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?

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!

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!

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?

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?

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.

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!

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!

happy pi day!

Today is 3.14 (March 14th) and it is our first time ever to celebrate Pi Day by eating pie. My 5th grader came home on Friday letting me know about this "holiday" and that his math teacher had told him that we should all eat pie. Well, he didn't have to twist my arm!! It's not the prettiest pie, but was VERY tasty for dessert tonight. One of our favorites...CHOCOLATE PIE!



Did anyone else celebrate Pi Day?!? lol! :)

we "found" $40 this week!

I mentioned the other day ways I was trying to "find" some money and contribute to our Special Family Fun Fund (SFFF). I sold 2 things on ebay this week! A pair of youth snowboots and a great ski jacket (both outgrown by the boys). Between these two ebay sales, I netted about $40. Add the $52 cash that we got in exchanged for our rolled coins and our "SFFF" is up to $92! Not too bad...

What are some ways that you've been successful in "finding" extra money?

Edited to add...my neighbor just brought over my earnings from her garage sale last weekend. $15! Whoo Hoo! Not much, but that will put us over the $100 mark on our SFFF!

food waste friday

I'm participating in The Frugal Girl's Food Waste Friday today! Take a look and see how good, or not so good, you think we did...



The lettuce is actually leftover from February 28. It was still nice and fresh at the beginning of this week and I hoped to use it, but never did. The sausage patty found its way to the back of the fridge and was overlooked all week. The yogurt I'm really bummed about! I had a coupon for a FREE yogurt and got this one. I started to eat it this morning and realized that expired on 3/1/10! (When I bought it, it was already past it's expiration date!). I hate when that happens!!! Sometimes, I forget to double check the expiration dates when I'm taking stuff off the shelf. And with dairy, I hate taking chances -- especially when it's 12 days after the date.

I have LOTS of stale bread that I'm donating to the birds. I need to "google" uses for stale bread so that I can put it to use in the future. (Didn't take a picture of the bread since someone's going to be eating it!)

And, last night we made a made dash to eat leftovers. I'd forgotten we had leftover spaghetti and leftover tacos. So, the kids ate that and I made just enough chili pie for my husband and I. And we didn't have any leftovers from that. And we kinda thru out (fed to the dog)a hamburger patty from Sunday night.

So, next week I hope to do much better. We managed to keep it to a minimum, but I'd love to have a week where we have ZERO waste!

lent update

I mentioned in an earlier post that for Lent, I gave up eating at restaurants and fast-food joints (drive-thrus included). Well...it's has been so much easier doing this than I ever imagined. I admit though that I did have a slip up yesterday. I was out running errands. It was 15 minutes until the kids would be home from school. I hadn't had lunch. I was STARVING. I knew that I had to get something to eat before the kiddos hit the door or I would be a huge grouch. Blimpie was right there and on the way home. I stopped. I cheated.

But other than that, for 17 days now I've prepped 3 meals each day for myself and usually everyone else in my family. (My kids sometimes buy a school lunch instead of taking their lunch kits) And yes, I do know that lent started more than 17 days ago, but we were on vacation when it began and so we began our Lenten Journey the day we got back home.

Things I'm learning...

It's amazing how much we've used fast food due to lack of planning. A trip through the drive-thru on a Saturday afternoon easily costs our family $25. It doesn't take long to sit down and plan out a menu. My children are (finally!) good eaters and so it's pretty easy to think of things that the whole family will enjoy. On nights where I know we have practices or meetings, I have been using the crock pot. On Saturdays when we are running home in between games, I make sure we have leftovers that can be reheated or have things to make a good sandwich. And don't get me wrong, there are often times that chicken nuggets and french fries get thrown into the oven for a quick meal.

I'm learning that it is not that difficult to prep meals at home and avoid eating out. It takes some planning, but it saves so much money and it is so much healthier.

What about you? How often do you cook and eat at home? How many times each week do you eat at a restaurant?