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WELCOME TO HOMEBODIES
November 7, 2006
Volume 7, Issue 43
Weekly encouragement and empowerment e-zine
for stay-at-home parents and working parents
considering the at-home lifestyle
Your Hostess - Cheryl Gochnauer, author of
"Stay-at-Home Handbook", "So You Want to Be a
Stay-at-Home Mom", "Mom to Mom" and founder of
http://www.homebodies.org
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THIS WEEK'S ARTICLES:
"Gift Buying Tips for Frugal Families" by Homebodies founder Cheryl
Gochnauer
"Left-Over Turkey: A Gourmet Treat" by Homebodies columnist Debi
Taylor-Hough, founder of Simple Times (http://hometown.aol.com/dsimple)
"Discipline” by Homebodies columnist James Watkins, writer of “Jim Shorts”
and founder of James Watkins.com (http://www.jameswatkins.com)
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GIFT BUYING TIPS FOR FRUGAL FAMILIES
Homebodies
By Cheryl Gochnauer
homebodies@comcast.net
Copyright 2006
Feeling clueless about surviving the holiday buying frenzy without busting
your budget? Debi Taylor-Hough, author of Frugal Living for Dummies (Wiley
Publishing, 2003), suggests these tips to avoid getting tapped out:
Q: WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO BUY CHRISTMAS PRESENTS?
A: December 26th. Seriously! Those day-after-Christmas sales have some of
the best deals you'll find all year. It's wise to plan ahead - panic pushes
people into paying top dollar.
Q: LET’S DECK THE HALLS INEXPENSIVELY.
A: Local merchants will try to convince you that every inch of your home
needs to be covered in colored lights, animated Santas and lighted snowmen.
Fight the urge to overspend by thinking "simple" when you're deciding on
this year's holiday decor. There's nothing more elegant than glimmering
candles, a bit of greenery, a string of lights, and a few well-placed red
bows to dress a home at the holidays.
Q: HOW DO WE DEAL WITH MANDATORY OFFICE GIFT EXCHANGES?
A: Suggest everyone do things differently this year. Donate time to a local
charity or food bank instead of giving each other one more coffee mug or
candleholder. Exchange Christmas ornaments instead of gifts. White Elephant
exchanges are fun; pick out something funny, useful, or just plain silly
lying around the house.
Q: TEENS ARE TOUGH. WHAT CAN WE GIVE THEM?
A: Teens usually enjoy a good movie and their favorite music. A gift
certificate for a movie rental or a music store is always a welcome treat.
Q: WHAT ARE SOME CREATIVE ALTERNATIVES TO GIVING GIFTS?
A: Some of the best gifts require more time than monetary outlay: visit an
elderly neighbor, bring a batch of homemade cookies to a shut-in, take your
niece to the park, write a note of appreciation to your favorite people.
Q: LIST FIVE FUN GIFTS FOR UNDER FIVE DOLLARS.
(1) Homemade coloring books.
(2) A recording of yourself reading aloud from a favorite book.
(3) Albums containing copies of photos meaningful to the recipients.
(4) Favorite family recipes collected into a cookbook.
(5) A videotaped interview of friends and family telling what they
appreciate about the recipient.
*****
Have you read Cheryl’s books, “So You Want to Be a Stay-at-Home Mom”
(InterVarsity Press, 1999) and “Stay-at-Home Handbook” (InterVarsity Press,
2002)? Request a copy of each at your local library, favorite bookstore, or
online at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0830823360.
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LEFTOVER TURKEY: A GOURMET TREAT!
A Simple Choice
By Deborah Taylor-Hough
http://hometown.aol.com/dsimple/
Copyright 2006
It's that wonderful time of year again -- pumpkins, autumn
leaves, crisp days, and ... leftover turkey. Oh, my! What
on earth will you do with those never-ending leftovers coming
in a couple of weeks, besides serving cold turkey sandwiches?
I personally love Turkey leftovers. I even plan the size of
turkey I buy based on how much I want left over (the more,
the merrier!). I use leftover turkey in meals I prepare ahead
of time to store in the freezer (a delicious freezer-friendly
recipe follows), but I also dice and shred some of the meat
to store in two-cup freezer containers (or zip-top bags) for
an easy addition to meals I'm preparing during the week.
Skillet meals, casseroles, and shredded meat sandwiches
become quick and simple "on-the-go" family meals:
Gourmet Turkey Sandwich
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sourdough bread
Jellied cranberry sauce
Cream cheese
Leftover turkey meat (white meat, preferably)
Spread cranberry sauce and cream cheese on opposite
sides of bread, and then simply layer on some cold left-
over turkey meat (I personally prefer slices of white meat
in this sandwich).
Oh, goodness ... just thinking about this sandwich makes
me hungry!
Turkey-Stuffed Manicotti
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8 servings
(Reprinted with permission from 'Frozen Assets: How to
Cook for a Day, Eat for a Month' by Deborah Taylor-Hough)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
4 cups cooked turkey meat, chopped or shredded
2 cups ricotta cheese
Ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 green onions, chopped
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon rosemary
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 cups tomato sauce, or 2 jars (15-oz.) spaghetti sauce
16 manicotti shells, cooked until just barely softened
In large skillet, brown turkey in butter for 2 - 4 minutes.
Mix turkey with ricotta cheese. Add pepper, Parmesan,
green onions, parsley, rosemary and egg; mix well. Cover
bottom of baking pans with one cup tomato sauce. **Stuff
manicotti shells with turkey mixture; place in baking pan(s)
and cover with remaining sauce. Cover baking pan(s) with
foil; label and freeze.
To Serve:
Thaw. Sprinkle 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese over manicotti.
Baked uncovered at 350 F for 35 minutes, or until bubbly
and hot in the center.
**I've found that cooling the manicotti shells completely
before stuffing them (just run the cooked noodles under
cold water in a colander), makes the stuffing process
much easier than attempting to stuff hot noodles. I've
also discovered that a long handled infant feeding spoon
(with a tiny bowl) works perfectly for stuffing manicotti
shells.
For more information on cooking ahead for the freezer,
consider joining the Frozen Assets Email Discussion --
share tips, recipes and encouragement with cooks from
around the world. Discover the time and money-saving
benefits of freezer-meal cooking.
For details, archives, and subscribing information, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/frozen-assets/
*****
Deborah Taylor-Hough (work-at-home mother of three)
is the author of the popular book, "Frozen Assets: How
to cook for a day and eat for a month", and the recently
released "Frugal Living For Dummies(r)" (Wiley Publishing,
2003). For more articles and free e-newsletters, visit
Debi online at: http://hometown.aol.com/dsimple/
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DISCIPLINE
Jim Shorts
By Jim Watkins
jim@jameswatkins.com
Copyright 1999
You know you're a parent when you start saying things like: Because I'm your
mother! Don't tease your sister. Don't make me stop this car! Do your
homework. Clean your room! Go to your room! Don't jump on the bed. Turn down
the stereo! Don't drink out of the carton. Close the refrigerator door!
Flush! Wipe that look off your face. Don't roll your eyes at me! You're
grounded. Grow up! I just bought you new shoes. When you grow up, I hope you
have kids just like you!
But when it comes to disciplining our children into productive members of
society (or at least keeping their picture off the posters at the post
office), words have very little effect.
For instance, when police officers pull us over for speeding, they don't
tell us how disappointed they are that we went 50 MPH in a school zone. They
don't threaten us with "You just wait until the judge hears about this."
They don't even raise their voices with, "If I've told you once, I've told
you a million times. No speeding!" They don't even sob, "Where have I gone
wrong as a cop?"
Most simply smile and politely ask for our license and registration. (Not
that I know this from personal experience, you understand!)
And then, that moment of anticipation. Will they say, "This is just a
warning," or will they reach for that pad of tickets in their back pocket?
In either case, we watch our speedometer for at least the rest of the day.
It's not that police officers words are as powerful as the Glock .45's
strapped to their hips. It's that they have a Glock .45's strapped to their
hips! But even more effective, they have those ticket books. It's your
ticket to meet with a judge, part company with a week's salary and get stuck
with three year's increase car insurance rates. Oh, and you also get your
name in the paper for the amusement and good-natured ridicule of your
family, friends, and fellow workers. (Not that I know this from personal
experience, you understand!)
Police officers' words have meaning. Unfortunately, parents often say some
pretty meaningless things: If you keep making that face, it will get stuck
like that. You'll shoot your eye out! This is going to hurt me more than it
hurts you. And of course, the classic: When I was your age, I walked to
school barefoot in 5 feet of snow with 50-degrees-below-zero temperatures.
(Okay, okay. I walked half a block to the bus stop one morning when the
windchill index was ten degrees below zero.)
Our kids know we're exaggerating at best, and lying at worst, so they don't
pay attention. No more than if police officers told us "Don't you know that
three thousand kids are killed by speeding motorists each and every day on
this very street." Nope, they just calmly reach for those pads of tickets.
So how do we find the balance between discipline that avoids a visit from
Child Protective Service for us or a warrant from the Juvenile Justice
System for our kids? The answer is reasonable consequences.
Many of our attempts at discipline are only vague, delayed threats such as
the classic, "Just wait till your father gets home."
Kids very quickly catch on that we have no intention of carrying out these
threats. One woman I've seen in action threatens her preschoolers with "If
you don't behave, Mommy is going to get angry." And sure enough, they ignore
her, she has a temper tantrum, and the kids find it most entertaining to see
Mommy turn red, scream, and dance around the living room. Does the police
officer get angry and pound our car hood? Does the police officer pound us?
Well, occasionally in California, but usually, they very politely spell out
the consequences of our actions.
Sometimes natural consequences are best. There's no need to punish a child
for eating a bar of soap or touching a hot stove. Now, before you call Child
Protective Services, let me say that I always warned my kids against eating
soap and touching hot stoves. But if they refuse your parental advice and
occasional slaps on the hand, andgo right ahead and down a bar of Dial,
nature will adequately punish the little soap sucker.
I learned the hard way that jumping off the roof with an umbrella for a
parachute is not the wisest thing to do. One of our friend's preschoolers
used to love to run in front of traffic on her street and watch them to come
to a screeching halt. Keith took his daughter by the hand, jumped into the
car, and sped off to the country.
"There! That's what happens when a car can't stop," he announced as he stood
over a fresh road kill. "The raccoon ran out in front of traffic, just like
you do."
"He's not going to get up is he, Daddy?" his daughter stammered.
"No and neither will you if a car hits you." His daughter never ran into
traffic again.
One parent went straight to the Emergency Room when he found out his son had
ridden with friend who had been drinking. Dad and son spent the night in the
Emergency Room watching drinking drivers being carted in on stretchers --
some with the sheets over their faces.
As parents, we have a choice. We can discipline our children now, or to let
society punish them later. It's easier on both the parents and the kids to
do it while they're young.
*****
At the age of eight, Jim asked God into his life while hiding under a
rolltop desk during a lightning storm. He lived as an "under-cover"
Christian until his junior year in high school when he dedicated his
life--and pen--to trying to live out the teachings of Jesus. He's an
ordained minister in the Wesleyan Church. Jim has sold more than 1500
articles, written 11 books, and enjoys speaking at conferences throughout
North America and overseas. Visit his website at www.jameswatkins.com.
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PUBLICATION INFORMATION
Copyright 2006 Cheryl Gochnauer. All rights reserved. For permission to
reprint an article, please write homebodies@comcast.net.
All articles are printed with the author's prior consent. It is assumed that
any questions, tips or replies to questions may be reprinted. All letters
become the property of Cheryl Gochnauer.
Cheryl Gochnauer does not assume responsibility for advice given. All
advice should be weighed against your own abilities and circumstances and
applied accordingly. It is up to the reader to determine if advice is safe
and suitable for their own situation.
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