Keeping Healthy

Striving to have a healthy family is something I work hard at.  It has been a long road, however, slowly but surely we are making strides in that direction.

We rarely fry foods any more.  I use coconut oil in many of my recipes.  I am using less and less processed foods.  Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera...

When Kei first started having emotional / hormonal issues, I was desperate.  We switched to using soap nuts instead of chemical laced laundry detergent.  We started her on supplements to help balance things out.  We switched to natural soaps.  Anything we could think of we tried.  I am not sure which helped the most, but something in the combo helped because she is much more stable and is no longer on antidepressant medication.  

BUT, organic, natural products are expensive.  You are on a tight budget.   Natural organic products are even more expensive in Japan.  How do you balance that?

A couple years ago I discovered iHerb.  At iHerb I can get organic products at a reasonable price. AND... this is H.U.G.E for me... if I order more than $40 at one time, shipping is free - even shipping to Japan!!  Anyone who has mailed a package internationally know that shipping is crazy expensive. 

So what bring me to blogging about this?

I haven't been doing any online shopping for a few weeks, but today I noticed that our soap nut supply is nearing the end.  So off to iHerb I went.  I looked through old orders and discovered that the last time I ordered soap nuts was May 2015.  So 32oz of soap nuts lasted us 8 months.  At the current price that breaks down to 449 yen ($3.80) per month for natural laundry detergent.  And that is for ALL the laundry we do, and there is a LOT at our house.

December was a hard month on the coconut oil supply because in addition to extra cooking, I also made lotion, sugar scrub, & lip balm for gifts.  Add coconut oil to the cart and I'm well over the magic number to get free shipping + I have earned an extra 10% discount.  YAY!

Healthy doesn't have to be prohibitively expensive.  It takes a little extra effort, but I am finding that it can also be fun.  BTW if you do decide to check out iHerb please use my code, MNS758, to receive a $5 discount on your first order. 

Let's all strive to be a little more healthy this year! 

Whimper

Six months...

No, make that 9 months...

NOPE, needs to be at least a year...

Say WHAT?!?

What started out as a nice safe idea for our 2nd oldest to stretch her wings has turned into something more, much more.

The idea was to go to the US to help her older sister with the kids.  Good chance to spend some quality time with her sister, nieces & nephew, as well as, get a taste of life in America.  She can get her official GED in the process.  Hey, she could get her driver's licence while she is at it and not need to take the expensive, as in several THOUSANDS of dollars expensive, drivers course here.  As we have tracked down various details the time required just keeps growing.

As it stands, Bekah will be flying off in less than a month and will be back in...

ummmm....

eventually!

We hope! 

I'm not sure I am ready for this!

Two Steps Forward

Two steps forward, one step back might be better know as the budget cha-cha.  

Forward...

Did not cave and go pick up obentos or subway sandwiches.

Back...

We did use the credit card at the grocery store.  We still have a couple weeks until payday, so the grocery envelop hasn't had a chance to be properly filled.

Forward...

At the store, we stuck to the basics we needed to round out the week's menu.  No extras!

Back...

We bought 2 new snow tires for the car today...sigh...  

Today has been the 1st real snow fall of the year.  I have been hoping the mild weather would continue, but alas, it IS winter.  We knew the snow tires were in bad shape, but that was reconfirmed on Saturday when a friend just happened to look at them and ask when we were going to put our snow tires on... ummmm... they are on.  He suggested we at the very least switch the rear tires for the front tires (front wheel drive) because the back tires are better (not good, but better).  Jerry, with Bekah's help, attempted to change the tires around, but the lug nuts would not budge.  I needed to drive to the church so decided that I would take the car to the gas station and ask them to change the tires.  After slipping and sliding my way there, I decided to ask how much 2 new tires would be.  I hated to do it, but slipping & sliding here in town where the snow is minimal and the streets are relatively clear vs. highway driving into/threw the mountains which I have to do almost weekly.  New snow tires for the front seemed like the most prudent thing to do.

Cha, Cha, Cha!

Little & Often

Last year was a budget buster for us.  Well... I guess it would have been had we actually been following a good budget. Sadly, I have never been a good budget-er.  Something I am working hard to correct this year, especially after last year.

Last year, not only did our income go down (again) but we had a lot of extras, some big, some small, but when added together they equaled chaos.

I have felt the LORD prompting me to get this area of life put into order.  Therefore, we are starting off the new year with a new budget system.  I used tips from a couple well known financial experts, to pull together a plan of attack.  Then went to the 100 yen shop (dollar store) to get a few envelopes to help organize things.  The fun colors should make budgeting more fun & less painful, right? 

 

I am pretty sure I have forgotten to add a few items to the budget worksheet.  I am sure we will need to twink things along the way, but I have faith that within a couple months we should be switched over to a mostly cash system & things will be looking up.

Truth be told, simply having a budget won't get us where we want to be: financially stable.  The budget will have to be followed and, to begin with especially, we will need to be extra frugal so that we can actually get switched over.  To get our heads above water.   This in mind, in order to get some new ideas, I have been reading some blogs from frugal moms.  These encourage me to keep at it.  They help me remember that little & often makes a difference.   Here are some of the little things I have been doing, as well as, a few new tricks I will be adding.

• Save veggie scraps in a ziploc bag in the freezer.  Add onion skins, carrot peels, broccoli leaves, cabbage hearts, etc. - you know the parts you usually throw away.  When the bag is full make veggie stock.

• Save the juice from cooking to use as a soup base later... i.e. we have Carolina Pork at New Years.  I froze the left over liquid.  Yesterday, I took the container of "juice" added 2 containers of veggie stock, some veggies & pasta and we have some amazing soup for lunch. 

• Keep a bucket in the shower.  Instead of running water down the drain while you wait for the water to get hot, put it in the bucket.  Dump the bucket into the washer.

• Switch to soap nuts for laundry.  Not only do I get a natural, no chemical wash, but by taking the nuts out between the wash cycle & the rinse cycle, I can step down the water level for the rinse, saving a few liters of water with each wash.

• Unplug electric cords, chargers, etc when they are not in use.  Electricity is going to those cords even thought it has no place to go.  This one I need to be more vigilant on.

• Stop paying extra fees... i.e. there is a 108 yen fee every time an use the ATM after hours, on weekends or holidays, here in Japan.

• Write down every thing you buy.  This is a new tip and a little tedious, BUT it makes me stop & think before I spend.

• Accountability... before making that on-line purchase, run the purchase by a friend.  1st it gives you time to think about it.  2nd it gives you a second opinion as to if the purchase is really necessary.

• Don't spend those 1 & 5 yen coins (pennies & nickels).  Every time I get a 1 or 5 yen coin I put them in my pocket then when I get home I put them in a jar.  When the jar gets full take it to the bank. 

 All of these are little things, but added together they can help loosen up the budget.  They can give breathing space where air is short.  So, do you follow a budget?  Do you have any other tips?  Let me know!

A Year In Review

I sit here, New Years Eve 2015, thinking where has the year gone?

Some of the BIG happenings...

• Between December ('14) & April, Joshy was hospitalized 3 times with pneumonia.  Each time his blood counts bottomed out & he required blood transfusions.  He had been transfusion free for more than a year, then BAM.  It honestly felt like we had lost years in the recovery process, thankfully, once the pneumonia cleared up his levels would bounce back.

• In April, Kei started attending school full time at the special needs school connected to the hospital near our house.  She is blossoming in school. 

• In April, Joshua was allowed to return to his school, the other special needs school in our area (a 15 min. drive) instead of having the teacher come to the house.  He doesn't attend full time, but he does go every day.

• Juggling 2 different special needs schools & driving the kids back and forth has been challenging.  Two different sets of moms & teachers.  Two totally different schools, but each school fits the needs of Kei & Joshy.

• In April Jerry did not go back to what, at one time, had been his main school.  The past few years they have slowly been whittling his schedule down.  They were going to cut his classes by half again which would mean  he would have been traveling more hours than he was teaching.  Heavy class loads, hours on end of paperwork with no compensation & travel, it just wasn't worth it.

• During the winter, Joshy's hematologist gave tentative permission for a trip to the states.  We couldn't travel during cold & flu season.  We needed to be careful of extremely busy travel times.  We needed to take extra precautions, but if we could get blood counts to hold we should be able to travel.  With this in mind when we set the ECS school year calendar (April-March) we were able to plan our summer vacation for September.  We held our breath, prayed a lot, and made double plans - just in case he couldn't travel, but we bought tickets anyway.

• Bekah turned 18 on June 8th. Cannot believe she is a senior and will likely be flying the coop before long.   Jerry also broke his foot in June.

• We celebrated our 30th anniversary in July.  We had planned to climb Mt Fuji, but Jerry's foot would not allow it..  Maybe next year.

• In August, I, Laura, went white water rafting.  I survived, had a blast actually, but the same weekend our refrigerator died!!

• All 5 of us spent September 6th ~ 21st in the Indiana.   It was a crazy 2 weeks.  Not nearly enough time to see everyone.  It was still an amazing trip filled with many memories, especially spending time with our oldest daughter & her children.

• Just after our return from the states, Kei went on her school trip.  They had an over night trip to Niigata city which was packed full of adventures.

• In November Joshy turned 13.  We now have 3 teenagers in the house!!

• We had record attendance at Halloween, Thanksgiving, & Christmas out reach events.

It has been a full year.   I am thankful for everything we encountered, the good, the bad, & the ugly.  I am thankful to have made it through another year.  I also wonder what 2016 will bring.

Happy New Year!

Old & New

Last night was our annual Carols & Candle Light Service.  

This year we had several firsts...

* Our brand new neighbors, they finished their house & moved in the beginning of Nov., came with their 16 month old.

* Two former students, who are all grown up now, came.  We just recently got back in touch.

* A mom & her 2 sons, who just started classes this month, came.  Low & behold they know Kei & another family who came because of swimming.  The mom also knows some of Jerry's students who came.

* Several students, from both of the universities Jerry teaches at, came.  We have occasionally had students from one or the other, but never from both and never so many.

*We had nearly 30 people.

*We actually ran out of candles & needed to reuse candles from last year (glad they were still around)

 

 

 

We sang several songs, read a simple version of the Christmas story, and sang "Silent Night" while lighting candles.  The evening ended with snacks, games, & chatting.  We are thrilled that that some many were open to come to this event.  Please pray with us that this might be a spring board to the International English Bible Study we have.

Family Time Between Parties

Pure & simple - December is party month!

4th was a PTA mama's party at Kei's school.

7th was a mama's pizza party at our house with some of the "B" course mamas from Joahy's school.

11th was a year end party with mom's & teachers from Joshy's school

13th was the CS / AWANA Christmas Party.

16th ~ 18th every ECS children's class had a party during class.

Still to come...

20th is the ECS Candle Light Service / Christmas Party

21th & 22nd will be the last children's class parties.

23rd is the all church Christmas party.

For children's classes we have; made candy cane cookies, done word searches or other appropriate worksheets while the cookies baked, read J is for Jesus, the Sweetest Story Ever Told, & played bingo.

 

 

Today, was a party free day... a day for some family time <3

For the 1st time in at least 5 years we went to the mall...on a Saturday... in December... when we knew it would be crowded... WITH Joshua!  (Joshy's cancer center check up on the 14th showed his counts holding.  His neutrophil, infection fighting, numbers were great.  AND we were able to make a small taper in his immune suppression drugs!)

 

After the mall, we went to Echigo Hillside Park to check out the illuminations.

 

 

 

 

One "tree" was unique in it was made of champagne glasses & had been made into a fountain.  It was set up on a rotating light system, too.  (The pictures don't show the fountain effect, but water cascaded down from the top.  It was quite amazing.)

 

There was also a tree made from empty 2 liter drink bottles.

There were also musical performances, but we didn't stay that long, because we had already pushed our limits - Joshy had reached his limit of being in his wheelchair and Kei had reached her people limit.  Instead of pushing limits any further we picked up sandwiches on the way home where we watched Miracle on 34th Street to finish off the evening. It was a wonderful, much needed time out.