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back to work

Going back to work after years of being a stay-at-home mom is exciting and scary. Finally to have adult company and having to adult among adults. Finally bringing a sizable salary, yet splurging on office wardrobe. The scariest for myself was meeting the young and sophisticated co-workers. Honestly, I was both jealous and in awe. Young and carefree, these 20-something young people were all speedy typers, knew Photoshop and Excel, besides being self-taught coders and managers. Latest social media trends were a joke, not a college class for them. My life experience was outdated by the time I came back to the workforce. Thankfully, I'm teachable. And there's lots to learn. I'm so, so thankful to the YouTube videos posted by wonderful teachers, Lynda courses, and articles found on the www. I hope to never stop liking to learn. Here's a list of skills I'd like to learn: Interior design Food styling Baking Cake decorating Drawing Hair cutting Jewelry design Wil

I'm obsessed with

Pinterest. I mean OBSESSED. Check it out!

what to do with chicken from soup

For all those wondering about what to do with the chicken left over from the chicken soup, I'd like to share an amazing recipe. Olivie, I also heard of it being called Olivier, is pretty much a (chicken salad)+ (potato salad) = wonderful filling meal. Since this recipe is based on the chicken that you have left over, there are no "official" measurements:) For 1 part chicken, use 2 parts potatoes. Eggs and pickles should be about the same amount as your chicken. Amount of onion depends on your taste, I often skip it altogether. The salad shouldn't be dry, put as much mayonnaise as needed. Salt to taste. Stays good in fridge for a few days, but may need additional mayo. So here are the ingredients: cooked chicken - cubed boiled potatoes - cubed boiled eggs - cubed pickles(some put fresh cucumbers,I personally never tried)- cubed fresh onion -cut into tiny-tiny pieces 1 can green peas mayonnaise salt Enjoy!

grrr

As I've mentioned before, I've been doing lots of searching on the topic of frugality and budget management. I read blogs and forum posts of super-duper frugal people and very often see this one "helpful" tip : there is a great price on such and such on Amazon, get yourself the free (mom) prime membership and then subscribe and save. So far so good, a wonderful money saver. Yet, the next part really baffles me: the kind poster tells you to cancel the subscribe and save asap after the purchase. How is this not a theft? The subscription is what gives you that discount and you're knowingly TRICKING, yes tricking, the shop out of their money. And I don't care that their policy allows for such moves, it isn't about them. Its about people who see nothing wrong in abusing the system, but even more so that people see nothing wrong in lying and essentially stealing.

life happens

Since our income had  been cut by 25% I've been doing lots (think 4-5 hours per day) of blog reading. Yep, there is that much on the topic of frugality/couponing/money management/debt eradication. Much of it is common sense, some money stunts people pull  are way too extreme for my taste, but I did find a few new ideas that seemed approachable. Here's a few things that I've picked up along the way: -learned that you need to pay off smaller debts first. -learned about water heater insulation blankets . -learned that air leaks through outlets are preventable. -learned about Royalty Trusts . -learned about the extreme couponing population sector,and realized that its not for SAHMs with a few younglings at home. I also tried, quiet a few recipes, and made bread crumbs from leftover stale bread - and all that time before I thought it was either bird food or garbage.

an interesting read

So recently I received my copy of Lead like Ike by Geoff Loftus from Booksneeze.com. For those not in the know, Booksneeze is a site that sends out books to bloggers in return for a review. So here is what I thought of the book: I found Geoff Loftus's book an interesting read on a few levels. Firstly, I enjoyed the thorough historical analysis of Allis' involvement in WWII.  Secondly, I found it fascinating how the whole war operation could be used as a metaphor on business competition. Thirdly,  I realized that the "Eisenhower model" of leadership can and should be used in most life situations. Set goals, but be flexible. Delegate, but be involved personally. Be optimistic, teach by example, encourage team work. Even a housewife, like myself, will find these tips useful. These few and rest of the wonderful leadership rules are reiterated throughout the book, pointing where, why, and how they were used by Ike Eisenhower during the war. As well, one learns how these o

laundry sorting

Once upon a time, when I had only three little boys, a very good friend, who just happened to have three little girls asked me FOR A QUICK TIP TO SORTING KID'S UNDERWEAR. You see, since the kids were close in age and size, sorting laundry was a huge job. Here is the list of ideas I've used over the years: 1) buying different companies of underwear. (Usually the brand is clearly visible on the waistband. ) 2) having different color schemes. 3)buying  boxers for some and  briefs for the others (talking of boys obviously). Additional benefit of these methods, is that kids could find their underwear themselves - surely you could use the help. Another huge time gobbler is the sock matching chore. I used to have "white sock only" policy when the kids were really young. That lasted a while, that is till they started walking and keeping the whites white became more of a trouble. A great idea I've heard from a mother of 22! was to put a dot of puffy paint on each new