SO, life got super crazy about three weeks ago. My younger sister grabbed her stuff, picked up my nephew from school, and ran from her abusive boyfriend. They are now living with us, and my nephew is going to school here. Adding two people to our house has been quite an adjustment, to say the least. Veronica has been having huge separation issues since they came, and Nathaniel has been acting out at home. (Not at school though, thankfully!) But I think things are finally settling down. Going back to school has helped my nephew calm down and has definitely helped my kids. Life is normal for them between 8:15 and 3:30.
My sister goes to court on Wednesday (3 days) to have the restraining order made permanent. She has already filed paperwork to get full custody. Eventually, she plans to move to Colorado with my older sister. That would be a great place for both of them.
But for now, they're both safe and well fed and what seems to be happy. I'm glad that I was in a position to be able to help. I shudder to think about what would have happened if I hadn't been here. After watching her call shelter after shelter and get turned down because they had no space... all those women who had to run away. It makes me sick that we as a society need the shelters for women, but the fact that they have to turn people away is just horrendous.
And now on to other things... I have officially applied for my retirement money. Sadly, it takes about 6 weeks for them to process it. That puts it right at 10 days before Christmas it should arrive. I am hoping to get it sooner. We are just broke. I don't know how to make any more ends meet. Foodwise we're ok. I went shopping for the month. And my sister has a link card, so if we need things later in the month, we'll be ok. But paying the bills is completely different, and Pat is starting a new job next week, so I have no idea when he'll be getting a paycheck.
And on the 101 things front, I have completed a few more. I have lost 50 pounds, which is fucking amazing!!!!! Some of it was baby weight, but after I gave birth to Veronica, I still had 30 pounds of the 55 I had gained with her stuck to me like glue. (So I lost 20 when she was born.) but I have lost 30 of those pounds now. I have to look up my list and see what else I have accomplished. Time is running out.
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
It's October?!?!?!?!
Time sure seems to be flying by. I'm hoping that October will go fast too. No, it's not to get to Christmas faster, or even Thanksgiving. It's that I can finally apply for my retirement money to be sent to me. We so desperately need that money. October is going to be a very slim month for us.
I went grocery shopping, and thanks to my chicken binge in July, I only spent $160 for the month. Of course, this doesn't include milk, which we go through like nothing (about 2 1/2 to 3 gallons a week) and sandwich bread. We'll be eating a lot of PB+J this month. With the homemade jelly. Thankfully, both kids like them.
But, as of right now, we are dead broke. I paid the mortgage and Nathaniel's tuition for school. Next week, I'll pay the bike and the car, and, God willing, the phone bill. That just leaves 8 credit cards, electric, gas, water, internet/cable, car insurance, saving for next month's mortgage payment, etc. etc. etc. There's no money for that. How many people know that feeling? I am grateful for all we have. We have food to eat. We have a warm place to lay our heads. We have transportation. So many other people don't. I know this, so why does our situation make me want to cry?
I feel like I'm so selfish for quitting. But I honestly couldn't do it anymore. I hated going to work. I couldn't stand the students in my class. I still know I made the right choice, and I enjoy being home with the kids, I just wish I had a paycheck.
So our plans for my retirement funds are to pay off all our debt (or as much as we can). Obviously, it won't be the mortgage, but maybe a few of the credit cards could be done. Ugh, I just want to lift the pressure.
I've found though, that in the process of saving money, I am a pretty good baker. I love baking and cooking from scratch. It makes me feel productive. Like I've really done something to benefit my family. I do still need to get more flour, sugar, and butter from the store, because it seems like I go through a lot of that. Damn pinterest, giving me so many ideas I want to try! It reminds me of that old Twilight Zone episode when the man just wanted to read books. He was in the bank vault on his lunch break when the world ended, and since he was the only survivor he finally could read all he wanted. The only problem was that he tripped and broke his glasses, so he couldn't read any more. I have the same problem. I want to make all these different things for my family, but I don't have the means to get the necessary ingredients.
It could be worse, I guess. And speaking of worse, Veronica, at age 15 months, isn't talking much. I have to take her for a hearing evaluation at the end of the month. I'm sure she hears fine, but I can't help but worry. I mean, who wouldn't? If that turns out ok, then we have a speech evaluation. From there we go to therapy, if necessary. She also had a raging ear infection. She never had a fever, no pulling on it, no laying on the side, nothing. I have no idea how long she had it, but she's on antibiotics for it. I pray that when it clears up, she starts talking some more. Doc said it might be enough to muffle sounds, making it harder for her to talk. But I'm still a wreck.
I went grocery shopping, and thanks to my chicken binge in July, I only spent $160 for the month. Of course, this doesn't include milk, which we go through like nothing (about 2 1/2 to 3 gallons a week) and sandwich bread. We'll be eating a lot of PB+J this month. With the homemade jelly. Thankfully, both kids like them.
But, as of right now, we are dead broke. I paid the mortgage and Nathaniel's tuition for school. Next week, I'll pay the bike and the car, and, God willing, the phone bill. That just leaves 8 credit cards, electric, gas, water, internet/cable, car insurance, saving for next month's mortgage payment, etc. etc. etc. There's no money for that. How many people know that feeling? I am grateful for all we have. We have food to eat. We have a warm place to lay our heads. We have transportation. So many other people don't. I know this, so why does our situation make me want to cry?
I feel like I'm so selfish for quitting. But I honestly couldn't do it anymore. I hated going to work. I couldn't stand the students in my class. I still know I made the right choice, and I enjoy being home with the kids, I just wish I had a paycheck.
So our plans for my retirement funds are to pay off all our debt (or as much as we can). Obviously, it won't be the mortgage, but maybe a few of the credit cards could be done. Ugh, I just want to lift the pressure.
I've found though, that in the process of saving money, I am a pretty good baker. I love baking and cooking from scratch. It makes me feel productive. Like I've really done something to benefit my family. I do still need to get more flour, sugar, and butter from the store, because it seems like I go through a lot of that. Damn pinterest, giving me so many ideas I want to try! It reminds me of that old Twilight Zone episode when the man just wanted to read books. He was in the bank vault on his lunch break when the world ended, and since he was the only survivor he finally could read all he wanted. The only problem was that he tripped and broke his glasses, so he couldn't read any more. I have the same problem. I want to make all these different things for my family, but I don't have the means to get the necessary ingredients.
It could be worse, I guess. And speaking of worse, Veronica, at age 15 months, isn't talking much. I have to take her for a hearing evaluation at the end of the month. I'm sure she hears fine, but I can't help but worry. I mean, who wouldn't? If that turns out ok, then we have a speech evaluation. From there we go to therapy, if necessary. She also had a raging ear infection. She never had a fever, no pulling on it, no laying on the side, nothing. I have no idea how long she had it, but she's on antibiotics for it. I pray that when it clears up, she starts talking some more. Doc said it might be enough to muffle sounds, making it harder for her to talk. But I'm still a wreck.
Monday, September 2, 2013
Day One... I'm dead
So I have made a commitment to my online mom's group and will be doing the 30 day shred every day in September (except for the first. I didn't find the DVD until late afternoon.). I did it this morning. I thought I was going to die. At some points in the workout, I wanted to. It was 20 minutes of pure fucking hell.
But I did it!! I threw up twice, but I did it! I went to 7-11 afterwards and got a banana and a diet pepsi. I figured I had EARNED that pop. And to be honest, I threw up once I was in the shower. I can't quite describe how proud of myself I am. Not just for getting through it, but for doing it at all.
I woke up this morning around 7:30, which was so nice. No one was up yet. I figured that the kids would sleep until 8, and Pat won't wake up until the bomb goes off, so I was going to get up and get it done. You know, start the day off really shitty and then it gets better from there.
But that's not what happened. When I was in the bathroom, Veronica woke up and Pat went to go get her. As he did, Nathaniel woke up. Everyone was awake and my I-only-need-20-minutes-to-get-this-done was gone. I know me. There was no way I was going to exercise in front of Pat. (I think it's a fear that he will realize just how fat and unattractive I am and leave, although I know that won't happen.) But I hate it. I want the acknowledgement of pride from people, but I don't want them to see the ugly part. I brought back tons of teen years angst and a feeling of never being good enough. So I now had the perfect excuse to not do it. And I knew it!
Fate intervened and Pat went out to mow the lawn after breakfast. For a while, I sat on my ass watching tv (food network, ironically). But then I thought, he's outside, he won't know. So I put in the DVD. Nathaniel exercised with me for a while, which made me happy. He was having fun. He liked the butt kicks. He cracked himself up kicking his own butt. I love that he was excited.
So, later today, I am going to have Pat take some pictures of me as my before, God help me. October 1st, I will have him take some more, for after pics. I'm really looking forward to it. (And if I'm to tell the truth, mid October I will be going to my old school and seeing the teachers. I'd really love to be down some pounds by then. I want to know that I look great and I want to feel that I look great and I want them to acknowledge how good I am doing without them.)
But I did it!! I threw up twice, but I did it! I went to 7-11 afterwards and got a banana and a diet pepsi. I figured I had EARNED that pop. And to be honest, I threw up once I was in the shower. I can't quite describe how proud of myself I am. Not just for getting through it, but for doing it at all.
I woke up this morning around 7:30, which was so nice. No one was up yet. I figured that the kids would sleep until 8, and Pat won't wake up until the bomb goes off, so I was going to get up and get it done. You know, start the day off really shitty and then it gets better from there.
But that's not what happened. When I was in the bathroom, Veronica woke up and Pat went to go get her. As he did, Nathaniel woke up. Everyone was awake and my I-only-need-20-minutes-to-get-this-done was gone. I know me. There was no way I was going to exercise in front of Pat. (I think it's a fear that he will realize just how fat and unattractive I am and leave, although I know that won't happen.) But I hate it. I want the acknowledgement of pride from people, but I don't want them to see the ugly part. I brought back tons of teen years angst and a feeling of never being good enough. So I now had the perfect excuse to not do it. And I knew it!
Fate intervened and Pat went out to mow the lawn after breakfast. For a while, I sat on my ass watching tv (food network, ironically). But then I thought, he's outside, he won't know. So I put in the DVD. Nathaniel exercised with me for a while, which made me happy. He was having fun. He liked the butt kicks. He cracked himself up kicking his own butt. I love that he was excited.
So, later today, I am going to have Pat take some pictures of me as my before, God help me. October 1st, I will have him take some more, for after pics. I'm really looking forward to it. (And if I'm to tell the truth, mid October I will be going to my old school and seeing the teachers. I'd really love to be down some pounds by then. I want to know that I look great and I want to feel that I look great and I want them to acknowledge how good I am doing without them.)
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
So simple, but...
It's such a simple concept. but so very hard to master. Portion control.
But I'm getting there.
Now, it's not for lack of trying before, When I tried before it always ended in failure. I was hungry. And then I got mean. And then I got ugly. But there was always more food so it didn't matter. I could go have more.
And I did. Always. After filling my plate and gulping down my food, I wanted more. Didn't matter that my stomach was already over full and I was bloated. Didn't matter that I physically hurt from eating more. There was more food available and I wanted it. First world problem if ever, right?
And then I grew up and became a mom. I swore that I would take care of myself, for the sake of my kids. But there was still food available. And I wanted it. It didn't matter to me that I am diabetic. That my clothes didn't fit. That my kids would probably get made fun of because their mom is so fat. That I was slowly committing suicide by food. It was there and I wanted it.
And then I left my job, and stopped collecting a paycheck. Suddenly, a scary thought came to me. What if there isn't always more food? And even worse, what if there wasn't enough to feed my kids?
And portion controlling is becoming my way of life. I'm not sad about this. I'm actually happy. I make a lot of casseroles now. But there's so much in a pan. Old me would've left it on the table and picked at it all night long, consuming at least 3 servings, if not more. Now, I put some on my plate, serve the kids their dinner, and either put some on a plate for Pat (for later) or let him get his. When everyone is done eating (including seconds, I put way less on my plate now) I pack it up. It does not sit on the table.
Tonight, for example, was chicken spaghetti (from pinterest. It was only ok.) We ate about a third of the dish. The rest has already been packed into a dollar store tin with a lid and is cooling off before it goes into the freezer. So for the price of one dinner, we have two. I've done this with several casseroles and recipes I've made the past few weeks. It's something I am actually proud of.
So why am I telling you about this? Because in the last week I have lost 6 pounds. Now, when you have to lose a entire person, 6 pounds may seem like nothing. But to me, it's a pretty big fucking deal. I intend to make the most of this. It makes me want to do more. I am going to try to exercise now too. I wish I could just ride my bike, but without a trailer I can't. (What would I do with the kids?) I know that sounds like an excuse, but it's not. It's fact. But I'm going to try.
Because soon I want to type that I've lost 60 pounds, not just 6. It may take a while, but dammit, I've lost 6 pounds!
But I'm getting there.
Now, it's not for lack of trying before, When I tried before it always ended in failure. I was hungry. And then I got mean. And then I got ugly. But there was always more food so it didn't matter. I could go have more.
And I did. Always. After filling my plate and gulping down my food, I wanted more. Didn't matter that my stomach was already over full and I was bloated. Didn't matter that I physically hurt from eating more. There was more food available and I wanted it. First world problem if ever, right?
And then I grew up and became a mom. I swore that I would take care of myself, for the sake of my kids. But there was still food available. And I wanted it. It didn't matter to me that I am diabetic. That my clothes didn't fit. That my kids would probably get made fun of because their mom is so fat. That I was slowly committing suicide by food. It was there and I wanted it.
And then I left my job, and stopped collecting a paycheck. Suddenly, a scary thought came to me. What if there isn't always more food? And even worse, what if there wasn't enough to feed my kids?
And portion controlling is becoming my way of life. I'm not sad about this. I'm actually happy. I make a lot of casseroles now. But there's so much in a pan. Old me would've left it on the table and picked at it all night long, consuming at least 3 servings, if not more. Now, I put some on my plate, serve the kids their dinner, and either put some on a plate for Pat (for later) or let him get his. When everyone is done eating (including seconds, I put way less on my plate now) I pack it up. It does not sit on the table.
Tonight, for example, was chicken spaghetti (from pinterest. It was only ok.) We ate about a third of the dish. The rest has already been packed into a dollar store tin with a lid and is cooling off before it goes into the freezer. So for the price of one dinner, we have two. I've done this with several casseroles and recipes I've made the past few weeks. It's something I am actually proud of.
So why am I telling you about this? Because in the last week I have lost 6 pounds. Now, when you have to lose a entire person, 6 pounds may seem like nothing. But to me, it's a pretty big fucking deal. I intend to make the most of this. It makes me want to do more. I am going to try to exercise now too. I wish I could just ride my bike, but without a trailer I can't. (What would I do with the kids?) I know that sounds like an excuse, but it's not. It's fact. But I'm going to try.
Because soon I want to type that I've lost 60 pounds, not just 6. It may take a while, but dammit, I've lost 6 pounds!
Monday, August 26, 2013
Learning
So, here we are. School started a week ago and I am not there. And I do not miss it. At. All. I enjoy being home with Veronica while Nathaniel is at school for a few hours a day. He is learning and I am learning. (And I hope Veronica is learning too!)
Today, for example, I am learning how to reuse scraps of food. We had carrots last night, and I've used onions this past week, so today I am making chicken stock. I also had some celery ends from when I ate celery over the weekend. All those go into a pot with two bone in chicken breasts and fill with water. Boil for a while and strain once through a colander and then a second time through cheese cloth. I freeze them in one cup bags so that when I need a cup of chicken broth, it's there. No chemicals, no msg, no preservatives, and no salt. But tons of flavor!!
I am also learning how to make jam and freeze veggies. I have been shopping the reduced for quick sale shelves lately. Am I embarrassed to admit that? Yes. Is that reality right now? Yes. (So I guess I'm learning humility too.) Anyway, last week I got 6 green peppers for $2, when they are usually $1 each. There was nothing wrong with them, they were just getting a smidge soft. I bought them, took them home and cut them into strips and put them in the freezer. I used some a few days ago in our oven baked fajitas (recipe on and they were delicious.
I have similar plans for carrots. I can get a two pound bag for a dollar, and carrots are the kids' favorite vegetable right now. Clean them and peel them, cut into coins and blanch. Drop into an ice bath and then package for freezing (keeping the ends for more stock, of course).
So I'm learning to live within my means. And for me, that means a lot of cutting back. I'd like to cancel our cable, which could save us some more money, and probably help me to play with my kids more. Maybe we'll revisit that when I clear up my minor health problems (eye scratches, conjunctivitis, and some other issues- it's been a brutal two weeks!!!) Speaking of which, I should probably go put my eye drops in. I've been on antibiotic drops for 3 days now for the left eye, after having done a week for the right. I said it had been rough!
But stay tuned to see what else I am learning how to do. Sometime this week, I am going to attempt to make English Muffins from scratch as well as from scratch biscuits that are similar to the kind that come from a can. (They can be frozen too, and baked from frozen.)
Today, for example, I am learning how to reuse scraps of food. We had carrots last night, and I've used onions this past week, so today I am making chicken stock. I also had some celery ends from when I ate celery over the weekend. All those go into a pot with two bone in chicken breasts and fill with water. Boil for a while and strain once through a colander and then a second time through cheese cloth. I freeze them in one cup bags so that when I need a cup of chicken broth, it's there. No chemicals, no msg, no preservatives, and no salt. But tons of flavor!!
I am also learning how to make jam and freeze veggies. I have been shopping the reduced for quick sale shelves lately. Am I embarrassed to admit that? Yes. Is that reality right now? Yes. (So I guess I'm learning humility too.) Anyway, last week I got 6 green peppers for $2, when they are usually $1 each. There was nothing wrong with them, they were just getting a smidge soft. I bought them, took them home and cut them into strips and put them in the freezer. I used some a few days ago in our oven baked fajitas (recipe on and they were delicious.
I have similar plans for carrots. I can get a two pound bag for a dollar, and carrots are the kids' favorite vegetable right now. Clean them and peel them, cut into coins and blanch. Drop into an ice bath and then package for freezing (keeping the ends for more stock, of course).
So I'm learning to live within my means. And for me, that means a lot of cutting back. I'd like to cancel our cable, which could save us some more money, and probably help me to play with my kids more. Maybe we'll revisit that when I clear up my minor health problems (eye scratches, conjunctivitis, and some other issues- it's been a brutal two weeks!!!) Speaking of which, I should probably go put my eye drops in. I've been on antibiotic drops for 3 days now for the left eye, after having done a week for the right. I said it had been rough!
But stay tuned to see what else I am learning how to do. Sometime this week, I am going to attempt to make English Muffins from scratch as well as from scratch biscuits that are similar to the kind that come from a can. (They can be frozen too, and baked from frozen.)
Monday, August 19, 2013
Oh, That Road to Hell
Well, it's Monday evening, and I said Monday morning. All those good intentions... But it was a rough night. Someone woke up at 3 am, wanting more snuggles (which I gladly give) but then wouldn't go back to sleep and kept getting up over and over and over until about 5:15 when he woke up his sister. And that was the start of my day. 3 am. So Veronica's sleep schedule was all fucked up (in fact, it's 5:30 pm and she's just now taking her second nap). Which means she ain't going to bed at 8. But dammit, I am.
Anyhow, let's start with today- Nathaniel's first day of preschool. Printed out a little sign that said "Today is my first day of preschool!!! August 19, 2012. I am 4 years old. My teacher is Ms. Melissa." It was so cute and I printed it out and told him that we were going to take pictures of him holding the sign. And then I realized. I typed 2012!!! Um, good morning! It's 2013. I should have just crawled back in bed at that point.
I managed to retype it and print it and get some really cute pictures. Then I took him and Veronica to Dunkin Donuts for munchkins for breakfast and then dropped him off. My eye was starting to kill me but since I was already out, I went to the grocery store. Still have to pick up the meat, but everything other than the meat cost just over $60 for the rest of August and all of September. I am really enjoying making my own stuff, but more on that later.
Get home and try to get V down for a nap. Not happening. Started laundry and then just sat down, exhausted. I pretty much was just beat by then and it was only 10 am. I finally got V down about 11 (she was fighting and overtired) and then called my sis to see how she was and before I knew it I had to leave to pick up Nathaniel. I get there, and wait in the line from hell. (I hope it was just because it was the first day and new parents didn't know what they were doing.) Finally I get him and ask him how his first day was.
"Kinda shitty. I had a string on my sock." was his response. What? I tried really hard not to laugh and asked him to tell me again how his day was.
He knew it was a word he shouldn't have said, so he changed it and said "Kinda chevy. Like the car." Boy oh boy, am I going to have my hands full with that kid!
So we went out for special lunch (chicken mcnuggets) and came home and have just been trying to get through the rest of the day. I have so much still going through my head. I want to tell you all about the many pinterest recipes I've made. I want to tell you about how I'm adjusting to being at home, and how I went through a patch of depression, and how I'm terrified now that the school year has started and I really am unemployed for the first time in 25 years. And how scared I am of not having health insurance and the fact that we can't afford it no matter what we do. And all the other things that float through my head about cleaning schedules, laundry schedules, making things from scratch and trying to justify it as healthier than store bought (which I'm sure it is, but I honestly think it's just filling a hole in my life), saving money and trying to save my sanity. And how I'm hoping and praying that I'm not just lazy.
But that will have to be another nap time. Because I need to get up and finish making dinner.
Anyhow, let's start with today- Nathaniel's first day of preschool. Printed out a little sign that said "Today is my first day of preschool!!! August 19, 2012. I am 4 years old. My teacher is Ms. Melissa." It was so cute and I printed it out and told him that we were going to take pictures of him holding the sign. And then I realized. I typed 2012!!! Um, good morning! It's 2013. I should have just crawled back in bed at that point.
I managed to retype it and print it and get some really cute pictures. Then I took him and Veronica to Dunkin Donuts for munchkins for breakfast and then dropped him off. My eye was starting to kill me but since I was already out, I went to the grocery store. Still have to pick up the meat, but everything other than the meat cost just over $60 for the rest of August and all of September. I am really enjoying making my own stuff, but more on that later.
Get home and try to get V down for a nap. Not happening. Started laundry and then just sat down, exhausted. I pretty much was just beat by then and it was only 10 am. I finally got V down about 11 (she was fighting and overtired) and then called my sis to see how she was and before I knew it I had to leave to pick up Nathaniel. I get there, and wait in the line from hell. (I hope it was just because it was the first day and new parents didn't know what they were doing.) Finally I get him and ask him how his first day was.
"Kinda shitty. I had a string on my sock." was his response. What? I tried really hard not to laugh and asked him to tell me again how his day was.
He knew it was a word he shouldn't have said, so he changed it and said "Kinda chevy. Like the car." Boy oh boy, am I going to have my hands full with that kid!
So we went out for special lunch (chicken mcnuggets) and came home and have just been trying to get through the rest of the day. I have so much still going through my head. I want to tell you all about the many pinterest recipes I've made. I want to tell you about how I'm adjusting to being at home, and how I went through a patch of depression, and how I'm terrified now that the school year has started and I really am unemployed for the first time in 25 years. And how scared I am of not having health insurance and the fact that we can't afford it no matter what we do. And all the other things that float through my head about cleaning schedules, laundry schedules, making things from scratch and trying to justify it as healthier than store bought (which I'm sure it is, but I honestly think it's just filling a hole in my life), saving money and trying to save my sanity. And how I'm hoping and praying that I'm not just lazy.
But that will have to be another nap time. Because I need to get up and finish making dinner.
Saturday, August 17, 2013
5 or so drafts waiting
I have sat down a million times to update my blog and my adventure into being a SAHM (Stay At Home Mom), but with that comes a few distractions. OK, a LOT of distractions. I have at least 5 drafts that are thoughts rolling around in my head and updates that will probably never make it to a post status. I think they'll be fine though. As in I'm going to try not to lose any sleep over them. I will try to update more often, as I am going to need some sort of outlet. But for now, here goes:
I enjoyed my summer with my kids. I truly did. But I also thought that I'd have found a job by now. I get depressed when I think about it, so I try not to, which doesn't do anything to solve the problem. I have a good amount of retirement saved up in the system, but I can't even apply for that until November (4 months after you stop paying into it you can ask for it.) So September, October and most of November will suck. Hard.
I've done a lot of planning and prepping. I have one more paycheck coming to me, and with that, I will finish my stocking up of food, to make sure that my kids eat every day, and eat well. I am still terrified that the decision I made will have more complex implications than I can realize. But I know I made the right decision. When I can get my retirement money, we will have enough to get us out of debt completely, other than the house and student loans. I hope and pray that the planning I've done will be enough. >BR>
I've been making a lot of homemade things, and the kids and husband have taken to them. Especially the bread. Making a lot of casseroles and then freezing half of it for another day. My most recent homemade was jam, both blueberry and strawberry. They are both great! Cost-wise, I don 't think they are comparable, as I can get a large jar pretty cheap, But the taste!!! OMG the taste! I made three of each kind and only used 2/3 c of sugar per recipe. The sweetness comes from the fruit itself, which was fairly inexpensive at the farmer's market. The kids love it too. Next I am going to make my own ketchup.
Now, the timer from the microwave is going off, telling me that dinner is done and therefore I am too. I have a million and ten more thoughts in my head. Hopefully I'll be back no later than Monday to continue the exodus of thoughts. And Nathaniel starts preschool Monday, so I will need an emotional outlet. HOw is he 4 already? I only blinked once!
I enjoyed my summer with my kids. I truly did. But I also thought that I'd have found a job by now. I get depressed when I think about it, so I try not to, which doesn't do anything to solve the problem. I have a good amount of retirement saved up in the system, but I can't even apply for that until November (4 months after you stop paying into it you can ask for it.) So September, October and most of November will suck. Hard.
I've done a lot of planning and prepping. I have one more paycheck coming to me, and with that, I will finish my stocking up of food, to make sure that my kids eat every day, and eat well. I am still terrified that the decision I made will have more complex implications than I can realize. But I know I made the right decision. When I can get my retirement money, we will have enough to get us out of debt completely, other than the house and student loans. I hope and pray that the planning I've done will be enough. >BR>
I've been making a lot of homemade things, and the kids and husband have taken to them. Especially the bread. Making a lot of casseroles and then freezing half of it for another day. My most recent homemade was jam, both blueberry and strawberry. They are both great! Cost-wise, I don 't think they are comparable, as I can get a large jar pretty cheap, But the taste!!! OMG the taste! I made three of each kind and only used 2/3 c of sugar per recipe. The sweetness comes from the fruit itself, which was fairly inexpensive at the farmer's market. The kids love it too. Next I am going to make my own ketchup.
Now, the timer from the microwave is going off, telling me that dinner is done and therefore I am too. I have a million and ten more thoughts in my head. Hopefully I'll be back no later than Monday to continue the exodus of thoughts. And Nathaniel starts preschool Monday, so I will need an emotional outlet. HOw is he 4 already? I only blinked once!
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Feeling Like Superwoman
So for the past few weeks, I have been putting together a list of crock pot meals that can be frozen. I was planning to take the Tuesday after Memorial Day to do a cook-a-thon and go shopping, put all these meals together and freeze them. I wanted to do it before I had both kids out of school for the summer. I made my grocery list, which ended up being two pages long. I was ready to go on Tuesday.
Like all my best laid plans, this didn't happen either... BUT, it actually worked out so well for me anyway. I had my list and my budget and took Nathaniel with me. We went to Aldi first. When we were done there, we went to Fairplay. FP was having a sale on bone in chicken. Anyone who knows me knows that I despise bone in chicken and God help me if there's skin on it, but I'm trying to save money. (And yes, already fried chicken with bones and skin is fine. I'll fuck that up easy!)
So my grocery list was: 30 chicken breasts, 6 pounds of stew meat, 2 lbs pork loin, 6 pounds of ground beef, 2 lbs ham, 8 chicken thighs, 1 lb drumsticks, and 2 lbs bone in chicken breasts. My veggies were a bag of onions, 4 pack multicolored peppers, 6 green peppers, 5 zucchini, 1 lb carrots, 1 bag baby carrots, 1 bag frozen corn. Fruit: 1 lime, 2 oranges. Canned goods were numerous. Box of chicken stock, box of beef broth, 10 4 ounce tomato sauce (Recipes called for 8 ounce cans, but they didn't have them. I subbed.) 2 cans of green chiles, 10 can diced tomatoes with chiles, 2 jars of minced garlic, 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes, 5 cans of cream of celery soup, 4 20 oz cans of pineapple chunks, 28 oz can of enchilada sauce, 1 can black beans, 4 6oz cans of tomato paste. Spices/misc were herb and garlic marinade, hoisin sauce, teriyaki sauce, 2 dry mix of onion soup, 2 taco seasoning packets, egg noodles, and a 24 oz jar of salsa.
So it was a lot to get. Plus I got 2 packs of strawberries, a bag of apples and oranges, a box of cocoa pebbles, 6 more packs of pork chops, 2 bags of potato chips, a large bag of shredded cheddar cheese, a large bag of shredded mozzarella cheese, 2 packs of hamburger buns, a pack of hot dogs buns, 5 noodles sides (Knorr kind, 3 rice sides (Knorr, again), two boxes of mac and cheese, diapers, a few packets of yeast (gonna make some bread and some pitas), a few boxes of Jiffy corn muffin mix, and a gallon of milk.
My car was stuffed to the gills! I had a few bags in Veronica's car seat even! Nathaniel told me I wasn't allowed to put anything there, But I needed the space. Now guess my grand total. Go ahead!!! I'll give you a minute. Do do do dooo, do do do. Do do do do do! Do do do do do. Do do do do do do do do. Ok, Enough Jeopardy. You get it.
My grand total was $207!!!!!! I am beyond thrilled! I bought all that stuff for so little. I had to process the stew meat recipes today, since they were on super clearance given that their sell by date is tomorrow. But I got a great deal on the other meat too. I made 12 pork chops (thin sliced) for dinner tonight and the 12 of them were $5. I already had the asparagus we had with it, and I used one of the noodle sides with it. So for $6 all 4 of us had dinner. You can't bet that! Plus we have pork chops left over for lunch tomorrow. (Pat and I are STUFFED!)
It's a good feeling.
Some of the recipes I am making are pesto chicken (shit, forgot to get pesto!), Mongolian beef, sloppy tamale pie, teriyaki chicken, ham and pineapples, a goulash type stew, beef tips and gravy, BBQ chicken (two different types), green chile pork stew, orange chicken, enchilada wraps (chicken), some twice baked potatoes to freeze, shredded chicken and homemade chicken stock, chicken caccitore, lime salsa chicken and beef stroganoff without mushrooms, thankyouverymuch. A lot of these recipes are doubled to make two bags for the freezer. I am looking forward to making these bags tomorrow, now that I have what I need.
I also plan on making my own baking mixes, brownie mixes, gravies and seasoning blends (like taco seasoning, Cajun seasoning, etc). We'll just have to wait and see how those turn out. I think I am going to really enjoy this summer!
Like all my best laid plans, this didn't happen either... BUT, it actually worked out so well for me anyway. I had my list and my budget and took Nathaniel with me. We went to Aldi first. When we were done there, we went to Fairplay. FP was having a sale on bone in chicken. Anyone who knows me knows that I despise bone in chicken and God help me if there's skin on it, but I'm trying to save money. (And yes, already fried chicken with bones and skin is fine. I'll fuck that up easy!)
So my grocery list was: 30 chicken breasts, 6 pounds of stew meat, 2 lbs pork loin, 6 pounds of ground beef, 2 lbs ham, 8 chicken thighs, 1 lb drumsticks, and 2 lbs bone in chicken breasts. My veggies were a bag of onions, 4 pack multicolored peppers, 6 green peppers, 5 zucchini, 1 lb carrots, 1 bag baby carrots, 1 bag frozen corn. Fruit: 1 lime, 2 oranges. Canned goods were numerous. Box of chicken stock, box of beef broth, 10 4 ounce tomato sauce (Recipes called for 8 ounce cans, but they didn't have them. I subbed.) 2 cans of green chiles, 10 can diced tomatoes with chiles, 2 jars of minced garlic, 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes, 5 cans of cream of celery soup, 4 20 oz cans of pineapple chunks, 28 oz can of enchilada sauce, 1 can black beans, 4 6oz cans of tomato paste. Spices/misc were herb and garlic marinade, hoisin sauce, teriyaki sauce, 2 dry mix of onion soup, 2 taco seasoning packets, egg noodles, and a 24 oz jar of salsa.
So it was a lot to get. Plus I got 2 packs of strawberries, a bag of apples and oranges, a box of cocoa pebbles, 6 more packs of pork chops, 2 bags of potato chips, a large bag of shredded cheddar cheese, a large bag of shredded mozzarella cheese, 2 packs of hamburger buns, a pack of hot dogs buns, 5 noodles sides (Knorr kind, 3 rice sides (Knorr, again), two boxes of mac and cheese, diapers, a few packets of yeast (gonna make some bread and some pitas), a few boxes of Jiffy corn muffin mix, and a gallon of milk.
My car was stuffed to the gills! I had a few bags in Veronica's car seat even! Nathaniel told me I wasn't allowed to put anything there, But I needed the space. Now guess my grand total. Go ahead!!! I'll give you a minute. Do do do dooo, do do do. Do do do do do! Do do do do do. Do do do do do do do do. Ok, Enough Jeopardy. You get it.
My grand total was $207!!!!!! I am beyond thrilled! I bought all that stuff for so little. I had to process the stew meat recipes today, since they were on super clearance given that their sell by date is tomorrow. But I got a great deal on the other meat too. I made 12 pork chops (thin sliced) for dinner tonight and the 12 of them were $5. I already had the asparagus we had with it, and I used one of the noodle sides with it. So for $6 all 4 of us had dinner. You can't bet that! Plus we have pork chops left over for lunch tomorrow. (Pat and I are STUFFED!)
It's a good feeling.
Some of the recipes I am making are pesto chicken (shit, forgot to get pesto!), Mongolian beef, sloppy tamale pie, teriyaki chicken, ham and pineapples, a goulash type stew, beef tips and gravy, BBQ chicken (two different types), green chile pork stew, orange chicken, enchilada wraps (chicken), some twice baked potatoes to freeze, shredded chicken and homemade chicken stock, chicken caccitore, lime salsa chicken and beef stroganoff without mushrooms, thankyouverymuch. A lot of these recipes are doubled to make two bags for the freezer. I am looking forward to making these bags tomorrow, now that I have what I need.
I also plan on making my own baking mixes, brownie mixes, gravies and seasoning blends (like taco seasoning, Cajun seasoning, etc). We'll just have to wait and see how those turn out. I think I am going to really enjoy this summer!
Thursday, May 23, 2013
25 Hours From Now
I have about 25 hours left of my teaching career. I really can't wait to not be here or in any classroom for that matter. It's become really bad.
But even amongst the horror, there has always been some light. My colleauges. They are amazing people. They gave me flowers yesterday and a card. I knew I would cry when I read the card, so I waited until I got home to open it. Imagine my surprise when cash fell out. They had taken up a collection for me since I am leaving. They aer genuinely thoughtful people, and I think they are what's kept me going the last year. It surely hasn't been the students I had.
But I do have plans for next week, since both kids are going to day care. (I think after 19 years in education I deserve a week to myself, right?) I am going to spend one day doing some freezer cooking. I have about 18 recipes (and some of them are doubled) that can be assembled and then frozen to throw in the crock pot. I also intend to stock the pantry with a lot of non-perishables. I plan to spend close to $400.
Why? Becuase I'm terrified that my decision to leave and not have a job will mean that my kids will go hungry. If Pat and I don't eat dinner every night, we'll both be fine. (Perhaps even better off.) But I can't allow my kids to have that problem. And with them both eating table food now, and Nathaniel eating all three meals at home (he was having breakfast and lunch at school) I need to find ways to make sure they eat.
This summer, we'll be going to the farmer's market and stocking up on fruits- some to eat right away and some to freeze. Same with veggies. (Plus I found a "reduced to sell quick" section at one of the grocery stores last night that had great looking veggies for 50 cents a pound. That's a lot of green beans and zucchini! Bags of potatoes -that I can bake and freeze right away- for 99 cents.)
I think the fear of my kids going hungry is greater than the fear of being 39 with diabetes and no insurance. I should be able to pull out all of my retirement (minus the taxes and penalties, but you gotta do what you gotta do) and that should help us live for a while. Especially when we'll be saving over $1200 a month by not sending both kids to full time day care. Nathaniel will go to preschool 5 days a week, but it costs $360/month, as opposed to $220/week for day care for him and $180/week for Veronica. So that should help.
Pat keeps pushing me to apply for a teaching position in other districts, but I can't. I don't want to. I don't want to be near any children but my own for a looooong time. He just doesn't fucking get it. It hit me as to why when I was in the shower this morning. He's never held a job for 5 years, let alone 10. Nor has he been in the same industry for more than 5 years. I've been teaching for 19. That's got to be why he doesn't get it. And frankly, it pisses me the fuck off that he can quit his job and everything is supposed to be ok, but I quit mine and it's the end of the world. I secretly hate him for that.
But again, I digress. I've got my shopping lists made for next week and the kids' parties are planned. All I need to get for that is the food, which is really no big deal. And I have to print the invitations. I ordered everything from designers on Etsy this year, since it will be the first and only time they have separate themed parties. HIs is Mario Bros. and Veronica's is 1-der the Sea. OMG did her invites turn out cute!!! I serached for a long time befiore I settled on a design that I really liked. I hope to add pictures, but since it's still a month away, it will take some time.
So yeah, this turned out to not be about my 25 hours left, but about the hours, days, weeks and months afterwards. I am looking forward to the next chapter in my life. I just have to have faith that this was the right time and the right decision. Wish me luck!
But even amongst the horror, there has always been some light. My colleauges. They are amazing people. They gave me flowers yesterday and a card. I knew I would cry when I read the card, so I waited until I got home to open it. Imagine my surprise when cash fell out. They had taken up a collection for me since I am leaving. They aer genuinely thoughtful people, and I think they are what's kept me going the last year. It surely hasn't been the students I had.
But I do have plans for next week, since both kids are going to day care. (I think after 19 years in education I deserve a week to myself, right?) I am going to spend one day doing some freezer cooking. I have about 18 recipes (and some of them are doubled) that can be assembled and then frozen to throw in the crock pot. I also intend to stock the pantry with a lot of non-perishables. I plan to spend close to $400.
Why? Becuase I'm terrified that my decision to leave and not have a job will mean that my kids will go hungry. If Pat and I don't eat dinner every night, we'll both be fine. (Perhaps even better off.) But I can't allow my kids to have that problem. And with them both eating table food now, and Nathaniel eating all three meals at home (he was having breakfast and lunch at school) I need to find ways to make sure they eat.
This summer, we'll be going to the farmer's market and stocking up on fruits- some to eat right away and some to freeze. Same with veggies. (Plus I found a "reduced to sell quick" section at one of the grocery stores last night that had great looking veggies for 50 cents a pound. That's a lot of green beans and zucchini! Bags of potatoes -that I can bake and freeze right away- for 99 cents.)
I think the fear of my kids going hungry is greater than the fear of being 39 with diabetes and no insurance. I should be able to pull out all of my retirement (minus the taxes and penalties, but you gotta do what you gotta do) and that should help us live for a while. Especially when we'll be saving over $1200 a month by not sending both kids to full time day care. Nathaniel will go to preschool 5 days a week, but it costs $360/month, as opposed to $220/week for day care for him and $180/week for Veronica. So that should help.
Pat keeps pushing me to apply for a teaching position in other districts, but I can't. I don't want to. I don't want to be near any children but my own for a looooong time. He just doesn't fucking get it. It hit me as to why when I was in the shower this morning. He's never held a job for 5 years, let alone 10. Nor has he been in the same industry for more than 5 years. I've been teaching for 19. That's got to be why he doesn't get it. And frankly, it pisses me the fuck off that he can quit his job and everything is supposed to be ok, but I quit mine and it's the end of the world. I secretly hate him for that.
But again, I digress. I've got my shopping lists made for next week and the kids' parties are planned. All I need to get for that is the food, which is really no big deal. And I have to print the invitations. I ordered everything from designers on Etsy this year, since it will be the first and only time they have separate themed parties. HIs is Mario Bros. and Veronica's is 1-der the Sea. OMG did her invites turn out cute!!! I serached for a long time befiore I settled on a design that I really liked. I hope to add pictures, but since it's still a month away, it will take some time.
So yeah, this turned out to not be about my 25 hours left, but about the hours, days, weeks and months afterwards. I am looking forward to the next chapter in my life. I just have to have faith that this was the right time and the right decision. Wish me luck!
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Cleaning Out My Desk
I am cleaning out my desk at work. Wow. I have a ton of useless shit in there. I found programs from 10 years ago. No, seriously, I did. It was from March 2003. It's been a long time coming.
ALthough I am terrified at what the furture brings (lack of insurance and income- EEK!) I am excited too. I have told my colleagues that I am leaving, and they are coming in two weeks to raid the place. I have thousands of dollars in books that are going to still be used, and that makes me happy.
But not as happy as the thought of never returning. I know people say "Never say never," but this is a never for me. There are 17 days left, and with the close of each day I thank God that I made it through and have one less to go. I get more and more excited as the end approaches.
And less and less depressed. And I'm not eating crap, either. Woot- woot!
ALthough I am terrified at what the furture brings (lack of insurance and income- EEK!) I am excited too. I have told my colleagues that I am leaving, and they are coming in two weeks to raid the place. I have thousands of dollars in books that are going to still be used, and that makes me happy.
But not as happy as the thought of never returning. I know people say "Never say never," but this is a never for me. There are 17 days left, and with the close of each day I thank God that I made it through and have one less to go. I get more and more excited as the end approaches.
And less and less depressed. And I'm not eating crap, either. Woot- woot!
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Coming to an End
I am not one who usually jumps headfirst into things without weighing each pro and con, so when I have a big decision to make, it takes a while. I mean, I start planning my kids; birthday parties 6 months in advance and make lists upon lists of things that I could do, so I can have a plan in place. It gives me a sense of security.
Getting married? No brainer. That was an easy decision.
Having children? Took us months to decide whether to have a second one.
Deciding on a house? We looked at over 50.
So my latest decision has had me stumped for months. I have honestly been working on this since December. Do I stay in teaching or try something new?
I weighed the pros such as my time off with my kids, decent pay, great insurance. I weighed the cons, such as ever increasing demands, depression related to work, migraines, more administrative bullshit than I care to deal with, and so on. And I came to a decision.
I. AM. DONE. Yes, it will be hard to work year round, but I think that's a case of ignorance would have been bliss. I mean millions of women work year round and their children still love them and they get things done. Why shouldn't I be able to as well? I thought of what I'd be taking away from my children- all that time with them. But I think that giving them a happier mom who is under less stress would be just as, if not more, beneficial to them.
So I told my first colleague today that I'm not coming back. She tried to talk me out of it, but all I could do was cry. I don't want to be there. I don't want to deal with any of the crap that we deal with. I have lost my passion for teaching and that's dangerous. A teacher who is just collecting a check isn't doing society any good. I don't want to be that, but I feel myself inching closer and closer to that.
I am terrified too. I don't know what I'll do. I know I have 4 months to find something, and that's a luxury not many are afforded. And I do know that any other job in the world is going to have administrative bullshit and a whole list of cons.
But I have to try. All I've ever done is teach. My first class was in 1994. Yes, I count the years I spent teaching preschool. Nearly 20 years of experience, and I despise it so much that I'm willing to walk away from it all. My books that I've spent thousands of dollars on. My posters. My summers. My pension.
And I don't care.
Getting married? No brainer. That was an easy decision.
Having children? Took us months to decide whether to have a second one.
Deciding on a house? We looked at over 50.
So my latest decision has had me stumped for months. I have honestly been working on this since December. Do I stay in teaching or try something new?
I weighed the pros such as my time off with my kids, decent pay, great insurance. I weighed the cons, such as ever increasing demands, depression related to work, migraines, more administrative bullshit than I care to deal with, and so on. And I came to a decision.
I. AM. DONE. Yes, it will be hard to work year round, but I think that's a case of ignorance would have been bliss. I mean millions of women work year round and their children still love them and they get things done. Why shouldn't I be able to as well? I thought of what I'd be taking away from my children- all that time with them. But I think that giving them a happier mom who is under less stress would be just as, if not more, beneficial to them.
So I told my first colleague today that I'm not coming back. She tried to talk me out of it, but all I could do was cry. I don't want to be there. I don't want to deal with any of the crap that we deal with. I have lost my passion for teaching and that's dangerous. A teacher who is just collecting a check isn't doing society any good. I don't want to be that, but I feel myself inching closer and closer to that.
I am terrified too. I don't know what I'll do. I know I have 4 months to find something, and that's a luxury not many are afforded. And I do know that any other job in the world is going to have administrative bullshit and a whole list of cons.
But I have to try. All I've ever done is teach. My first class was in 1994. Yes, I count the years I spent teaching preschool. Nearly 20 years of experience, and I despise it so much that I'm willing to walk away from it all. My books that I've spent thousands of dollars on. My posters. My summers. My pension.
And I don't care.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Losing It
I went to Target to get a few things... Baby food, a rain coat for each of the kids, spring/summer jammies for them, and a condelence card. While I was in the card section, it hit me that I needed to get a card for my mom's wedding on Saturday.
I walked to the aisle that had the wedding cards in them and just started sobbing. Mom's getting married on Saturday. In three days, she won't have the same last name she's had since 1968. My dad's name.
Dad died after suffering through illnesses and invalidity on July 3, 2010, a few days after Nathaniel's first birthday. He's buried in a cemetary not too far from where mom works. And although in my head I know he's not there, I fear that he's alone. That he always will be alone. And that my mom will forget about him.
It's not that I'm not happy for my mom. I am. (Or try to be.) She deserves to be happy. I promised her that when Dad died, if she found someone else I would be happy for her. But I never expected that to actually happen, so it was an easy promise.
The man she is marrying makes her happy. She makes him happy. Everyone is so happy it makes me want to vomit. I put on my smile and try to be as welcoming as possible, but I find that I am having a harder time than I ever expected to.
There's nothing wrong with him, but little comments that he makes drive me crazy. Like "I get to become a father and grandfather all in one day." No, my dad is dead and my kids aren't your grandkids. Ever.
Pat and I talked about how this was making me feel, about how I feel like my dad will be alone forever. He said he felt the same way about his dad. I don't care about his dad. My dad bought 6 plots in the cemetary, to fill up with his wife and kids, I assume. His dad bought 4 plots so that he could have a monument erected. I know two people that can be buried there- his uncle and the cousin who will probably never marry. So one spot will go unused. Pat and I plan to be buried together, and he knows better than to plant me by his dad. That brings us around again to my dad being all alone.
I would never tell my mom the way I feel because I don't want to hurt her. But inside I am hurting so much.
I walked to the aisle that had the wedding cards in them and just started sobbing. Mom's getting married on Saturday. In three days, she won't have the same last name she's had since 1968. My dad's name.
Dad died after suffering through illnesses and invalidity on July 3, 2010, a few days after Nathaniel's first birthday. He's buried in a cemetary not too far from where mom works. And although in my head I know he's not there, I fear that he's alone. That he always will be alone. And that my mom will forget about him.
It's not that I'm not happy for my mom. I am. (Or try to be.) She deserves to be happy. I promised her that when Dad died, if she found someone else I would be happy for her. But I never expected that to actually happen, so it was an easy promise.
The man she is marrying makes her happy. She makes him happy. Everyone is so happy it makes me want to vomit. I put on my smile and try to be as welcoming as possible, but I find that I am having a harder time than I ever expected to.
There's nothing wrong with him, but little comments that he makes drive me crazy. Like "I get to become a father and grandfather all in one day." No, my dad is dead and my kids aren't your grandkids. Ever.
Pat and I talked about how this was making me feel, about how I feel like my dad will be alone forever. He said he felt the same way about his dad. I don't care about his dad. My dad bought 6 plots in the cemetary, to fill up with his wife and kids, I assume. His dad bought 4 plots so that he could have a monument erected. I know two people that can be buried there- his uncle and the cousin who will probably never marry. So one spot will go unused. Pat and I plan to be buried together, and he knows better than to plant me by his dad. That brings us around again to my dad being all alone.
I would never tell my mom the way I feel because I don't want to hurt her. But inside I am hurting so much.
Sunday, April 7, 2013
The Experiment Month Two
So, yeah. Just like the road to Hell, my meal planning was paved with good intentions. Towards the end of the month, we got our tax refund, and went out to eat a few times and bought other groceries. I didn't make the enchiladas I had planned, nor did I make a meatloaf, but I did manage to keep the monthly grocery budget to under $250.
In my humble opinion, that was pretty damn amazing!
So, we're doing it again. This time, I gave myself $200 for the month. I have done the grocery shopping and some of the prep work, and the freezer is full. (Oh, speaking of freezers, did I mention that my mom gave me one? I was telling her about how we planned to take some of the daycare money from the summer- when we don't pay for day care for Veronica- and buy one. She offered to give us her old one. Yay!!!! We picked it up the next week, let it sit for a few days, and plugged that sucker in. We're keeping it in the garage, but so happy to have it!)
Ok, so my prep work consisted of cutting up chicken to make oven fajitas and stir fry. I also take all the breasts and butterfly them to make them into two breasts. I put them all into Ziploc bags and label them with the date and what I intend to use them for. (Some meals I know I'll need more meat.)
I also did the shopping in a few trips this time. One day over spring break, I went to the expensive grocery store. I wanted to make some bread and needed yeast. Of course the cart had more stuff in it than just the yeast. But they had pork tenderloins on sale. And by sale I mean coupons attached because they were nearing their sell by date. I bought $42 worth of tenderloins for $24. They are each about a pound and a half, and I got 6 of them. We grilled one that night, but the other 5 are in the freezer.
On another unrelated trip to Target, they had ground beef on sale, so I picked up 4 packs. Those 4, plus the ones I have leftover from March, give me enough for all of April (going in to May). So for proteins, I just needed chicken. Oh, the chicken.
When I went to Aldi to do the main shopping today, the chicken didn't look very good, so I decided to get it when I went to the expensive store, since they usually have a decent price on chicken. (I knew I would have to go for things like foil pans and ricotta cheese.) SO I got all the pantry stuff and most of everything else at Aldi. Spent $75. Not bad! Went to the other store and found the Chicken. $5.99 a pound! What the fuck? Packs of 3 chicken breasts were 10 bucks. I was pissed. I found one that had a $4 coupon on it, and another one that was thin sliced breasts- perfect for the fajitas and stir fry- that also had a $4 coupon on it. But that was it. The equivalent of 6 breasts for $12. There was no way I could do that, but I needed to have some chicken for dinner.
Then, I looked in the fridge section in the middle of the meat department. They had the same damn chicken in a family pack for $1.99 a pound. THE SAME BONELESS, SKINLESS CHICKEN BREASTS, JUST $3/POUND CHEAPER!!!!!!!! I put back the one pack of three breasts and got 5 packs of the family size packs. There were 5 breasts in each. I did buy the pack of thin cut ones, since I was getting tired at that point. So I ended up (after butterflying the chicken breasts) 50 breasts for about $37. If I had bought them at the regular price with the three packs, it would have cost right around $80. That's just nucking futs.
So anyway, the shopping is done, the meals are prepped and we are eating great this month. Some of the meals are new again, and I will review each of them and give a link to the recipe. But up this month is a parmesan chicken bake, salsa chicken in the crockpot, apple and honey pork tenderloin, goulash, enchiladas, fajitas, mashed potato casserole, grilled Italian sausage (I like the turkey sausage here. I have a pack of hot and a pack of sweet, both of which had $3 coupons on them) and French Toast Roll-ups. I think I am looking forward to those the most.
OK, I guess then look for new posts this week about the recipes and other ramblings that come from my head.
In my humble opinion, that was pretty damn amazing!
So, we're doing it again. This time, I gave myself $200 for the month. I have done the grocery shopping and some of the prep work, and the freezer is full. (Oh, speaking of freezers, did I mention that my mom gave me one? I was telling her about how we planned to take some of the daycare money from the summer- when we don't pay for day care for Veronica- and buy one. She offered to give us her old one. Yay!!!! We picked it up the next week, let it sit for a few days, and plugged that sucker in. We're keeping it in the garage, but so happy to have it!)
Ok, so my prep work consisted of cutting up chicken to make oven fajitas and stir fry. I also take all the breasts and butterfly them to make them into two breasts. I put them all into Ziploc bags and label them with the date and what I intend to use them for. (Some meals I know I'll need more meat.)
I also did the shopping in a few trips this time. One day over spring break, I went to the expensive grocery store. I wanted to make some bread and needed yeast. Of course the cart had more stuff in it than just the yeast. But they had pork tenderloins on sale. And by sale I mean coupons attached because they were nearing their sell by date. I bought $42 worth of tenderloins for $24. They are each about a pound and a half, and I got 6 of them. We grilled one that night, but the other 5 are in the freezer.
On another unrelated trip to Target, they had ground beef on sale, so I picked up 4 packs. Those 4, plus the ones I have leftover from March, give me enough for all of April (going in to May). So for proteins, I just needed chicken. Oh, the chicken.
When I went to Aldi to do the main shopping today, the chicken didn't look very good, so I decided to get it when I went to the expensive store, since they usually have a decent price on chicken. (I knew I would have to go for things like foil pans and ricotta cheese.) SO I got all the pantry stuff and most of everything else at Aldi. Spent $75. Not bad! Went to the other store and found the Chicken. $5.99 a pound! What the fuck? Packs of 3 chicken breasts were 10 bucks. I was pissed. I found one that had a $4 coupon on it, and another one that was thin sliced breasts- perfect for the fajitas and stir fry- that also had a $4 coupon on it. But that was it. The equivalent of 6 breasts for $12. There was no way I could do that, but I needed to have some chicken for dinner.
Then, I looked in the fridge section in the middle of the meat department. They had the same damn chicken in a family pack for $1.99 a pound. THE SAME BONELESS, SKINLESS CHICKEN BREASTS, JUST $3/POUND CHEAPER!!!!!!!! I put back the one pack of three breasts and got 5 packs of the family size packs. There were 5 breasts in each. I did buy the pack of thin cut ones, since I was getting tired at that point. So I ended up (after butterflying the chicken breasts) 50 breasts for about $37. If I had bought them at the regular price with the three packs, it would have cost right around $80. That's just nucking futs.
So anyway, the shopping is done, the meals are prepped and we are eating great this month. Some of the meals are new again, and I will review each of them and give a link to the recipe. But up this month is a parmesan chicken bake, salsa chicken in the crockpot, apple and honey pork tenderloin, goulash, enchiladas, fajitas, mashed potato casserole, grilled Italian sausage (I like the turkey sausage here. I have a pack of hot and a pack of sweet, both of which had $3 coupons on them) and French Toast Roll-ups. I think I am looking forward to those the most.
OK, I guess then look for new posts this week about the recipes and other ramblings that come from my head.
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Screw ups and Oopsies
Ok, what have I made since last time? One pot spaghetti. I made it on Sunday and dear Lord, who do these people think they're feeding? I've had 7 meals out of this (breakfast sometimes and lunches, and 2 dinners) and there is still another 2 meals left over. It was easy to make. http://pinterest.com/pin/96686723222645310/
I also made crock pot cube steak. http://pinterest.com/pin/96686723222646376/ This will NOT be repeated in our house. The steaks all fell apart, so it made a chinky soup, basically. I made some elbow mac and dumped it in. That soaked up a lot of the liquid, and it tasted good enough to eat, but not something we'd eat again. In fact, Pat ate a plate of it and then opted for a bowl of cereal. He didn't like it. I didn't like it enough to eat it again, so we dumped it. I hate dumping food,. It is such a waste of time, money and resources, but if no one was going to eat it, then why keep it. Still, seeing that money thrown out was tough.
And speaking of things that didn't quite go as planned, I screwed up. I had taken my monthly calendar of meals to school with me, and left it there. I had no idea what I should be pulling out of the freezer for dinner tonight. But, since I had everything I need to cook anything on that menu, I grabbed the bag for oven fajitas. http://pinterest.com/pin/96686723222660713/
I had the foresight to chop the veggies and cut the chicken into strips before I froze it, so I just pulled the bag and put it in the fridge last night. This morning, I mixed the spices in a small container, so everything was ready to go. They turned out pretty good, and Nathaniel even ate some (without peppers or onions, of course). Veronica had her first firsthand experience with Mexican food because she tried a bit of the chicken. She kept grabbing for my plate after that first bite! The veggies were not as crisp as they are when you use a skillet or grill, but it had some good flavors.
Because I screwed up and took things out of order, tomorrow will be a regular pork stir fry with rice and Friday is Spaghetti and garlic bread. I think I have some more pinterest recipes coming up, and I will see how those turn out too. I did have to spend a little bit of money today, because I wanted some cheese for my fajitas, but other than that, we are still well below $200 for the month.
I also made crock pot cube steak. http://pinterest.com/pin/96686723222646376/ This will NOT be repeated in our house. The steaks all fell apart, so it made a chinky soup, basically. I made some elbow mac and dumped it in. That soaked up a lot of the liquid, and it tasted good enough to eat, but not something we'd eat again. In fact, Pat ate a plate of it and then opted for a bowl of cereal. He didn't like it. I didn't like it enough to eat it again, so we dumped it. I hate dumping food,. It is such a waste of time, money and resources, but if no one was going to eat it, then why keep it. Still, seeing that money thrown out was tough.
And speaking of things that didn't quite go as planned, I screwed up. I had taken my monthly calendar of meals to school with me, and left it there. I had no idea what I should be pulling out of the freezer for dinner tonight. But, since I had everything I need to cook anything on that menu, I grabbed the bag for oven fajitas. http://pinterest.com/pin/96686723222660713/
I had the foresight to chop the veggies and cut the chicken into strips before I froze it, so I just pulled the bag and put it in the fridge last night. This morning, I mixed the spices in a small container, so everything was ready to go. They turned out pretty good, and Nathaniel even ate some (without peppers or onions, of course). Veronica had her first firsthand experience with Mexican food because she tried a bit of the chicken. She kept grabbing for my plate after that first bite! The veggies were not as crisp as they are when you use a skillet or grill, but it had some good flavors.
Because I screwed up and took things out of order, tomorrow will be a regular pork stir fry with rice and Friday is Spaghetti and garlic bread. I think I have some more pinterest recipes coming up, and I will see how those turn out too. I did have to spend a little bit of money today, because I wanted some cheese for my fajitas, but other than that, we are still well below $200 for the month.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
The experiment continues
Tonight was beef and broccoli. http://pinterest.com/pin/96686723222620123/ I made this because it's what Pat gets every time we have Chinese food. Every. Time. I don't like it because often the meat doesn't taste done. So I thought, "Hmm. crock pot means long cooking time. Meat's got to be cooked enough even for me." I was right. It was good.
The first few bites tasted just like a pot roast. I was disappointed. But, the more I mixed it up with the rice, the better it tasted. I couldn't get it to finish in the crock pot though, so I have another dirty pot, but that's ok. My broccoli also turned out mushy, but let's be honest, broccoli doesn't taste all that great anyway.
I used to love broccoli, so don't start the hate just yet. But I've had a hard time eating it since I was about 8 weeks pregnant with Nathaniel. It was my one true food aversion. Before then, Pat and I were eating broccli three nights a week. (Keep your stinky fart smell jokes to yourself!) Being pregnant with that kid ruined broccoli for me to the point where I still have a hard time eating it (except for broccoli cheese soup, but really, how much is in there?) Now that Nathaniel is getting close to 4, I have just begun to be able to eat it again. I've had it roasted in the oven (which is awesome if you've never tried it- olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper at 400 for 30 minutes or so) and I've had it tonight. As I said, it was mushy, but still discernible as brocoli.
The recipe I used called for beef consumme, but that stuff's expensive so after reading the comments on the original recipe, I just used beef broth and a package of onion soup mix. I also added an onion to the crock pot, because the CHinese place has them in their beef and broccoli. I also cooked the rice in beef broth, instead of water, to give it added flavor. (If you don't do this, you really should. It's great and you've already got it in the house if you made the B&B this way. I use chicken stock when I make rice for stir fry.)
Anyway, as I said, it turned out good. I will definitely be making it again. Tomorrow is just tomato soup and grilled cheese, since half our house is Catholic- no meat on Fridays.
One thing I remembered that I wanted to add- I spent another $12 on groceries, since I didn't have enough cheddar cheese, and wanted to make cake cookies- http://pinterest.com/pin/96686723222533220/ - for school. I also picked up some snacks for Nathaniel, since we really had none in the house. He loves swiss cake rolls. He calls them "cakey things." How can you resist that? My total is still under $170 for the month though, not including milk. Not too shabby.
PS- I ate bubble up pizza for breakfast and lunch today, and still have enough for lunch tomorrow. That would be 6 servings for about $8.00 worth of ingredients.
The first few bites tasted just like a pot roast. I was disappointed. But, the more I mixed it up with the rice, the better it tasted. I couldn't get it to finish in the crock pot though, so I have another dirty pot, but that's ok. My broccoli also turned out mushy, but let's be honest, broccoli doesn't taste all that great anyway.
I used to love broccoli, so don't start the hate just yet. But I've had a hard time eating it since I was about 8 weeks pregnant with Nathaniel. It was my one true food aversion. Before then, Pat and I were eating broccli three nights a week. (Keep your stinky fart smell jokes to yourself!) Being pregnant with that kid ruined broccoli for me to the point where I still have a hard time eating it (except for broccoli cheese soup, but really, how much is in there?) Now that Nathaniel is getting close to 4, I have just begun to be able to eat it again. I've had it roasted in the oven (which is awesome if you've never tried it- olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper at 400 for 30 minutes or so) and I've had it tonight. As I said, it was mushy, but still discernible as brocoli.
The recipe I used called for beef consumme, but that stuff's expensive so after reading the comments on the original recipe, I just used beef broth and a package of onion soup mix. I also added an onion to the crock pot, because the CHinese place has them in their beef and broccoli. I also cooked the rice in beef broth, instead of water, to give it added flavor. (If you don't do this, you really should. It's great and you've already got it in the house if you made the B&B this way. I use chicken stock when I make rice for stir fry.)
Anyway, as I said, it turned out good. I will definitely be making it again. Tomorrow is just tomato soup and grilled cheese, since half our house is Catholic- no meat on Fridays.
One thing I remembered that I wanted to add- I spent another $12 on groceries, since I didn't have enough cheddar cheese, and wanted to make cake cookies- http://pinterest.com/pin/96686723222533220/ - for school. I also picked up some snacks for Nathaniel, since we really had none in the house. He loves swiss cake rolls. He calls them "cakey things." How can you resist that? My total is still under $170 for the month though, not including milk. Not too shabby.
PS- I ate bubble up pizza for breakfast and lunch today, and still have enough for lunch tomorrow. That would be 6 servings for about $8.00 worth of ingredients.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Bubble up pizza and more
So yesterday, I had planned to make brown sugar chicken. When I got home, the chicken wasn't fully defrosted, so I had to go with someting else. Since i had everything I need for the month, I pulled out stuff that didn't need to be defrosted. I went with the bubble up pizza.
I love this recipe for several reasons. One, it's cheap. Two, it's super easy. Three, I have an awesome soux chef who loves to help with the prep work. Before I forget, here's the recipe. http://pinterest.com/pin/96686723222520352/
It takes like 5 minutes to put together. Cutting the biscuits takes the longest, except when I have Nathaniel cut up the pepperoni. We tried a knife, a pair of scissors, and finally settled on him tearing it into pieces. (He needs help wit his fine motor skills, so I figured we practice while cooking together.) He doesn't like it as much as regualr pizza and told me he didn't want to eat it.
For once, I was fine with that. I made him some pasta and made the pizza for Pat and I. I put in minced garlic, pepperoni and onion. I also used a shit ton of cheese. No really. On the side of the package it said "shit ton."
ANyway, I baked it up and Pat and I had it for dinner and I had some for lunch and still have half a pan left. Lunch tomorrow is served! Especially since we were really hungry tonight and have no leftovers. Brown sugar chicken and cheesy corn casserole.
Speaking of the corn casserole, It tasted pretty good reheated after being frozen. Nathaniel liked it when we had it the other day (when I made it) but he didn't like it tonight. That's ok though. He ate all his carrots. ;) Tomorrow is another new recipe... crock pot beef and broccoli. Can't wait to see how it turns out!
I love this recipe for several reasons. One, it's cheap. Two, it's super easy. Three, I have an awesome soux chef who loves to help with the prep work. Before I forget, here's the recipe. http://pinterest.com/pin/96686723222520352/
It takes like 5 minutes to put together. Cutting the biscuits takes the longest, except when I have Nathaniel cut up the pepperoni. We tried a knife, a pair of scissors, and finally settled on him tearing it into pieces. (He needs help wit his fine motor skills, so I figured we practice while cooking together.) He doesn't like it as much as regualr pizza and told me he didn't want to eat it.
For once, I was fine with that. I made him some pasta and made the pizza for Pat and I. I put in minced garlic, pepperoni and onion. I also used a shit ton of cheese. No really. On the side of the package it said "shit ton."
ANyway, I baked it up and Pat and I had it for dinner and I had some for lunch and still have half a pan left. Lunch tomorrow is served! Especially since we were really hungry tonight and have no leftovers. Brown sugar chicken and cheesy corn casserole.
Speaking of the corn casserole, It tasted pretty good reheated after being frozen. Nathaniel liked it when we had it the other day (when I made it) but he didn't like it tonight. That's ok though. He ate all his carrots. ;) Tomorrow is another new recipe... crock pot beef and broccoli. Can't wait to see how it turns out!
Head Vs, Heart
**I started to type this yesterday, March 12, 2013, but I couldn't get through it all. Here is what I remember of what I had planned to say. This is also why I couldn't put the recipes in my previous post.**
Ugh. I just can't stop crying today. My head is battling with my heart and that always makes things difficult. Two years ago today, I had my second miscarriage. And my heart is breaking.
My heart misses what will never be. My heart longs for the baby I lost. My heart is full of pain today.
But my head, oh my head! My head knows that if I'd had that baby, I wouldn't have my sweet wonderful Veronica. I sit watching her and she is next to me laughing. She waves at me and gives me a smile, as if to say "Mommy, I was meant to be here with you, not the other one."
So while my heart breaks, my head rejoices in the new things my daughter discovers every day. My heart aches with pain but also with the joy she brings.
When your head and heart are battling, there will be no actual casualties, but it's a hard fought battle.
Ugh. I just can't stop crying today. My head is battling with my heart and that always makes things difficult. Two years ago today, I had my second miscarriage. And my heart is breaking.
My heart misses what will never be. My heart longs for the baby I lost. My heart is full of pain today.
But my head, oh my head! My head knows that if I'd had that baby, I wouldn't have my sweet wonderful Veronica. I sit watching her and she is next to me laughing. She waves at me and gives me a smile, as if to say "Mommy, I was meant to be here with you, not the other one."
So while my heart breaks, my head rejoices in the new things my daughter discovers every day. My heart aches with pain but also with the joy she brings.
When your head and heart are battling, there will be no actual casualties, but it's a hard fought battle.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Recipes
I will try to remember to include links to recipes when I post about some new food that I've made. Or type out the recipe, if I can't link it. So here goes:
Shredded buffalo chicken. This is really one of our favorites. It's so easy, makes a ton, and tastes great as sandqiches, nachoes or on salads. We make it twice a month. http://pinterest.com/pin/96686723221653656/
The Italian pork chops that I made tonight. They were good, by the way. I just would have like a crispier coating. http://pinterest.com/pin/96686723222598977/
The crack potatoes that we had tonight. (Technically the third pan of a previous batch.) http://pinterest.com/pin/96686723222479328/
This is the brown sugar chicken we're having tomorrow. http://pinterest.com/pin/96686723222497742/
We're having this cheesy corn casserole with the chicken. (One pan out of the four it made) http://pinterest.com/pin/96686723222584836/
Ok, so that's all I've got right now. I'm getting pretty darn tired and the baby is ready for bed too, I hope. But don't worry, I'll get more up here as I continue the experiment.
Shredded buffalo chicken. This is really one of our favorites. It's so easy, makes a ton, and tastes great as sandqiches, nachoes or on salads. We make it twice a month. http://pinterest.com/pin/96686723221653656/
The Italian pork chops that I made tonight. They were good, by the way. I just would have like a crispier coating. http://pinterest.com/pin/96686723222598977/
The crack potatoes that we had tonight. (Technically the third pan of a previous batch.) http://pinterest.com/pin/96686723222479328/
This is the brown sugar chicken we're having tomorrow. http://pinterest.com/pin/96686723222497742/
We're having this cheesy corn casserole with the chicken. (One pan out of the four it made) http://pinterest.com/pin/96686723222584836/
Ok, so that's all I've got right now. I'm getting pretty darn tired and the baby is ready for bed too, I hope. But don't worry, I'll get more up here as I continue the experiment.
Pork chops, crack potatoes and green beans
So I was planning on making pork chops, crack potatoes and green beans for dinner tonight, but I think that might change a little. I have the green beans and a leftover pan on the potatoes (I found the recipe on pinterest and it made 3 pans from one recipe). But I might change the pork chops.
I was scouting out my pinterest this morning or last night, I'm not sure now which it was. ANyway, I found a recipe for parmesan gralic chicken. It had just 4 ingredients- parm cheese, garlic powder and a packet of Italian dressing mix and chicken. Well, I have all of those in the house, but I will try it out on the pork chops.
The chops I bought last week, the day before the sell by date and got $3.00 off the package. They cost $2.64. Yeah, they're bone in, which I don't like, but I can cut the bone out to save that much (on pork chops anyway. Not on chicken. Yuck!) The parm cheese will cost about 35 cents worth and the rest of the stuff for dinner I already had on hand. So sinner tonight will cost $3.00.
I know, right? 3 bucks! To feed three people! Even if I added the price for the other stuff, it would come up to about $6.00 for the potatoes, beans and chops. I am thrilled with how this is going. I will write tomorrow and review the chops, but if you read this and follow me on Pinterest, the review will be up tonight, on my "Pin there, done that" board. (Cute name, isn't it? IT's the things I've done or made. Tee hee.)
I was scouting out my pinterest this morning or last night, I'm not sure now which it was. ANyway, I found a recipe for parmesan gralic chicken. It had just 4 ingredients- parm cheese, garlic powder and a packet of Italian dressing mix and chicken. Well, I have all of those in the house, but I will try it out on the pork chops.
The chops I bought last week, the day before the sell by date and got $3.00 off the package. They cost $2.64. Yeah, they're bone in, which I don't like, but I can cut the bone out to save that much (on pork chops anyway. Not on chicken. Yuck!) The parm cheese will cost about 35 cents worth and the rest of the stuff for dinner I already had on hand. So sinner tonight will cost $3.00.
I know, right? 3 bucks! To feed three people! Even if I added the price for the other stuff, it would come up to about $6.00 for the potatoes, beans and chops. I am thrilled with how this is going. I will write tomorrow and review the chops, but if you read this and follow me on Pinterest, the review will be up tonight, on my "Pin there, done that" board. (Cute name, isn't it? IT's the things I've done or made. Tee hee.)
Sunday, March 10, 2013
My New Experiement
Where to start? Pat and I are pretty much broke. Like to the point that all my credit cards are maxed out, and we can afford to pay the mortgage and daycare and at the end of the month we have about $3.00 left. Yes, 3 measly dollars.
SO at work last week, I wrote down what our bills are and how much our income is. We made enough to pay for everything, so what's going on? After spending weeks looking at our spending habits, I found we are hemmorraging money on food. Take out lunches, breakfasts on the go, and "I don't feel like cooking" dinners out. Ridiculous amounts. Hundreds of dollars a month. Hundreds!!!
I decided it was time to stop that. I'm tired of scraping by, or scraping up money to buy clothes for the kids and diapers and formula for Veronica. I had recently started cooking big batches of side dishes, and planning out what meals to eat them with, so I figured that maybe I could do that for two weeks at a time. I knew that I would have about $160 for groceries, but I really wanted to find how far I could stretch that. SO I planned for the month.
Then I made my grocery list. I needed 17 chicken breasts, 7 pounds of ground beef, a pound of chuck roast, and 2 1/2 pounds of cube steak. Then there were all the little things I needed, like garlic, tomato paste, enchilada sauce, cheese, biscuits and a million other little things. I went to Aldi first, to get whatever I could that they carry. I used to turn my nose down at their products, but I can't afford to do that now. And I'll never go back.
The first time I shopped at Aldi, I took my reciept to Jewel and compared prices. It was ridiculous. I had spend $35 dollars at Aldi. The same items at the cheapest price Jewel offered totalled around $65. A few dollars is one things, but 30? Crazy. But I digress.
I am still very picky about my meat, but the chicken is pretty good, so I got all the chicken there as well as the chuck roast, although they didn't have any one pounders. I had to get two, which for me just means two meals from it. The price differences just get me though. I spent 65 cents on a packet of ranch dressing mix. At Target, it would cost a dollar more. It's the exact same stuff!
But I'm getting off track again. It happens a lot. So armed with my grocery list and $160, I hit the stores. I spent $127.43 at Aldi, got all the meat I listed above, plus 80 other items. Then I went to Jewel. I got wing sauce, 2 cans of enchilada sauce, and 2 bags of stir fry veggies, 2 cans of broccoli cheese soup and the cube steak and spent almost $25. Ridiculous I say! Now, if you add those together, I spent just over $152.
HOLY SHIT I had done it!!!!
We are not just eating crap, either. I have a ton of yummy things planned for the month. I made a batch of twice baked potato casserole yesterday. I was able to split it into three different meal portions, so there's three sides there. (All in the freezer.) I made a cheesy corn casserole that I was able to make 4 pans out of one batch. We ate one, and I froze the other three. There's 7 different sides taken care of. I have lots of frozen veggies, and I will add those to the meals too.
I also did a lot of the prep work. One night we are having fajitas, so I already cut the chicken into strips, and did the same with the onions and peppers. All of that went into one bag (chicken in a bag in the bag) so I can just take it out the night before so it defrosts. Same with the chicken stir fry. The chicken is all cut up into bite size pieces. (No more I don't have time excuses!) The ground beef is separated into bags and labeled with what it's supposed to be used for.
I know how ridiculous this sounds, but I am very excited. Yesterday was March 9th. I don't need to go back to the grocery store for anything other than baby food and milk until April 5th. I have plenty of leftovers for lunch, and Nathaniel eats both breakfast and lunch at shcool, which is going to help me cut down. I also am really working on portions, so this will help.
Tonight I made shredded buffalo chicken (one of our favorites!!!) and as usual, it was delicious. Three chicken breasts, a bottle of wing sauce and a packet of dry ranch mix. Chicken was $4.68, wing sauce was 1.77 and ranch dressing was .65. Add in a buck for the hamburger buns and dinner for both Pat and I plus lunch for the next two days cost $8.10. Four servings is just about 2 bucks per serving. How can you beat that? PLus it tasts so damn good!
Sp my new experiment is seeing if I can actually make this work. I am really hopeful that I can. Wish me luck!
SO at work last week, I wrote down what our bills are and how much our income is. We made enough to pay for everything, so what's going on? After spending weeks looking at our spending habits, I found we are hemmorraging money on food. Take out lunches, breakfasts on the go, and "I don't feel like cooking" dinners out. Ridiculous amounts. Hundreds of dollars a month. Hundreds!!!
I decided it was time to stop that. I'm tired of scraping by, or scraping up money to buy clothes for the kids and diapers and formula for Veronica. I had recently started cooking big batches of side dishes, and planning out what meals to eat them with, so I figured that maybe I could do that for two weeks at a time. I knew that I would have about $160 for groceries, but I really wanted to find how far I could stretch that. SO I planned for the month.
Then I made my grocery list. I needed 17 chicken breasts, 7 pounds of ground beef, a pound of chuck roast, and 2 1/2 pounds of cube steak. Then there were all the little things I needed, like garlic, tomato paste, enchilada sauce, cheese, biscuits and a million other little things. I went to Aldi first, to get whatever I could that they carry. I used to turn my nose down at their products, but I can't afford to do that now. And I'll never go back.
The first time I shopped at Aldi, I took my reciept to Jewel and compared prices. It was ridiculous. I had spend $35 dollars at Aldi. The same items at the cheapest price Jewel offered totalled around $65. A few dollars is one things, but 30? Crazy. But I digress.
I am still very picky about my meat, but the chicken is pretty good, so I got all the chicken there as well as the chuck roast, although they didn't have any one pounders. I had to get two, which for me just means two meals from it. The price differences just get me though. I spent 65 cents on a packet of ranch dressing mix. At Target, it would cost a dollar more. It's the exact same stuff!
But I'm getting off track again. It happens a lot. So armed with my grocery list and $160, I hit the stores. I spent $127.43 at Aldi, got all the meat I listed above, plus 80 other items. Then I went to Jewel. I got wing sauce, 2 cans of enchilada sauce, and 2 bags of stir fry veggies, 2 cans of broccoli cheese soup and the cube steak and spent almost $25. Ridiculous I say! Now, if you add those together, I spent just over $152.
HOLY SHIT I had done it!!!!
We are not just eating crap, either. I have a ton of yummy things planned for the month. I made a batch of twice baked potato casserole yesterday. I was able to split it into three different meal portions, so there's three sides there. (All in the freezer.) I made a cheesy corn casserole that I was able to make 4 pans out of one batch. We ate one, and I froze the other three. There's 7 different sides taken care of. I have lots of frozen veggies, and I will add those to the meals too.
I also did a lot of the prep work. One night we are having fajitas, so I already cut the chicken into strips, and did the same with the onions and peppers. All of that went into one bag (chicken in a bag in the bag) so I can just take it out the night before so it defrosts. Same with the chicken stir fry. The chicken is all cut up into bite size pieces. (No more I don't have time excuses!) The ground beef is separated into bags and labeled with what it's supposed to be used for.
I know how ridiculous this sounds, but I am very excited. Yesterday was March 9th. I don't need to go back to the grocery store for anything other than baby food and milk until April 5th. I have plenty of leftovers for lunch, and Nathaniel eats both breakfast and lunch at shcool, which is going to help me cut down. I also am really working on portions, so this will help.
Tonight I made shredded buffalo chicken (one of our favorites!!!) and as usual, it was delicious. Three chicken breasts, a bottle of wing sauce and a packet of dry ranch mix. Chicken was $4.68, wing sauce was 1.77 and ranch dressing was .65. Add in a buck for the hamburger buns and dinner for both Pat and I plus lunch for the next two days cost $8.10. Four servings is just about 2 bucks per serving. How can you beat that? PLus it tasts so damn good!
Sp my new experiment is seeing if I can actually make this work. I am really hopeful that I can. Wish me luck!
Monday, January 7, 2013
Honesty
I started Atkins again. I know that I have a lot of weight to lose. It's damn near disgusting how much I need to lose, but I'm actually not even focusing on that.
I want to live. That's what I'm focusing on.
Life.
I want to see my kids grow up. I want to dance with them at their weddings. I want to see them grown and happy.
So, for the first time in my life, I am going to focus on myself. I have realized that I need to love myself, or I won't take care of myself. How can you care for soemthing you hate? In that vein, I am going to admit how much I weigh, no matter who reads this- strangers, sisters, whomever.
I weigh 287 pounds. Yes, you read that right. 13 pounds under 300. 20 of that is leftover from when I was pregnant with Veronica, and another 20 was leftover from Nathaniel's pregnancy. But the pregnancy ended 6 months ago. Yeah, I dropped 32 of it in the last 6 months, but most of that was right after I had her. Not good enough.
So we start again. Today I planned out breakfast, lunch and dinner. I brought my gym shoes to work and WALKED after school. I did 30 minutes. It was awesome, and very empowering. If I can do it today, after being off work for two weeks, I can do it any day, right? I know that I can. I have salads for lunch (working on liking the veggies- it ain't easy) and make good tasting eggs with veggies and cheese for breakfast. Dinner is easy, I just take out the carbs, right? It sounds so simple when it's written out like that.
Then why the hell is it so hard? I pray that it gets easier. And for the first time I feel like I really have a great support group- my mommy's club. They were so incredible today when I asked them to wish me luck that I would do it.
And, ok, I have one really vain reason too. Mom's getting married in April. (I know, right? Entry for another day, another time.) I want to look good. Not just alright, but good! I have nothing that will fit and nothing that I want to wear, and I hate going shopping for clothes. I don't want it to be like that for the wedding. Ok, and I want to feel like I look better than Jen. I won't no matter what, but I want to feel like I do. That's all I'm asking for there.
So, good luck to me as we do this again, and hopefully, for the final time. I can do this. I can do this. I CAN DO THIS!!!!!!!!!!
I keep chanting "I'm gonna have a healthy body, next year this time I'll be a hottie..." I think if I keep having days like this, I will believe it soon enough.
I want to live. That's what I'm focusing on.
Life.
I want to see my kids grow up. I want to dance with them at their weddings. I want to see them grown and happy.
So, for the first time in my life, I am going to focus on myself. I have realized that I need to love myself, or I won't take care of myself. How can you care for soemthing you hate? In that vein, I am going to admit how much I weigh, no matter who reads this- strangers, sisters, whomever.
I weigh 287 pounds. Yes, you read that right. 13 pounds under 300. 20 of that is leftover from when I was pregnant with Veronica, and another 20 was leftover from Nathaniel's pregnancy. But the pregnancy ended 6 months ago. Yeah, I dropped 32 of it in the last 6 months, but most of that was right after I had her. Not good enough.
So we start again. Today I planned out breakfast, lunch and dinner. I brought my gym shoes to work and WALKED after school. I did 30 minutes. It was awesome, and very empowering. If I can do it today, after being off work for two weeks, I can do it any day, right? I know that I can. I have salads for lunch (working on liking the veggies- it ain't easy) and make good tasting eggs with veggies and cheese for breakfast. Dinner is easy, I just take out the carbs, right? It sounds so simple when it's written out like that.
Then why the hell is it so hard? I pray that it gets easier. And for the first time I feel like I really have a great support group- my mommy's club. They were so incredible today when I asked them to wish me luck that I would do it.
And, ok, I have one really vain reason too. Mom's getting married in April. (I know, right? Entry for another day, another time.) I want to look good. Not just alright, but good! I have nothing that will fit and nothing that I want to wear, and I hate going shopping for clothes. I don't want it to be like that for the wedding. Ok, and I want to feel like I look better than Jen. I won't no matter what, but I want to feel like I do. That's all I'm asking for there.
So, good luck to me as we do this again, and hopefully, for the final time. I can do this. I can do this. I CAN DO THIS!!!!!!!!!!
I keep chanting "I'm gonna have a healthy body, next year this time I'll be a hottie..." I think if I keep having days like this, I will believe it soon enough.
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