MJs Blog – A bit of this and that….

Beef, Wheat and Dairy, Allergies?! Oh My!

No Wheat – Gluten-Free, no meat, no dairy, Allergies!! I have a friend who has an auto-immune disease, while it is not celiac, her reactions are serious and not good! And because of the serious nature, I have learned so much about which what it takes to eat Gluten-Free and it takes cooking and feeding yourself to the next level.

And, now, my dog has of all things, allergies. She has these persistent ear infections. Now I have to learn about feeding my dog to reduce the ear infections. Beef, Wheat and Dairy are the most common allergens for dogs. And my dog is very motivated by food and in addition, she expects to get some of mine! This is hard as dogs expect to eat with the pack and while they acknowledge the leader of the pack eats first. They expect the leader to share some of the food with them — a tidbit or two at least. Okay, maybe it’s just my dog that expects me to share.

The beef was easy to cut out as it is not my pup’s fave. Although she enjoyed it when I warmed it up with some water to make a broth to flavor her kibble. The dairy has been a tiny bit harder as she liked a taste of ice cream or whipped cream when I had ice cream. That said, it hasn’t hurt me to cut out the ice cream but I do miss it. Now I am watching to see if she is shaking her head or chewing her paws whenever she eats. I purchased the new sensitive skin kibble and will have to begin that transition. It’s usually best to slowly add in the new kibble 90/10 until you ease the dog over. Also gives you time to see if they adjust.

I also have to need to change over her heart and flea meds to rule out an allergy to chews. This is proving to be a bit of an exercise. However, given that if the ear infections don’t calm down, she can go deaf. She is only six years old so I have to take this very serious.

Easy Ravioli Lasagna!

Cook Once, Eat Twice – part 2

Well Summer is working its way to Fall – leaves are already starting to turn! Kids are going back to school and soon it will be the ol’ refrain: “What’s for dinner?!” Last post, I covered making a quick spaghetti bolognese (meat sauce). This post, I will share the secret (ok, it’s not a secret) but I will share one of my quick dinners. Easy Ravioli Lasagna! I think I first learned about this on the show “The Chew” where Mario Batali tested the recipe to see if it worked and was it any good. So, was it ….

Cook once, eat Twice

Have you ever had one of those days or months where it is hard to get motivated? I am not sure what happened because I tried to write a post for the Super Bowl (“Souper” Bowl) but then I didn’t feel like making soup! Then it was tax time! While I can do my taxes, I had a hard time pulling all of the stuff together, much less actually using the tax software to complete them. Some of this was due to the time change, I really. hate Spring forward. Not to mention, Spring hitting very hard – green pollen covering the deck, the cars, me and the dog after taking her for a walk. My allergies flared terribly and I had no idea when I started watching that there are 17 seasons of Heartland! So I apologize to my loyal followers — do I have any loyal followers – besides the spammers?? So while all those things were just distractions, I woke up this morning thinking about writing this post. It’s almost Mother’s Day so let’s think about how to make your Mom’s or your wife’s, or any special lady’s, day a little better. One of the best ways is

New Year, New Habits!

I hope everyone had wonderful holidays! I was able to travel and visit Boston — which is a new area for me. It was cold but with the right coat, some sunshine and coffee, I was able to enjoy the personal walking tour my adult son took me on. The mix of old and new is interesting.

I loved the indoor mall full of local vetted craftsmen. We walked down to the Long Wharf Pier and saw the “Boston Harbor.” Very modern now with jets taking off from Logan Airport just across the Harbor. While I am saying I enjoyed this walking tour, my body that is accustomed to the mostly desk sitting did not. So a detour for Advil was required along with a festive and hot Peppermint Mocha to warm us up. I can’t help thinking that “wow, I need to be training for old age!”

Now, with the New Year here I can’t put off that doctor’s quiet admonition, he wrote on the paper that you take up to the desk and hand them to check out, “diet and exercise.” After several knee injuries, an ankle sprain and foot fracture I may have gained a pound or 10. So, I know he is not wrong and, in the past, I have successfully achieved a healthy weight. However, in the past it may have been running (now out of the question), extreme calorie restriction (not healthy) or both — ended up sick. Therefore, I started researching to see if there was anything new and healthy to try. And there are some new schools of thought to approaching lifestyle changes but they still require will-power. I have heard that if you make something into a game, it is always more fun. While this may not become your favorite game, it may help you “up your game!” What game you say?

Bye, Summer!

Where did the summer go? Like a beautiful butterfly it flitted away …. and this year we have had a fall with lots of colorful leaves and blue skies. One thing I love about living in the North East is the seasons — well, winter is not always white but, it is usually more than cold enough for me!

Thanksgiving is only a few days away and I, along with everyone else, have been making multiple trips to the store. My church has been organizing baskets for meals for the community for those in need. This year my grown son is home visiting and helped me shop and it was so nice to have him to navigate the store with the cart! So while I am trying to finish shopping for our meal and asking my son what would he like for sides, I was trying to shop for family I know not. So I picked a lot of the same things I would for me and I wondered…. do they have a child who says “they like apple pie and pumpkin about the same so either is fine?” So which one to make….

Summertime, some other time?

Summer is vacation time for many people, especially, folks with kids! While out walking my dog, I ran into one of my younger neighbors walking her pup. We somehow started talking about vacations and my neighbor asked me these questions: How do you plan for a vacation? How do you start? How do you budget for that? While I didn’t have a ready answer then, these questions have been on my mind. Maybe, planning a vacation is an easy task for some, however, others may have a harder time. How do you know where to go or how much you can afford?

Happy Financial Independence?!

With school graduations happening everywhere, it’s not hard to reminisce about my own graduation. While some kids knew what they wanted to be when they grew up, many of us were still trying to sort things out. I remember thinking, how am I supposed to decide what I want to be when I grow up and select a college major and career trajectory for the rest of my life? I had barely been anywhere that didn’t involve visiting family or the place with the Big Mouse and his friends.

Unfortunately, just getting a college degree doesn’t guarantee a happily ever after, especially if that degree comes at a very high price in the form of student loans. So many people talk about living paycheck to paycheck and usually this is good in the sense that it means they have a job. However, it is not good as this also means the cash flowing in is usually already going out to pay bills, if there is even enough to cover the bills.

Cash flow is very important as it can be the difference in families keeping the lights on, feeding their children, and even keeping a roof over their heads.

Literally, a positive cash flow can mean someone does not end up moving in with family, sofa surfing, or worse, homeless. Ironically, this term – Cash Flow – is usually only discussed in the business realm even though it applies to personal finance as well. Lately, you may hear the term “income streams.” This refers to the various forms of cash flow. It’s trendy to discuss part-time jobs as ‘gigs’ and you can have several “side hustles” for income streams. This is another way to say having several jobs part-time, or otherwise, to keep the cash flowing in.

That all said, even having several income streams may not be enough to keep a positive cash flow. There are people who make six figures and still may be living paycheck to paycheck. If making a high salary or having several jobs is not enough to keep a positive cash flow, what else is needed?

What is the cost of Money?

What does that mean? When you borrow money there is always a cost – even if funds are borrowed from family, where the cost may be emotional capital. The primary cost is the interest charged on the loan. It can also be the cost of your time in earning the money, e.g. how many hours did you have to work to pay for the item. Let’s look at interest rate costs and how you may use borrowing money to your best advantage.

A Season of Love and Giving!

It’s that time of year again and, wow …. This year blew by! I hope this post finds you well, and you were able celebrate with your loved ones! I had a lovely Thanksgiving with my family and I am especially grateful my dad, my siblings and I and all of our practically grown kids were all together. Christmas was also wonderful as I was able to spend it at home with loved ones. While New Year’s Eve was quiet, it was welcomed to be able to rest and reflect on the year past and look forward to a new year and a fresh start.

Graduation is over…now what?

It has been a while since I sat down to write an article and I didn’t realize it had been so long! It feels like some days there is so much to do. I went to visit my family and saw my niece graduate from high school. She has done so well and it was nice to see the family. Interestingly, even though it has been years since I graduated, in many ways, they are the same: exuberant graduates, relieved and happy parents, supportive and happy friends. Speeches and pomp and circumstance but now with big screen TVs — this grad ceremony was held in the Toyota Center!

So … after the speeches and celebrations, it’s up the graduate to decide the next steps: college, trade school, working, or maybe a gap-year full of travel? Big decisions that can be literally life changing!

College costs have risen so high, it can exclude many students. However, there can be ways to make college more attainable besides just expensive loans.