Homemade Silly Sludge aka GAK

By Angela on February 17, 2014

Happy President’s Day! We love our founding presidents for sure. We celebrate their day by working on the house and trying to keep the kids from watching movies or playing video games ALL day. Day time clothes are optional. Bathrobes and fuzzy pajamas are acceptable for the dress code. (We talk about patriotism nearly every day, so I imagine it will come up today as well.)

Last night I knew I needed a plan if I wanted this to be a happy day. Hubs and I each wrote out a “would be nice to accomplish” list. Knowing that we would probably only get one thing done. Then I did a quick search for an idea to keep the kids occupied so I could work. Schedule for the kids: clean rooms; waffles with mom; special activity; play in the snow; board games; electronics after 3pm.

1/4 cup Elmer’s white glue, 1/4 cup cold water and 2 drops of food coloring.

I found a pin from Sugar Bee Crafts written by guest blogger Love and Laundry on making Silly Sludge or Gak. All the ingredients were on my basement shelf, minimal mess, short time involvement for me. Long time involvement for kids. Perfection.

After they mixed the glue,water and coloring together. We dissolved 1/2 tsp borax into 1/4 cup hot water. And poured that into the glue. It immediately started a chemical reaction creating a smooth polymer.

Aaak! Mom, I cannot touch this!

Not all of the water absorbed into the Gak right away. I used a spoon to lift the polymer out of the remaining water and onto a piece of foil. (Wax paper would have worked too, but we were out.) The kids kneaded it and kneaded it until it was smooth ball. Some of the kids opted to work the remaining water into their sludge. That worked out well.

Their first reactions were mixed. Heather didn’t want to touch it at all, but soon was enjoying herself with the rest.

Dub’s reaction.

Brandon’s reaction

Grant’s reaction.

It’s kind of a rule around here, that we don’t laugh when someone else is crying. (It’s only fun when everyone is having fun.) I broke the rule.

Grant didn’t take it well. The picture is fuzzy, because I’m laughing so hard.

Caleb is our sensitive one. He went after Grant and brought him back to play on his shoulders.

We’re sorry; want to try again?

Eventually they all had fun. 2 hours of it.

The next two pictures show you a sneak peak of how our kitchen project is going :). There’s my lovely craigslist range in the background and a few of our cabinets in place. There’s still a lot left to do, but my heart is pretty happy right now. Darren is working hard today and I may have a kitchen sink in a month or two.

One of the things I loved about this activity was experimenting with colors. We used the cheap liquid food colors that come in red, yellow, green and blue. In order from left to right these are the color combos:

1 drop yellow, 1 drop red (pale orange)

2 drops blue

1 drop blue, 1 drop green (bluegreen)

2 drops green

2 drops red, 1 drop blue (pinky lavender)

1 drop red, 2 drops blue (purple)

For the detailed recipe visit Sugar Bee Crafts.

100 Years Old Today

By Angela on February 10, 2014

This week’s blog theme is “loving our children” (last week’s was “loving our husbands.”) I’m not an expert on children by any stretch, but I’ve noticed, children spell love T.I.M.E.

It was the hundredth day of kindergarten today and by miracles my work schedule allowed me to go. This is a huge treat for me, and even bigger for Brandon, my kindergartener. There are some amazing mom’s in his class that volunteer every week. My busy schedule means I just can’t be in his room as often. He lets me know he notices. He’s honest like that.

But today…today I was there. At least my 100 year old self was:

And as silly as I felt, it was worth it, to see how happy it made him, knowing that today we are the same age. (Which is probably just how God sees us.) It’s hard to tell in this photo, but we both have white hair (from an over application of dry shampoo) and white eyebrows from a white eyeliner pencil. We used the same white eyeliner to make his mustache and a gray eye pencil for the wrinkles. We found the glasses at Dollar Tree. The rest we just dug out of our closets. Some of the kid’s outfits were so amazing! Crocheted shawls, wigs, and tiny little canes. (I wish I had permission to show you!) It’s so funny how many details these little guys notice about adults.

We spent the morning in the cafeteria with the first grade. There were 13 stations for them to explore what 100 means. My station was threading 100 fruit loops on a necklace. It was surprisingly hard for these little ones. Only 2 students could finish in the 15 minute window. It totally cracked me up how often they asked me how many they had on their string. They’d slip on 5 and then say, am I done? We did a lot of counting. I told them 50 plus 50 is 100. They thought I said 15 plus 15 is 100. When I explained the difference, I thought they would faint. Little eyeballs rolled back deep into their sockets.

Some of the other stations:

Doing a strenuous exercise for 100 seconds (whew! that felt like a long time.) After which they got a snack of 1 wafer cookie and 2 oreos (which looks like 100.)

Using an ink pad to put 100 fingerprint spots on a dalmation

Making a paper chain with 100 links

Stacking 100 cups

Putting 10 stickers on each of 10 strips of paper and then sticking them to a crown band to make a hat.

Putting 10 groups of 10 objects on a placemat and then reading stories about 100 things.

Cutting out a 1 and 2 zeros from paper and then making it into a picture.

It was a great time with the kids staying active and well-behaved all morning. I was exhausted by the end and ready to go home for a nap. Those 100 year olds sure had a lot of energy.

Just for giggles, here’s a video of Brandon doing the old man shuffle when he was asked to hand out papers in the morning. Bwa ha ha.

25 Ways to Date your Mate

By Angela on February 6, 2014

My friends Stacy and Jenna have been joining me all week for a frugal date blog hop. And now it’s my turn.

The idea was for DH and I to take a super fun and creative date, photograph it and then post it here for inspiration. Bwa ha ha. We were able to sneak in one “leave the house date” in January. It was basketball tournament night, so we took all our kids to the basketball game, stayed long enough to cheer our son on to the end, and drop the little ones off at the babysitting exchange. From there we made our way to the church, where the college youth had a nice chili supper waiting. We enjoyed a meal with them and then gave a little class on financial stuff. (I don’t know about them, but I had a blast.) They changed direction after we left to a game night. We thought about staying for that….but we’re so old, we didn’t want to cramp their style. So, we drove around town wondering what on earth we should do for the next half hour before we had to officially pick up our kids.

Ice cream? Nope, I’m stuffed.

Window Shopping? It’s on the other side of town…

Home for some fun? Not enough time….

So we went to pick up our kids early and visited with the Mama for a while. We’re boring like that. But happy :).

That was a pretty exciting date night for us. Our date nights typically include a run to Chipotle, and then a trip to the hardware store, and home for a Netflix movie. Yawn. It’s pretty satisfying being dull.

If we had a super cool list of surprisingly cheap date nights then we’d have more of a chance a chance at being creative… Oh lookie here!

1. Swimming at an indoor pool

2. Blindfold date: Blindfold the non-driver then take them somewhere and have them guess the location. Suggested destinations: library; ice cream parlor; favorite shop at the mall; bowling; mini-golf; park…Remove the blindfold and have some fun at the first location, Then swap.

3. Have a progressive fast food dinner. Picking up a different item at each restaurant.

4. Play racquetball at the local YMCA.

5. Take a class together at continuing education services at the local High School. They typically offer ballroom dancing classes, art classes, cooking, and computer stuff too.

6. Go to an art museum (our big one is free.)

7. Give each person $10 and split up at the grocery store. Assign each person a vague list of items such as “meat” “dessert” “Side Dish” “bread” and let each person pick whatever they want. Go home and cook it up together.

8. Build a snow family to greet the kids when they come home.

9. Bake cookies together, then deliver them to widows and widowers from church.

10. Write down 10 of your favorite things about each other, then read them aloud: My favorite outfit you wear; Your cologne I like best; My favorite way you do your hair; My favorite thing to do together; My favorite memory; The thing I first noticed about you; The thing I miss most when you’re away; My favorite place we’ve been together; My favorite way you touch me; My favorite talent you have.

11. Write down 10 of your favorites and see if you can guess them about each other. Each item you guess right, gets rewarded with a kiss :). Favorite: Color; Food; Ice-cream flavor; Soda Flavor; Decor style; vacation spot; movie; song; book; car…

12. His/Her Spa night; bubble bath, candles, massage

13. Learn to Dance at home (via youtube)

14. Double date and have a game night

15. Formal night: Surprise him in your nicest gown then go someplace just for fun (Taco Bell, Frozen Yogurt, or the Mall Food Court)

16. Lift weights together, following up with protein smoothies and a muscle rub down

17. Plan your dream house or vacation

18. Talk about your 1, 5, and 10 year goals and make some plans to reach them.

19. Ice Skating

20. Watch your Wedding Video (via Imperfect Homeaker)

21. Browse an ethnic grocery store and try something new

22. Build something together from Ana-White.com

23. Write a bunch of post-it love notes to your kids and hide them in their stuff (inside their socks, school bag, bathrobe, book etc.) (While your at it, sneak some into your spouse’s stuff too–but don’t let him see you!)

24. Pass it on: Do a bunch of random acts of kindness around town. Leave a quarter in the cart at Aldi; shovel someone’s driveway; drop off baked goods on a neighbor’s porch, ring the bell and run; pay for someone’s order behind you in the drive thru; etc

25. Hot and Cold: Give each person $5 and tax and buy gifts from Dollar Tree. Go home and hide them around the house and play hot and cold until each spouse finds them.

The Way I Speak About Him…

By Angela on February 5, 2014

…will determine the way the rest of the world sees him. I know him better than anyone else. If I say unflattering things about my husband, his reputation will suffer. My girl-friends will lose their respect for him. My mother will hold a grudge as a protective reflex for me. I will eventually forgive him, but the rest of the world won’t.

If I speak only kindness about my husband, and give him the benefit of doubt, I will grow in admiration and respect for him. The world will see the person, who knows him best, holds him in highest regard. I will free him to be his best self. I will encourage the parts of him that are the most noble. I will see him in his best light.

How I speak, influences how I feel. How I feel influences how I act. How I speak and act, influences everyone around me.

We are opposites in many ways. I get frustrated, so does he. The things that frustrate me, belong in the conversations I have with my Lord, the only One who loves him more than I do. The only One with the perfect ability to forgive. The only one with the power of the Holy Spirit to mold him into the man he needs to be. The man he really wants to be. If I nag him, I will bring rise to his pride, his natural reflex to defend himself. This will interfere with what God is trying to do in his life. If I do my nagging on my knees, I give God the opportunity to change both of us in the process.

He is my companion,

My protector,

My Lover,

The father of my children, My provider,

My friend.

He deserves my highest regard, and distinction above all other persons. I purpose to guard my tongue.

*****************************************

I’ve dedicated this month to encouraging us to love our husbands and our children. Two other bloggers are joining me by giving an inspiration for a frugal date night. Yesterday, Stacy posted her scavenger hunt date.

Today, I want to introduce you to Jenna from Rain On a Tin Roof. Jenna is gifted with decorating on a budget while making it look fab. If you like classy family-friendly style, furniture rescues, and a smattering of humor tossed in, you’re going to love her blog. She is posting today about how to make a romantic haven for an at home date night.

Ground Rules for Babysitting Exchanges

By Angela on February 4, 2014

In yesterday’s post, I promised to introduce you to Stacy from Stacy Makes Cents.

Stacy is a young mother of 2, living in Virginia who is famous for her healthy crock pot recipes. She has published several books and is currently working on a new cook book with nothing but creative oatmeal recipes. They are living a debt free lifestyle and appeared on the Dave Ramsey show with their debt free scream in 2011. I love her blog because of her great sense of humor and it’s practical information. Here’s Stacy’s mission:

We aim to teach families to live on less than they make, live free from the bondage of debt, live well while eating well, and have fun while doing it – all for the glory of God.

Stacy has posted today about her creative Scavenger Hunt date with her husband, Barry. You can read all about it here.

Yesterday, we also talked about getting free babysitting for your date night by trading babysitting with another family (or forming a babysitting coop.) In order for this to go smoothly, the parents need to sit down ahead of time and set up some ground rules. It’s way easier to talk about these things before incidents happen then to find an awkward situation where you have to confront someone.

Here are my recommended rules/things to discuss:

a. The babysitting mother cooks for all the children on date night. Every mother needs a night off from the kitchen once in a while.

b. Decide on a starting and end time for the date and make it the same every time. Then stick to it.

c. Decide ahead of time what will happen if a child disobeys. What kind of discipline is acceptable? At what point should the babysitting family call and interrupt the date? How should you handle a picky eater? A fussy baby? A homesick child?

d. What is pick up procedure? If the date ends at the same time every time and the ending time is respected, make sure the children have their shoes on and things by the door, so the parents aren’t delayed longer than necessary to get them home and into bed.

How to Choose a Coop Family:

Not every family with children makes a good babysitting partner. I wouldn’t be able to trade with a mother who:

Was brutally honest (no tact) and obviously had a bias towards her own children. I know my children aren’t angels all the time, but I’ve been with families who had children who could do no wrong so any conflict was obviously my child’s fault. I definitely want to know if my child has been a problem, but there’s always a gentler way to say it.

Had no idea how to handle children. I don’t want her to call me for every little thing….just the emergencies. Like if an ambulance is on the way, or someone died.

Is a yeller/screamer. My children need it firm and consistent, but they will cry and stay awake all night if terrorized.

Also, it would frustrate me to agitation if I picked up my children from a date night, and they weren’t offered any dinner. (Totally different if they were served dinner and refused to eat it.)

Another bad match is a family with values so different from ours that I would worry about what my children would be exposed to. Unsupervised access to the internet or cable TV would be a problem for us.

It takes a special family to even consider trading with us. We have 6 kids, and that can be overwhelming if they aren’t used to it.

Prepare Your Children for The Trade

Tell them to use their manners * Say, “Yes Ma’am, yes Sir” * To not beg for food (or juice, or soda…) * To be content and never say the word “bored.” * To keep a stiff upper lip since Mama will be back at 9:00 * Help the younger ones * Clean up after yourself * Say, “I’m sorry.” * Keep your stuff by the door. * Don’t beg to play with special toys (the ones the owner REALLY cherishes.) * Don’t tattle unless someone is being bullied/about to be hurt. * Own up to your fault in a conflict. * Be quick to forgive. * Share, but don’t cause a scene if someone isn’t sharing with you (the stuff all belongs to them any way.) * Don’t bring anything that will make you sad if it gets lost or broken. * If they are watching something you know you aren’t allowed to watch, find something to do in another room. * If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. * Eat what you are served * Remember you are mine * Have a good time :).

The Glue For the 2 of You

By Angela on February 3, 2014

Nope this isn’t a craft post. It’s about marriage. Some say the glue for a marriage is love, but I disagree. Romantic feelings come and go and sometimes you just don’t “feel” it. But that’s not a reason for a marriage to fail if it’s held together by commitment.

Marriages are breaking apart all around us and that’s enough to make DH and I hold on tight to each other and pray. We’re no strangers personally to conflict in marriage, some of it serious. It scares us when people we’ve been close to and love dearly suddenly split apart. No only do we grieve the death of their family, but it feels close. Like if we aren’t watchful and purposeful it could happen to us.

One drive home from school my youngest daughter asked me, “Who do you have your eye on next? You know, for when you get tired of Daddy?” As if it was inevitable that we would split one day and I would move on as she had seen so many other parents do. It was all I could do to keep the car on the road and I said, “Honey, that is one thing you will never have to worry about. Your Father and I promised before God and 400 witnesses to stay married until one of us died. That doesn’t mean that we will never disagree or always be happy with one another. That doesn’t mean that one or both of us won’t mess up badly. But we will never quit trying. Do you understand?” I drove with my peripheral vision as I looked at her in the eyes. “I give you my word, that I will never leave your Daddy.” A that moment, something inside her finally felt secure.

There are seminars, books and dvds on how to have a happy marriage. I’m pretty sure my dad has a copy of everything in his home library and uses them weekly as he works as a lay counselor. There’s lots of good things to read and watch and learn, but if you only do two things today, try these:

1. Honor your husband daily. Men need honor more than love. Gasp when you meet him at the door after work like he’s the best thing you’ve ever seen in your life. Think of things you value about him and tell him. If you know there is something you could do to please him, do it. Does he prefer long hair? Why cut it short? Does he have a preference for food? For s*x? Work it in. If you honor him, he will start to treat you even better. But don’t honor to get something in return. That ruins the effect. Just freely, sincerely, honor him.

2. Plan for a weekly or bimonthly date night. This could be as simple as a Netflix movie at home and some “cuddle” time. Or as elaborate as a theme date from the Dating Divas. If you have young children, you can put them to bed early and start a home date after they are asleep. Even better, find another family that you can trade babysitting with. We’ve been doing this for 5 years and works great as long as there are ground rules and each family respects them. (I’ll share my ground rules tomorrow :).)

Stacy from Stacymakescents.com

In honor of Valentine Season, I’ve partnered with 2 other bloggers to bring you some inspiration for some fun but frugal Date nights. Tuesday, I’ll introduce you to Stacy from Stacy Makes Cents.

Jenna from Rainonatinroof.com

And Wednesday you’ll meet Jenna from Rain on a Tin Roof.

Thursday and Friday, I’ll share my ideas for creative dating on the cheap.

Be sure to subscribe to Feedburner on the right to make sure you don’t miss a post.

Take Note

By Angela on December 29, 2013

It’s time to do yourself a little favor. Take a quiet moment while the memories are still fresh and write some Christmas notes for yourself for next year. This isn’t the time to make huge plans (Which is so tempting when the execution of those plans is still 12 months away.)

Just write some notes about things that went over really well this year or maybe didn’t go so well. Here’s a list of 13 things to think about:

What was the most stolen white elephant gift?
Were there any things you were going to try but didn’t have time for?
Did you run out of tape? How many rolls should you have on hand?
Did you have enough wrapping paper? How much is enough?
Were the kids overwhelmed with too many gifts? How many would have been right?
How did you feel about what you purchased for the stockings?
Did a relative make a really yummy dish that you should remember to ask her to bring agin?
Did you run across a neat story to read, or a song to learn?
Did you try something new this year that needs to become a tradition?
What date did you wish you were all done shopping and wrapping?
When you should start any hand made items to avoid last minute stress?
Were you tempted to buy a bunch of extra gifts since you had so many great ideas? File those ideas for next year.
Did you notice some great sales?! For example, I found legos on Amazon on cyber Monday for 50-60% off retail. And Target had jammies 40% off the week before Christmas. Chances are the same types of sales will happen again next year and I want to remember to look for it.

Whatever you write just be sure to put enough details down that it will still be helpful to you 12 months from now.

The newest Christmas fad is to keep it simple. Simple. Simple. Simple. (Said while poking my forehead with my finger.)

A basic tree, some yummy food. Done. No need to go crazy and dec the whole house, unless someone is paying you a huge sum of money to do it. Drink some nog, do a puzzle. Breathe. Smile. Relax.

This year the flu wiped me out the week before Christmas. I had planned to finish my sewing and shopping that week since school would be out and my choir program would be finished. But instead I enjoyed some forced R&R and fretted about it. You see, we only bought our kids a pair of jammies and 2 other gifts. Only some kids had no jammies. And some kids had only 1 gift. But the funny things is, on Christmas morning no one noticed (My Mom did help me make sure everyone had new jammies–I think they may have noticed that.) But the kids that opened one gift instead of two–didn’t say a word. They were too busy playing with their one fun gift. I worried for nothing. And the jammies were a HUGE hit.

Here’s a little screenshot of how I like to keep notes. If you click on it, I think you can see it bigger and maybe read some of the text.

How you take your notes is up to you, as long as it’s a place that you are sure to look next year. I’ve been making a Christmas plan on my computer since 2003. It started in excel and has morphed into a powerpoint file (since that’s the way I think best.) Now that I’ve worked out a system I like, I just “save as” the old file with the new year on it, then quickly go and delete out the old info and plop in the new. This year as I was getting ready for Christmas late August or so, I found my notes from last year to help me with this year. I completely forgot I had done it. When I saw it, I jumped up and screamed “I’m a genius!” What a blessing to have a springboard to make the holiday easier. It’s like writing a love letter to future you :).

How about you? Do you write notes to yourself for next year? What questions would you add to the list?

Christmas Eve 2013

By Angela on December 28, 2013

Round Robin Ping Pong

There was some concern on my part whether I would/should be able to go Christmas Eve. We were planning to travel up to the farm (about an hour away) to spend the day in the new church basement with Darren’s sisters and parents and their children (16 in all–including ours–how fun is that?!) It’s my favorite day of the year.

I got up and started helping the children get ready, and made a growing pile by the door of things to load into the car. All the while I found myself snapping at the children for acting like children. My bad attitude was catching. Pretty soon everyone was grumping at each other. I was worried about wanting to go, but thinking I shouldn’t go. And I had a headache. A big one.

So I sat myself down and said, “Self. This is the year of the happy Mama. Whether you go or don’t go, your ONE JOB is to be happy.” I took a couple of tablets for my headache. I took one large pill to make sure I wouldn’t cough or sneeze for 12 hours, hopefully keeping this virus from spreading around. Then I made a plan to go. I made a pact not to touch food or serving dishes. I would help clean up, but let my daughters help lay out the food. I wouldn’t sit near great-grandma who just celebrated her 90th birthday. I wouldn’t hold the babies. I would wash my hands. A lot.

When we arrived, my plan worked very well. Mostly I sat back and watched the group while still feeling part of things. Resting and noticing things. Things like DH’s Mama, who never snapped at a person, looked stressed or gave one hint at being weary the whole day. EVEN though she made a ham, a turkey and a brisket for our crowd. And gifts of jam and homemade pear bread. Plus plenty of other things.

She happily licked the beaters from the whipped cream getting white fluff all over her face and just grinned. She held each of her grandchildren on her lap to open their gifts from age 10 months to age 14 and posed for the pictures. She played the piano for everyone to sing. She cheerfully said goodbye to her youngest daughter, who left the party far too early for her inlaw’s gathering, and never said a cross word about it.

And even though she doesn’t read blogs or look at Pinterest, she got the memo: Christmas 2013, The Year of the Happy Mama. And she pulled if off flawlessly.

The card table tents haunted my fevered dreams the week before Christmas. The brown and pink was finished with a door and windows and little curtains. The purple one wasn’t close. But my mother came over when I was too sick to get up, and cut a hole in it for the door. I wrapped it up with a promise to finish it later. By the end of the afternoon, the kids had pulled the pink door all the way to the top of the table and held it down with a heavy toy. They actually preferred the more simple tent without a door!

The entire day was amazing: singing trios with DH’s sisters; two white elephant gift exchanges, watching the kids play games and laser tag; glorious food, round-robin ping pong. But my mother-in-law’s happiness is my favorite memory from the day.

While I Was Sleeping

By Angela on December 27, 2013

I couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak. Couldn’t eat. After 3 days my fever spiked to 104.7. I thought we were headed to the emergency room, but I couldn’t walk to the car and I’m too cheap for an ambulance. So I let DH try to bring my fever down himself. He’s a good guy.

I lost that part of my life. I wasn’t sure what went on in the house. But then today I uploaded the pictures off my camera and found a bunch I didn’t take. Looks like they had fun while I was sleeping.

December’s $400 challenge week 1

By Angela on December 10, 2013

Update: I just realized that new readers would have no idea what this post is about :). We are challenging ourselves to feed our family of 8 on $400 a month until we recover from a financial loss. This is week 1 of our second month and includes a detailed list of what I bought.

This post could be titled, “How I completely fell apart and embarrassed myself in the blogging world.” Or “It doesn’t get any more real than this….”

After reading this post you are going to feel GREAT about yourself, lol.

First of all the good news is, I stayed within my budget. The bad news is the spending included several fast food trips and some Quick Trip cappuccino’s which is totally out of character for me. One of those days, Darren came home from work to find me in a blank stare typing furiously at the computer. When he asked me what was for dinner, I gave him a 30 minute play by play of my day starting at 4:30 am that morning. He left and came back with Arby’s. Good man.

The boring stuff is coming–an itemized list and prices of the first week’s spending, but first….a story.

A few weeks ago I offered a little bundle sale for 2 of my best menu plans. After all my expenses, I made $750.75 profit. I offered the sale to try to put some of our savings back since we spent it all for our foundation repair. Turns out one of my children needed educational testing done and the timing was getting critical. The cost for the service was exactly $750. God knew our need before we did and provided the means to take care of this child. Our expenses along this line are just beginning and I’m seeing a pattern here. God is moving on our behalf before we even know how desperate we are. So I’m trying not to feel nervous, just trusting Him along the way.

And last Sunday night after the Children’s Christmas Musical (which was AMAZING) a young man approached us in the cookie line. He said “An anonymous member here has hired me to finish your kitchen. I can start tomorrow, when’s a good time to come by?” Just. Like. That. He came by yesterday and worked several hours. DH didn’t know how to proceed with our wonky un-level floors and this young man had the knowledge needed to start us moving again. I don’t know what to say. I’m so grateful for the help. And feeling humbled, looking forward to the time we can pass on the blessing.

Here’s what I bought last week:

Date	Store	Item	Amount	Total Price
12/3/2013	Dirty Don’s	Kraft Shredded Marble Cheese	2-8 oz bags	3.00
		Kraft Finely shredded Mexican Cheese	2-8 oz bags	3.00
		Velveeta indivudually sliced cheeses	2-24 slice pkgs	4.00
		Refried beans 32 oz can	1	1.00
		Black beans 32 oz can	2	2.00
		Deli meat: Cajun roasted chicken	1 lb	0.50
		Organic Raspberry Applesauce 32 oz	2	1.50
		Best Choice Canned Kernel Corn	3	1.00
		Sun Dried Tomatoes, julienned	1	1.00
		Bolognese Sauce	1	0.75
		Chunky Chicken Noodle Soup	4	2.00
		Alfredo sauce–3 pack	1	3.00
		Trader Joes Uncured Pre-Cooked Bacon	1	2.00
		Whole wheat tortillas	20 ct	1.00
		Heinz chipotle style bbq beans	4	2.00
		tax		1.38
12/4/2013	Aldi	Cream of chicken/mushroom soup (light)	8	3.92
		Baked beans, large can	1	1.39
		Crackers, club style	1	1.45
		Crackers, cheese	1	1.89
		Crackers, Ritz style	1	1.79
		Crackers, wheat thin style	1	1.25
		Grapes, red	2 lb	2.98
		Bananas	2.58 lb	1.14
		Spinach, fresh	10 oz	1.69
		Bread, 100% whole wheat loaf	3	3.87
		Bread, Hot Dog Buns (white)	1	0.89
		Sweet Potato Chips	2	3.98
		Light Ranch Dressing	1	1.39
		Milk Chocolate Chips	2	2.58
		Turkey Hot Dogs	2	2.58
		Christmas decorating sprinkles	1	2.99
		Avocados	4	1.16
		Tax		1.84
12/5/2013	Subway	12 inch black forest ham sub	1	5.39
12/6/2013	Arby’s	15 Jr. Roast Beef Sandwiches2 large curly fries		18.00
12/7/2013	Quick Trip	1 cappicinno and abreakfast burrito		3.19
12/7/2013	QuickTrip	Hot Chocolate x 4		4.50



			TOTAL	98.99

Some of the stuff like the Rtiz crackers, chocolate chips and candy sprinkles were for cookies that we “made” to take to social events. Many of the items were things I bought to store for the future, like the sun-dried tomatoes, and canned foods. I didn’t have an immediate plan for them but the prices were stellar and I filled up my pantry. The lunch meat, tortillas and hot dogs were to help with packing lunches. This week, I’m trying to plan ahead better. If I forget to put dinner in the crock-pot there’s an issue since I don’t have an oven to heat something up quickly. I have a ham bone in the crock right now, and will add sweet potatoes, white beans, and corn for a nice soup.

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