The Professional Domestic

Not Impressed with Our Debt – Back At It

When I originally designed a plan to pay off our debt I had a steady paycheck. Unfortunately in life things happen to derail our plans and like many during this pandemic I lost my full time job.

If you know me personally then you know that I am resilient and weren’t surprised when I jumped right into making my own money during the lockdown. I took on 4 part-time jobs. Yes four! I started offering home delivery again through my baking business and it quickly grew to over 30 orders a week. I also started selling even harder in my Etsy shop and those sales have continued to skyrocket. I went back to the grocery store I have worked at for years and picked up two closing night shifts and I was hired at my local Town Office for about 15 hours a week.

I have been happy doing what I needed to do to stay afloat but after my husband’s heart attack things became clear to me that I needed to find full time employment. Working crazy hours takes a toll on your mental and physical health and not only was I working 4 part-time jobs but my husband was working two full time jobs! Enough was enough. Time for a change.

I have accepted a full time position and I am very happy and relieved to just work 9 to 5 again. Of course I will still have my Etsy shop and although I am stopping home delivery weekly I still have plenty of side bakery orders to satisfy that creative side in me. The store will always be there if I need it but for now I am turning in my key.

Although times are changing and people say men can start taking on more of a role of homemaker it still isn’t the same as having mom and wife home and taking care of things. Being gone at night working or attending a meeting has really screwed up our eating schedule.

So in the coming weeks I plan on getting a plan back together for getting our debt paid off even more. We have done a great job in not taking on any more major debt and our biggest most expensive debt is down to just over $5000 from a whopping $40,000. The end is in sight for that one!

Thankfully with the stimulus payments we were able to pay my husband’s medical bills in full without having to do a payment plan with the hospital. Yippee!

Major life illnesses, although very scary, really make you think about what is important and where your priorities lie. It’s time we enjoy ourselves a bit right? – MM

SAL Fraktur Hex #25

I finished Fraktur Hex! I did it! Such a huge happy dance over here folks!

I spent yesterday finishing the last three birds. Before I frame it I want to stitch our initials and date but other than that I am moving on. It has been almost a year and a half and a huge journey for me because this was the largest project I have ever undertaken and the first time I have stitched on linen.

Here is where I left off last update:

And here it is finished!

I have to pick a new project but for now I am just going to enjoy looking at this one.

Please visit the other stitchers in our SAL. They are stitching wonderful pieces. Thank you again to Avis for continuing to keep us on track and organizing all of us. See you in another three weeks! -MM

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, Constanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Mary Margaret, Renee, Carmela, Sharon, Daisy, Anne, AJ, Jenny, Laura, Cathie, Linda, Helen

New Walkway from Old Material

We installed our side walkway in the summer of 2018 and after a couple of years it has settled in and looks like it’s been there forever, which is a good thing!

We used the bricks from our old outdoor fireplace that was destroyed by a fallen apple tree and re-purposed them into this walkway.

**Old Outdoor Fireplace removed but we left the base stones**

It was like a puzzle to find the right placement for everything

**This was pretty much the final placement with a few tweaks here and there**

**Fall 2020 just a few months ago and the walkway has settled in nicely.**

We know that technically we should have put a base of sand or underlayment down before we placed the stones and bricks, but we wanted this project to be a no cost solution to our walkway problem, so if it sinks a bit for now we are ok with it. When we have more cash for projects like this we will definitely have a professional do it.

For now we love it and like it’s imperfections. Let’s dream of flowers and bees and warmer weather shall we? -MM

SAL Fraktur Hex #20

I got a little bit more stitched this last three weeks!

Here is where I left off:

And here is where I am now:

I have 1/4 completely finished!

Please visit the other stitchers in our SAL. They are doing wonderful pieces. Thank you to Avis for continuing to keep us on track and organizing all of us. See you in another three weeks! -MM

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, Sue, Constanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Hayley, Megan, Deborah, Renee, Carmela, Sharon, Daisy, Anne, Connie, AJ, Jenny, Laura, Cathie, Linda, Helen

From Pumpkin to Pie

Another frustrating item missing from the shelves this fall has been pumpkin puree. The kind of pumpkin used in sweet breads, pies and cookies.

The shortage is not due to the pandemic but due to the wet growing season last year.

While waiting for pumpkin supplies to replenish in the grocery stores I for the first time tried making a pumpkin pie from an actual pumpkin.

Certain varieties of pumpkin are better for pie making and others are better for carving a Jack-o’-lantern.

I bought four pie pumpkins from a local organic farmer and friend and figured if I liked the end product I would grow my own pie pumpkins next year.

Here’s a step by step from pumpkin to pie.

These are a variety of pie pumpkin called Long Pie. They are a heirloom variety so I can save the seed and grow them next year!

On the advice from my farmer friend I treated the pumpkin just like a winter squash when cooking it.

I cut it lengthwise and scooped out the seeds and microwaved it on high for about 15 minutes in a glass pyrex pan covered with a piece of plastic wrap with a corner vented.

After cooling I scooped out the cooked flesh and got about enough for one pie. Now other articles I have read stated that you need to squeeze out any excess liquid from the flesh before using it. I did not have this problem with this variety of pumpkin. It was very dense. No excess liquid to be had.

I was concerned because this pumpkin puree did not look anything like what you buy in a can at the store. It looked exactly like butternut squash. No worries though! It looked like pumpkin once I got all of my ingredients in.

Once you cook and scoop out the cooked flesh run the pumpkin through a food processor or in my case a mini chopper to puree even more.

Now for the other pie ingredients. I followed the Libby’s Pumpkin Pie recipe which is on the back of the can. 2 Eggs, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp cloves, 1/2 tsp ginger, pumpkin puree (about a cup), 1 can of evaporated milk and an unbaked pie shell.

Mixed everything other than the milk together.

Looks more like pumpkin doesn’t it? Then I added the evaporated milk.

The mixture got pretty foamy on top for some reason so I skimmed some off after pouring it into the pie shell.

I baked it at the same temperature and for the same amount of time as the Libby’s recipe called for. And out popped a perfect pumpkin pie!

It was so creamy and smooth and delicious!

This baking experience has inspired me to add this pumpkin to my to-grow list for next year. If I get as many pumpkins as I did butternut this year then I should be well supplied for next Thanksgiving.

If you have a chance to try a true pie pumpkin in your recipes I encourage you to do so! -MM

SAL Fraktur Hex #16

I have worked pretty consistently on Fraktur Hex these past three weeks.

Here is where I left off last update:

And here is where I am now:

I got more done on the center and still working on the last corner!

Please visit the other stitchers in our SAL. They are doing wonderful pieces. Thank you to Avis for continuing to keep us on track and organizing all of us. See you in another three weeks! -MM

Not Impressed with Our Debt September 2020 Update

I haven’t updated since June so I thought I better get an update posted today.

It’s been a frustrating few months. I have made some progress in some areas and put some debt on in other areas.

Here’s the breakdown:

Honda loan balance in June was $1600 – Now down to $900. I made a triple payment in July and another regular payment in September. Yay!
Our clothes washer finally said enough and died on us. Instead of paying for a brand new washer which was at least $800 we went on Facebook Marketplace and found the exact model we had currently only much newer for $250. We paid for it in cash we had saved. Double Yay!
My big 20 qt mixer started to seize and spark. We put it off for a month but finally got someone to come in and repair it. Cost was $150. We again paid in cash. Triple Yay!
I paid $525 on my credit card this month. I took the minimum payment and added in the few things I charged on it for the month then I added in the interest amount from last month and paid $525.41. I plan on doing the same this next month. Yay x 4!
We did put about $800 on our other credit card this month. We bought a new couch. It was more than I wanted to pay but we have barely used our living room all year and I was very tired of each of us hanging out in our bedrooms and not being all together to at least watch a movie or football game once in a while. Our old couch (which was only about 6 years old) never was comfortable so we stopped hanging out in the living room together. $800 was worth bringing us back together I think so money well spent! Minus 1 point though for adding more debt 😦

Unfortunately school taxes are looming due and I know I am going to pay them late because I just don’t have the funds to pay them in full this month. It’s ok though. I’ll get them paid I just won’t be able to pay much extra on our debt in October.

That’s about it. Only $900 left to pay on the Honda! Until next update -MM

Lactose Intolerant

It’s official (at least in my mind) I am lactose intolerant. Especially after last night’s late night stomach problems after eating macaroni and cheese for dinner.

Most of my adult life I have suffered from what I would call random stomach problems and stomach problems suck right? The most frustrating part is that people love to tell you what they think is your problem (trying to be helpful) but in reality there could be a 1000 different reasons and combinations of foods that make you sick when you eat them so I have just always stayed away from eating much in public. I especially would never eat anything fried or greasy out unless I knew I was going home right after.

About a year ago I had one of the worst bouts of stomach upset I have ever had and it was at a party we were attending. About half an hour into the affair (the other guests said later) I all of a sudden turned green and then I left and headed straight home. All that night I was sicker than a dog. Stomach upset and ache, diarrhea, chills, nausea. I was so frustrated.

At one point a month later I had been feeling pretty good, no stomach upset for a while and then I realized it was because I hadn’t had a glass of milk in weeks. Hmmm…. But I had had ice cream and cheese and such but no pure milk.

Right then and there I stopped drinking milk entirely and voila, no more massive stomach upset. Life-changing to say the least. My doctor was on board with it. She said I didn’t need a test to tell me if I felt better cutting out dairy.

Now I am still able to have dairy once in a while without too much upset but last week I was eating way too much and I was suffering for it. A Klondike bar everyday and mac and cheese (even though I used Lactaid to make it) really bothered me. Not the massive stomach bothering that milk does to me but enough bother to slow me down.

I haven’t tried taking a Lactaid pill before I eat dairy. I will have to experiment with that. At this point I just avoid dairy all together and my tummy thanks me for it.

Don’t worry I will not walk into my next party and announce I am lactose intolerant to everyone. That’s just not my style lol!. -MM

Dinner Ideas

I have been so frustrated with cooking lately because I feel like I get no help doing it. I don’t bother asking what anyone wants anymore because I get the same answers, either “I don’t know” or hot dogs.

In fact I was so frustrated the other day that I took a notepad and wrote down every dinner choice I could think of off the top of my head. You know what? I came up with almost 70 choices! Nothing fancy, just regular old standbys but we tend to forget some of the classics when we get stuck in a rut right?

This actually helped me a lot. I thought I would post what I came up with in the hopes of giving you some ideas too:

Roast Pork
Sausage with peppers and onions
Grilled pork tenderloin
Shake and bake pork chops
Hot dogs (of course)
Hamburgers
Spaghetti and meatballs
Fish Fry
Loaded baked potatoes
Grilled thick pork chops
Pan fried pork chops with mushrooms and pan gravy (easy)
Soup with grilled sandwiches
Steak and mushrooms
Turkey breast
Full turkey dinner
Pulled pork sandwiches
Sliders
Beef Stew
Chicken Pot Pie
Big Salads
Ribs
Salmon
Fried Shrimp
Breakfast for dinner
Meatloaf
Pot Roast
Mac and Cheese
Tacos
Nachos
Fajitas
Kabobs
Filet steaks
Chicken kiev
Chicken cordon bleu
Roasted chicken
Fried chicken
Chicken parm
Fried chicken cutlets
Crockpot chicken and chili sauce
Stuffed chicken breast
Chicken rice casserole
Tuna noodle casserole
Sausage and corn
Pizza
Wings
Chicken fingers
Chicken soup
Beef soup
Potato bacon soup
Cauliflower soup
Ham and Bean soup
Lasagna
Stuffed shells
Ham
Ham and scalloped potatoes
Ham and Cabbage
Chicken spiedies
Meatball subs
Chili
Spaghetti and meat sauce
Ratatouille
Stuffed peppers
Stir fry
Chicken or veggie Alfredo
Smoked pork chops
Goulash
Spanish Rice
Sub Sandwiches
Rotisserie chicken (dinner in a pinch)

This list really helped me see that I do have choices for dinner I just forgot what they were! Haha These are just the main dinner choices I came up with. Next post I will list all of the side choices I came up with. Hope this helps you as much as it helped me! -MM

Damaged Canning Lid Update

Last post I told you about the canning supply shortage and the shipment of lids I mistakenly purchased from a company in China.

I have received a $6.96 credit towards my over $45+ purchase for the damaged lids. I wasn’t very happy with this and I would never buy from this company ever again but I guess it is something right? And they were very prompt with getting back to me.

Below are a few screen shots of the exchange:

What do you all think? Should I have pushed for a bigger refund?

Lesson learned this time. I will, from now on ALWAYS research better who I am buying from and if I cannot find a mailing or shipping address on a website I will not buy from them.

Now on to the pumpkin shortage crisis sigh… – MM