A dollar a day (#7)

I keep all of my receipts. Usually in a shoebox. Or a basket. And I have a lot of receipts. I like to shop. I like to go out to eat. I get coffee. A lot.

Normally I just throw my receipts in my purse, then into a basket I keep in my bedroom. Where they sit, and grow, and look a little like a pile of snow (its been awhile since I've seen real snow). But, now I have something even better to hold my receipts:

Though I'm still not sure what I'm saving them for--a rainy day?! Sometimes I think I'm going to sit down and do all those little surveys on the bottom of the receipts. But, I never do.

Sometimes I think I'm going to get some kind of super-savings-return on my taxes because I've kept all my receipts. (Doubtful.)

But, if I'm honest, I eventually would like to track my spending categories a bit closer than my online banking system does. Because I secretly suspect that my spending habits regularly fall into three general categories:

• coffee
• cards (as in my BFF Hallmark)
• Chipotle/Culvers

It's coincidence, I'm sure, that they all start with the letter "c"...

The accordion file I picked up for $2.99, on sale, at Office Max (I also picked up some extras for future years/projects), and I went through my basket o'receipts while watching TV one evening. Not bad for a nights' work. So I've marked #7 as partially complete (yea for more organizing!).

A blog recipe FAIL

I am trying to become a better cook. It is a slow process. Thankfully I have friends and family who support me in this endeavor. And are patient with me. And train me. And act as guinea pigs for my various cooking attempts.

A few weeks ago I saw a recipe online (on a blog of a friend-of-a-friend) for whole wheat crepes. Thinking this might be a healthy alternative to a food item I like, I decided to give the recipe a try.

Now, I love crepes. My family loves crepes. And I can actually make crepes, on my own, without supervision, that are entirely edible (shocking, huh?).

Red flag #1: The recipe called for several items I did not have on hand including whole wheat flour and honey. I bravely opened my pocketbook (or MasterCard as it was) and shelled out the BIG bucks for these "gourmet" items.

Red flag#2: The recipe called for quite a bit of whisking...and for a large number of eggs...and required a certain order to how the ingredients were combined (for my regular crepe recipe, everything just gets dumped in the batter).

Red flag #3: When I poured the first crepe into the pan and tried to flip it....it was stuck. Really stuck. When I finally flipped it, it stuck to itself. I tried again with the second crepe. Same results. (Note: this never happens with my regular crepe recipe.)

Raising the white flag: Thankfully, a dinner guest I had over at the time (my mom) graciously offered to help me with the situation (which resulted in me immediately deserting the premises kitchen).

Note: If I had been alone, the batter would have gone down the drain (this is why I consider the recipe a FAIL, or an F-). The hassle of trying to unstick crepes is like trying to unstick liquid saran-wrap. Not fun. Especially when you know there's a better "non-whole-wheat" alternative (and you're wishing you had made that alternative!).

Even my mom had to help the crepes along....with the addition of some oil, which made the crepes less 'stickable', but quite a bit more 'oily'.

Ultimately, they were edible (though what isn't when you smother it with cinnamon/sugar, fruit and syrup)...though I'm thinking my toppings of choice rather negated any health value from the whole wheat flour...

I consider this blog recipe attempt pretty much a disaster....edible, but still a disaster. Or, as one dinner guest put it, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Amen brother!

This is a picture of the whole wheat crepes...not super appetizing...

This is a picture of regular crepes I made the week following the FAIL (of course I just HAD to make them, to erase the feeling of defeat from the fail).

Lets party like it's 1980!

This weekend we gathered as a family (the Kappes Clan and the Beachy's) to celebrate my brother's birthday (in the picture below, he's the big kid in the middle). My brother may be married, with two kids, a great wife, and a law degree, but I'll always be the big sister...which makes me both older, and wiser (though I'll let him help me fix my computer every now and again).

A good time was had by all, especially by those who took the opportunity to chill out in the pool.

Since Zach isn't in this picture, I can only guess that the splash is from his jump...

Ben was practicing his diving--looks great!

Carter was going free-form.

Josh, Jon and Halle enjoying some shade.

(I didn't take a picture of the ladies, but we were hanging out on the patio, sipping our homemade Mojitos--yummy!!)

The evening ended with lots of great food, and a small viewing party (for the Transformers two-disc blu-ray gift set that I gave him).

Happy Birthday Jon!!!

Me and my friend Kermit

So Kermit and I have something in common. We're both GREEN. Yep. I'm green. Know how I know? Well, yes, I recycle, and I try to conserve energy, and I've been known to take the bus--but that's not why I'm green.

Know what makes me green? This week I ran out of plastic bags--you know the ones you get at the grocery store, Wal-mart, Target, Walgreens, and every-other-single-place where you shop (whether you buy 1 item or 100 items?!) and then save in a corner somewhere or toss out if they have holes in the bottom? I RAN OUT! And you know why? Because I've been using my canvas shopping bags (I have several including a cute moose one that folds up and hangs out in my purse). A couple of months ago, every time I went into the grocery store or Target I would get mad at myself because I'd be in the check-out line and then realize that I forgot my recycled bags in the car. So I decided I needed to be "intentional" about it, that maybe if I was intentional about grabbing my bags when I got out of the car, that it would then become a habit. And it worked! Now it's almost second nature to grab the bags from the floor in the backseat or from the trunk (plus I've got 'moose' in my purse).

And you know what? I actually like using my canvas bags--more "stuff" fits inside them and they're much easier to carry up the two flights of stairs to my apartment. So all in all--it's a win-win (for me and for the environment!).

The best gift ever!

This week I received a package and inside was....The. Best. Gift. Ever. (Not as good, of course, as the gift of eternal life, a trip to Hawaii, or a diamond engagement ring, but still, really, really great!)

The gift arrived in the mail from my SIL and fam who are living in Chicago for the summer. Now, I know from the front it looks like a magnet with the skyline of Chicago, in the shape of a bottle cap (which is totally awesome--all on its own).

But the back of the magnet is where the real magic is!

Can you see it? Can you imagine the possibilities? It's like my own little hidden treasure.

The best gift ever, right?

A new addition (#15 and #58)

The Kristi Kappes household has a new addition and it doesn't have to be fed, watered, or walked!

So, I've been a filing fanatic for as long as I can remember--seriously, I just love slapping labels on manilla folders and creating a sense of organization. But it seems like ever since I moved to Phoenix almost four years ago, my "sense of organization" has been a little out of control. I'm not sure if it's because I downsized space-wise when I moved here, or because I lived out of suitcases for my first two months in the city, or because I just have so much more gosh-darn-paperwork to deal with, or because all of my files were in random containers stuffed into the back of my closet. Whatever the case, I'm so glad to have gained a sense of control over the chaos!

My new addition helped me take this gigantic mess...

And organize it into this piece of beauty!

Yep--that's my new, super-sweet file cabinet. And this week, as I've gone through my mail and school paperwork, it's been so easy to just walk over to my new addition, slide open a drawer, and pop the paperwork right in/out. #15 on the list is now complete!

And this provided the motivation for me to work on #58 (switching to e-bills). Since most of my bills are already on auto-pay or are paid online, the change to paperless statements should hopefully be a smooth transition!

A big thanks to my parents for helping me put together the new addition (thanks Dad!). And a big thanks to the UPS employee who had to lug the 52lb and 58lb boxes to my doorstep--free shipping/delivery rocks!

A Night Out

Last night I took my friend Ben Beachy (my cousin's son) to a ballgame as a gift for his 6th birthday--we had a great time and I wish all my "hot dates" were as fun and relaxed as this night was!

I took Ben on his first Metro Light Rail ride--it's much easier to park north of Chase Field (for free) and then take the Light Rail down to the stadium--even better, I happened to have two extra Light Rail tickets on hand that we could use. On the ride down to the stadium the Light Rail was filled with other baseball fans--an older gentleman sitting across from Ben asked who he wanted to win the game--"The Diamondbacks!" said Ben. Good answer!

The Light Rail dropped us off almost directly in front of the stadium--so easy! Ben wanted to hang out for awhile to watch the doors close--I think the Light Rail may have been a bigger hit than the game itself!

We arrived early enough at the ballpark that we had time to get a snack, check out our seats (right above the D'backs bullpen where we watched Hudson, their new pitcher, warm up), and spend some tim

e on the upper concourse, before settling down to watch the game. The upper concourse has all sorts of great things for kids--a playground area, batting practice, and the ballpark "concert-master." I'm not sure if that's his title, but the guy who plays all the organ music, etc. Both Ben and I were pretty impressed with the three different keyboards he was using.

In my opinion, a visit to the ballpark is not complete without a hot dog covered in ketchup and mustard. I had the hot dog, but Ben opted for the more nutritious options of popcorn, cotton candy and pop (don't worry--I made sure he ordered the caffeine-free variety). And although I was tempted, I held myself back from a stop at the Coldstone Creamery booth.

The game itself was, as most baseball games are, fairly uneventful, though we did see two home runs, and when we left, the D'backs were ahead--I'm not even sure who actually won the game, but we had a great time!