in theory) so I don't want them all mixed up with non-credit card receipts. The idea is to match each month's receipts with the bills as they come in, but I found myself sitting down with a huge folder of unmatched MESS today. I quickly got them in order, though, and matched the receipts to bills for the entire year in about an hour. (I'm so proud of myself for getting that job done; just had to brag.)

The second exception is medical paperwork. Statements from the insurance company, doctor bills, prescription receipts, and so forth.

To finish everything off, I have a second drawer for long term files. That's paperwork from companies that I might need to refer to over time filed in a more traditional manner. Insurance policies, information on car repairs, correspondence from our homeowner's association, initial contracts with phone companies, that type of thing.

So that's my filing system in a nutshell. It's worked for me for a lot of years now and it's saved a boatload of time. I also really like that I clear out my main file drawer once a year so it doesn't get overly full. I keep a small file box in a corner of the room with last year's files; when I need to clear that out the now-two-year-old files go in a storage bag and up to the attic, then last year's go in so it's constantly rotating. Works for me!!

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Oh, Hello

Hi: You still out there? I'm still here, although I've been neglecting my poor blog lately. I've been distracted. You see, I'm married to this really fascinating, sexy, intelligent, charming man and we got to spend a lot of time together when he was off in December. It's been like a renewal to get to spend all that time together, a rediscovery. I've been like the girl in high school who ditches her friends when she hooks up with her new boyfriend, only we've been married for over 22 years now. (Sorry, friends- I still love you all, he's just kept me really, really busy.) ;)

I'm 'fessing up. I'm in love with my husband and can't get enough of him, and it's been reciprocal on his part. I'm a lucky girl.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Resolutely

Happy 2011! I've been busy cocooning and that's extended to my on-line activities lately, but now DH is back to work, The Eldest started classes again tonight, we've already had a Junior Girl Scout meeting, and life is back in full swing. It is a new year and along with that I've made some resolutions. I've never been a big resolution maker in the past but setting goals is always a good thing to do so I'll give it a go. Here they are, in no particular order:

Around the House:
~ wash one to two loads of clothes every day (this means wash, dry, fold, and put away)
~ keep up with the bills
~ keep up with entering receipts in our money management program

Parenting:
~ implement fair and effective consequences and try not to yell; I will be Zen Mommy
~ make Sunday Family Bike Rides a habit for all of us

Personal:
~ continue my (almost) daily walks
~ ride my bike more often
~ find a way to get back to my goal weight while maintaining a healthy vegetarian diet
~ strength training!!! (This has been a resolution for ages now but I never seem to get around to it.)

And my all time favorite:
~ Remember to write 2011 instead of 2010!!