Butterball Naked

When I first graduated college (back in the 70’s) and plowed into the business world, wide-eyed and full of hope, things were easy. I was fortunate enough to be employed with a major airline. My future was secure. My husband, at the time, was career military. Life was good. Life was simple. Work, home, play, family. (not in that particular order). Life has done some major flip-flops along the way. I’ve been a single mom, worked two jobs to make ends meet, been both mother and father to my son. Struggled with house notes, kid notes, car notes. Sometimes succeeded. Sometimes, failed miserably. (my own doing and the result of some circumstances that I had no control of).

I always thought that there was time. Time to save. Time to plan. Time to make up for my own short comings. Tick-Tock. Fast forward…2008.

I remarried, after 20 some years of single life (post divorce) 4 years ago. Things have changed.

Now I:

• have less time.
• am more skeptical
• am wired in to the net
• am more prone to discount a good thing
• expect more, for less
• am scared (more like petrified) of our financial future
• know that the 30 year career in one company is a joke
• know that it is COMPLETELY up to us to manage our finances and retirement
• somewhat envious of others we see that have fabulous amounts of money, and don’t seem to work hard for it

Last – I understand that we are playing with fire if we don’t do something, anything, to improve our financial situation. We’re butterball naked in the finance department.

We’re not broke. But, at 52, we work HARD. We’re bustin our mutual fannies to keep up with expenses. There’s always month at the end of the check. We now live more frugally than ever. No cable or satellite TV, our grocery list is carved to bare minimum (a carton of ice cream blows the budget for the month), my personal car ( a collectors item diesel), sits silent in the driveway (who can afford $5 fuel?). I spend hours clipping coupons from the papers, scouring the web for promo codes and coupons and literally agonizing over whether we should replace the refrigerator (the freezer no longer works) or simply make do. We canceled health insurance, because our policy costs were just plain out of reach. (fingers crossed we’re all healthy). My retirement account is almost nil since we lived through Hurricanes Ivan and Dennis and Katrina and a few lesser blows and the funds there helped restore house and home.

I personally would call it retirement roulette! And I don’t think we’re alone.

Am I feeling lucky? Lucky enough to win the big lottery (despite it being easier to get struck by lightening twice in a month), lucky enough to inherit a large sum of money before I run out of my own (despite older generations living much longer than ever before, and spending their money on themselves rather than saving it for you), or lucky enough to come up with a brilliant idea for a business that makes me a kings ransom (despite the fact that 85% of offline businesses closing every 5 years and 99% of online businesses in that same time)? Not really. But, I’m lucky enough to be alive. To face each new day with renewed energy and hope. And lucky enough to work toward things getting better. Lucky enough to know that we’ll be… ok.

So, how lucky are you feeling now?

Easy Thursday Dinner

It’s Thursday. Kind of a ho-hum day. The work week is almost up, then comes the weekend work. Blah. What’s for dinner when you don’t feel like cooking? This is the easiest ever midweek meal. Sure to please even your pickiest of eaters. And…you can cook it like a pro…without breaking the bank!

Ingredients:

1- (4_1/2-5 pound) roasting hen. OR 3 cups cooked prepared chicken

1/2 c butter (margarine or butter blend if you prefer)

2- c onion finely chopped (vidalia onions if you can get them are perfect)

1- ea (small)green, bell pepper chopped finely

1 16oz loaf Velveeta cheese cut into small cubes

1 8 0z pkg finely shredded monterey jack cheese

1 can Rotel brand chilies and tomatoes (for the kids use the mild variety, or leave it out all together and substitute one can diced tomatoes.)

2 cans Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 small can chopped mushrooms (drained)

1 can petite english peas (drained)

1/2 tsp salt

1-16 oz pkg regular spaghetti (cooked AND drained)

TOPPING:

1 cup dried seasoned bread crumbs

1/4 stick butter softened

juice of 1/2 lemon

Directions:

In large Dutch Oven, place hen in with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, reduce to simmer and ignore for 45 minutes to 1 hour. ( I usually do this the day before, but if you’re pressed for time, cooking the same day works). Remove chicken from the pot, reserving the broth. Let cool slightly, pick from bones and chop into bite size pieces. Set aside. If you’re using canned or prepared chicken, obviously skip cooking it.

Preheat oven to 350°, grease a 4-6quart baking dish well.

In a large skillet, melt butter ,add onions and bell pepper cook just till onion is transparent and peppers are tender (about 5 minutes). Transfer to large mixing bowl unless you have a chef size skillet.

Add 2 cups of the reserved chicken broth, cheese, rotel (or diced tomato), mushroom soup, salt and chicken. Stir well until cheese is completely melted. Add in spaghetti, mushrooms, and peas and toss well. Turn into prepared casserole dish.

Stir breadcrumbs, softened butter and lemon juice together. Spoon on to casserole.

Bake 30 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Serve with your favorite salad on the side and warm toasty garlic bread.

Easy Cheesy!

Zen And The Art of Mommy Blogging™

Occasionally, the stars align. And for the Mommy Bloggers out there, now is the time. In the April 10 issue of the Wall Street Journal, Sue Shellenbarger interviewed, Heather Armstrong, Aka Dooce. The media world, looked on in amazement. It hit the AP wire, like anthrax. Even small town papers picked up the item.

Actually, its not so amazing. I kind of looked for it to happen, sooner or later. And there is a powerful army of mommy bloggers following or jockeying for position right behind her. Dooce has jumped up to #43 in Technorati’s Top 100 Blogs. Blog reactions, as does her email (according to Heather), range from kind words of encouragement, to “hate” mail. We all get those, though.

What’s amazing about this phenomenon, known as Mommy Blogging is that they’re gaining power like no other niche group. Poised to be the next big “it” on the internet, they’ve got a few things going for them.

1. Content. They have a sort of built in source of inspiration. Husbands, kids, schools, households, play groups and the like. Not to mention just plain outright funny stories. These bloggers write in a style that connects them to their audience, usually emotional and full of personality. Most niche writers only wish they had this talent.
2. Work at Home. Or not. It doesn’t take an advanced degree to be a blogger. And if they’re stay at home moms, that means not having to leave the kids. Big plus. They can do their writing while the kids are napping or at school and still feel a part of the technological revolution. If they are employed outside the home, there’s no need to quit the day job. Great gig if you ask me.
3. Social Skills. Get a group of moms together, any age, and POW. You’ve got instant conversation on a plethora of topics. Give those same moms a network…and you’ve solved the Theory of Relativity.
4. Buying Power. Moms are generally the purchasing agents for their homes. They want to know what works, what doesn’t, what the costs are and they want to share their opinions on these items. Advertisers are finally wising up to this and targeting this niche. Get a mom who likes your product, blogs about it and you’ve harnessed lightning.

Dooce and several other bloggers have hit the media recently. Right now, it seems strange that the media would focus on this niche. But it won’t be long, I promise you. The old song lyric, “The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world” could soon become “The hand that rocks the cradle rules the Internet”.

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