Food bill

I've seen a number of posts on the personal finance blogs I read about how to spend less than $20 or 30 a week on groceries (or claims to that effect), and I just don't see how it's possible. A lot of this based on timing coupons with sales (in the marketing cycle, store discounts are often four weeks after the release of a coupon, meaning you combine discounts by holding onto coupons for a month), and then using a lot of coupons to stock up. Still, coupons don't cover produce, most meat, some dairy and what not.

Not that it's representative of anything, but my tab this afternoon at Costco came in under $180. Granted, a lot of that will last more than a week, but it's definitely not 6 weeks worth (or 3 weeks, since there's two of us). That's actually pretty good, as my normal Costco tab is north of $200. But this might be the first time I only got food. It broke down like this:

• $50: meat (ahi tuna, leg of lamb, shrimp, sandwich turkey)
• $42: produce (blueberries, rainier cherries, asparagus, spinach, carrots, kiwis, bananas, potatoes)
• $29: grains (2 cereals, bread, waffles)
• $29: snacks (dried fruit, crackers, frozen fruit cups, fiber one bars)
• $25: other (oregano, soup, naked blue machine)

There's some splurge there (ahi, shrimp and cherries weren't cheap), but still, $20-30 a week? Really?

My other issue with costco shopping (or really food shopping) is that I tend to think of the items I like and if the price is right, I buy them, regardless of how many other similar items I'm getting. This is particularly an issue with produce. The last Costco trip, I purchased kiwis and plums--packages of 12 and more than 12 I think. And fruit doesn't exactly last. So we had like 2 of each every day, sometimes 3. A rational person wouldn't have bought both (or maybe they would, if they are better than joanne and me about eating fruit), but when my previous purchase of plums was very, very good, and the kiwis were the largest I had seen in a while. But I digress...

I got the leg of lamb because the Streits were coming over for dinner. Myra is 4 days older than Owen, but will generally be 3 days older (born Feb 28th).



And Tim and Evelyn outside:



I always have the vision of having friends over and having it be completely casual, no big thing, but it always turns into a production. Tonight was no exception.



I guess that pic doesn't really do it justice, but it's the only one Joanne took. I got the leg of lamb without really knowing how I was going to prepare it. The package said it could be grilled, and that was enough for me. Joanne called and told me before I left Costco that leg of lamb is often used for kabobs, but I wasn't about to buy a 10 pound bag of onions at Costco, and I didn't forsee another shopping trip in my future.

When I got home, I reviewed my options. The two grilling books were not as helpful as one would hope (marinades that required too much time), but, as usual, How to Cook Everything didn't let me down--I went with the Grilled Butterflied Lamb with Coconut Milk (the book tends not to use fancy names). As written, the recipe called for:

• 1 leg of lamb, 3-4 pounds
• 2 cups coconut milk
• 1/2 tsp of turmeric or a few threads of saffron
• 2 medium onions
• 1 T. fresh ginger or 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves
• salt & pepper
  

I had to improvise a bit since we didn't have cilantro or regular onions. But the turmeric and/or saffron? Not a problem. In place of the onions, I used our remaining shallot and some green onions we had on hand. I didn't worry about the cilantro, as I'm not a big fan. And I didn't go "or" on ingredient 3--I used both. Funny thing about that--I assumed saffron, for whatever reason, was like a vanilla bean. A strand would be some long skinny thing. The saffron was in an envelope in the container, and when i pulled it out, the threads were, at most, a quarter inch long. So I used a little more than "a few" threads, making the marinade a very bright yellow (you blend ingredients 2-6 and then marinade for an hour or two, which fit our schedule).

In cutting the fat off the leg of lamb, I ended up making into four smaller cuts so that it wouldn't take as long on the grill. And for one of the very few times, I actually cooked a piece of meat right--I have a tendency to overcook out of fear of undercooking. In carving it for dinner, it had a very nice pink color. The recipe recommended medium rare. I'd call it a little more cooked than that, but not medium. I lucked out there.

The verdict? Tim, Sarah and Joanne all said it was very good. I thought so too, but my enthusiasm for it was tempered a bit because it tasted a lot like Tasty Kabob (a questionable name from a marketing perspective, but it is truth in advertising--they make kabobs and they're tasty), so it was not a new taste bud experience for me. Still, I was happy to discover what might be their secret--an overabundance of saffron.

When I mentioned this to Joanne after dinner (me not being "wowed" by the lamb), she was surprised. I explained my view that since it was something I was accustomed to, it isn't a "wow" thing. Like me, she gets the same dish at TK (she gets the filet kabob; I get the lamb), so I asked her if she is wowed by they filet, or if it's something she knows she'll like, and she agreed, that the "wow" comes when she hasn't had it in a while. I went twice in June, so...

Actually, what I made might be better than TK, because it wasn't overcooked--I would say the tendency of the lamb there is to be cooked past medium, so it isn't always tender. Tonight it was very tender. The Victorinox slicier went through it so easily.

Buckling

I finally did it. I'm a social networker.

Tuesday night I signued up for a Linked In account. Today, Facebook. The former had slightly more thought put into it--I've been thinking for the past couple of months about how little effort I put into professional growth and development, an issue which may or may not lead to some series of posts. Not that I expect it to be any cure about what ails me (professionally), but I can see it having some utility as a professional tool. The Facebook registration followed from that--in preparing my boss for a European marketing trip, I was doing some background research on who she was meeting with and found that a good number of them had Linked In or Facebook accounts with some biographical info. So I signed up for Facebook to get that info, not realizing you needed to be a "friend" to get it. That obviously does me no good--at least for that purpose.

My initial thought is that Linked In is clearly better from a professional perspective. Facebook is a gated MySpace, a site I have little use for. I did read a BusinessWeek column re Facebook's business advantages, but I think it comes down to the types of networks you're involved in, how you separate business/social and one's one initiative.

My initial view of Facebook is that, like MySpace (or this blog), it's a massive time sink, and completely unwieldy at any type of scale. What's the point of having 200 friends? How would you ever track what's going on? How many profile pages are active versus just there so one can have pages to look at? I can't see myself not being in the latter category--if I'm going to bother being active enough to create/add content, I'd rather do it here or picasa than a members only page that will get lost in the shuffle of the gobs of friends pages people have.

Or maybe I just don't know how to use it yet. I got involved in a conversation at work the other day in which the Operations person in other unit was complaining about how other people in the group did not want to grow/adapt/learn the new systems that were available. They were content to use tools as they've always used them rather than trying new approaches or even new programs (this was a conversation based primarily on file sharing and interoffice networks. I know, exciting stuff.).

So anyone have thoughts/experiences?

5 for 12

The common pre-Fourth soda sale was 5 12-packs for $12, commonly in the form of buy 4, get one for free. So I made the decision to fully participate in the Dewmocracy, an attempt to extend the Mountain Dew brand with the "election" of a new Dew flavor, either SuperNova (strawberry), Voltage (raspberry) or Revolution (Wild Berry). And I got the original and Livewire to say I got five different flavors.

A recap:

• The original: Nothing beats it. It is the top dog.
• Livewire: Not new, but my preferred alternate flavor. I loath Code Red, not so much because of the flavor but because of the not-uncommon situation that restaurants would offer Sierra Mist and Code Red, but not the original. This used to piss me off, and I would rant about it, but since I rarely ever get drinks at a restaurant anymore (except for a milk shake at our tri-monthly visit to In 'n Out (speaking of which, one will be build on an exterior pad at Fiesta Mall)), it's not really an issue anymore. And the blackout (black cherry i think) I've never tried. So Livewire kind of wins by default.
• SuperNova: my favorite in the dewmocracy, but I'm biased to the strawberry flavor. Much like Livewire, it's similar to like-flavored sodas, but with an extra kick. This is not to say I'd definitely pick it out in a blind taste test though.
• Voltage: It's pretty good. I actually went through it pretty quick, rather than mixing up the flavors. After drinking it exclusively for a couple of days, the first can of the original seemed a bit off. I could live with it winning, and the raspberry is a nice change of pace, as it doesn't have that "over-sweetness" that some people claim about in the original. It looks to have an insurmountable, Reagan in '84 lock on the election, as, at the moment, it is not losing any state (it's tied for the lead in 6 states)
  
• Revolution: Fairly pointless. I'm not sure if the ginseng is more pronounced or what, but it has provides a sensation that isn't quite right. It's drinkable but the other two are far superior. I did a taste test with my dad, who generally isn't open to such things. He thought it was OK, and noted that it seemed "lighter" like a 7-Up in texture. I don't expect him to ever have it again.

My life is hell

I made up a song to sing for Owen based on "99 bottles of beer on the wall" and sung it to him fairly often over the weekend, and now I can't get the damn thing out of my head.

The ditty goes like this:

99 bottles of boob in the fridge
99 bottles of boob
Take one out, suck it down,
98 bottles of boob in the fridge

And repeat.

PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!

A better plan

Since we've been in the house, we've been on SRP's Time of Use plan, which has higher rates during peak periods (weekdays only: 1-8 pm during the summer; 5-9 am & pm in the winter) and lower rates at all other times. During the summer, by timeshifting our power, we've save $10-30/month. With winter, there's little change--I've always had some intention of canceling TOU during the winter for the convenience factor, but have never actually done so.

SRP has also started to roll out "smart meters" which allows one to see their daily electric use. For June, you can see what the heat wave started, and on our particular bill, you can see where we adusted the thermostat up one degree, then when we finally added the blinds to the front windows, and the day after that when we turned the thermostat back down because it was too high for Grandma K:


In perusing the site, I came across a new plan, the EZ-3. Its peak period is only 3-6 pm during summer weekdays, and it uses the regular winter price planning (no time of use). But both its peak and off-peak rates are higher than time of use. But does the reduction of peak use make up for the increased cost of off peak? Let's run the numbers using the June bill:



THe assumption here is that our total peak usage will decrease by more than half--after all its only 3 hours versus 7, and we can make sure we are very thrifty with any electrical use between 3-6. Even if it's only a wash financially, it looks to be a much more convenient plan without having to deal with a change of plans in the winter, or waiting until after 8 pm to turn down the thermostat, or make dinner (this rarely happens), or do a load of laundry.

So, dear, I made the switch. Sorry I didn't let you know first.

More outstanding movie news

Jeffery Tambor said the Arrested Development movie is a go!

"After months of speculation. I think we have finally figured out for sure that we are indeed doing an 'Arrested Development' movie,' Tambor said. 'I am very excited about that. I love that cast and crew and I felt like we had more to say.'

Yes! Excellent!

After watching 3 seasons of the Office, I no longer say its definitely the best show ever, but it probably is, since it never really had UMMs (Uncomfortable Michael moments). By the way, that is a term I just made up, unlike a lot of things which I borrow from elsewhere. When season 5 starts, feel free to comment to coworkers, "that episode had a serious case of the UMMs".

Bad name, but...

Quantum of Solace? Really?

But I guess it's just a name...

I think we may be venturing to a movie theater Saturday, November 8.

Life is Good

My Mom has stated that when their baby is 6 months old, parents often start to think, "I can handle this, I could do this again!". I was recalling this as I was thinking how this is probably the easiest time in a kid's life to be a parent. Owen is sleeping better now (he can sleep 6-7 hours at a time; we just need to get him to start when I want to go to bed). We don't have to keep an eye on him all the time since he's not mobile (he just turned over for the first time this week!). He doesn't eat solid foods yet, so he doesn't make a mess and his diapers are still relatively tame (although you should ask Keith about his recent experience!). I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight and most of my pre-pregnancy activities (Ultimate practices). And he's as cute as ever with his smiling and babbling.

I think the only really tough thing right now is that I have to watch my diet. Owen is lactose intolerant and gets fussy if I have peanuts. It's amazing how much that limits my food choices (I feel for you Jason!). The good news is that he will probably grow out of it, although I'm not sure when.

So right now I thank God daily for giving us such a wonderful gift, realizing that I will soon wonder what the heck we got ourselves into!

The Pink Panther

Dead ant. Dead ant. Dead ant. Dead ant. Dead ant.

But not enough of them!

Even less spectacular than my actual posting is the updates on the "on topic" area. It's starred items from my Google Reader account. The most recent, on a cheap way to get rid of ants, is quite timely. Or maybe too late, I'm not sure. I linked it because we have an occasional ant problem. Well, occasionally inside. Most of the time for outside around the pool. The latter is annoying, but the former is upsetting. Generally when we get them inside, it's a clearly a matter of what we did wrong--getting lazy and not cleaning up after dinner. Leaving something sweet out. Or just doing something that has a tendency to attract them.

I swear last night we did nothing wrong. Or not that wrong, but there was a whole slew of ants in the kitchen. That is NG--no good. And of course I was not on the ball in preparing by having any boric acid on hand, not even after my mother mentioned it this past weekend. That meant I was stuck with killing them as I could and using a little ant spray. Just want I want to be using inside with Owen around. Awesome.

Fortunately it was a day one of us was staying home (Joanne in this case), so she kept Owen upstairs most of the day so the smell would dissipate. But this reinforces my goal/desire to up natural products and reduce chemicals in the household. This dovetails with the organic/healthier foods ideal--Owen being a good influence on us.

That leaves me with 3 items to buy/increase usage off: boric acid as a pesticide; vinegar for its loads of uses (we do use it a bit, but primarily as a rinse agent--it works great instead of fabric softener or hair conditioner), and baking soda (similarly linked in the side bar). Now I just need to figure out how to take adavantage of all the various options, add a couple more items to the list, and treat the stuff we do have as a sunk cost and toss it.

Still in power

Despite the news publications I do get (and sometimes read), I am fairly woeful about keeping on top of a story--my reading comprehension is somewhat lacking, particularly when it comes to names--Russian novels were always tough to read, for example, because I would essentially skip past the names because of the complexity and unfamiliarity--so keeping abreast of a story is more difficult if you don't know the names.

This year, though, I have followed the election in Zimbabwe to some degree. Not enough to know how to pronounce "Tsvangirai" or remember Simba Makoni off the top of my head. I remember what was probably the first story on Makoni in a January Economist; how it was dismissive of Tsvangirai as a political hack and that Makoni might be the best hope for a turnaround in Zimbabwe. I followed the optimism in March that Robert Mugabe's rule might actually end. And then he did get defeated in the election, and it looked like he might be finished.

But then it all fell apart. Again.

Paul Wolfowitz wrote a piece in Wednesday's WSJ about how to place pressure on Mugabe. I think it's unconvincing in its approach--basically give Mugabe a "get out of jail free" card if he just leaves the country and retires to South Africa or Angola. As an op-ed piece, though, it provides more anecdotal interest than most news stories:

Morgan Tsvangirai is no coward. He has persevered despite arrests, beatings and assassination attempts. But Mugabe has made clear there will be only one result from elections. 'We are not going to give up our country because of a mere X [on a ballot],' he told Zimbabwe's state-controlled Herald newspaper last week.

Going meta for a bit, one of the things I wanted to do when I started the blog was to actually have commentary on topics. Reviews of things, explanations of things I'm learning about--those are easy, even if I don't post enough. But what kind of insight, what is the reason to care about what is happening in Zimbabwe?

An easy answer is a greater respect for the institutions and the rule of law in the US/developed world. That a transfer of power need not be bloody. That no matter what you think of our political leader ship over the past 8 years, 16 years, 40 years--we are lucky that our ability to live freely or safely is not at the whim of a maniacal despot. But, like I said, that's easy.

Perhaps the real pull of the story, especially in March, was the hope, the realization, that a country could kick out a tyrant, that it could overcome its obstacles and choose a better path, that there was hope. And that's what makes the past 6 weeks a shame--that the possibility of a better future that was so close is still far off in the horizon.