My stepfather died last weekend. It was very sad, he was in his 80's and had spent most of his senior years as a vital, spry gentleman - a Clint Eastwood look-a-like - with a misspent youth and a colorful past. Jack Thomas had been a bartender and pro bowler, husband to 6, father to 2, stepfather to 4. He left behind a grandson and a mourning granddaughter who, even though he was my Mom's second husband, was the only maternal grandfather she'd ever known.
He lived in Las Vegas and I'd last visited him in August. I planned my next visit with him at the end of this month. He'd been in poor health of late and I'd always wrangle a little private time with him to check in and make sure that he was still happy with his living arrangements and that his caretakers were indeed taking good care of him. He seemed very happy during those final years.
My step father was the only thing standing between my brothers and I and our long awaited inheritance. My father had died at the age of 65, leaving behind a 3 million dollar estate. Under my Mom's watch, over the next 12 years, she squandered and dwindled it down to a few hundred thousand dollars. Poor health, gambling, moving 10 times in 12 years, giving in to the bullying of a greedy child - she and Jack had whittled away at it until little was left. A sad, sad story and a warning to others who think that a planned inheritance will see them through their retirement years.
When the dust settles, I believe I'll be coming out of it with a Thomas Kincaid painting, some furniture and a small inheritance, in the 6 figures. To to sum it up, my ship has come in but it's a leaky rowboat. The truly nice thing about all this though is that I no longer have to sweat the summers (if you'll pardon the pun) for many years to come. I'll be able to enjoy my well deserved 7 weeks from mid-June to mid-August off.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
I Joined A Gym
I joined one of them there gyms. I know, I know $30 a month and $80 up front for the honor of giving them permission to dip into my account and take said thirty dollars. Monthly. Why did I do such an foolish, unspeakable thing?
Well, my roomie Mich and I have a best friend named Gail. We call ourselves the Three Amigos - or "Tres Amigas" (we're learning Spanish.) Mich & Gail were always going on about their zumba class. Nothing, no event no matter how earth shattering, interferred with them going to zumba 3 nights a week. To hear them tell it, it was the most fun one could legally have and the teacher was Something To See in action. Well, what could I do but go just to see what all the fuss was about. A 5 day free pass was secured and all excuses swept aside. It was time to enter the Inner Sanctum.
I had great concerns about this, which I repeatedly shared with my non-sympathetic Amigas. I had been leading such a sedentary lifestyle for so long that I wasn't at all certain that I could stand upright for an hour at a time, let alone move about vigorously. Also I had respiratory issues that stem from a bad ticker. I failed all respiratory testing that involved exerting myself. Any effort, even one as small as rising to go to the bathroom and returning to bed, caused my oxygen levels to drop dramatically - the opposite of most people's which rise upon exertion. I was afraid that if I worked out I'd pass out. I came up with a plan of action in case the worst should happen ... if I started to see stars I'd sit down until it passed ... girded my loins and headed resolutely towards the nearest 24 Hour Fitness.
Zumba is an exercise program similar to aerobics but set to catchy Spanish pop music. It involves salsa-type dance steps, some hip-hop, belly dancing and even (I swear) polka moves. The basic zumba step involves bringing your arms up to chest level, hands pointed outwards and shaking your booty. The class is filled with tiny hispanic women and a few of us white folk. It takes most of us whities quite a while to loosen up and start to use our "core" - that chubby area from under the breast to above the thighs, a move that comes naturally to our lithsome, graceful hispanic counterparts. But the biggest benefit of zumba, and what differs it from other work outs, is the core work out. You can actually tighten that tummy, reduce your backside and whittle away at that waist ... all things I desperately need to do.
Back in the day, when I was a young Mom, I used to take aerobics classes. It was an hour long class involving a warm up, mat work and a cool down. There were two or three songs of all out, full out exercise somewhere in the middle. From what I can tell with zumba, you go all out for the full hour. Oh there's a perfunctionary cool down song at the end during which we do stretches - which benefit me probably more than the rest of the our long ordeal does. But basically you go all out for the full hour. At least our amazing instructor does. I have taken class from a couple of other instructors and they might throw in a warm up song, but basically we go all out.
No one was more amazed than I when I made it through the first class. It wasn't until a couple of weeks into it that I had a moment where I thought I was going to pass out. While gasping desperately for air, Mich said I resembled one of those Dancing With The Stars celebrities trying to catch their breath after doing their number. But I have up until now remained fully up right and conscious at all times. The benefits were immediate. The next day at work I stood fully upright all day, instead of being bent forward at the waist and walking around with my butt sticking out. I was able to rise to my feet without needing the assistance of the nearest counter top. I walked with a spring in my step, instead of lurching unsteadily down the hallway trying desperately to look relevant. It was such an amazing transformation that I was hooked!
Now I go to zumba religiously at least 3 times a week. I'm also trying to make room in my weekend schedule for an hour long yoga class that happens at 10 am on Saturdays. I'm thinking the stretching would be a good balance to all the jumping around. If I have a day off and there's a morning class, I take that too. When I can't exercise on the weekends and I have to go 4 or 5 days between workouts, I start to stiffen up again and assume my old hunchbacked hobbit posture.
Wait, there's more! I haunt thrift shops searching for exercise wear and have actually been seen entering sports and dance stores hunting for dance shoes. People have started to comment on my new slimmer silhouette. If I could give up the candy I might actually drop some real weight. I know that Mich and Gail's clothes are hanging off of them but they've been at it longer than I have. As Mich keeps reminding me, it took me years to put on the extra pounds, it's going to take a while to lose it.
All in all, I think that $30 a month may be the best investment I've ever made. To take the normal zumba class around town costs $10 a pop. I'm taking at least 12 a month - you do the math. The benefits were staggering right off the bat. I'm hoping the zumba craze won't end for a very long time.
Well, my roomie Mich and I have a best friend named Gail. We call ourselves the Three Amigos - or "Tres Amigas" (we're learning Spanish.) Mich & Gail were always going on about their zumba class. Nothing, no event no matter how earth shattering, interferred with them going to zumba 3 nights a week. To hear them tell it, it was the most fun one could legally have and the teacher was Something To See in action. Well, what could I do but go just to see what all the fuss was about. A 5 day free pass was secured and all excuses swept aside. It was time to enter the Inner Sanctum.
I had great concerns about this, which I repeatedly shared with my non-sympathetic Amigas. I had been leading such a sedentary lifestyle for so long that I wasn't at all certain that I could stand upright for an hour at a time, let alone move about vigorously. Also I had respiratory issues that stem from a bad ticker. I failed all respiratory testing that involved exerting myself. Any effort, even one as small as rising to go to the bathroom and returning to bed, caused my oxygen levels to drop dramatically - the opposite of most people's which rise upon exertion. I was afraid that if I worked out I'd pass out. I came up with a plan of action in case the worst should happen ... if I started to see stars I'd sit down until it passed ... girded my loins and headed resolutely towards the nearest 24 Hour Fitness.
Zumba is an exercise program similar to aerobics but set to catchy Spanish pop music. It involves salsa-type dance steps, some hip-hop, belly dancing and even (I swear) polka moves. The basic zumba step involves bringing your arms up to chest level, hands pointed outwards and shaking your booty. The class is filled with tiny hispanic women and a few of us white folk. It takes most of us whities quite a while to loosen up and start to use our "core" - that chubby area from under the breast to above the thighs, a move that comes naturally to our lithsome, graceful hispanic counterparts. But the biggest benefit of zumba, and what differs it from other work outs, is the core work out. You can actually tighten that tummy, reduce your backside and whittle away at that waist ... all things I desperately need to do.
Back in the day, when I was a young Mom, I used to take aerobics classes. It was an hour long class involving a warm up, mat work and a cool down. There were two or three songs of all out, full out exercise somewhere in the middle. From what I can tell with zumba, you go all out for the full hour. Oh there's a perfunctionary cool down song at the end during which we do stretches - which benefit me probably more than the rest of the our long ordeal does. But basically you go all out for the full hour. At least our amazing instructor does. I have taken class from a couple of other instructors and they might throw in a warm up song, but basically we go all out.
No one was more amazed than I when I made it through the first class. It wasn't until a couple of weeks into it that I had a moment where I thought I was going to pass out. While gasping desperately for air, Mich said I resembled one of those Dancing With The Stars celebrities trying to catch their breath after doing their number. But I have up until now remained fully up right and conscious at all times. The benefits were immediate. The next day at work I stood fully upright all day, instead of being bent forward at the waist and walking around with my butt sticking out. I was able to rise to my feet without needing the assistance of the nearest counter top. I walked with a spring in my step, instead of lurching unsteadily down the hallway trying desperately to look relevant. It was such an amazing transformation that I was hooked!
Now I go to zumba religiously at least 3 times a week. I'm also trying to make room in my weekend schedule for an hour long yoga class that happens at 10 am on Saturdays. I'm thinking the stretching would be a good balance to all the jumping around. If I have a day off and there's a morning class, I take that too. When I can't exercise on the weekends and I have to go 4 or 5 days between workouts, I start to stiffen up again and assume my old hunchbacked hobbit posture.
Wait, there's more! I haunt thrift shops searching for exercise wear and have actually been seen entering sports and dance stores hunting for dance shoes. People have started to comment on my new slimmer silhouette. If I could give up the candy I might actually drop some real weight. I know that Mich and Gail's clothes are hanging off of them but they've been at it longer than I have. As Mich keeps reminding me, it took me years to put on the extra pounds, it's going to take a while to lose it.
All in all, I think that $30 a month may be the best investment I've ever made. To take the normal zumba class around town costs $10 a pop. I'm taking at least 12 a month - you do the math. The benefits were staggering right off the bat. I'm hoping the zumba craze won't end for a very long time.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Going Cold Turkey
Recently I rented my friend Mich's spare bedroom. We decided to try co-habitating on a trial basis for 3 weeks and if it worked out I'd formally move in (& start paying rent) on October 1st. Mich doesn't believe in watching television and is a vegetarian. I, of course, have the TV on constantly and eat pretty much anything that is no longer moving. Is there any hope?
There was a computer outlet in my room BUT my monitor broke during the move and so there I was with no computer. There was also no TV signal. We went to Time Warner and ordered TV reception, a DVR for me and to have a computer line run into my room. We didn't schedule it until October 1st though.
Going without TV was extremely strange at first. There was a TV in the living room but it was only connected to a DVD box. How would I survive without my daily General Hospital fix? How could I get by with no Duggars or Gosselins and without knowing how Florence Henderson was doing on Dancing With the Stars?
As I went through withdrawal, I could only watch what Mich rented from Netflix or had in her limited DVD collection. She had a lot of feel good movies and the last 5 seasons of Frasier. I occasionally popped something in to relax by. But to my surprise, once I got over the habit of having background TV noise on, I really didn't give much thought to any of the shows I'd previously thought I couldn't live without. Samantha Brown and Anthony Bourdain had to get by without me. I confess that one day during my lunch hour I pulled up a synopsis of what had happened episode by episode on General Hospital in my absence. I was pleased to learn that the show was pretty much as I'd left it and I wasn't much interested in what had happened since I'd last watched.
On the other hand, not having a computer really hurt! I felt so disconnected from everyone - no daily Facebook fixes, no friend's blogs. I couldn't check my personal email from work as there is a strong firewall in place at school sites. Once in a while after work I'd steal a few minutes at someone else's computer - my daughter's or Mich's laptop. It was amazing how little time it took to catch up on facebook and deal with my email. All the extra time I had spent online in the past was spent playing games and blogging. Hmmmm, food for thought.
Mich and I had a serious chat while Juan from Time Warner was here hooking us up today. She asked me not to watch TV in the living room while she was home so that she wouldn't get sucked back in and become a couch potato again. She begged me to be her savior. I confessed that I was afraid I'd become her corruptor and warned her that within a week she will know the first names of all of the DC Housewives.
I hope it's not true though. I hope I'll retain something positive from this experience. But since it is 2 in the morning and I'm sitting here on my new (used) computer blogging while watching Holly's World on TV, I can't say for certain that any good habits have set in. Only time will tell.
There was a computer outlet in my room BUT my monitor broke during the move and so there I was with no computer. There was also no TV signal. We went to Time Warner and ordered TV reception, a DVR for me and to have a computer line run into my room. We didn't schedule it until October 1st though.
Going without TV was extremely strange at first. There was a TV in the living room but it was only connected to a DVD box. How would I survive without my daily General Hospital fix? How could I get by with no Duggars or Gosselins and without knowing how Florence Henderson was doing on Dancing With the Stars?
As I went through withdrawal, I could only watch what Mich rented from Netflix or had in her limited DVD collection. She had a lot of feel good movies and the last 5 seasons of Frasier. I occasionally popped something in to relax by. But to my surprise, once I got over the habit of having background TV noise on, I really didn't give much thought to any of the shows I'd previously thought I couldn't live without. Samantha Brown and Anthony Bourdain had to get by without me. I confess that one day during my lunch hour I pulled up a synopsis of what had happened episode by episode on General Hospital in my absence. I was pleased to learn that the show was pretty much as I'd left it and I wasn't much interested in what had happened since I'd last watched.
On the other hand, not having a computer really hurt! I felt so disconnected from everyone - no daily Facebook fixes, no friend's blogs. I couldn't check my personal email from work as there is a strong firewall in place at school sites. Once in a while after work I'd steal a few minutes at someone else's computer - my daughter's or Mich's laptop. It was amazing how little time it took to catch up on facebook and deal with my email. All the extra time I had spent online in the past was spent playing games and blogging. Hmmmm, food for thought.
Mich and I had a serious chat while Juan from Time Warner was here hooking us up today. She asked me not to watch TV in the living room while she was home so that she wouldn't get sucked back in and become a couch potato again. She begged me to be her savior. I confessed that I was afraid I'd become her corruptor and warned her that within a week she will know the first names of all of the DC Housewives.
I hope it's not true though. I hope I'll retain something positive from this experience. But since it is 2 in the morning and I'm sitting here on my new (used) computer blogging while watching Holly's World on TV, I can't say for certain that any good habits have set in. Only time will tell.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Fashion Fasting
I've decided to continue to simplify/streamline my life in other ways. In my last post, I talked about Fiscal Fasting. Another term in the world of cutting back is Fashion Fasting. That means commiting to buying no new clothes for a set period of time (underwear doesn't count.)
I'm gearing up to move back to Palm Springs the day after tomorrow and am going through my clothes and shoes, packing and sorting. I'm not one to have a lot of clothes in the closet that don't fit or that I don't wear. I don't believe in keeping all different sizes, just in case. I have been steadily losing weight this summer so have had to take in a few pairs of pants and give away some of my bigger tops. I'm not sure I'll be able to commit to fashion fasting if the weight loss continues. Purchasing new pants may be in order at some point. But other than that, I'd like to try to not buy at least any tops until next summer.
I'm moving in with a friend who has a lovely condo in north Palm Springs. I'll get the second bedroom with a small closet. A wonderful invention is the Miracle Hanger. I've always used a similar type of hanger to hang several pairs of pants in a small space but with this invention I can hang tops. It's sobering to see at a glance how many work tops I have. Each hanger holds 5 tops and I have 9 hangers. Wow, 45 work shirts.
Not all of my tops are very nice, but they are intact, unstained and nice enough to wear to work. I work in the office of a middle school, so the dress code is pretty lax. You never know what will happen in any given day, you can end up on the floor crawling under your desk, being thrown up on in the nurse's office, spilling food on yourself in the lunch room, etc. We wear school shirts at least two days a week.
Also I live in the desert, so the temps are generally pretty balmy. Some people wear capris and sandals to work all year round. Being from the midwest, I insist on maintaining a winter wardrobe and a summer wardrobe. I usually only get to wear the warmer clothes from mid-November through mid-March though. Wearing socks signals the change of season to me.
I'm gearing up to move back to Palm Springs the day after tomorrow and am going through my clothes and shoes, packing and sorting. I'm not one to have a lot of clothes in the closet that don't fit or that I don't wear. I don't believe in keeping all different sizes, just in case. I have been steadily losing weight this summer so have had to take in a few pairs of pants and give away some of my bigger tops. I'm not sure I'll be able to commit to fashion fasting if the weight loss continues. Purchasing new pants may be in order at some point. But other than that, I'd like to try to not buy at least any tops until next summer.
I'm moving in with a friend who has a lovely condo in north Palm Springs. I'll get the second bedroom with a small closet. A wonderful invention is the Miracle Hanger. I've always used a similar type of hanger to hang several pairs of pants in a small space but with this invention I can hang tops. It's sobering to see at a glance how many work tops I have. Each hanger holds 5 tops and I have 9 hangers. Wow, 45 work shirts.
Not all of my tops are very nice, but they are intact, unstained and nice enough to wear to work. I work in the office of a middle school, so the dress code is pretty lax. You never know what will happen in any given day, you can end up on the floor crawling under your desk, being thrown up on in the nurse's office, spilling food on yourself in the lunch room, etc. We wear school shirts at least two days a week.
Also I live in the desert, so the temps are generally pretty balmy. Some people wear capris and sandals to work all year round. Being from the midwest, I insist on maintaining a winter wardrobe and a summer wardrobe. I usually only get to wear the warmer clothes from mid-November through mid-March though. Wearing socks signals the change of season to me.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Fiscal Fasting
Amongst the upper classes, there's a term called Fiscal Fasting. The idea is to not spend any money at all for a set period of time as an exercise in self control. To the rest of us, it's known as running out of money before you run out of month. Since I only get paid once a month, I'm frequently, reluctantly "fasting".
I know I can survive on by salaryh but the true challenge is managing to live WELL on my salary. While living in Boston back in 2001-2003. I would get through the work week with $40 in my purse. I worked on Newbury Street, a very expensive part of town. Commuting was a cinch, a token for the T cost $1.00 each way. I brought lunch or food at the 7/11 outside the T stop. You could always get a hard boiled egg, banana, coffee, food bars, etc. pretty inexpensively. Lunch out was an occasional treat. Dunkin' Donuts was an occasional treat as well, and quite affordable.
Nowadays, getting by with next to no money most of the month is getting harder. Here in southern California my commuting costs are rising, along with gas prices . In the past I've always tried to figure out in advance exactly what I'll need to survive for the next month and bought it all the weekend after payday. The trouble with that plan is feeling flush for a few days and then broke and unprepared for emergencies the rest of the month.
My goal is to avoid fiscal fasting via better budgeting.
I know I can survive on by salaryh but the true challenge is managing to live WELL on my salary. While living in Boston back in 2001-2003. I would get through the work week with $40 in my purse. I worked on Newbury Street, a very expensive part of town. Commuting was a cinch, a token for the T cost $1.00 each way. I brought lunch or food at the 7/11 outside the T stop. You could always get a hard boiled egg, banana, coffee, food bars, etc. pretty inexpensively. Lunch out was an occasional treat. Dunkin' Donuts was an occasional treat as well, and quite affordable.
Nowadays, getting by with next to no money most of the month is getting harder. Here in southern California my commuting costs are rising, along with gas prices . In the past I've always tried to figure out in advance exactly what I'll need to survive for the next month and bought it all the weekend after payday. The trouble with that plan is feeling flush for a few days and then broke and unprepared for emergencies the rest of the month.
My goal is to avoid fiscal fasting via better budgeting.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
The Art of Living Well
It's always fascinated me how some people appear to be comfortably well off while others are struggling but it turns out that they are bringing in similar salaries. How can that be? Credit cards may be an answer, or a second income but a lot of it is attitude. Another big plus is resourcefulness and the ability to handle money.
It's also amazing to me how one can be as poor as a church mouse and still have wonderful things happen. At least that's what happened to me this last weekend. My youngest daughter sent me an airplane ticket to come visit her in Las Vegas. The journey is wonderful, 40 minute flights out of the nearest airports, both of which happened right on time and without incident.
Once there I was wined and dined in lavish style, taken boating on Lake Mead and jet skiing for the first time ever! My daughter and her partner totally spoiled me. It's also amazing that my children give me money to help out. I never in a million years expected that would ever happen. The first time they did, I didn't know what to do about it. But then I figured, what the heck since I was generous with them for many years.
I really want to become independent again though and stay that way as long as possible. I want to not only get by on my own but to learn to live well on my own.
It's also amazing to me how one can be as poor as a church mouse and still have wonderful things happen. At least that's what happened to me this last weekend. My youngest daughter sent me an airplane ticket to come visit her in Las Vegas. The journey is wonderful, 40 minute flights out of the nearest airports, both of which happened right on time and without incident.
Once there I was wined and dined in lavish style, taken boating on Lake Mead and jet skiing for the first time ever! My daughter and her partner totally spoiled me. It's also amazing that my children give me money to help out. I never in a million years expected that would ever happen. The first time they did, I didn't know what to do about it. But then I figured, what the heck since I was generous with them for many years.
I really want to become independent again though and stay that way as long as possible. I want to not only get by on my own but to learn to live well on my own.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Traditions
Last week we were housesitting at my brothers and he isn't a baker. There were no ingredients, so I was forced to resort to a box muffin mix. But this Sunday we are back home and therefore, back in business.
I decided to make the first recipe I spotted when opening my The Joy of Muffins: The International Muffin Cook Book. It was Irish Jam Muffins. This was a departure for me as I don't usually cook with buttermilk or lemon. OMG they were SO GOOD!!! You actually bake the jelly into them and top 'em off with a sprinkle of powdered sugar. I was glad I followed the recipe closely as they turned out so fine and high quality.
Here it is:
1 1/2 cops flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp soda
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1 egg
4 tbsp. butter, melted
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp lemon extract
1 cup raspberry or blueberry jam
confectioners sugar
Mix together flour, baking powder, soda, sugar and grated lemon rind in a large bowl. Whick egg with melted butter, buttermilk and lemon extract. Make a well in dry ingredients and quickly add liquid ingredients. Fill greased muffin tins one-half full. Add two spoons of jam and cover with batter. Bake until done, remove from tins after five minutes and sprinkle tops with confectioner's sugar. Bake at 400 degrees, 15-20 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.
You have to understand that this took maybe 5-10 minutes in the kitchen to make and baked up really fast. There's no reason to make boxed muffins when you can throw homemade ones together from scratch so quickly and easily.
It actually made 9 nice, large muffins for us. I had one of those thingys that you grate lemons or oranges on to get a fine rind, can't remember what they're called. I was tempted to use vanilla extract since I didn't have lemon extract. Instead I just squeezed the lemon into the batter. Mmm, mmm, mmm...delicate, delicioso but be careful. That jam is really hot inside those muffins when they first come out of the oven!
I would have loved to use some black raspberry jam that my brother had at his house and was selling at the store for $5. But it would have been a frivolous purchase as I already had 3 kinds of jelly/jams at home. What I did was make 3 of the muffins with orange marmalade, 3 with prune jam, and 3 with strawberry jelly. I ate one of the orange marmalade ones and it was SO perfect. I'm not normally a big citrus fan but this made up into a light and satisfying product.
I decided to make the first recipe I spotted when opening my The Joy of Muffins: The International Muffin Cook Book. It was Irish Jam Muffins. This was a departure for me as I don't usually cook with buttermilk or lemon. OMG they were SO GOOD!!! You actually bake the jelly into them and top 'em off with a sprinkle of powdered sugar. I was glad I followed the recipe closely as they turned out so fine and high quality.
Here it is:
1 1/2 cops flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp soda
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1 egg
4 tbsp. butter, melted
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp lemon extract
1 cup raspberry or blueberry jam
confectioners sugar
Mix together flour, baking powder, soda, sugar and grated lemon rind in a large bowl. Whick egg with melted butter, buttermilk and lemon extract. Make a well in dry ingredients and quickly add liquid ingredients. Fill greased muffin tins one-half full. Add two spoons of jam and cover with batter. Bake until done, remove from tins after five minutes and sprinkle tops with confectioner's sugar. Bake at 400 degrees, 15-20 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.
You have to understand that this took maybe 5-10 minutes in the kitchen to make and baked up really fast. There's no reason to make boxed muffins when you can throw homemade ones together from scratch so quickly and easily.
It actually made 9 nice, large muffins for us. I had one of those thingys that you grate lemons or oranges on to get a fine rind, can't remember what they're called. I was tempted to use vanilla extract since I didn't have lemon extract. Instead I just squeezed the lemon into the batter. Mmm, mmm, mmm...delicate, delicioso but be careful. That jam is really hot inside those muffins when they first come out of the oven!
I would have loved to use some black raspberry jam that my brother had at his house and was selling at the store for $5. But it would have been a frivolous purchase as I already had 3 kinds of jelly/jams at home. What I did was make 3 of the muffins with orange marmalade, 3 with prune jam, and 3 with strawberry jelly. I ate one of the orange marmalade ones and it was SO perfect. I'm not normally a big citrus fan but this made up into a light and satisfying product.
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