FOOD FOR THE SOUL
I started to say that I was proud to be a cheapskate, until I looked up the proper spelling of it, and saw the definition….”a miserly or stingy person, or a person who tries to avoid paying the fair share of costs or expenses.” So then I decided that maybe just “cheap” would suffice when describing my spending habits. Since we are a one income family, I have to keep track of the pennies and nickles. Which brings me to my recent purchase, a new phone. When my dad died I inherited his phone, which was on my sisters plan. She made the generous offer since I didn’t have a cell phone, and was on the road in sometimes horrid weather traveling to work. Since 2007 I have had 2 phones, both flip phones, and they served their purpose. The second one came with a camera, and I thought I had hit the jackpot when she presented it to me. My kids all had those “smart” phones and were constantly trying to get me to upgrade. “No thank you”, I would reply, the dinosaur phone and I have become best of friends. Texting then became the rage, which was no simple task then I had to push the number two 3 times to get a “C” and then I would hit the number seven 4 times to get an “S”….needless to say, my texting took so much time, I could make the 30 mile trip home before I got the text completed.. Even my 13 years old would complain when she had to text on it.
The sad day came when “the dinosaur” became tired, and the battery would last for 2 texts, and then fizzle out. But alas, even the buttons became tired, and began sticking so badly that an “A” became a “R” making texting a frustrating chore. So it was decided the phone needed to be put out to pasture and I needed to hike up my skirt and buy my own phone. Now comes the fun part of deciding what route to go to next…so my oldest daughter, Stephanie and I head to the local Walmart to scope out my choices. I already knew, from my research, that a contract phone was out. There was no way on Gods green earth I was going to pay a minimum of $70.00 for a contract plan where I was stuck for at least 2 years. I was purchasing a phone, not buying a car. I decided I would consider an Android phone, and wanted a sliding keyboard and big screen. And I wanted to pay no more than $50 a month. We looked, and we shopped, and we asked a million questions and finally decided to sleep on it. The next day we hauled in my daughter Katie’s fiance, Daryl, who is a computer guru, and we proceed to schlep to yet another Walmart. It was finally decided that the pay as you go plan from AT&T was the winner…..unlimited text, phone and data for the low price of $50 a month. Gosh, I sound like a commercial…. I didn’t get a slider on the phone because that phone would cost $30.00 more to purchase. I would just have to learn to hit the keyboard it accurate precision. I kept telling my kids that I would never use the internet on the phone, but it came with the plan, so why not? MY GOODNESS…..I am in awe of this phone. There are a million things I can do with it…but my favorite???? I can read my Kindle books on it…Who knew? Challenge accepted, and mission accomplised…..Sometimes it’s the little things…. ♥
FOOD FOR THE BODY
Marinated Chicken Wings
4-5 pounds chicken wings (cut up into 2 sections if you wish)
1 cup soy sauce
2 Tablespoons apricot jam
1 (4 oz) jar apricot with tapioca baby food
1 clove garlic-finely chopped
Mix the soy sauce, jam, baby food and garlic in bowl and marinate the wings for 24 hours.
Cover cookie sheet with foil and grease well.
Spread chicken wings out on cookie sheet and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees
I had a star by this in my favorite cookbook, so it must be good.
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