Lifestyle of Learning 2018 Edition: Volume Two

January 21 - 27

Maceo performed Titus Andronicus.  Dad even made it to watch the show and enjoyed the performance.
Maceo worked diligently on his college applications.
Bishop worked at his culinary internship and went to scouts where he gave a speech on dog man and made a patrol flag.

Maceo worked on designing his own high school english course and is working on AP macroeconomics.
Bishop worked in a sound booth, recording and such.
Maceo attended ppt acting.
Maceo gave two vocal lessons.
We went on a wonderful field trip to Wonders of Wildlife.

The piranhas and their creepiness were discussed in depth.

They were so still!!!

Jellyfish. LOVE.

They added books to their wish lists.

Bishop was very impressed with this sculpture as it had to have been quite the endeavor.

They were very excited about this portion of the exhibits and it did not disappoint.

While on this field trip, we were tremendously blessed to run into some friends who had suffered a tremendous loss.  We went through part of the aquarium with them and then treated them to lunch.  It was truly an honor.

Maceo had No Strings Attached (puppet improv) rehearsal.
Maceo had ucb/improv skype lesson.
Maceo ended his week with two more Titus performances
and Bishop ended his by attending a merit badge university.  He completed the nuclear science merit badge and it was amazing.  (I sat in on this and learned a ton!!!)
 In the midst of all of the other cool things of the week there was some game playing - Sequence, Monster Hunter, Magic, Starfinder.

It's been a great week living, loving and learning!

Last Weeks Frugal Accomplishments - Focusing on Organization

January 21 - 27

Sunday:
Yesterday Herb made chopped up some chicken and added chopped vegetables.  He used it to fry up some chicken patties yesterday.  Today he used half of it for a stir-fry and I used the other half to make chicken and potato hand pies.  I typically make these with puff pastry.  Unfortunately, the package of puff pastry that I had in the fridge had gone moldy.  (Shucks, I hate wasting food, especially puff pastry, ugh!).  Fortunately, I had some crescent rolls in the fridge.  Three packages of crescent rolls had rolled to the back of the fridge during the holidays and I just happened to find them earlier today so I put them to good use making those hand pies.  I served those with the last of the frozen broccoli.
Maceo finished up opening weekend of the performance of Titus Andronicus and Herb got a bit of free entertainment watching the performance.  We all accessed some free entertainment by streaming the AFC and NFC championship games.
Being organized, knowing what you have and where to find it when you need it, is key to saving money.  Using your resources wisely is key to financial fitness.  With that thought in mind I am striving to get the house more organized this week, beginning with organizing the food.  Today I cleaned and organized my food storage pantry and the carb drawer (bread, tortillas and crackers all get stashed here).  I made a list of items that will need to be added to the pantry in February and made note of items that I have a lot of (oh my word, I have soooo many crackers of all types and, fortunately, plenty of flour and sugar and other baking supplies) that should be used in February's menus.  I have lots of corn flakes and peanut butter that were gifted to me by a friend and I want to make something like these cookies or these ones with the chocolate because I have plenty of chocolate as well (which makes me very happy).  I also have a lot of white chocolate chips so I want to make these cookies.  I also have stuff to make rice krispie treats.  Maybe I will make these in heart shapes for Valentine's Day.  So, I guess we're good on desserts!

Monday:
I worked an hour and a half for the theatre while Maceo had his acting class, a bit of a reciprocal relationship.
Most of my day was spent cleaning out the fridge and inventorying it while, simultaneously, preparing for our trip to the VA hospital tomorrow.  I found two cans of biscuits pushed toward the back of the fridge.  I used those to make biscuits and gravy and sausage for breakfast.  Additionally, I made deviled eggs and pasta salad for the trip tomorrow.  I had a bit of tri-color rotini in the pantry that I cooked up.  To that I added little odds and ends from the fridge - the remainder of a jar of artichoke hearts, last little bits of salami and pepperoni and specialty cheeses from the holidays.  I finished it off with some dressing.  I also baked up the last of the frozen bread dough making two loaves of bread, one for Herb and I and the other for the boys.  Additionally, I found two little bits of cookie dough, snickerdoodles and sugar cookies, and baked them up.  I packed up some sugar cookies and a bit of leftover frosting for Herb and I.  I left the remainder of the cookies for the boys.  I also put some butter, honey, and peanut butter in the picnic hamper alongside the homemade bread.  I think I have put together a feast for Herb and I to eat tomorrow using just what we had on hand.  Here is the menu:  pasta salad, deviled eggs, homemade bread that can be made into a sandwich if desired (peanut butter, honey and jam) or eaten buttered, bread and butter pickles, a grapefruit and almonds, and sugar cookies.  A feast, I tell you!

Tuesday:
Herb and I made our trip to the VA hospital.  We spent money on fuel and two treats (gum for him, sour straws for me).  We took our lunch and drinks and that worked very well.  Herb concurred - I packed a feast!  Bishop spent his money on cheapo pizza for him and his brothers for lunch and Maceo walked to the store to buy it.  Herb had some pork marinating while we were gone and immediately cooked it and some mac and cheese for dinner.  All that and we have leftover bread and pasta salad and cookies and such.  Nice!

Wednesday:
We had a little money come in and after paying bills I did splurge just a little bit.  Bishop and I had lunch with our science group at a buffet and I bought pizza for the boys.  Herb bought some groceries and made red beans and rice - a nice frugal meal.  I caught Herb getting ready to throw out the white bean soup so that he could use the storage container.  I stopped him so that I could put it in the freezer.  I did just that and put some other items from the fridge into the freezer.  Into the freezer went two meals of white bean soup, one meal of white bean with tomato and kale soup, one batch of meat sauce for a future lasagna, and one meal of red beans and rice.  Another meal of red beans of rice was also put in the fridge.  When I went to the store to get freezer bags I saw that the brownie and cake mixes were on sale for 88 cents each.  I bought a couple of boxes of brownies and some cake mixes; I now have enough cake mixes in my food storage pantry for all the family birthdays.  I think I might go back and pick up several more so that they are available for potlucks or other holiday goodies.  I didn't get anything in the way of organization done today as I was really quite exhausted after science group.  (I think that I am still fighting crud.)  I did take a good look in the freezer while I put the food in there but I do need to officially clean it out.  Thus far this week I have organized the food storage pantry, the bread drawer and the fridge.  Not bad.

Thursday:
The boys and I spent the day checking out the hottest new attraction in our area, Wonders of Wildlife. For the boys and I to visit this attraction it would typically cost us $120.  They offered a homeschool day with special pricing so we jumped on it.  It only cost us $44 and was totally worth it.  We did go out to eat for lunch.  I didn't originally intend on paying for lunch out but we ran into some friends who had their house burn down a couple of days ago.  They had gone to WOW homeschool day for a bit of a distraction and I thought that there was tremendous value in taking them out to eat and visiting with them.  No regrets!

Friday:
All of the food storage areas have been organized and the freezer has been inventoried!  I am always amazed at just how much food I have in my little freezer.  We definitely have enough for a month of dinner and some breakfasts and lunches.  I think I will try to make a list of possible meals for each and post it in a readily accessible place.  I hope that it will inspire my husband to use what we have on hand rather than heading to the grocery store first thing in the morning.  He loves to do this.  I'm asleep and he heads to the store spending roughly $23 each time.  I did do some shopping at Aldi today and will do a little more next pay period, mostly for eggs and cheese and fruits and veggies and such.  I will also need to determine the Super Bowl menu and the Valentine's menu.  After coming home from shopping I noted that no one had made lunch yet so I made a quick pasta with meat sauce and it went over really well.  I used the remainder of pizza sauce that was in the fridge as part of my sauce.  I normally wouldn't do that but we were out of pepperoni (the must-have ingredient around here) so I figured I might as well get it used up.  For dinner, I had the remaining pasta salad leftover from the lunch that I packed for our trip to the VA hospital.  There is also a pot of posole on the stove that came out of the freezer.  Maceo is getting ready to perform some Shakespeare and I am now debating whether I have the energy to go enjoy some free entertainment.  If I don't go I will spend the evening getting some laundry done.  The food stuffs might be organized but there is still more to organize and clothing definitely needs sorted through.

Saturday:
Bishop and I spent the day at a boy scout's merit badge university.  For a mere $5 Bishop and I both received seven hours of instruction on Nuclear Science.  It was an amazing class; we both learned so much!  I also bought Bishop lunch at the event for $6 he got two hot dogs, a bag of chips, a couple of cookies, and a beverage.  He gave me one hot dog and half a bag of chips for my lunch.  It was a great day for us and all the money we spent at the merit badge university goes towards a high adventure trip for another scout troop.  Win-win!
And, with that the week ends.

52-Week Challenge:  As I previously deposited money for all four weeks of January the balance remains $47.

Learning Jar O' Change:  To the previously balance of $65.80 I added $2.11 for a new balance of $67.91.

Last Weeks Frugal Accomplishments - Trying to Get Some Traction

January 14 - 20

This week has been about getting myself in the right mindset.  It was about reflecting on my goals and making decisions accordingly.  It was about beginning to look a little harder, a little deeper to see what else I can do.  It is about beginning to look at habits and contemplating developing new ones in an effort to get some traction as I progress on the road to financial fitness.

Monday:

-I used a coupon to get a free (still have to pay shipping) calendar.  I made a calendar as a 2018 Christmas gift and only spent $7.56.

-I had $30 in Kohl's cash and $5 Yes2You Rewards that needed to be used so I shopped the Christmas/Winter clearance and purchased several Christmas gifts for 2018.  I even got free shipping.

-I submitted by Swago board on Swagbucks.  Last week I worked hard to get something really going in regards to swagbucks and the swago board was my incentive.  Just working to get that board turned in, and the respective bonus points, I earned 272 points.  Additionally, I earned 35 points this week.  An additional bonus in regards to swagbucks this week is that my account was credited with a shop and earn points from some Christmas purchases that I made.  Those bonus points are in the amount of 1,110.  Altogether, I am getting close to another Amazon gift card.

-I am definitely getting the crud so I tried to nurture myself with immune boosting goodies.  I had three cans of chicken noodle soup in the pantry.  Normally I would make homemade soup but I didn't have the energy and I needed to use these cans that have languished in the pantry for quite a bit.  These cans were given to me when working at a food pantry as they were damaged but they worked just fine for me today.  I also have been downing garlic and generic EmergenC that I purchased on a deep discount a while back.

-Knowing that my energy could be low for the days to come and, in fact, could get even lower, I summoned some energy to put a french toast casserole in the fridge.  I typically use a sourdough bread, which I did this time but I also added some rolls that were on the verge of going bad.  I also made some blueberry scones.

-Meals today were a hodge podge and, although we often eat at varied times, very staggered.  Maceo had oatmeal while I began my day with chicken noodle soup, crackers, bread and butter pickles and hot tea.  I treated Maceo to a purchased smoothie and I continued to eat the chicken noodle soup and crackers.  Herb had a breaded chicken patty with cranberry chutney that was leftover from Christmas.

I made grilled cheese sandwiches using the abundance of cheese that we have and the last avocado for the boys.  I had one mini one with my chicken noodle soup.  Herb and Bishop ate an impromptu lo mein using noodles that have been in the drawer forever and leftover ham and such.  After rehearsal the boys snacked on chips and queso and I snacked on some of the mini scones that I baked.

I spent approximately $10 on Panera bread and a smoothie and under $5 on queso and a gallon of water.

Tuesday:

I am still under the weather today and our internet is out.  Herb spent the morning trying to get our internet up and running but to no avail.  They will come out on Friday to fix it and they credited our account for a full week of service.  In the meantime, I stayed on the couch, under the covers, reading a book for most of the day.  The book was from the library (free and read in time to return with no late fees).  The food I prepared yesterday came in handy today.  I put the french toast casserole in the oven for breakfast and added some potatoes to the oven to put alongside some leftovers for dinner.  I did go down the block to Panera for a smidge of time to access the internet and figure out science group lessons and I had to get out to get Maceo to rehearsal.  Maceo was hungry after returning from rehearsal so I whipped up some pizza crazy crusts and the boys topped and baked their own pizzas.  I snacked on some pepperonis topped with sauce and the leftover kale chips.  (Pizza crazy crust is a simple flour, milk, egg based crust that cooks up crazy quick and is crazy floppy while being crazy good).  As a whole it has been a low key, no spend day.

Wednesday:
Every commitment, with the exception of Maceo's rehearsal, were cancelled due to weather or to me being under the weather.  So it was another low key day.  Maceo's girlfriend came over to play games.  They found a can of cinnamon rolls that didn't get baked at Christmas time that they baked up to munch on while playing games.  I had some of the scones that I baked the other day.  For lunch  I had some leftover pasta and meat sauce.  I think I will put that meat sauce in the freezer to make a lasagna out of.  It is very hearty and will be perfect for a lasagna.  Herb made slouvaki and greek salad for dinner.  He did go to the store to get lettuce and eggs.

Thursday:
The day came and went with not much activity at all.  I am still recovering from the crud and slept in tremendously late.  I took Maceo to his chiropractor appointment.  His chiropractor has a really cool set up.  He has a membership to the chiropractor that covers one adjustment per month and discounted chiropractic, acupuncture and massage.  They also have really fabulous massage chairs and snacks.  We both took advantage of the chairs and the snacks.  Herb made a really fabulous chicken curry with what we had on hand.  When the chicken was almost depleted Bishop stretched it by adding potatoes.  For dinner I made breakfast burritos including shredded fried potatoes that used the leftover baked potatoes.  So satisfying.

Friday:
Maceo's show opens this evening and he needs a new pair of black pants for the show.  He and I went to Kohl's and purchased him those pants.  While there I found a cardigan and button up shirt on clearance that I picked up to stash in my gift bin for next year's Christmas.  I had a 20% off coupon that I used as well.  Herb made a humongous pot of white bean soup.  He allowed me to use half of it to make a different sort of white bean soup by adding some stewed tomatoes and the remainder of kale that was sitting in the fridge.  Both soups were very good.  There are leftovers to be consumed and some of it will have to go into the freezer.  I joined my sister at Panera while she at her dinner and I didn't buy a thing.  I was given a free tea by the manager and enjoyed the conversation.  My most favorite frugal moment of the week, however, was attending a Shakespeare production for free at our art museum.  An additional perk (ok, big time perk!) was that Maceo is in the production, he is Aaron in Titus Andronicus, and he was fantastic!

Saturday:
Herb bought sausage and biscuits for breakfast but he used his allowance for it instead of using our regular account.  For lunch we had leftovers and, as a special treat, for dinner I got a pizza from Papa Murphy's for free.  I had a filled up punch card just waiting for some special moment and this was it!


52 Week Challenge:  As I deposited already for all four weeks of January, the balance remains $47.

Learning Jar O' Change:  The previous balance was $64.14.  To that I add $1.66, consisting largely of pennies found in the Jeep.  My new balance is $ 65.80.

Lifestyle of Learning 2018 Edition: Volume One (AKA The Inaugural Issue of the New Year)

January 1- 20

Well, I must say that making one post for three weeks of living and learning is a slower blogging start than I had anticipated but here I am with the inaugural entry for the 2018 edition of Lifestyle of Learning.  These past three weeks have simultaneously sped by and poked along.  It was brutally cold and I have been fighting a bit of the flu which seems to have slowed life down to a crawl.  Likewise, schooly-like things have resumed post-holidays and that seems to speed life up.  Here's a recap...

Maceo ripped through the Philosophy Crash Course.  He completed it in one week (8 hours).  He is now taking a Yale Open Course on the philosophy of death.

I know that he is also listening to lectures on psychology, economics, and ethics.
We have had some fascinating conversations on these issues.

Maceo has also been playing a game called Democracy.  One day I heard him lamenting, "I did a cigarette tax and now everyone hates me."  He is realizing just how difficult it all is.
He is also playing a game called Tropico.

We celebrated Bishop's birthday twice and he is totally worth all the celebrating.

All the boys tried their hands, or feet, at hackey sack.

Bishop has been working on improving his drawing skills.  He has been using, and enjoying, his drawing tablet.

Maceo logged many hours of rehearsal for Titus Andronicus.

Bishop returned to culinary internship and scouts and Maceo returned to preprofessional acting and troupe but they all only attended once before the icky weather hit and things were cancelled.

Our science group took a field trip to a power plant.  It was a super cool field trip.  I learned so much.  We learned some physics, chemistry and even covered environmental science.

Christian, as a representative for Ozark International Outreach, gave a presentation to a homeschool history group on "The Korean War:  Exploring the Context, Causes, Events, and Outcomes of the Forgotten War."  Maceo and Bishop both attended and it was fascinating!

Maceo did a paid improv gig as well as his other improv gigs.
Maceo read The Yellow Wallpaper.
Maceo has begun to write his thoughts on the soul and mental illness.
Maceo signed up for monologue coaching and has consulted with his coach twice.
Bishop worked on his starfinder stuff.
Maceo and Bishop played Magic.
Maceo played a lot of word/mental games on computer.

Bishop went to a scouts lock-in.  I chaperoned it.
I somehow failed to get any pictures of Bishop (it's possible that I was distracted with bananagrams).
However, here are some other pics of the craziness.

This is Bishop's "protect the flag" fort.

Bishop also attended a D & D sleepover.

Maceo had a doctors appointment and a chiropractor appointment.  He learned more about his musculoskeletal system.
I read the book Station Eleven and had a great conversation with Christian regarding the genre of post-apocalyptic literature.

Maceo's show opened last night and, WOWZERS, Maceo blew me away.  Maceo has performed for half of his life but he has never done a straight play, let alone Shakespeare, but you would never know that by looking at his performance as Aaron in Titus Andronicus.  I spoke with one of the founders of the theatre company and she was stunned to hear that this was his first play.  He was onstage with professional performers, some who have trained at conservatories, others who have done Shakespeare for decades, and, even next to them, his performance didn't seem lacking or less than.  All of his hard work is paying off!  I am so proud of him!


Now, this evening, as I finish this post, Maceo is doing another performance of Titus Andronicus and Bishop is using the glazes he got for Christmas to glaze a vessel he threw.

Despite being very cold and being ill, I would say that it has been a good start to the year 2018.
I am certain we have MANY amazing adventures ahead of us!