Haircut: Hers

I have cut Jacob’s hair many times.  I love the ease that our flowbee delivers (even if it does seem so very cheaply constructed, grr).  But I did not always use that aide.  The very first time I attempted to trim him up I did it free-hand.  What did this mean for Jacob: fear, pure fear.  It didn’t turn out too bad, thankfully we had a trip planned to my parents soon, and we used their flowbee.

Last night, I learned the meaning of the saying: turnabout is fair play.  I have been needing a hair cut for a while, and have most recently been contemplating donating to locks of love. But after measuring, I decided I would prefer a trim.  So Jacob grabbed our hair scissors and I brushed my hair and now my hair is quite a bit shorter.  He had to cut off more than I asked because there was so many dead ends, eek.   But I’d say he cut of around 4 to 5 inches and I’m so much happier.  I have no idea what he did.   I told him to cut a curve, but he rebelled and say straight would be easier for him.  Well, whatever he did was loads better than my hair was.  And no one has even noticed, which I’m taking as a good sign.

Maybe this isn’t the economy to be trying to do everything from home, but I have never been one to allow (meaning: pay) someone else to do something I am able to do myself.  That is how I was raised and I am happy to have a home where I can have room to make my own curtains and dinners and to cut our own hair.  I love doing things myself.  At Sam’s on Saturday Jacob and I had a discussion (meaning: disagreement) about rotisserie chicken.  I am against it on principle: I don’t want to be charged extra for some man hours they must put into it.  But Jacob had a good point in that recently I haven’t really had time to cook a chicken, or bake bread, which means that buying it, even at elevated costs, could prove necessary (bread, not chicken, I’ll find something, anything else to eat).   And I, maybe wrongly, believe that there are plenty of people still getting highlights, layers, and swept bangs that my sense of “duty” to the community is quite diminished.

Now for what you have all been waiting for:

BEFOREimgp2479

AFTER

After Haircut

It is still long enough for my knot I love to wear, but waking up with Jacob on it and not being able to move is, I hope, a thing of the past.

I wonder what things other families are taking on the responsibility of in their homes that they used to go out for, or delegate to others.  I know one prevalent change I’ve seen wide-spread is eating.  Food and families have been brought together, sit down dinners are not just for the 1950’s any more.  Families are growing closer and getting back to the basics, by learning cooking (if not gardening as well).  What a beautiful thing, conversation, work and creativity rather than a hurried drive-thru.

Immediate Food Storage

Jacob and I have been meaning to get out to the cannery. We really like being prepared, and although I love our Sam’s membership, they don’t sell beans or wheat.  I talked Jacob into a short 3 month supply because I really didn’t want to move a year’s supply of food (like he wanted), and we have a lot of food stored, stuff we regulary rotate, that could probably help us last for 6 months.  Anyway, Jacob was very excited about the idea that professionals packed our storage so it could actually last the 30 years that is claimed.  I personally do not want to haul around these boxes for 30 years but I think it is wise to have some emergency food.

So we bought all this for ~$250:

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The boxes constitute the minimum food necessary for 2 people for 3 months, the flour is just an add-on we needed.  I must admit, I’m happy we have them.  But I am also excited to start stocking up on some things that will make life pleasant for those three months, not just bearable.  I mean we do have things to make bread, necessity but also yummy, and cookies, 72+ oz of chocolate chips, I think some more tomatos and sauce to go with our pasta, and some variety in vegetables, past canned peas, corn and green beans, but it’s a good start, eh?

It was a cost that was hard to swallow but it was definitely cheaper that we spend on even 2 months of food, and it gives a feeling of preparation.  And although we did jump in with food storage, it was not our first time near the “water”, we’ve been buying extras of canned goods since before we were married and we did not go into debt just to gather these things we came to feel were necessities.

Although they were a bit too tall to fit under our bed, we found a home for them under my hugely tall craft table, yay!  We use the half gallon mason jars to store the flour we got from Sam’s.  It is perfect for our bread flour because the jar holds exactly what I use to make bread, amazing.

I’m really working hard to incorporate beans into our every day diet.  Yesterday we put a can of kidney beans, warmed, on our taco salads.  Oh they were so yummy!  I’m really struggling with trying to figure out what to do with beans!  I love chili and I have enjoyed making Cajun Red Beans Lite (I’m not the hugest fan of spicy).  But what else to do with them?  I still need to do some research.  Everyone talks about puting them on salads but beans cold, that does not sound appealing to Jacob and I.  I don’t mind cooking them with some meat and onions, maybe making a bit of soup.  But I’ll have to see if I can find some more ideas.  I loved the warm beans on the salad though!

Oh and btw, popped wheatberries do not equal popped corn kernals. >.<

Pizza Dough

Jacob and I love making our own pizza.  I started making it with my normal bread recipe, with dough that was left over because 2 people do no need 3 loaves of bread everytime.  But he was unhappy with the texture so I went searching for a good one.  We love the idea of the no-rise pizza dough, as we are both pretty impatient, especially Jacob and if I’m lucky enough to get him in the kitchen I want to keep him there!  I found the recipe here, but it makes two pizzas for us, so here is the “half recipe” or the recipe for one pizza pie dough.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 T yeast
  • 3/4 C water
  • 1 T sugar
  • 1 1/2 T oil
  • 1 1/2 – 2 1/2 C flour (it’s always an estimate, especially when adding in wheat flour).

Proof the yeast in warm water with some sugar for energy.  Add the oil, then mix in enough flour for the dough to not be sticky, like any bread.  Then knead the dough until it is smooth.  One might let it rest for a bit, but we just roll it right out on our counter then transfer it to a corn-mealed pizza stone.  Top with favorite toppings. Bake at 375 F for 20-25 minutes.

One awesome thing about breads is that ingredients are always on hand (at least in my house).  The toppings are where a shopping trip might be in order…or not.  One day I made dough, just to realize that we were out of mozzarella cheese, oh no!  But we always have a 2 lbs block of cheddar sitting in the fridge, yeah we love that cheese.  I was so worried it would ruin our dinner, having that yellow mess on our pizza, but it turns out using what you have can lead to great discoveries.  Cheddar, Ham, and Pepperoni are our new favorite toppings.  Jacob never liked ham on a pizza without pineapple but he is now converted!  Be sure to experiment explore and toss some veggies on there too.