Meal Plan Monday 02/28

Last week's Slow Cooker beef stew was a success! It turned out really good, the meat was so soft and tender and everyone enjoyed eating it. My hubby and Miss K used sour cream in theirs and I, the mayonnaise junkie used mayo on my meat.
My previously frozen beefaroni was pretty good, but made a mental note to make sure to cook the noodles a little less for next time when freezing. They were al dente for freezing but after I reheated this dish in the oven, the noodles were bit soft for my liking.
I never got to make my Rice a Roni and beef since we changed plans and ate dinner with my friends. We may use that as a quick dish for this week if need be.


This week I bought my groceries ahead of time instead of planning out my meals and then buying the ingredients. I had extra chicken, pasta and vegetables from buying sale items and BOGO's a few weeks in a row so I was able to grab the necessities and come up with our menu this week. I left off Saturday and Sunday since we usually try to shop on Friday afternoon and I plan those meals after that trip.
Hope you have a great week!

Monday: Cheater Chicken Pot Pie
Tuesday: Salisbury Steak, baked potatoes, creamed corn
Wednesday: Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo with broccoli and crescent rolls
Thursday:Breakfast for dinner, cinnamon rolls, eggs
Friday: Four Cheese Macaroni, tossed salad, buttermilk biscuits

Won't you join me and The Organizing Junkie and get your meal plan done?

5QF: 02/25/11

I think I say this every week, I can't believe it's FRIDAY already??! Where does the week go? I love when Thursday afternoon rolls around. I work Thursday mornings and after picking up Miss K from school I have the next four, YES four days off from going into the family business. The only thing that I have to worry about is getting Miss K to school on Fridays and then the weekend is mine.
This weekend we are starting our back yard garden. I'm looking forward to planting some summer squash, tomatoes, carrots, onions and cucumbers. I'm not looking forward to building the boxes for the beds but it will be well worth it.

Enough about my weekend! So onto some 5QF from Mama M!!

1. Can you drive a stick shift? Sure can! My mom taught me when I was 16 in my dad's Nissan pickup truck. She would come pick me up from work in the evenings and we would go to a vacant parking lot. Those were some good times!! It was so hilarious when I would try to shuft gears and the truck would buck and do that wrrroomm, wrooomm. Good times.


2. What are two foods you just can't eat? Brussel sprouts.. I hated them as a kid and I hate them now. I just can't get over that awful taste. I even tried smothering them in velveeta cheese. And the other food I dislike is celery. I cannot see how anyone can smother a stalk in peanut butter and crunch away. No thanks!


3. Do you buy Girl Scout Cookies? What is your favorite kind?
Yes I do! Even as expensive as they are I still buy them. This year we already bought six boxes!!! My favorite are the Thank You's. They are sooo good. Hubs says they are the same as Keebler grahams with fudge but I disagree. They have the flavor of windmill cookies with that yummy fudge on the back. "Thank You" girl scouts for coming up with a cookie that I LOVE!

4. How do you pamper yourself?
Getting a pedicure and my eyebrows waxed. But that has only been a dream because it's been WAY too long since I have been. The best I have gotten in pampering is taking an extra long shower with the shower head on massage beating on my neck. Sad, I know. The life of a part time working, stay at home mom with one kid in a handful of dance classes.


5. What is your nickname and how did you get it?
Teenie. When my first niece starting talking she couldn't say my name and Teenie was what she first called me. We kept the name even after she got older and she just turned 16 this past January. My other nieces and nephews even call me Teenie and my sister in law (who is the mom to my niece who first called me that) calls me Teenie. It's funny, because body wise, I don't feel like a Teenie. It's cool.

Feeling froggy?? Check out Mama M at My Little Life and join in on the Five Question Friday carnival.

Red Writing Hood

This week I am participating in the Red Dress Club's
Red Writing Hood Friday prompt.
"So this week, we're asking you to let yourself go and get in touch with your funny.

The prompt is based on one from Absolute Write.
We want you to imagine you've just had a fight with a friend, a co-worker, husband, significant other, child - you get the picture. You're mad. It's time for revenge.

What would you sell? "

I am selling a large 4ft x 4ft box of man's toys.
In this box you will get everything you need to run Radio Control
cars, trucks, helicopters and airplanes. One large orange airplane,
one helicopter and one RC truck come in the box.
I can't name half of what is in the box but I know that you will
get your money's worth because right now this box of loot is
$200.00.
Selling this box of goodies is going to break my husband's heart
and I could give a damn.
He broke my heart for the last time and I'm selling his favorite
past time toys. If the jerk hadn't taken his Apple MacBook with him
I would've sold you that sucker for one dollar! Just to piss in his wheaties!

I've listed a few photos to give you an idea of what
you will be getting when you bid or buy the listed item.
Please when you call me I will have to make sure that
you take all of the items in the box. I want EVERYTHING
gone so when when my husband comes to get his belongings
he finds that his toys are no more.
Thanks for looking !

Pour Your Heart Out: Resolving the Resolutions

I'd said this before and I'll say it again.
Thank you Shell for coming up with this meme.
It's a blessing to be able to let it go and pour it out with the
safety blanket of PYHO.

Again, just a brief reminder that everyone linking is pouring their hearts out and we should all be respectful in our comments. ;)

My news years resolutions to really get myself on board with keeping a budget, being more organized and following through has had it's ups and downs. I fell off the wagon, so to speak, when it came to following my budget and cutting coupons. But this week I found the handle and got right back up there. I think it took a shell shocker to rock me to my core to open my eyes up.

I had set some goals last year to pay off our mountain of credit card debt and had been religiously trying to chunk up those cards. But it's hard to do sometimes when you're paying everyone all your extra cash flow and when something comes up what do you do? You charge it. I couldn't see where we were going wrong with our money. So I plugged all our expenses and deposits into an Excel spreadsheet and I can see in black in white where we have to improve. It was like a weight got lifted off my shoulders.

I realized that I had been spending too much on groceries, wasting money on food that we never ending up eating. I would buy too much produce or go overboard when it came to sale items and then when I needed to buy groceries for the week, we overspent. So I set a new goal to keep each dinner under a certain dollar amount.

This past week, I set up my recipes online and did better about being frugal on the recipes I picked. I wasn't paying attention to the recipes I was picking and then I had to go buy items that I didn't have on hand and would need like a teaspoon of something that I had to buy a large container of. I was so proud of myself on my grocery shopping trip. I spent exactly what I had budgeted and it feels great! I will not fall off the wagon again, not in the grocery department.
I even spent 30 minutes clipping coupons, checking my favorite coupon website and saved $42.00!!!

Not keeping with goals and letting things get out of hand really accelerates my imbalance. Lately I've been trying to control issues with my imbalance and when money is tight and the bills are paid but still hanging in the balance it escalates my temper. My next goal is to set up new goals to cut the credit card mountain. I will not let this get the best of me. I made this mess and I will get myself out of it.

Is there a Doctor in the house?

source

I found the most amazing OB/GYN thanks to my best friend!! Her OB used to have his own practice and recently decided that he was going to close up shop and partner with the practice that I go to. I was due for my annual, well you know...the wonderful pap smear and check your cervix and I scheduled it with DR. B.

I arrived at the office last Thursday morning (thankfully, my BF watched Little E. I didn't need a 3 1/2 year old asking "what's that mommy? What's he doing mommy?" It's bad enough without kids in tow) and had to fill out my 2 1/2 pages of paperwork. As if anything has changed in the last year since my last check up?? I was sitting in the waiting room and looked up to see this guy in blue scrubs standing by the receptionist desk. My first reaction was " is that the new doctor? I hope it's not." Haha!

So after getting called by the nurse, doing my most unfavorite part of getting on the scale for weight, blech! and peeing in that tiny cup without getting any on your hand I'm sitting in the exam room in a drab blue gown, open in the front, and a paper skirt hugging my thighs. Knock, knock!

The doctor walks in and it's the guy I saw earlier. So he IS the new doctor. And then all my fears went right out the door, when he talks to me in this cool British accent and he is friendly as sweet homemade pie! He shakes my hand, introduces himself and since he doesn't know me he reads over my chart. He questions me about my medical history and we talk about the medicines I am taking.

Aside from my annual well woman visit, Dr. B talked to me about other issues that I have been having with muscle pain, headaches and why I need to take antidepressants. He said that yes he is an OB/GYN but all doctors are General Practitioners and that they treat the body. He asked me about my psoriasis on my hand that I haven't been able to get under control since being pregnant with Little E and offered some solutions. He also said I should look into other options besides medicines with my stress.

I wish this doctor was not just an OB/GYN!! Can he be my Primary Care doctor!!?? I LOVE HIM! He offered some advice about dealing with my stress and I tried his suggestion tonight. He said to go for a 10 minute run without the kids and leave them with daddy. It was amazing! He told me "when mom is happy, everyone is happy." He is so right.

I'm looking forward to my next visit.

source

Spring Already?

I can't believe that it's time to pack away the winter clothing already. I was wearing capris, flip flops and short sleeved shirts all weekend. We have been reaching the high 70's this weekend and this week the temperatures will reach the 80 degree mark. I'm happy to see the frigid weather gone, since my hands can't handle much more cold weather with my psoriasis, but I'd enjoy some cooler weather a little longer.
I just found the best fitting jeans to wear this year and I'm not ready to pack them up. But in Florida, you really don't have much choice but to break down and wear shorts or capris when it gets hot. The weather is so muggy and humid, you'll sweat to death if you venture out in full jeans.
I can't believe that it's already feeling like a late spring here. So goodbye sweaters, sweatshirts, jackets and jeans.

Time to pull out the jeans shorts and jean capris. Time to go shopping again to find some new shorts since my selection has seen it's better days. Ugh. Clothing shopping is not my favorite thing to do. I hate shopping when I can't find clothes that fit right or look good. Jeans cover it all up!

Meal Plan Monday 02/21

Last week was almost a success in following my meal plan but I forgot
to check cooking times on recipes that I chose and my Teriyaki
chicken recipe required 30 minutes prep time and 90 minutes cook time.
I planned it for Tuesday night which was not going to be acceptable since it would
put the family eating at 7-7:30. So we picked up a box of fried chicken and some
bread rolls and fixed the rest of the meal.
I switched recipes on my Teriyaki Chicken and found
a slow cooker one I liked better.
I substituted Chicken Breast for the thighs.
Tip: DO NOT use breast meat instead of dark meat.
The larger chunks were dry and it didn't have the flavor that
dark meat does.

Monday: Slow Cooker beef stew, garlic bread and salad
Tuesday: Spaghetti Carbonara with tossed salad
Wednesday: Beef Stroganoff, baby peas and crescent rolls
Thursday:Beef a Roni (previously frozen) , steamed broccoli and garlic bread
Friday: Beef and Rice a Roni Spanish Rice with diced tomatoes
Saturday: always a toss up