A New Perspective

My nest is once again empty.  I didn't have to cook my kids favorite meals.  I didn't even have to go grocery shopping if I didn't want to.  I decided to wait until Saturday to shop for groceries and house hold provisions.  And, we ran out of everything including laundry detergent by Friday evening.  I had to get real creative in the kitchen last week.  Randy has always said I cook the best meals from virtually nothing.  (Is that a complement?)   It's a darn good thing I froze those over-ripe bananas (for making smoothies) so I could feed my new Gecko, Duders (or is it Dooders?) a little something.

Great trick.  Freeze over-ripe bananas to use in smoothies!

It was not easy to get this photo of Duders.  He was hidden, sleeping inside of his tree.

I am trying to budget.  My goal is to try to spend only $50. or less each week and do the major shopping once a month.  We'll only need to supplement the perishables, such as half and half (I refuse to skimp on my one to two cups of coffee in the morning) and bread, since we have most of our own fresh produce, get our eggs from our friends and do not eat much meat.   We are also on a kick to eat unprocessed, which means we didn't buy deli items like sliced turkey.

We spent $220. at Trader Joe's, $305 at Costco and $15. at our local fish market, Santa Rosa Seafood/ Old Wharf Smokehouse.  (946 Santa Rosa Ave.  707-280-2285.)  While at the fish market we sampled their smoked salmon.  Delicious!  Afterwards, Randy took me out to lunch to our favorite Mexican restaurant, Las Palmas (415 Santa Rosa Ave.  707-546-3091).  Randy had their fish taco plate and I had a simple tostada (knowing Randy would offer me bites).

While we finished our Corona's I said, "Thank you so much for taking me to Mexico, honey!"  To which he replied, "You're welcome!  And we didn't have to deal with going through customs!"  The fish tacos were absolutely fantastic!  I think the best I have ever had.  We complimented the chef, Alberto, and he mentioned there had been a write-up in the Press Democrat about their fish tacos.  No wonder!  We spent $23.

Anyone know how you are supposed to wear a Hermes scarf?

After Mexico we went to Paris (the post office) to pick up the Hermes scarf Randy bought me on Ebay for my birthday.  While driving home I said, "Holy Cow!  It's all about perspective, isn't it?"  Randy was totally on my wave length and said, "It sure is, baby!"  We felt rich and decedent!  We didn't have to deal with airports or transfers or crowds.  We didn't have to worry about getting lost.  We really were on vacation!

When we got home, we put everything away as fast as we could, then sat outside with a cold beer.  We marveled at the beauty around us as we played with our dogs.  Then, we took a nap!  At around 4:30, we went to a party at a beautiful home with a view of our entire valley.  My cold had people a bit nervous, so we left early.  Randy made me get in bed and he served me dinner!  (Tell me he isn't a sweetie!)

We wore out Rocky.  Boomer is still running for the ball.

We woke to another beautiful day!  We breakfasted on raspberries in our garden while we harvested our vegetables.  Right now, Randy is slow cooking a turkey breast on the BBQ and I am making chicken stock with a whole chicken that we will use for tacos, risotto and sandwiches later in the week.  I'll use the stock for my Negative Calorie Soup.  My soup is the anchor to my Bodeci lifestyle.  (Don't forget, I have to get rid of 14,000 extra calories.)

Freshly harvested vegetables for my soup.  Homemade chicken stock and chicken to use in recipes.

I love to cook when I'm not under pressure.  Relaxes me!

Randy tasting his BBQ turkey breast.  We'll slice it thin and use for sandwiches.  Yummy!

Have a bit of vacation in every day!  Even if you are on a budget!