Monday, September 29, 2014

Menu Plan Monday! 9.29.14

Monday: chocolate chip pancakes and bacon
Tuesday: cube steak and stuffed peppers
Wednesday: chicken and dumplings
Thursday: stroganoff hamburger helper, rice, lima beans
Friday: Salmon, wild rice, roasted cauliflower
Saturday: birthday party!
Sunday: pork chops in mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes, turnips
 
 
we had a couple of meals left over from last week, but for the most part we stuck to plan! I probably have another two weeks of working on the cabinets/freezer & then we'll be ready for restocking. :)
 
Head on over to Organizing Junkie and link up!
 


Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Grocery Haul!

 
Do you like watching "grocery haul" videos on You Tube? I do. I don't know what it is about seeing what other people choose to buy at the grocery store but to me it's oddly interesting and that is probably one of the top videos I watch. So, I decided to do one of my own! I grocery shop every Tuesday at our local grocery store to take advantage of their 5% military discount (every little bit helps), and they have a lot of local meats an produce which is really nice.
 
I'm in the process of clearing out the cabinets and fridge/freezer - because of this, I've spent a little lower than expected.  I think I'm at about$129.47 with a savings of $6.02.
 
..
 
This was supposed to have gone up yesterday but I had internet issues yet again
Oh the joys of living in the sticks!
I hope ya'll have a great Wednesday!


Monday, September 22, 2014

Meal Plan Monday 9.22.14

Hey ya'll! I did really well on last weeks meal plan. I cooked every single dish and followed the plan - and it seriously saved us a lot of money. Here is this weeks menu plan!
 
Monday: cheesy broccoli tuna helper, english peas
Tuesday: birthday party - we'll eat there
Wednesday: pumpkin waffles and bacon
Thursday: stroganoff hamburger helper, white rice and lima beans
Friday: chcken and dumplins
Saturday: stuffed bell peppers, fried eggplant OR cube steak
Sunday: chicken spaghetti, green beans
 
I also made a video about it here:
 
 
 
Head on over to Organizing Junkie to link up, and if you do - let me know!
I'd love to know what ya'll are having this week. :)

Friday, September 19, 2014

The Pursuit of Joyful Homemaking

It's 5:45 a.m.
That really annoying alarm clock has been going off for 30 minutes.
The hubs is grumpy, one child won't wake up even though she has to leave for school in one hour,
and one child can't stop crying because they stayed up far too long playing with blocks instead of going to bed like mama and daddy said. You're exhausted because you stayed up until midnight, desperately needing a few hours of time JUST FOR YOU. so, what do you do?
 
You  find joy in it.
 
Wait - say what now? How can we find joy that early in the morning with all those grumpy personalities clashing together like oil and water?
 
It's not easy. For me, personally, I have to consciously choose a better attitude multiple times a day. I have a temper. It's not pretty. I'm very particular about things. I don't want anyone to leave one single thing out or move it by a centimeter. I have dreams of my home looking like the Southern Living idea house. But as wives, mothers, and homemakers, our attitudes have more of an impact on the way our household runs and everyone functions therein than we think. If we are cranky, most likely it will eventually rub off on everybody else. If we leave things in a ridiculous mess, it will eventually stress everyone else out and create strife. Now, I'm not saying you need to be a neat freak - because the good Lord knows I am not one of those. How I wish I was, though! But this is how I see it - it is my job to stay at home and take care of my children and husband. Yes, it's my JOB to make his lunch n the morning if he wants to take one with him. It's y JOB to cook supper each night. It's my JOB to sweep floors and do dishes and wash clothes and decorate. So what do you do at a place of employment? You want to do the best you can - so that's what I do. I'm not vain, but I take pride in establishing a home for my husband and children. I enjoy being able to invite friends over and play games or have supper. It is my job to make a meal plan and figure out ways to save money so that I can continue to stay home, my children can go to college, and we can retire at a decent age. Just because a woman chooses to stay at a home does not lessen her value. Likewise, if a woman chooses to work a full-time job while running the household, it does not lessen her either.
 
One of my favorite things to do while cleaning is to put on an audiobook, Adventures in Odyssey, or music. I find the old adage, "whistle while you work" is true - it really does make time go by faster if your mind is busy. I also try my best to include doing something that I enjoy every day.  There are some duties each day that ar enot negotiable - making beds, cleaning up after yourself, balancing the checkbook (told ya'll I was particular!) - then I'll add in one "big" chore - like today it is cleaning out from underneath the girls bathroom sink and organizing the drawers. Then there are the normal things like washing clothes and sweeping that I do nearly every day. And for me, there are chores I am not allowed to do (cleaning bathrooms, dusting, mopping the whole house, wedding the flowerbed) that either my husband will do or, if we're able, we will pay someone to come do for us. I should say right here that I am VERY thankful I have a great husband who (for the most part, haha) is so willing to help me and doesn't complain. Because I mean, what sweeter words are there than,
 "Honey, I'm going to deep clean both bathrooms right this minute" ?
oh yes, you know it's true!
 
As I thought and prayed about writing this post, this Scripture came to mind.`
Psalm 118:24 -
 "This is the day that the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it."
That's some powerful stuff right there.
We're not guaranteed another day. When we wake up in the morning, we ought to thank God for giving us another day that we DON'T deserve! And very clearly, we are instructed to take joy in it.
now, I'm not naïve. There are going to be situations which arise that are just not pleasant. We just won't  be able to smile much, or have peace in our hearts. But I firmly, firmly believe God places us in those positions so that we can learn to depend more on Him. My life has not been a bed of roses. Not even since childhood. But I tell you what - through the two darkest times in my life - when my daughter was born at 27 weeks while we were on vacation and we spent 3 months away from our home, and throughout my multiple leukemia diagnosis', brain hemorrhages, paralysis, vision and hearing loss - God has never, ever left my side. I am closer to Him now that I have ever been in my entire life. I depend more on Him than I ever have any other person. Just like I depended on other people at first to give me food and water, to bathe me, to sit me up and help me walk - I depend on him for spiritual nourishment, for courage to fight my battles, and for His blessed peace that passes all understanding. Like the song says - 'Tis so sweet o trust in Jesus.
Yes, it sure is.
 
  

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Meal Plan MOnday....on Wednesday

Hey ya'll It's been a hot minute!
I won't waste your time giving you excuses, I'm just going to hop back into things.
Disclaimer: I know it's Wednesday. I know this is a Meal Plan Monday post.
WiFi issues are of the devil.
And Wendy's WiFi is terrible.
Don't ask me how I know!
 
Anyway, here is our weekly meal plan. Now that I'm home full-timef rom the hospital (praise the Lord!), I've started doing things differently. I plan for Monday-Sunday of each week, and I grocery shop on Tuesday. Our local grocery store gives a 5% military discount on Tuesday, and every little bit helps. This week I saved $4. :) Usually on Monday we'll just have a "clean out the fridge" kind of meal. This is my first week trying this an I hope it works!
 
Monday: pancakes & sausage
Tuesday: out to Chick-Fil-A
Wednesday: vegetable soup & cornbread
Thursday: leftover soup (it's better the second day anyway!)
Friday: Italian pork chops, white rice, roasted garlic mushrooms
Saturday: baked ziti (except I'm cleaning out the pantry & using rotini), salad
Sunday: chicken taco nachos with all he fixings
 
So far we are on track for the week! Please share your meal plans below if you make one.
I love to see what other people are cooking for supper. I'll take inspiration wherever I can get it. :)
 
 
 
Ya'll have  a great Wednesday!!