The start of Lent *Updated with pics*

Today is Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent. I'm not big on religion; granted you couldn't tell by my tattoos.

(upper left thigh) (back of right calf, wraps around entire leg)

Anyways, I do always enjoy participating in giving up something I like/enjoy for Lent. This year I have decided to give up convenience foods; no more fast food, junk food (unless I make it from scratch), soda, instant anything. I'm sure right now this doesn't seem like much but give me a week and I will be crying for my instant mashed potatoes and hot chocolate. But I'm going to be realistic about this too; if I have (recently) made something from scratch, I will continue to do so; I will be able to enjoy cookies, granola bars, breads, salsas and I'm sure there are a few other things too. But I think right now I'm taking advantage of the conveniences I do have so this will be a good reminder for me. I'm hoping to also try not to buy any new clothing or accessories (shoes included) until Easter. Trust me, I have more than enough to get me by the next 40 days and probably beyond.

You will have to check back with me in a few weeks to see how I'm really doing! Better yet, how my guy is doing. He was definitely not looking forward to this time of year as my mom or I are the cooks for the house. My mom has decided to give up meat. (Sorry Erin, I don't think she will stay converted) I'm also hoping this will help with me losing a few pounds in a healthy way!

Somthing has to give

Last night I went to two different grocery stores; I needed some toiletry stuff plus food so I stopped at Wal-Mart and Winco. $153 later, I was home and exhusted! I'm trying to keep track of what the regular price is at each store I shop to see where I should pick up the staples. So far I'm realizing I need to shop at 3 different places (maybe even 4) for everything; personally I think this is a pain but when you need save a few bucks, you do what you have to do! Tonight I was planning on stopping at Freddies to pick up the items they have on sale from the paper Sunday; not much, TP, bread, 5 for 10 cereal deal. Maybe once I know where the staple items are the best price I can try to avoid so many stores. I'm not a huge fan of buying my groceries the same place I buy electronics. Mmm, now that doesn't seem right because I have no problem stopping at Freddies to pick up fresh meat. Maybe it's just me, I don't want to shop at Wal-Mart for food; I don't buy ANY store brands no matter where I shop so that's not the issue. Does that make me a snob? Not that I really care about designer food marts because I have no problem going to Winco; just as long as it's not the first of the month when all our welfare dollars are being spent. Wow, it looks like I'm in a GREAT mood today! I think my mood reflects how I feel about my personal finances and health. I just learned my electric bill for Dec-Feb was over $325 putting my bi-monthly bill over $550! When money is already tight, that was just something I didn't need today; or any other day for that mater. But just like everything else, I will find a way. As for my health; I missed 2 days of work last week (thank goodness for PTO time) and finally went to the doctor. Unfortunately I have to go back today for more tests. I have some sort of kidney infection and something is going on with my appendix. Good times!

On a brighter note.... I'm excited for Saturday! I'm going to a class on how to use MY sewing machine. It's been sitting for probably over 2 years since I have NO clue how to work it. I have so many ideas in my head for my machine; I just hope I don't get too fustrated and give up.

Just thought of something else to be happy about; a co-worker of mine asked if I would mind if his family prayed for my health. I'm not a big prayer person but I thought it was really great to have someone I work with care enough about me to pray.

Weekend Parent

It's actually pretty amazing what talking actually does for kids; who would have thought!?! Since talking with L after Christmas about being more responsible and talking to her mom about making sure she packs her suitcase with appropriate clothing we have not had any problems! It was nice to see that after a friendly conversation she respected my wishes to make sure L had clothes or something to play with at our house on during her visits with us. In fact, L had done such a good job of this that I allowed her to take home her new clothes (from Christmas) and even a few of her toys. I keep reminding L that if she takes care of her nice things and brings them back and forth, she will continue to get nice things to take back and forth.

In the past few months we have been trying to go have dinner with her on our "off" weeks; this seems to be good for L and my guy! Tonight we will be going to visit her again; we will be using a restaurant coupon I bought from here. This is also becoming a nice treat for my guy to get to help her with homework. Plus we are learning more about activities she wants to be involved with!

NOW the next problem I think we need to try to work on is getting her out of her bedroom. I'm happy she is comfortable in her room and knows that is "her" place but unless we are playing Wii or eating, she sits in her room. I've asked her a few times to come sit out with me in the living room and after huffing and puffing, she does. Maybe it's just the age of wanting to be alone or not with your parents but when we only see her 4 days; call me crazy I think she should hang out on the couch or where ever we are. Or is this selfish? Honestly I don't think there is a happy medium but it's worth asking around. I know most people that read my blog have kids so it's nice to hear your opinions.

Feeling blah

Ever have one of those days where you just feel blah? I think I'm having a blah month. I have no energy or excitement to do anything fun or creative. I would love to just crawl in bed with puppy and a few good books for a week! Maybe it's the lack of vitamin D I'm getting up here in the Great NW or maybe it's just the blah look of the country side. I can't wait for the spring time with the budding of new flowers and colors! I'm hoping my trees all bloom this year! I think my goal for this week is to figure out how to get out of this funk. At Joann's this weekend I picked up some cute rub-ons that I need to put on picture frames; maybe looking at all my old pictures will cheer me up. Plus I need to get working on something great for momma's birthday at the end of the month! What do you get someone who has everything and wants nothing. Time to be creative!

More Flowers

Yep, my guy is a keeper! Once again he did something wonderful ....





My office smells SO good right now! These are my all time favorite flower, Gardenia!

I heart Prada

I never have buyers remorse after spending too much money, and this is another example of that. In the last 2 days, I have spend $342 at Nordstrom Rack stores (this is after my employee discount, a savings of $70). I know this is a TON of money that could have been use to ... fix my broken car, pay down on credit cards, a mini-vacation trip well the possibilities are endless. But what I did buy was well worth it; well at least in my mind.

Classic 2 inch black leather Prada

Classic leather Prada flats with a buckle

Now, I'm not completly selfish; I did buy my baby a few TOTALLY necessary Juicy things!

Now, don't you think this pretty little girl will look lovely sleeping in her new comfy bed! Ok, let's not kid ourselves, you know the baby sleeps in bed, under the covers with us! Plus, she is going to be so stylish going out-and-about in her new carrier! I can't wait to try it out. Just hope I can wait ONE more day to give it to her for Valentine's!

Ok, here is a breakdown of what I spent, and why I think it's perfectly OK to buy all that I did!

Prada heels, regular price: $395, Rack price $80 minus employee discount $64

Prada flats, regular price: $340, Rack price $80 minus employee discount $64

Juicy doggie bed: regular price $95, Rack price $39 minus employee discount $32

Juicy carrier: regular price $325, Rack price $117 minus employee discount $93

I also bought a few Northface pull-overs for me and my guy for a total of $65ish. Granted those we probably didn't need, but something that will last a long time and still a good deal!

Now you know why I need rehab for shopping!

Cooking from scratch

Since I have decided to be healthy and try to slim down some, I have decided to try to cook alot more from scratch. Up until now, that's exactly what it was "deciding" to cook. But last night for some crazy reason I got motivated and made granola bars from scratch from this recipe. Since I don't like raisins, I changed it up a bit; I added chopped walnuts and Reese Peanut Butter Chips ... yummm ... For my first try it wasn't so bad; I had NO clue how long they would take to cook, which pushed dinner back (sorry), but to my pleasant surprise, they came out GREAT. Ok, I think they were great FOR a first try. I think next time I will add in a few chocolate chips and more nuts. Do you realize how hard it is to find Wheat Germ when you have NO clue what your looking for? Thankgoodness my guy is not afraid to ask for help granted this might have something to do with walking up and down EVERY aisle in 2 different stores. LOL I think tonight I'm going to try to figure out exactly what the calorie and fat count is to make sure it's worth my time. I also need to figure out how to come up with the cost of making them. Does anyone know how I would calculate this? I spent a total of $17.72; but I did buy 2 containers of the oatmeal. I only bought 2 in hopes these would turn out OK and I would like to make them again(plus I had a dollar off coupon)! I didn't have to buy the basics; brown sugar, salt, cinnamon or applesauce.

Sorry, I would have posted a picture, but I ate mine already. I will try again next time!

Weekly Menu * UPDATE *

I know it's already Tuesday, but I'm going to try this menu planning things again this week. Last week didn't work out like I planned as I was gone a few days and didn't get to cook like I wanted to before hand. I have checked my freezer and looked at a few recipes so here we go:

Monday: Was chicken cooked on the Foreman, veggie, steak fries

Tuesday: NY Steak, baked patatoes, veggie *UPDATED

Wednesday: Chicken 'N Dumplings (crockpot creation) *Date changed*

Thursday: Salmon (if available) or Soup *UDPATED*

Friday: Leftovers, Mac 'N Cheese, Hot dogs

Valentines Day: Lunch: Soup and salad
Dinner: Debating on going out or letting my guy cook! It will be a surprise.

Sunday: Lunch: Chili Dogs
Dinner: Spaghetti with sauce

I only posted this yesterday and I ALREADY made to make a change! I went to the store to pick up my salmon steaks but they were out! I was SO disappointment. Since I hadn't taken a thing out of the freezer, I decided to buy fresh steaks; which was close to my budge for salmon ($16). Since I had to change up the salmon with steak I had to change up when we were going to have things. Here is a updated verison of what will be for dinner! Hope it works out this time!

2009 Goals update

Now that one month has past, I thought I should look to see how I am doing with my goals for the year; or more importantly did anything change. I admit, I'm pretty proud of my self; I have kept my goals in the back of my mind and let them guide me through my days.

Appreciation: I have put away my clothes (still a work in progress but getting better) I'm working on arranging my shoes in a more user friendly manner; this will hopefully get me to wear all 100 pairs!

Avoiding drama: I have decided along with my guy to just stay clear of the drama; we have been left out of a few parties but in the end, we are happier together!

Excuses: This is still hard, but I'm taking responsibility for my actions and not letting it affect others.

Shopping: This is where I have made a HUGE improvement; I have only bought 2 things for my self in the past month! A $3 white sweatshirt that is becoming a staple in my home life and a pair of shorts for the summer.. normal price is $88, but they came into my retail store for $15 minus my 20% employee discount! I just couldn't pass them up. I have also picked up a few things for Valentines but for once, I put them away to give as gifts. I'm so bad about buying something before hand and not waiting.

Recycling: Still trying to figure out how to be more involved; still need to sell some un-wanted, un-used items.

Cooking: I have been cooking and tried a few new recipes; I can't wait to learn how to make bread.

Decluttering: Another one I need to work on. Mmmm, this is harder than I thought. I swear I need everything in my house! My dining room looks better; I still need to put up my wine bottle holders. But the glassware shelving was redone and is now more user friendly. Still need to do something with the blinds....

Vacations: We did go to Great Wolf with L and a friend last month; we had a great time and was able to spend some time here and there alone so it was a nice get away for us too. For February we have Leavenworth scheduled with another couple!

I think so far I'm doing pretty good and still on target to have these goals continue through-out the entire year!

Weekly Menu

Since last week was my first week of actually planning a menu, I think it went fairly well. We didn't have spaghetti on Friday as no one was really that hungry; so my guy and L made Mac n' cheese with hot dogs; both things we had on hand. And Saturday we had spaghetti with salad. Here is this weeks menu:

Monday: leftover Chili and corn bread from Superbowl party

Tuesday: Potato bar with leftover chili, cheese and broccoli

Wednesday: Taco Wednesday at the bar $20 bar tab including tip limit

Thursday: I'm out of town in Colorado! But I will have a frozen meal for my guy; Chicken something with stove top

Friday: Still out of town, but my guy will have steak salad and soup

Saturday: He's on his own for this night, probably will go out with friends

Sunday: I'm home so probably steak, veggie, salad


Shopping list: Spending limit $15
potatoes: veggie stand by the house $1 per bag
lettuce: looking for the best deal or Winco about $1.80 per bag
block of cheese: deals?, Winco Tillimock block $6.ish
lunch meat: $2.38 Winco

Looking to stock back up on:
Mac 'n Cheese
Stove Top
Instant Mashed Potatoes
Clam Chowder
Cheese