Over-abundance and scarcity

Yesterday, on Christmas Eve, I worked a half-day at urgent care.  One of the other nurses brought in some amazing homemade cinnamon rolls, another receptionist brought in a homemade key lime pie, and there was a basket of home baked cookies on the break room table.  I had a cinnamon roll and the other nurse and one of the docs tried a piece of key lime pie.   After we closed and I was finishing up a few things, I noticed that the pie and rolls were left on the table mostly uneaten.  I offered some to the janitor.  He said he had a lot waiting for him when he got off work.  I put the pie and rolls in the refrigerator not wanting them to spoil. It made me sad to think of the effort that people put into these goodies going to waste.  We have so much abundance around us in this country and especially during the holidays that we are willing to let not just the leftover tuna casserole in the back of the frig but great homemade treats go to waste.  I read recently that American households throw away about $175 worth of food every month.  We struggle with obesity, throw away and refuse good food.  It seems to me that many of us are drowning in a sea of abundant food and bad choices.  At the same time, more and more American families suffer from food insecurity (about 15% of households according to the USDA).  What a strange relationship we have with something that is supposed to sustain life in this country.

Organic Easy Pizza

Every Friday, we get a take-and-bake pizza, a dvd and a bar of chocolate.  The girls and I take turns picking the movie and we get the same pizza every week.  However, last week I decided to make my own pizza.  The whole idea behind Friday nights is that it will be easy and relaxing!  So, pizza from scratch was not really in that spirit.  But, I did make pizza crusts from scratch before school started this fall.  They were wrapped and in the freezer.  Not only were they organic but they were also whole grain and they cost at 25 cents to make.  So, I bought organic tomato sauce and added herbs from our garden.  I also bought shredded organic mozzarella cheese and good kalamata olives (in bulk).  The total cost of our organic pizza was under $6.  So, although the take-and-bake pizza is inexpensive (about $10) -- it is not as cheap as a homemade organic pizza.  Of course, I thought the homemade pizza was tastier and healthier than the store-bought too. 
Here's my easy pizza dough recipe:
1 and 1/4 cups warm water
1 Tablespoon yeast
1 teaspoon sugar or honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/4 cup white flour
1 and 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon oregano

Combine yeast, water, sugar and salt.  Set aside until bubbles form (about 15 minutes).
Add herbs then flour.  Knead.  Set aside to rise (20-40 minutes).  Divide into two parts.  Roll out on floured surface.  Makes two pizzas.

If you want to make these ahead.  Roll out and bake about 10 minutes at 400 degrees, let cool, wrap and freeze. 

Enjoy!

My New Guest House

My new guest house is open and ready for guests. I love being a hostess and I'm pretty excited about this new venture.  Since I bought a duplex this Spring, we will be living in half and renting the other half for short term rentals.  So, send me your extended family, university guests and interviewees.  I'll make sure they are comfortable and well cared for.  We are happy to host families with kids of all ages too.  Our house is just a few blocks from the Aquatic Center.  The website is http://site.juliasguesthouse.com.

Too cheap for yard sales?

Ok, you can confess it in the privacy of your own mind... do you go to garage sales and yard sales or to Goodwill and think..."that's kind of expensive." Here's a solution. Map out the local yard sales that will be going on in your town on a summer Saturday morning.  Skip them and enjoy your Saturday morning at home.  About 2:00 in the afternoon when everyone has given up, drive the garage sale circuit and see what they have put on the curb with a big FREE sign.  Last week, I found a TV stand this way.  Free is even better than cheap!

Medical Care

Since I am working again as a nurse, I thought I would share some insights on medical care.  I work in an urgent care clinic and in the past I worked at a rural hospital.  The first thing I want to tell people is that if someone is going to be in charge of their health, it should be them.  Staying healthy is not always easy -- injuries or infectious illnesses happen -- but for much of the rest of your health you can be in charge. Diabetes, cardiac problems, stress, kidney, gall bladder, stomach, joint and back problems, STD's,  some cancer issues can all be related to lifestyle. If people take care of their own health, they get to make all the decisions and it doesn't cost much of anything compared to medications and treatments. 
Second, avoid the hospital and ER as much as you can.  Urgent care clinics -- even the small rural one where I work -- can provide much of the care that an emergency room provides.  We can give IVs, sew up lacerations, do initial work on simple fractures.  An emergency room is set up to save your life, even bring you back if your heart stops and they will charge you for that ability even if you just need a butterfly bandage on your boo boo.  Most estimates I have seen are around $500 to walk in the door of an ER. 

If you come to urgent care and you really should have gone to the ER, trust me, we'll send you there.  I will say too -- if you are having chest pain or other signs of a heart attack go to the ER!

Third, unless you have a sudden high fever (over 102.5) or a sore neck and pounding head combo, wait to come in for an upper respiratory problem -- sore throat, run down, runny nose, cough.  You likely have a cold.  Wait a few days at least.  If your symptoms continue, worsen, or you develop clear signs of infections (green mucus, putrid smelling throat) then come in.  I know no one has time to be sick but we have not yet found a cure for the common cold.  It doesn't do you any good to come in. 

I am not heartless and I'm happy to see everyone who comes in.  I know it is hard to tell just how sick you might be.  But, if you want to save your co-pay, out of pocket or insurance pool money, think a little about where you will go when you need medical care.  

Stay well,

Latest Read -- Moneyless Man

I am reading The Moneyless Man by Mark Boyle.  The book chronicles his year of living without using or accepting any money for a year and his challenges to travel, feed himself, bathe himself, communicate and maintain his sanity during his moneyless year.  Very inspiring and occasionally funny.

Gardening Season Necessities

We have about 4 inches of snow on the ground, but the sun is warmer, the days are longer and the seed catalogs are arriving.  For people like us, gardening catalogs are very tantalizing.  My daughter and I spend a great deal of time thumbing through and dog-earring seed catalogs.  We eventually put ourselves on a budget and don't buy the dozens of flower and vegetable varieties we have selected.  Today, I was looking at gardening gadgets in a Lehman's catalog.  Cultivators, special shovels, benches, carriers, mini-hot houses, plant covers and how-to guides abound in gardening.  The real secret is -- you don't need all this stuff.  I like to have a maddock, a shovel, a pitchfork, a basket for harvest time, soaker hoses for the dry months and some milk jugs or big juice bottles.  Other than those items, I just need the seeds or starts.  Maddocks are great for turning rows, digging holes for starts, weeding when needed.  A pitchfork is good for spreading straw. Shovels move manure.  A basket is best for harvest because it can go from garden to kitchen storage.  Soaker hoses save water and keep it away from the paths between rows.  Finally, there appears to be a proliferation of items to keep out the cold and frost -- water walls, plastic barrels, wax paper "hats," but I use translucent milk jugs with the bottom cut out or big apple juice jugs with the bottom cut out.  They make nice mini-greenhouses when you need them and you can even take off the caps and water the plants. 

Balance--or lack thereof

Sometimes, there are just too many expenses for your income.  I've found myself in that situation and I have now acquired an official second job.  I'll be using my nursing license and working about 12 hours a week at the local urgent care.  It should help right the financial ship a bit.  So, now I'll be juggling teaching 4 classes, working at urgent care, my microbusiness, 3 kids, 1 dog, 1 cat, 4 hens, 2 rabbits and myself.  Hopefully, at the end of May, I will be down to one job, one small business.  Until then, I'll be at work! 

my new business website

I have a new website for my business: www.fastfoodie.biz.  Hopefully, by this summer, you'll be able to order directly from the site.