lunaKM

A Slut-Wife Submissive Learning Domestic Slavehood

Category Archives: Simple Living

Idle Chatter

This weekend I was plagued with a severe cold and PMS. And not just the usual PMS but the kind of back pain with severe headaches PMS. I wanted to just crawl into a hole and die. I’m certain I did crawl into a hole. I don’t recall much of the weekend because I slept so much.

I’m feeling a bit better as long as meds are on board. I’m still tired but I’ve made it this far today without a nap so that’s fantastic news. I’ve even done some work here and there throughout the day.

Master has been affected by the bug too although he’s not showing it as badly as I am (of course he isn’t dealing with bloating and period pain at the same time).  He’s fatigued and cranky and taking meds too.

You know you have something that’s going around when you go to the cold and flu aisle and find it practically wiped out. And that’s the way it is around here. Slim pickings as far as medications. We all have it here. The crud, or a cold or worse. And it’s no fun when it’s 70 degrees outside.

Shya, I said 70. In the middle of March. In Iowa. What the heck?!

If you follow my twitter you know that I tried doing my hair in a wet set pin curl on Thursday night. Friday morning it started out looking okay, but I think a couple things backfired. I brushed it out too much and it frizzed on me. I looked like an 80′s rocker. It had kinks in it which appears that I twisted the curls instead of doing them smoothly. And finally my hair is really long which makes the curls more like waves and very difficult to roll up. Gah.

My next attempt will be after I get a haircut so that I can minimize the frizz problem caused by split ends. I’ll comb it out less to try to keep the curls a bit and I’m going to try to do elevated pin curls on the top of my head for more volume. If that doesn’t work I’ll try my magnetic rollers. If that still looks horrendous I’ll opt for just using the hot rollers I used for wedding day. They worked out pretty well. I may also want to get a setting lotion or leave in conditioner to help with the frizz.

While I’ve been sick I’ve done a lot of knitting – probably because it requires very little brain power and curbs the idle boredom you get when sick. I’m working on a fuzzy warm shawl to use as a Spring/Fall jacket and still working on the beekeepers quilt I started months ago and have at least a year yet of work on it since I want a bed sized quilt.  I have this silly goal to use up all of my yarn so that I can restock my stash with more. I have so much I want to make through knitting that it should be quite a challenge to not go buy more yarn before using up what I have, mainly because I don’t have enough to finish anything I’ve got started :P

–lunaKM

Busy Energy

KnitSexy thoughts at the start of the new year! Check out the slutty stats in the sidebar. We’ve been busy and it’s only the 6th . I can hope that it will continue to be just as much fun but we all know that there are lulls in any relationship. Let’s just keep them from coming on too fast!

I’m having a great time with Master and letting myself relax into being horny. For those of you who think that I should always be horny, well, I’m not so lucky. Ever since I stopped masturbating at all hours I’ve been hard pressed to feel horny. And I don’t even crave masturbation any more.

And really, it has nothing to do with my overall sexual health because I can get turned on just as soon as sexual activity starts, but if I’m the one that has to approach him when I’m horny then it may take a long time before that happens. I don’t know why it’s working that way. Frustrating to say the least.

Moving on, I have to have a follow up blood test for my thyroid and it’s going to cost $98! So, I have to save for it. I need it before my Dr appointment in February so that we have something to talk about. I’m also interested in knowing what my number is since I’ve had to nap less with the increased meds. While my mood, attention span and energy haven’t really gotten better the less napping is a good sign.

Not a whole lot of direct training is going on right now, but I think Master is letting me settle into a cleaning routine before he mixes it up. Or perhaps he’s content with my level of training right now. Doesn’t matter to me. I’m hoping to be in charge of my goals and push through with what I want to work on for awhile.

What am I working on? Cleaning, personal maintenance and increasing the number of hours I work on Submissive Guide. How am I doing? It’s too early to say for sure but the Submissive Guide work need a major increase yet.

–lunaKM

Selectively Simple

When I first started being a stay at home wife I decided that I was going to try to save Master money and learn some old-fashioned homekeeping and cooking skills. I’m thrilled with what I’ve learned so far and have some ideas for the future when we can afford the materials to start.

We aren’t simple in everything we do. The fact that Master has 6 computers and I have 2 says something to that. We love technology gadgets. Technology can make things I do simple and fun. After all, I have learned all my frugal and simple living things from reading online ;)

Here’s what I do so far:

  • Homemade Laundry Powder
  • Liquid soap out of bar soap (still not quite right)
  • Homemade Cleaners
  • Bread
  • Buns
  • Chicken broth
  • Prep and store vegetables
  • Knit dishcloths and washcloths
  • Reusable grocery bags instead of plastic
  • Bargain shop for groceries

Things I want to do soon:

  • Homemade yogurt
  • Canning (salsa, spaghetti sauce)
  • Basic sewing to make my own clothing
  • Develop my Low Carb cooking so that I have snacks, desserts and quick foods on hand
  • Build my stockpile of non-foods (6 months worth)

Colorful Embrace

I did some decorating today. Since we live in an apartment, and can’t paint, I’ve been thinking of ways to decorate that won’t damage the walls. Well the first thing that came to mind was an idea sparked from an Offbeat Home post about papering the dark wood cabinets in the kitchen. I jumped at the chance to bring some color into that room. Master said it was okay as long as it wasn’t expensive.

I found some wrapping paper that I really liked in lime green and a pink/green/brown/blue stripy floral print. The big cabinet doors are green and the small ones are the print. I’m not sure I’m going to do the ones under the counter just yet but I love the way it turned out! It sure brightens up the place. Since the wrapping paper was cheap it will be easy to replace too when it gets damaged. I might even have fun for Christmas and use Christmas wrapping paper :)

I’ve also considered getting fabric and tacking it to the wall in a stripe pattern in the bedroom. There is a method that you can wallpaper it using liquid starch but I’m not sure I want to brave that, but thumbtacks I just might so.  It will cost a lot more than that paper did to I’ll have to get permission and I’d probably only do one wall as an accent.

I’m also hoping to some day have an accent rug for the living room to give it some color. I’m so tired of beige carpet and white walls.

We go to a munch tomorrow evening and then I’m going to the movies with Mom on Sunday. It’s a busy weekend.  This weekend is also my 15 year High School reunion but I’m not going.

Master has been playing Pokemon. We went to a used game dealer in town and got an old version of Pokemon Heart Gold. He wants to catch them all. *giggles*

Well I’m off to dream up some more decorating inspiration.

–lunaKM

Soap and Chicken

It’s Monday again which means I’m back at the gym for 1 hour every day this week. I’m not looking forward to the muscle aches and pains that will accompany me on say… Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I am looking forward to the fitness results, because let’s face it I am going to be making progress in my health. Thankfully I zone out when at the gym or I’d constantly be self-conscious about what I look like doing the exercises. It was pretty busy today and I had to wait to use the Elliptical. That’s not usually the case. I’m guessing that everyone has good intentions on Monday and then fizzle out by the end of the week.

I can’t fizzle out. Master made it a rule and for some reason that makes it easier to follow. When he left it up to me to exercise and stay fit I rarely went to the gym. And while my rules state that I need to maintain a healthy lifestyle it didn’t get much more than feeble attempts. I have to prepare myself for the almost immediate result of the exercise though, hunger. I can’t believe how much I can eat when I’m working out. It feels like insane hunger. It’s scary sometimes.

My birthday yesterday was really low key. We had cake in the afternoon and then went out to Cold Stone and I got the birthday cake sundae. I love cake flavored ice cream, Yum. I got to watch as much TV as I wanted and I didn’t have to cook dinner, Master cooked it for me! I’m such a spoiled slut.

I’ve got a ‘rubber chicken’ in the oven. If you don’t know what a rubber chicken is, it’s a way of stretching a meat and making more than one meal out of it. Some people make it an art. I just want a good roasted chicken and then stock, but I’ll definitely have meat left over also. I bought a 5 lbs one so I’m sure I can get 3-4 meals out of it. Tonight’s dinner, then chicken a la king or pot pie and finally stock/soup.  That is if I don’t go crazy and eat a bunch of it tonight.

After a long search for Washing Soda I found it in the grocery store across the street! They have Fels Naptha Laundry bars (for only $0.89) too so I’ll be able to buy that for my grated soap in the Laundry Powder. I’m pretty darned excited about that. Next week I’ll be testing a Dishwasher detergent powder to see if I get similar results from the liquid I currently use but pay way too much for. I’m crossing my fingers. I’ll be switching to white vinegar for the rinse agent as soon as that is gone too.

Today Master said something along the lines that he is living simply with technology and I’m going more for rustic living. I consider it frugal, but he gets the rustic from the fact I’m going back to doing things they way they were done before chemicals, disposable and discardable items. I want to make, mend and sew rather than buy too. I still need to learn to sew from a pattern though so hopefully the Jo Anne Fabric near by will be having classes I can take sometime soon.  I’m back to knitting as well. I’m doing granny squares of different types to make into a Shaker Style afghan. It’s going to be a lot of work, but I will love having it on the bed when I’m done. I figure at the rate I’m going it will take all year. I’m doing about one square every couple of days just because I pick it up when I watch TV and with my TV restriction that’s not a lot of time for knitting. Still though. Once I’m out of the cream that I have I’ll need to head to Hobby Lobby for some purples.  I found a few simple faire isle patterns to do as well so that should be fun.

I’m off to check on the chicken. Have a great night everyone!

–lunaKM

Fun Time, Timed and Old Time

The Ren Faire was lots of fun. I really enjoyed watching the firedancing show; we watched it twice! The comedy jousting was funny, but got old really fast. The food was lacking (except the turkey drumsticks) and the homemade root beer was not fermented. It was more like root beer water. I still enjoyed the costumes and the comedy. A good day. The most fun was when my friend L. and I went into Queen Victoria’s Secret and bought a waist cincher. She was so hot in it!

Yesterday was a pretty tense day. I think Master is experiencing  a huge amount of stress so it just blew up. During the blow up he banned me from the TV.

Today he gave me 3 hours of TV time. It really made me think about what I wanted to watch instead of just sitting in front of the TV, which is probably what he was thinking. I learned to manage my time a bit better today. Chores got done and I hardly wasted any time online. It was good.

On to what I did read online, I follow this blog about simple living called Down To Earth and I it gets me thinking about making things instead of buying them. I’m really hoping to learn how to make my own bar soap and she covers her recipes and how to’s on it on a regular basis. She teaches how to make yogurt, cheese, ginger beer, bread, home cleaners, soap and so many other ideas for how to live simpler. I love it. I want to do more of it.

I’d be making my own bread once I have a KitchenAid mixer. Kneading it kills my wrists so I have to do no-knead bread or a stand mixer. I’ll get one soon enough. It’s on my wedding registry in a few places I think. Maybe someone will gift one. If not, we’ll get it after I figure.

–lunaKM

Rich Vanilla

One of my tasks as Master’s stay at home submissive is to find cheaper ways to do things. I love embracing from scratch cooking as one of them. While not everything I do is old fashioned cooking, the modern vices of convenience foods is something I can find alternatives for. I found a recipe online that I just had to share. If you are addicted to General Mills International Coffees then this is one to try. I know I’m going to just as soon as I run out in my tin.

Rich Vanilla Coffee Mix

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/frenchvanillacafe.htm

She has other flavors as well. Toffee, Swiss Mocha, Bavarian Mint, and Orange Nutmeg can be found on this page. If it’s cheaper than $3 for the 9 oz. tin, then I’ll be making it. The comments on the page rave about it so I have no doubt that I’ll like it. If I remember I’ll price it out and tell you guys if it’s a bargain or not.

I’ve also been busy with my knitting needles this past week. I made 3 Swiffer Mop cloths so that I won’t have to buy the paper ones anymore. I’ve even read that they work better than the store bought pads! I’m excited about it. Just 2 more in the box and I’ll be using the knitted ones.

Right now on my needles is a bath mat. I’m using 100% acrylic yarn to help ward off mold and it’s a simple double yarn garter stitch. I need to see if I have a circular needle large enough to do a border once I have the mat done but I’m thrilled with it so far. I think I might make a ‘scraps’ one with all the left over cotton yarn I have from dishcloth making for a kitchen mat.

–luna


Love, Laundry and a Little Chicken

I’m feeling good about myself today. I dressed and put on make up. I did my exercise and I’ve gotten all of today’s chores accomplished. Not bad, really.

Tomorrow is more of the same. I have a bit of SubmissiveGuide work to do in the afternoon but I’m sure that as long as I feel at peace with myself things will get done.

Master and I are happy. We say I love you more than we have in the past and I love just watching him. I can’t believe that we are going to plan forever in just a few months. Wedding day will be here before you know it and I’ll be recognized as his in the eyes of the law. A simple thing really but so worth it. And worth the wait too.

I have a wedding planning blog so that I don’t bombard this blog with ideas and planning… also so that our family and friends can watch our wedding come together. I’ll probably post the link to the blog once the countdown is less than a year. Right now it’s just occasional posts about ideas and thoughts… no real progress yet. Of course, if you want the link early you can email me and I’ll hand it out. Just please remember that it’s a vanilla blog :)

Master has been wonderfully dominant lately. He’s on my tail about all the little things and keeping me in line. I feel the purpose of my place and hope he continues being aware of what I’m doing and not allowing a slip.

Like wearing make up. Today he asked to see my face, he likes to approve or disapprove my make up. He also had my remove the pink chrome nail polish. He didn’t like it so I threw it away. I’ll have to repaint my nails tomorrow with something less flashy. And my mood about being feminine is shifting for the better. I’m dreaming of wearing skirts again, and I still have a skirt I need to finish sewing. (If you recall about 5 months ago I started making a reversible trapezoid wrap around skirt. I never finished it. All I have left is to sew on the sash and it’s done. I don’t know why I’m procrastinating. Then I can get permission to find some comfortable shoes to wear with my skirts and I’ll be all set. Girly girl me will be ready for Spring.

This week I’ll be using up the last of the laundry powder supplies I bought last February. Well, that’s not entirely true. I have the borax and washing soda yet, but I had to buy more bar soap to grate. I’ll be making a heap of it this week to replenish my stock.

Speaking of stock I have found THE best way to make stock. The crock pot. Oh I love it and don’t know why I didn’t think of it before now. Here’s how I do it.

Chicken Stock in the Crock Pot

  • 1 2-3 lb chicken carcass remnants
  • 2 carrots, broken in large pieces
  • 2 ribs celery, broken in large pieces
  • 1/2 onion, roughly chopped (you can have more, I don’t like onion much)
  • 2 whole cloves garlic
  • 6-8 whole peppercorns
  • salt to taste

Place all veggies in bottom of crock pot. Add chicken on top. Fill to top with filtered water (tap works if it tastes good). Toss in peppercorns and season with salt. Turn crock pot on low and cook for 18-24 hours. I tend to stir about half way through.

Strain, chill, skim the fat off the top once cold and use or freeze for later. I’ll never go back to stove top stock. This stuff rocks!

–luna

That Need to be Alone Feeling

Today I struggled with the simple fact that I’ve got no alone time. Master works from home so he’s always here and for the time being he doesn’t have an office to retreat to either. I was getting stir crazy and thinking to myself how wonderful it would be to have some alone time. My only alone time is when I go to Panera (which means I’m surrounded by lots of people) to get away from Master.

Which he isn’t my problem, it’s just that sometimes I want to be alone in the world, that being my home and since he has nowhere to go and no way to go anywhere anyhow I feel trapped at times. It hurts Master, I see it, when I ask to be left alone or to get out of the house because I can’t stand being there one minute more.

I have daydreams about that it would be like if Master had a job outside of the home, or even just an office where then the rest of the house would feel empty. I think I could get my fix then. I know he’s totally ready to have an office for the same reasons. We just have to wait till summer to make it happen.

I’ve been doing some more knitting. I started a dishcloth set I’m going to call Daisy I think. It will be this sunny yellow and white. I’m really liking the yellow color even if I would never use it myself. I’ve also looked up a few nice patterns for fingerless gloves/wrist warmers. Now that I can knit on double-pointed needles and in the round I think it’s time to give the warmers a shot. I’m tempted to make some that go over my carpal tunnel braces so that they aren’t so ugly. Ha! I got some interesting sock yarn from the clearance bin the last time I bought yarn. I’m looking forward to what it will look like all knitted into a fun pair of socks. Of course, if I don’t like them, they will be listed on Etsy. So those of you hoping to see hand-knit socks in my shop can start praying now that I don’t like them. *wink*

Tomorrow I have a mental list of things I need to try to do. I need to try to make bread, but if my wrists still hurt I’ll make biscuits instead. Then I reserved some meatloaf mix that I’m going to make homemade ravioli for freezing (see Alton Brown’s recipe). I’m hoping to make chicken and ravioli soup later this week. I’ve got carrots to peel and cut into sticks for snacking too. After that I just might work on a website or two.

Master and I have wanted to play for quite some time, but my mood never seems right. I’m working and hoping that it will snap into place soon.

I think part of it is that my thyroid meds just aren’t right yet. When I go get my blood tests next month I’m going to insist he up the dose even if my numbers are in the general range. I don’t think it’s MY range. Master also wants to buy stop snoring aids. He insists on trying the Breathe Right strips first which I swear won’t work since my snoring is in the throat. Those trays I’ve seen to pull your lower jaw forward a bit is what I’m betting my money on but they are $60.  We’ll have to see how things go I guess.

–luna