Junk food: Sometimes it just tastes good.

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(Happy Throwback Thursday! This post, originally published in 2014, celebrates something called National Junk Food Day. This year NJFD is on Friday, July 21, but my blog, my rules. DF and I are still eating quite well, thanks to frugal food hacks, our garden and our never-ending search for good deals. That doesn’t keep us from eating some junk now and then, though. Here’s why.)

It’s National Junk Food Day, apparently. And me without a single Moon Pie in the house.

In fact, I’ve eaten quite well today. Breakfast was oatmeal made with half yogurt whey and half water and flaxseed, plus half of the last banana in the bunch (shared with DF, because I’m kind like that).

For lunch I had rice topped with roasted vegetables – carrots, broccoli, Walla Walla onions and home-grown turnip, plus a dish of homemade yogurt mixed with a spoon of homemade orange marmalade and more of that flaxseed.

If only I’d known about the holiday. I might have gone to McDonald’s for breakfast and Burger King for lunch. Nothing says “bad for you” like a single meal that holds all calories needed for the entire day (with way too many in the form of grease).

On the other hand, I did eat white rice instead of brown. So am I junking out sufficient to the day?

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Pain ’n’ torture.

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Still at a loss for Big Idea pieces, so I thought I’d just catch you up with how life is going lately. (Hints: Non-summer, pain ’n’ torture.)

Spring never did show up, and summer has been noticeably absent as well. We’ve had only a few days of true sun since mid-June. That’s frustrating, because spring and summer are what keep us going through the darkness and the crummy weather the rest of the year. After last year’s snowier-than-usual winter, I’d so looked forward to those endless summer days. Dang.

The lack of sun means a lack of heat. The garden is doing better than we could expect, but not nearly as well as last year. (Then again, last summer was a drought.) At the end of June 2022, we were eating strawberries and cucumbers. I wish. Meanwhile, the potatoes think they’re in Ireland and are exploding with growth. The peas and carrots, however, are complete laggards. I am very disappointed.

The strawberry plants are awash with blossoms, but only two berries have ripened – and they’d turned moldy by that time due to the frequent rains. That was disappointing, but we hold out hope for the rest of the blooms. It can’t rain forever, right? Right???

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The spring that wasn’t. (And the cake that was.)

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The winter of 2022-23 was colder and snowier than usual. DF didn’t mind the snowy part, since up to five days a week he used a senior-discount weekday pass at Alyeska Resort. Since I’m not into downhill skiing (or cross-country, for that matter), I declined to accompany him but was glad he was having such a good time.

I did not have a good time this winter. It was hard to stay positive through gloomy day after gloomy day, and super-easy to berate myself about that: You have a partner who tells you daily how much he loves you, and wonderful family and friends. To say nothing of a comfortable home, good food and a flex-schedule job you can do in your PJs. Why do you let the bad outweigh the good?

My mood has improved, because I finally was able to look deeply at what was really bothering me. Turns out it wasn’t just lack of daylight, but a combination of several other factors. Having been in therapy before, I was finally able to isolate those issues and look plainly at them. But this is an ongoing process, i.e., some days it was easier to eat my feelings than examine them. Which of course led to weight gain and additional dismay and also exacerbated a physical condition, which led to even more dismay/discomfort.

(Physical condition has been diagnosed. Won’t bore you with the details except to say that it is not life-threatening but will require physical therapy. On the bright side, that gives me something to blog about later on.)

But I knew none of this stuff mattered because spring was on the way! May and June are my favorite months here, and the nearly nonstop sun is a tonic that fixes just about everything.

Except that spring is still on the way. Maybe it got lost. Maybe it’s messing with us. Maybe it will show up in July. Whatever the reason, I’ve been referring to last month and this one “the spring that wasn’t.”

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Catching up for Mother’s Day.

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It’s been a minute. A lot of minutes. Life keeps getting away from me. Days go by and I don’t post on this site, then I get anxious because I haven’t posted for a while. And then the anxiety prevents me from thinking of anything to write.

“Tomorrow,” I promise myself.

Riiiight.

Another dilemma: What to write? Sometimes I think I should post only about personal finance in general and frugality in particular. This is true even though my personal writing topics tend to get more reaction and feedback. Then again, sometimes money and frugality are extremely personal topics. 

I’ve been doing this since May 2010, and while I don’t want to give it up, I do want to feel less pressured to write. Interesting how the only person putting pressure on me is me.

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Mother’s Day giveaway.

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Yep, it’s early. Mother’s Day isn’t until May 14. But I need time to publicize the giveaway, mail the prizes to the winners and, if need be, allow them time to send the gifts along to the mothers/maternal figures in their lives.

And yep, those were plurals: I’m giving away a trio of prizes suitable for Mother’s Day, if you celebrate. This giveaway is part of my continuing “Support the Local Economy“ series, wherein I choose prizes made here in Alaska. Once more I’m featuring the jewelry of my friend Linda B.

But first, about that “if you celebrate“ thing. I’m well aware that some people do not participate because their moms are dead, or they’re no-contact with their mothers.

Still others lament what they see as the Hallmark nature of this holiday. In fact, Mother’s Day founder Anna Jarvis herself was appalled by the commercialization. According to History.com, Jarvis spent “the latter part of her life trying to remove it from the calendar.“

Don’t let any of this stop you from entering the giveaway, though. If you win, you could treat a friend or relative to a new necklace – or maybe keep it for yourself. Heck, you could use it as the beginning of your holiday shopping push. (If you celebrate.)

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Gardening: The definition of hope.

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(Happy Throwback Thursday! This post originally ran on May 6, 2021. Since it was snowing this morning, I decided to re-read this post for its reminder of hope. And there IS reason to hope: We have celery seedlings popping up, and DF put tomato and marigold seeds into little peat pots this morning. Sooner or later, the snow will melt and the ground will warm up enough to accept plant starts. Hope it’s sooner.)

(Note: This was a gardening post I started to write and then dropped. It was begun in the second week of April and picked up again on May 3. Sorry for any confusion.)

It was nine degrees when I got up today. And we’re at sea level! And it’s April!

Then again, it was minus 18 in Fairbanks this morning. So I guess I’m still ahead on points, but come on.

Fortunately, DF bought flowers for his mom on Easter and thought they looked so nice he’d get some for us, too. They stuck around for a long time, and having them on the table to look at was a good antidote to weather-related grumblies.

Nearby is a miracle plant: a pot of snapdragons that we nursed through the winter. The foliage is a bit pale, but it survived despite low-to-no light levels. The plant had widely spaced buds instead of the usual tightly packed stems. As a result, each bloom was wide-open and on its own, looking as though it’s ready to take flight.

Sun and semi-warmth returned on April 21, so we put the snaps outdoors to take advantage. (Brought them in at night because cold.) On April 22, I got a photo of the first honeybee* of the year.

I think it was pretty confused: “Flowers? At this time of year?!? HELL YEAH!!!” 

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Meet a reader: RoInRocketCity.

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This is the third in my “Meet a reader” series and as with the first two, I’ve had the chance to meet with Ro in real life.

That happened at the 2016 Financial Blogger Conference in San Diego, where Ro was living at the time. We had a too-brief meetup, and I’m afraid I was a bit distracted because my daughter, who was also attending, was sick. (Those waxing-and-waning symptoms turned out to be sepsis. Yikes.)

Even so, it’s always fun to meet someone who’s been commenting on your stuff – especially since Ro has been a commenter since my MSN Money days. She always had (and has) thoughtful things to say.

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Easter giveaway: Alaskan artisanal chocolate.

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Why should kids have all the fun at Easter? For the grownup palates in my audience, I’m giving away a delicious treat from Chugach Chocolates, a bean-to-bar chocolatier right here in Anchorage, Alaska.

(In fact, it’s located down the street from me, which may or may not be too close for comfort.)

I’ve given away Chugach Chocolate items in the past, as part of my desire to support the local economy. Given that Easter is on April 9, I figured it’s time for another chance at delight.

“Bean-to-bar” is exactly what it sounds like: The company roasts raw cacao beans and turns them into fascinating flavors. Some of them, such as the Alaskan Kelp and Cayenne, sound a bit scary. But that bar – like the others Chugach creates – is in fact great fun. 

Chugach has single-origin bars made with beans from Fiji, Guatemala, Madagascar, Vietnam and other countries. As for its Alaskan flavors, you could sample flavors such as Dark Chocolate with Alaskan Birch Syrup Toffee, Dark Chocolate with Mat-Su Valley Potato Chips (that’s a local chip company) and Dark Chocolate with Prince William Sound Sea Salt. 

The winner gets to choose one of the following items:

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Today’s frugal win: Deal-stacking.

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DF wanted to see the Metropolitan Opera’s HD broadcast of “Lohengrin,” but also second-guessed that wish. The $25 ticket wasn’t so bad when you consider the opera lasted a little over five* hours, but still…And then there was the popcorn and cold drink that he’d surely need to handle five-plus hours of Wagner. He was on the fence until I suggested a few frugal hacks.

Here are the (many) elements of today’s frugal win:

Senior discount. He got $2 off for being old.

Movie Club. This subscription deal at Cinemark gives me one free movie a month plus a concessions discount. I asked the cashier to apply one of my free movie credits to the Met Opera ticket, which lowered the price from $23 to $10.75.

Ibotta gift card. I redeemed a $20 Cinemark card from my Ibotta account. (For more on Ibotta and other frugal hackery, see “Rewards programs FTW!”)  

Cinemark coupon. I got a $1-off concessions coupon by cashing in 25 of my Cinemark rewards points (which you get each time you buy tickets and food).

Movie Club discount. I get 20 percent off concessions purchases with membership.

Once all the discounts and the gift card had been applied, the tab had shrunk to just $1.45.  Now you can see why he decided to go.

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