Cutbacks in flight hours means cutbacks in my monthly budget... I am getting creative to deal with it, which isn't easy when you are a pilot wife with no children. It is easier to go out to eat a single meal rather than prepare a bunch of food that rots in the fridge/freezer before you get a chance to eat it. It is not, however, less expensive than buying ingredients and making it yourself (I haven't calculated the cost of the ruined food, so I may be wrong there). So, the question is - how do I feed myself individual meals (that meet my unique eating requirements) without anything going to waste?
I came across the solution while reading my Rachael Ray magazine this month (before the dog peed on it, but that is another story)... There is an article in there inspired by her recent make-ahead meals that prepares individual ingredients that are frozen in individual quantities... This got me thinking.
If I can buy large quantities of chicken, beef, and pork when it goes on sale, then I can roast them in my favorite method, shred, and freeze the meat in Ziploc baggies in 1 cup portions. I can also make brown rice ahead of time and freeze the same way. Combining this method with other ingredients from my pantry and organic produce delivery, I should be able to feed myself (and Aaron when he is home) and save money in the process. I can use the meat to make soup as I want it (in the quantity that I want, rather than a large pot that I won't finish), or make enchilada/burritos/tacos, or toss with pasta or risotto, or make sandwiches... You can see where I'm going with this! So much versatility, with weekend efforts.
If you are a member of the Pilot Wives Club, I'll add my recipes there (along with some variations, for those with different tastes). I'll also add them to my other blog for my own record or to satisfy your curiosity...
I don't know why I didn't think of this before!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Friday, August 12, 2011
I see the light...
... at the end of the tunnel! I have less than 3 weeks to go before I get my Associate Degree! I am excited, and exhausted at the same time...
The last few weeks of my final class (Algebra) are very complex and time consuming calculations. I've always been able to process the equations and such, so they are not really hard, but it can take 15 minutes to work through a complicated equation... Most of the time, when I get an answer wrong, it is because I didn't enter the answer in the EXACT way it wants it... Like, this evening... I spent 30 minutes working a problem and getting frustrated when the answer I came up with wasn't correct... After working through the tutorial for the problem, I found out that I DID have the answer correct, but it was missing a comma... A FREAKING COMMA!!! Seriously? And, once I found out that the problem I worked was correct, the program gave me a different problem to work in order to get credit for it... I had to spend another 10 minutes solving a new problem... (sigh)... I'll be so happy when this class is done.
I thought that 4 hours would be PLENTY of time to get my assignment completed and turned in on time, but it wasn't... It was turned in 15 minutes late, which is an automatic 10% reduction in my grade.
The last few weeks of my final class (Algebra) are very complex and time consuming calculations. I've always been able to process the equations and such, so they are not really hard, but it can take 15 minutes to work through a complicated equation... Most of the time, when I get an answer wrong, it is because I didn't enter the answer in the EXACT way it wants it... Like, this evening... I spent 30 minutes working a problem and getting frustrated when the answer I came up with wasn't correct... After working through the tutorial for the problem, I found out that I DID have the answer correct, but it was missing a comma... A FREAKING COMMA!!! Seriously? And, once I found out that the problem I worked was correct, the program gave me a different problem to work in order to get credit for it... I had to spend another 10 minutes solving a new problem... (sigh)... I'll be so happy when this class is done.
I thought that 4 hours would be PLENTY of time to get my assignment completed and turned in on time, but it wasn't... It was turned in 15 minutes late, which is an automatic 10% reduction in my grade.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Day by day...
That is the motto of my life right now... Just taking one day at a time. Every day is busy and stressful and eventful, especially this evening. But, I'll start by recapping the last few months since I haven't posted anything since June...
In July, we went to the Arlington Fly-in again. It was eventful, kind of like last year, but all the excitement happened at the beginning of the trip, as opposed to the end of the trip. The weather was crap when we flew down there. We filed IFR all the way, but arrived after the TFR went in to effect... Which was funny in and of itself... The weather was so bad that they couldn't have the airshow that afternoon, which is what the TFR was for. No one thought to cancel the TFR and the controllers in the area wouldn't clear us to land in Arlington because the airport was "closed"... So, we diverted to Skagit to wait out the TFR. Oddly enough, when we had problems with our door last year, we landed in Skagit to meet up with another Apache owner to get it repaired. Anyway, by the time the TFR expired, the weather was good enough to get to Arlington VFR, so we scooted on over there to set up camp.
The next morning, we woke up early to the sound of an intense downpour... Just awesome! The door on the plane doesn't seal completely at the top of the door when it is locked from the outside. There is a latch on the inside that seals the top of the door while in flight... This had Aaron crawling through the baggage door at 6:00 AM to flip the latch on the door to keep the plane from flooding... Then the rain stopped and we thought the coast was clear. We headed to the showers and started cooking breakfast... Part way through cooking bacon, it started downpouring again! Seriously? Yep... Now, I had purchased a shelter to sit in for shade and protection from the rain and to keep our camp kitchen while at Arlington... I thought that it would be fine.... Nope! The sides are mesh for bugs... Sideways downpour rain cuts through it... I'm sure it was quite comical to anyone passing (but no one did due to the storm) to see us huddled in a 3 sq ft area in the very center of the shelter trying to eat bacon without getting drenched... It was raining so hard that we couldn't even make it back to the tent! (Next time we try to use the shelter, I'm going to bring some extra tarps or sheets or something to tie to the sides for rain protection...)
Luckily, the rain stopped and didn't come back the rest of the time we were there. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit this year, getting to meet up with my aunt and uncle that live near there. We also got to eat funnel cake (missing from the experience last year) and play at the carnival (a new installment this year, probably won't be there again). We got to tour a DC-2 and met Mr. Paul Hajduk, the man who flew the glider during the airshow (amazing performance and he and his wife are super nice!). All-in-all, it was a good trip.
So, that was my summer vacation/weekend... Ever since I got back home, it's been "business as usual"... Busy at work, busy at home, busy at school... Busy, busy, busy....
One little bit of excitement (and not the good kind) happened this evening... Miss Lijha decided to ignore the command to go to the house (after a car ride) and took off after another dog on the other side of the highway that we live on... during a moderately heavy traffic time... She ignored my recall commands and my heart stopped... Thankfully, the dog she was chasing after was accompanied by a jogger, who recognized my frantic attempts to get a hold of Lijha (including dropping my groceries, purse, & keys and taking off through a drainage ditch as a direct line to the dang dog) and held her until I could catch up... Lijha got in LOTS of trouble and I was so upset by the ordeal, I put her in her kennel so I wouldn't beat her... I could tell I was getting that upset... Long story short? Lijha's off-leash privledges have been revoked and we are stepping up/revamping our recall training with Lijha... Thank goodness she didn't get hit by a car, but I could have killed her myself! (hindsight - when I noticed the dog go past the house, I should have taken the groceries into the house and grabbed her leash before I let her out of the car... lesson learned!)
Today was Aaron's birthday, which he got to spend in Bethel surrounded by LOTS of drama... I won't go into detail in this forum (at this point, but the story may come later) but it wasn't a GREAT day for him... He'll be home in a week, so we'll celebrate his birthday then.
If I end up not posting for a while, you will know why... I'm a busy girl :)
In July, we went to the Arlington Fly-in again. It was eventful, kind of like last year, but all the excitement happened at the beginning of the trip, as opposed to the end of the trip. The weather was crap when we flew down there. We filed IFR all the way, but arrived after the TFR went in to effect... Which was funny in and of itself... The weather was so bad that they couldn't have the airshow that afternoon, which is what the TFR was for. No one thought to cancel the TFR and the controllers in the area wouldn't clear us to land in Arlington because the airport was "closed"... So, we diverted to Skagit to wait out the TFR. Oddly enough, when we had problems with our door last year, we landed in Skagit to meet up with another Apache owner to get it repaired. Anyway, by the time the TFR expired, the weather was good enough to get to Arlington VFR, so we scooted on over there to set up camp.
The next morning, we woke up early to the sound of an intense downpour... Just awesome! The door on the plane doesn't seal completely at the top of the door when it is locked from the outside. There is a latch on the inside that seals the top of the door while in flight... This had Aaron crawling through the baggage door at 6:00 AM to flip the latch on the door to keep the plane from flooding... Then the rain stopped and we thought the coast was clear. We headed to the showers and started cooking breakfast... Part way through cooking bacon, it started downpouring again! Seriously? Yep... Now, I had purchased a shelter to sit in for shade and protection from the rain and to keep our camp kitchen while at Arlington... I thought that it would be fine.... Nope! The sides are mesh for bugs... Sideways downpour rain cuts through it... I'm sure it was quite comical to anyone passing (but no one did due to the storm) to see us huddled in a 3 sq ft area in the very center of the shelter trying to eat bacon without getting drenched... It was raining so hard that we couldn't even make it back to the tent! (Next time we try to use the shelter, I'm going to bring some extra tarps or sheets or something to tie to the sides for rain protection...)
Luckily, the rain stopped and didn't come back the rest of the time we were there. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit this year, getting to meet up with my aunt and uncle that live near there. We also got to eat funnel cake (missing from the experience last year) and play at the carnival (a new installment this year, probably won't be there again). We got to tour a DC-2 and met Mr. Paul Hajduk, the man who flew the glider during the airshow (amazing performance and he and his wife are super nice!). All-in-all, it was a good trip.
So, that was my summer vacation/weekend... Ever since I got back home, it's been "business as usual"... Busy at work, busy at home, busy at school... Busy, busy, busy....
One little bit of excitement (and not the good kind) happened this evening... Miss Lijha decided to ignore the command to go to the house (after a car ride) and took off after another dog on the other side of the highway that we live on... during a moderately heavy traffic time... She ignored my recall commands and my heart stopped... Thankfully, the dog she was chasing after was accompanied by a jogger, who recognized my frantic attempts to get a hold of Lijha (including dropping my groceries, purse, & keys and taking off through a drainage ditch as a direct line to the dang dog) and held her until I could catch up... Lijha got in LOTS of trouble and I was so upset by the ordeal, I put her in her kennel so I wouldn't beat her... I could tell I was getting that upset... Long story short? Lijha's off-leash privledges have been revoked and we are stepping up/revamping our recall training with Lijha... Thank goodness she didn't get hit by a car, but I could have killed her myself! (hindsight - when I noticed the dog go past the house, I should have taken the groceries into the house and grabbed her leash before I let her out of the car... lesson learned!)
Today was Aaron's birthday, which he got to spend in Bethel surrounded by LOTS of drama... I won't go into detail in this forum (at this point, but the story may come later) but it wasn't a GREAT day for him... He'll be home in a week, so we'll celebrate his birthday then.
If I end up not posting for a while, you will know why... I'm a busy girl :)
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