Yes, I stuck with meal planning for six days and then totally lost track of where I was and what I should have been doing. Sigh. I am not giving up on meal planning, but I do think I will only plan one week at a time. Maybe I can break my own record and stick with meal planning for seven days!
This month all around was frustrating for me with regards to our grocery budget. Because everyone got so sick, especially Miss Precious, we spent a lot more on groceries. I know that even the best laid plans go awry and you just have to pick yourself back up and dust yourself off. But it is still so irritating! The holiday food didn't help our budget any either....I went a little berserk at Winco.
On the bright side, we have a lovely 15 lb turkey waiting for Christmas in our freezer and it only cost us $3.33 :)
December is another month, another chance to reach my goal.
I will post our final grocery totals as soon as I tally up the receipts.
It's not going to be pretty.
FIVE IN THE POTTER'S HAND
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Giving Thanks...
Today I am thankful for:
My place in the family of God.
El Shaddai/ Jehovah-Jireh Who meets all of our needs.
My health.
My beloved family both here in the States and abroad.
My husband who has unending patience with me.
My precious children, who bring us so much joy!
Our beautiful home.
Our quiet neighborhood.
Our friendly neighbors.
Our AWESOME church and church family.
Our faithful friends.
Two vehicles that work great!
My husband's job.
Being a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom :)
Living in a free country where I can worship God in the open.
Prayer.
Praise and worship music.
Beautifully crisp, sunny days.
A loving marriage between me and Mr. Q.
Sons that have given their hearts to Christ!
Love unending from my Father above.
The atonement Jesus bought with His blood for me.
Oh, there are so many more things to be thankful for, but I haven't time to list them all!
May you have a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving as you reflect on His goodness!
My place in the family of God.
El Shaddai/ Jehovah-Jireh Who meets all of our needs.
My health.
My beloved family both here in the States and abroad.
My husband who has unending patience with me.
My precious children, who bring us so much joy!
Our beautiful home.
Our quiet neighborhood.
Our friendly neighbors.
Our AWESOME church and church family.
Our faithful friends.
Two vehicles that work great!
My husband's job.
Being a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom :)
Living in a free country where I can worship God in the open.
Prayer.
Praise and worship music.
Beautifully crisp, sunny days.
A loving marriage between me and Mr. Q.
Sons that have given their hearts to Christ!
Love unending from my Father above.
The atonement Jesus bought with His blood for me.
Oh, there are so many more things to be thankful for, but I haven't time to list them all!
May you have a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving as you reflect on His goodness!
Categories:
Beautiful Things,
Thankful Thoughts
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Not Forgotten...
We have a neighbor behind us, who is a paraplegic, and he ended up in the hospital. He was in ICU for a week and now he is recuperating in a rehabilitation center.
He was in ICU for a week and no one knew.
He kept to himself. The only time he ventured out was to buy groceries. We met him through the fence in our backyard. Our boys were noisily playing as he barbecued some steak. They are naturally very curious about people around them and so they wasted no time in befriending him. He reciprocated with sugar-free popsicles whenever he saw them outside playing.
His story is full of pain. He was in the military in Vietnam (or Korea?) when they used Agent Orange to destroy the foliage in the jungles. As he inhaled the air surrounding him, the toxic vapors seeped into his nervous system and destroyed the nerves that control the lower half of his body. He is in constant pain, and alone.
This past summer he didn't barbecue in his backyard at all. We noticed, but we got too busy and would forget to check up on him.
Then last Friday, we received a call from him. He was in a local physical rehabilitation center and wondered if we could just look after his house while he recuperated.
We were so convicted. Especially me, because he had been on my heart for the past two weeks.
We have been praying for ways to touch our neighbors' lives. Believing for opportunities to saturate them with God's love. So we jumped at this opportunity.
We went to visit him at the rehab center. We brought him some things from his home that he requested, and we also brought "The Chronicles of Narnia" as well as some fruit in a pretty blue bowl.
As we walked down the hallway to his room, I noticed there was no laughter that came from the rooms. Only the hollow echoes of the television sitcoms punctuated the silence. No one smiled. This was a place full of people that were dying in one stage or another. Laughter and joy had long since been replaced by moans of pain and suffocating loneliness.
It was overwhelming sorrow that pervaded that building.
We sat and visited with our neighbor for a while. Making small talk as we tried to get to know each other better. His eyes are so full of pain and emptiness. I can only imagine how much he longs to be loved and belong.
Those same eyes of longing followed our footsteps as we left. Those silent stares of yearning appeared in every doorway as we passed. A hint of a smile from one lady as our children smiled at her.
We drove home in silence.
My husband and I finally spoke when we arrived home. He is burdened with a desire to do something, so am I. We are still praying about exactly what we are supposed to do. But those faces we saw have been indelibly marked on our hearts.
We wondered aloud, how many of those residents have no one to visit them? How many have grandchildren they never see? How many have no that cares whether they live or die? How many simply exist but never really live?
How many wonder if God has forgotten about them too, just as society has?
Matthew 25:36
"I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me."
Sometimes prison doesn't have bars on the doors...
He was in ICU for a week and no one knew.
He kept to himself. The only time he ventured out was to buy groceries. We met him through the fence in our backyard. Our boys were noisily playing as he barbecued some steak. They are naturally very curious about people around them and so they wasted no time in befriending him. He reciprocated with sugar-free popsicles whenever he saw them outside playing.
His story is full of pain. He was in the military in Vietnam (or Korea?) when they used Agent Orange to destroy the foliage in the jungles. As he inhaled the air surrounding him, the toxic vapors seeped into his nervous system and destroyed the nerves that control the lower half of his body. He is in constant pain, and alone.
This past summer he didn't barbecue in his backyard at all. We noticed, but we got too busy and would forget to check up on him.
Then last Friday, we received a call from him. He was in a local physical rehabilitation center and wondered if we could just look after his house while he recuperated.
We were so convicted. Especially me, because he had been on my heart for the past two weeks.
We have been praying for ways to touch our neighbors' lives. Believing for opportunities to saturate them with God's love. So we jumped at this opportunity.
We went to visit him at the rehab center. We brought him some things from his home that he requested, and we also brought "The Chronicles of Narnia" as well as some fruit in a pretty blue bowl.
As we walked down the hallway to his room, I noticed there was no laughter that came from the rooms. Only the hollow echoes of the television sitcoms punctuated the silence. No one smiled. This was a place full of people that were dying in one stage or another. Laughter and joy had long since been replaced by moans of pain and suffocating loneliness.
It was overwhelming sorrow that pervaded that building.
We sat and visited with our neighbor for a while. Making small talk as we tried to get to know each other better. His eyes are so full of pain and emptiness. I can only imagine how much he longs to be loved and belong.
Those same eyes of longing followed our footsteps as we left. Those silent stares of yearning appeared in every doorway as we passed. A hint of a smile from one lady as our children smiled at her.
We drove home in silence.
My husband and I finally spoke when we arrived home. He is burdened with a desire to do something, so am I. We are still praying about exactly what we are supposed to do. But those faces we saw have been indelibly marked on our hearts.
We wondered aloud, how many of those residents have no one to visit them? How many have grandchildren they never see? How many have no that cares whether they live or die? How many simply exist but never really live?
How many wonder if God has forgotten about them too, just as society has?
Matthew 25:36
"I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me."
Sometimes prison doesn't have bars on the doors...
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Don't Pay Too Much For Your Poultry...
WINCO has an awesome deal going....if you spend $50 (excluding the turkey) you get a Norbest frozen turkey for $0.22 a pound! I got a 15 lb turkey for about $4 :)
Thanks to my mother and my neighbor for alerting me to this FABULOUSLY FRUGAL deal!
Thanks to my mother and my neighbor for alerting me to this FABULOUSLY FRUGAL deal!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
The Joy of Reading...
Miss Precious sits comfortably on her brothers' bed and holds a book between her pudgy little hands. Her big brothers enthusiastically encourage her to read to them.
She turns the page and babbles along happily...
Occasionally one of the boys takes over the "reading" of the story.
It makes my heart smile :)
She turns the page and babbles along happily...
Occasionally one of the boys takes over the "reading" of the story.
It makes my heart smile :)
How Did The Meal Plan Go: Day Six
Day 6::
Breakfast: Cold cereal. I think I forgot to eat breakfast. I was awoken rather early by a terrified Mr. Dramatic.
"There's a bee in the living room!" He was stung by a wasp a few months back, so his fear is quite understandable.
"Honey are you sure it's a bee?" Often flying insects get slapped with the all inclusive: "It's a bee!!!!"
"Yes! It is black and yellow."
Oh joy, a yellow jacket in my living room.
My adrenaline starts to flow...can't decide at this point if it is the fight or flight mechanism kicking in. Briefly I consider the idea of waiting for my husband to get home in a mere six hours. But then I come back to reality. I am the mother. Their protector. I am the Bug Killer by default when Mr. Q is not home, and wasps are included in my job description.
I tell the boys to take care of their sister, say a prayer, ask my son exactly where it was when he last saw it, mentally say another prayer "Lord, please let it not be flying around like crazy!" and courageously step outside of the safety of my bedroom door.
Bleary-eyed, and squinting through glasses that have a four year old prescription in them, I locate the offender where my son had directed me. It was on the floor laying on its side.
Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! It's dead! Mr. Dramatic had told me it was alive and moving. Oh, wait a minute....nope, it's not dead! Eeek! Acckk!
Regain my lost bug killing composure and review my choices for weapons.
Library book? Nah, bug guts on public property not a good idea.
Rolled up newspaper? Nope, doesn't have enough accuracy. There is no room for error when dealing with wasps.
Finally, I settle on my husband's flip-flop. Big enough surface area for maximum annihilation assurance, long enough that if I miss I have a chance at a getaway.
Screw up the courage that seems to be draining from my body fast in vast amounts of perspiration.
One foot slowly moves forward. Stealth is everything. The other foot. I am now approximately six inches from the now more lively wasp.
WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!
WHACK! Sorry, one more for good measure.
Clean up bug guts and any possible stinger left on carpet. Exclaim joyfully and jitteryishly to your kids that it is dead.
Throw remains in the woodstove just in case...
Lunch:
Hubby ate out again (I know, I slacked.), kids and I had hotdogs with cheese.
Dinner:
Ranch chicken over leftover spaghetti. I think we are all a little tired of spaghetti now. The chicken was marinated in ranch sauce prior to baking in oven. It had a nice kick to it. The boys didn't want any chicken so they had noodles with butter and parmesan cheese.
***Edited: Okay, I CANNOT believe that none of you caught my horrible grammatical faux-paux! Maybe you all are just too sweet to correct me. What I meant to say is " I was awakened rather early.." Apparently I was still half asleep when I wrote and proofread my post....LOL!
Breakfast: Cold cereal. I think I forgot to eat breakfast. I was awoken rather early by a terrified Mr. Dramatic.
"There's a bee in the living room!" He was stung by a wasp a few months back, so his fear is quite understandable.
"Honey are you sure it's a bee?" Often flying insects get slapped with the all inclusive: "It's a bee!!!!"
"Yes! It is black and yellow."
Oh joy, a yellow jacket in my living room.
My adrenaline starts to flow...can't decide at this point if it is the fight or flight mechanism kicking in. Briefly I consider the idea of waiting for my husband to get home in a mere six hours. But then I come back to reality. I am the mother. Their protector. I am the Bug Killer by default when Mr. Q is not home, and wasps are included in my job description.
I tell the boys to take care of their sister, say a prayer, ask my son exactly where it was when he last saw it, mentally say another prayer "Lord, please let it not be flying around like crazy!" and courageously step outside of the safety of my bedroom door.
Bleary-eyed, and squinting through glasses that have a four year old prescription in them, I locate the offender where my son had directed me. It was on the floor laying on its side.
Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! It's dead! Mr. Dramatic had told me it was alive and moving. Oh, wait a minute....nope, it's not dead! Eeek! Acckk!
Regain my lost bug killing composure and review my choices for weapons.
Library book? Nah, bug guts on public property not a good idea.
Rolled up newspaper? Nope, doesn't have enough accuracy. There is no room for error when dealing with wasps.
Finally, I settle on my husband's flip-flop. Big enough surface area for maximum annihilation assurance, long enough that if I miss I have a chance at a getaway.
Screw up the courage that seems to be draining from my body fast in vast amounts of perspiration.
One foot slowly moves forward. Stealth is everything. The other foot. I am now approximately six inches from the now more lively wasp.
WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!
WHACK! Sorry, one more for good measure.
Clean up bug guts and any possible stinger left on carpet. Exclaim joyfully and jitteryishly to your kids that it is dead.
Throw remains in the woodstove just in case...
Lunch:
Hubby ate out again (I know, I slacked.), kids and I had hotdogs with cheese.
Dinner:
Ranch chicken over leftover spaghetti. I think we are all a little tired of spaghetti now. The chicken was marinated in ranch sauce prior to baking in oven. It had a nice kick to it. The boys didn't want any chicken so they had noodles with butter and parmesan cheese.
***Edited: Okay, I CANNOT believe that none of you caught my horrible grammatical faux-paux! Maybe you all are just too sweet to correct me. What I meant to say is " I was awakened rather early.." Apparently I was still half asleep when I wrote and proofread my post....LOL!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
How Did The Meal Plan Go: Day Five
Day 5::
Breakfast: Hubby had oatmeal and the kids and I had cold cereal.
Lunch: Mr Q went out to eat for lunch. The kids ate wontons (filled with creme cheese) and apple slices. I had a ranch chicken flatbread sandwich. (Okay, I know I didn't stick to the lunch meal plan. Our neighbor brought over a bag of frozen goods that didn't fit in her freezer. It was from Schwann's! So I took advantage because I am eager to try out the stuff (read: too tired and lazy to cook lunch)!)
Dinner: Potato skins! Yummy! We all like these, but I think I will do them with red potatoes next time. We are red potatoe fanatics! The kids thought they were giant potato chips:)
Breakfast: Hubby had oatmeal and the kids and I had cold cereal.
Lunch: Mr Q went out to eat for lunch. The kids ate wontons (filled with creme cheese) and apple slices. I had a ranch chicken flatbread sandwich. (Okay, I know I didn't stick to the lunch meal plan. Our neighbor brought over a bag of frozen goods that didn't fit in her freezer. It was from Schwann's! So I took advantage because I am eager to try out the stuff (read: too tired and lazy to cook lunch)!)
Dinner: Potato skins! Yummy! We all like these, but I think I will do them with red potatoes next time. We are red potatoe fanatics! The kids thought they were giant potato chips:)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)