Raw Drip

I’m still recuperating from the H-E-double hockey sticks that comprised the better part of my fall and the final 3 weeks leading up to Christmas.  In addition to battling “the cold that’s going around” and juggling my job which becomes all-consuming at this time of year, we also played host to my in-laws for 10 days.  Not to worry, this is not a bitch post about how awful it was to have 5 adults and 2 small children in a 3/2 house.  I’m the first person to acknowledge that hosting visiting family can be a hassle, but between the holiday parties and a lack of daycare, I actually looked forward to having the extra bodies around the house to help watch the kids and provide a pleasant distraction from all the insanity.  

There’s a well-documented potential for melodrama inherent in too many grown-ups trapped in one small space.  Add to that dynamic the typical zaniness leading up to C-day and you have a recipe for disaster.  Much to my surprise, there were no disasters.  In fact, we actually had a very pleasant, relaxing, and quiet visit with family.  

The only melodrama arising from playing hostess was the amazing amount of pure consumption that occurred.  Between last minute gift shopping, late night runs for gift wrapping supplies, and almost daily grocery store visits, our family exemplified the rest of the world’s idea of all that’s wrong with the American consumer.  When I took inventory and did the math after the fact, I was shocked at the figures.

Dry Goods  & Fresh Grocery Items consumed:

• 19 rolls of toilet paper
• 4 bars of bath soap
• 2 quarts of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 pounds of butter
• 8 gallons of skim milk
• 5 pounds of coffee
• 1 1/2 gallons of Half & Half
• 4 loaves of bread
• 5 pounds of potatoes
• 5 pounds of tomatoes
• 4 pounds of apples
• 10 bags of pre-washed mixed greens for salad

I’m calculating that we spent about $700 in groceries for those 10 days – not including the beef tenderloin, pies & rolls made for Christmas dinner.  The really sad fact is that we ate out nearly every other night, so our actual numbers should be much higher.

Those of you with large families or who grew up in large families are no doubt, underwhelmed by my findings.  But I really don’t know how a large family can afford to survive in this economy.  If nothing else, this whole experience has been an exercise in awareness for me, who feels a new found happiness for her $1200 a month grocery bill.  Sadly, I bet my $1200 monthly grocery bill is generous for 4 people and is probably similar to the budget for much larger families.  Fortunately for us, my family eats a great deal of fresh vegetables and fruits which are notoriously expensive, so I can only imagine the sacrifices larger families must make on the quality front, just to meet the quantity needs.

Grocery shopping for 7 has re-acquainted me with important lessons about creating flexible, budget-friendly menus, and using strategic bulk-buying and generic brands to stretch my dollar.  I know I’m not alone in this realization.  Because of the global economic downturn, this holiday season was a wake up call for many of us.  I’ve heard it from friend after friend – we’re all shocked at how little we really needed to feel happy this year.  As I tallied up my gifting and grocery bills for this holiday season, I realized that I had allowed my spending vigilance to slip in recent months and, instantly, I knew what my 2009 new year’s resolution would be.

Like the tell-tale cough from a movie heroine that always signals her upcoming demise, the onslaught of consumption that we (and the global “we”) are barely surviving signals a change in our collective story line for 2009; a change that seems set to remind us, like it or not, about the virtues of simple, smart living.  It’s tempting to embrace the need to see simple living as something we need to overcome, but I’m hopeful that it’s just the thing we’ve been looking for all along.

As 2009 and Raw Drip’s first anniversary grows near, I’ve decided to take a look back at my favorite moments of 2008 in picture.  I hope you enjoy…

March: No, this is not a really blurry photo of Dick; it’s my good kid, otherwise known as the dog, Detective Mike Logan.  Logan is pictured here behind the wheel of our moving truck at about 2:00 A.M. just outside Atlanta, GA.    While cute to look at, Logan’s habit of standing on the horn of the truck nearly every time we stopped for diesel grew increasingly annoying.   You know, coffee alone will wake you up, but coffee combined with the sound of a semi-truck horn blaring in your ear as you’re re-fueling for 30 minutes is a much more effective stimulant.  

 

 

 

 

 

May:  For Mother’s Day, Adam made me this adorable card, planted a sweet pea in a pot, and strung beads on this wonderful bracelet made out of pipe-cleaner.  Unfortunately my “zaftig” build meant that my new bracelet fit me more like a pinky ring. 

Being a mom means thinking outside the bracelet.  So, say hello to my newest (and most cherished) key chain…

 

 

 

June:  Just like hunky Chris Noth (aka Detective Mike Logan of Law & Order & Mr. Big from SATC), my Logan’s entire face just lights up when he smiles.  

Unlike Chris Noth, Logan’s is a face that only a mother could love… 

 

 

 

 

July: Adam turned 4 and the only thing he wanted in the world was M&Ms and chocolate cake.  These are things I want every day, so I can relate. 

Like many of you, I don’t have time to spend baking from scratch so I’ve had to make some modifications to my birthday cake recipe.  In the interest of sharing, here it is:

 

 

Ingredients:

• 1 chocolate frosted cake from your local grocery store bakery
• 1 tube of plain white decorating frosting with writing tip.
• Birthday candles
• 1 bottle of multi-colored sprinkles
• 1 roll of curling ribbon

Decorate cake while children are playing by scrawling something that looks like the words “Happy Birthday” with the tube of white decorating frosting.  Liberally apply sprinkles and finish off with several pieces of curled ribbon & candles.  Bribe witnesses.  Serve at room temperature with milk and/or ice cream.

 

 

 

 July:  I like to call this photo of Tabitha,  “Look at my chocolate-covered uvula!”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 August:  While in Orlando for a business conference, I snapped this photo of an evening thunder storm moving over the Epcot Center at Walt Disney World from my 5th floor hotel room.   Frankly, I think this is my best cloud photo, ever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

September: Here’s our newest neighbor – the alligator who’s just moved into the lake (swamp) behind our house.   First speculative investors drive down the price of our house to the point that they’re selling B-O-G-O and now alligators are moving in and taking over.  Makes me long for the earthquakes, fire storms, and mind-numbing traffic of Southern California.

 

 

 

 

October: Adam’s picking a winner.  See my post “Fool’s Gold” for more on this fave topic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

November:  In an historic election year filled with so many things worth laughing (and crying) about, this is, without a doubt, my favorite someecards.com card.  Yes, it’s okay to be offended.  In fact, I think that’s the point…

 

 

 

  

 November: P.S.  My Famous Democrats coffee mug was right!

 

 

 

 

 

December:   There’s no better way I can think of to close out 2008 than to share with you one of my favorite drawings from Adam.  Scrawled on the chalkboard table one morning when patience was scarce and the coffee maker’s auto-brew setting mysteriously stopped working, I discovered this little masterpiece – “Mommy in  a rocket ship” – and suddenly, all my bitterness was replaced with nothing but gratitude. 

Here’s to a 2009 where our bitternesses amuses us because it’s so absurd and our gratitude fills us with all the inner peace we’d ever need.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but it’s difficult to find time for myself these days.   My escape used to be writing this blog, or watching Law & Order (before it started to really suck). But recently I’ve stumbled into a new, fun past-time that is eating up much of my late night free time.  Perhaps you’ve played my new favorite game – sock matching?

Sock Matching, I learned, is actually an ancient sport involving precision, speed, and persistence.  The great thing about sock matching is that it requires only a minimal investment in materials & equipment to provide you with hours of entertainment.

The basics of the game are simple, but I must acknowledge that the set-up is very cumbersome.  Still, the resulting fun is well worth the effort.

Materials & Equipment:

• Multicolored socks in various sizes and textures that are just similar enough to (pardon the pun) keep you on your toes. These will become your game board pieces.
• 1 or 2 small children
• The largest bottle of laundry detergent you can lift
• Washer & Dryer

Game Play:

1. Apply clean matched pair of socks to one or both children (the level of difficulty increases with additional game pieces on the board).  Send them to school for approximately 8 hours.
2. When they return, have them remove their socks and place them in the tub of the washer.  Repeat this process for several days or a week to ensure maximum pieces on your game board.
3. Once all socks have been gathered in the washer tub, add a generous quantity of detergent and proceed with the washing cycle of your choice. After washing, move socks to the dryer and proceed with the drying cycle of your choice.  Remove warm, dry socks from dryer and send children to bed (trust me, it’s much more fun when you play the game post 10 p.m.). 
4. Lay out socks (your game pieces) in the pattern of your choosing on a table or other large, flat surface.  This will be your game board. 
5. The objective of the game is to stand in front of the game board and match like socks into pairs as quickly as possible before falling asleep while standing up.   If you match all of the socks on your game board into pairs – before collapsing – you’ve won!

If you fail to match all your socks, no worries.  You will continue to accumulate additional game pieces over time, giving you plenty of chances to try again! 

You can play many fun variations of sock matching as well, including:

• “Artistic Matching” where you match socks at breakneck speeds Punky Brewster style,
• “Speed Matching” a lightning-paced round dedicated to pairing as many matching and non-matching socks as possible.  Bonus points if no one notices during the light of day that they’re wearing 1 navy blue and 1 black sock, and
• “Tournament Matching” where you invite other family members, neighborhood kids, and even strangers to contribute one or two pieces to your game board and then compete across households to match pairs.

Example of a game in progress:

 

I figure, Dick unwinds with World of Warcraft and now that I have Sock Matching, I don’t have to relax  in front of the TV by myself, longing for something to do.  

Next week, I’ll teach you all about another game I play called “Finding clean underwear”.   Whoever said being a mom is all work and no play certainly hasn’t figured out how to poke fun at her work!