This has been a year of "getting things taken care of". In February 2009 we became debt-free, minus the mortgage. In February 2010 we had our Emergency Fund fully funded. We'd halted saving for retirement for 2 years as we paid off debt and saved for emergencies. This year we started saving again for retirement. Just 6% going to retirement...I'd like to get it to 15%.
So, what did we work on this year? Planning for our deaths. NOT a fun topic. We worked on our Wills and Life Insurance policies all summer long. It was really a downer, but something that truly needed to get done. I really didn't know ahead of time how depressing it would be to plan these things. For our Life Insurance policies, we're assuming that DH gets hit by a bus today and is gone. How much is needed for us to continue as we are now? Well, more than we realized since our children are still young. It's always been important for us to have me be at home with the kids...this would still be important to us if DH was no longer living. We have a wonderful advisor who really helped us come to an agreement on the size policy that we needed.
The Wills were tough too, but not quite as depressing. It's awful to think about me and DH passing at the same time and trying to decide who would take care of our boys. After quite a bit of praying and thinking, I think we made an absolute wonderful decision. I pray that we never had to use our named guardian, but I certainly will feel better next time DH and I travel together without the kids.
So, while we were not as aggressive with our savings this year as I would have liked to have been, we did get some very important things taken care of. I'm very glad that these things are done and behind us now. And with that, I can sleep much better at night.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
plans for today
I have a little one home sick today so I'll be tackling some of my things to do that are here in the house....such as:
*Working on 2011 budget
*Hemming a pair of khaki pants (this has been needing to be done since April!!!)
*Tidy up craft room
*Clean off desk
*Get out stuff to scrapbook my oldest's past school year (needing to be done since May!)
*Wrapping a couple of Christmas gifts
*One load of laundry!
What's on your to-do list for today?
*Working on 2011 budget
*Hemming a pair of khaki pants (this has been needing to be done since April!!!)
*Tidy up craft room
*Clean off desk
*Get out stuff to scrapbook my oldest's past school year (needing to be done since May!)
*Wrapping a couple of Christmas gifts
*One load of laundry!
What's on your to-do list for today?
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
christmas cards
For the past two years I've spent way too much money on Christmas cards. Even though we were working to become debt free and to build up our Emergency Fund, spending money on Christmas cards was one area where I splurged! I normally purchased a designer brand 5x7 Christmas card where I could add my own picture to the front. On the inside of the card, I had our names pre-printed and then would have a collage made up of our favorite pictures from the year and attach that to the inside of the card. All said and done, our cards would be about $3-$4 each. And that didn't include postage. With 125 or so friends and family who we send cards to, that really was adding up.
After last year, we decided to scale back on how much we were spending on our cards. I thought about not sending cards at all. I thought about sending only 50 cards. But...I have been spending some time working on projects at Shutterfly (that I'll share in a minute) and saw that they have some really cute cards that are very affordable! After seeing what a great selection that they have this year, and seeing how much money we'll save by switching card companies, we've decided to order Christmas cards through Shutterfly.
I'm not sure which family picture we'll use, but here are some of my favorite designs.
What do you think?
Now I mentioned that I was working on some other Shutterfly projects too. If you remember, we went on a award trip to the Dominican Republic this summer with my husband's company. One of the awards given to the winners of the trip was a digital camera. Everyone took pictures while they were on the trip and then the pictures were eventually shared with everyone. But that was it. They didn't go into frames and they certainly didn't go into an album. Now...we usually give Christmas gifts to my husband's boss and another executive that works with DH. I decided this year for Christmas to make and give these two families (both were on the trip) a photo book from our vacation. It turned out great and was easy to do! In fact, I think that each year I'm going to make and give them a photo book of our annual awards trip.
My other project that I have been working on is a 2011 calendar for each set of grandparents. I've given them calendars for many years, but didn't realize how much they enjoyed these until I didn't give one to my father-in-law last year. The day after Christmas, he asked me if I had made any and if I had extras because he'd like one. He said it was his favorite gift each year. So...I made sure I made one for him this year!
I was excited to get so much of my gift giving taken care of at Shutterfly. Now, I just need to decide which Christmas card I want to order and which family picture I want to use. As much as I already love Shutterfly, they sweetened the deal by giving me 50 free cards for this post. And since our Christmas card list has more than 50 people on it, I will be ordering even more cards from Shutterfly. Are you a blogger? Would you like to get some free holiday cards or invitations? Just go here.
After last year, we decided to scale back on how much we were spending on our cards. I thought about not sending cards at all. I thought about sending only 50 cards. But...I have been spending some time working on projects at Shutterfly (that I'll share in a minute) and saw that they have some really cute cards that are very affordable! After seeing what a great selection that they have this year, and seeing how much money we'll save by switching card companies, we've decided to order Christmas cards through Shutterfly.
I'm not sure which family picture we'll use, but here are some of my favorite designs.
What do you think?
Now I mentioned that I was working on some other Shutterfly projects too. If you remember, we went on a award trip to the Dominican Republic this summer with my husband's company. One of the awards given to the winners of the trip was a digital camera. Everyone took pictures while they were on the trip and then the pictures were eventually shared with everyone. But that was it. They didn't go into frames and they certainly didn't go into an album. Now...we usually give Christmas gifts to my husband's boss and another executive that works with DH. I decided this year for Christmas to make and give these two families (both were on the trip) a photo book from our vacation. It turned out great and was easy to do! In fact, I think that each year I'm going to make and give them a photo book of our annual awards trip.
My other project that I have been working on is a 2011 calendar for each set of grandparents. I've given them calendars for many years, but didn't realize how much they enjoyed these until I didn't give one to my father-in-law last year. The day after Christmas, he asked me if I had made any and if I had extras because he'd like one. He said it was his favorite gift each year. So...I made sure I made one for him this year!
I was excited to get so much of my gift giving taken care of at Shutterfly. Now, I just need to decide which Christmas card I want to order and which family picture I want to use. As much as I already love Shutterfly, they sweetened the deal by giving me 50 free cards for this post. And since our Christmas card list has more than 50 people on it, I will be ordering even more cards from Shutterfly. Are you a blogger? Would you like to get some free holiday cards or invitations? Just go here.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
i'm still here...
...just been reading more than posting! But...it's November now and time to wind down the year and start thinking about goals for the New Year. I've been busy with "busy work" and haven't been making a priority of more important things. I've spent the last several weeks clearing out the clutter and cobwebs and am ready (after 4 months...) to get back on track and taking care of more important things! Stay tuned!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
home sweet home
Home from vacation!!!
We had back to back vacations this year. One week in Punta Cana without the kiddos and then one week on North Captiva Island WITH the kids. Needless to say, we had a GREAT time and came back with some brown skin. It's been 4 years since we've had a long vacation with the kids (where it was JUST the 4 of us) and we had the best time. Lots of fishing, shelling and island hopping. And...a little bit of relaxing.
Now we've been back for a solid week and the laundry is caught up and we've made it through the long 4th of July weekend.
One thing that I wanted to do this summer and that we just started working on last week is eating FRESH and LOCAL food. We're lucky in the fact that we're kinda in the country so finding roadside farm stands is pretty easy. We're on the search for the best farm stand this summer. We stopped at 6 last week alone...we had a "tomato tasting" between 3 of the stands! Anyway, it was a great week back and we had fun shopping on the "outer aisles" and farm stands and getting some really good, local fruits and vegetables. I'll post some of our menus and recipes another day.
Another thing that we're focusing on this summer is driving less. We live in a golf cart community and are able to get anywhere within the city limits on a golf cart. Since Memorial Day, we've had 20 days where we've only driven the golf cart. I'm hoping that we can get the number to 40 by Labor Day!
Anyway - this is a short post. We're on our way to the swimming pool (in the golf cart...) and the kiddos are waiting. Just wanted to check in and say that I'm still here (or that I'm back from vacationing...) and am looking forward to sitting down and catching up on all of my favorite bloggers posts!
We had back to back vacations this year. One week in Punta Cana without the kiddos and then one week on North Captiva Island WITH the kids. Needless to say, we had a GREAT time and came back with some brown skin. It's been 4 years since we've had a long vacation with the kids (where it was JUST the 4 of us) and we had the best time. Lots of fishing, shelling and island hopping. And...a little bit of relaxing.
Now we've been back for a solid week and the laundry is caught up and we've made it through the long 4th of July weekend.
One thing that I wanted to do this summer and that we just started working on last week is eating FRESH and LOCAL food. We're lucky in the fact that we're kinda in the country so finding roadside farm stands is pretty easy. We're on the search for the best farm stand this summer. We stopped at 6 last week alone...we had a "tomato tasting" between 3 of the stands! Anyway, it was a great week back and we had fun shopping on the "outer aisles" and farm stands and getting some really good, local fruits and vegetables. I'll post some of our menus and recipes another day.
Another thing that we're focusing on this summer is driving less. We live in a golf cart community and are able to get anywhere within the city limits on a golf cart. Since Memorial Day, we've had 20 days where we've only driven the golf cart. I'm hoping that we can get the number to 40 by Labor Day!
Anyway - this is a short post. We're on our way to the swimming pool (in the golf cart...) and the kiddos are waiting. Just wanted to check in and say that I'm still here (or that I'm back from vacationing...) and am looking forward to sitting down and catching up on all of my favorite bloggers posts!
Monday, June 14, 2010
suntanned toes...
...tickling the sand.
Cold drink chilling in my right hand...
Nothing to do but breath all day until the big moon rises and it's time to play...
Saturday, June 12, 2010
a letter from mr. president
For my Grandmother's 92nd birthday I requested and received a Happy Birthday note from President Obama. I didn't know that you could request a congratulatory note from the President for special occasions until 2001 when I was pregnant with my youngest son. I requested a note after his birth and received one from President and Mrs. Bush. My second request for a special note was this spring when I requested the letter above for my grandmother. I sent my request in February for her April 12th birthday. The note didn't arrive on time, BUT it did arrive during her birthday month. I was very excited!!! Two requests...two notes! Not a bad record.
So, how do you get a VIP note for special occasions?
Here's the info...
The White House will send greetings to U.S. citizens only for special occasions, as outlined below.
Advance notice required. Your request must be received four weeks in advance of the event date. Every effort is made to honor every request, but there is no guarantee of a greeting if this guideline is not met. (Greetings generally are not send after the event date, except for wedding congratulations and newborn acknowledgments.)
Anniversary greetings are extended only to those couples who are celebrating their 50th (and subsequent) wedding anniversary.
Birthday greeting cards will be sent only to individuals 80 years of age or older. A special card is sent for those who reach 100 years of age.
Other greetings: A limited number of special occasions other than birthdays and anniversaries exist for which the Greetings Office will send appropriate recognition to U.S. citizens. These include:
Wedding (send your request after the event; include couple's married names)
Baby's birth. Send request only after baby's birth, include baby's date of birth, and full names and address of baby and parents
Eagle Scout Award
Girl Scout Gold Award
Bar/Bat Mitzvah or equivalent occasion
The following information much be included in your request:
- Name and home address of honoree(s)
- Form of address (Mr., Ms., Mrs., Dr., etc.)
- Exact date of occasion (month/day/year)
- Age (birthdays) or number of years of marriage
- Your (requestor's) name and daytime phone number
- Any specific mailing instructions if other than to honoree's address
Send your request to:
The White House Greetings Office
Room 39, Eisenhower Executive Office Building
Washington, DC 20502
When should you expect your greeting? "In most cases, greetings will be mailed from the White House approximately 10 days prior to the event. If you have made a special delivery request, every effort is made to honor that request." (Note...It took 4 1/2 months to receive my note after my son was born, and then I received my grandmother's note the month of her birthday)
So - next time you need to send a unique gift to someone consider requesting a letter from the President. I think it makes a great memento (regardless of your political affiliations)! The notes are free and if you wanted, you could frame for the honoree to hang on his/her wall!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
grocery game update
$447 worth of groceries!
...and I paid $210!I've posted before about the Grocery Game and how much I love it! This past week there were some great sales that I fully took advantage of. Take a look! Probably the one thing that will stand out most is how much processed food I bought. Yes...there is a lot. I stocked up on crackers, Fiber One bars and cookies for our vacation. We're spending a week at a beach house and are taking almost all the food that we'll need. At least half of what was purchased is for the beach. Some of the snacks are for my kids for when they fly to see Grandma at the end of this week. They're flying by themselves and I want them to have a few snacks for the airplane ride.
And, I guess the post wouldn't be complete without a picture of how I'm able to save the money. Coupons! I always wait and get the Sunday paper on Sunday night or Monday when the store has combined 2 papers for a lesser price. I'm able to get 2 papers for $3 instead of 1 paper for $2. When the coupons are exceptionally good, I'll purchase 4 papers for $6.
$237 saved.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
an intentional summer
Yesterday I mentioned a blogger who wrote about having an Intentional Summer. Here is a link to the posts by Rebecca at Turned Loose. If you haven't already, take a look at it when you get time!
We're on Day 11 of our summer. Here's what we've done so far intentionally...
Day 1 - Family Night. Grilled hamburgers & hot dogs. Played board games with the kids.
Day 2 - Watched Ferris Bueller's Day Off as a family.
Day 3 - Drove into "the city" to get fishing stuff for our vacation. Ate lunch at the kid's favorite drive-in. My oldest son had a friend sleep over.
Day 4 - Went to a Memorial Day party/cookout at a friend's house.
Day 5 - Went on a Night Hike in our woods and caught lightening bugs.
Day 6 - Went swimming with friends
Day 7 - Went to a country Farm Stand and planned dinner based on what looked good at the stand.
Day 8 - Went to pool until it started raining. Kids got to have pizza for dinner--hubby & I got to have sushi...everyone was happy!
Day 9 - Went to see Cheap Trick in concert at our town's amphitheater. So much fun!!!
Day 10 - Took boys fishing at the lake.
Day 11 - Football camp. My oldest son rec'd his airsoft gun that he'd ordered (using his own money) & spent the day in the woods having target practice.
Day 12 - Repeat of Day 11 only adding some tennis in there for me!
We live in a golf cart community so we've been trying to have days where we're "golf cart only" and don't drive our car. So far this summer we have 7 days of only driving the golf cart!
So that's it so far! We're in prep-mode right now getting ready for our vacations. The kids leave Thursday for Grandmas. Hubby & I leave Monday for the DR. Then we all get back next Friday/Saturday and leave Sunday for our family vacation. So the next couple of days our intent will be getting ready to go (for the most part -- I bet we can throw some fun in there too)!!!!
We're on Day 11 of our summer. Here's what we've done so far intentionally...
Day 1 - Family Night. Grilled hamburgers & hot dogs. Played board games with the kids.
Day 2 - Watched Ferris Bueller's Day Off as a family.
Day 3 - Drove into "the city" to get fishing stuff for our vacation. Ate lunch at the kid's favorite drive-in. My oldest son had a friend sleep over.
Day 4 - Went to a Memorial Day party/cookout at a friend's house.
Day 5 - Went on a Night Hike in our woods and caught lightening bugs.
Day 6 - Went swimming with friends
Day 7 - Went to a country Farm Stand and planned dinner based on what looked good at the stand.
Day 8 - Went to pool until it started raining. Kids got to have pizza for dinner--hubby & I got to have sushi...everyone was happy!
Day 9 - Went to see Cheap Trick in concert at our town's amphitheater. So much fun!!!
Day 10 - Took boys fishing at the lake.
Day 11 - Football camp. My oldest son rec'd his airsoft gun that he'd ordered (using his own money) & spent the day in the woods having target practice.
Day 12 - Repeat of Day 11 only adding some tennis in there for me!
We live in a golf cart community so we've been trying to have days where we're "golf cart only" and don't drive our car. So far this summer we have 7 days of only driving the golf cart!
So that's it so far! We're in prep-mode right now getting ready for our vacations. The kids leave Thursday for Grandmas. Hubby & I leave Monday for the DR. Then we all get back next Friday/Saturday and leave Sunday for our family vacation. So the next couple of days our intent will be getting ready to go (for the most part -- I bet we can throw some fun in there too)!!!!
Monday, June 7, 2010
m.i.a. --- school's out --- summer's here ---
Missing in action...that's been me! I can't believe I haven't posted anything in almost 2 weeks! We've been busy wrapping up the school year and beginning our summer. School got out for us the Friday before Memorial Day. So...that last week of school was jammed packed with fun things happening at the school. It also was the start of football season in our neck of the woods! Yes...football season! Lucky for us our family LOVES football, so passing out pads and helmets and having football tryouts the last week of May sounded like a great idea to us! :) This week the boys are in football camp each morning!
We're into our second week of summer now and we've been having a great time. Somewhere I read about a blogger who is having an Intentional Summer. I'll have to go back and find the posts that I read, so that I can link it. When I read the bloggers posts I thought it sounded like a great idea. How many summers (or ANY breaks from school...) do we have a mental list of all the fun things that we want to do, only to the week before school starts to realize we've accomplished nothing on our mental list. This is what I want and plan to avoid!
I asked my boys some of the things that they really wanted to do this summer. The requests ranged from having a lemonade stand to going hiking up in the mountains. All were fairly inexpensive outings that will make some wonderful memories.
So...we're having an Intentional Summer this year. I'll find the blog/post so that I can link it, and I'll share with you what we've been doing so far!
We're into our second week of summer now and we've been having a great time. Somewhere I read about a blogger who is having an Intentional Summer. I'll have to go back and find the posts that I read, so that I can link it. When I read the bloggers posts I thought it sounded like a great idea. How many summers (or ANY breaks from school...) do we have a mental list of all the fun things that we want to do, only to the week before school starts to realize we've accomplished nothing on our mental list. This is what I want and plan to avoid!
I asked my boys some of the things that they really wanted to do this summer. The requests ranged from having a lemonade stand to going hiking up in the mountains. All were fairly inexpensive outings that will make some wonderful memories.
So...we're having an Intentional Summer this year. I'll find the blog/post so that I can link it, and I'll share with you what we've been doing so far!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
tainted muffins
In order to get my kids to eat healthy, I sometimes have to be sneaky about it. In fact, sometimes I flat out lie to them about what ingredients are in their food and why their food sometimes might look different. And, you know what? I have no problems lying about this.
After reading over at Premeditated Leftovers about how ground flax seed could easily be substituted for eggs and/or vegetable oil, I decided to try it and see if I could sneak it into my kids diet. I first tried Blueberry Muffins. Well...these weren't a hit with my kids. Not because they didn't like the way that they taste, BUT...because they didn't like the way that they taste. Turns out that they just don't like Blueberry Muffins. Well, my husband and I love Blueberry Muffins so we were happy to eat them.
I remembered that my kids LOVE Chocolate Chip Muffins. I made these next. I turned these into a healthier version by substituting the 3 Tablespoons of oil with 6 Tablespoons of ground flax seeds. My oldest son asked why they were darker than normal and I said that they are made with some whole grains. (The flax will make the batter a little bit darker making it look wheat instead of white.) They LOVED these muffins!
So - In the future, I will continue to taint our muffins and will be branching out to cupcakes and cookies and anything else I think I might be able to sneak a spoonful of flax into! Try it for yourself if you haven't already...you're in for a treat!
Friday, May 14, 2010
Food Waste Friday
In an conscious attempt to keep food waste to a minimum, I join The Frugal Girl and many other bloggers each week and participate in Food Waste Friday. I clean out my refrigerator, line up any waste on the counter, (usually) take a picture and post it on my blog. After doing this for a while, I can honestly say that I work throughout the week to eat (or feed my children) what's in the fridge so that I don't have it to post on Fridays!
When my in laws came to visit last week they packed a cooler with sandwiches and drinks for their 11 hour car ride to get here. I think this is a great idea! When they got here they had sandwiches left over and put them in the fridge. Six days later they left to head back home, taking with them the same bag of (leftover) sandwiches to eat on the way home.
What do you think? Would you eat six day old sandwiches to avoid wasting them?
When my in laws came to visit last week they packed a cooler with sandwiches and drinks for their 11 hour car ride to get here. I think this is a great idea! When they got here they had sandwiches left over and put them in the fridge. Six days later they left to head back home, taking with them the same bag of (leftover) sandwiches to eat on the way home.
What do you think? Would you eat six day old sandwiches to avoid wasting them?
Thursday, May 13, 2010
things to do
Today is a boring post...I know. I've got lots to do today, so I'm posting my list to motivate and encourage me to get it all done by 2:20 when I get the boys from school.
Take tent to friends house
Go to Home Depot to order screen door for my pantry (another story for another post!)
Check out Weight Watcher times/meetings
Call for kennel/trainer for our dog during June
Get 3 poster boards to paint sample wall colors on
Log spending
Send card to my grandmother
Write cards for kids Sunday School teachers (Sunday is teacher appreciation day)
Laundry - wash son's baseball uniform for tonight
Clean/Clorox boys bathroom
Vacuum upstairs
make fruit tray for...
son's class play at 9:30
baseball camp info - send $ to MIL
sign up for youngest Adventure Camp
sign both up for football camp
Send card to my grandmother
Write cards for kids Sunday School teachers (Sunday is teacher appreciation day)
Clean/Clorox boys bathroom
Vacuum upstairs
baseball camp info - send $ to MIL
sign both up for football camp
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Operation Jiggly Bits - FINAL summary
Today is my final summary for Operation Jiggly Bits (a bit of a repeat from last week...sorry!). Thank you Carla for creating this challenge and keeping us motivated and holding us accountable. I think accountability counts for so much when working towards meeting my goals! I must say that I didn't rise to the challenge as much as I thought I would when OJB began, but here are several changes that I've made that I plan to continue even though the challenge is over.
Drinking more water.
Before OJB there would be days that I would go without drinking water. Drinking Diet Cokes has always been a bad habit with me and I would tend to only drink my water when I was playing tennis. However, there were many days when I'd show up to the tennis court with a Diet Coke in my hand. Not good...I know. Now I'm trying to only drink my Diet Cokes first thing in the morning and switch to water for lunch, afternoons and with dinner. When I'm really craving a soda in the afternoons, I've found a natural diet soda...Zevia that I will drink instead. Zevias are sweetened with Stevia instead of artificial sweeteners AND they are caffeine free. My goal is to eventually stop drinking Diet Cokes and switch to Zevias when I want a soft drink.
Drinking less wine.
Instead of sharing an entire bottle of wine each week night with my DH, we are drinking only ONE glass of wine after we put the kids to bed.
Veggies & Fruit.
Unless I could count my wine as a fruit, before OJB I was definitely not getting in my fruits and veggies most days of the week. I think out what I'm going to eat throughout the day and if I don't have enough fruits/veggies incorporated in my meals, I'll make myself a Green Monster. With the Green Monsters I can load all my F&V's into one drink.
Exercise.
I am working on this still. I play a lot of tennis...about 8 hours a week. And while it's great cardio and I know it's good for my body, I need something more than this to lose weight. I really need to be running and lifting weights as well. I'm still working on incorporating this in my daily/weekly routines!
Clean Eating.
Before OJB I hadn't heard too much about eating "clean". In the past 6 weeks though I've done my research and realize just how easy it is to eat clean. This is definitely an area that I've opened my eyes to and am slowing weeding out processed and man-made foods and adding more and more clean foods. I look forward to getting to where we're eating the majority of our meals and snacks as clean foods.
The bottom line.
More than anything else, over the last 6 weeks I've developed a new attitude. One where I realize when I'm making healthy choices, and one where I realize when I'm making choices that if I made even the slightest change, I would greatly benefit from it.
Here are my final, final numbers...
Weight: 142....141
Chest: 37.5....37
Waist: 31.5....30.5
@belly button: 34.5....32
Hips: 39....38.5
Thighs: 22.3....21
Biceps: 12.25....11.5
I haven't said goodbye to all of my jiggly bits, but at least to 6+ inches of them! Thanks again Carla...it was a FUN challenge!
Drinking more water.
Before OJB there would be days that I would go without drinking water. Drinking Diet Cokes has always been a bad habit with me and I would tend to only drink my water when I was playing tennis. However, there were many days when I'd show up to the tennis court with a Diet Coke in my hand. Not good...I know. Now I'm trying to only drink my Diet Cokes first thing in the morning and switch to water for lunch, afternoons and with dinner. When I'm really craving a soda in the afternoons, I've found a natural diet soda...Zevia that I will drink instead. Zevias are sweetened with Stevia instead of artificial sweeteners AND they are caffeine free. My goal is to eventually stop drinking Diet Cokes and switch to Zevias when I want a soft drink.
Drinking less wine.
Instead of sharing an entire bottle of wine each week night with my DH, we are drinking only ONE glass of wine after we put the kids to bed.
Veggies & Fruit.
Unless I could count my wine as a fruit, before OJB I was definitely not getting in my fruits and veggies most days of the week. I think out what I'm going to eat throughout the day and if I don't have enough fruits/veggies incorporated in my meals, I'll make myself a Green Monster. With the Green Monsters I can load all my F&V's into one drink.
Exercise.
I am working on this still. I play a lot of tennis...about 8 hours a week. And while it's great cardio and I know it's good for my body, I need something more than this to lose weight. I really need to be running and lifting weights as well. I'm still working on incorporating this in my daily/weekly routines!
Clean Eating.
Before OJB I hadn't heard too much about eating "clean". In the past 6 weeks though I've done my research and realize just how easy it is to eat clean. This is definitely an area that I've opened my eyes to and am slowing weeding out processed and man-made foods and adding more and more clean foods. I look forward to getting to where we're eating the majority of our meals and snacks as clean foods.
The bottom line.
More than anything else, over the last 6 weeks I've developed a new attitude. One where I realize when I'm making healthy choices, and one where I realize when I'm making choices that if I made even the slightest change, I would greatly benefit from it.
Here are my final, final numbers...
Weight: 142....141
Chest: 37.5....37
Waist: 31.5....30.5
@belly button: 34.5....32
Hips: 39....38.5
Thighs: 22.3....21
Biceps: 12.25....11.5
I haven't said goodbye to all of my jiggly bits, but at least to 6+ inches of them! Thanks again Carla...it was a FUN challenge!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
planning for guests
One my list of 210 Things to Do I challenged myself to plan ahead for guests and to not only know what I was going to feed to them each and every meal, but to also have all the ingredients on hand beforehand. Failing to have a plan before guests arrived set us up to spend more time and money deciding what we wanted to eat and by eating out meals that we could have had at home.
My in-laws arrived last night for a 5 night stay. I'm pleased to tell you that I have each meal planned and almost all of the ingredients on hand before they got here. The only thing I'll need to purchase is fresh bread and fresh veggies for a couple of weekend meals. While I like having a plan, we're always flexible to go out to eat if that's what everyone wants to do. My in-laws aren't big eaters and normally only eat 2 meals per day (max...), so something light for breakfast and lunch is all they want. If I make too much food it'll just go to waste.
Here's what we've got planned:
Last night: They got in late, so we had soup, salad, bread
Today
Breakfast: fruit, muffins
Lunch: turkey sandwiches (smoked the turkey yesterday), chips, fruit
Dinner: crock-pot spaghetti, salad, bread
Friday
Breakfast: Grandparents Day Breakfast at the school
Lunch: turkey sandwiches for my FIL. I'm planning on taking my MIL to lunch at a tea room
Dinner: Lasagna, mushrooms, salad, bread
Saturday
Breakfast: fruit, cinnamon rolls
Lunch: Leftovers or Sandwiches
Dinner: Steaks, sweet potatoes, asparagus
Sunday
Breakfast: fruit, breakfast bread
Lunch: at the golf club for Mother's Day
Dinner: Hamburgers & Hotdogs, potato salad, beans, chips, fruit
Monday:
Breakfast: I'm not sure if they'll want to eat before they leave, but I'll have same type of light morning food ready for them.
My in-laws arrived last night for a 5 night stay. I'm pleased to tell you that I have each meal planned and almost all of the ingredients on hand before they got here. The only thing I'll need to purchase is fresh bread and fresh veggies for a couple of weekend meals. While I like having a plan, we're always flexible to go out to eat if that's what everyone wants to do. My in-laws aren't big eaters and normally only eat 2 meals per day (max...), so something light for breakfast and lunch is all they want. If I make too much food it'll just go to waste.
Here's what we've got planned:
Last night: They got in late, so we had soup, salad, bread
Today
Breakfast: fruit, muffins
Lunch: turkey sandwiches (smoked the turkey yesterday), chips, fruit
Dinner: crock-pot spaghetti, salad, bread
Friday
Breakfast: Grandparents Day Breakfast at the school
Lunch: turkey sandwiches for my FIL. I'm planning on taking my MIL to lunch at a tea room
Dinner: Lasagna, mushrooms, salad, bread
Saturday
Breakfast: fruit, cinnamon rolls
Lunch: Leftovers or Sandwiches
Dinner: Steaks, sweet potatoes, asparagus
Sunday
Breakfast: fruit, breakfast bread
Lunch: at the golf club for Mother's Day
Dinner: Hamburgers & Hotdogs, potato salad, beans, chips, fruit
Monday:
Breakfast: I'm not sure if they'll want to eat before they leave, but I'll have same type of light morning food ready for them.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
mother's day gifts
I'm curious to know what kinds of gifts you give your mother's and MIL's for Mother's Day?
I always try to find things and give things that I would enjoy receiving as a gift, and things that are fairly inexpensive because we don't budget a whole lot for gifts. Our gifts for our moms this year are Janie's Cakes. And they are delicious! But I kind of feel guilty that I'm not buying something expensive because I know many people who give their moms very nice and very expensive gifts. It makes me wonder if I'm in the minority on what people spend on their mothers.
I'd love your input. What do you give your mom for Mother's Day?
I always try to find things and give things that I would enjoy receiving as a gift, and things that are fairly inexpensive because we don't budget a whole lot for gifts. Our gifts for our moms this year are Janie's Cakes. And they are delicious! But I kind of feel guilty that I'm not buying something expensive because I know many people who give their moms very nice and very expensive gifts. It makes me wonder if I'm in the minority on what people spend on their mothers.
I'd love your input. What do you give your mom for Mother's Day?
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
operation jiggly bits - check in
We're in our last week for OJB! I must say that I haven't risen to the challenge as much as I thought I would 6 weeks ago. But here are several changes that I've made that I plan to continue even after the challenge is over.
Drinking more water.
Before OJB there would be days that I would go without drinking water. Drinking Diet Cokes has always been a bad habit with me and I would tend to only drink my water when I was playing tennis. However, there were many days when I'd show up to the tennis court with a Diet Coke in my hand. Not good...I know. Now I'm trying to only drink my Diet Cokes first thing in the morning and switch to water for lunch, afternoons and with dinner. When I'm really craving a soda in the afternoons, I've found a natural diet soda...Zevia that I will drink instead. Zevias are sweetened with Stevia instead of artificial sweeteners AND they are caffeine free. My goal is to eventually stop drinking Diet Cokes and switch to Zevias when I want a soft drink.
Drinking less wine
Instead of sharing an entire bottle of wine each week night with my DH, we are drinking only ONE glass of wine after we put the kids to bed.
Veggies & Fruit
Unless I could count my wine as a fruit, before OJB I was definitely not getting in my fruits and veggies most days of the week. I think out what I'm going to eat throughout the day and if I don't have enough fruits/veggies incorporated in my meals, I'll make myself a Green Monster. With the Green Monsters I can load all my F&V's into one drink.
Exercise
I am working on this still. I play a lot of tennis...about 9 hours a week. And while it's great cardio and I know it's good for my body, I need something more than this to lose weight. I really need to be running and lifting weights as well. I'm still working on incorporating this in my daily/weekly routines!
Clean Eating
Before OJB I hadn't heard too much about eating "clean". In the past 6 weeks though I've done my research and realize just how easy it is to eat clean. This is definitely an area that I've opened my eyes to and am slowing weeding out processed and man-made foods and adding more and more clean foods. I look forward to getting to where we're eating the majority of our meals and snacks as clean foods.
More than anything else, over the last 6 weeks I've developed a new attitude. One where I realize when I'm making healthy choices, and one where I realize when I'm making choices that if I made even the slightest change, I would greatly benefit from it.
Now - I'm not sure if today ends the challenge or if next week is the end of the challenge. So, I'm going to post below my beginning numbers (from March 22) and my numbers from this morning.
Weight: 142....142
Chest: 37.5....37
Waist: 31.5....31
@belly button: 34.5....32.5
Hips: 39....38.5
Thighs: 22.3....22
Biceps: 12.25....11.5
I haven't said goodbye to all of my jiggly bits, but certainly to some of them!!!
Drinking more water.
Before OJB there would be days that I would go without drinking water. Drinking Diet Cokes has always been a bad habit with me and I would tend to only drink my water when I was playing tennis. However, there were many days when I'd show up to the tennis court with a Diet Coke in my hand. Not good...I know. Now I'm trying to only drink my Diet Cokes first thing in the morning and switch to water for lunch, afternoons and with dinner. When I'm really craving a soda in the afternoons, I've found a natural diet soda...Zevia that I will drink instead. Zevias are sweetened with Stevia instead of artificial sweeteners AND they are caffeine free. My goal is to eventually stop drinking Diet Cokes and switch to Zevias when I want a soft drink.
Drinking less wine
Instead of sharing an entire bottle of wine each week night with my DH, we are drinking only ONE glass of wine after we put the kids to bed.
Veggies & Fruit
Unless I could count my wine as a fruit, before OJB I was definitely not getting in my fruits and veggies most days of the week. I think out what I'm going to eat throughout the day and if I don't have enough fruits/veggies incorporated in my meals, I'll make myself a Green Monster. With the Green Monsters I can load all my F&V's into one drink.
Exercise
I am working on this still. I play a lot of tennis...about 9 hours a week. And while it's great cardio and I know it's good for my body, I need something more than this to lose weight. I really need to be running and lifting weights as well. I'm still working on incorporating this in my daily/weekly routines!
Clean Eating
Before OJB I hadn't heard too much about eating "clean". In the past 6 weeks though I've done my research and realize just how easy it is to eat clean. This is definitely an area that I've opened my eyes to and am slowing weeding out processed and man-made foods and adding more and more clean foods. I look forward to getting to where we're eating the majority of our meals and snacks as clean foods.
More than anything else, over the last 6 weeks I've developed a new attitude. One where I realize when I'm making healthy choices, and one where I realize when I'm making choices that if I made even the slightest change, I would greatly benefit from it.
Now - I'm not sure if today ends the challenge or if next week is the end of the challenge. So, I'm going to post below my beginning numbers (from March 22) and my numbers from this morning.
Weight: 142....142
Chest: 37.5....37
Waist: 31.5....31
@belly button: 34.5....32.5
Hips: 39....38.5
Thighs: 22.3....22
Biceps: 12.25....11.5
I haven't said goodbye to all of my jiggly bits, but certainly to some of them!!!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
slowing down to see the awesomeness
Do you ever have days where you feel like your eyes are wide open to the world around you? I am having one of those days.
My morning started with my son waking me up at 7:11 a.m.! 7:11...YIKES!!! We usually leave the house at 7:20 on school mornings. This was definitely not the way to start an awesome day. I ran downstairs and made myself a Diet Coke...because, can any of us truly function without some sort of caffeine first thing in the morning...even when running late?!? I told the boys that as long as we got out the door by 7:30 we'd be fine and that none of us need to panic. I made them a fast breakfast (i.e. poptarts) and told them that I'd make their lunches later and deliver them up to the school. As they ate, I prepped their morning snacks and decided to go ahead and get a head start on their lunches, and I was actually able to finish them! I couldn't believe the way this was turning out. We were rockin' and rollin'! In less than 20 minutes we got up, my oldest son showered, I got breakfast on the table, prepped snacks/water bottles, made two (healthy) lunches, and got them to school with 5 minutes to spare before the tardy bell rang. What had the makings of being a rough morning, really was turning out just fine.
Once I got back home, I finished my Diet Coke, made myself a Green Monster, and then started noticing what was going on outside. Stuff that happens everyday, but that I am too busy doing busy work and/or chores to notice and truly appreciate.
These are the things that I've stopped and noticed today, and that I've appreciated oh, so much more.
*Each morning my dog walks along our back fence. Our house backs up to a lot of woods and there are a lot of smells first thing in the morning. She loves to walk all along the backyard and fence to sniff around. I sat and watched her and wondered what animals had been in the yard or near the fence last night.
*Hummingbirds coming to my feeder on the back porch
*Lots of chirping in the trees
*Playing tennis with great friends on a beautiful day
*Going to our golf/tennis club with same group of friends and eating outside
*Appreciating the fact that our waitress was exceptionally busy (and slow) which meant we had more time to spend outside with good friends
*Watching the (very) senior citizens "made the turn" playing golf and hoping that when I'm that age that I'm still active and having fun with friends
*Impromptu play dates for my children
*Taking the cover off our golf cart and feeling like I'm driving a convertible
*Popsicles
*The boys (7+ of them...) are outside hooping and hollering and sounding exactly like little boys are supposed to sound
And the list continues...I've got 7 more hours until bedtime!
So - I challenge you to "open your eyes" today and share in comments some things you "see". Sometimes the most mundane and routine things in our lives are what we'd miss the most if they were not there anymore.
My morning started with my son waking me up at 7:11 a.m.! 7:11...YIKES!!! We usually leave the house at 7:20 on school mornings. This was definitely not the way to start an awesome day. I ran downstairs and made myself a Diet Coke...because, can any of us truly function without some sort of caffeine first thing in the morning...even when running late?!? I told the boys that as long as we got out the door by 7:30 we'd be fine and that none of us need to panic. I made them a fast breakfast (i.e. poptarts) and told them that I'd make their lunches later and deliver them up to the school. As they ate, I prepped their morning snacks and decided to go ahead and get a head start on their lunches, and I was actually able to finish them! I couldn't believe the way this was turning out. We were rockin' and rollin'! In less than 20 minutes we got up, my oldest son showered, I got breakfast on the table, prepped snacks/water bottles, made two (healthy) lunches, and got them to school with 5 minutes to spare before the tardy bell rang. What had the makings of being a rough morning, really was turning out just fine.
Once I got back home, I finished my Diet Coke, made myself a Green Monster, and then started noticing what was going on outside. Stuff that happens everyday, but that I am too busy doing busy work and/or chores to notice and truly appreciate.
These are the things that I've stopped and noticed today, and that I've appreciated oh, so much more.
*Each morning my dog walks along our back fence. Our house backs up to a lot of woods and there are a lot of smells first thing in the morning. She loves to walk all along the backyard and fence to sniff around. I sat and watched her and wondered what animals had been in the yard or near the fence last night.
*Hummingbirds coming to my feeder on the back porch
*Lots of chirping in the trees
*Playing tennis with great friends on a beautiful day
*Going to our golf/tennis club with same group of friends and eating outside
*Appreciating the fact that our waitress was exceptionally busy (and slow) which meant we had more time to spend outside with good friends
*Watching the (very) senior citizens "made the turn" playing golf and hoping that when I'm that age that I'm still active and having fun with friends
*Impromptu play dates for my children
*Taking the cover off our golf cart and feeling like I'm driving a convertible
*Popsicles
*The boys (7+ of them...) are outside hooping and hollering and sounding exactly like little boys are supposed to sound
And the list continues...I've got 7 more hours until bedtime!
So - I challenge you to "open your eyes" today and share in comments some things you "see". Sometimes the most mundane and routine things in our lives are what we'd miss the most if they were not there anymore.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
a half.com sale and things to do today
I did pretty good with my to-do list yesterday and having it posted on-line, I think, encouraged me to work harder to get things crossed off!
Here's my list for today:
Drink 64 oz water
any kind of exercise - tennis for 1.5 hours
Eat 5 servings of fruits/veggies - 4 so far w/my Green Monster
Clip coupons for The Grocery Game
log my spending for April
vacuum upstairs
get snacks/drinks for son's baseball game
Prep movie to mail for half.com sale
In the past I've always listed my things to be sold on e-bay. I've read that many bloggers use half.com to get rid of stuff. Last week I posted a Danielle Steel book, but haven't had any takers yet. Yesterday I listed (and priced to sell!) 2 movies that I watched over the weekend. (At Blockbuster I bought 3 movies for $20. One if for my son and he loves it and wants to keep it. The other 2 were for me and I didn't like the movies well enough to want to watch them again in the future. I started to put the movies in the donations box and remembered half.com!!!) Anyway, I listed the movies for $4.99 each and have already sold one! So, that'll be about $5 to add to our Family Fun Fund when the $$ comes in! We should have a nice little amount in the fund by the time fall rolls around!
Last week my youngest son and I weeded out his baby books that he doesn't want anymore. Several of them are hardbacks and in great condition. I think I'll check half.com and see if there is any demand for children's books. It may be worth it to list a couple just to see if anyone wants to buy them!
Here's my list for today:
Drink 64 oz water
Eat 5 servings of fruits/veggies - 4 so far w/my Green Monster
log my spending for April
Prep movie to mail for half.com sale
In the past I've always listed my things to be sold on e-bay. I've read that many bloggers use half.com to get rid of stuff. Last week I posted a Danielle Steel book, but haven't had any takers yet. Yesterday I listed (and priced to sell!) 2 movies that I watched over the weekend. (At Blockbuster I bought 3 movies for $20. One if for my son and he loves it and wants to keep it. The other 2 were for me and I didn't like the movies well enough to want to watch them again in the future. I started to put the movies in the donations box and remembered half.com!!!) Anyway, I listed the movies for $4.99 each and have already sold one! So, that'll be about $5 to add to our Family Fun Fund when the $$ comes in! We should have a nice little amount in the fund by the time fall rolls around!
Last week my youngest son and I weeded out his baby books that he doesn't want anymore. Several of them are hardbacks and in great condition. I think I'll check half.com and see if there is any demand for children's books. It may be worth it to list a couple just to see if anyone wants to buy them!
Monday, April 26, 2010
ojb updates and a list of things to do...
I should officially be "out" for the Operation Jiggly Bits challenge. I'm not sure how many servings of fruits/veggies I ate this week, and I know that I for sure didn't get all my water in each day. Exercise was only playing tennis and that just doesn't cut it for me unfortunately. So - I measured myself this morning and everything was pretty much the same. I'm VERY PROUD of my fellow OJB challenger at Nutrition 101 who has made it below 140#!!! I know what she means about working and working and working only to see a couple of pounds come off. The older we get the harder we have to work to see results.
So - this is my challenge for the week. My in-laws are coming in 1 1/2 week. I've got stuff I need to get done to prep for them. I also need to pay attention to these jiggly bits...although on my body, it's not so much jiggly bits as it is a "baby bump" for a non-existent baby. If you know what I mean...
So, my challenge is to write my to-do's each day and work towards meeting my daily goals. My goal overall is to get to 140# by the end of the challenge along w/a waist measurement of 30". Am readjusting my beach vacation goal to be at 135 pounds.
My Monday To-Do's:
Drink 64 oz water
Eat 5 servings of fruits/veggies - only got 3 servings in today....
Exercise - anything...just something (played tennis for 2 1/2 hours)
Replace generic picture in "the boys" frame. (I still have the picture that came with the frame...2 1/2 months later)
Mail my Rx refill
Make my Grocery Game List
clip coupons - will move to tomorrow's list!
Mail birthday cards to M & V
Send baseball pictures to GG, G&G, B, & J
take clothes to cleaners
go to grocery to get veggies for dinner
Flex Spending for J's visit to doctor
Make bank deposit
So, that's it for now! My Monday posts are starting to have a recurring theme of how many excuses I have and/or what I didn't do to more forward on the OJB challenge. But, to follow Carla's thought line of not beating ourselves up...I am DOWN from when I began the challenge and have just maintained the last 3 weeks. So, it's not all bad, right?
So - this is my challenge for the week. My in-laws are coming in 1 1/2 week. I've got stuff I need to get done to prep for them. I also need to pay attention to these jiggly bits...although on my body, it's not so much jiggly bits as it is a "baby bump" for a non-existent baby. If you know what I mean...
So, my challenge is to write my to-do's each day and work towards meeting my daily goals. My goal overall is to get to 140# by the end of the challenge along w/a waist measurement of 30". Am readjusting my beach vacation goal to be at 135 pounds.
My Monday To-Do's:
Eat 5 servings of fruits/veggies - only got 3 servings in today....
clip coupons - will move to tomorrow's list!
So, that's it for now! My Monday posts are starting to have a recurring theme of how many excuses I have and/or what I didn't do to more forward on the OJB challenge. But, to follow Carla's thought line of not beating ourselves up...I am DOWN from when I began the challenge and have just maintained the last 3 weeks. So, it's not all bad, right?
Sunday, April 25, 2010
it's usually never as bad as I think it's going to be
April has been such an off month for me on so many levels. My main computer is seriously acting up and isn't saving any documents. So, in order to update my spending/budget spreadsheets I have to go use the basement computer which is s....l....o....w....e....r.... than Christmas. My spending this month has been much like my eating. I'm trying to keep all in moderation, but really couldn't tell you how many dollars I'm spending or how many calories I'm eating.
One of the things I didn't do this month is get cash out of the bank at the beginning of April to put in our envelopes. I like to spend cash on things like groceries, eating out, my fun money, entertainment, etc. Things that if not watched closely, could quickly get out of hand and add up.
This has been in the back, front and all over my mind for the entire month. Yes, I know I'm in total control of this situation, but I keep wanting it just to go away. To turn the calendar over to May and to start fresh. Since I haven't been using cash, I've been putting everything on my American Express card (to be paid off at the end of the month). Well, last night I had a "nightmare". The American Express bill came and it was, to be perfectly honest, more than $10,000. In my dream my stomach was in knots. How could I let this happen? I'd assured my husband that I wouldn't need to ask for any money to be transferred from savings to checking in order to pay for day-to-day expenses. I'd given him my word that what was in savings would go (100%) towards meeting our financial goals...not towards pizza delivery! And not only did the American Express bill come with a $10,000 balance, but also we received our electric bill and it had a $900 balance! Ugggg....what a way to spend a night's sleep!
Well....it's past lunch now and I just sat down to the computer to look at the real life damage at American Express. And what a relief! I don't have an outstanding balance of $10,000!! In fact, it's not even close. To be perfectly honest, (eyeballing it...) it looks like we have been spending just slightly more than what we would if we were on the cash-system this month. So, while I'm thankful that it's not as bad as it was in my dream, it makes me realize that when I let up from monitoring our spending, I worry about it. I worry about it big time. I'm thankful also that in less than a week I'll be able to turn the calendar over to May and start the month with my cash and a "clean slate".
One of the things I didn't do this month is get cash out of the bank at the beginning of April to put in our envelopes. I like to spend cash on things like groceries, eating out, my fun money, entertainment, etc. Things that if not watched closely, could quickly get out of hand and add up.
This has been in the back, front and all over my mind for the entire month. Yes, I know I'm in total control of this situation, but I keep wanting it just to go away. To turn the calendar over to May and to start fresh. Since I haven't been using cash, I've been putting everything on my American Express card (to be paid off at the end of the month). Well, last night I had a "nightmare". The American Express bill came and it was, to be perfectly honest, more than $10,000. In my dream my stomach was in knots. How could I let this happen? I'd assured my husband that I wouldn't need to ask for any money to be transferred from savings to checking in order to pay for day-to-day expenses. I'd given him my word that what was in savings would go (100%) towards meeting our financial goals...not towards pizza delivery! And not only did the American Express bill come with a $10,000 balance, but also we received our electric bill and it had a $900 balance! Ugggg....what a way to spend a night's sleep!
Well....it's past lunch now and I just sat down to the computer to look at the real life damage at American Express. And what a relief! I don't have an outstanding balance of $10,000!! In fact, it's not even close. To be perfectly honest, (eyeballing it...) it looks like we have been spending just slightly more than what we would if we were on the cash-system this month. So, while I'm thankful that it's not as bad as it was in my dream, it makes me realize that when I let up from monitoring our spending, I worry about it. I worry about it big time. I'm thankful also that in less than a week I'll be able to turn the calendar over to May and start the month with my cash and a "clean slate".
Thursday, April 22, 2010
a more productive day!
I've had a much more productive day today! As soon as I dropped the kids off at school at 7:30 this morning, I started my errands! I know today is Earth Day and I really wish that I contributed something positive to our earth, but didn't. Or should I say...I haven't yet! As I was running errands though, I recognized that I was saving money almost everywhere I went! That is a good thing, right?
Here's what I've been doing today.
*I went to Kroger's "Meat Madness" sale. We LOVE rib eyes and have one almost every Saturday night along with sweet potatoes, asparagus and a bottle of red wine. I bought a whole 16 pound rib eye (the butcher sliced it for free...14 steaks) for $82. I SAVED $65.72! And while I waited for it to be sliced, I bought 2 Mother's Day cards!
*Got the oil changed and saved $6 by remembering my coupon! I usually forget to take it with me!
*Bought a 5 month supply of Zyrtec at the grocery store and saved $40 with coupons.
* I got my hair cut and colored. I didn't save money and this took 2 1/2 hours out of the day. The energy was "off" at the place where I get my hair cut, so it wasn't quite as enjoyable as normal, but I got to read the last 3 weeks of People magazine!
* I have been needing to get a Hole-In-One shadow box made for my husband. He made a Hole in One in December and wanted his ball, scorecard and course map framed. There are several places on the Internet that will do it, with the cheapest being around $130 + S&H. I really didn't want to spend that much money unless I had to. I went to Michael's and found a shadow box frame and felt that I can use. I went to a trophy store and ordered a plaque plate to go inside of it. Total cost for my DIY shadow box project is $32!!! Once it's complete I'll have to show you my DIY vs. Professional ways to do it and see what you think.
*Next stop was to get a golf bag organizer that was on sale at Bed Bath & Beyond. I had a $5 coupon, but a fellow customer noticed me using it and gave me a 20% off coupon to use instead. Instead of saving $5, I saved $12!!! Thank you to my fellow Southerner for the random act of kindness!
*Fabric was next. I am wanting to recover the cornice boards in my kitchen and found some swatches that I LOVE for $35/yard. I found out about a shop called Frugal Fabrics with equally awesome fabric for $7.99/yard. So, I returned my swatches and will go to the FF store on another day!
Now...for other things on my to-do list for today:
1.Help son with book report
2.Put wall tape/velcro on the back of frames so they'll quit shifting
3. Put away my sewing machine that I used on Tuesday
4.Change light bulb in basement that's been burned out for a week
5.Plant ferns in pots
6.Call and request 2nd recycling bin
7. Order Rx refill thru Home Delivery company
8.Take boys to both of their baseball games
9.Write letters, mail pictures for 7 different people
10.Watch NFL draft tonight with boys (hubby is out of town!)
I'll update my post while watching the draft tonight and mark of what I got DONE!!!
***Edited to update to-do's. Can anyone tell me how to do a "strike through"? I wanted to strike-thru what I'd done, but can't figure it out!!! Thanks!
Here's what I've been doing today.
*I went to Kroger's "Meat Madness" sale. We LOVE rib eyes and have one almost every Saturday night along with sweet potatoes, asparagus and a bottle of red wine. I bought a whole 16 pound rib eye (the butcher sliced it for free...14 steaks) for $82. I SAVED $65.72! And while I waited for it to be sliced, I bought 2 Mother's Day cards!
*Got the oil changed and saved $6 by remembering my coupon! I usually forget to take it with me!
*Bought a 5 month supply of Zyrtec at the grocery store and saved $40 with coupons.
* I got my hair cut and colored. I didn't save money and this took 2 1/2 hours out of the day. The energy was "off" at the place where I get my hair cut, so it wasn't quite as enjoyable as normal, but I got to read the last 3 weeks of People magazine!
* I have been needing to get a Hole-In-One shadow box made for my husband. He made a Hole in One in December and wanted his ball, scorecard and course map framed. There are several places on the Internet that will do it, with the cheapest being around $130 + S&H. I really didn't want to spend that much money unless I had to. I went to Michael's and found a shadow box frame and felt that I can use. I went to a trophy store and ordered a plaque plate to go inside of it. Total cost for my DIY shadow box project is $32!!! Once it's complete I'll have to show you my DIY vs. Professional ways to do it and see what you think.
*Next stop was to get a golf bag organizer that was on sale at Bed Bath & Beyond. I had a $5 coupon, but a fellow customer noticed me using it and gave me a 20% off coupon to use instead. Instead of saving $5, I saved $12!!! Thank you to my fellow Southerner for the random act of kindness!
*Fabric was next. I am wanting to recover the cornice boards in my kitchen and found some swatches that I LOVE for $35/yard. I found out about a shop called Frugal Fabrics with equally awesome fabric for $7.99/yard. So, I returned my swatches and will go to the FF store on another day!
Now...for other things on my to-do list for today:
1.
2.
3. Put away my sewing machine that I used on Tuesday
4.
5.
6.
7. Order Rx refill thru Home Delivery company
8.
9.
10.
I'll update my post while watching the draft tonight and mark of what I got DONE!!!
***Edited to update to-do's. Can anyone tell me how to do a "strike through"? I wanted to strike-thru what I'd done, but can't figure it out!!! Thanks!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
ojb updates and more
What a week...what a month this has been! I feel like I'm just turning my wheels trying to keep up. We've had lots of unexpected visitors and it seems as if we should just put a revolving door on the front of the house, along with a sign that says, "Food and laundry services not included." Just joking...but it feels good to vent a bit. Our budget and routine are completely out of whack.
For the OJB challenge...I'm not excelling at this challenge! I truly expected to be all over this and getting into swimsuit shape. The good thing is that I'm not backtracking and there is still about 7 weeks away before we head to the beach.
Here are my numbers for the week. Everything has been the same now for 2 weeks straight.
STATS: Beginning....Current
weight: 142...142
Chest: 37.5...36.75
Waist: 31.5..31.0
@belly button: 34.5...33
hips: 39...38.75
thighs: 22.33...21.75
arms: 12 1/4...12
My husband left today for his annual golf trip with friends and will be gone for 5 days. I'm really wanting to get some of my stuff taken care of, to-do's crossed off the list, eat healthy meals, drink all my water, and get some good cardio in (something in addition to tennis...). I need to get my head and mind cleared and back to my "old self" of feeling in control and on top of things.
So, instead of allowing myself to get overwhelmed, I'm going to clean the clutter up from my house and my mind and start enjoying this beautiful weather. As it is, I'm letting this gorgeous Springtime get by me.
I'm signing off and spending a solid 8 minutes clearing kitchen clutter/papers before it's time to get the kiddos from school!
Ahhhhhhh...I already feel better!
For the OJB challenge...I'm not excelling at this challenge! I truly expected to be all over this and getting into swimsuit shape. The good thing is that I'm not backtracking and there is still about 7 weeks away before we head to the beach.
Here are my numbers for the week. Everything has been the same now for 2 weeks straight.
STATS: Beginning....Current
weight: 142...142
Chest: 37.5...36.75
Waist: 31.5..31.0
@belly button: 34.5...33
hips: 39...38.75
thighs: 22.33...21.75
arms: 12 1/4...12
My husband left today for his annual golf trip with friends and will be gone for 5 days. I'm really wanting to get some of my stuff taken care of, to-do's crossed off the list, eat healthy meals, drink all my water, and get some good cardio in (something in addition to tennis...). I need to get my head and mind cleared and back to my "old self" of feeling in control and on top of things.
So, instead of allowing myself to get overwhelmed, I'm going to clean the clutter up from my house and my mind and start enjoying this beautiful weather. As it is, I'm letting this gorgeous Springtime get by me.
I'm signing off and spending a solid 8 minutes clearing kitchen clutter/papers before it's time to get the kiddos from school!
Ahhhhhhh...I already feel better!
Friday, April 16, 2010
unplugged...
...until Monday. I'm setting myself "free" from distractions from the computer for the weekend. Anyone care to join me? I'll let you know on Monday what fun things (or things that I've been putting off...) that I do over the next 3 days!
Ciao!
Ciao!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
it pays to recycle...
...literally! The company that picks up our trash has always offered free weekly recycling service. Up until a month ago, we have always had the little recycling bins to use. It doesn't take long at all to fill up one of the little bins. We had two of the bins, and still they were always overflowing.
We NOW have a BIG recycling bin (on wheels!) and they come to empty it every other week.
But get this! Not only do we now have a really big bin, but we are being REWARDED for recycling! How wonderful is that? Our bin is identified and each time we recycle, we're given points for the weight of materials that is recycled. We'll then be able to redeem our points for gift cards to area stores.
I'm anxious to see how well this works. I went on line this morning to check my points. We've have our bin emptied twice now, but the website shows "No Pickups". I love the concept, but I'll have to let you know just how well it works with the points system. And I'm curious to see how many points we're rewarded each time!
We NOW have a BIG recycling bin (on wheels!) and they come to empty it every other week.
But get this! Not only do we now have a really big bin, but we are being REWARDED for recycling! How wonderful is that? Our bin is identified and each time we recycle, we're given points for the weight of materials that is recycled. We'll then be able to redeem our points for gift cards to area stores.
I'm anxious to see how well this works. I went on line this morning to check my points. We've have our bin emptied twice now, but the website shows "No Pickups". I love the concept, but I'll have to let you know just how well it works with the points system. And I'm curious to see how many points we're rewarded each time!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
discussing goals with a financial advisor
We set several financial goals for this year.
1. Top off Emergency Fund(EF) with 6 months expenses
2. Save 15% towards retirement
3. Save more for both boys college expenses
We topped off the EF in February and are currently saving 6% for retirement. We have room in the budget to increase this to 15%, but haven't yet made it "official". We have $$ in the boys college account, but currently are not adding to it on a routine basis. (i.e. only birthday checks from grandparents designated for college are going into it.)
We met with a financial advisor a couple of weeks ago and he suggested a few things.
One, decrease our EF to about 3 months and put rest of that money in our retirement account. The next suggestion was to save 16-17% of our income each month for retirement to get us to our goal of what we wish to have when we retire. So, that I was pleased with...it was just about $150 more each month that I've been wanting to do. Moving onto college savings, he ran the #s on what it will probably cost for our darlings to go to in-state public school (about $120,000 for 4-years) and what it would cost to go out-of-state public school (about $220,000 for 4-years). The suggested amount to help cover the cost of this is $500/month from now until the youngest graduates in (hopefully) May of 2024. And, with the $500/month, that will cover about 1/2 of the bill.
So - We've got some things to think about. We worked so hard to get our EF to 6 months and I'm hesitant to move the money around. BUT...my husband's job is more secure now than it was when we chose to save 6 months expenses rather than a smaller amount. Next, it's more important to both me and to my husband to have our retirement savings at a comfortable amount than it is to 100% fund our kid's college expenses. We hope and pray that we can pay the majority of it for them, but they will probably need to work and pay for a lot of it themselves.
We live rather frugally and when we do "splurge" it's usually on things that will make memories, like weekend trips and vacations...not on lots of new clothes, new cars and other "toys". We could give up a lot of things and make it easier to meet our financial goals, but I'm not sure we're ready to do that at this point. We really need to sit down and take a good hard look at it.
I'm curious about you. If you are meeting all of your financial goals, is it because you've made lots of sacrifices in order to do so? And what are day-to-day things that you sacrifice to meet your goals? Just curious...
1. Top off Emergency Fund(EF) with 6 months expenses
2. Save 15% towards retirement
3. Save more for both boys college expenses
We topped off the EF in February and are currently saving 6% for retirement. We have room in the budget to increase this to 15%, but haven't yet made it "official". We have $$ in the boys college account, but currently are not adding to it on a routine basis. (i.e. only birthday checks from grandparents designated for college are going into it.)
We met with a financial advisor a couple of weeks ago and he suggested a few things.
One, decrease our EF to about 3 months and put rest of that money in our retirement account. The next suggestion was to save 16-17% of our income each month for retirement to get us to our goal of what we wish to have when we retire. So, that I was pleased with...it was just about $150 more each month that I've been wanting to do. Moving onto college savings, he ran the #s on what it will probably cost for our darlings to go to in-state public school (about $120,000 for 4-years) and what it would cost to go out-of-state public school (about $220,000 for 4-years). The suggested amount to help cover the cost of this is $500/month from now until the youngest graduates in (hopefully) May of 2024. And, with the $500/month, that will cover about 1/2 of the bill.
So - We've got some things to think about. We worked so hard to get our EF to 6 months and I'm hesitant to move the money around. BUT...my husband's job is more secure now than it was when we chose to save 6 months expenses rather than a smaller amount. Next, it's more important to both me and to my husband to have our retirement savings at a comfortable amount than it is to 100% fund our kid's college expenses. We hope and pray that we can pay the majority of it for them, but they will probably need to work and pay for a lot of it themselves.
We live rather frugally and when we do "splurge" it's usually on things that will make memories, like weekend trips and vacations...not on lots of new clothes, new cars and other "toys". We could give up a lot of things and make it easier to meet our financial goals, but I'm not sure we're ready to do that at this point. We really need to sit down and take a good hard look at it.
I'm curious about you. If you are meeting all of your financial goals, is it because you've made lots of sacrifices in order to do so? And what are day-to-day things that you sacrifice to meet your goals? Just curious...
Monday, April 12, 2010
operation jiggly bits - week 4
This past week was Spring Break and as I'd hoped we had absolutely nothing planned and were without a routine all week. We went to baseball's Opening Day on Monday, had friends over, went bowling, stayed up late, slept late and pretty much loved life during the whole week!
My OJB goal was to MAINTAIN this past week and that's what I did. Absolutely no changes! NOW....8 weeks from today we make our first of two trips to the beach for the summer. Trip #1 to the beach is adults only, and Trip #2 is us with the kids. So, I'm wanting to get to around 131 pounds by Trip #1 and to my goal weight by Trip #2 (which is 129). That means it's time to get serious.
The past 3 weeks I've implemented some wonderful habits that have been part of the OJB challenge...exercising, drinking lots of water and eating lots of fruits & veggies. Now it's time for me (and hubby too!) to take it up a notch and start working for some serious results. It's not going to be easy, but according to this website, if I keep my calories around 1200 each day (I think that equates to about 24 Weight Watcher points), and have moderate exercise each day, then I "should" meet my goals. The nice thing about this time of year, is that it's FUN to grill some chicken or fish and eat lots of fresh veggies and fruits.
My goals for this week are all the same challenges....lots of water, exercise and healthy eating. I want to cut out a lot of the crap though and eliminate a few glasses of wine that I'm drinking throughout the week. My goal this week is to end the day at 24 WW points. I'm going to allow myself to "eat" my Activity Points. If I don't see progress quickly enough, then I'll probably change my mind about that!
Here are my numbers showing Original, and...This Week:
weight: 142...142
Chest: 37.5...36.75
Waist: 31.5..31.0
@belly button: 34.5...33
hips: 39...38.75
thighs: 22.33...21.75
arms: 12 1/4...12
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
operation jiggly bits - week 3 check in
A VERY quick check in for my Operation Jiggly Bit check in. This is Spring Break week and we've been out of town...
First...as for my goals for last week. All were met and kept. The easiest? Meeting my exercise goals and drinking all of my water. Most challenging? Avoiding junk food and processed food! That is something that I will continue to work on and weed out of my diet!
Here are my numbers! I'll post my original along with this week's numbers.
weight: 142...142
Chest: 37.5...36.75
Waist: 31.5..31.0
@belly button: 34.5...33
hips: 39...38.75
thighs: 22.33...21.75
arms: 12 1/4...11 5/8
Last week, My 1/2 Dozen Daily posted information on finding out your frame size. I tell you what! That was an eye opener for me. I am 5'3 1/2" with a large body frame. My ideal weight is around 129 pounds. I've always "felt" like I should be low 120's for my ideal weight. In previous weight loss attempts, I get to 132 and feel GREAT, but think I need to lose 10 more pounds. That has always been when I've given up and gained all the weight back. Now I know that the weight where I feel really good (around 132#) is really close to my ideal weight!!! I've always picked a number out of hat and thought of what number I'd like to see on the scale. I've never taken into consideration that I have a large frame and that my ideal weight would be adjusted!
With this being Spring Break and us being so off-schedule, my goal for this week is MAINTENANCE! I want to drink my water every day (that's something I can easily control!), get my exercise where I can and make good food choices as much as possible!
Saturday, April 3, 2010
signs of spring
We're about 14 days into Spring and finally I've been able to open some windows and turn off the heater! We still need the heat in the mornings, but it's wonderful knowing that soon we'll have the windows open 24/7 for a few months!
Here are other signs of spring in and around our home!
time to fill out the census...
daffodils blooming in our flower bed...
and my new Easter dress!
Here are other signs of spring in and around our home!
time to fill out the census...
daffodils blooming in our flower bed...
and my new Easter dress!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
hippie day on a shoestring budget
Last week my oldest son had "hippie day" in his class because they were studying the 1960's in Social Studies. The kids could dress up in a costume if they wanted, but they didn't have to. Apparently the teacher has a great costume and she challenged the kids to beat her at Best Costume. My son was so excited about dressing up, but we didn't have ANYTHING hippie-like in the house and I wasn't too excited about spending money on a costume for him to wear once.
Thank goodness for the Internet and Google, because I came up with some great ideas!
Here's what we did.
We went to a craft store and bought a plain red t-shirt ($3) and 2 bandannas ($3). We went to the Dollar Tree and bought some pink tinted, round sunglasses ($1). Once we got home, we got busy putting it all together.
First, we tie dyed the t-shirt using 4 parts bleach to 1 part water. We twisted, knotted, and rubber banded the t-shirt and let it sit in the bleach mixture for 10 minutes. After that, we rinsed the shirt really good under water, unknotted it, and let it hang to dry. The next day I washed and dried it. The result? A two-toned red tie dyed t-shirt.
Then we made bell bottom blue jeans using one of the bandannas and an old pair of jeans. To do this I ripped the outside seam of the jeans legs from the ankle to just below the knee. I cut 2 triangles out of the bandanna fabric and sewed it into the ripped seam, making them into bell bottoms. Next I used a black marker and made 2 peace signs on the jeans.
He used the other bandanna around his head, wore the sun glasses and carried a sign (to show his protest for something). In the picture he was holding his guitar, but he didn't take it to class.
So what do you think of our groovy $7 Hippie Costume?
Thank goodness for the Internet and Google, because I came up with some great ideas!
Here's what we did.
We went to a craft store and bought a plain red t-shirt ($3) and 2 bandannas ($3). We went to the Dollar Tree and bought some pink tinted, round sunglasses ($1). Once we got home, we got busy putting it all together.
First, we tie dyed the t-shirt using 4 parts bleach to 1 part water. We twisted, knotted, and rubber banded the t-shirt and let it sit in the bleach mixture for 10 minutes. After that, we rinsed the shirt really good under water, unknotted it, and let it hang to dry. The next day I washed and dried it. The result? A two-toned red tie dyed t-shirt.
Then we made bell bottom blue jeans using one of the bandannas and an old pair of jeans. To do this I ripped the outside seam of the jeans legs from the ankle to just below the knee. I cut 2 triangles out of the bandanna fabric and sewed it into the ripped seam, making them into bell bottoms. Next I used a black marker and made 2 peace signs on the jeans.
He used the other bandanna around his head, wore the sun glasses and carried a sign (to show his protest for something). In the picture he was holding his guitar, but he didn't take it to class.
So what do you think of our groovy $7 Hippie Costume?
Monday, March 29, 2010
operation jiggly bits - week two
ughhhhh....that's really all I can say on how I feel about this week's OJB results. I felt like I had a GREAT start to Week One, but had a disastrous finish! We were without running water in the kitchen for 3 days, so washing fruits and veggies, not to mention dishes, was very inconvenient. So - I didn't make the best food choices on those 3 days. Yesterday we had the water running again, but had a friend come for an over night visit from out of state. That led to more poor choices...a huge breakfast, chips & salsa, beer, wine, steaks, potatoes, bread, chocolate...the list could go on and on! I'm hoping that today's #s are not accurate since I had so much starchy food yesterday. But...here they are along with how I did meeting my goals for the week. Now THAT I did do good. So, let's start w/the goals first since those are good results, and then my numbers next.
Goals:
1. Drink 64 oz water each day -- DONE! This was easier than I expected. I filled up a huge pitcher (64+ ounces) each morning with water and just made sure that it was empty before the end of the day.
2. Exercise - DONE! Got 4 days of high intensity workouts and 3 days where I worked my abs and did some toning exercises.
Monday - ran 2.44 miles and lifted leg weights
Tuesday - 1 hour Boot Camp class, a 15 minute Abs class, & played tennis for 2 hours
Wednesday - Played tennis for 1-2 hours (can't remember), ran 2.3 miles, lifted leg weights, & completed 50 sit ups and 20 pushups
Friday - 1 hour Zumba class, 15 minutes Abs class
3. Avoid junk food and eat clean. I would say I ate more good food than junk food this week and I did get all my fruits/veggies in for the week. The key for me is to PLAN, PLAN, PLAN and have everything I need so that it's easy to grab something healthy when I'm hungry rather than grab junk. Gotta do better in this area!!
Here's an update to numbers for Week One:
Weight: 143.6 (started at 142)
Chest: 37.25" (started 37.5")
Waist: 31.25" (started 31.5")
@tummy: 33.25" (started 34.5")
Hips: 39" (started 39")
Thighs: 22.3" (started 22.3")
Arms: 11.75" (started 12.25")
My goals are the same for Week 2:
1. High intensity workout 3-4x
2. Abs & toning exercises 3-4x
3. Drink 8 glasses of water each day
4. Eat 5 servings of fruits/veggies each day
5. Avoid junk food & processed food
6. Report back on Monday of next week with updates
Thank you Carla for all of your encouraging words for all of us who are participating in your challenge. I'm looking forward to seeing great results at the end of Week Two!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
operation jiggly bits update
Today I'd planned on doing updates for both budget/cash envelopes as well as OJB, but my computer is acting up and I'm having a hard time accessing my files. Luckily...I can get on the Internet!!! So, I'll work on my Excel later today and update my budget info tomorrow (hopefully!)
Operation Jiggly Bits - I'm off to a pretty good start and can see that just by making a few changes I'm already feeling better AND I'm noticing how many times throughout the day I have a tendency to grab junk food or soft drinks. I know that it's a process and if I were to do a 100% overhaul overnight, I'd probably get burned out. So I'm make slow and gradual changes that will stick. But, the important thing is that I'm more aware of what's going into my body. I feel great when I'm eating right and exercising, I don't feel great when I'm eating junk and being lazy.
Here's the scoop:
Monday
Breakfast: Green Monster
Snack: none
Lunch: grilled chicken on a tortilla w/lettuce and a little cheese, crackers & hummus and a Diet Coke
Snack: popcorn, 2 homemade sugar cookies
Dinner: shrimp, brown rice, asparagus
Snack: small piece of chocolate, glass of wine
Exercise: Ran 2.44 miles and lifted weights (legs only)
Happy about: I had 6 servings of fruit/veggies, almost all of my water, and worked up a sweat exercising
Disappointed with: My afternoon snack of junk
Tuesday
Breakfast: 2 hard boiled egg whites, string cheese
Snack: Green monster, crackers & hummus
Lunch: whole wheat bread w/turkey, cheese, lettuce, onion - Baked Lay's
Snack: 5 stalks celery & Laughing Cow cheese
Dinner: snack stuff - cracker & hummus, Fiber 1 bar, popcorn & a glass of wine
Exercise: LOTS!! 1 hour boot camp, 15 minute of abs/core toning, 2 hours of tennis
Happy about: got 6 servings of fruits/veggies, lots of exercise and I did drink 64 oz of water
Disappointed with: snack supper - should have made a healthy meal!
So that's it for today. This morning I played team tennis (got my bootie kicked), but didn't work up a sweat. I had a hard time resisiting some of the snacks that were brought to the match, so I'm headed to the gym now to run a couple of miles to burn off some of the sugar. And a Green Moster is in my future of an afternoon snack!
Operation Jiggly Bits - I'm off to a pretty good start and can see that just by making a few changes I'm already feeling better AND I'm noticing how many times throughout the day I have a tendency to grab junk food or soft drinks. I know that it's a process and if I were to do a 100% overhaul overnight, I'd probably get burned out. So I'm make slow and gradual changes that will stick. But, the important thing is that I'm more aware of what's going into my body. I feel great when I'm eating right and exercising, I don't feel great when I'm eating junk and being lazy.
Here's the scoop:
Monday
Breakfast: Green Monster
Snack: none
Lunch: grilled chicken on a tortilla w/lettuce and a little cheese, crackers & hummus and a Diet Coke
Snack: popcorn, 2 homemade sugar cookies
Dinner: shrimp, brown rice, asparagus
Snack: small piece of chocolate, glass of wine
Exercise: Ran 2.44 miles and lifted weights (legs only)
Happy about: I had 6 servings of fruit/veggies, almost all of my water, and worked up a sweat exercising
Disappointed with: My afternoon snack of junk
Tuesday
Breakfast: 2 hard boiled egg whites, string cheese
Snack: Green monster, crackers & hummus
Lunch: whole wheat bread w/turkey, cheese, lettuce, onion - Baked Lay's
Snack: 5 stalks celery & Laughing Cow cheese
Dinner: snack stuff - cracker & hummus, Fiber 1 bar, popcorn & a glass of wine
Exercise: LOTS!! 1 hour boot camp, 15 minute of abs/core toning, 2 hours of tennis
Happy about: got 6 servings of fruits/veggies, lots of exercise and I did drink 64 oz of water
Disappointed with: snack supper - should have made a healthy meal!
So that's it for today. This morning I played team tennis (got my bootie kicked), but didn't work up a sweat. I had a hard time resisiting some of the snacks that were brought to the match, so I'm headed to the gym now to run a couple of miles to burn off some of the sugar. And a Green Moster is in my future of an afternoon snack!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
budgeting for unexpected visitors
It's been a while since I've looked at our budget for the month to see how we're doing. I am diligently tracking my spending each and every day, but haven't have lacked the motivation to sit down and analyze it.
We've had a few things come up unexpectedly this month. Visitors. Out-of-state visitors. On one hand I want to do a very, very heavy sigh, but on the other hand I'm THRILLED anytime anyone wants to take the time to come see us!! But, it's done a bit of a doozy on our budget this month. After this weekend, we'll have had 3 sets of visitors come to see us in March, all giving us less than a couple of weeks notice. One set told me on a Monday that they'd be here that coming Friday for a 2-night stay. One set came for just a day visit. The next set (gave the most notice -- 2 weeks!) and will be staying 1 night. Anyway, I didn't plan in the budget for my friends and family for the month. As I'm writing this, I see how petty this all seems. After all, it's in the annual budget to have visitors, and I know come December we're not going to be broke and the kids will STILL get a great Christmas even though we had 3 sets of visitors who weren't in the budget for this month. Right? So, what's my problem? I love my friends and I love my family. I don't want them to ever not want to come.
So, I guess my frustration lies within myself. I tend to see the plan (the budget) and have a hard time deviating from it. I have a hard time seeing the big picture. Even if we were so broke we didn't have a pot to (you know what) in, I'd still be thrilled to have visitors and find something to feed them and do everything I could to make them feel welcome. Right?
So, while my numbers (for the grocery bill) are going to be out of whack for the month of March (and that's why I'm having such a hard time sitting down to look at them...they're not going to be perfect and that's a problem for me), I'm going to have a great time this month seeing friends and family that I don't get to see but once or twice a year.
I really need to lighten up and embrace my friends/family and not view their (semi-unplanned) visits as hiccup to the budget. But still, I would LOVE to have a little notice...I am, after all, a PLANNER by nature, and if I could at least know during the month prior, I could work in the budget some pretty good meals for you! :)
I'm curious how you all rework your plans for (semi) unplanned visitors?
We've had a few things come up unexpectedly this month. Visitors. Out-of-state visitors. On one hand I want to do a very, very heavy sigh, but on the other hand I'm THRILLED anytime anyone wants to take the time to come see us!! But, it's done a bit of a doozy on our budget this month. After this weekend, we'll have had 3 sets of visitors come to see us in March, all giving us less than a couple of weeks notice. One set told me on a Monday that they'd be here that coming Friday for a 2-night stay. One set came for just a day visit. The next set (gave the most notice -- 2 weeks!) and will be staying 1 night. Anyway, I didn't plan in the budget for my friends and family for the month. As I'm writing this, I see how petty this all seems. After all, it's in the annual budget to have visitors, and I know come December we're not going to be broke and the kids will STILL get a great Christmas even though we had 3 sets of visitors who weren't in the budget for this month. Right? So, what's my problem? I love my friends and I love my family. I don't want them to ever not want to come.
So, I guess my frustration lies within myself. I tend to see the plan (the budget) and have a hard time deviating from it. I have a hard time seeing the big picture. Even if we were so broke we didn't have a pot to (you know what) in, I'd still be thrilled to have visitors and find something to feed them and do everything I could to make them feel welcome. Right?
So, while my numbers (for the grocery bill) are going to be out of whack for the month of March (and that's why I'm having such a hard time sitting down to look at them...they're not going to be perfect and that's a problem for me), I'm going to have a great time this month seeing friends and family that I don't get to see but once or twice a year.
I really need to lighten up and embrace my friends/family and not view their (semi-unplanned) visits as hiccup to the budget. But still, I would LOVE to have a little notice...I am, after all, a PLANNER by nature, and if I could at least know during the month prior, I could work in the budget some pretty good meals for you! :)
I'm curious how you all rework your plans for (semi) unplanned visitors?
Monday, March 22, 2010
operation jiggly bits - week one
I'm excited to be participating in My 1/2 Dozen Daily's Operation Jiggly Bits ("OJB")! This challege couldn't have come at a better time. Just last week, I mentioned starting my "Burn the Swim Skirt" diet and blog. Since I'm going to participate in OJB, I'm just going to post my progress and updates here at Steady Plodding rather than try to manage 2 at one time. (I don't have that much time to spend blogging! lol!)
So, if you're interested, click the link above and head over to Carla's blog and take a look! It'll be a six week challenge beginning today. On Monday's I'll post my measurements/weight along with my goals for the week. I'll give a brief update on what the previous week was like and if I'm satisfied with the progress that I'm making.
Remember, the point of me doing this is to (1) feel better and be healthier and (2) to lose weight. I'm not 100% comfortable posting my weight/measurements for everyone to see...BUT, none of you really know me, so there's really nothing to lose. Right? Just no judging!!!! lol! Seriously, I think by writing it all down it will help me monitor my progress and to hold myself more accountable.
Where I am TODAY...
Height: 5'3" with a medium-athletic frame (wish I was small boned and petite, but I'm not!!)
Weight: 142
Chest: 37.5"
Waist: 31.5"
@tummy: 34.5"
Hips: 39"
Thighs: 22.3"
Arms: 12.25"
And where I want to be...(I don't anticipate meeting this goal in 6 weeks, but this is my goal by 6-15-10)
Height: 5'6" (just kidding!)
Weight: 128-130
Chest: 35.75"
Waist: 28"
@tummy: 29"
Hips: 37"
Thighs: smaller and more toned
Arms: smaller and more toned
My goals for this coming week:
1. Have 2 Water-Only days...no soft drinks and no wine on these days (planning for Tuesday & Wednesday)
2. Each day drink 64 oz water, eat 5 servings of fruit/veggies, eat as clean as possible
3. Work out (high intensity) 3 times and do abs/toning exercise 3 times
So, that's it for this week's Operation Jiggly Bits goals! Stay tuned...
my first green monster
I've been a little suspicious about the Green Monsters that I see My 1/2 Dozen Daily making over at her blog, and have been on the fence in trying one. Are they really as good as she says they are?!? Well, I decided to finally bite the bullet!! I loaded up my grocery cart Saturday with fruit, 1% milk and Spinach...I already had the Flax Meal. Yesterday I saw that Saving4Later tried one for the first time too and knew that today would be the day for me to try mine!
This morning, I got all the stuff out, put it in the blender and waited. Waited. And waited. I was still a little nervous about pulling the trigger and actually blending it! I took the kids to school, came back home and decided I had to get it blended and be a "big girl" and give it a try! Well - I did it! And, an hour later, I'm still sipping on it. Not because it tastes bad and is hard to get down, but because it's really filling. And, by the way, it's GOOD!
Here's what went into my Green Monster:
2 spoonfuls of ground flax meal
2 cups of spinach
1 cup of fresh strawberries
1 banana
1 cup 1% milk
and a little ice to make it colder
Tomorrow, I'm going to try it with frozen fruit and see if there is a difference in taste between the fresh and frozen fruit. I LOVE the fact that I get 2 cups of veggies in my day without even thinking about it. I can't taste the spinach. In fact, the thing I taste the most is the banana and the texture of the flax. I would like for it to be a little colder, so tomorrow I'm going to start off with a cold glass and maybe add extra ice.
Now a question for y'all who make these with frozen fruit. Do you thaw the fruit before putting it in, or do you put the fruit still frozen directly into the blender?
This morning, I got all the stuff out, put it in the blender and waited. Waited. And waited. I was still a little nervous about pulling the trigger and actually blending it! I took the kids to school, came back home and decided I had to get it blended and be a "big girl" and give it a try! Well - I did it! And, an hour later, I'm still sipping on it. Not because it tastes bad and is hard to get down, but because it's really filling. And, by the way, it's GOOD!
Here's what went into my Green Monster:
2 spoonfuls of ground flax meal
2 cups of spinach
1 cup of fresh strawberries
1 banana
1 cup 1% milk
and a little ice to make it colder
Tomorrow, I'm going to try it with frozen fruit and see if there is a difference in taste between the fresh and frozen fruit. I LOVE the fact that I get 2 cups of veggies in my day without even thinking about it. I can't taste the spinach. In fact, the thing I taste the most is the banana and the texture of the flax. I would like for it to be a little colder, so tomorrow I'm going to start off with a cold glass and maybe add extra ice.
Now a question for y'all who make these with frozen fruit. Do you thaw the fruit before putting it in, or do you put the fruit still frozen directly into the blender?
Saturday, March 20, 2010
chocolate pie recipe
It's been a gorgeous 2 days here and I've been outside as much as possible. I wanted to do a real quick post though. My 1/2 Dozen Daily made a request for the chocolate pie recipe that we had on Sunday for "Pi Day". Here it is!!! Enjoy!
This is the only chocolate pie I've ever made...I used this recipe since I was married in 1992 and still love it!
Chocolate Pie
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup flour
3 tablespoons cocoa
3 cups milk
4 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
1 tablespoon butter
1 9" baked pie crust
3 tablespoons sugar
Mix sugar, flour, and cocoa thoroughly; add milk gradually until well mixed. Stir in egg yolks, reserving egg whites. Cook in heavy saucepan, stirring constantly until thickened. (You want it to get as thick as possible...like pudding). Remove from heat; add vanilla and butter. Pour into the pie crust.
Beat egg whites until stiff; add sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Place meringue on pie and bake until golden brown.
This is the only chocolate pie I've ever made...I used this recipe since I was married in 1992 and still love it!
Chocolate Pie
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup flour
3 tablespoons cocoa
3 cups milk
4 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
1 tablespoon butter
1 9" baked pie crust
3 tablespoons sugar
Mix sugar, flour, and cocoa thoroughly; add milk gradually until well mixed. Stir in egg yolks, reserving egg whites. Cook in heavy saucepan, stirring constantly until thickened. (You want it to get as thick as possible...like pudding). Remove from heat; add vanilla and butter. Pour into the pie crust.
Beat egg whites until stiff; add sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Place meringue on pie and bake until golden brown.
Friday, March 19, 2010
food waste friday and 210 things to do...
First, Food Waste Friday!!!
In an conscious attempt to keep food waste to a minimum, I join The Frugal Girl and many other bloggers each week and participate in Food Waste Friday. I clean out my refrigerator, line up any waste on the counter, (usually) take a picture and post it on my blog. After doing this for a while, I can honestly say that I work throughout the week to eat (or feed my children) what's in the fridge so that I don't have it to post on Fridays!
This week's waste: CILANTRO.
I had hopes to freeze what was left of it today, but it has already wilted when I pulled it out this morning. But that is it! The only thing that is being thrown away!
Now for my next topic, my 210 Things to Do list.
I have several goals on my 210 Things to Do in 2010 List that are health and fitness related. I'm struggling getting motivated to accomplish these goals each week and I truly can't put it off any longer. Swimsuit season is just around the corner! lol! In an attempt to bring my health/fitness goals to a higher priority, I'll be blogging about them at Burn The Swim Skirt over the next few months.
I'll still be here blogging away about personal finance, life and such! Thanks, as always, for stopping by!
In an conscious attempt to keep food waste to a minimum, I join The Frugal Girl and many other bloggers each week and participate in Food Waste Friday. I clean out my refrigerator, line up any waste on the counter, (usually) take a picture and post it on my blog. After doing this for a while, I can honestly say that I work throughout the week to eat (or feed my children) what's in the fridge so that I don't have it to post on Fridays!
This week's waste: CILANTRO.
I had hopes to freeze what was left of it today, but it has already wilted when I pulled it out this morning. But that is it! The only thing that is being thrown away!
Now for my next topic, my 210 Things to Do list.
I have several goals on my 210 Things to Do in 2010 List that are health and fitness related. I'm struggling getting motivated to accomplish these goals each week and I truly can't put it off any longer. Swimsuit season is just around the corner! lol! In an attempt to bring my health/fitness goals to a higher priority, I'll be blogging about them at Burn The Swim Skirt over the next few months.
I'll still be here blogging away about personal finance, life and such! Thanks, as always, for stopping by!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
what is the grocery game?
I talk about the grocery game almost every week and I've always assumed that everyone knows what The Grocery Game is. But maybe not, so I'll explain.
Through The Grocery Game's website I have access to what’s called Teri's List. Teri's List is "a weekly publication of the lowest-priced products at your supermarket or drugstore matched with manufacturers' coupons and specials - advertised and unadvertised. Teri does all the hard work and research, and presents it to you in a straightforward format".
This is what I do and how I save money on groceries and household items.
Each Sunday, I get the coupons out of the newspaper and put them in a file folder, and label it with that Sunday's date. I don't clip any of them and I put them all (Redplum, Smart Source, etc.) in the same folder.
Then, I go to Terri's List (on the website) and check prices for the grocery stores where I shop (Publix and Kroger). Publix's list comes out on Sunday and the prices are good from Sunday-Wednesday. My Kroger list comes out Monday morning and these prices are good from Monday-Saturday. (Depending on where you live, the dates could be different.)
So, then what? I glance through Teri’s List first focusing on GREEN line items. If something is listed in green, then it will be free based on the sale price and the coupons you have for that item. I almost always purchase the green items. Even if I don't need the items, I get them anyway and donate them to the Food Bank and food drives.
Next are the BLUE items. If something is listed in blue, that means it's going to be about a cheap as you'll find it in that particular store...it's hit a "rock bottom" price. I look through the blue items to see what we're always using and needing. These are my "stockpiling" items -- things like toothpaste, toilet paper, Kleenex, cleaning/laundry detergents, and our favorite foods (cereals, snack items, canned/frozen vegetables, pasta, sauces, etc.). I look for these items and check off what we need.
The last thing I do is look at the BLACK items. These are things that are on sale and are a good price, but things that unless you NEED immediately, that you shouldn't buy. Black lined items will be cheaper in the future and if you can wait to buy them, then you ought to wait.
After I've "checked" my items on the list, I print the list and it will show only the items that I've checked. Then, I start clipping the coupons. Teri's List shows where to find the coupons (what date they were published) and I look through my file box, find the folder with the correct date on it, search for the right coupons and clip them. Then I'm ready to go to the store and SAVE$$!
To be honest, this takes me about an hour each week to browse the list and cut my coupons. BUT, the savings are great and it's definitely worth my time. And, if you have a responsible child, it might be a great way for him or her to make a couple of dollars by searching for and clipping the coupons for you!
So how much money do I save by doing this? Here is what I’ve saved so far this year:
JANUARY
Out of pocket = $746
Saved = $391
Savings = 34%
FEBRUARY
Out of pocket = $426
Saved = $282
Savings = 40%
MARCH (thru 3/15)
Out of pocket = $264
Saved = $183
Savings = 41%
Now, there is a fee associated with using the website. You can try it for free for a week, and after that it turns into a paid subscription. I pay $15 every 8 weeks for a 2-store membership. It’s only $10 for a 1-store membership.
So...that in a nutshell, is The Grocery Game. It can sound confusing, but it really isn't. If you are already playing The Grocery Game, I’d love to hear from you and to know how much you save on average!
Through The Grocery Game's website I have access to what’s called Teri's List. Teri's List is "a weekly publication of the lowest-priced products at your supermarket or drugstore matched with manufacturers' coupons and specials - advertised and unadvertised. Teri does all the hard work and research, and presents it to you in a straightforward format".
This is what I do and how I save money on groceries and household items.
Each Sunday, I get the coupons out of the newspaper and put them in a file folder, and label it with that Sunday's date. I don't clip any of them and I put them all (Redplum, Smart Source, etc.) in the same folder.
Then, I go to Terri's List (on the website) and check prices for the grocery stores where I shop (Publix and Kroger). Publix's list comes out on Sunday and the prices are good from Sunday-Wednesday. My Kroger list comes out Monday morning and these prices are good from Monday-Saturday. (Depending on where you live, the dates could be different.)
So, then what? I glance through Teri’s List first focusing on GREEN line items. If something is listed in green, then it will be free based on the sale price and the coupons you have for that item. I almost always purchase the green items. Even if I don't need the items, I get them anyway and donate them to the Food Bank and food drives.
Next are the BLUE items. If something is listed in blue, that means it's going to be about a cheap as you'll find it in that particular store...it's hit a "rock bottom" price. I look through the blue items to see what we're always using and needing. These are my "stockpiling" items -- things like toothpaste, toilet paper, Kleenex, cleaning/laundry detergents, and our favorite foods (cereals, snack items, canned/frozen vegetables, pasta, sauces, etc.). I look for these items and check off what we need.
The last thing I do is look at the BLACK items. These are things that are on sale and are a good price, but things that unless you NEED immediately, that you shouldn't buy. Black lined items will be cheaper in the future and if you can wait to buy them, then you ought to wait.
After I've "checked" my items on the list, I print the list and it will show only the items that I've checked. Then, I start clipping the coupons. Teri's List shows where to find the coupons (what date they were published) and I look through my file box, find the folder with the correct date on it, search for the right coupons and clip them. Then I'm ready to go to the store and SAVE$$!
To be honest, this takes me about an hour each week to browse the list and cut my coupons. BUT, the savings are great and it's definitely worth my time. And, if you have a responsible child, it might be a great way for him or her to make a couple of dollars by searching for and clipping the coupons for you!
So how much money do I save by doing this? Here is what I’ve saved so far this year:
JANUARY
Out of pocket = $746
Saved = $391
Savings = 34%
FEBRUARY
Out of pocket = $426
Saved = $282
Savings = 40%
MARCH (thru 3/15)
Out of pocket = $264
Saved = $183
Savings = 41%
Now, there is a fee associated with using the website. You can try it for free for a week, and after that it turns into a paid subscription. I pay $15 every 8 weeks for a 2-store membership. It’s only $10 for a 1-store membership.
So...that in a nutshell, is The Grocery Game. It can sound confusing, but it really isn't. If you are already playing The Grocery Game, I’d love to hear from you and to know how much you save on average!
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