It has been hot here in Iowa. Too hot to use the oven as it makes the a/c run more. I did a week of planning hot weather meals. Early in the week, I picked up a rotisserie chicken at Sams club and did our easy peasy Chicken Alfredo. Left over chicken was de-boned and in the freezer for quick meal another time. We use chicken mixed into a bag of Knorr Alfredo. I like to do 2 packs so there is enought for left overs for work the next day or so. There was bone in pork chops cooked on the stove top with baked potato in the microwave. On the same day, I put some frozen meatballs from the big box store in a small crock pot with bbq sause to have those cooked and ready to go. This paired well with more easy rice and noodle packets I try and buy on sale for a $1 or so. TIP: when on sale, buy many so have on hand as such an easy side and great for left overs for work. Although i do not do a weekly menu, I am always thawing out meat from the freezer and planning a few days in advance.
Using the Public Library
The last few days I was at the Ankeny Public Library making use of the conference rooms. I love the public library. Sewing patterns are expensive and typically have multiple sizes. One of the coference rooms has huge windows which works as a giant light box.
For those that do not have internet access or a computer, there are many computers for public use, they also have printers, copiers and fax machines and plenty of friendly staff to help you if needed.
The library here has many offerings for public use and typically at no cost. I encourage people to get a library card, check the calendar and make use of the groups, clubs and facilities. It is so much more than checking out books. Not sure, but I think some libraries also allow you to download books, audio books. And once you have your library card established, you can download at your convenience and not have to travel to the library. Some even let you check out books on CD for road trips or listenting at home if you dont want to stream them. This sure beats paying for an online service.
And for parents…… teach your children to read. Start reading to them when they are infants. Teaching your child to read and write is one of the greatest gifts you can give them. And for the most part free. Imagine every night at bed time, you all put on your jammies, turn off the TV, put away your devices, and everyone had 30 minutes quiet reading time. I honestly think this would help make the world a better place.
Starting over
Good Morning & Welcome to my blog.
As it’s August 1st, I think this is a good time to try the “start a new habit” routine. I beleive they suggest 30 days in a row. In earlier post I noted that to get your blog out there, really out there, a good 90 days.
So time to get out my log book, work thru mastering the art of wordpress and becoming somebody.
Personally, I am excited to start sewing projects to build up an inventory for some vendor fairs and possibly an online retail shop thru square-up. My hang up, navigation the different states’ sales tax rules and regs. I need to read up and learn if the hosting sites handle this in the background when taking and pricing out orders. If not, I amy be landlocked to Iowa. Wish me luck. Have a good day.
Sad day in Iowa 7/29/2024 Abortion Rights
I graduated in 1983. Small town Iowa. the poor girls got pregnant and had babies; the rich or popular girls got pregnant but did not have babies. This was before RU486, it was either brutal physical activity, gut punches, coathangers, or the vaccum at the clinic. We did not talk of incest or rape, but I am sure this led to many unplanned pregnancies also.
Many years ago I randomly came across a Bible passage from Ecclesiastes and always thought of abortion rights. The passage is shared in full at the bottom of this post. At that time, I did not even begin to fathom the government would take away a womens right to make her own health care decisions. Tonight I am randomly cleaning some clutter and came across this Bible with a random scrap of paper flagging a page. A torn off bottom of a Walmart receipt dated 04/02/2017 to mark the passage I felt so powerful. The Bible is called the Brave Girls Holy Bible. Very befitting of a Bible with this name to lead me to such a powerful message.
When I lived in Waterloo, I recall my elderly neighbor Margaret looking at me one day and saying, I hope they never get rid of Roe V Wade. She tells me she lost too many friends to coat hangers and suicide from the unplanned pregnancy. I worked with a woman who, like me, was born prior to RoevWade. She tells us at work one day that when her Grandmother discovered her Mother was pregnant with her, her mother was forced to drink a very dangerous concoction as an attempt to induce miscarraige. Is this really where we are going???
I think everyone needs to be very informed this election year of 2024 on the real issues facing our country and our democracy. Headlines are not information, you need to read.. actaully read the written word, educate and inform yourselves of facts over fiction. Do not rely on friends or narcisstictic gas lighting pushy people to inform you of the facts. To be an informed voter, you need to do this yourself. YOUR VOTE IS LIKE YOUR BODY, IT IS YOURS AND YOURS ALONE... you choose and do not let anyone make that choice for you. Our freedoms and democracy depend on this. In Iowa, this is NO thanks to Kim “Serena” Reynolds.
Ecclesiasted 4: 1-3
Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun:
I saw the tears of the oppressed—
and they have no comforter;
power was on the side of their oppressors—
and they have no comforter.
2 And I declared that the dead,
who had already died,
are happier than the living,
who are still alive.
3 But better than both
is the one who has never been born,
who has not seen the evil
that is done under the sun.
I am not keeping up with this site
Hi,
I am not doing as I intended with this site. The other day I had on a Mel Robbins podcast in the background and she touched on the good intentions and procrastination excuses type of stuff, kind of one of her typical topics. What I did hear was that you need to do something for 100 days with a blog of podcast to really get your content out there. This is a big goal, and maybe one I need to focus on. It is literally thinking and typing and getting my thoughts out of my head. And maybe, just maybe, someone will like what I think. Or better yes, I start a conversation… they type of conversation no one wants to be the one to bring up.
My biggest hang up is fear. I need to learn a lot to do this and make it work. It’s really not as easy as the people on youtube indicate. Like allowing comments and being safe and secure. But learning all this was part of my intent when starting up. I am the queen of good intentions – lol. I would be Mel Robbins’ greatest example of someone stuck, someone wanting better but holding themselves back, and at times, being my own worst enemey. Who knows, if i do this with a posting goal and things take off, maybe I will get a call from Mel herself to reach out encourage me to persevere and succeed. Guess I better get my site email up and running.
FYI, I did once get the oppourunity to talk to Martha Stewart.. it is true. About 20 years ago I was driving down the road and saw and eagle and thought, this is going to be a lucky day, and it was because I got to talk to Martha Stewart. This was when she had her own channel on Sirius. I was one of the lucky callers to get thru on her live talk show. She has about 2 minute of air time left, so I asked her about the safety of cream cheese frosting out on the counter.
Leaving a toxic workplace
Today I am writing a quick note after leaving a toxic job. I will get into the details another time. But I woke up feedling better than I felt in a long time. Becuase I have a supportive loving boyfriend and a part-time back up job, I was fortunate enough to be able to leave this bad situation. I know I am forunate, as many people are not.
During my sleep this morning, I woke from a nightmare about being there working and the bullshit that went on; it was very disturbing. Then I became fully awake and realized it was really all a bad dream. This was when I knew I made the right decision in leaving. This frog has jumped out of the pot of boiling water. 🙂
2 week, spent $1 cash
Hi.
I went 2 weeks and not spending any cash but $1.00 . I set a goal and met it. Most people can’t fathom the idea of doing this and wonder how. Well…I bring my lunch to work and cook my meals at home. I have a water bottle at my desk, and I refill it at the chiller. To be honest, I can have a $5 in my wallet on Monday and most of it is there at weeks end.
You hear many people complain of being broke, then go out to eat for most of their meals. Worse yet, pay to have the food delivered. Yikes…
A bit of what I eat to make this work:
Breakfast: Typically a series of yogurt, PBJ sandwich. boiled egg or fresh fruit I cut up at home. and also have some frozen berries at home I may thaw to toss in my yogurt
Lunch: lettuce salad with a bit of shredded cheese. I buy head lettuce b/c the bagged stuff gets iccy once opened. I keep a bottle of store brand dressing in the work frig. leftovers. at times I make chicken or tuna salad for a sandwich. I always have some sliced ham around for a sandwich also. I keep a few cans of emergency soup in my drawer. Then if i dont bring food or leave it on the counter, there is something to eat. Fareway had Chunky Soup on sale if you bought 4, so i have 4 cans of Chunky Soup as my emergency meal.
Supper: I cook supper.. LIke actually cook real food. You know, peel a potato and make friend potatoes. Cook meat and other vegetables, or make a casserole. i have also been making rice once a week. I cook up a bag of frozen mixed veggies and toss that in with the rice. you can put it with so many things. Rice is super easy. I found a recipe on delish.com and perfect every time. which reminds me, I need to buy a new bag of rice.
Snacks: At times I will have a snack at work. Maybe some of those peanut butter crackers i buy in bulk at club store. plus fresh fruit and i love a big bowl of cottage cheese.
I admit I eat a bit carb heavy and show it around the belly. I do have plans in place to make some changes that will reduce the bread intake, as most of this is related to poor meal planning. I am going to say this as is needs to be said. YOUR BODY NEEDS CARBS. POTATOES ARE ONE OF THE GREATEST FOODS YOU CAN EAT. I grew up poor, we had potatoes at every meal – baked boiled and fried. But someone wanted to sell a book and said they are bad. Carbs are found in many foods, it is what makes up the calorie count in your fruits and vegetables. It is processed food that is bad. I can pronounce potato. I would rather eat a baked potato instead of some diet drink that is going to leave me hungry and unsatisfied. And who knows whats in the diet drink. Maybe I should write a book about the greatness of potatoes.
Eating like a stuck record
Decided to add some info on eating cheap. This is not advice I hi-jacked from reading others ideas or the overly cheerful know-it-all youtuber. This is my speaking from real life experience. Eating cheap and eating healthy are really one and the same. When you cook and prepare your meals at home, you are eating healthy. And yes, it includes eating potatoes and pasta.
Many years ago, I was a single parent of a special needs child. I raised her alone, no family helped me out. Not even my own mother. Times were tough, as I worked graveyard shift and had about 3-4 total hours of sleep per day. Since she had special needs to ward off cerebal palsy, I felt it best to be home during her waking hours to do her therapy and developmental stimulation, as I knew she would not get this in a day care setting. But I had to pay rent, food and formula, diapers, car payment, child care expenses, health care expenes, and all those things that go along with being a responsible adult. So… I had to work. Overnights was the most logical answer. I was blessed to have a child that was a good napper like me. So when I say I know how it is to struggle to get by, I speak from experience. As I reflect back on this, these were actually the happiest days of my life. We were poor, but we were happy. I have many wonderful memories living on Grant St.
We had to eat. It was then that I learned to cook and prepare meals on the cheap. It had to be filling becuase I get hungry. I’ve always been a big eater. I dont mind left overs, and am not a food snob, so fairly easy to do. One word can best describe my main go to food. CASSEROLE. I ate like a Bee Gees record with a huge scratch, which means repeat repeat repeat until you move past the scratch to the next casserole aka-big scratch and repeat repeat repeat. I think you get the picture.
I carry a lot of that with me today. I rarely go ot to eat, it seems so wasteful. Today, I just wanted to say you can eat cheap and healthy. Potatoes and pasta never made me fat, but they sure do keep me healthy. (menopause and beer made me fat – lol) It’s all in the food prep, but that’s a topic for another day. Thanks for stopping to visit my site.
Low Wages in Iowa
Hi. I recall last year New York passed a law stating all job postings must include the pay range. It is called the Pay Transparency Law (FARE Grant). Employers with 4 employees must note pay in job posting. I feel this is something that should be standard on all job posting nation wide. It is required that government jobs have a public pay scale, why not all jobs? Why waste time applying for a job that does not pay a liviable wage. For example, I just learned in the Des Moines Iowa Metro area that Hyvee and Fareway pay $13.00/hour. The rate of pay at Fareway is the same for a 14 year old as for a 40 year old – in my case, nearly 60 year old. Plus, labor laws restrict the type of work anyone under 16 and 18 can perform. yet same pay……age discrimination at its best. I wonder if the younger crowd gets special treatment in scheduling…hmmmmm???
So I decided to go one step further and apply at Michaels , the crafting store. Pay is $10/hour. And JoAnn fabrics… a whopping $8.64/hour. WTF!!! I learned these hourly wages because I either applied or called and asked. What would the customers of these stores think if they knew the pay scale out there on people. I think I am going to reach out to my state elected officials on this matter . Will they really care? So posting this in hopes others pay attention to wages, as no matter what your education or age, everyone deserves to make a living wage.
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/quick-facts-about-state-salary-range-transparency-laws/
Plus we have disabled people that do not get a fair wage, That is terrible. They the have the American with Disabilities act, yet pay people with disabilities less than others. Kind of contradicts the purpose of the act, but that is jsut my opinion.
This post has been on hold a while, but today I decided why not put it out there.
Is this really how prospective employers treat people
Hi, Quick post today on my experience in looking for a “GOOD JOB” in the Des Moines, Iowa metro area. First… I have yet to find a good employer; one that will treat a person with respect, pay a fair living wage, and have reasonable expectations. I will be posting on this more, but in trying to find jobs and land interviews, it has been a terrible experience.
I will share more details in future posts related to recent experiences I’ve encouted from recruiters that have stood me up , not scheduled the interview with the hiring manager; and most recently, tell me they are unwaware of the job posting I was following up on. In the back of my mind, when this happens, I wonder if it’s part their hiring strategy. Are they testing candidates to see how desperate they are for work so they know how shitty they can treat people once they bring them in????
So this leads me to feel the self empoyment route is probably the real way to make money. I just need to get myself out there. I’ve started to try this, and will share some odd stories related to this also. Since this is a blog about trying to get ahead, no better place to put it out there than here. Hopefully I can get the comments section active so others can share their experiences also. I want to get it set up correctly so nasty, insppropriate stuff is not public.
Tootles:)
FYI, still trying to master inserting normal sized photos for pending posts. As a reader of blogs, it drives me insane when one photo fills up my entire screen and the text is so spread out I can’t just “read it”.