So, yeah... I am
fully aware that I suck at being all "house-wife-y" for any consistent period
of time. But lately? Lately I've been ROCKING it... I've been super domestic-like
lately. In fact, I am now securely into double digits for times I've made
dinner in my 9 1/2 year marriage. I’m pretty impressive... The Wifening is BACK ON!
This all
started with the decision to refi the house... Only took 9 1/2 years for the hubs
to decide maybe my name should be on the house too... I guess he’s finally sure that I’m
sticking around... Honestly, he had never done it simply because it doesn't really
save us any money. And even with the 15-year mortgage we are doing, that’s one
year MORE than we had left on the original 30-year loan because we pay extra to
principal every month. But because of other factors, we decided to go ahead and
get this all done and add me to the title and the loan. So I’m gonna be a for-REAL-REAL homeowner! Weird.
So we have been
running ourselves ragged the past couple of weeks getting the house pretty for
the appraisal. Things like finally painting the bathrooms (something I've been
wanting to do forever, but I am, like, REALLY lazy...), hanging up pictures
that have been sitting on the floor against the wall they are going to go on, and
cleaning (because again... Lazy.). My body hates me after all the painting and
scrubbing and cleaning and go go go going… My couch misses my butt and my butt
misses the couch right back. Our DVR is getting dangerously full of shows we
haven’t had time to watch... BUT tomorrow is the appraisal and then we can relax
again.
And in the
middle of all of this, I finished planning and put on my bestie's co-ed baby
shower, which I think went quite well. And she got a great haul of cute and/or
useful stuff for the little munchkin, so that’s awesome. I can’t wait to see my
new little niece (because besties are just extra sisters that you choose) in
all her adorable outfits. She’s just going to be a squishy little marshmallow
in some of the stuff and I’m gonna eat her up!!!!
During this
process we were looking more closely at how much money we actually make and
then wondering where it all goes every month... I can tell you right now - Stupid
stuff that we don’t really need. And dinners out. So we decided to start being
more aware of what we are spending money on... Like when I’m wandering Target - I
now ask myself "Do I really need 5 pairs of cute socks with foxes and owls and raccoons on them?" Probably not. And diet cokes... I refuse to give up my love of
diet coke for real, but no more single-serve bottles... Why am I paying SO much
for less soda when I really should just go back to buying cans or 2-liters and
keeping them in the fridge? Answer? I’m not anymore.
Dinner proved
to be more of an issue... This girl? She’d be ok with eating frozen stuff or a
can of soup or something every night. J? Not so much. The problem is - he is
the cook in this relationship. Another problem - he gets home at least 90
minutes up to sometimes 3 hours after I do, so it REALLY doesn't make sense for
him to still have to spend time cooking when he gets home. So we would end up
running across the street for kebabs or Italian food or running to Del Taco.
Such a money drain... So, the only solution came down to... Kelly has to learn to
cook. Eeep.
The first
week of our attempt to reign in the stupid spending, I made dinner TWICE. One
night was Buitoni chicken and prosciutto ravioli and Buitoni pesto sauce. (Soooo
not a sponsored post. I just LOVE the taste of the fresher pasta and they have
the yummiest fillings and sauces...)The second time was chili and cornbread
muffins. Ok, so the chili was from a can, but I spiced it up by mincing a
serrano to put in it... Let’s not get crazy with the expectations of my cooking
abilities...
This week? I've
already made shredded beef tacos using the crock pot. I had to handle RAW MEATagain and chop up a bunch of peppers and onions. And then the crock pot took
care of the rest. But still - HOMEMADE. Booyah. And they were delicious, if I
do say so myself.
Put in gross raw meat - pull out deliciousness!
Tonight is
going to be a return to the pre-made pasta with Buitoni Spicy Beef and Sausage
ravioli (which is AMAZING - seriously, Buitoni, feel free to send me some stuff...)
and marinara sauce. And that’s not all... Thursday (Wednesday is a day off
because of archery and I won't be home) is going to be a second use of the
shredded beef to make beef enchiladas. Even though we haven't had them yet, I
feel fairly certain that they will be delicious.
This time on The
Wifening, I actually sat down and made a list of meals that I feel secure in my
ability to make without supervision (entitled: Meals So Easy Even a Kelly Can
Make Them) and shared it with J to see which things he was happy with and which
things he was less-than-thrilled about. I have gotten a FAR better reaction to
my efforts this time... It's making him happy for dinner, me happy because he's
not making stupid comments about how it's "just okay," our wallets happy
because we aren't wasting $20+ a day for dinner out, and possibly our
waist-lines happy because of healthier options.
I honestly
don't know how long this will hold out... I'm hoping I can keep it going. It's
just... As I said before... I'm LAZY. In a weird way, though... Because I will
totally go for a hike, I spend hours at archery, I like going for walks... But
after getting to work at 7 am (gross) and spending the day being busy - the last
thing I want to do is make dinner. That's the main reason I have stuck with
SUPER easy stuff so far. Maybe as I get further into it and start trusting
myself more, I will start getting more adventurous and creative. For now - there's a dinner ready to eat (most nights) prepared by yours truly and that's
good enough.
Plus, it
entertains me to watch J have to do the dishes since I cooked... He hates doing
dishes...
