Orange menace strikes again

The orange menace is our one year old boy cat. We have raised him since he was a month old (someone ran over his mom) and as such he acts just like our baby. He jumps into our arms with full trust, he knows we wont let him fall. He's also very mischievous, he gets into everything! Today Dh and i were talking in the bathroom while I was brushing my teeth. The orange menace jumped onto the bathroom counter to rub against me a little bit, something he does regularly. A second later i look over at him and he's sticking a paw in our bathroom drawer. A second after that he runs out of the bathroom clutching his prize in his mouth. Whats his treasure? A long make-up brush. My dear husband chases him out of the bathroom, through the living room, kitchen, over the baby gate up the stairs, till the orange menace is cornered. Dh snatches the brush from him, only to have the menace scream at him and swipe at dh's hand! He's angry the prize was removed! So angry he follows dh all the way back to the bathroom yelling at him. What a character!

Frugality is fun!!

My very favorite book on frugality is the Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn. I first checked it out of the library when i was just begining my frugal path. I thought many of her ideas were crazy, but after a while a lot of them made sense to me. One of my favorite ideas from her book is there is a world of difference between feeling like you are frugal because you chose to be so, and being frugal because you feel you have to be so.

My husband and i were pushed into frugality when i became unable to work. We went from two full time paychecks (and still feeling like there wasn't enough money) to having to 'make do' with one. At first i felt deprived for not being able to buy what we wanted, do what we wanted and have whatever we wanted right away. That's the way we had been living and we had the debt to prove it. Don't have the cash? That's what credit cards are for! Even with two paychecks we didn't feel like we had any money because it was always spent, dvds, restaurant meals, weekend trips, clothes, electronics. Whatever we wanted, we bought. Then i read a book about how Amy enjoys wearing socks with holes because she wants to see how long they last??? Socks with holes? How people can enjoy going without? That's crazy! How they go to 'extreme' lengths to save a small amount of money? But i kept reading and little by little the ideas made an impression on me. I found that i too could enjoy making due with what I had/ could acquire cheaply. That with a gradual change of heart i could have fun being frugal. And i do, lots of fun. Okay so maybe i don't enjoy clipping coupons, organizing them and matching them with sale prices. But i do enjoy watching my total go down at the checkout counter. I thoroughly enjoy paying $13 for $27 worth of animal supplies. I enjoy finding my husband aftershave that he's been eyeing for weeks for .99 instead of $5. I enjoy making Monster a huge quality dog bed out of filler and material i already had thats so comfortable my husband wanted to steal it for himself! Frugality is fun, you just have to make it fun in your mind.

Whoops.

Last night after sauteing onions i thought it would be a good idea to use the same oily pan to cook down apples for dessert. One less pan to wash. My dear husband was munching down on the apples he had eyed all evening when he looks over at me and asks "Did you cook the apples in the same pan as the onions?" I had not taken a bite yet, and was somewhat curious as to why he would ask me that. Till my food loving, big eater of a husband dumped his apples into my bowl and intently watched me take a bite. Till i tasted the onion on the apples. I didn't find it horrible, but defiantly not my favorite flavor combo.

Little about us

For now and the foreseeable future I will keep the blog fairly anonymous. Mainly because i want the freedom and to protect my little family.

I'm cupcake, the 20 something homemaker who never expected this lifestyle to suit her so well. I always planned on having a lucrative high powered career, i never thought staying home would give me such joy. My husband who doesn't have a nickname yet is also in his 20s, he's a career military man. I've stood by his side for 4 years, married for two. We have two dogs, a lab mutt who we will call monster, and a pure bred corgi often known as short stack. My oldest cat is sheba whom I've had since a month after i moved out of my parents home. The twin calicos, bubbles and sweetie. My husband's baby girl is next, with the orange menace ending the cat intros. Monkey butt is the rabbit, he has quite the personality. These are nicknames, not the actual names of our animals.

Welcome!

I'm a young homemaker learning how best to use the funds at my disposal. I have a wonderful husband who looks hard for his check and sacrifices much to do so. We recently purchased our first home and are thoroughly enjoying our little patch of heaven. Which is overrun by 2 dogs, 5 cats, and an adorable house bunny known as monkey butt. We buy things at garage sales, thrift stores, discount retailers, heavily clearanced merchandise with the occasional full price splurge. I try and make things at home, and am learning how to sew. I hope to write mainly about our life, our choices and joys. So expect lots about frugality, animals, and cooking!