Use, Wear, Do

I'm not sure where I first heard that saying, but it was probably from my mom.  Through the years of waiting for my husband to finish with school I certainly learned to live on less.  Two months after he started his job he got an amazing raise that allowed me to stop working and just be home with our girls.  The money seemed to be there in great abundance and I stopped being careful with how I used money.  It was fun, but not smart.

A few months ago my husband got a raise that was not only amazing, but fantastically amazing.  Surely money would never be an issue again.  Ha!  Anyway, we bought a dining set (we'd given ours away), minivan (necessary with baby #3 on the way), a laundry pair (also given away), and a sectional (also necessary because our new house has two rooms that need seating).  Oh yeah, we also built a house.  Not that there's any expense included in that...

As we were contemplating which bedroom set and new mattress to buy we noticed that our funds weren't as abundant as we had become accustomed to.  I spent a morning going over finances and discovered that money really doesn't grow on trees.  That was a shock to the system.  So now we're back to economizing (a LOT) and the "use it up" saying is my new mantra.

Now I'm dealing with the disappointment.  I've always wanted to go all out and do a nursery for my kids.  I even had a plan going for this one and I was super excited to get started on it.  With the first two kids we were renting and a room makeover wasn't a possibility.  Now that we own we can't afford to redo a room.  Dang it.  What's a girl to do?  Well, I decided that I could 1) ignore all common sense and redecorate despite the cost, 2) whine and grumble and cry and sulk, or 3) make frugality an adventure and see what I can do to make it work.  I thought the last one seemed like it would make us the happiest over the longest period of time.  So I'm going with that one.

The really fun part for me is that it will allow me to get some creative juices flowing.  Sometimes it takes more imagination to revamp what you have than to find new things that work together.  Then I remembered I can document it here so that when everything is paid off I can remember that there are things we can do to avoid getting back into financial straits.  I may actually have fun with this.  The first project is making a nursery with things we already have.  It'll be interesting.

The Ultimate DIY House

When something really great comes along, you just need to share it.  I feel a little remiss in not having previously  mentioned more about the program we used to get our home built.  Several years ago we read an article in the newspaper about the open house of a group that had finished building their homes through Self-Help Homes (formerly Rurual Housing Development Corporation).  It's a mutual self-help program.  The basic idea is that a group of families works together to build their own homes.  When all homes in the group are completed everyone moves in.  Pretty great, right?  It gets better.  The program is for families that meet certain income guidelines; it's for families that would not otherwise be able to afford a home.  We logged the information away in our brains to bring out again when we felt the time was right.

Fast forward to summer of 2010.  My husband had just graduated from college (hallelujah!) and started a job. Two months later he got a promotion and a raise.  With the raise we figured we would be able to afford the mortgage on a house if we went through a mutual self-help program.  The time was almost right.  We started to go through the application process.  Before meeting with people in the Self-Help Homes office we decided to hold off for a little while.  It was only a few months later that we decided the time really had come and we completed our application.  We were accepted into the program in February of last year.  We were the second family in our group to be approved.  After that it was just waiting for the group to be complete, which took until late March or early April.  We broke ground in May and started building in June.  There was even an article written about the ground breaking in the paper.  They misquoted me a bit, but that's okay.  If you look at the second picture in the box you'll see me giving my little speech.


So how do nine families without any building experience get away with building homes that are safe, attractive, up to code, and actually livable?  Self-Help Homes assigns one of their construction supervisors to work with each group.  It's the supervisor's job to train the families on construction techniques, check for quality, and basically oversee the entire process.  If we did something wrong we had to do it again until it was right.  That's a rule that didn't budge.  We were blessed to have a great supervisor who was not willing to compromise on any quality issues.  It makes one feel so much more confident about how well the house will stand up to being lived in.

Aside from meeting income guidelines there were other rules we had to abide by.  For example, each family is required to work a minimum of 35 hours per week.  To say that's a bit of a stretch for working families is an understatement.  We were allowed to have volunteers take on up to 17.5 of the weekly hours.  Any time missed needed to be made up.  Time missed on Saturday counted double.  There was a lot of sacrifice involved in making our hours.  We were lucky enough to have reliable babysitting that allowed us to work on the house together.  With no volunteers we were able to get around 42 hours a week.  Our group was also very fortunate to have lots of volunteers from United Way and BYU to help out.  It was very much appreciated.  Most of the work is done by the families building the homes, but there were also sub contractors who did part of the work.  We framed the homes, but we did not do the work on insulation, stucco, or dry wall, to name a few.  Those things were left to the professionals.

There really isn't too much to say about this program.  The Hubs and I had other options for less-expensive housing, but we chose Self-Help Homes because of everything involved.  We thought it would be a good thing to have a brand new home, as well as to learn first-hand the skills needed to construct and maintain a home.  The homes are built to the highest standard and are energy star approved.  We also loved the idea of being able to work with our neighbors and get to know them before moving in.  We're so glad we applied when we did.  My husband got another raise at the end of 2011, which was enough to have made us ineligible for the program.  As it turned out, we've been able to build a home, build a community, and build confidence in what we can do.  It's a program I would suggest to anyone.

This is What "Done" Looks Like

Several months back I decided that I could blog the process of building our home (the original plan) or I could spend the time actually working on the house and do one massive post once everything was complete.  Obviously, I chose the second option.  I suppose I could go back with all the pictures I took and document the entire process.  I think I prefer to just show pictures of the completed house and share the documentation part for making our new house into our new home.  So here are a few pictures of the FINISHED house, courtesy of our building supervisor's Google album:

Kitchen and great room

Great room (living and dining until we finish the basement, dining on the other side of the bar)

Entry and hallway, taken from formal living room

Kitchen

Master bedroom with bathroom and closet

Finished exterior

It's surreal to be finished with this project.  We started coming to the work site on June 18, 2011.  That was the day we came for safety and tool training.  Most of the nine couples in our group were highly unfamiliar with the tools in the trailer.  Palm nailer?  Framing gun?  Hole hawg?  What are those?  Times have certainly changed.  Nail guns and circular saws were once kind of scary sounding to me.  Now I go to tool departments and drool.  I actually asked my husband for a circular saw for Christmas.  He got me makeup brushes instead.  I thought it was pretty funny.

Real work began June 20, 2011 when we started training on basement walls.  That means it was just under seven months from when we started to when all nine home passed inspection on January 17, 2012.  All of us in the group take ownership of our homes on January 26th, immediately after the open house.  Most families are moving in that evening.  We'll be moving the first weekend in February so that we can personalize our wall colors before moving in.  Exciting?  You have no idea!  Unless you've also done it.

I'm so proud of our group.  We've all worked so hard and sacrificed so much to get this done.  Our accomplishment is pretty impressive, especially when one considers our complete lack of prior experience and the very high quality of the end result.  We can thank our supervisor for that.  In the end it was all worth it.  I feel like I can take on any project out there (and I definitely have plans!) with great results.  Nothing is impossible.  Congratulations, Group 33; we've earned it!

Sweet Potato Casserole...that's actually GOOD

I grew up with candied yams with toasted marshmallow topping as a Thanksgiving side dish.  I never liked it.  Never.  I mostly just peeled the marshmallows off the top and choked down the little bit of yams that stuck to the white stuff.  Sweet potatoes and yams were simply a dish to be avoided once a year.  Not anymore.

Nine years ago I spent Thanksgiving on a NATO base in Italy.  I was a missionary there.  My companion and I  were invited to Thanksgiving dinner by an American family and we were over the moon about it.  When the sweet potatoes came around I politely took a helping.  To my great amazement I ended up with two more helpings before the meal was done.  Me, the devout sweet potato hater!  I made sure to get the recipe before I left that evening.  I have since converted my sweet potato hating aunt, as well.  It has since opened me up to the  wonderful world of baked sweet potatoes and sweet potato fries.

If you can't stand yams or sweet potatoes (or even if you love them) give this a try.  Really.  It's worth a shot, right?  I've changed it up just a little over the years, so I'll include those notes in italics.  The picture is not one I've made.  I'm not making it until Thanksgiving and by then it's too late to help anyone.  But it looks similar.

Sweet Potato Casserole--delicious style


9 small to medium or 5 large sweet potatoes (or yams; they're cheaper).  Peel and chop.  Place in a large pot, cover with water, boil until tender.  Because I can't be bothered with peeling and chopping I bake mine.  It takes longer to cook, but is less irritating to me.  Wrap three times in foil and bake at 400 for about an hour and a half.  Allow to cool enough to handle and scoop out the insides.

Mash (or use beaters) with:

1/2 stick butter
1/2 to 3/4 cup evaporated milk  I add this toward the end to check consistency.  It should be creamy, but not liquid-y or stiff.
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp butter flavoring     My husband doesn't like butter, so I leave this out.

Place in baking dish and spread with topping mixture.

Topping (sometimes I double this because I like it so much):

1 cup crushed corn flakes
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup melted butter  Again, my husband doesn't like butter, so I cut it down a bit.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

You can make the mashed part the day before and then make and add the topping right before you cook it. That helps free up the oven on the big day.  Give it a try and let me know if you can stomach it better than the non-tasty stuff.

Halloween 2011

This year is busy.  We're building a house and I'm pregnant, so there wasn't a huge heap of time for me to get costumes ready.  I can still let the girls know they'll be princesses (I love turning my princesses into princesses) and they won't argue.  Score!  I made Blue Eyes a Sleeping Beauty dress straight from the pattern, only adding shoulder covers as the difference.  I could have helped the dress stay up by using ribbon straps, but I prefer to cover my kids' skin a bit more than that.  The Pink Blur was supposed to be Snow White.  I just plain ran out of time and I'm pretty sad about that.  She'd have been an adorable Snow White.  Maybe next year.  Cross your fingers.  I did, however, luck out in the costume department because we already had a Cinderella dress from Halloween 2009.  I didn't figure she would mind a hand-me-down costume this year.

The Hubs went as Frodo.  He was able to use his Aragorn costume from 2007 and just change his hair and foot wear.  I put curlers in his hair the night before to make it nice and curly.  As for his feet...he made those hairier too.  He shaved his legs and then used spirit gum to glue extra hair to his feet.  I'm not kidding.  They were pretty horrified at the office.  But he WAS authentic in that part of his costume.

I was the fairy of PregnantLand.  My entire costume consisted of fairy makeup and false eyelashes with glittery tips.  It was comfy and quick.  Which was fabulous.  I wouldn't mind that every year.  Except for the pregnant part.

Coconut Cream Cupcakes=Divine!

My husband has a deep and abiding love for coconut.  He probably developed that while he was a missionary in Fiji.  It really is one of his favorite flavors.  As luck would have it, I found a recipe for coconut cream cupcakes on the morning of his birthday.  Score!  They were fabulous!  To give you an idea of just how fabulous these cupcakes are, his birthday was a month ago and I have made them three times since then.  I'm just going to copy and paste the recipe as shown on www.carrottopmom.com.  I'll use my own pictures and let you know how it went for me.  It was my first time making cupcakes from scratch.

NOTE: You will need to plan a bit ahead for these! The amazing coconut flavor comes from a reduced coconut milk, which needs to be made one day ahead, and refrigerated overnight. Plan ahead. : )

Coconut Cream Cupcakes

Yields 18 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

• Cupcakes:
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup reduced coconut milk (NOT Reduced Fat. See below), room temperature (TOTAL, begin with 2 14oz cans of coconut milk)

• Frosting:
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 8 cups powdered sugar
• 2/3 cup reduced coconut milk (see above), room temperature
• 2 Tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened flaked coconut, (optional, for garnish)

DIRECTIONS

1. For reduced coconut milk: Bring 2 cans (14 ounces each) coconut milk to boil in large deep saucepan over medium heat (coconut milk will boil up high in pan). Boil until reduced to 1 2/3 cups, stirring occasionally, 30-45 minutes. Transfer to small bowl. Cover; chill (coconut milk will settle slightly and thicken as it cools). DO THIS AHEAD, allowing to chill overnight: Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled, allowing to come to room temperature when ready for use.
2. For cupcakes: Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 350°F. Line eighteen muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar; beat on medium-high speed until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating and scraping sides well after each addition. Add half of flour mixture; mix on low speed just until blended. Do not overblend. Add 1 cup reduced coconut milk; mix just until blended. Add remaining flour mixture; mix on low speed just until blended. Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake cupcakes until tops spring back when gently touched, about 20 minutes. Transfer cupcakes in pans to rack; cool 10 minutes. Carefully remove cupcakes from pans and cool completely on rack.
3. For Frosting: Cream butter on high for 2 minutes. Add powdered sugar, reduced coconut milk, and vanilla extract. Beat gradually at first, until combined. Beat on high for an additional 2-3 minutes, or until smooth and creamy.
4. Frost cooled cupcakes. Sprinkle with coconut if desired, for garnish. (They will have plenty of coconut flavor without the garnish!)
5. Do not refrigerate. As with all my cupcake recipes, the flavors are best at room temperature! 

Everything turned out a lot easier than I expected, given the fact that non-cake mix cupcakes are new to me.  I do have a couple of helpful hints to go along with this bit of yumminess.  The batter ended up thicker than I expected.  Make sure you really do use a deep pot to reduce the coconut milk.  If not the pot isn't big enough the coconut milk will boil over.  And if you forget to change out the foil on your burner before you use it again the boil-over will catch fire.  I may or may not have learned that from personal experience.  Twice.  

The only change I made to the recipe was very minor.  While the frosting is superb, I don't use a lot of it.  I just cut the frosting recipe in half and it gave me the perfect amount.  Two thumbs up!  Thanks to Kelly for the great recipe!  Now I just have to get rid of it all before we start the diet I need to get on.

Lots of Work

I knew going into it that building a house would be no small undertaking, but wow.  Just wow.  I had assumed I would blog a little bit in the evenings after we got home and put the girls to bed.  Ha!  We put the girls to bed, plop down for a second, put the girls back to bed and finally just collapse into our own beds once we've got them down.  The baby, in particular, isn't doing well with being put to sleep.  She insists on being held.  I'm working on letting her cry it out.  It's not going well.

Despite the lack of sleep in our apartment, there is no lack of work happening at the house.  Tomorrow will be spent putting up the exterior walls to our house.  Woot!  I don't have one of the current pictures from my camera to upload, but I can put up the one from the RHDC group website.  What you can see is a completed basement wall, porch cap, and some of the trusses.  You can also see one of our future neighbors.  If you were to go to the site right this very moment you would see floor joists in place and (possibly) a sheet for the floor.  It feels awesome to watch the progress of our house.