Showing posts with label meal planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meal planning. Show all posts

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Seven S Things About Me

I was tagged about a month ago by Carin and then recently by Kristi, so I thought I'd share a few more things about me. If you didn't see my answers in October when Amber tagged me, you can find them here.

I really did start to write a post in February when Carin tagged me, but sometimes it is hard to think up things about yourself and I ended up scrapping the post. But yesterday while I was subbing in the 5th grade, I jotted a few notes down. I quickly saw a theme emerging and so here you have it:

1. Sorority- I belong to Xi Beta Lambda, which is part of Beta Sigma Phi. I joined when I in my 30's not, during college. Basically we get together once a month during the school year and have lessons(the last one was on identity theft) and conduct business. We currently run a concession stand for local baseball and softball games. This earns the money we need for donating to local organizations and for providing scholarships to Sorority member's children. We also get together to scrapbook, shop and have a few socials a year.

2. Searching- one of my latest whims is dreaming about buying an acreage. We'd have some chickens, maybe a few goats and room for a huge garden.So it's been fun to search the papers and real estate ads for local acreages for sale. We drove out to see this one a few days ago...


it is on 5 acres and has a chicken house, a large pole shed and a detached garage. From the listing, it seems to need a lot of work, which I am definitely scared of. So for now, it is just fun to dream. Plus, I just saw that it has a contract pending.

3. Sprouting, along with starting my seeds, I started some alfalfa sprouts the other day. I am a little scared of sprouts too, but I have been craving something alive. I haven't bought lettuce in a while because I felt like so much of it always went to waste. Most of that could be fixed by better planning on my part, but until then, I'm looking forward to some fresh sprouts on my sandwiches.


4. Swaying in the wind. Right after I posted about it being cold here, it warmed up into the 50's and 60's. So, I took advantage of it and hung a few things to dry outside. I love linens dried on the line. We have a lot of allergies at our house and no clothes line, so it won't be an regular occurrence, but I love getting that line dried smell when I can.


5. Sans Cable. We gave up our cable last month and so far the kids are surviving. They don't really like it, but I really am optimistic that they'll adjust even better once they can get out to play outside more often. We did break down and buy an antenna, so we can still get our American Idol fix, but besides that, we leave it off. It's not fun to watch a snowy picture. It really isn't a huge monthly savings, we only had basic cable, but I really think the other benefits are worth it.

6. Slow Year. I read about this concept on Riana's blog. Here is her description from the flickr group she has set up to showcase pictures from this lifestyle:
A year of non-consumerism. Refurbish, recreate, restyle your wardrobe and life. Slowly. Can, jar, forage and wildcraft foods, grow a garden, bake bread, recycle everything last thing, barter & trade, simplify!
She also had 2 slow months where she didn't buy any groceries and they ate out of her pantry and freezer. It is all very intriguing and while am not really committing myself to it as a lifestyle, I really am trying to incorporate a lot of the same ideals to my life. I need to think out of the box more often- especially when it comes to feeding my family. Less packaging, less trips to the store, and a lot more creativity. My poor children aren't always keen on the idea, but generally speaking our meals have been more hearty and definitely more nutritious.

7. Sunrises- one of the things I love about living where I do is the awesome view we have each morning as we eat breakfast and read scriptures together. I can't help but pause in awe, at the brilliant colors lighting the sky, as the dawn is breaking.


Haven't done this tag yet? Go for it! Or you can do it again, it's always fun to learn more about people!

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Tuesday's Tasks

Ok, after a week or more of channeling all my energy into perusing fitness blogs and websites, I got back into making a few things today.

First, I finished up a couple of scrapbook pages. Not fabulous, but they are done. And I am sorry, I am too lazy to scan my 2 page layouts.


Next, I decided to try out Jessica Seinfeld's brownie recipe- you know the one with spinach and carrots in it. I made these before Genna got home. They are supposed to cool completely before you eat them, otherwise you can taste the spinach. Wanna know how they rated? 2 not so goods and 3 yes, make them agains. My boys were the ones who didn't like the taste of them. They are not super sweet, although they are extremely moist. I had a small taste and thought they were pretty good. I decided I will try and make them again, after we do some serious sugar weaning around here.




Then, don't fall over with shock, but I made something with one of my vintage pillowcases. It's a reusable grocery bag made from this awesome tutorial! I have been trying really hard at my local store, to request paper instead of the plastic, but I need to make quite a few more, before I could handle a trip to Walmart. Here is another tutorial. I really liked her produce bags too.



And lastly, while perusing more of Deceptively Delicious, I found her meatball soup recipe. It is similar to this one I'd bookmarked to try someday.


It was a big hit with everyone, well, except Genna. She didn't love it, but she ate it all without making a trip into the bathroom to toss what she didn't like into the trash. It cracks me up when she picks up her plate and heads down the hall. Of course, I don't let her get very far and she still has to eat her food, but I think it's kind of funny that she doesn't think I'll notice.

Anyway, the more I've looked at this book, the more I like it. Not because I think I need to hide vegetables from my kids, but because it has so many ideas for encorporating more nutrients than some of the other recipes I would normally make. My kids are actually pretty good vegetable eaters, but it never hurts to figure out a way to get more veggies in them!


Hope you all had a great day!

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Happy 2 year Blogiversary to me!

I started this crazy little blog 2 years ago today. As silly as it sounds, I think my life is better because I blog. I have "met" a lot of cool people through blogs, so many of whom are so inspiring. Besides, I am awful at keeping a journal and so this will have to suffice. I guess I technically do scrapbook and journal there, but I am definitely not caught up with my scrapbooks, so hopefully this can fill in some gaps. My thoughtful Mother did print out a bunch of my entry's and put it in a binder for me. I need to get in the habit of printing out my posts after I enter them.

Anyhoo... here are a few things in honor of my 2 years of blogging:

I had 2 krispy creme donuts today(not pictured, lol, but they were definitely tasty!)

I crossed 2 things off my to do list that have needed to be done for a while- cleaning out the refrigerator and the freezer. Tomorrow I need to tackle the pantry and file bills.

2 things that I made recently:



2 things I found at the thrift store today:






Materials for 2 projects I am going to make at our Super Saturday on the 20th:

(Christmas table runner & ABC I Spy bag)





I love it when you make dinner at it lasts for 2 meals. Yesterday's broccoli cheese soup, was just perfect for this dampy, rainy day.



TOO
sweet! Connor had an auction at school today where they could buy little trinkets, toys, etc. with the "money" they earned in the classroom. He said, Mom, I passed over the junky toys because I have a hard time keeping my room clean and I got you this:



Yesterday I spent 2 hours helping Jameson with his poster for his 5th grade state report. Next week, he is going to help me make crab dip for when he
gives his oral presentation.


And last but not least, I want to give away 2 things. I am not sure what yet, because my brain is kind of fried from thinking about Cub Scout popcorn for way TOO long tonight. But on Sunday, October 21st I will draw from commenters on this post and give away 2 fun handmade things.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Menu Planning for this Week

Before heading to Lincoln the other day, I decided to sit down and plan out a menu for the coming week. I will be subbing a couple of days and so I wanted to get down on paper some ideas. Every day around 3:30 I start to dread the question that keeps coming to my mind, what am I going to fix for dinner. It wouldn't be so bad if I would decide something right at that point and start thawing out or making preparations. However, that is right when I am getting home from picking up the boys and I need to be avaliable to them at that point. They need my attention to help them with homework, motivation for getting chores done or just being a listening ear to hear how their days went. Yeah, I know I should be able to handle those things as well as dinner preparations, but I admit it, I am not a good multitasker. So without further ado, here it is, in all it's glory:

Menu for the week of November 13

*Baked Potatoes & Banana Nut Muffins

*Bacon Cheeseburger Pie & Green Beans

*Chili & Cinnamon Rolls

*Chicken Stir Fry & Rice

*French Toast & Bacon

*Hot Chicken Salad & Fried Green Tomatoes

*Chicken Noodle Soup & Bread

I haven't gone so far as to figure out what I am making which day- I should probably do that as well b/c we have any evening committment every night this week. When planning my menu, I wanted to use up things from my freezer and cupboards as much as possible. This week's plan required the following purchases : potatoes- they were on sale for $1.58 for 10 lbs., celery, soft butter and croutons, which were actually on sale as well. The croutons are for the hot chicken salad which is baked. I wasn't sure how my homemade croutons would hold up during baking.
I still managed to spend a good chunk of change at the store- but I did a lot of stocking up and replenishing of items.

Ok, I think I have rambled on enough for today. I probably will be doing more of it as I strive to be more frugal and organized.