Meet Kim Crawford

*Sigh* A glass of wine. A crisp, cool white on a hot summer evening, grilling shrimp on the barbie. Lounging outside on the patio with the kids rolling their bikes around, playing, laughing. One o

f my favorite things about hot weather (which there is not a whole lot about hot that I enjoy, but this is one of them) is that cool white wine just tastes better when it's hot outside. Reds feel better in colder weather, whites in warmer weather. That's just my personal preference.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'll sip on a glass of wine no matter what color it is or what time of year it is, but when I have my choice about it, I'll pick a white for summer. White also accompanies lighter food, which leaves a better feeling in my tummy when it's hot. Chicken, shrimp, crab legs, mahi mahi, it all goes with white and lends itself to being lighter fare. Add asparagus grilled in a cast-iron skillet and a delicious salad, and dinner is ready. Last night's salad included spinach, sliced mini peppers, fresh figs, and feta. I topped it off with pumpkin seed oil and apple cider vinegar. It was practically dessert! The sweetness of the shrimp and the citrus notes in the wine all paired perfectly. We ate asparagus as an appetizer before everything else was ready, otherwise, it would have been too cold, or overcooked because I started it first.

So, I've been gushing about the wine, right? In my world, there is only one white (at least for right now). My heart and palate belong to New Zealand, Marlborough County to be precise. And the varietal?  Sauvignon Blanc. There is just something about the grapefruit notes in these wines that speaks to my soul.

I don't like all brands of this specific type of wine, however. If you remember about a month ago, our family went on our "$65.00 Vacation". The bottle of wine that I purchased on vacation was a Marlborough County Sauvignon Blanc called "Matua". It came in a bottle with an aqua label, and I bought it purely on aesthetics. It was a brand I had not tried yet from the Marlborough family. It turned out to be too acidic for my palate. It was the first time I didn't thoroughly enjoy my signature drink!

Noblio, Oyster Bay, and Kim Crawford are the three that I buy most frequently. The first two are on the less-expensive side. I can usually find them for right around $10.00. They work, but when I can get it, my wine of choice is Kim Crawford. I don't know who he or she is, but the balance, smoothness and citrus of Kim Crawford really blows my skirt up.

http://www.kimcrawfordwines.com/us/Our-Wines/Regional-Reserves/Marlborough/Marlborough-Sauvignon-Blanc.htm

So last night's dinner was truly the essence of summer for me. My favorite white wine, perfectly chilled, grilled shrimp, asparagus, and fig salad. A light, summer dinner enjoyed out on the patio. As we ate, someone in our neighborhood started playing a Native American flute. It was almost too delightful to be true. Live music, family, and food. What more is there to life? Oh yeah, wine.

Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc on sale at Safeway- $11.00 (Normally $17.00)

Balance this pay cycle- $57.00

Happy Spending!

The Golden Dragon

Now that we live right smack dab in the middle of town, I feel like our food options have exponentially expanded. When we lived on hwy 179, we were between Uptown Sedona, and the Village of Oak Creek (VOC for the non-locals reading this). West Sedona was only a little bit further than Uptown. And driving to Cottonwood on a weeknight for dinner was never an option. Now, it feels like Cottonwood is just around the corner. In fact it probably only takes us a few more minutes to drive to Cottonwood as it does to drive into VOC.

So this week, I told Corey that I want to take our family out for dinner with Fun Dollars sometime during the pay cycle. I really enjoy taking a night to eat out, and now that I'm not spending money on fast food, I have more in my budget for delicious outings with the whole family.

Yesterday, we fixed our phone situation, which took most of my afternoon. We ended up ordering a new phone for Corey. He likes to keep abreast of the latest technology. Me, I'm just kinda like, "whatever". If it were up to me, I'd still have a flip phone, but Corey insists that I at have a smart phone. So, I kept his old phone and had my phone number put on it. The whole process of transferring numbers and contacts to two phones at the Verizon store took the better part of an hour. Lily still had not taken a nap by 2 when we were leaving, but she did pass out immediately after we got in the car. Suffice it to say that I spent the remainder of the afternoon doing household things that I would have finished earlier in my day had we not gone on our phone adventure. Although I am happy to be connected back to civilization. (I mean, seriously, checking facebook only on my laptop, what am I, a heathen? ;)

By the time Corey came home, I was still folding laundry. Dinner was either going to be salad or leftover pasta. I reminded him about my offer to take the family out, and then we began our empty-stomached brain storming session; where to eat?

As I mentioned earlier, Cottonwood is now an option, which by the way, makes spending Fun Dollars stretch more than it would in Sedona. There are more places to eat in the Verde Valley that are not expensive tourist spots than up here in Red Rock Country. Cottonwood is where we keep our Chinese buffets, our chains like Pizza Hut, Sizzler, and Denny's. It's where there are small, less-expensive local bistros (Old Town Cottonwood might be hosting our next family night.) Last night, we decided that since our last family Fun Dollar dinner took us to Ming House (our 'usual' when it comes to Chinese buffets), we would try their competition, The Golden Dragon.



It has been 5 years since we patronized The Golden Dragon. Corey and I took Carrick there when he was an infant. It was so horrible that we never went back. Maybe we were there on a bad night, maybe they've upped their game since then. We knew that it was a place we could all enjoy; buffets are especially kid-friendly places. The food is ready immediately; if they don't like what's on their plate, there's always something more they can try; and they are usually larger rooms, which means that noise is not an issue.

We were not disappointed by our choice. They did up their game. (Granted the beef and broccoli was a little off, but we managed.) The crab wantons, the orange chicken, the spicy eggplant were all wonderfully prepared. And since we arrived at 6:30 during the prime dinner time, the food was hot and refreshed, nothing was cold or stale. The garlic green beans were my favorite. Normally at buffets, the green beans can get a little tough the longer they sit out. These were well seasoned and tender. I even made Carrick eat a second plate of them before getting any ice cream. (Oh yeah, ice cream, the real reason why I like Chinese buffets ;)

Even after I had desert, I had yet another plate of Orange chicken. It was that good. Lily chomped on watermelon, Carrick ate more than I have ever seen him eat at a buffet too. Usually he has one small plate and is "full", but he kept eating. He enjoyed the Orange Chicken as much as I did.

I put up $20 and Corey covered the rest. I had planned on spending $30, but he said he would cover part of it. I love sharing :) So now that I have an "extra" $10 (money that I had budgeted that I didn't spend) I can buy that bottle of wine I've had my eye on.

Family Dinner at the Golden Dragon- $20.00

Balance this pay cycle- $68.00

Happy Spending!

Just Something Fun

Swimming in the pool, having splishy splashy fun,
Carrick told me he was tired and finished with the sun.
We had been there for two hours, and my girl needed a nap,
So Carrick swam ashore, in a final swimming lap.

We packed up all our floaties, our goggles and our toys,
I put Lily in the stroller where she made her napping noise.
As soon as we were rolling, her eyes began to close,
"What do you want for lunch?" I asked, and pizza's what he chose.

I thought about his answer and the places I could go,
But none of them had drive-through, so I'd have to tell him "no".
Then I thought of one place that serves it really fast,
I could pop in really quickly and make a pizza dash.

I kept the car on, running the air and locked the door,
Inside the pizza place, there was no one on the floor.
And then a person popped up and said to me, "Hello",
"I'd like some pizza slices, and please make them to-go."

They were ready in a jiffy, while I filled our soda cups
Sprite and Dr. Pepper filled them all the way up.
I was back in three minutes, Lily didn't make a peep.
Carrick took his slices, and Lily stayed asleep.

I ate my two slices, and Carrick ate just one.
(He wanted one for Lily for when her nap was done).
Our tummies full of pizza and our bodies nice and cool,
That's how I spent 12 Fun Dollars after swimming the pool.

4 Cheese slices and 2 sodas at Famous Pizza-$12.00
Balance this pay cycle-$88.00
Happy Spending!

Closing the Deal

It has been a roller coaster of emotions and finances these past few months. From packing up and moving, to putting our house on the market, from paying a rent and a mortgage to closing the deal, we have been through a lot as a family. Corey has been especially cautious with our finances these past few months as well. In his words, "Until that check clears..." meaning, we can't count on the house money until it is official because anything can happen.

Even with the fire in the canyon, the insurance company would not insure the house for the new owners until after the fire was put out. So, even then, we were waiting, hanging, until the fire was out. What if the buyers decided it wasn't worth it to wait? Or that it was too risky living in a place where wildfires happen? We had no clue about what they were thinking, so we kind of put our hopes of a fat check on hold.

And then my phone fell into a pool. Right in, under water. And wouldn't you know it, it turned on, it received messages, but the darned touch screen was inoperable. The only mode of operating the phone was incapacitated. Even with insurance, it would have cost us an extra $200 to get a refurbished phone. And Corey wouldn't budge on getting a new one. We were living just fine with me using his phone, and him carrying just his work phone. He insisted on waiting till we closed on the house, had the mortgage off our plate, and had our check from the new owners safely in our account. So, I patiently waited.

He even wanted to "trim the fat" so to speak while we were paying a rent and a mortgage. He asked me to cancel our cleaning lady! She only costs us an average of $20 a week, but he wanted us to conserve our funds until everything was cleared. I couldn't do that to her. She's a single lady and she depends on her clients for her income. So I decided to split the difference. I explained about the phone, the mortgage and the rent, and she understood. But I also told her that I could empathize with her depending on us as one of her steady clients. I told her that I could pay her for one hour of work ($20) out of my own personal money so that she would only be out $20 for this week, instead of the $40 we usually pay her (she comes every other week for 2 hours.)

I know that I could have budgeted more than the $20, but I felt like it was a fair meeting in the middle. After all, it's still my cash. I didn't have to use any of it, really, but my heart told me that it was the right thing to do to still contribute a little bit.

And then the magical day happened. Corey came by the house to have me sign the back of the check that had more money on it than we've ever held in our hands at one time. The check from the buyers that said, "Your old house is our new house." We put the money in, and went out that evening to celebrate. We had already planned on going out to eat anyway. We had a gift certificate to one of the nicest places to eat in town, L'Auberge.

A creek side resort with dining right on the banks of Oak Creek. The babble of the water, the ducks floating by, the dappled sunlight dancing through the trees all came together to create a magical setting. It was truly an evening of celebration.

Now that we are cleared of having to pay our mortgage, and we have the added comfort of cash in the bank, maybe next time, I'll tip our cleaning lady the remainder of what was missed this week. I think we can swing an extra $20.00 now.

Cleaning Lady- $20.00

Balance this pay cycle-$6.00

Happy Spending!

Drink Responsibly

Drinks. As far as Fun Dollars are concerned, they are my new fast food. They are the splurge in my budget. They are the "gimme" in my day. As I have grown into my 30's I have discovered that my body has turned on a natural "off" switch for drinking. I was never a heavy drinker, but I would overindulge from time to time. Back in the days before bedtimes and play dates, before my life revolved around putting others in pajamas, I could kill a bottle of wine in a night with Corey and have no problem.

Now, anything more than a glass of wine or one bottle of beer, or malt beverage, has to be accompanied with a glass of water too. If I don't keep hydrated while consuming "responsibly", I wake up in the middle of the night with a pseudo hangover. I hate hangovers. I'm not sure there are many out there who can say, "Yeah, I enjoy a good hangover", but there are those out there who will consume, knowing that a hangover will follow, and do it anyway. Me, not so much. My body gets this feeling halfway through the night like it's pulsating, like I can feel the blood thumping through, trying hard to process the leftover alcohol.

Last weekend, Corey and I split a six-pack of the most delicious hard cider. Angry Orchard creates seasonal brews that are released for a short while (at least at Safeway it's a short while.) This season's concoction contains essence of the Elderflower. Ho boy! Look out! You won't even feel this one coming. It's smooth, floral notes seriously make it a dangerous drink. I could have sat there and just finished bottle after bottle when I first sipped it. Delicate. Crisp. Delightful. However, I decided I wanted to enjoy one the next day, so I only had the one drink on the night we each contributed Fun Dollars towards a six-pack.

The next day, we made burgers, and that required a slightly different flavor profile than the sweet and delicate elderflower hard cider. I quickly zipped over to Safeway (again) and picked out a Zinfandel. The Bogle Old Vine was on sale for $7.50! I gave $5.00 towards it and wished Corey a Happy Father's Day. (Half jokingly. I did get him something else besides "half" a bottle of wine. But I didn't use Fun Dollars. He informed me that gifts do not have to come out of Fun Dollars.) The Bogle family of wines is always a solid choice. They are reasonably priced, and if you can find them on sale, it's even cheaper. I have never tried a Bogle variety that I didn't like. They really know how to make an middle-of-the-road priced wine that delivers stellar flavor. The juicy Zinfandel paired quite nicely with our burgers.

We corked up the rest of the bottle, and I enjoyed some with lunch the next day.

Not only does drinking in moderation save m body from the "yuck" factor, it's just smart. We space out our beverage consumption so that we have more to go around. We also are setting an example for our children about alcohol consumption. Don't get me wrong, there is a definite time and place for getting "wasted", like on a honeymoon, or when the kids are with grandma and grandpa. But on an everyday basis, when we are sharing our experiences with our children, we want them to see us consuming as if it were nothing more than lemonade or iced tea. Removing the negative associations with alcohol teaches them that it is possible to enjoy the beverage for the flavor, for the pairing with food, or as a treat, like a chocolate bar. It's not something that has to be over used to be enjoyed.

I am glad that I have come to that place, and so has Corey. It's been a good decade of legal drinking that we've both enjoyed together. And as the years press on, our children will only become more and more interested in what's in the glass. Having Fun Dollars means we can spend them however we want. With that comes a responsibility to set an example. Whether it's spending, or drinking, moderation and consideration mean everything.

Bogle Old Vine ZInfandel and six-pack of Elderflower Angry Orchard Hard Cider at Safeway- $10.00 (split with Corey.)

Balance this pay cycle- $26.00

Happy Spending!

Bar-B-Q and Bluegrass: A Father's Day Outing with Fun Dollars

Yesterday and today mark the annual Train Days and Bar-B-Q Cook Off  in Williams, AZ. This historic Arizona town captures the charm of an old western movie with the history of Rte. 66. It is the Gateway to the Grand Canyon from I-41 (you know, that road that replaced Rte. 66 for a faster cross-country thoroughfare). You get bikers, pasty-white tourists, leathered cowboys and everyone in between in Williams on any given day, and the day of the great BBQ cook off is no exception.

Folks pour in to this small town to feast on some 30+ vendors' competition meat, each one vying for the title of "Best Bar-B-Q." They compete in rounds that include chicken, pulled pork, ribs and brisket. Now add to the festivities craft beers for sampling, and live bluegrass music echoing across the grounds from the grandstand, and you're now celebrating Father's Day in true Williams style. Add that to the vintage 1929 Cataract Rambler Steam Engine ride, and this is now a Father's Day celebration for the whole family!

The Steam Engine and Pullman cars are the originals that were used back in the early twentieth century. The windows in the non-air conditioned cars are even the originals! They lift up and have little latches (like on some bathroom doors) to hold the windows up so you can catch some breeze. (And since there are bound to be kids on the train for those celebrating Father's Day, I recommend not opening them up past the second notch.) The green velvet seats were reupholstered after vandals and vagrants took up residence in the cars when the train retired long ago. A massive renovation took place before getting her up and running again. Those same green velvet seats are also the really fun kind of train seat that can flip the back rest to create a limo-style seating. I_  _I  < like that.

Back at the festivities, there were also train exhibits for parents and kids alike. A Big Red Santa Fe Caboose is just one of the retired train cars that folks can tour. Across the street from the depot, a tent houses local model railroad layouts for children to enjoy. There were also a few steam-powered engines on display whizzing and popping every few seconds. All the while, the soft ramble of bluegrass music plays from across the railroad tracks. It gathers speed, and the rhythm reminds you of the train ride you just took.

This was a really wonderful way to do something new and enjoyable with the kids. Corey and I financed our entire trip with Fun Dollars. We packed a cooler with salads, sandwiches, and fruit. We expected to have some BBQ, but we wanted backup food to save on Fun Dollars. Factoring in the train tickets for myself and half of Carrick's fare (Corey and I split it) as well as the BBQ samples, I spent $30.00 Fun Dollars.

Happy Father's Day!

Train tickets and BBQ Samples- $30.00

Balance this Pay Cycle- $36.00

Happy Spending!

Keeping it Cool

Ahhh...nothing feels nicer than a cool beverage on a hot day. My go-to cool beverage is water, but sometimes I crave something unique or flavorful. I like to make fruit-infused water when that urge comes around. Orange/blueberry, cucumber/lemon, or strawberry/peach are a few of my favorites. Cutting up fresh fruit and leaving them to sit in a closed container in the fridge creates the most refreshing H2O.

I also get into iced tea creations in the summer time. I'll grab two different kids of teas from our massive tea stash and let them soak in a pitcher for a few hours. It's a way of using what we already have to create something new. They are teas that I wouldn't drink solo, or hot, like Tazo Passion (Corey buys it for himself), but when I add two bags of Passion to two bags of Bigelow Green Tea, they make an iced drink worth savoring. I'll sit on the porch and watch the kids play sippin' my summertime glass of awesomeness.

But, there are some things that I can't do at home, like make bubbles, or squeeze a coconut, that require Fun Dollars. So today after swim lessons (Carrick was feeling better) we went to Natural Grocers for some "treats". Coconut water and Pelligrino came home with me to fill the gap in my summertime beverage bar. With Pelligrino (it also works with other sparkling waters) I like to squeeze lime and lemon juice into my glass. Sometimes I like to add one of the Passion tea bags and float raspberries in a champagne glass with my bubbly water. It's a non-alcoholic alternative to champagne when trying not to dehydrate in the desert and summer heat.

I'm saving the coconut water for this weekend. We plan on taking a Father's Day weekend day trip to Williams to see the train show. I want a non-water drink for the road, so my can of coconut water will hold that spot for me. I also bought four more Luna Bars to carry around in my tote bag. One will be for the Summer Kid's Movie tomorrow. I don't want to spend $7.00 on popcorn this week. A Vanilla Almond Luna bar will serve me just fine. I will also have snacks for the road ( just for me) on our trip. The kids have peanuts, cashews, raisins and bananas from our grocery trip this week that will serve as their road trip snacks.

I did share some Fun Dollars with Carrick today. He wanted a Cliff brand fruit rope for his "treat" after swim lessons. Since he passed his level 3 swim test today, I decided we could celebrate. He also picked out one for Lily. Always thinking of little sister. He didn't even beg me for her leftovers after she tossed half her fruit rope on the seat. He handed it to me and requested that I "wrap it up". It's still sitting on my counter top in a ziploc baggy.

Snacks and drinks at Natural Grocers- $10.00

Balance this pay cycle- $66.00

Happy Spending!