Creating Wealth, Rat Style

Urban Mama asked herself over and over, losing m-u-c-h needed sleep, 'how am I, personally, going to generate $100,000 for our in-the-works house addition'? Hmmm, oh yeah, ask a rat. So I google 'year of the rat' and read words like 'hard work', 'activity', 'patient', 'shrwed', 'ambitious', 'inventive'. 'Ambitious' and 'inventive', I like those qualities, so I ask myself to start immediately. Act now...

Of course I begin in the kitchen. So last week we worked our way through odds and ends from the cupboards, the freezer, the fridge, and lo and behold we feasted! And we will feast!

I soaked organic green lentils, and organic kidney beans, which have turned into a gorgeous vegetarian chili. In the pot were frozen organic green peas, frozen corn, 3/4 of a wilting/seeming hopeless organic yellow pepper, and sea salt from a bag which had slipped to the back of the cupboard. We now have about 8 weeks worth of protein packed chili...I'll gladly share the sneak-peak-from-my-cookbook recipe if you leave me a comment.

The kids rejoiced in two nights in a row of Soy Delicious chocolate ice cream bar desserts; the four had been lying around since the summer addiction we'd put to rest. We brought out the popsicle mould and made our own guava treats for Friday night's dessert. The kids were over the moon, delirious, happy, with their very guava popsicles.

We ate four very frozen, very forgotten looking organic banana waffles, which by the time the'd been toasted and lathered in no name maple syrup were dee-li-cious!

Friday morning I baked 2 dozen Apple Cinammon (spelt) Muffins for jr cookies monster's preschool snack; though for the kids' sake I labelled them 'Apple Sugar' Muffins. The apples, 3 of them, organic too, were schredded and doused in fresh organic lemon; all of this produce had been using up prime real estate in the crisper since December when the clementines came into the house. Delicious muffins, and as you can see, lots of appley goodness.

Friday night I marinated some leftover steamed tofu and a fresh block in a tamari-ginger dressing; and we had two nights worth of mouth watering protein.

I strip searched last year's expense envelope for two health food store receipts; found them and got nine dollars and change for four cans of organic adzuki beans that were not up to par; I returned six boxes of no name q tips which were a great deal, but, the q tips themselves are flimsy and break apart and don't do the job right the first time.

In a pile of '07 receipts I found 3 x .40 cent coupons for a fruit/veggie juice the kids love, plus, another $1 coupon for a juice I like. Coupons are valid until Dec '08!

Yesterday we went to the museum for the fourth time since getting our ROM family membership* - amazing cultural deal! It was a sunny but cold to the bone kind of day, so everyone with kids seemed to think it was a good idea to be there. It looked like insanity when we first walked in, with its mile longish line up, but, with our memberships we avoided this and were face to face with a stuffed cheetah in minutes.

Will continue to breastfeed baby girl past the 17 month cut off plan, which means she'll consume less bottled beverages. Will crank the miser switch to 'maximum' when it comes to watering down the kids' juices.

Next up: selling excess clothing, shoes, sporting equipment, household items with no use.



*$119 for the year; so far we would have spent $80, so we need to go 2 more times.