I received a phone call last night from my brother at about 9:30pm. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the call as it usually stems into needing something. Whether it be an extension cord, pack of cigarettes, or looking something up on the computer. The conversation started off OK with venting about life but turned into something a lot more incriminating about his own actions. He admitted to me that he had “slipped” up 3 times. If you know a drug addict, you know that 3 probably means 6 or even 12. I was once told that the magic number of a sure tell sign to someone lying is usually 3. It doesn’t sound as bad as 5 or 6, but is more believable than 2. So, there I was, listening to my brothers cry for help not knowing what to do or what to say.

You see, my brother and I have been down this road before. It started with smoking cigarettes then growing to pot at a young age. Pot grew to alcohol which he didn’t like that much, so the next thing that was offered was meth. Meth is a very cheaply made drug, readily available, and so harmful to your self esteem and body. And when you're down in the dumps and bored, meth will make you feel like Superman and all of the worlds problems are solved over the course of your high which can be 2 to 3 DAYS. I, personally, hate it. Our family grew up poor with five kids and parents who were musicians and mainly worked at night. And what I mean by night was that us kids would get home from school and our parents were most of the time, just waking up. The gigs they got towards the end of my brother and I’s childhood, were 60 to 100 miles from home and in bars. The life was rough but not bad. I got off track. Since our parents were musicians, we moved around a lot making it hard to get and keep friends. My brother found friends in drugs and all it took was a couple of drug bonding moments, and he was hooked.

Not being the type to settle down, raise a family, get a job, he bounced around from friend to friend always needing to fill the “I need more stuff” gap. Trading “stuff” became his job. Start off with a pack of smokes and 3 months later, he had traded and traded until he had a car! It is an amazing gift. Unfortunately, he probably had to steal that pack of smokes in the first place. Needless to say, having a car and no drivers license, landed him in jail.

Jail. WTF. It is were not so bad people meet bad people and make connections to even worse people. People aren’t bad, but the choices they make are! And if you know how to steal real well and make killer drugs, can you please keep it to yourself? This is how my brother learned new trade secrets in his life and how to get more drugs. From others in jail sitting around playing spades, cribbage, etc., telling stories of how they got away with this and that. My brother gets out and starts putting these ideas into works. He gets ahead for about a year and then, BAM! Lands in prison.

Prison. Cant say anything good about that. Instead of giving 3 to 6 months locked up in a jail, lets give them 3 to 6 years! This way they have all the time in the world to sit around, do nothing but learn more stupid tricks, make even stupider connections, and prey on the supportive friends and family for sympathy, visits, and money on my books. I’m not quite sure, but I feel the money on the books thing is just another tool to do trading in the joint. Which isn't teaching a damn thing! Sorry, I get so angry and my words just blurt out.

I must remind anyone reading this, that these are my opinions and feelings. This is meant for me to just vent. In the phone call last night, my brother asked my not to say anything to my family. No one in my family reads my blogs (unless I tell them to or make them) so I feel OK about sharing with you my troubles and woes.

So this goes on for 15 years. First time in prison, 1 and half years. Out for a year, then back in for 3. Out for 9 months, then back in for 4 more. See where this is going? Now it is 2011. My brother is 35. He feels is time to get his life on track. He makes a good running start at it. Lands a great job, finds a landlord who will give him a shot at being a renter. Bounces around making tiny bad choices but keeps his job, his house and has a steady girlfriend. All the tickets and fines he has racked up in the 15 years makes it difficult to get a license. Paying down debt is not something anyone taught him. So, no drivers license but has two cars. One DUI and he's on an ankle bracelet. Only allowed to go to work and court appointments and get in even more debt as wearing an ankle bracelet costs about $70.00 a day. He needs a roommate. He chooses poorly. His roommate is into the meth. My brother is at home 24/7 with this roommate bringing the stuff in and the temptation wore him down. Which lead to the phone call last night.

I have to go to work now. Thanks for letting me vent.

Grocery Prices Out of Control!

Get more for your money by buying in bulk.

Flash Freezing Vegetables

One of the ways I like to save money is by buying in bulk or growing my own vegetables! This year in my garden I had an enormous crop of carrots, corn, and especially green beans. My mother-in-law likes to can her veggies, but for me, it is so much easier and tastier to freeze them. Nothing is more rewarding than walking out your back door and harvesting your own fresh vegetables. I have decided to put down the steps I use to savor these wonderful treasures in my own freezer.

The cost of vegetables, frozen or canned, is unbelievable. I remember growing up my mom and I going shopping and buying vegetables for 5 for a $1.00 canned. Now, I am lucky to find canned veggies for 2 for $1.00. Don’t get me started on the soup! And that's for canned. Try comparing the serving size of canned to frozen which frozen is so much tastier and crispier for cooking, eating and baking. Hopefully, when you find your next favorite vegetable on sale, you can use these steps to buy in bulk and spend a Sunday afternoon saving yourself a lot of money.

Tools Needed:

Vegetables
Water
Ice
Stove
Freezer
Cookie Sheet
Spatula
Bags

Step 1: Clean and wash your veggies

Step 2: Cut veggies to desired size

Step 3: Prepare of a pot of boiling water

Note: Not all vegetables need to be blanched. Carrots and green beans, yes. Corn,onions, and chives no. Corn, onions, and chives can skip to Step 7

Step 4: Place cut veggies in boiling water for 5 minutes

Step 5: Prepare and pot of ice water

Step 6: Remove veggies from boiling water and immediately submerge in ice bath for 5 minutes

Step 7: Lay veggies on cookie sheet as flat as you can. You want the veggies to freeze individually

Step 8: Place cookie sheets in freezer for freezing

Step 9: Once frozen, remove from cookie sheets and put into bags. Remove as much air as possible.

Step 10: Put back in freezer immediately.

I like to use my food saver but freezer bags work nice, too.

Here are pictures of my broccoli, corn, and green beans!

I actually portion my chives and onions in cup measurements.

Whenever I need a cup of onions or chives for my cooking, I just grab a bag. How cool is that!