Gratitude. Simplicity. Frugality.

GDA: Meijer 8/30-9/5

2009-08-30T09:43:00.002-04:00

I feel like I have some explaining to do about my abrupt and lengthy absence. Then, of course, I start to think I don't have to explain anything because ... it's my blog and it's not like I have some kind of Heather B. Armstrong following anyway. Alas, it remains quiet on the GSF front while I try to figure out what I'm going to do/say/think.

None of that matters right now, though, because you really should be in your car on the way to Meijer already. My gaping mouth nearly drooled as I perused the preview ad on Friday afternoon. The stars have aligned for a number of great deals this week. This is what made my shopping list ...

(end prices are usually in single units unless otherwise noted)

Aunt Millie's bread
99c - 35c/1 = 64c

Oscar Mayer hot dogs
$1.25 - 1/2 = 75c

Reese's Singles
99c - B3G3 sale - 55c/1 - BOGO coupon = $1.38/6

Chex cereal (this isn't the best deal in town, but it's gluten free and my deprived self hasn't had cereal in weeks)
$2.39 - 1/2 = $1.89

Mueller's pasta (which I can't eat ... boo)
79c - 55c/2 = 51c

A1 Sauce
$2.50 - $2/1 - $1/2 mealbox = FREE!

Betty Crocker fruit shapes (the Scooby ones are GF, if you're looking for wheat free gummies)
$1.50 - 40c/1 = $1.10, buy 5 for a $3.50 catalina that makes the final cost 20c each.

Jack's frozen pizza (a huge treat here, considering the last time we had it was ... a year ago?)
$2.50 - $1/2 &/or 40c/1 = $2.03 each when you buy 3

Charmin Basic
$5.79 - 1/2 = $5.29

Purina 1
$5.99 - $5/1 Meijer coupon = $1

Kool Aid Singles
$1 - 1/1 mealbox = FREE!
(this may also generate the $2 catalina if purchased in increments of 3, can't confirm yet)

Kraft Easy Mac Cups
$1 - 1/2 - 1/2 mealbox = FREE!

Chinet Dessert Plates (and Comfort Cups, maybe?)
$2.49 - 1/1 - 1/1 mealbox = 49c!

Philly Cream Cheese
$1.25 - 1/2 = 75c

Kraft Shredded Cheese
$1.67 - 1/2 = $1.17

Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh
$2.50 - 1/2 - 2/2 mealbox = $1!

Velveeta Singles Cups
$1.19 - BOGO coupon = 60c/ea when you buy 2, plus generates a $1 catalina

Ziplock Bags and Containers
$2 - 1/1 tearpad - 1/2 mealbox = 50c!!
(We hit this deal yesterday, but Be reports signage that the sale price was good through 8/31. I'll check it out today and advise.)

Sunkist 12 packs
$2.50 - 1/3 mealbox - 1/1 peelies = $1 each when you buy 3

Nabisco Scenario 1
2 Ritz crackers $2.49 - 1/1 = $1.49
1 Wheat Thin $3 - FREE coupon wyb Ritz
1 Crackerfuls - FREE coupon wyb Ritz
----------------------------------$2.98 total, plus $10 off Hanes, plus part of the Nabisco rebate

Nabisco Scenario 2
4 Capri Sun $1.89 - 2/1 coupon wyb Chips Ahoy
4 Chipa Ahoy $3.89 - 1/2
----------------------------------$13.56 total, plus $10 off Hanes, plus rebate, plus $3 cat

Kellogg's Scenario 1
6 Eggo waffles $2.79 - B2G1 sale - 1/2 = $1.52
4 Keebler Wheatables $1.67 - 1/2 mealbox = $1.17
----------------------------------$13.84 total, plus $10 off backpack, plus $10 Kellogg's rebate

7 Quick Takes: Vol 12

2009-08-06T23:49:00.003-04:00

1.
My life is a series of quick takes right now. Blips, blurbs, small explanations all strung together in some make believe semblance of order and reason. I feel bad about that in the context of this blog sometimes. I let myself feel guilty for not being a super badass blogger, posting new content every couple of hours. Then I remember that it's me and 17.3 people reading it anyway, sooooooo I can probably let myself off the hook sometimes. Yea. Sometimes.

2.
My fabulous neighbors (they're in #4) are back ... kind of. They've successfully broken into the house ... 3 times, I think. The bank secures it, they kick a door in. It's tres bizarre, and slightly scandalous. Their nephew/roommate is also randomly showing up on my doorstep offering to "sell me" "rolled change". I should probably be nicer ... or more hospitable ... or something. I'm not.

3.
Vanessa Carlton and I are friends. We don't chat on the phone or share birth announcements or anything, but she's on my iTunes constantly today so ... well, you know, we might as well be friends.

4.
The entire neighborhood currently smells like the burning garbage of a chemical disposal facility. The aforementioned "nephew/roommate" is to blame. He moved into another house around the block and is now polluting the entire town (village? township? state?) with noxious black smoke. From what, I haven't a clue. This tree hugging, everything recycling, non-paper towel/plate using girlie would likely have a stroke if she knew.

5.
I'm almost 3 weeks gluten free, with the exception of one night when I had this awful idea that I could eat pizza just.this.once. and get away with it. Yea, not so much. Lesson: learned. I'm vacillating between loving every minute of it and being convinced there isn't a single thing in the entire world for me to eat except corn quesadillas and carrots. I will get over it, I hope. Your suggestions are greatly appreciated.

6.
I have to go to the grocery store tomorrow ... and Costco ... and probably Gordon's ... and to the gas station for ice. All in enough time to finish cleaning my house (the plans for which get shorter and shorter ... just close the office door? Suuuuuuuure.), change my clothes, and get ready for ...

7.
MY BIRTHDAY PARTY! It's tomorrow. If you're in town, stop by. There will be cake, which I can't eat. Joy. There will be beer, which I can't drink. Double Joy. There will be trampolining and bonfires, which I may not have the energy for without the other two. Oooooh boy! A number of my college friends (past and present), family, and assorted insundry others are coming by. That part I'm pretty stoked about. I don't really like this birthday all that much, but I'm hoping to cope with it ... with a little help from my friends.

What's going on for you this week?

Simply,

Em.

To Do, Or Not To Do?

2009-07-27T11:13:00.004-04:00

Photo : aheram

I was going to write you a list of all the things I need to do today to restart my brain and focus on one thing at a time, but instead ... this post developed out of thin air. Hurrah for that! Enjoy!

I am a list maker at heart. A serious list maker who cannot accomplish anything really unless she has a list of all the other things she needs to do. I don't like to have to keep thinking about things that need finishing. I would rather write them down and let my brain release the space their throbbing reminder was taking up. Every night before bed, I add to the list. I don't necessarily get everything done (often times not even close ... sometimes, nothing), but at least my brain can stand down from "Do Not Ever Forget One Single Thing" mode. List making also keeps my day simpler. I don't have to multi-task as much, because I don't sporadically "remember" something in the middle of doing something else, then distract my energies to doing both half way. I just write it down.

There are a number of lists floating around, as you can imagine. I have a traditional 'to do' list, which I call my Taaa Daaaa (!) list. I really do say it like a cheap Reno magician every time too. On that list I keep the things that randomly need to be accomplished:

[] Pit cherries for dehydrator
[] Put movie in mailbox
[] Finish packing up basement boxes
[] Etc.

There's also a housecleaning list. It is a standardized format and I use it every time we clean the house (or a portion therein). There are two versions: one for the weekly rotation of what gets cleaned when and one for absolute crisis mode (like Be's propensity for inviting his adorable perfectionist grandmother over for dinner on 2 hours notice after I've worked a 60 hour week and let them trash the house in the interim ... pure crisis). I've modified them over the years from the FlyLady system. I don't know that it shares any resemblance to the original anymore, other than the division into four distinct 'Zones'. It kind of looks like:

[] Start at the top of the room and work down
[] Knock down cobwebs in corners
[] Dust light fixtures
[] Etc.

Of course we also have grocery lists, which I insist on writing by hand. We don't buy the same things repetitively enough to warrant a reusable format. I tried one for awhile, even customized to what I thought we needed, but it just felt like a big ole waste of paper every time. My grocery lists are deal-oriented. They include the sale items we are for sure stocking up on, sales items that I need to check prices and units for with the intention of making a split second in-store decision, and items that aren't on sale but we (read: my ever hungry family) think we need. The items in that last category are often overlooked and "forgotten" (oooooops, how very clumsy of me to forget your $3/package corn syrup laden cookies ... for shame). Be says the grocery lists are indecipherable because of the chicken scratch and hieroglyphs of stockpile shopping. They look a little something like ...

[] Duncan Hines Cake Mix: $1 - 1/2 MQ - 1/5 cake MBQ = 40c/ea - B5/ea = $4 total
[] Hunt's Ketchup: $1 - 20c/1 MG - 1/5 MBQ = 72c/
[] Wheat Thins + ^cheese = $8 - 1/2 cheese - 1/1 wt = 5 + CL cat
[] Etc.

There's one final list I keep, called the Someday List. It's large, long, and slightly unwieldy. It's the singular place where I write all of my ideas for future projects, home improvements, system changes, blog posts, and on and on. Every so often I go through and nix the things I have finished or no longer want to do. The list is kind of big, but it works beautifully as a brain dump for ideas I have without cluttering up my regular to do list with things that I can't get to, afford, plan, think about every day, for a longer period than this week. It changes constantly, this Someday List, but I like it a lot (more than the other lists for sure). It's a bright little reminder of the long term:

[] Marble magnets
[] Try hand at herbal soap making
[] Urban chickens!
[] Etc.

One last note on lists from me, and then I'm off to tackle today's Taa Daa. There are tons of places that will keep track of lists for you online. I've tried ... most of them, well, the free ones at least. I hear there are others, but I refuse to pay for them. Writing the list is a great step, but if you lose it the next day, what good is it then? All those things your brain let go of once they hit the list are gone if the list disappears. To remedy that I find the following solutions:

For the internet saavy ...
[] Springpad
[] Google Calendar

For the not so willing to always find a computer to check their lists ...

You can type your lists if you like, then print them. I'm not the biggest fan of this, though, because the sheets wander off continuously. I do have printed copies of the housecleaning to do lists, which are kept in a binder so that my family can find them (if they were ever to look for them, that is ...). For all the other lists, though, I use a plain jane spiral bound single subject notebook. I buy a veritable ton of them for next to nothing during back-to-school sales, and they live in a stack in my office closet. I start with page one, make a list, use the back, make a new list, and on and on until all the pages are full. This takes quite awhile, usually. I use reuseable post-its to mark the current Taaa Daaa, grocery, and Someday lists so they don't get lost in the pages. Everything is in that one notebook until it runs out, then I pull out a new one and start again. I absolutely looooooove this process. I don't lose lists anymore, nor do I clutter up my dayplanner with giant running lists of things my brain cannot stop thinking about. This is how I keep it simple.

Oh, lists, how I adore thee.

Are you a list maker? Join in the comments and tell me all about it!

Simply,

Em.

7 Quick Takes: Vol 11

2009-07-24T08:48:00.003-04:00

1.
We have a house guest (again). I am trying to walk the fine line between being hospitable and enabling. This little voice tells me I should give without asking, always. Its friend reality is bogged down by one too many late nights watching Law & Order, skeptical of everyone's intentions, not ready to trust blindly. I'm vacillating (internally, of course, I'm not a total jerk) between being a gracious host and being irritated about schedule and routine interruption now that we finally seem to have made something work. Argh, human emotions! Why can't you be simpler? More graceful? Less selfish? I'm trying, I swear.

2.
I should change my name to Mendel, because somehow I have managed not one, but two different hybrid sweet pepper species. It would seem my little lovelies have been cross-polinating themselves (well, I'm sure the bees have something to do with it ...) like mad. We have yellow banana peppers, sweet green bell peppers, and now tiny yellow bell peppers and giant long green banana peppers. Ei yi yi. It's pure prolific pepper craziness out there.

3.
I am at the end of my first full week (there was also half a week before that, but then I skipped some ... ) of green smoothie drinking. Are you a fan? Have you jumped on the liquefied greens bandwagon? I'm not cool enough to be drinking just blended greens, but the addition of fruit is helping immensely (and the more I read online, the more I realize I am unintentionally ahead of the game as far as the greens outweighing the fruit goes). The first few mornings it was all I could do to talk my brain into letting that glass of slime anywhere near my mouth, but once I got past the, "Oh no! I'm about to drink a glass full of liquidy green stuff and that cannot possibly taste at all better than say ... pool algae or pond scum", I've been doing just fine. I'm starting to love them, honestly. Liquified spinach: A Great Way To Start The Day.

4.
I have an appointment with the dentist in an hour. I am far less than thrilled, knowing the cavity fairy has been here and I'm going to need fillings. Most people don't enjoy the drill or the potential for pain, but really I cannot stand the numb mouth feeling. I hate that big fat lip, cheek biting, drooling all over yourself craziness. Hate it. My anticipation anxiety is not liking it either. I'm also not a fan of that much unproductive time. Do you think I can get away with catching up on podcasts and reading email on my Blackberry while I get my teeth drilled?

5.
I have a birthday coming up (in 20 short, short days), and I am not coping well with it. Although I appreciate whomever suggested we 'age gracefully', I am much more inclined to tantrum my way begrudgingly instead. I do not like this birthday so much right now. The fact that I'm (for real) not eating gluten (again) kills the only anticipatory happiness there was ... about cake. If there weren't people coming over to celebrate, I may just lock myself in my room until the next week.

6.
There used to be something here ... honestly ... and now it's gone *poof*, bye bye. Blogger ate my 6th Quick Take, and my tired brain cannot remember what in the world it was in the first place. Booooo.

7.
I saw some really rockin' things happen at church last week. I want to write about them, but I'm still trying to figure out which venue is the right one. Oh, self, one day you will write freely and with joy regardless of content or location ... one day.

Simply,

Em.

ps, Check out more Quick Takes Fridays at Jen's blog.

Menu Plan Monday: 20-26 July

2009-07-20T15:51:00.004-04:00

20-26 July
M: Pork chops, mashed potatoes, veggies

T: Beef chili with veggies, salads

W: Chicken lo mein with veggies, brown rice, salads

R: Beef fajitas with peppers and onions, yellow rice

F: Chili stuffed double baked potatoes (from leftover chili), salads

S: Survivor Night (find something or starve)

U: Whole garlic chicken, potatoes, salads

Breakfasts (in addition to a 'green smoothie' every morning)
Oatmeal with dried fruit x2
Eggs and fruit
Peanut butter raisin celery
Egg whites and hashbrowns
Cereal with Silk and fruit
Cheese and potato omelets

Lunches
Veggie soup, steamed rice
Pizza quesadillas and cut cucumbers
Hot dogs, side rice, veggies
Vegetable cheese tortilla roll ups
Leftover fajitas
Leftover potatoes, veggies and hummus
Dinner size salads

Snacks (3 a day ... mid-morning, mid-afternoon, and late night)
Trail mix
Yogurt
Fruit and peanut butter
Tortilla chips
Hummus and veggies
Popcorn
No bake cookies
Cut fruit cups
Veggie stix

What's on your menu?

Simply,

Em.

ps, For more menus, please check out the Org. Junkie.

What's in Em's Shopping Cart? (9 July @ VG's)

2009-07-14T12:20:00.002-04:00

I live in a place where no one doubles coupons. Well, that's not entirely true, I suppose. There is one teeny tiny grocery with outrageous party store-esque prices and not much in the way of sales that does double manufacturer's up to 50 cents. When products are priced $2 or $3 more than they are at Meijer, this does not help me at all so I don't count them. Mostly, no one doubles on this side of Michigan. We are the hometown of Fred Meijer and Fred doesn't have much competition around these parts. Sure, there are other stores, but no one rivals the power of MTA.

That being said, the concept of doubles (and triples!) just makes my nerdy coupon brain go nuts. As I mentioned Friday, I had a chance to finally get in on the fun. I'll spare you the coupon details, because it would get all long as complicated.

(The prices indicated are regular shelf prices, no sales or coupons.)

3 Shedd Spread Country Crock ... $2.19
1 Land 'o Lakes with Olive Oil ... $1.99
3 Smucker's Ice Cream Topping ... $2.19
2lbs Domino brown sugar ... $1.99
2lbs Domino powdered sugar ... $1.99
1 Land 'o Lakes with Butter ... $1.99
3 Lipton 16 count tea bags ... $1.19
1 Lawry's season salt ... $1.59
3 Lawry's garlic salt ... $1.79
2 McCormick black pepper ... $1.99
1 Lava soap bar ... $1.49
3 Mahatma rice pilaf ... $1.19
3 Mahatma chicken rice ... $1.19
2 GM Marinade packets ... $1.39
1 Newman's Own dressing ... $2.79
3 French's mustard ... $1.49
2 French's worcestershire ... $1.35
3 Kikkoman teriyaki ... $1.99
3 Degree deodorants ... $2.99
3 Sure deodorants ... $2.69
2 Suave deodorants ... $1.99
3 Mahatma brown rice ... $1.29
3 French's horseradish mustard ... $2.59
3 Welch's squeeze jelly ... $2.19
2 Heinz white vinegar ... $1.99

Total Before Coupons ... $109.12
Total After Coupons ... $16.24

(plus $1.50 in unexpected OYNO cats)

Total Savings ... $94.38
85%

I could so get used to this.

Simply,

Em.

Ps, for more great shopping trips, check out Grocery Cart Challenge.

Gratituesday: It's Great-iTuesday!

2009-07-14T00:19:00.005-04:00

I have a friend (ok, I have more than one ... probably). We've been friends a handful of years, having met in college. We both dig on vegan food, sustainability, hugging trees, and Ani DiFranco. We live in different cities, but he's spending the summer in our hometown so we've had many more interactions over the past few weeks than in the months before them. I'm absolutely loving it.

See? Don't we look like we're having fun?
(Also, first picture of me on the bloggy. Hello! Hahaha.)

In recent weeks I have been reminded just how absolutely grateful I am for this friend of mine. He listens to my craziness at a table in the sunshine over 4 or 5 too many large coffees. He lets me ramble and work things out with words. He brings me vegan chocolate chip cookies for no reason other than they're tasty. He has been a most perfect resource for the journey I'm on these days, and has been perfectly skilled at keeping his mouth shut about it ... even if it's weird and super-agent-like and makes no rational sense at all. My friend just smiles with knowing eyes and let's me call the shots about what is or isn't yet public knowledge. He accepts my chaotic, list making, contradiction loving (living?) self completely. He's a rockin' guy who loves G-d, people, great music, the planet, bicycles, and Oberon. He remains a constant reminder to me of the way people should be treated, and the world that could be if we all were just a little nicer to each other.

Just yesterday, while waiting in the line to exit the parking lot at church, this friend and I were discussing Gratituesday posts. He suggested this week it should be "Great-ituesday" because ... well, the world is simply that cool. And so, for him, for the impact he has on me, for the doors he's opened in front of my highly skeptical eyes, for loving and laughing and the occasional tray of fabulous tacos ... I am grateful (or GREAT-FULL ... for him).

Simply,

Em.

Menu Plan Monday: 13-19 July

2009-07-13T17:03:00.003-04:00

The garden is in bloom. The sun is shining. It's summer time in MI, and that means perpetual veggie tray time. Do you have one? We use one of those chip/dip containers that are often used for parties ... you know the ones with the outer ring of compartments and the little cup part in the middle? It has snowflakes on it, so it's not the most aesthetic or seasonally appropriate object we own. We fill all the sections with cut veggies, and every night it makes a dinner time appearance. The work is already done, the produce is grab and go, and everyone gets a little extra taste of summer at every meal. When something runs out, I just fill in the spot with something else. It's amazing to me how much more produce gets eaten when we use this method. No one likes to dig in the fridge for tiny containers of a million things, I suppose, and although it takes up a boat load of fridge space, I'm counting it as totally worth it if it means my family gets the veggies they're supposed to. As such, you'll see it appear almost constantly from now until the seasonal goodness runs out (we don't like to buy off season produce because of the impact it has on the environment) as a reminder to me to pull it out of the fridge.

13-19 July 2009

M: Inside Out Shepard's Pie, rolls, salads, veggie tray

T: Chicken stir-fry, salads, veggie tray

W: Beef hot dogs, oven fries, salads, veggie tray

R: Grilled pork chops, mashed potatoes, green beans, salads, veggie tray

F: Personal size pizzas with DIY fancy salad bar

S: Battered fish, yellow rice, veggies

U: Sausage egg sandwiches, fruit salad, veggie tray

Breakfasts
Cereal w/Silk x2
Eggs and toast
PBJs with fruit
Oatmeal with dried fruit x2
Sausage pancake puffs

Lunches
Pasta leftovers
PBJs with hummus and veggies x2
Stir fry leftovers
Hot dog mac
Veggie cheese wraps
Vegetable soup and rice

What's on your menu?

For a million more great ideas, check out the Org. Junkie.

Simply,

Em.

7 Quick Takes: Vol 10

2009-07-10T11:07:00.002-04:00

1.
You know those perfect (feeling) days? The ones where everything falls into place, and you can't help but smile constantly about it? A week ago Friday was one of those days. We took a day trip to our hometown (which is only 25 miles, fyi) for the annual art and craft fair. We wandered the streets looking at handcrafted beauties while I made notes (in my phone, teehee) about new craft projects for the house. I ran into no less than 10 people I knew. Hugging ensued. It was warm and sunny, but not unbearable. The crowds were there, but not in any ridiculous fashion. We finished up at the art fair in near record time without feeling rushed and took a few minutes to share an elephant ear. Are you familiar? Fried dough, dusted in sugar and cinnamon? Yes, please! Instead of carnival food (except our fried dough friend), we decided on a local hometown hot spot for lunch. The bill was likely less than it would have been, the food was amazing, and no one got food poisoning from some crazy carnie in a tin wagon (which kind of terrifies me, in general). After lunch, we drove out to the beach to stand in the face of amazing beauty with our toes in the sand while a friend's little girl played her heart out on the slides. The way home from the beach included a stop at the best ice cream stand in the whole town (and once we got home, a nap came next, thank G-d). It was just a perfect day, full of snapshot moments, good laughs, and great friends.

2.
The 4th of July was equally fun. We ate an early dinner at home, headed to the lake, saw some old friends, met some new ones (thanks again to the biker's for letting us park in their yard ...), watched some spectacular fireworks, and then had some sparkler fun of our own once we got home. Only at my house will 20something boys get so blasted excited about $1 store sparklers.

3.
I'm working another part time job at a place I worked at previously to cover someone's maternity leave for 8 weeks. I don't know if it'll really only be 8, or if she'll change her mind and want to not come back. I have to leave at the end of 8 anyway, because the teaching year starts then, but regardless I find myself secretly hoping that she decides to stay home with le bebe for awhile. I'm getting old and becoming a softie, I think.

4.
Yesterday, Be and I had a our first "date" in a terribly long time. My mother had to attend a work meeting on the other side of the state (about 2.5 hours), so Be and I tagged along and had amazing fun while she was at her meeting. We strolled through the Swedish homegoods mega store, IKEA, dreaming of kitchen remodels and comparing counter top qualities like we are even remotely close to that kind of project funding (hahaha!). We ate at my favorite Middle Eastern place (which they only have on that side ... boo), a first for Be. The food was awesome, the service amazing, and it was just the two of us ... chatting, sitting quietly, not listening to anyone complain about anything. After picking up my mother once her meeting concluded, we even squeezed in a stop at a local East Side grocery that was tripling coupons (There will be more on this soon ...). We don't even have doubles here ... ever, so I was terribly excited (and super nerdy) about the whole thing.

5.
I am well on my way to a little more organized and a little more scheduled. I'm kind of stoked about it. We had a sweet organizing system and routine before we moved here, and somehow my brain thought you could use the same rules in a giant old farm house as you could in a tiny 700 sq footer. I was mistaken, obviously. There is much more to clean here; more space to wreak havoc on. The plan for keeping 700 sq feet looking pristine does not lend itself well to a multiplication of grandeur. Somehow, though, my brain kept trying to follow the same rules, the same timelines, the same systems ... and losing. I'm not saying the whole thing needed to be scrapped, but some changes needed to be made across the board. I have finally stopped putting them off. Yes!

6.
I' going to try making cherry jam ... probably Sunday. Be afraid, as I am of all things liquid, sticky, and molten.

7.
My nose hurts. Just on the right side. It's sore, apparently, because in some fit of sleepy craziness, I pulled (and quickly, with some force) my teeny tiny nose ring out. I've had the darn thing for 4 years (I think ... maybe more ...), and never have I caught it on something in a way that could possibly pull it out. It sits flush with my skin. It's hard to take out when I want to. It's not awful, just sore. The scarier thought ... what in the world was I dreaming about?

Simply,

Em.

For more Quick Takes Fridays, check out Jen at Conversion Diary.

What's in Em's Shopping Cart? (2 July @ Meijer)

2009-07-06T14:32:00.003-04:00

My cart included ...

1/2 gallon Meijer milk: $1.19
2 8oz Philly cream cheese: $2.09 each
4 Ekrich hot dogs: reg. $1.96 each, on sale 78c/ea - $1/2 coupons = 28c/ea.
4 16oz Breakstone sour cream: reg. $1.87, on sale 90c/ea - $1/2 coupons = 40c/ea.
10 Ronzoni whole wheat pasta: reg. $1.48, on sale 90c/ea - $1/2 store coupons = 40c/ea.
4 boxes of Kraft premium mac and cheese: reg. $1.23, on sale 90c/ea - B3G1 coupon = 68c/ea.
3 ChiChi's salsa: reg. $2.65, on sale 90c/ea - 55c/1 coupons = 35c/ea.
8 boxes Totino's pizza rolls: reg. $1.67, on sale 90c/ea.
3 packs Dentek floss picks: reg. $2.79, on sale 90c/ea - $1/1 coupons = FREE!
1 Heluva Good Dip: reg. $1.50, on sale $1.19 - 75c/1 coupon - 25c/1 store coupon = 19c.
1 Bumblebee pouch: reg. $1.98, price dropped to $1.90 - $1/1 coupon = 90c.
2 loaves Brownberry Bread: reg. $3.98, price dropped to $1.94 - $1/1 store coupon = 94c/ea.
2 bags Lays chips: reg. $3.99, on sale $1.99 - $3/2 Pepsi Rebate coupon = 49c/ea.
2 bottles Wishbone Western dressing: reg. $2.84, on sale $1.50 - $1.25/2 coupons = 88c/ea.
2 pkgs Meijer pitas: reg. $3.18, on sale $1.50/ea.
4 ICBINB (3 tubs, 1 sticks): reg. $2.19, on sale $1.34 - $1.25/1 (3) and $1/1 (1) coupons = 15c/ea.
2 100 cal pack Nabisco cookies: reg. $3.19, on sale $2 - $1/1 coupons = $1/ea.
1 pkg Oreo Cakesters: reg. $3.19, on sale $2.50 - $1/1 coupon = $1.50.
4 bottles Old Orchard juice: reg. 2.89, on sale $1.67 - 50c/1 store coupons - $1/2 coupons = 67c/ea.
4 24pks Pepsi products: reg. $6.49, on sale $3.99 - $2/1 Pepsi Rebate coupons = $1.99/ea.
2 boxes Bagelfuls (as promised): reg. $3.09, on sale $2 - $1/1 coupons = $1/ea.
2 rolls Bounty paper towels (I'm hiding these for emergency super gross clean-ups): reg. $2.78, on sale 90c/ea - $1/2 coupons = 40c/ea.
1 can Mighty Dog wet food: reg. 88c - freebie coupon = FREE!

- $17.55 from 10% off grocery purchase catalinas
+ $1 OYNO catalina from buying 2 Western dressings

Total Spent: $46.06 (incl $2.40 aluminum deposit)
Total Savings: $130.42

That's 74.3% savings!

Thank you, Meijer!

We have $153.94 left in the grocery budget for July. The deals for next week (5-11 July) are less stellar so I'm likely sticking to produce only this week and won't be doing any sweet match ups unless something amazing strikes my fancy. I hope you had a great week shopping (and most important, saving!).

Simply,

Em.

Menu Plan Monday: 6-12 July

2009-07-06T13:17:00.003-04:00

6-12 July 2009

M: Hot dogs (like anyone in the world really needs more of these after last week ...) , fancy mac & cheese, steamed broccoli

T: Oven baked ham steaks, au gratin potatoes, veggies

W: Whole wheat pasta with sausage and kale, garlic bread

R: Light chili, dinner salads, rolls

F: Stir-fry pork and veggies with rice

S: Survivor Night -- find something, or starve

U: Undecided ... depends on how our weekend plans pan out.

I've also planned breakfasts and lunches this week so we have no excuses not to eat them.

Breakfasts
Cereal with Silk x2
Oatmeal with dried apples
PBJs and fruit x2
Eggs with toast
Sausage scrambles

Lunches
Weekend leftovers
Hummus and pita with veggies
Soup and grilled cheese
Pasta leftovers from Wednesday
PBJs with fruit
Chili leftovers from Thursday

Anything rockin' on your menu this week? For more ideas, check out the Org. Junkie.

Dirt Cheap: Garden Befores and Afters

2009-07-02T00:07:00.000-04:00

Oh, how the rain and unbearable heat have done my little green friends well. For your viewing pleasure, gratuitous garden pictures for your enjoyment. I got a little *ahem* picture happy while we were on break from weeding.

The baby cucumber in a pot, 1 June.

That same cucumber, 28 June.

The strawberry plants, with its cute little half-eaten berry (darn birds!), 1 June.

The strawberry plants, 28 June.
There haven't been anymore berries. I don't know what exactly to think about that ... a strawberry plant that looks healthy and full, and yet, makes no fruit. Am I just impatient? Maybe.

The herb garden, 1 June.
(basil, lavender, rosemary, marjoram, parsley, sage, thyme, mint, oregano, and hore hound)

The herb garden, 28 June.
It was the part of the day when that side of the house is shaded, so forgive the less than stellar lighting.

Lonely baby snow peas, radishes, and carrots just pushing through, 1 June.

Those same babies, now giants.
The row closest to you is green beans, the next one is peas, after there are carrots and parsnips, then bushy radishes, and onions in the far corner.

The garden view in the other direction, peppers and tomatoes on 28 June.

Bell peppers, blossoming.

Banana peppers, coming on strong.

A nest of green cherry tomatoes.
If these things actually turn red, we'll be swimming in them. I hear the dehydrator calling my name already.

That was fun. I loooooove garden pictures just about as much as I love gardening. Are you growing anything? Take pictures! Blog them! Comment me with the links! I'd love to check them out (and possibly start using fewer exclamation points ... ).

Simply,

Em.

Top 'O the Month: July 2009

2009-07-01T00:02:00.004-04:00

We are closer to a resolution of the employment problem than we previously were. The countdown until Be's next court date is under a month (in fact, just over 2 weeks), and we're hoping to settle this whole thing before then. Keep hoping the other side gets their acts in gear, ok? Then, my lovely can finally go back to work ... assuming he can find a new job in this market, and I can stop biting my lip in anxious anticipation while opening the electric bill.

Here's the debt update ...
EFund: $1000
(I'm busting my rear end to make sure this gets paid back every time we use it. So far, so good. One day soon, I'd really love to not worry about this anymore ...)

Dream Savings: $0
(On hold until the employment crisis is remedied.)

Jeep: $0
PAID OFF! YAY!

GP: $3522.14

C1: $186.34

AV: $0
PAID OFF! YAY!

VSA: $90
(Going back down, yay!)

I'm also going to add a new feature to TOTM, including a glimpse into our budget. It's primarily a reason for me to remain accountable to myself (because, what better for that than posting it on the internet for all to see?). We'll start with the discretionary spending first as an experiment, and if it goes well, we may go to full budgets at some time in the future. The following are the budgeted discretionary amounts for the month of July ...

Track Our Spending!
Grocery/Household: $200
(family of 5 adults, includes all food, supply, toiletry, and cleaning purchases)
-$46.06 2 July
-$16.24 9 July
-$37.30 10 July = $100.40 remaining

Car Fuel: $150
(one car, shared between Be and I)
-$45.00 1 July
-$37.30 9 July = $67.70 remaining

We'll see how this goes. I'm going to endeavor to find a way to link an ongoing update to the discretionary amounts so you can watch them dwindle as the month goes if you'd like. Blogger and I are not best friends always, so it make take me a hot second to figure out stable secondary page creation. Haha.

Simply,

Em.

Gratituesday: Start Again

2009-06-30T15:15:00.004-04:00

If I had a voice
It would sound like yours
If I had a voice
And if my eyes could see
They would see much more than I believed was there
Learn to speak
Learn to see
Forget what I once knew
And start again

As I watch you move
I am moving too
As I watch you move
And as you travel through
I am walking too
I am moved by you
So leave this place
Where I can't turn
I can't even breathe
And start again

And if I had your heart
I could dare like you
If I had your heart
But I can't seem to start
To love the world like that
If I wanted to
But I could learn to trust
Just enough
To push on past the end
And start again
Start again

I am constantly grateful for the chance to call in a mulligan and try something again. More often than not, I'm trying it over more than once, or twice, or 12 times. I want to be kinder with those I love, and I slip up and drop not so nicey remarks into conversations. I want to make sure my family is well fed, but sometimes I get lazy and let them make frozen chicken nuggets in the microwave. I want to be a servant, with a clear conscience and a full heart, but I sleep in on Sunday mornings and continue to live what is probably a pretty insane lie of omission in not telling anyone where I'm going (I can't even tell you how uncomfortable I am writing that online where I know people who know me are reading ... baby steps ... ). I want to follow this path that my heart tells me is right. I want to start again.

And I'm thankful for the opportunity.

Simply,

Em.

ps, the lyrics are from Catie Curtis' "Start Again". You should listen to it ... amazing melody ... soup for my soul anyday.

pps, for more Gratituesday, check out Laura at Heavenly Homemakers.

What's in Em's shopping cart? (27 June @ Meijer)

2009-06-29T23:12:00.000-04:00

I did go shopping, as promised. I did not, however, get everything on my list. Some of the items were out of stock, and the others, I just wasn't stoked about the deals once I got there.

2 loaves Aunt Millie's bread: on sale, 75c/ea - 35c/1 coupons = 40c each.

9.53 lbs of red and green grapes: on sale, 99c/lb (yes, really, I bought nearly 10 lbs of grapes ... would you believe almost half of them are gone?! haha.)

2 Edwards Singles: reg. $2.37. on sale, $1.18 - 75c/1 coupons = 43c each.

4 Superpretzels (I'm trying to figure out how to make pizza pretzels since I make pizza out of everything else, and it's far too hot for ovens ... and these were super cheap!): reg. $5.46. on sale, $1.36 - 75c/1 coupons = 61c each.

2 Sara Lee frozen cheesecakes: reg. $5.79. on sale, $2.89 - $1/1 coupons = $1.89 (We're having people over for the holiday, and I don't so much make cheesecake that well. Honestly, I wanted the 84c pound cake that generated the $1 cat, but they were out ...).

4 large bags Tostitos chips: reg. $3.99. on sale, BOGO (buy 1, get 1 free) - $2/2 coupons from the Pepsi rebate deal months ago = 99c each (I honestly thought these were BOGO for $2.50 instead of $3.99. I would have used the $3/2 coupons I had if I had noticed they were more expensive).

2 Johnsonville formed breakfast sausage: reg. $3.69. on sale, $2.38 - $1/1 coupons = $1.38 each.

2 Johnsonville brats: reg. $3.99. on sale, $2.38 - $1/1 coupons for turkey and bold varieties = $1.38 each.

3 Kraft 2% shredded cheese: reg. $2.79. on sale, $2 - $1/2 printable coupon = $1.66 each (plus it generated a $2 cat making the actual cost more like $1 each).

6 tubs Cool Whip: 99c - $1/2 coupons - $1/3 store coupons = 16c each! (Score! Now, to think of things to do with Cool Whip ...).

1 dozen eggs: reg. 99c - $1/wyb 2 Johnsonville peelie = FREE EGGS!

Total Spent: $38.42
Total Saved: $62.77

62% Savings! Sweeeeeet.

Thank you, Meijer. Your cashier was annoying, but the deals were nice.

Simply,

Em.

For more Shopping Cart Round-ups, check out Gayle at Grocery Cart Challenge.

Menu Plan Monday: 29 June to 5 July

2009-06-29T09:46:00.003-04:00

Oh, Monday, here you are again. The temps have dropped back down into the 70s, so hopefully we'll eat more than salad this week. Last week's high temperatures were nearly unbearable here for a northern girl who likes a little chill in the air.

M: Beef & Rice Noodle Veggie Stir Fry (using the leftover crockpot roast, of which there was far too much)

T: Crockpot Chili with Rolls (... because I have to work late)

W: Fried Chicken Taco Salads

R: Pork Chops, Rice, Green Beans, and Green Salads

F: Survivor Night (we're headed to the annual local art fair on Friday, meaning I don't know how hungry we'll be after carnival food lunches, nor what time it will be when we get home)

S: Slow Grilled BBQ Ribs, Cheesy Potatoes, Baked Beans, Grilled Asparagus, Spinach Dip, Veggie Tray, and Fruit Dish (there are people coming over for the 4th, can you tell? hahaha)

U: Leftovers! There must be some from Saturday. I hope?!

For hundreds more menus, please check out the Org. Junkie.

Simply,

Em.

Super Saver Saturday: Meijer GDAs for 6/28

2009-06-27T15:05:00.002-04:00

I'm not usually this on top of deal matching, honestly often scrambling on Saturday afternoon to get my lists ready, but this week I've already seen tomorrow's ad and pulled the matches I like for this week. Yay! My thoughts, why not share them with you?

6.28 Meijer
Pepsi 24 packs: on sale, $3.99/ea when you buy 4 - $2/1 any Pepsi coupons from the Coupon Rebate earlier this year if you did it and still have them (I've been hoarding mine for just such an occasion) = $7.96 total, or $1.99 each. Yes!

Lays Chips: on sale, $1.99 - $1/2 coupon = $1.49/ea.

Ekrich hot dogs: on sale, 78c/ea (in conjunction with a grocery purchase, you can't just buy hot dogs, apparently). I hear there are coupons out for these. I can't find mine at the moment.

Bagelfuls: on sale, $2/ea - $1/1 Kraft Bagelfuls printable = $1 each. (I think these things are a little scary, personally, but I've been promising them to a certain family member once they made it down to $1 ... sigh).

Heluva Good Dip: on sale, $1.19/ea - $1/1 coupons = 19c each! Yes!

Old Orchard Juice: on sale, $1.67/ea - $1/2 coupons = $1.17 each. If you have a store that doubles, they'll be 17c!! Old Orchard is good stuff, made just down the road from here from fruit grown in between my house and theirs. 17c!? Absolutely, yes, please. (Oh, how I envy you doubling grocery store shoppers ... ).

Ziplocks: on sale, $2 - coupons that vary from 40c/1 to $1/2 to sometimes $1/1. I'm not necessarily advocating a stock up, but keep your eyes peeled since these often have peel off coupons on them that are better than the insert ones. Check them out in store, and if they aren't worth it, wait it out.

Chicken drumsticks and thighs: on sale, 99c/lb. (It's grilling season ... time for bbq'd chicken legs! Stock up a bit at this price as I haven't seen the 79c/lb drums/thighs price in a long, long time.)

And! A 10/$10 (11th FREE!) that includes ...

Coke product 2 liters

Green Giant Steamers and boxed veggies: Also, keep an eye out for peelies on these since there aren't any current coupons ... or at least I don't have any.

Bounty Big Roll Paper Towels: -$1/2 coupon = 50c each. I stopped buying paper towels (despite the near mutinous revolt that followed), but if you're still beholden to disposable, this may be good for you.

Breakstone Sour Cream: -$1/2 printable coupon = 50c each. I don't use sour cream that often, but I may need to find a few recipes this week.

ChiChi's Salsa: -55c/1 coupon = 45c each. Yes, please.

Hormel Deli Pepperoni: -75c/1 = 25c each. This is a YMMV (your money/manager/mileage may vary) since I'm not positive the deli size is what the coupon actually counts for when it scans. Give it a whirl, and if it works, make pizza subs with all your cheap giant pepperonis.

Ronzoni Smart Pasta: -$1/1 manufacturer coupon - $1/2 Meijer coupon = +50c! I don't have any of these manu coupons, because I was convinced this stuff was never, ever going on sale for $1 again. Haha, oops. I sent mine away and now, voila! Sale time! If you have them, stock up!! If you don't and need pasta, print the Meijer coupons and get it for 50c/box, which isn't terrible. Check the regular price of Meijer brand, though, to make sure this is still cheaper.

Dentek Flossers: This gets a big ole question mark next to it, because although I've seen talk online that they are included, I can't find it in my ad. I may be blind. If so, there are great coupons out from both inserts and All You magazine for these. I tried to use mine last time they were included, and the stores were out completely long before I got there (and for weeks after ...).

There are, of course, other things in the ad. I either don't need them or was not struck by them being an amazing deal. This doesn't mean they aren't. Feel free to add in your own matchups in the comments if you like. Questions? Please ask. I'm more than happy to answer them!

Simply,

Em.

ps, I'm also going shopping today on this week's ad for 99c/lb grapes, BOGO Tostinos, Koolaid with FREE mac & cheese, 1/2 price Super Pretzels and Sara Lee frozen cake, and Cool Whip (15 CENTS each when you buy 6 ... are you kidding me?! Dessert, please!). I may get in a breakdown tonight ... we can hope. Happy Shopping!

The Everything Post

2009-06-23T09:51:00.005-04:00

Where have I been all this time?! My goodness how one day turns into 7 before you even know it. I've had all the things I wanted to post floating around in my head, but it's officially 937 degrees Fahrenheit here (ok, high 80s, probably low 90s today) and when it's that hot I want to do nothing but find a semi-reasonable place to sit (like the basement, in a corner, where it's 'cooler' ... by 2 or 3 degrees) and not move a muscle lest the Niagra Falls of sweat come forth from all parts of me at once. I hate being hot. Hate it. This is why we live in MI and not a warmer state. I would melt. It may happen this week, and I have the mop at the ready in case. Here we go, everything all together now ...

Some Quick Takes
1.
I already told you it's hot, but it begs repeating. I do not like sweat rolling down the sides of my face because I'm standing still washing dishes in less than completely sanitary tepid water because I may just die if it were any warmer. I would really like a breeze, any breeze, even a hot one, to cut the density in the air. We do not have air conditioning, lest you think I'm complaining about hot weather for fun. I know there are many of you that survive much hotter temperatures also without AC, but seriously ... I can't take it. We don't have AC for a number of reasons.

1. It's reaaaaaallllly expensive for my electric bill.
2. It's not so fantastic for the environment with all those AC units pumping out exhaust and such.
3. If we did, I would not be able to control myself and we'd likely have it set at 35 degrees from March until October, bringing us right back to point number 1. When AC is involved, my rational mind desolves to putty and I have no self-control. Total abstinence is out only sound option.

2.
I don't like to cook when it's hot, but this morning I convinced myself to get a roast into the crockpot since I was awake anyway and eventually we'd have to eat. I'm calling it a gold star day just for that. Haha.

3.
I had an unforutnate accident on Sunday that now requires a dentist's appointment and a lot of my conscious attention as to not show anyone the monstrosity when I speak. It doesn't hurt, but come Friday, at the dentist, it likely will. Thank heavens for dental insurance.

4.
The summer semester started yesterday. I promise I was not intentionally skipping class. I really honestly thought it was a T/R class, not a M/W one. Not until the email hit my phone from another girl asking where I had been did I go look at the course schedule. I've been convinced for months that it was on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Ooooops.

Some Shopping Round-Up
I went to Costco and Meijer on Friday. There weren't any super amazing deals I needed to get in on, we were just out of a couple things that I had been putting off picking up for ... more than a little while. I did manage to get one box of half-price minus $1 coupon Snickers ice cream bars, and a raincheck for 12 more. Now, to find coupons ... Em is hot and needs ice creams!

Some Simple Sunday
What's better on a Sunday, especially Father's Day, and most especially when it falls on the longest day of the year ... than a late evening trip to the lake? It was hot. We were melting. We piled in the car at 9pm and headed to the lake for a quick swim. A little chilly at first, sure, but once initially submerged, swimming was heaven. It was like magic. Not hot. No longer puddling into your shoes. Just cool and marvelous, plus the beginnings of a sunset while we were swimming made for an marvelously simply Sunday.

Some Menu Plan Monday
M: Sausages on the Grill, Chips

T: Crockpot Beef Roast, Potatoes, Greens & Spinach Salad

W: Hamburger Helper (which I don't like, fyi), Greens & Spinach Salad

R: Fried Chicken Salads, Cut Veggies

F: Survivor Night ... eat what you can find, or starve. I will likely be having milkshakes ... and pudding ... and other things that don't hurt one's already hurting post-dentist teeth.

S: Pork Chops, Noodle Side, Steamed Veggies, Green Salads

U: Zuppa Toscana

Some Gratituesday
For more Gratituesday, check out The Heavenly Homemakers.
Today, I'm grateful for ...

... warm weather that helps my garden grow, even if it makes me terribly uncomfortable.
... cool swims at dusk.
... ice cream.
... self-employment.
... the appreciation of the women I work with.
... crunching on ice cubes, even if it's horrible for my teeth.
... dental insurance.
... Be, who although I currently look funny, still loves me.
... the tiniest hints of a breeze.
... getting up early of my own volition.
... schedule switching.
... the AC in my car being functional.
... a cool basement to retreat to.
... the library, full of great books, for free!
... money in the bank, bills paid.
... a clean house, easier on the hot weather sanity than a dirty one.
... grace.
... every day, hot or not, that I get to live in this perfect world.

Wasn't that wacky? So long as I don't melt, regular posting will resume. If, instead, I turn into a giant puddle of crazy, I can make no guarantees.

Simply,

Em.

Gratituesday: 16 June

2009-06-16T23:30:00.003-04:00

For more Gratituesday, check out Heavenly Homemakers.

Today, I'm grateful for ...

... an early evening nap that slept the headache away.
... chocolate chip cookies.
... a final presentation, due tomorrow, which is finished.
... no class for almost a week.
... the possibility of free you-pick strawberries.
... warming lake temperatures that promise swimming soon.
... the promise of rain tomorrow, food from above for my greenlings.
... great bloggy friends.
... la bibliotheque.
... another day in the dream.

Simply,

Em.

Tortilla Pizza

2009-06-15T22:35:00.000-04:00

For more TMTT's check out Blessed With Grace.

Sometimes, I don't feel like cooking. Other times, I forget to take things out of the freezer, which I'm working on improving. When we're short on time and motivation, and long on hungry people, I often turn to this super quick standby. From freezer to table is about 15 minutes, and once paired with a nice green salad or veggie, it makes for a delicious way to avoid take out. I can't even get delivery in 15 minutes. It's pizza ... on a tortilla ... out of stuff in your pantry.

The Starting Line Up

Tortillas, any size, any variety.
We keep a stack of flour tortillas in the pantry at all times. I buy them in bulk at Costco for far less than the specialty aisle or produce section of the grocery store. You'll need 2 per person for adults (or at least adults in this house ... ) usually. Sometimes, when our tortilla stash is large, we'll use 2 tortillas for each pizza and toss a handful of cheese between the layers ... yum.

Pizza Sauce
Really, any sauce will do. I keep a stock of Save A Lot's Pino's brand pizza sauce in the pantry. It's fabulous stuff, and the whole jar is less than $1. When we run out of SAL brand, I'll use jarred spaghetti sauce. You could use whatever sauce you had on hand ... leftover pasta sauce, alfredo, creamy ranch ... basically it all works.

Toppings

Meats
Most of the people in this house prefer pepperoni on their tortilla pizza. I buy it in the giant bag from Costco when we're running low, then break it down into smaller portions when I get it home. I literally throw a handful or two into a used (yea, we wash 'em ... and I don't have to buy so many) zip top bag and throw all the bags into the door in the freezer. When it's pizza time, I just pull the pepperoni I need out of the bag, put it directly on the pizza still frozen, close the bag, toss it back in the freezer. The pepperoni slices don't usually stick together much in the freezer, so you can just pull what you need as you go. I loooooove that part.

Sometimes, when I'm actually planning to make these, we'll pre-cook some sausage crumbles, bacon, or chicken strips for toppings instead of the pepperoni. If you prefer some other meat on your pizza, you could pre-cook a bit, do the pepperoni procedure with freezer bags, and have it on standby. Other times, we've used whatever meats were leftover in the fridge ... beef roast shredded down into strips, seasoned beef from tacos, extra meatballs (cut in half so they won't roll around), pieces of leftover whole chicken ... basically whatever is in there will work.

Veggies
In the summer, tortilla pizzas are super fun with the plethora of peppers, onions, and tomatoes from the garden. In the winter, I rely on stored onions, canned mushrooms, and frozen bell pepper pieces. Again, it's a pantry meal, so whatever you have will work perfectly.

Cheese
Ah, cheese, how I adore thee. We stock up on chunk (and shredded, because they're often on sale together ... ) cheese when the per ounce prices get low enough. Any kind you're in love with will work (except that disgusting Velveeta type 'cheese food' that doesn't really melt).

The Game Plan

Use about 1 Tbsp of sauce, and spread lightly. It's only a tortilla, so a ton of sauce makes it soggy.

These are the world's smallest onions, I think. We found them growing rogue in the herb garden, so I made a quick dice of them and they became dinner. They look huge in that picture, but the knife they're next to is a paring sized knife, not a sword.

A sprinkling of onions, some canned mushrooms, and 5 or 6 still frozen pepperoni.

Half a handful (a fancy and exact measure, no?) of cheese, really like a large pinch. It's not hard to overload the pizza and then they won't crisp up. Now, into the oven.

The End Result

Yummmm! They get all crunchy crispy, especially around the edges. Give them a minute to set up once they come out of the oven, and cut them on the tray in slices (for kids) or quarters (for grown ups).

The Play By Play

Tortillas
+
Light coating of sauce of your choice
+
A few pieces of still frozen pre-cooked meat
+
Handful of veggies that you happen to have
+
An extra big pinch of shredded cheese, spread around
+
400 degree oven for 10 minutes
=
Yum!

Simply,

Em.

Menu Plan Monday: 15 to 21 June

2009-06-15T01:48:00.003-04:00

For hundreds more menu plans, please check out the Org. Junkie.

M: Leftovers (chicken stir-fry or pizza)

T: Freezer Soup in the Crockpot with Bacon Grilled Cheeses (we didn't get to this last week)

W: Pork Chops, Mashed Potatoes, Green Veggie

R: Sausage, Egg, and Potato Scrambles with Tortillas

F: Homemade Pizzas, Green Salads

S: Survivor Night ... if you can find it, you can eat it.

U: Grilled Ham Steaks, Garlic Grill Potatoes, Green Veggies

What's on your menu this week?

Simple Sunday: Wordless Edition

2009-06-14T21:23:00.002-04:00

Ok, not totally wordless. This is the view if you happen to be laying on your back, feet bare, in the grass in my backyard. That line in the middle is a most faint rainbow. Simple, beautiful, perfect.

Simply,

Em.

Dirt Cheap: Our Gardening Adventure ... Part 1

2009-06-14T21:07:00.000-04:00

Memorial day weekend in Michigan means the threat of frost is gone (well, we hope ... ), and the time has come for ... gardening! I loooooove this time of year, and those cute little plants in the ground. I do generally forget how much work putting those adorable sprouts in the ground can be, but my calves and hamstrings do a fabulous job reminding me every week after Memorial day. Last year, we planted in a circle. Yea, really, what in the world were we thinking?! We had this vision for cute concentric circles, but the plants had other plans and did everything they could to turn the whole thing into a jungle. This year, we're back to a rectangle (and while we're at it ... why not expand a little ... teehee).

This is a shot of Be and my brother Abby putting up the perimeter stakes after the rototilling was finished. Great tip: Don't buy a rototiller, but instead find someone you know or who lives near by from whom you can borrow one for a few hours. Be's dad came down to do ours, and bingo bango we don't have to shovel by hand or lay out $600 for a rototiller. Share things! Buying new is both expensive and not always the best use of resources.

Now, since we have 2 large dogs who really like to be in the backyard, and whose footprints although adorable are not my favorite thing when they're trampling down baby tomatoes, we needed to figure out a fencing solution. Last year, we used a little metal wire fence. It was cute for a minute, but at only a foot and a few inches high, it was also entirely too easy for the dogs to simply step over. With a mind for just making do, we really did evaluate the option of using the metal fence again (of course, we saved it ...), but it honestly didn't survive being taken down last fall all that well. There are broken pieces all over (hooray for tetanus!?), not to mention the part where it's quite happy being bent in the shape of a circle.

Hmmm. What to do, what to do?

I begrudgingly agreed to browse the local Menard's in search of a fencing solution. They did have approximately knee high fencing on sale, but even the 36inch sections were upwards of $4 each. With 80 feet of garden perimeter to cover, the $100+ price tag was a little out of reach for us.

"So, what if we use this snow fence?"

Yes, indeed, snow fence. In the winter here, locals put up plastic fencing along the beaches to keep the sand and snow from getting out of control together. What's better? Menard's had 50 feet of glorious green (rather than the standard blaze orange) snow fence for $20. Instead of buying 2 rolls to cover the 80 feet, we simply cut one of them in half with the hacksaw, doubling the amount of coverage and making the fence just the right height.

See?! Fabulous green snow fence!

The even cooler part, the perimeter poles that we are using this year are holdovers from last year when we used them to tie up tomato plants in vain attempts to remedy the jungle phenomenon that the circle garden created. The poles are generally used for running electrical fence, and we picked them up for $1 at the local Tractor Supply. Oh, it gets better! My love of this semi-recycled cobbled together snow fence does not end. Not only are the poles serving a borrowed role, they have these amazing little clips on them that serendipitously fit the fence height perfectly. We had a roll of plastic coated twist tie which we had planned to use to secure the fence, but lo and behold, totally unnecessary. Each section just slipped into the little clip and on we went to the next. I am fascinated with the way it all worked out.

Ooooooo, pretty snow fence!
And, the adorable Be, from an angle he will likely not appreciate me snapping a picture of.

Then of course, it was time to go plant shopping. There are more frugal ways to start gardens. You can buy seeds and start them indoors. You can even save the seeds from the produce you eat, dry them, and start those in cute little pots with hopes that they'll come up. I've done a fair share of seed starting in the past, and it never goes well. In the places where our house is full of sun, there's no awesome place for rows and rows of seed pots. In the places where there is space, there are no windows. Or, as we discovered last year, in the mud room where we created a space, and the windows abound, it is simply far too cold for seed starting. Ugh. This year, we purchased plants as we hadn't come up with a sweet seed starting solution in time to meet the garden timeline. Next year, I aspire to do better. Until then ... cute little plants in cute little pots.

This isn't even all of them. 36 tomato plants?! Am I crazy?

What follows the purchase of a million little green darlings for the garden? Ah yes, planting them. I always (and I do mean always) forget about this part. I have some bizarre mental block that always seems to make believe that once we get them home, they'll just plant themselves ... or maybe little elves will show up and do it for me in the night. Alas, no, gardening is work. A labor of love, sure, but my glutes doth protest regardless.

The adorable Be using the garden hoe to make rows. He dug the trenches, then mom and I filled them with compost (Oh, how I loooooove compost!), set the plants in, and covered each root base individually.
(Please note, Be really did start shaving his head bald ... he's crazy, I think.)

We ended up with 2 rows of tomatoes, plus 3 in pots and 2 planted experimentally (which I will tell you all about once I get pictures of them), 3 rows of peppers, 1 row each of green beans and peas, and 2 rows of root vegetables (parsnips, carrots, and radishes), plus an onion patch. There are also brussel sprouts, chinese cabbage, kale, strawberries, cucumbers, and blueberries which I haven't gotten pictures of yet. In addition to the regular garden, we have an herb garden up against the back of the house. This year's selection: rosemary, lavender, marjoram, oregano, horehound, sage, parsley, peppermint, thyme, and basil.

Oooooooh, pretty herb garden.

There it is, the beginning of our gardening adventure. I plan to update as the season progresses with new pictures and produce totals. Are you gardening this year? Tell me about it in the comments!

Simply,

Em.

7 Quick Takes ... Sunday: Vol 8

2009-06-14T15:40:00.004-04:00

1.
Sometimes life happens, and things don't get posted on time ... or even written. Friday was one of those days, but the reason why is kind of exciting. I was asked to give the keynote address at an awards banquet honoring the highest honor given to girls in Girl Scouting, the Gold Award. I earned a Gold Award in high school, and was asked (kind of last minute ... like Monday afternoon ... oops) to be the keynote speaker because of it (and according to the woman who called me, "because (I) wouldn't have a problem speaking in front of a large group on short notice"). It was a really good time. My speech was well received. I did not fumble around like a crazy too much, and I got a pretty yummy (and free!) dinner out of the deal. The downside, the speech was oh, a hundred or so miles from my house, in the early evening, so most of my usual Friday bloggy time was spent getting ready and driving (and putting the finishing touches on my speech ... who loves the last minute?! Em does.).

2.
I skipped church this morning so I could finish writing my group research paper, and although I've only been going to church regularly for ... oh, a month, I'm kind of sad I wasn't there. I know I can listen to the podcast and check the bulletin online, but really ... I just like being there. It's the highlight of my week, and I'm regretting terribly not getting up and going anyway. Now I have to wait another 6 days. (Wow, on 2nd inspection, I never ever would have counted myself in the category of people disappointed that they missed church ... something has come over me ... something not so awful, maybe ...).

3.
We added even more plants to the garden yesterday. There will be a garden post forthcoming in the near future, which I'm terribly excited about. We swung by the greenhouse yesterday and I fell in love with some clearanced kale and chinese cabbage plants. I mean, in love. They were calling to me. I looked at them longingly, walked away, perused the remainder of the section, wandered back to them, stood looking at them like a 2 year old, and finally decided to just bring them home. We don't have any greens growing since my lettuce didn't so much make it ... stupid paper seed cards anyway.

4.
The beloved Red Wings did not win the Stanley Cup. I should offer congrats and well dones to the Penguins, but I'm not that cool of a person. I'm pouting.

5.
We had a fabulous time Thursday at the minor league baseball game. Not only was my favorite band playing after the game, but it was as well "Thrifty Thursday" at the ball park. We scored $5 admission tickets (instead of $9.50i) by agreeing to bring our own chairs and sit on the lawn. A number of food items were marked down to $2 instead of the regular exhorbinant park prices or $4, $6 or more, and you could get hot dogs (which I don't eat ... ick, but other people do) for $1! Some friends joined us on the grassy knoll, and we had an all around great time. Not that I'm the biggest baseball fan in the world, but we may have to check out future Thrifty Thursday events there for some super cheap entertainment.

6.
The spring semester ends Wednesday. Yay! The bad news: the summer semester begins on Monday. Yikes. Ugh. Why in the world idd I agree to take spring AND summer classes? Am I a crazy person? I'm happy one semester is almost over, but I'm wishing for a much longer break than 4 days. These are the moments when I wonder to myself, "why in the world am I still in school?"

7.
"So the eye needs light to see, so the soul needs labor to comprehend." --Philo

I will try to remember this next week when I'm cleaning my house top to bottom in preparation for the party we're having Saturday.

For more 7 Quick Takes, probably posted on time, check out Jen's blog.

Simply,

Em.

Summer Fun! (on the cheap ...)

2009-06-10T14:38:00.002-04:00

If you happen to be relatively local to me, there's a list of great stuff going on to fill your summer date book with below. If you aren't so local, check out your local chamber of commerce, library, or civic association for events calendars. Summertime is always full of pretty cheap or free community events, no matter where you live. Don't miss out because you aren't in the know. Just google your town and find some freebie fun for your family (hooray alliteration ... haha). Festivals, library reading programs, fireworks, and car cruises abound. I cannot wait!

On the Lakeshore ...

Brown Bag Film Series at the MMA
Grab your lunch and meet up at the art museum for a 30 minute film. Admission to the film is free, though I think they still charge for museum admission if you want to browse the galleries afterward, and there are cookies! Check out the downtown schedule for details.

Movie Nights at the LST
Bring a blanket or a lawn chair and head down to the Mart Dock for a free movie every Friday on the deck of the historic LST (Landing Ship Tank ... it's a boat ... a huge one, if you haven't seen it). The deck opens at 7pm, and the movie begins at dusk. You can bring a cooler and snacks, or purchase them on site for $1. A schedule of films can be seen on the downtown schedule. Although there's no admission cost, donations are accepted and all proceeds go to the Restoration Fund of the LST. Movies under the stars ... for free ...?! Score!

Parties in the Park
Live music (the link has the schedule), kids' games, and positively a ton of people you forgot you knew will be at Hackley Park in the middle of downtown every Friday from 5pm-930pm. Entrance is free, but food and beverages are a little on the pricey side so I suggest eating an early dinner at home before heading down there. I don't honestly remember if they let you bring food in or not, but I do know outside beverages aren't allowed. The best part, all proceeds go to the organization that is "sponsoring" each week. They provide the volunteers and the PITP organization compensates them according. Come out to the park, hang out with your friends, and support the organizations you know and love.

Summer Celebration
Most of the events surrounding SummerCel have some kind of cost associated, sometimes a rather significant cost if you're considering a night out with one of the live 'big name' bands. However, a number of the events going on around the Main Stage are free, especially the ones targeted at kids. Be careful to avoid the midway if you're not into dropping tons of cash on junk food and stomach turning carnival rides. Flip through the schedule, though, there may be something going on for free or pretty low cost that may interest you, like the Community Picnic where each food item costs only a quarter or the Safari-Me Petting Zoo. Also, scope out a free spot to park your car and catch the fireworks on July 4.

Star Gazing ... Inside
The Carr-Fles Planetarium at MCC offers free planetarium shows to the public on Tuesday and Thursday nights at 7pm.

Vacation with Purpose
If you're so inclined, the Maranatha Bible Conference offers free entertainment on Saturday nights at 7pm. There are other free events as well mixed in with their admission required ones. You can check the summer program schedule here.

Tons More!
Events can be found here, here, here, and here. There are also library programs going on all over the area, so check out your local LLC library for details, or the Hackley Library which even has an Adult Summer Reading Program in conjunction with their kids' programs.

Surrounding the Lakeshore ...

Fishing Weekend
Don't have the cash for a fishing license?
(although, I would strongly advocate the purchase if you have the time, location, and fish population since it's ... free food that can easily recoup the cost of the year long license)

Join in the fishing fun anyway by participating in the Michigan Free Fishing Weekend. No license required, just grab your pole and head to the closest stream (in MI that's approximately 12 feet from anywhere you live) for some quiet time and hopefully some free dinner!

Anything Else?
Are there other sweet freebie events going on that I don't know about? Nation wide programs you want to tell me about? Great local programs in your community that you'd like to brag about? Let me know in the comments! I'm looking for freebie summer fun and date night ideas (remember, we need those date nights ... badly).

Simply,

Em.

Super Saver: Water, Water Everywhere Edition

2009-06-09T13:35:00.004-04:00

I've been a little lax on the grocery shopping lately. I hit up the super deals (sometimes ... ), but I leave the rest alone. We have plenty of food in the house, and every so often I just get the urge to use it up rather than add to the stockpile. This natural downsizing inclination helps keep everything well rotated, and hopefully will create enough freezer space for fall butchering (fingers crossed ...). That said, Be and I hit up Meijer on Saturday evening because no matter my shopping aversions sometimes, the power of free things compels me back to the store.

6 Mrs. Dash seasoning mixes: on sale, $1.99 - $1/2 Meijer coupons - 50c/1 manufacture coupons = 99c each.
6 lbs ground beef: on sale, $1.59 - $1/1 wyb Mrs. Dash coupons = 59c/lb.
16 Crystal Light On The Go: on sale, $2.99 - $1/1 Meijer coupons - $1/1 manufacture coupons = 99c each.
2 Crystal Light Skin Essentials: on sale, $2.99 - FREE coupon = $0!
8 cases of Meijer bottled water: orig. price unknown, - Meijer promo for buying Crystal Light = FREE!
4 Nabisco Cookies: on sale, $2.50 - 55c/1 coupons = 1.95 each.
2 half gallons Meijer ice cream: orig. price unknown - Meijer promo for buying cookies = FREE!
2 pkgs Meijer bagels: on sale, $2 each.
10 2ltrs Dr. Pepper: $1.39 - B3, G2 sale - FREE 2ltr coupon = $6.95 + $1 deposit = 70c each.
2 loaves Meijer bread: on sale, 99c each.

Total after coupons: $46.05
- 15% off grocery catalinas earned by my brother when buying his girlfriend's birthday gift last week. I gave the cats first, so that they came off the pre-coupon total. Hooray little brother for thinking of me and not tossing the cats in the trash.

- 4 $2 catalinas for buying Crystal Light.

Final Total: $35.42

Total Saved: $127.00

78% savings! Yay! We don't buy bottled water, preferring to use the filter and a wide array of Nalgene bottles. However, with ummer coming and sweet coupon deals, I'm more than willing to take cases of the stuff home for FREE!

Want to see more totals? Check out Gayle's round-up at Grocery Cart Challenge.

Simply,

Em.

Gratituesday: 9 June

2009-06-09T12:15:00.004-04:00

I'm grateful for ...

... absolute providence (I was worried about money last week, and now, a perfectly fabulous part time job offered without my application and a bit of a business upswing all at the same time).
... fast growing little green friends all over the garden.
... bountiful rain, the elixir of life.
... Sundays spent with friends, large groups and small.
... The White Bucket Project.
... the promise of in season strawberries, very soon.
... leftover spaghetti in the morning.
... new friends, laughing, in pajamas.
... an attentive Be whose love style is most clearly the gift of service. Thank you, love.
... Ed Dobson, again. Great words from a great man.
... that feeling that no matter the miles (to Greenland ... yikes!), no matter the time (years, unfortunately) that first hug is just as perfect and comfortable as the last time. My cousin (and former debate partner in high school) was home for his brother's wedding this weekend. He's a Cpt. in the USAF, and I count him among my dearest, closest friends. He likely knows more about me (even the nitty gritty dirty stuff) than anyone else in the world. Those stolen moments, even though he was busy with his Best Man duties, were fabulous. Now, back to Greenland he goes. I'll miss you, Reric.
... a journey that is just beginning.

What are you grateful for today? Please go check out Laura's blog for even more grateful posting.

Simply,

Em.

Menu Plan Monday: 8 June to 14 June

2009-06-09T11:27:00.001-04:00

Note: Blogger and I had a bit of a disagreement about the scheduling of these posts, apparently, so they didn't go up when they were supposed to. For that, I apologize.

M: Baked Spaghetti Marinara, garlic bread

T: Firehouse Tortilla Pizza

W: Broccoli Cheese Soup with Bacon Grilled Cheese

R: Sausage Dirty Rice Florentine

F: Survivor Night (leftovers! yay!)

S: Chicken Stirfry with Herb Rice

U: Pork Chops, Au Gratins, Steamed Asparagus, Buttered Biscuits

That leaves ...

~~Cut pasta with Meat Sauce x2~~
~~Pasta with Meatballs~~
~~Fancy Mac & Cheese x2~~
~~Chicken Stir Fry~~
~~Ham and Cheesy Potatoes~~
~~Pork Chops x3~~
Corn Tacos x2
~~Grill Night x3 (Hamburgers x1, Hot dogs/Brats x2)~~
~~Crockpot Whole Chicken~~
Creamy Chicken Stew (from leftover whole chicken)
~~Tip Steaks and Potatoes~~
~~Broccoli Cheese Soup with Bacon Grilled Cheese~~
Chicken Kabobs a la Med
~~Pizza x2~~
~~Breakfast for Dinner: Pancakes, Eggs, Sausage~~
Sausage, Egg, and Potato Scrambles with Tortillas
Baked Ham Steaks with Au Gratins x2
~~Oven Beef Loin Roast~~
Sausage Dirty Rice Florentine x2
~~Leftover x2~~ (probably more, honestly, but we'll see ...)

What's on your menu? Need inspiration? Check out the Org. Junkie for ideas!

Simply,

Em.

Simple Sunday: June 7

2009-06-09T10:59:00.004-04:00

Note: Blogger and I had a bit of a disagreement about the scheduling of these posts, apparently, so they didn't go up when they were supposed to. For that, I apologize.

Summer time is often busy for a lot of families with events and outings and the like. This Sunday was one of those days for us with two graduation open houses and a wedding. Sitting among the bowls of buttermints and half eaten pieces of cake (also, who only eats half of their cake ...?! ), I had a very 'Simple Sunday' moment. I love the unending smile of a new bride, surrounded by her friends, completely in love with this moment and the toothy grins of new grads, the whole world in front of them. They give me that oh how I love simplicity sigh. I remember those moments. I think that's probably why people attend these events in droves. They want to remember those same moments in their own history and recreate those feelings, if only for a few minutes or a couple hours.

This Simple Sunday I'm in love with rites of passage, community celebrations, and the love between family members that no matter their distance or time apart, can be almost immediately rekindled. It's just a party, just a cake that your mom insisted on putting your face on, just a group of people sharing a meal ... just that until the memories and feelings make it so much more.

Congrats to those whose snapshot (a moment you will always remember like a polaroid, still shot glimpses of a before) moments we got to share in this weekend. Thank you.

Simply,

Em.

7 Quick Takes: Vol 7

2009-06-05T12:37:00.002-04:00

1.
I'm toying with the idea of another blog (as in, in addition to rather than in place of). There are approximately a million things I want to write about all around a common theme, but it is one that although linked to the thematic direction of this blog would likely overtake the parts that it is not so connected to. I don't really want that. GSF for me has been a place to be grateful, seek simplicity, and practice frugality. This new idea would be grateful and likely connected to the reasons for which I seek the simple over the complex and the frugal over the luxurious, but would be far less practically oriented (fewer GDAs, coupon breakdowns, recipes, etc). I don't think I want a replacement, just an alternate place to also write. You could read both if you wanted, but at least you'd still have options. Now, to decide the name (this part takes me the longest of anything ...).

2.
I'm learning that my body doesn't like commercially produced fruit juices. It used to be just orange juice, which I blamed on the ridiculous citric acid to actual soluable fiber ratio. Then it was anything orange juice made an appearance in ... Mountain Dew, for example. Now I'm also having problems with grape juice (and if that ... then, wine? noooo!). Before I call it quits entirely I think I may drag my juicer out of the cupboard as the fruit crops start to come in and give making my own a go to see if the problem is the juice itself or the commercial process (and assortment of unnecessary crap ingredients). Then the question becomes ... how to store already homemade juice for once the availability of fresh fruit diminishes?

3.
Remember my favorite thing about Sundays? Yea. Apparently not this week. My schedule (I even hate the use of the word 'schedule' in reference to a Sunday) consists of meeting a friend for church, then driving to our hometown for an early afternoon graduation open house, then driving across that town for a late afternoon graduation open house, and then making it to my cousin's wedding reception. Argh! That's pure craziness, but the prospect of eating cake three times in one afternoon/evening does have me a little twitterpated (I loooooooooove cake!).

Now, to figure out 2 frugal graduation gifts and a frugal wedding gift. I should consult my gift closet, but it's currently stocked only with plastic cups and Halloween candy. Hmmm. I have 2 days to figure this out, my lovely friends of the interwebs, and I would adore your help in the comments section. (pretty please ...?).

4.
Not that it's all that exciting to anyone but me, but the data for my summer research has been tabulated and analyzed. Those of you who've been involved in research projects like this know the sigh of relief I'm breathing right now knowing that all the (f)tests and ANOVAs are done and accounted for. The remainder of the paper still needs to be written ... the results and discussion portions, but really I'm just glad we only had a few data hangups getting to here (mostly involving spelling inconsistencies in responses ... which the computer does not like at all). I do need to write the rest of this paper before Monday (is it Friday already?! My word!). Also fabulous, the data analysis proves our hypothesis, which is way cooler than it not.

5.
I want to go here, please. I may have to start fundraising once I decide when exactly would be the perfect time to go. My initial thought is of course ... winter, because winter in MI is less fun than winter in Morocco and vice versa for summer since Rabat is in Northern Africa. I really want to volunteer abroad, and have for quite awhile. I just hadn't found the place that felt right. Just imagine ... Em walking down a tiny market street, eating the most amazing hummus and falafel purchased from a street vendor, speaking Arabic to cute little kids, and working with the local women's group on organizing actions. Beautiful. I am so in, as soon as I find $6,000.

6.
I am really hungry to lo mein thanks to a conversation I am having this very minute online while writing this post. I loooooove lo mein almost as much as I love cake. It's my first and favorite pick at every Asian resto we've ever been to, and the more I talk about it right now the more tempted I am to gnaw off my own left hand. I also haven't eaten lunch yet. Hmm. Now, to find some fabulous Chinese noodles ...

7.
The mailman was nice enough to bring me a $27 (and change) check this week from the good people at Inbox Dollars. This is the first time I've actually received money from them, so they finally get to go down in my "Absolutely Legit" column. I click through some emails, they send me some money. I am ok with that arrangement. Mostly, I was just excited to get free money in the mail. If you want in on the deal, feel free to click the link on my right sidebar under 'Places I Dig' (or just google it if you're not as comfy with referral links ... I care not either way).

For more 7 Quick Takes Fridays, check out Jen's blog.

Simply,

Em.

GDA: Free Krispy Kreme!

2009-06-04T14:30:00.004-04:00

Tomorrow, June 5, head to your local Krispy Kreme for a FREE doughnut of your choice in celebration of Doughnut Day. I didn't know there was such a thing, but I like Krispy Kreme a whole lot more if it means freebie doughnuts all-around. You can go here to see if your local store is participating. I love the glazed sour cream ones, myself. Now, to think of a reason to go to that side of town so I can be close to the only store we have ...

Simply,

Em.

Gratituesday: 2 June

2009-06-02T14:21:00.002-04:00

This week, I'm grateful for ...

... sunshine!
... most adorable little green shoots coming up in the garden, life embodied from my own hands.
... pajama Tuesday (We occasionally declare it Pajama Day! here. Love love love pajama day!)
... Mars Hill.
... good friends, and those time machine moments when we can all be together in a room, laughing like there aren't a whole world's worth of miles between us regularly.
... a hilarious family that enjoys being together, eating ice cream, and laughing until our sides hurt.
... our hometown, only 20 minutes from where we live now, where we can go and just breathe (the links are pictures ... share in the beauty).
... Betty Crocker confetti cake (the rainbow chip one). It's not scratch, and it's far from good for you, but it's sooooooooo tasty (and was requested by yesterday's birthday girl).
... great people, with big hearts (and the occasional extra Rolex ... which is a reference only one person will get ... haha).
... the kids I work with, amazing young adults who are looking like they'll turn into great grown-ups one day.
... a little bit of a cool breeze, refreshing after the humidity.
... every day I get to be part of this amazing world.

What are you grateful for today? Want to see what others are grateful for? Check out Laura's blog.

Simply,

Em.

Top 'O the Month: June

2009-05-31T23:45:00.002-04:00

Summer is almost here, and I absolutely love how renewed everything feels. The trees have new leaves. The little green lovelies in the garden are starting to get new shoots. There are baby birds and bunnies all over the place, and the closest farm now has calves roaming in the pasture. I love the edge of summer, and it is speaking to me metaphorically as far as our budgeting is concerned. We've had some dark moments through the winter, and we will be moving toward correcting them in the near future. We aren't perfect, by far, even though I write about money and budgets and the adoration of the Dave Ramsey. We have been slipping, and although I don't count any of my explanations as really valid (everyone can rationalize a solid excuse, right?), I think they're probably at least a little true.

Be is jobless, afterall, and unable to even seek employment currently because of the ~~ridiculous~~ unfortunate circumstances of his at work injury. There are far more complicated details than that which I'm prevented from talking about because of attorneys and judges and the like. I wish I could lay it all out there so others, if there are any, could know they aren't alone in the ~~nonsense~~ complicated process that is dealing with workman's comp disputes. This job prohibition, as I've mentioned before, coupled with my already irregular income makes for a budgeting nightmare. I can write the numbers down all I want to, but they don't really matter when the money doesn't show up when it's supposed to. There are great methods for budgeting irregular income out there, but we're in survival mode rather than a place where we can sock away a ton of savings to compensate for later shortfalls. Every minute is a darn shortfall, I swear.

When your money doesn't have a plan, it wanders off. When you don't make a plan for your money because you don't know when/if it's going to show up, it also makes a run at wandering off once you get it. It's all a big gross mess, and I cannot wait until the day we can go back to real (budgeted) life instead of this wandering craziness. That said, wacky inflow/outflow is not a solid reason for not being super cautious about spending. We have not been super cautious this month, or the month before that to be honest. I feel pretty awful about it this moment, and I'm trying to embrace the 'lessons learned' philosophy and let go of the guilt I'm carrying around for not paying better attention for the both of us.

And now, the numbers ...

EFund: $924.00
(See, I told you we'd have to use it eventually.)

Dream Savings: $0
(At least I used this first ...)

Jeep: $0
PAID OFF! YAY!

GP: $3742.14

C1: $236.02
(It's going back down at least ...)

AV: $0
PAID OFF! YAY!

VSA: $112.92
(Ah, the curse of minimum payments ... back in the snowball it goes.)

*sigh*

Simply,

Em.

Menu Plan Monday: 1-7 June

2009-05-31T23:35:00.001-04:00

Welcome back, Menu Plan Monday. We had a menu last week, but I never got around to posting it. This week, I'm back at it and so are a bajillion others, which you can check out by visiting the Org. Junkie.

M: Dinner out for my brother's girlfriend's birthday

T: Grilled pork chops, sweet potato fries (hopefully with a tutorial later this week), and steamed carrots

W: Grill Night - hot dogs, garlic grilled potatoes, green salads

R: Breakfast for dinner - pancakes, eggs, and sausage patties

F: Crockpot whole garlic chicken,

S: Leftovers, "Survivor" Night (ie, find something on your own or starve)

U: Crockpot beef loin roast, mashed potatoes, steamed asparagus, buttered biscuits

That leaves ...

Cut pasta with Meat Sauce x2
~~Pasta with Meatballs~~
~~Fancy Mac & Cheese x2~~
Chicken Stir Fry
~~Ham and Cheesy Potatoes~~
Pork Chops x3 (this is the most popular meal we have, and the one of which the most still remains in the freezer)
Corn Tacos x2
~~Grill Night x3 (Hamburgers x1, Hot dogs/Brats x2)~~
~~Crockpot Whole Chicken~~
Creamy Chicken Stew (from leftover whole chicken)
~~Tip Steaks and Potatoes~~
Broccoli Cheese Soup with Bacon Grilled Cheese
Chicken Kabobs a la Med
Pizza x2
~~Breakfast for Dinner: Pancakes, Eggs, Sausage~~
Sausage, Egg, and Potato Scrambles with Tortillas
Baked Ham Steaks with Au Gratins x2
~~Oven Beef Loin Roast~~
Sausage Dirty Rice Florentine x2
~~Leftover x2~~ (probably more, honestly, but we'll see ...)

What are you eating this week?

Simple Sunday: 31 May

2009-05-31T19:30:00.000-04:00

Oh, Sundays, how I adore thee. I got up this morning and met a friend for church. We had an most amazing time. Then we hit up the local Baskin-Robbins for ice cream. I came home, checked on my pretty little garden friends, and read the newspaper. Mysteriously, my Meijer ad is missing, but having already seen the preview online, I'm none too worried. My brother's girlfriend and I watched a movie. I made some yummy spaghetti for dinner, cleaned up the kitchen, and finished the dishes. That brings us to right now.

Ahhhhhhh, glorious Sunday.

The simple thing I love the most today is living life in the moment. So many times during the rest of the week, I'm distracted by 109 things other than what I'm supposed to be working on at that moment. I am guilty of the "Uh huh" in a conversation where someone would really prefer I be listening over pretending to. Most of my week is spent splitting my attention, never giving anything full strength, and being rushed around from one thing to the next. Sundays, by contrast, are "do what I want" days where I go at my own pace, getting done what I feel like getting done, and not feeling guilty about it. Letting go of that guilt for one day is the refreshment I need in a world where I'm not ready to make everyday into a "do what I want" extravaganza. I love my Sundays, my little breathers from the real world.

How about you? What simple treasure are you loving this Sunday? Feel free to comment and share!

Simply,

Em.

7 Quick Takes Friday: Vol 6

2009-05-29T07:54:00.007-04:00

1.
This quick takes comes to you live from the university library where I am trapped before 8am on a Friday tabulating data for a research project. I do not like this library. I do not like tabulating data. I do not like 8am on Fridays. That's a lot of not liking in one paragraph. We are currently waiting for our third group member to arrive, and as the time ticks past her expected appearance time, I tend to get a little more irritated. Em does not like people who cannot read watches or plan in such a way as to not inconvenience others.

2.
"Worry does not empty today of its sorry. It empties today of its strength."
That's a Corrie Ten Boom quote, and a fabulous one at that. It came to me in an email, tucked away on a sidebar, not at all part of the primary message. It struck me the most though. I am a worrier, more so of late than usual. I get heartburn or pull a muscle in my chest, and I immediately start to get anxious about having a heart attack ... not so much in a hypochondriac way, but in an "I must evaluate and spend tons of conscious energy on every single possibility" way. I worry about our health, our money, the house, the tender little plants trying to take root in the garden, the economy, the environment, religion, relationships, burned bridges, potential opportunities, the pets, whether we'll end up with kids or not, if I'll have to walk to class in the rain again, zombie apocalypse, budgeting, aspartame, pesticide, GMOs, imperialism, skin cancer, world politics, my family, driving in the snow, and tetanus.

This is of course not an exhaustive list, but it is entirely exhausting. Corrie Ten Boom is absolutely correct, worrying zaps every bit of strength that could be better directed at accomplishing things, building relationships, loving people, and the like. I am trying to learn to give this anxiety away. Yea ... let's just say I need more practice.

3.
I'm working on changing our diet around a little, hopefully to include the increasing availability of fresh produce and whole foods as the seasons allow. I'm trying to find a balance between sustainable practice (buying locally and in season) and increasing our regular intake of fresh whole foods. I do not know how to strike this balance when it isn't summer, so any of your suggestions (from those who hail from states covered in snow for what feels like 11 out of 12 months a year) would be greatly appreciated.

4.
I am exhausted. I am not entirely positive why. I've been sleeping a solid amount, more than usual in most cases even though I've been getting up earlier. I start strong, but within a few hours I'm ready for a nap and by late afternoon I don't want to even think about moving. It's an all encompassing exhaustion ... don't even want to think about holding my head up anymore tired. I'm eating enough calories/protein. I'm sleeping ok. I've even been getting more exercise between walking and playing Farmer Em (which should increase my energy), and yet ... still completely zapped. Ick.

5.
As promised, I must include another reference about hockey. The Adored Red Wings have made it to the Stanley Cup Finals. The first game is tomorrow, and the coverage should be on your local NBC affiliate. Really, you should be watching ... and rooting for the Wings lest you be drug into town square for tar and feathering. I suppose you could support the Penguins ... but ... eh ... I don't know if Pennsylvanians even do that. I kid, of course ... but not really.

6.
I'm currently reading a biography of Maria Montessori (not the one linked, an actual book). Ah yes, love love love all around.

7.
I have zero plans for the weekend. This is slightly unusual, and makes me nervous that I'm forgetting something. Maybe I'll spend some time napping or reading in the sunshine (assuming we get sunshine this weekend ...). Or, maybe I'll clean the office. I don't even know what to do with myself. It's one part terrifying and one part pure excitement. Do you have plans for the weekend?

Simply,

Em.

ps, for more 7 Quick Takes Fridays, check out Conversion Diary.

Ahhhh, simple Sundays.

2009-05-24T23:44:00.000-04:00

As the title of the blog may have led you to believe, I take a lot of pleasure in the simplest things. I love staring at blue skies. I revel in the first sweet cherry of the season. I smile about the firt smell of fall (except I don't like at all that winter follows). Also on my list of amazingly simple pleasures is the magic that is gardening.

I absolutly love watching things grow. Those amazing little seeds that can go from dried and dead looking to bountiful producer of tasty goods fascinate me. I think just sprouted seeds are exceptionally awesome as their little green tendrals work through layers of dirt in search of sun, poking out little by little, and making me constantly fight the urge to rescue them by brushing off the last few pieces of dirt. We spent all day with hands covered in dirt and compost, sunshining on our faces, putting little green bundles of potential life into soil nourished by its former incarnations. So simple, so beautiful, such a wonderful way to spend a Sunday.

How did you spend your Sunday?

Simply (and with dirty fingernails),

Em

Quick Takes: Vol 5

2009-05-22T13:00:00.003-04:00

1.
I turned down a job interview yesterday. Well, to be honest, I accepted it last week and canceled it yesterday. Although it is probably a rockin' cool job (which in my book means it directly serves the underserved and in turn makes zero monies ... haha), I had a terribly heavy heart about the whole thing from the moment I agreed to the interview. I also have another job, you see, working with high school kids. I love that job (even though it also pays something similar to zero monies ... ) in 100 different ways, and I had a conversation with the boss this week wherein he explained some really amazing expansion efforts that we will embark on in the fall. That = rockin'. This job that I love has a wacky schedule, though, one that is entirely contrary to having a regular 9-5 kind of place of employment. Every Monday and Wednesday, for example, I have to be at the high school from 3-530pm. Almost every weekend from September to February I have to leave with the kids for their weekend program at 10 or 11am. It's not impossible to make the schedules work, and it's what I did when I worked at the free clinic as well as had this high school job, but it nearly so. And then there's the guilt ... guilt about leaving one job for another, guilt about not giving the kids my full attention, guilt when my house falls apart because I'm gone 12 hours a day. Ugh.

So, I thought about it, I talked about it, and I spent a good deal of time in silence about it. The decision: Step out in faith that we will make things work some other way. I am absolutely called to work with these amazing kids, and who am I to stand in the way with my silly ideas that we have more income? Ha. Yeeeaaaa.

(ps, immediately after I cancelled, my brother whom I was unaware had applied for this position, nor did he realize it was the one I was interviewing for, got an email back from the boss indicating they would have an opening for him to interview ... niiiiiice.)

2.
We are gardening this weekend! I am stoked. Be's dad is coming over to rototill (hooray sharing resources!), and then we're heading to the greenhouse to peruse the plant selection. I know, starting seeds indoors from last year's crop would be oh-so-sustainable and frugal, but ... well ... we didn't get around to that so much this winter. Oops. The plants will come out of a mini-windfall we didn't remember was on the horizon. Usually, I take them out of the grocery budget.

3.
My father had open heart surgery a couple weeks ago, and as part of his recovery had to meet with a dietician yesterday to better plan his meals. While he was staying with us, we implemented a meal program per the instructions given by the doctor, and to keep track of all of it, I made him a handful of charts and exchange lists to make planning easier. Apparently, he took this to the dietician and she told him I "missed my calling". While I appreciate the compliment, I think my 'future dietary consulting' business would likely have to be completely by phone because I'm hardpressed to believe people take dietary advice from the ... uh ... not so svelte (fluffy? husky? squishy? well-insulated?). I'm still laughing about it.

4.
I am off school for a whole week! The classes I'm in right now run Monday and Wednesday (mornings! boooo!). The campus is closed for Memorial Day on Monday, which means we last had class on Wednesday and won't have it again until Wednesday. This also marks the halfway point in the semester. Yes!

In other school news, my project group landed a solidly good grade in a field of otherwise not-so-good grades. I'm pretty stoked about it.

5.
I don't like being undercover. Soon, very soon, I want to be able to scream from the rooftops about who I am. That time is not yet, I don't think, but any day now would be nice.

(ps, I am not a secret agent, nor delusional about being one, luckily. The vague quality is intentional ... hence, the 'undercover'. I wish to share with you soon, lovelies. Very soon.)

6.
I am kind of mad at our compost pile. It didn't do anything wrong. I mean, it's a pile of composting food ... what can it really do wrong? I'm just irritated with the method we're using (the patented 'throw all your crap in a big ole pile in a corner in your yard and ... wait'), and that as the composting endeavor has grown, so too has the gigantic pile of decomposing goodness tucked in the corner of our backyard. I also don't like the turning in order to get to the good stuff nor the winged onslaught that you have to fight through to take care of it. I would really like to shift to a tumbler system, and I have some ideas for making it pretty inexpensive. Now, to fit a 50 gallon plastic drum into the backseat of a '96 Chrysler Concorde ...

7.
I absolutely adore Be this week ... well, the last two days of it at least. I will spare you the mushy details.

What's going on in your neck of the woods?

Simply,

Em.

PS, More Quick Takes at Conversion Diary.

Gratituesday: 5/19

2009-05-18T23:53:00.003-04:00

I am grateful, every day, for something (usually many somethings). This week, those somethings are encapsulated in bullet points. I like lists a whoooooooole lot, probably more than anyone should.

I'm grateful for ...

... warm days.
... being only a weekend away from pretty green plants in pretty little rows.
... leaves! on my teeny tiny grape plants! the ones I thought I killed (somehow) over the winter!
... Barb, my 100 year old rhubarb root transplant who is now perfectly enormous and just waiting for strawberries to join her in a pie crust.
... good, dark, french pressed coffee.
... the smell of automotive degreasing hand cleaner (ok, I'm actually not at all grateful for that smell ... it wafts through my entire house and drives me perfectly crazy in its awfulness. Instead, I'm really grateful for Be and his automotive skills that keep us from having to run around finding mechanics or spending enormous amounts of money on repairs).
... Ed Dobson, whom I got to see live and in person last week, and who said the things I somehow knew he would ... in precisely the perfect way.
... pauses.
... la bibliotheque, home of the unending supply of thought provoking moments, all for free.
... you.

For more Gratituesday and all around good times, check out Laura's blog.

Simply,

Em.

Menu Plan Monday: A New Month!

2009-05-18T16:56:00.002-04:00

I really liked having a month's worth of choices each week, so we're going to try a second run at a the Month of Menus. Planning for the entire month also helped us use up quite a bit of our freezer stash so there was plenty of room for me to refill it with great deals this past week.

Month of Menus Rnd 2 ...
Cut pasta with Meat Sauce x2
Pasta with Meatballs
Fancy Mac & Cheese x2
Chicken Stir Fry
Ham and Cheesy Potatoes
Pork Chops x3 (this is the most popular meal we have, and the one of which the most still remains in the freezer)
Corn Tacos x2
Grill Night x3 (Hamburgers x1, Hot dogs/Brats x2)
Crockpot Whole Chicken
Creamy Chicken Stew (from leftover whole chicken)
Tip Steaks and Potatoes
Broccoli Cheese Soup with Bacon Grilled Cheese
Chicken Kabobs a la Med
Pizza x2
Breakfast for Dinner: Pancakes, Eggs, Sausage
Sausage, Egg, and Potato Scrambles with Tortillas
Baked Ham Steaks with Au Gratins x2
Oven Beef Loin Roast
Sausage Dirty Rice Florentine x2
Leftover x2 (probably more, honestly, but we'll see ...)

That means this week's menu includes ...

M: Sausage Dirty Rice Florentine

T: Cheesy Ham & Potatoes

W: Fancy Mac & Cheese

R: Pork Chops, Mashed Potatoes

F: Tip Steaks and Potatoes

S: Corn Tacos

U: Leftovers

What are you eating this week? this month? For more menus, check out Org. Junkie.

Simply,

Em.

7 Quick Takes: Vol 4.

2009-05-15T11:35:00.004-04:00

For more Quick Takes Fridays, check out the Conversion Diary. Good stuff, I promise.

1.
I am so absolutely livid this very moment that I don't know if I'm going to make it through this post. To make a long story short, an organization was supposed to pay me a very large amount of money (ok, large for me ... probably not really at all that large for the rest of the world) in a very specific timeframe. When that deposit did not appear as promised, I called them on the day it was supposed to post (they're usually early, which is even more befuddling), and was told that they "Um ... er ... uh ... forgot." WHAT?! You forgot to do your job?! Your one and only job, to pay people, and you forgot to do it?! Awesome. Great. Fabulous. I was then promised it would be fixed right away and taken care of overnight. When I checked my online bank this morning, nothing. When I used my 'bank on call' phone number, thinking perhaps my online banking was less cool or up to date than the other (uh, wrong, by the way ... desperate times, etc etc), nothing. When I called my bank's customer service line to see if they perhaps could see something I could not (a super pending, not accesible to my screen yet something) and then sat on hold for 30 minutes while they dug through a million records and places looking for the deposit, still ... nothing. Now, no bill paying, no grocery shopping, no ... anything until this deposit shows up. Greeeeeeat. Thanks.

(insert elevator music or a dancing monkey show to entertain you during the time I've gone to calm myself down before all of my 7 Quick Takes turn into bitter rants about crap I don't like)

2.
I had great fun yesterday chatting with an old friend over far too much coffee. There are nothing like solid friends, the people who know you (crazy or not), love you, and listen to your chaotic ramblings or not-so-hilarious stories. My thanks to him for the evening. It was a good reminder that even though we spend less time together than we did in undergrad, the friends made in college, in struggle, in intense circumstances, are still the best ones around. Good friends are good for the soul ... like chicken soup without the having to kill chickens part.

3.
My next door neighbors are being foreclosed on, or at least that's what we hear from their insane screaming at each other (when they aren't running their semi-lucrative narcotics selling business, that is). There are four houses on this side of the block. The one to the left of ours has been empty for months, also a foreclosure. The one on the far other end has been empty since long before we moved here 2 years ago. It is owned outright, but the foundation is crumbling under an otherwise really nicely remodeled house, and the owners decided to move rather than spend the enormous amount of cash lifing a house and repouring a foundation would take. I suspect one day it may just fall over. Now, the house between that one and ours will be empty as well. We keep talking about how sweet it would be, if we had the cash, to buy one or the other of the lots next to us so that we would have enough acreage per the township zoning ordinance to keep animals here. I wonder how low the prices will go ...

4.
Have you heard about the giant public debacle that was the 'Oprah Sends Millions of People to KFC for Free Chicken' event was? KFC stopped honoring their coupons, instead offering "rainchecks" for "later dates", which I suspect probably means ... never, because they "underestimated" the response. This is Oprah we are talking about here. When she says "Buy this (insert car, book, fashion accessory, etc)!, people do it post-haste. Did they not consider an even greater response if she said, "Go get this for FREE!"? This has spurred a hilariously wonderful selection of internet ramblings, especially between KFC and El Pollo Loco (which we don't have here ...). For your giggling pleasure ...

Oh! And!

Ahahahaha. I am endlessly entertained by corporations battling each other online. Nicely done!

5.
Be was released from the care of his surgeon on Wednesday, after 18 months. He will continue on a 'maintenance regimen' at physical therapy to make sure he doesn't regress for awhile, but the PT has written his 'permanent restrictions' so they believe it likely that nothing will change much. On the one hand, a huge sigh of relief that he has healed enough after 2 surgeries and countless thousands of hours of physical therapy that he no longer requires the constant attention of a surgeon. On the other hand, mildly difficult for him to handle because it means the status of his knee is probably as good as it gets. This is not the same as before the accident (obviously), and he is having a bit of a time coming to terms with that. When he still had doctor's appointments, there seemed to still be a chance that the knee would somehow go back to the way it was, its strength, stability, functions, etc.

This release also means a number of other implications regarding courts and trials and lawyers, but nothing I can tell you about. Big ole complicated mess, it is.

6.
The Red Wings (if you don't know who that is ... we may have to talk ...) won their series last night 4-3, meaning they move on to the conference finals against the Chicago Blackhawks on their road to the Stanley Cup finals (Please note, when following that link, who is pictured holding the Stanely Cup last year ... oh yes, the Wings. Note also, the number of times they have won the Finals through the history of the cup. Yea, we rock.). Hockey is the only professional sport that I watch, because I am from Michigan, and it is required here by law that all residents watch, love, and defend the honor of our adored Red Wings. I'm more of a college sports fan, which also stems largely from being a Michigander and attending a Big 10 school. Go BLUE! As such, there will be much tension and anxiety as the Wings try to make it through to the finals. There will likely be cursing, popcorn throwing, and if we're lucky some jumping up and down. It is Stanley Cup season in MI ... it's what we do.

I just spend a solid 10 minutes trying to find you the YouTube of a hilarious McDonalds commercial that runs in Michigan which lists the things we love here. Driving cars, working on cars, snow, and our moms are all on the list. Hockey also appears ... 5 or 6 times in the course of the commerical, and is the only thing that is repeated. It's terribly funny ... er ... true .... er both, probably.

7.
Did you know the US Postal Service hates recycling? Yea. They do. No lie. Apparently, they made it illegal for you to reuse a Priority Mail box for shipping other things, even if you turn it inside out or cover all the previous markings. That's annoying. Thanks for not loving the planet, Post Office. Thanks a ton. I'd suggest we all send them letters in protest, but if the rest of your local Post Office's are anything like mine, I doubt they would ever get delivered ... to themselves. The telling of the trials and tribulations of dealing with our local Post Office will be saved for another day, probably right after the next time I stop by to mail something and they are randomly "closed" because the 1 lazy, lonely guy that works in our tiny Post Office hates 1. people, 2. work, and 3. working with people.

What's going on in your life this week? Write a Quick Takes! It's fun times.

Simply,

Em.

WFMW: Freezer Shopping

2009-05-13T00:02:00.001-04:00

I really like a good excuse for take out.

I may menu plan and rant up and down about how we need to stay on budget, but really ... I am easily persuaded away from the menu (I'm working on it, I swear!) by the slightest inconveniences sometimes. The primary of these is the "6pm Dinner Despair" moment when I realize everything I'm supposed to have cooking is still frozen. Grr. This used to mean dinner was pushed aside in favor of sandwiches or food from a can (eeewww!) or in worst case scenarios: take out.

So often we get hung up on the same missteps over and over again. When this happens here, I like to walk backward mentally through the situation in an attempt to find the source of the problem. Then, rather than saying, "I really need to remember to defrost things in the morning" or "I wish we could get this dinner thing figured out", I can find the real whatever that needs adjusting. In this case, the problem was not taking things out of the freezer. Remembering to do this every morning, especially when my chest freezer lives in the basement of our detached garage because our ancient house's electrical cannot handle it and the washing machine, was nary impossible. Worse, in the winter. Who really wants to trek through 4 feet of snow every morning to find that night's dinner parts? Ugh, no, apparently not me.

The solution?

Freezer Shopping!

Every Sunday afternoon, after I write the menu out, I make note of what I need from the outside freezer on a sticky note, grab a grocery tote and the pair of knit kids' gloves I keep stashed in a cubby on my desk (because I always finish the menu at my desk ... logical next step location for them ... and no one else makes off with them that way), and head out to pull out the items I need. I grab everything we will need for the week, and bring it into the house. Meats go in the drawers in my fridge to defrost as the week progresses. Veggies go in the regular inside freezer because they get weird if they defrost for too long before cooking. As the week progresses, everything is at least basically defrosted enough to use when it comes time for dinner prep. I'm loving it, honestly.

Now, I will need a new excuse for take out. Any ideas ...?

Simply,

Em.

For more Works for Me Wednesday, check out We are THAT Family.

Gratituesday: List 'o Rama

2009-05-12T14:13:00.003-04:00

I'm grateful for ...

... sunshine filtering through the windows.
... springtime being (possibly) here to stay. It is Michigan, afterall, it could snow tomorrow.
... a pantry with more food than I literally know what to do with.
... the option to give when needed to those who are hungry, even on our tiny budget.
... tulips. Love them.
... pretty song birds congregating outside the front porch window.
... the great people who have lifted me up just through their powerful presence in the last day.
... a great group for my summer school project, on top of their tasks.
... providence.
... and you, for reading, for being a fabulous person, for just being you.

For more Gratituesday, check out Heavenly Homemakers.

Simply,

Em.

ItaliSoy Chicken

2009-05-12T00:02:00.001-04:00

For more TMTT, check out Blessed with Grace.

Ah, ItaliSoy Chicken ... yum. I learned this recipe from my stepmother. She used to make this marinade and plop pork chops in it, but I'm partial to its use with boneless skinless chicken breasts instead (probably because I don't eat pork so much ...). I think there may have been measurements when she started, but I neither like nor often pay attention to those kinds of things while cooking and have as such lost them along the way somewhere. If it isn't too weird, I honestly judge it by the color. If it's too light, more of one thing. If it's too dark, more of the other. It is a big ole complicated recipe with it's ... two ingredients.

The Starting Line Up

Uh, yea, that's right ... it's Italian salad dressing (oil based, not cream) and good ole whatever kind you have soy sauce. You couldn't tell from the witty name? It doesn't really have a name here, except sometimes we call it (my step mom's name)'s Chicken. I had to come up with some way to label it for you fine people ... hilariously to the point, right?

On an aside, please just use whatever ingredients you have on hand. Really, we don't use that many name brand ingredients unless I get them for nearly free (at least cheaper than the generic), so please do not be persuaded otherwise by the picture. You can use whatever kinds of these items you have. Honestly, once while desperate, I tore open what seems like 184 of those little take out packets because we didn't have any other soy sauce in the house. Now, we buy it en mass (and fill the little bottle for the upstairs fridge) because I have finally learned my lesson. You can even change the kind of salad dressing as long as it is oil based and has some acid and some spices in it. Then, of course, you'll have to change the name ... ahaha.

The Game Plan

I tried to measure as I went this time so "mix it until it turns caramel colored" didn't have to appear in my recipe post. From what I can tell, you'll need 1 and 1/2 cups of salad dressing to 1/4 cup of soy sauce. You can increase or decrease the amount based on how much meat you need to cover, but that ratio should be pretty close to magic. I put it in a little bowl and use my super cool wisk so it mixes together well (and so I have an excuse to continue owning a fancy wisk). It should be approximately a shade darker than the one in the picture as the flash on my camera kind of washed out the depth when I took the above shot.

The End Result

Oh, pretty marinading chicken ... how yummy you will be. If the chicken looks a little awkward, it's because it's still frozen solid. I had to beat the bag against the floor to knock the pieces apart. Frozen or fresh, it works just the same. I just dump the marinade over, cover the bowl, and let it hang out in the fridge overnight. Other times, I let it marinade for as long as it takes to walk from the kitchen, down the stairs, to the grill outside our basement walk out (this happens more often than the other, honestly). See all those little bits of spicy tasty goodness? Yes! That is why salad dressing is the coolest marinade base in the world! There's no need to buy fancy special "marinades". Psh. Salad dressing = perfect.

The Play By Play

1.5 Cups Italian Salad Dressing
+
1/4 Cup Soy Sauce
+
Fancy Wisk
(ok, or just a fork ...)
+
Chicken, pork, fish or your choice
=
Yum!

Em Goes To Meijer: 5/10 and 5/11

2009-05-11T00:40:00.003-04:00

Oh, Meijer. How I like it when we get along like good friends rather than you trying to cause me problems. I went shopping both yesterday and today, and after a bit of a shopping hiatus, I'm pretty content with the way things went. Also, kudos to Meijer for getting rid of that lousy "one per transaction" wording on their Mealbox coupons. Thank you, thank you. We complained, and they heard us. Huzzah!

Trip 1
6 2ltrs Coke (3 regular, 3 diet): $1.49/ea (ouch!)
10 Kellogg's poptarts: $1.98 - $1/1 coupon = 98c/ea
1 Quilted Northern toilet paper: half price sale for $6.99 - $1/1 = $5.99
2 gallons Meijer milk: $1.98/ea - Meijer promo from buying 2 Oreos and 2 Wheat Thins = FREE!
2 loaves Aunt Millie's bread: $1.50/ea - 35c/1 coupon = $1.15/ea
2 Smart Balance spread tubs: on sale 2/$4 - $1/2 Meijer coupon - $1/1 coupons = 50c/ea (sweet!)
2 Smart Balance spread sticks: FREE! with coupon for buying tubs
2 Smart Balance peanut butter: on sale 2/$4 - $1/2 Meijer coupon - $1/1 coupons = 50c/ea (that's CHEAP peanut butter! And, if it's gross on sandwiches ... we've never tried it ... then I will use it for baking instead)
6 Kraft barbeque sauce: on sale $1 - 75c/1 coupon = 25c/ea
5 bags Earthbound Farms organic carrots: on sale $1 - 55c/1 coupon = 45c/ea
2 packages Oreos: on sale 2/$5 - $1.50/1 coupon when you buy Oreos and milk = 2/$2
2 boxes Artisan Wheat Thins: on sale 2/$5 - BOGO coupon = 2/$2.50

Total: $37.88 (includes 60c returnable deposit)
Saved: $39.51

Plus Cats:
1. Kelloggs: Buy 10 items, Get 2 FREE movie tickets. The poptarts I picked out were the ones with the Star Trek movie tokens on the back, meaning the 10 boxes also net me 2 more FREE movie tickets! $9.80 spent on poptarts, and 4 movie tickets in return! Hooray!

2. Kraft: Buy 6 barbeque sauces, Get $3 OYNO. That sauce cost me $1.50 after coupons, which means the cat nets me an extra $1.50 plus FREE sauces! Double hooray!

Trip 2
1 container Meijer whey protein: $11.99
(because Be's physical therapist seems to think he needs to consume even more protein ... yikes!)
2 Nature Made multi-vitamins: on sale BOGO $9.59 - $1/1 coupon = 2/$8.59
(again, because of the PT guy ... he needs to come over and start paying the grocery bill, me thinks)
1 clearanced beef heart: $1.19
(can we say gross?! Be is apparently smitten with them, and this is what happens when I bring him to the store with me. Ick.)
5 boxes Jose Ole frozen taquitos: half price sale $2.49 - $1/1 coupons = $1.49/ea
5 boxes Jose Ole frozen quesadillas: half price sale $2.49 - $1.50/1 coupons = 99c/ea
10 boxes Kraft mac & cheese: on sale 10/$5
(plus a $2 OYNO for buying 6 ... I thought the trigger was 10 or I would have broken it up and gotten 2 cats by buying 12 instead ... er, oops)
10 boxes Kellogg's frosted mini-wheats: on sale $1.80 - BOGO coupon from Vocalpoint and - $1/1 coupons = 72c/ea
(plus another 2 FREE movie tickets ... 2 for the price of less than 1 plus cereal ... good deal by me!)

Total: $46.37
Saved: $76.09 Wahoo!

Did you go shopping this week? Tell me about it, and stay tuned for more Meijer deals in the near future ... perhaps tomorrow after I get home from school.

Simply,

Em.

Menu Monday: 5/11-17

2009-05-11T00:14:00.003-04:00

Ah, menu. Last week's menu went remarkably well. Only 2 changes mid-stride, one of which being a substitution of pork chops instead of pork roast because I may have thought we had a roast in the bottom of the freezer when in fact it was a giant stack of chops instead. Er ... oops?

This week's menu is as follows ...

M: Spaghetti w/meat sauce, garlic breadsticks

T: Grilled Italisoy marinaded chicken (with a recipe coming Tuesday), sweet potato fries, broccoli with carrots

W: Glazed ham steaks, au gratin potatoes, veggies, biscuits

R: Fried chicken salads

F: Homemade pizza, green salads

S: Popcorn chicken & fries

U: Grilled fish, rice de Provence, mixed veggies

The Updated Month of Menus is then as follows ...

~~Crockpot Pork Roast x2~~
~~Seared Beef Roast x2~~
~~Spaghetti with Meat Sauce~~
~~Spaghetti with Meatball Marinara~~
~~Corn Tacos x2~~
~~Em Hash~~ (recipe ... ) x2
Homemade Pizza x2
~~Crockpot Whole Garlic Chicken~~
~~Chicken Pot Pie Casserole with Biscuits~~
~~Ham and Potato Casserole~~
~~Grilled and Glazed Ham Steaks x2~~
~~Venison Helper~~
~~Soup and Grilled Bacon & Cheese Sandwiches~~
~~Baked Pork Chops~~
~~Grilled Marinaded Pork Chops~~
~~Grilled Cod/Tilapia~~
~~Chicken Mongo~~
~~Sausage and Spinach Lasagne~~
~~auce Your Own Meatballs and Potatoes~~
~~Breakfast for Dinner: Pancakes, Eggs, Sausage~~
~~ItaliSoy Grilled Chicken Breasts~~ (the easiest marinade in. the. world.)
~~Popcorn Chicken and Fries~~ (from a recipe at the Heavenly Homemaker)
~~Fried Chicken Salads~~

... and that means we used them all up perfectly! Hooray!

It took us an extra week to make it through 30 meals because of the few course changes along the way, and because I didn't calculate planned leftover meals in the mix. My family is hit and miss as far as leftovers go sometimes. One meal when I think there will be plenty left for another go, they will eat every bite. Other nights, there are tons of leftovers when I didn't plan for anything. I cannot seem to nail them down, and in the next month of menus I will try to better accomodate the leftover conundrum. Overall, I liked having the month-long list to plan from. It limited down my choices so I didn't stare blankly at the menu with an entire world of possibilities, and it helped us use up a bunch of the freezer stash so there will be room for the summer and fall harvests. All around, it worked marvelously.

Is your menu planned? Do you use a month-long, a 2 week plan, or a week at a time? Whatever it is, if you're in need of inspiration, head on over to The Organizing Junkie for about a million ideas.

Simply,

Em.

7 Quick Takes: Vol 3.

2009-05-08T02:24:00.002-04:00

1.
It's been a little quiet around here this week. There wasn't even a Gratituesday post (which are my favorites, by the way). The new semester started this week, and very honestly, the new 830am class is just about killing my time management ability. I am not an 830am kind of girl. 830pm? Sure. We are pals, but not it's early morning twin ... not at all. That and the shortened term (6 weeks instead of 15) have had me a little busy this first week readjusting my schedules and the like. The menu has been saving me, though. I managed to make 3 dinners on Tuesday night (Tuesday's, Wednesday's and Friday's for us, and another pan of each of Wednesday's and Friday's for friends whose baby was born on Monday) plus 3 trays of cookies in the span of just a couple hours. Of course, I had to burn the palm of my left hand on the last tray of cookies, because ... well, things just can't go that perfectly.

2.
I have heartburn again. I am not liking it at all. I really should stop eating things that trigger it. I know what the triggers are (spicy food, grease, garlic, citrus, citric acid, and all things citric acid is hiding in, tomatoes, and on and on), but darn it if those aren't the things I like to eat most. Ugh. I do not like this feeling one bit, and I am hoping that one day I learn to stop doing it to myself.

3.
Also on the list of things I should not do: watch the movie Deep Impact late at night by myself (which I'm doing right.this.very.second.). Not only is the thought of an Extinction Level Event enough to get my overactive imagination primed to bring a night's sleep full of awful dreams, but I cannot help but cry during the last few minutes during the exchange between mother and daughter on the crowded expressway. If you haven't seen it yet, watch it with Kleenex handy.

4.
I feel like our gardening adventure may already be behind the ball this year. We decided not to start seedlings inside this winter because we hadn't figured out a way to prevent a repeat of last year's greenhouse disaster. We are still trying to decide if we're going to use in-ground methods or raised beds this year which means neither the rototilling nor the raised bed construction has started. I know we are at least a week or two away from the last risk of frost here, so I don't feel sooooo bad about not having a solid handle on the plan yet, but when others in the area start posting about their early crops going in the ground I start to get a little envious and a little more anxious. I spent the majority of this afternoon working on my canning knowledge so I at least felt like I was making some progress toward our garden goals.

5.
Be and I finally had a solid conversation on faith this week. It went ... oh, about 100 times better than I thought it was going to. We have always been a little gun shy about discussing these things. Ok, maybe I've been a little gun shy mostly. I don't know why necessarily. I can't really explain whatever was compelling me to keep quiet way back when we started this adventure. Be was most amicable to talking and listening, sometime I'm hoping we'll be doing more of in the future. I'm still not really ready to talk specifics here, but know that it went really well and I'm happy about it.

6.
I started putting $1 bills in a box when I clean out my pockets at night. In a cash only, zero based budgeting household, even $1 bills count, but I've been trying to discipline myself into putting whatever I have from the day's spending (usually one or two of them) in the box regardless. I am not yet convinced that they will stay in there forever, or even that they will make it to the savings account, but I have high hopes that they can at least be a mini-emergency fund for those little household things that come up occasionally. I haven't counted it, but in the last week or so I think I've put in at least $8 or $10. That's a start of something, for sure.

7.
I have an entire month's worth of coupons that have been cut, but not yet put away in the coupon binder. How in the world did that happen? Wanna come over, bring your horribly behind coupon filing, drink coffee, and put them away together? It could be a party or some such ... a very nerdy, kind of crazy, possibly a little odd coupon-y party. I'm thinking ... is now good? No, probably not, as it's 3am and all. Tomorrow, then?

Simply,

Em.

For more 7 Quick Takes Fridays, check out The Conversion Diary.

Menu Monday: May 4th to 10th

2009-05-04T00:01:00.000-04:00

We are almost done with the Month of Menus, and although I'll reserve my final judgment for the end, I have to say I'm diggin' it so far. I like having to choose from a list of options rather than staring blankly at my menu because the 1876987 things I could possibly make are giving me brain freeze. Somehow, we have 8 meals after this week ... and 3 days until the "month" is over. Uh, oops.

(Yes, that's really my menu board. I love that darn thing. It hangs out in my pantry normally, rather than making its home on what looks to be a messy kitchen counter. Do not be alarmed, the messy part is an illusion ...)

M: Beef Tacos w/Spanish Rice and Toppings (It's not Cinco de Mayo yet, but its the only night this week when we're all home. Tacos are a family affair around here.)

T: Chicken Noodle Soup with Grilled Cheese and Bacon Sandwiches (from the leftover chicken on Sunday)

W: Ham and Potato Casserole, Veggies

R: Meatballs and Potatoes, Veggies (You pick the sauce night ... yay!)

F: Homemade Pizzas with Green Salads

S: Crockpot Pork Roast with Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, and Onions

U: Mother's Day Feast of Sausage and Spinach Lasagne, Garlic Bread, Salads, Veggies, and Dessert! (Now, to decide which dessert ... hmmm ... )

______________________
The Updated Month of Menus is then as follows ...

Crockpot Pork Roast x2
~~Seared Beef Roast x2~~
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
~~Spaghetti with Meatball Marinara~~
~~Corn Tacos x2~~
~~Em Hash~~ (recipe ... ) x2
Homemade Pizza x2
~~Crockpot Whole Garlic Chicken~~
~~Chicken Pot Pie Casserole with Biscuits~~ (from leftover whole chicken)
~~Ham and Potato Casserole~~
Grilled and Glazed Ham Steaks x2
~~Venison Helper~~ (I still have the venison, we used beef instead, which may mean I run out of ground beef for the other menu items early ...)
~~Soup and Grilled Bacon & Cheese Sandwiches~~
Baked Pork Chops
~~Grilled Marinaded Pork Chops~~
Grilled Cod/Tilapia
~~Chicken Mongo~~ (so much fun ... hopefully with pictures when we get to it)
~~Sausage and Spinach Lasagne~~
~~auce Your Own Meatballs and Potatoes~~ (you pick: sweet & sour, bbq, swedish, marinara ... I keep the sauces frozen in bags and knock a chunk off to warm up based on what everyone wants)
~~Breakfast for Dinner: Pancakes, Eggs, Sausage~~
ItaliSoy Grilled Chicken Breasts (the easiest marinade in. the. world.)
Popcorn Chicken and Fries (from a recipe at the Heavenly Homemaker)
Fried Chicken Salads

For approximately 1 million more menus, check out the Org. Junkie.

Simply,

Em.

GDA: Free Bic Pens!

2009-05-02T17:12:00.002-04:00

Who doesn't need more free pens?

Staples is running their Dollar Deals sale this week, starting 5/3. Bic pen 12 packs are included. There is a $1/1 Bic pen coupon in my coupons.com sidebar (immediately to the right, just click 'see all coupons' for the redirect to print them) which when used in conjunction makes them FREE!

Hooray freebies! Enjoy!

Simply,

Em.

Giveaway Winners!

2009-05-02T16:48:00.002-04:00

It's a beautiful Saturday here in Michigan ... sun shining, blue skies, mid-60s temperatures. I love spring! Rather than write a big ole crazy entry today, I'm headed outside to play in the dirt and soak up the sunshine. But, first ... the winners are ...

Round 1: Bag 'o Sample Goodness

Comment #15 -- goldenecho

Round 2: Starbucks Chocolate Heaven

Comment #3 -- Sarah

These two ladies have 48 hours from now (so 5pm Monday, May 4) to email me at jesuisem AT gmail DOT com with their contact/shipping info to claim their prizes. After that, if there are no emails, I'll draw another winner.

Thanks so much for playing along, everyone! I loved all the comments, and hopefully you've found another cool place on the web to hang out. Thanks again go to Laura at HeavenlyHomemakers for hosting the Giveaway Carnival!

Simply,

Em.

Top 'O the Month: May

2009-05-01T16:21:00.002-04:00

It's been awhile since I posted a TOTM review, and although I dig them a ton, I really only dig them when there is progress made. One month to another there isn't a whole lot of change here lately because of the temporary 1 (1/2?) income situation. Well, that's not entirely true. There's change, alright, but not always the good kind.

The numbers ...

EFund: $1000
This will diminish likely in the sooner rather than later unless Be's work comp problems are resolved in the next month or so ... or I get paid like I'm supposed to ... or we hit the lotto which we never play.

Dream Savings: $16
We have a new dream for the dream savings, and I'm still not telling you what it is. Haha.

Jeep: $0!
PAID OFF! Yay!

GP: $3962.49
It's under $4K ... finally! We'll be paying this for awhile yet, but there's absolutely a psychological advantage to each $1000 mark drop.

C1: $486.02
Uh ... yea ... confession time. Someone used the only active credit card that's in my name. Someone who shall remain nameless ... because well, everyone has a relapse at some point and she doesn't want to talk about it. Rest assured she didn't spend it on things outside of the budget. She just used it in place of the budgeted cash amount when the cash wasn't there instead of changing the budget like a good girl would have. She will not do this again. She promises.

AV: $0!
PAID OFF! Yay!

VSA: $110.70
Ugh. Someone else ... whose name shall also not be used ... has apparently been using his card repeatedly instead of the ONE TIME to keep it active. Grr. We're a whole ball of messing up this month.

*sigh*

I guess we all screw up occasionally. This half budgeted craziness with the non-regular income is starting to get to me. Income in, Expenses out, on a schedule is much more fun for me. Juggling sporadic income that is subpar in comparison to our barebones expenses is a little annoying. I suppose I can't beat myself up much worse than posting the numbers for the world to see, eh? I shall resolve to be a better steward this month than last. Resolve, resolve, resolve.

How are your numbers looking?

Simply,

Em.

7 Quick Takes: Vol 3

2009-05-01T15:47:00.004-04:00

1.
Mashed potatoes with cream corn on top may be the ultimate comfort food. I made some last night, and the leftovers are sitting in front of me now in a place I like to call carb heaven. Oh. My. Word. Pure looooooove.

2.
I have to go back to classes next week. This does not make me all too excited, honestly. I'm just starting to get into the 'no class' routine of reading mass quantities of library goodness, making homemade dinners without the pressure of schedules, and enjoying the sunshine (if it would ever stop raining here ...). The thought of returning to the drudgery of non-expressive thought and unoriginal research makes my stomach turn. Please, no. This happens every time we have a semester break, because I have the time for my brain to start protesting the torture it endures the remainder of the year. My soul is not nourished by this program anymore and it tries to revolt and cast doubts on my continuing any time it has the chance. *sigh*

3.
I picked up new library books on Wednesday. I have Plain & Simple and Everyday Sacred by Sue Bender, Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller, and The Third Jesus by Deepak Chopra. I already finished the first Bender book, and although my intense fascination with the Amish remains, my curiosity was not at all satisfied by the style of her prose. It's fragmented in parts, more a personal journal than a published piece of literature, and it is kind of deterring me from reading the other one if her writing style is going to be the same. I'm also reading Long Way Gone: Memories of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah at the same time. Babies killing babies often gets too intense and I need a less brutal literary break to recollect.

4.
Speaking of books, I would really (reeeaaaallllyyy) like bookshelves in the office. I have 3 little cubbies on the hutch over my desk that currently hold my top 25 books, but the boxes and boxes of other favorites stored in the back of the office closet are aching to be out in the open as well. Book shelves, however, are not in the budget currently. Maybe I'll get garage sale lucky this summer and find a set in need of the touch of handy Be that will do the trick. Keep your fingers crossed for me, ok?

5.
I'm thinking about trying out a new church experience. I hesitate to write about it because I'm not yet ready to explain it to the world (even though my neverending urge to write and be public about everything is fighting me) ... the choices, the possibilities, the reasons. Can a girl just do something new and not have to explain herself to everyone and their brother? Not here. Not in the CNK (the airport designation for my town if we were to get an airport ... haha). Not in this house for sure. The power of judgement and influence is strong, especially subconsciously, and although not an excuse really, is something I am desperately working to get over.

6.
After 2 years of composting at this house, and after much complaining about the entire process, my little brother suggested today that we get a tumbler. Surprise! He is the last person on the planet I thought would advocate for composting in general, let alone in cooler manners than the giant pile method we use right now. Perhaps the green revolution is getting to him as well ... hooray!

7.
2 different rewards programs I really liked are either going away completely or changing so radically that they're much less fun than before. Walgreens has announced the end of the EasySaver Rebate program, and since we don't have a CVS nearby, here's hoping either the Register Rewards deals they come up with are amazing (though will be a lot of money out of pocket) or that I can get a grip on the Rite Aid Single Check Rebate program instead. Goodbye free and easy Walgreens fun. (sad face!) Speedway, in turn, is changing their Speedy Rewards program to increase the number of points required for gift card redemption as well as changing the kinds of things you can get giftcards for. Boooooo. Knowing this in advance, my whole family cashed in our 50,000+ collective points last night before the new system rolled out this morning. Hello Speedway cash, hello free money, goodbye program I liked a whooooole lot.

For more 7 Quick Takes Fridays, check out Jen's blogging at Conversion Diary. Just click the graphic at the top and head on over.

Simply,

Em.

WFMW: The Back Up Box

2009-04-29T00:05:00.001-04:00

I like free things. I especially like free things that come in the mail. Occasionally, I get wicket insomnia and sit in my computer into the wee hours strolling through the interwebs looking for freebies I can sign up for instead of staring at my ceiling not falling asleep anyway. I only go for the completely free deals ... no "sign up for 2 offers" or whatever nonsense going on here. Sometimes its a foil packet of a new shampoo or conditioner. Other times its a fancy schmancy granola bar I'd never pay full price for. Some weeks the mailman doesn't bring us any free goodies. Other weeks you'd think it was my birthday everday when I go out to get the mail.

Now, my love of free things does not override my love of organized, neat, tidy looking spaces. The stack of freebies almost immediately (and we're talking years ago now ...) outgrew the mail spot, the shelf in the bathroom, the kitchen counter, etc. We were living in a much smaller house at the time, and although I loved getting free goodness in the mail, I did not love having to move it, find it, organize it, search for it, or any other time consuming, sweat inducing, irritation creating endeavor. Alas, the Back Up Box was born.

It started as an empty case of Pepsi with the top pieces of cardboard torn off. It's what happened to be on the floor in my kitchen the day I nearly had a stroke about my freebie abundance and its plan to overtake my house with its foil packets and sticky glue dots. I simply tossed everything in the box, labeled it "Back Up" and started referring people to it (my family, not so many strangers wander in and ask if we have an extra dryer sheet ...) when they needed something we were out of. The Back Up Box predates the coupon stockpile in this house, so when we were out of shampoo on only the 3rd of 5 showers, we were simply out. There was no trip to the basement to find a new bottle on a well appointed shelf like here is now.

The Back Up Box to the rescue!

You could easily root around in the samples for a minute, find a tiny bottle or packet of shampoo, and be back on schedule. This happened when we ran out of bath products, snacks, and sippy cups (thank you, Juicy Juice and your free sippy cup sending). We once happened to have a formula sample (how, I have no idea ... I stay up late ... who knows how these things happen ...) when one of our friends came by with his kiddo and not enough powdered gold (yuck, fyi) for the kid and its enormous appetite. When Be had to hit the laundromat because our washer tried to die, we didn't have to worry about hauling our 1876 lb industrial laundry detergent along (ok, not really, but it is reaaaaaallly heeeeaavvvvy). I dug into the Back Up Box and out came a handful of detergent samples ... easy, breezy, lemon squeezy.

I love my Back Up Box, and time and time again, it works for me.

Simply,

Em.

GDA: Restaurants.com

2009-04-28T14:19:00.003-04:00

Seriously?!

They need to stop emailing me with all their discount code goodness. Ok, not really. $25 certificates are 80% (!!) off through Thursday, April 30th. Use code LUCKY at checkout and get each one for $2. Hooray!

Simply,

Em.

Springtime Giveaway Carnival!

2009-04-28T12:21:00.007-04:00

I like springtime. I like carnivals (ooooh, elephant ears ... drool, please), and most importantly, I loooooove presents. I'm so stoked to be able to join in the Springtime Giveaway Carnival at HeavenlyHomemakers that I have not 1, but 2 giveaways for you this week. Wahoo!

-----(( Round 1 ))-----

The first giveaway is partially pictured above. It's a Meijer bag currently filled with all kinds of sample sized goodies from travel bottles of Sunsilk (as pictured) to little foil packets of this and that to a tin of Flex mints, a full sized Schick razor, and even a diaper from Huggies. It's a hodge podge of things from my Back Up Box (which you can read about here), and it's for you (Awwwww ...).

-----(( Round 2 ))-----

The second giveaway is this collection of Starbucks chocolates. There are Cafe Mocha truffles, Vanila Bean Truffles, Caramel Macchiato Truffles, and Milk Chocolate Espresso Beans. Coffee + Chocolate?! Is there possibly anything better? Ever? Ah yes, freeeeeeeeee coffee chocolates.

-----(( To Enter ))-----

1. Leave a comment on this post. I looooooooooove comments. They make me smile.

2. Check back (or you could subscribe ... ) on Friday, May 1 after 12 Noon for winners.

3. Respond within 48 hours with your contact info to jesuisem AT gmail DOT com.

4. Wait not so patiently for your chocolates to arrive and eat (most of?) them on the way in from the mailbox.

5. While you're waiting, head over to the rest of the Carnival and check out the other sweet giveaways in progress. Enter away!

Simply,

Em.

Gratituesday: Instant Gratitude

2009-04-28T12:06:00.003-04:00

For more Gratituesday, check out Laura's blog!

I'm grateful (for) ...

... 3 days' worth of rain have greened up the grass and given life to a gorgeous patch of yellow tulips. I love spring.
... a call from the other side of the world, to say hello.
... Shane Clairborne and the Irresistible Revolution.
... a beautiful friend, full of love, who was keen eyed and kind enough to gift me a copy of the above.
... the crunchy edges of apple fritters.
... everyday acts of rebellion.
... a week off school, and the time that allows for me to catch up my office, the house, and my reading list.
... Azure blue skies, white puffy clouds.
... a great Saturday in a warm and exceptionally cozy space crammed full of good friends, great music, and an energy not easily replaced by other experiences.
... that all the hard days are gone ...

Most simply,

Em.

Menu Plan Monday: 1/2 Way There!

2009-04-27T11:16:00.003-04:00

For 200+ more menus, check out t he Org. Junkie.

We did alright with last week's menu. There was a little switching around, and I never actually took the chicken out of the freezer, but we still managed to eat out of the pantry most of the week ... success!!

M: Beef and Pepper Fajitas (because stir-fry, the original plan, got outvoted)
T: Spaghetti with Meatballs, green salads, garlic bread
W: French toast, eggs, sausage patties (we have a plethora of bread this week, so french toast is more practical than pancakes in order to use it up)
R: Broccoli Cheese Soup with Grilled Bacon and Cheese Sandwiches
F: Corn Tacos
S: Whole Crockpot Garlic Chicken (ooooh, I could take it out of the freezer today and maybe it will thaw in time.)
U: Chicken Pot Pie Biscuit Bake

The Updated Month of Menus is then as follows ...

Crockpot Pork Roast x2
~~Seared Beef Roast x2~~
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
~~Spaghetti with Meatball Marinara~~
Corn Tacos x2
~~Em Hash~~ (recipe ... ) x2
Homemade Pizza x2
~~Crockpot Whole Garlic Chicken~~
~~Chicken Pot Pie Casserole with Biscuits~~ (from leftover whole chicken)
Ham and Potato Casserole
Grilled and Glazed Ham Steaks x2
~~Venison Helper~~ (I still have the venison, we used beef instead, which may mean I run out of ground beef for the other menu items early ...)
Soup and Grilled Bacon & Cheese Sandwiches x2
Baked Pork Chops
~~Grilled Marinaded Pork Chops~~
Grilled Cod/Tilapia
~~Chicken Mongo~~ (so much fun ... hopefully with pictures when we get to it)
Sausage and Spinach Lasagne
Sauce Your Own Meatballs and Potatoes (you pick: sweet & sour, bbq, swedish, marinara ... I keep the sauces frozen in bags and knock a chunk off to warm up based on what everyone wants)
~~Breakfast for Dinner: Pancakes, Eggs, Sausage~~
ItaliSoy Grilled Chicken Breasts (the easiest marinade in. the. world.)
Popcorn Chicken and Fries (from a recipe at the Heavenly Homemaker)
Fried Chicken Salads

What in the world are you eating this week?

Simply,

Em.

GDA: Restaurants.com 60% Off + Promo!

2009-04-24T12:33:00.003-04:00

Is this a rerun? Haha.

No! Though I swear they should start paying me (they surely don't) for my adoration of them and the PR that comes from it. Ahaha, I wish.

Anyway, if you missed out on the 70% off promo from my Frugal Friday post last week, you still have another chance. I just (think 2 minutes ago ... ) got an email from Restaurants.com with a new promo offer and I had to run over here and tell you about it. All $25 certificates are 60% off through Sunday the 26th, making them $4 each! And, if you hustle over there and get in on the deal, they'll throw in a $15 Dale and Thomas Popcorn promo card with every order. Couple it with a click through from Mr. Rebates and you'll get 80c back in cash on every certificate you order.

It would look something like ...

$4 ... $25 certificate
$4 ... $25 certificate (because you're feeling feisty and wanted 2)
____________
$8
-$1.60 cash back from Mr. Rebates
____________
$6.40 for $50 in restaurant certificates AND a $15 popcorn company promo card.

What's not to love? Head over if you're interested and use the promo code BONUS at checkout.

Simply,

Em.

PS! I just found out the 70% promo may also still be running. I don't know the math or logistics on how of if anything would work together, but you can for sure choose whichever is the better deal for you. Enjoy!

Seven Quick Takes Friday: Vol 2

2009-04-24T11:34:00.000-04:00

Has it really been a week already? Wow!

1.
I took THREE final exams on Thursday. THREE! That should not be allowed under international human rights laws. The good news: they're done. The bad news: I have no idea how I did. In celebration of the end of the semester, a lovely taste of summer by the good people at Bell's Brewery and a hilarious picture. I call it "The Triumph of Good over Evil".

2.
I've had the same bank deposit sitting on my desk, ready to be dropped off, since the 16th. Yiiiikes. I should probably do that now that my brain is not limited to reading theory, thinking about theory, and trying to write 17 pages worth of nonsense about theory. It's only an $18.76 deposit, but it's something!

3.
Speaking of money, I have an entire basement full of empty pop cans to return for the 10c (each! seriously! move to Michigan!) deposit. We're taking bets on how much cash that will turn into. The lowest one is $90! Huzzah that's a lot of empty cans! Now, to stop dreading the 48 trips to the return machines from the parking lot ...

4.
I'm going to Kmart today. They're having Super Doubles. I think I may be more excited about that than about finishing my exams. This may make me an official frugal crazy person. Or, it may make me skip to my car with a cart full of free goodness. Only time will tell ...

5.
My office is a disaster again. I think this happens everytime I have a ton of homework. Things just get ... left places. The collection of empty Diet Coke cans tells me there was late night paper writing going on in here recently, and the 2 inch stack of uncut coupon inserts makes me cringe. I do not like "Disaster Office" at all. Perhaps I will do something about that. Or, perhaps I will ignore it until after the weekend since I don't have to be in class on Monday!! (Can you tell I'm stoked about that? I mean, really, how many quick takes in one post need to be about school?)

6.
I kind of want to cut my hair off again. Be thinks I should. I wanted to grow it out until I could pigtail braid it (think Pochahontas, not preschool), but it's getting heavy to have up constantly and there isn't much else I can do with it. My heart hurts a little at the thought of starting over, but really I just look like an uptight English School Teacher right now with my flipped up quasi-bun. Perhaps something short and cute? Spikey? Springy? Why does warm weather always make me want to cut my hair off?

7.
I really wanted to eat cookies for breakfast. Since no one else was up to catch me doing it, the temptation was intense. I overcame, however, and will now promptly have cookies for lunch! Yahoo!

For more Quick Takes Fridays, check out Jen's blog.
Simply,

Em.

Giveaway Winner: Take 2

2009-04-23T23:29:00.002-04:00

I'm terribly sad that the first winner of our giveaway didn't email me.

A word to the wise, bloggy giveaway entrants: always put the blog whose giveaway you enter into your Reader or subscribe by email so you don't miss out on your name being announced.

And so, I went back to the random number generator and plugged in the info for round two. This new winner will also have 48 hours to contact me to claim the prize, so by 1130pm on Saturday, April 25th. The new winner is (another drum roll, perhaps?) ...

<3

Yes, that's right, an entrant without a name. She's like the blogger formerly known as (insert name here). So! Congrats to her and thanks again to everyone who entered!

Simply,

Em.

GDA: Kmart Super Doubles!

2009-04-22T00:14:00.002-04:00

As I've mentioned before, Kmart and I are not really friends. We have a long history of them annoying me, and in turn I avoid their stores like the plague. I have my weaknesses, though, and Super Doubles are definitely included.

Kmart stores are offering Super Doubles this week (until 4/25), meaning coupons up to and including $2 are doubled at checkout. $1/1 turns into $2/1, $2/1 turns into $4/1 and that spells freebies all around. You can check their website for the ad local to your area to see if they're participating this time around. Apparently the entire chain can't do this at once for some reason, so make sure you look for the red Super Doubles detail box on the front page of the ad after you find it. Limits are 25 coupons per customer per day and only 4 of the same one. There are other details and fine print you can (should? eh) read on the ad.

You can also head over to HotCouponWorld's Kmart forum and read through their pricebook to see what you may be able to score for free this week based on what coupons you have. I'm not that planner-y (yea, I make up words as I go ... it's fun) about shopping doubles. I just kind of go wander the aisles with my coupon binder and try to find the best deals. I'm hoping to carve out some time tomorrow for that endeavor since Be doesn't have physical therapy and I don't have another final (until Thursday ... for which I have to write a paper ... ah well ... it's Super Doubles!!). I will let you know if I score any amazing deals.

My suggestion: pay close attention to the food and health/beauty aisles. Food is often priced just about right for a $1/1 double to make things cheap and a $2/1 double to make them free. HBA is often in that threshold as well. Beware the Kmart prices, though, the ones around here are dramatically higher than other retail stores. How this can possibly be, as they're not spending any of that money on upkeep or staff training, I have no idea.

If you find something rad, leave us a comment so we can offer congrats and run over to the local store and get in on the deal. If you're shopping in my area, try to leave me something good, ok? I'm behind the ball this week. Most of all, good luck and good deal finding!

Simply,

Em.

Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays: Em Hash

2009-04-21T23:05:00.008-04:00

Quick dinners that fill up bellies for relatively few pennies are my friends. When I get home from trekking across campus all day I'm often far from in the mood for complicated meal prep or long cooking times. This dish has neither. It isn't the absolute healthiest thing we've ever eaten, but paired with a cooked veggie and a green salad it isn't all that bad.

You will need ...
sausage ... crumbled or smoked links (or any other protein of your choice)
cubed hashbrowns ... either real potatoes or a bag of frozen
eggs
shredded cheese

You will not measure any of these things. I am not a measuring kind of girl. I throw in what looks like enough based on my family's appetites and histories with a certain meal, especially this one. Sometimes I'm way off and someone starves or there are 30 days worth of leftovers (not really that exciting after 2 or 3), but most often it works out alright. I suggest experimenting with what looks appropriate for your family. The more wacky things you add to it, the farther it goes.

Now, to get started I cut up the smoked sausage in little disks. When I use uncased sausage, I just crumble it into the pan. These chopped nicely into little rounds, because well ... they were frozen solid when I started dinner.

No need to defrost, just cut them up anyway. They cook just fine from frozen, and better yet, there's no time spent on defrosting. If you're smarter than I, take them out earlier in the day. I just toss them all into the pan regardless.

The added benefit of tossing them in frozen is the pretty steam show. Also, the pan you see is my very favorite one in the whole world: a cast aluminum caldera. It's the.coolest.pan.ever. Once the sausage has a chance to brown a little, make a little divet by pushing all the sausage pieces to the outside of the pan around the edges and toss in the potatoes.

As you can see, also frozen. I would advocate breaking them up in the bag before tossing them in because they're easier to work with. I, because I was taking pictures for this post instead of paying attention to what I was doing, forgot that step. Usually I beat them on the counter a few times and call it good once they're broken into manageable chunks. Then throw in about a 1/2 cup of water, slap on the lid and let it hang out for a little while (5-6 minutes, stir, then another 5 or so until the hasbrowns are cooked through).

While you're waiting ... clean the counter, sort the mail, oh, and make some eggs. I just break them into the pan and 'scramble' them from there. No need for more bowls or utensils or the like.

Once the hashbrown time is up, take the lid off and give it a good stir. It will not be pretty. The water will have deglazed the sausage goodness off the bottom of the pan and the water will likely look like something out of a dirty bird bath. Do not be alarmed. It will also look a bit like soup. Rest assured it will get better.

See, I warned you ... soupy. Leave the lid off and turn the heat up a bit to give the potatoes some coaxing to soak up all that flavor-fest goodness. The extra heat also cooks off whatever water the potatoes can't handle. Stir frequently as it will start to stick once it starts to dry up a bit.

Once the potatoes look like potatoes again, throw the eggs in and give everything a solid stir. Grab your shredded cheese (any kind will do) and toss a handful or so on top. I usually put the lid on for a few minutes after that (off the heat) to let the residual heat from the pan melt the cheese. It should look something like this ...

Yummmm!

It's not the prettiest thing I've ever made. It's not the healthiest, though it can be changed up with just about any protein (chicken or turkey sausage, for example) or even dinner leftovers (just throw in some spices ... oregano, sage, pepper to taste to replace the sausage's natural seasoning). It is sooooooo good, though, and it is absolutely cheap to make based on what you have on hand. You can throw in extra veggies if you have them (tomatoes and bell peppers are particularly good). My favorite: it's easy peazy and requires almost no time. I mean, really, I just put frozen things in a pan and they turn into magic. That's why my family named it after me.

Enjoy!

Simply,

Em.

Gratituesday: The Cure

2009-04-21T00:25:00.004-04:00

The Preface:
I almost didn't post this or anything else for this week's Gratituesday. I'm not in the best of moods, and the post feels a little personal, a little raw for public consumption. For some, know this isn't out of spite, but because of a moment of enlightenment. For others, only kind words, please. Thanks, loves.

The Rest Of The Story:

I'm angry.

Yea, that's the way to start a post about gratitude, right? Suffice it to say that although I'm not going to tell you why exactly I'm miffed today, know there are only a handful of things that really get me. That's not why you're here reading today, though. You don't want to know about anger and unhappy feelings, but instead about the glory of being grateful to the one that is most deserving. Bear with me a moment, if you would.

I found myself getting angry about an hour ago now. In similar moments I would likely still be hot, probably firing off a verbal barrage of snarky remarks sprinkled with sailor level cursing targeted at the absolute (psychological) destruction of the perpetrator. (Wow, that makes me sound like a jerk, eh?) I like to win (most especially when I'm pretty sure I'm right). I especially like to let others know when I think they've done me wrong, and in days gone by I would have gone full tilt at that endeavor.

Today, not so much.

I'm not saying I didn't say anything in response to the situation. I'm not saying I didn't get mad. I already 'fessed up to that. Today, though, instead of raging on like a momentary crazy (even if that raging was only in my own head, which is oft times the case) I had this feeling that I should just step back and take a minute. I walked away from what I was doing. I sat alone and tried to clear my mind ... just for a minute ... like the meditation equivalent of counting to 10. Once I let go of the hurt for a second, focused on me, on breathing, on the absolutely divine silence ... I felt better. Not perfect, mind you, not even not angry, but better.

That's all it takes?!

My (quasi-rational) self is astonished. All this time, all those moments of intense emotions, all those bottled up feelings, and all I really needed was a moment to myself ... to think ... to breathe ... to redirect and refocus? I feel like this reads like I have some crazy anger management problem (much the contrary ... almost always I'm pretty calm ... too unaffected sometimes), but what it's really about is me being really grateful for the experience today that made me realize the coolest lessons are the ones I don't even know I'm learning while I'm learning them. I'm grateful for the leadership that points me toward the things I need to work on so long as I'm open enough to take a minute to be quiet enough to hear them. I'm grateful that even though I'm not perfect, it's alright not to be. I'm grateful for The Cure ... the silent moment, asking for an answer and humbling myself enough to take direction that I may be the last person on the planet to have figured out.

Mercy, me!

And, really, I'm starting to feel better already.

Simply,

Em.

ps,
Have you read Pslam 73:26 today? You probably should.

pps,
For more Gratituesday, please go visit Laura and share in the 'giving thanks in all circumstances.'

Menu Plan Monday and a Winner!

2009-04-20T23:00:00.001-04:00

One would think that the point of menu plans would be to know what's for dinner any given day in a week. Apparently this week at my house, the menu was for knowing what absolutely wasn't for dinner instead. We had frozen pizza on Monday, as planned (and by planned I mean it had already happened when I posted Monday night) and then not another day of the week did we stick to the menu. The good news, though, is by some fluke we still managed to eat only from the pantries and freezers. Hooray for that! I didn't even have a Super Saving Saturday to post about because I avoided the grocery deals entirely this week. I would be lying if I said I didn't cringe a little about missing out on freebies at Walgreens, but alas, I seemed to made it through ok.

As for the menu, this week we'll be having ...

M: Frozen pizza
(Am I beginning to see a trend? Someone seems to keep having papers ... well, finals this time ... that need writing on Mondays. Good thing we have that stash of nearly free to us frozen french breads!)
T: Em Hash
W: Grilled and Glazed Ham Steaks with au gratins, green beans, and rolls
R: Crockpot Whole Garlic Chicken, mashed potatoes, green salads, roasted carrots
F: Mongo Night
S: Out with friends for Irish food, beer, and the.best.band.ever.
U: Chicken Pot Pie (from leftover crockpot chicken) with biscuits

The Updated Month of Menus is as follows ...

Crockpot Pork Roast x2
~~Seared Beef Roast x2~~ (One of these went to stir fry on Sunday, and the other will go to stir fry this week.)
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
Spaghetti with Meatball Marinara
Corn Tacos x2
~~Em Hash~~ (recipe ... er ... well, general concept forthcoming) x2
Homemade Pizza x2
~~Crockpot Whole Garlic Chicken~~
~~Chicken Pot Pie Casserole with Biscuits~~ (from leftover whole chicken)
Ham and Potato Casserole
Grilled and Glazed Ham Steaks x2
~~Venison Helper~~ (I still have the venison, we used beef instead, which may mean I run out of ground beef for the other menu items early ...)
Soup and Grilled Bacon & Cheese Sandwiches x2
Baked Pork Chops
~~Grilled Marinaded Pork Chops~~
Grilled Cod/Tilapia
~~Chicken Mongo~~ (so much fun ... hopefully with pictures when we get to it)
Sausage and Spinach Lasagne
Sauce Your Own Meatballs and Potatoes (you pick: sweet & sour, bbq, swedish, marinara ... I keep the sauces frozen in bags and knock a chunk off to warm up based on what everyone wants)
Breakfast for Dinner: Pancakes, Eggs, Sausage
ItaliSoy Grilled Chicken Breasts (the easiest marinade in. the. world.)
Popcorn Chicken and Fries (from a recipe at the Heavenly Homemaker)
Fried Chicken Salads

Oh! I nearly forgot.

Now, the fun part ... the winner of the giveaway. The random number generator tells me that the winner of the Practical Cubed Cookbook Set is ... (drumroll, anyone?)

heavenleigh6751

Congrats to her and thanks to everyone that participated! She has 48 hours from now (so, 11pm on Wednesday, April 22nd) to email me at jesuisem (at) gmail (dot) com or I'll have to randomly generate another winner.

Simply,

Em.

ps, for a ton more menus, by people who seem much more skilled than I in keeping to them, check out Menu Plan Monday at the Org. Junkie.

Frugal Friday: Date Night?

2009-04-17T16:00:00.000-04:00

I have long heard about the wonderful advantages of having planned date nights to reconnect, spend some quality time together, and not be distracted by the everyday happenings of life at home. I have promptly ignored all of it. I often say we can't afford date nights. We don't have room in our budget for take out let alone dinner in a restaurant or a movie or the like. I know, I know, there are a million 'frugal' date night ideas. In any other situation, I would have probably blogged about 100 of them already, but I've been busy ignoring the most obvious thing in the world: Be and I should probably spend some time together on a semi-regular basis.

We are that couple that is more hands-off than hands-on. I mean that in the best way. We adore each other. We live in the same house. We share a life ... but we also go in 283 other non-together directions on an average day. From when we started dating (has it been 8 years? Ah!) and went 2 or 3 weeks without speaking to living 3 hours apart to living on different continents to Be's on the road job that kept him away from home for 4 weeks at a time once we did finally live together, we're kind of used to this. It's how we roll, and until now I haven't really had any issue with it.

Then, I sent an email.

Yes, an email, to Be, this morning to give him an update on our finances for the next few months. An email?! Who does that? Who automatically clicks into business management mode and sends off a stodgy sounding electronic message about net gains and accessibility rather than having a 10 minute face to face with the person she sleeps next to? Ah yes, apparently I do. This has been bothering me all afternoon ... like ... what kind of 'wife lady' (Be's less than adorable name for me) does that make me? I panicked momentarily and decided those date night people have likely been right all along.

Now, to solve this problem.

How in the world can I find space in our budget and time in our schedules for us to share a meal at a table for 2 rather than a table for 5? Ah yes, the internet. The good people at Restaurants.com are having a mid-month sale where all their $25 certificates are marked down to $3 if you use the promo code: FEAST at checkout. In addition, Restaurants.com is a participating retailer with Mr. Rebates (my online shopping cash back service of choice who happens to have a boatload of coupon codes and offers $5 cash to new sign-ups) so by clicking through their link to the resto site I get 20% cash back on whatever I spent there in my Mr. Rebates account.

$25 certificate to fancy schmancy Tap Room
$25 certificate to Be's favorite wood fired pizza place
--------
$6
- Mr. Rebates cash back
--------
$4.80

It should require magical powers to turn $4.80 into $50, but really it's as easy as a few clicks and a website registration. I can find $4.80 in the budget for two date nights with my lovely at places that do not serve food on plastic trays or have inside play areas. I could probably find $4.80 in my couch cushions right now (someone should really vacuum those ...), and if you're in need of a cheapie date night idea you may well be able to too.

Now, to find room in the schedules ...

Simply,

Em.

PS: For more Frugal Fridays, check out its new home at LifeAsMOM.

PPS: Have you entered the giveaway yet? T minus 8 hours left to post your comments and score your entries for the set of 5 Practical series cookbooks. Go, right now, there isn't time to wait. <3

7 Quick Takes: Volume 1

2009-04-17T02:00:00.003-04:00

For more quick takes and other amazingly sweet content, please check out the Conversion Diary!

1.
I've never done a Quick Takes Friday before, but I'm a list maker at heart and a girl with a terrible addiction to bullet points, so I'm hoping to become a new regular. I've been reading Jennifer's blog for awhile, and it rocks. You should check it out. I'm compelled on occasion to talk about non-frugal life stuff (is there such a thing?!), so hopefully if we stick to quick takes I won't bore you to death with thesis research ideas or the politics of living in a house full of grown-ups (should that be in quotations? Perhaps.). Ha.

2.
Hoooray! Today was the last day of classes for the winter semester. I still have exams next week, and a weekend full of writing take home exams (by which I mean a weekend full of putting off writing take home exams until Monday ...), but for a solid hour after class let out this afternoon I felt like dancing (or popping the top off an Oberon ...). Hoooooooray no more classes ... until May 4th.

3.
My car is broken. Again. Boooooo. This afternoon, on the way home from school, we noticed an odd noise coming from the front passenger wheel well. This is another installment in a continuing saga in the recent past about my glorious '96 Chrysler Concorde and its steering/drive/wheel problems. Be thinks the "CV Joint" is shot. I think I don't want to know either what that is nor how much it costs. In the interm, until he fixes it (and thank goodness for not having to hire a mechanic!), no el Concordo driving for me.

4.
I really love peanut butter blossoms. In fact, I had one just.this.second. The 3 dozen is no longer 3 dozen for sure, and the family consensus of the Unintentional Baking Day extravaganza is that 1: I should be more regular and intentional about them and 2: I need a new Honey Wheat Bread recipe.

5.
My coupons are a mess. I have a veritable ton of inserts that haven't been cut yet and a huge stack of coupons that have somehow been cut but not yet filed. They're driving my internal perfectionist c-r-a-z-y. The upside, I cannot bring myself to go shopping without them all being in perfect order so I'm surely not out spending grocery budget money. The downside, I'm also paying less attention to the ads and as such have fewer GDAs (that's Great Deal Alerts if you're new here ...) for you fine folks. I hear there are free things to be had this week at both Meijer and Walgreens, but unless a magical elf comes and files my coupons or I get a flying carpet to replace the broken car, I'm not going anywhere. Shop for me, lovies, so I can live vicariously through your deal hunting.

6.
It's beginning to feel like spring time here. My car thermo told me it was 66F when I got out of class today. 66! In Michigan?! In April?! Praise be! Warm weather makes me want to grow things ... which makes me want to organize seedlings ... which makes me remember that we need Be's dad to come by with the rototiller (hidden frugal tip: always borrow what you can and save the cost of buying your own ... with in reason) so we can add compost and be ready to plant after the temps stop dropping into the 30s at night.

7.
Today is the last day to enter my very first blog giveaway. Have I mentioned how blasted excited I am about it? Seriously? Super elated to be able to 1: blog for you in the first place, 2: begin a second year at GSF, and 3: give you sweet streamlined cookbooks as a thank you. There's still time for entries until midnight EST, just check out the blog-iversary post for details.

Ooooh numbered lists, how I adore you. This has been fun!

Simply,

Em.

The Unintentional Baking Day

2009-04-14T23:23:00.006-04:00

I had no intention of baking today, even after we ran out of bread two days ago. I had class until early in the evening. Then the dog had an appointment at the groomer's. There are a million things on my to do list in the week before finals, and baking was nary near the top of that list. I even read Crystal's Baking Day post this morning and thought, "Ah, man, we need bread. I just don't have time today." I got home a little before 6pm, Be decided he could take el dog-o on his own, and I unhappily went about making a quick dinner (read: not the one on the menu ... because I was convinced I didn't have enough time or energy to make it).

I turned the oven on for garlic bread to make dinner seem more substantial and less cobbled and rushed. While my one pot thrown together dinner was simmering, I convinced myself to throw the bread dough ingredients in the stand mixer so they could spin themselves around while I tended to dinner (what? you think pots stir themselves? More like, Em watches pot bubble as way to get out of making bread, perhaps?) since the oven was on already anyway. Then I remembered the crazy thing about bread ... it has to rise ... a lot. No way I was leaving the oven on for 4 hours so my bread could make it through both rises. Ugh. Now what to do with this residual oven heat?

Ah yes, these ...
Those are Molten Chocolate Chip Muffins ... a magical creation out of necessity when after promising my brother's girlfriend I'd make peanut butter blossoms (so she'd unwrap the kisses while I multi-task-o-rama'd) I realized I couldn't find the vegetable oil. A couple freebie muffin mixes from the lower pantry, a handful of already unwrapped kisses (lest her effort be for naught) plopped in the middle as they came out of the oven, and voila! Molten cake meets muffin tin! It so happens someone(s) made off with two of them before they even had a chance to cool. It may have been the Baked Good Bandit ... or perhaps Quality Control.

We finished up dinner, I did the handful of dishes there were, and went about doing homework (and owning Double Jeopardy). The kitchen timer let me know the first bread rise was done, and it took me no more than 5 minutes to punch it down, knead again, split the dough, shape it, plop it in the loaf pans, and put it back on the back of the stove to rise with the aid of residual oven heat from the vent. Then it was back to homework (and Biggest Loser on TV ... I love transformative moments on television) until the timer went off again. I set the oven to 350, tossed my bread inside, and had another moment of frugal despair ... "What am I going to double duty the oven with this time?!" Having found the vegetable oil (which was right where it always is, by the way, despite my best efforts to completely overlook it about 12 times) in the interim, I decided on peanut butter cookies since I had already promised them. They came from another freebie mix (shhhh, they're ruining my Betty Crocker street cred!), and by the time the bread was done they were ready for the oven.

See how excited Donald Duck is about baked goods?

TaaaaDaaaa! Two loaves of honey wheat bread and 3 DOZEN (how in the world did that happen with one lonely cookie mix?!) peanut butter blossoms cooling on my counter. I turned the oven off and left the door half way open (since we don't have small children ... probably a less brilliant idea if there are small fingers that could find their way into open oven doors) so the heat we had already created (and paid for!) could warm up the kitchen and living room instead of being funneled out through the duct work. I did the second handful of dishes, cleaned off the counters, ate a cookie, and thought about how close I was to none of it happening in the first place.

I am a busy girl, but 'busy-ness' is also my number one reason (excuse?) for not doing things. I keep trying to convince myself that there isn't enough time, or that things like baking are too complicated and will have to wait for another day when a pristine plan can be arranged. I am working on this. The reality is, though, that it took almost no more time than I would have spent in the kitchen anyway. I had to wait for dinner to cook, so why not throw together bread dough and muffins? I had to turn the oven back on for the bread, so why not put a batch of cookies in? I had to wait for the goods to cool before putting them up, so why not knock out the last of the dishes so I don't wake up to them tomorrow? I didn't really have to clean the stove with steel wool after that, but it was bugging me.

The moral of the story is, frugality takes time, yes ... but not nearly as much time as we like to pretend. If I can multi-task a few things, keep my kitchen clean, fill up our stash of homebaked (and FREE!) goodies and not really take any longer than usual anyway, why not? Once I was done, I felt better. I like to make things. I love to bake cookies (mostly, so I can eat them). I dig the frugal/homemade/green-ish lifestyle. I just don't always believe I can pull it off (yea, even the frugal commandos have doubts), and when I finished up, this post from Laura was at the top of my reader. How timely, indeed.

Now, I think it's time for (another) cookie.

Simply,

Em.

Hey there! You know what's better than a cookie? A book about how to make cookies. You know what's better than that?! FIVE books about making things, including one about baking and another about chocolate. You know what's even cooler? They could be yours! Check it out and enter the giveaway!

Gratituesday: Just Add Water & Stir

2009-04-14T01:03:00.003-04:00

Need more of your gratitude fix? Check out Heavenly Homemakers!

I am kind of a control freak. I don't really care about controlling your life, but I am nearly hyperventilate level (ok, not that bad) controlling of mine. I plan. I schedule. I make lists and charts and color codes. I like to have an idea of what's going on now, tomorrow, next week, and probably November. I want to see all the pieces in place before they even begin to come together. I want. I want. I want.

I used to think that made me one of those 'on top of her game' kind of people. Self-starter, multi-tasker, uber-organized ... all labels I enjoyed (except that I'm more a self-get 'er done at the last minute than a self-starter). Every part of my life was about having a plan, knowing the 47 million possible consequences and scenarios for every action (or inaction), and a lot of worrying about all of it tumbling apart 'house of cards in Oklahoma' style.

This would be a sweet Gratituesday if I was grateful for a full recovery from my control freak affliction.

It's not.

I'm not.

Well, because I haven't (recovered, that is).

The thing I'm learning, though, is that most times ... even if I get stressed about imperfections ... even if the plan gets tossed out the window ... even if I don't trust the process ... things pretty much wind up alright. Life really can be an unplanned hodge podge that you just add water to and stir. I'm finally learning to be patient, to relax, to calm down, and to just let it go. I'm learning that what I want isn't always what should be. I'm learning the trust The Plan rather than my petty attempts at planning. For that continuing lesson, for the one patient enough to teach me everyday, and for the understanding that it's ok if I don't get it the first time (or possibly, the 100th), I am grateful.

Always simply grateful,

Em.

Ooooooh, you know what else I'm grateful for? You! I can prove it! There are presents involved and everything! Did you check out the Giveaway yet this week? Details are here.

GDA: Free After Rebate Aluminum Foil

2009-04-14T00:05:00.002-04:00

Reynolds has just announced their Earth Day promotion, a limited quantity rebate form for a FREE roll (up to $3.99) of their new 100% recycled aluminum foil. It's about time someone started making it 100% recycled since you can use it, melt it, remake it, and use it again about 100 million times. Hooray for freebies that are good for the planet.

Check out their reminder email sign up to get a note from them to stop by for your form on April 22nd!

Simply,

Em.

Menu Plan Monday: Can She Make It A Month? Edition

2009-04-13T23:08:00.001-04:00

Have you checked out the menu list at Org. Junkie yet? You should. It rocks!

As promised, I'm back with the menu. I was stuck in "Em Finally Does Her Self-Employment Taxes" world most of the afternoon, and I'm riding the elated high of not owing my first born (yet to be conceived first born, mind you) to the tax machine for the first time in years instead of going to bed like a sane person would. I'm even getting money back this year ... like more than $8 (a 2 year state refund favorite in my early college days). Hooray for extra cash and double hooray for finally getting "Menu Monday" posted before Tuesday!

Now, as my fellow couponer/stockpiler friends will attest, when you get things for free or nearly so on a regular basis, sometimes your pantry (and closets, and garage, and basement, and under your bed, and hidden in your kids' toy chest, and the crawl space, and on ...and on ...) starts to accumulate random stuff. It starts with that one freebie candy bar tucked into the back of a pantry shelf and before you know it you have a years' worth of grocery bits and pieces. This weekend I (finally) got irritated enough with the dismal arrangement that had befallen both the upper and lower pantries (yea ... we have two ... we eat a lot of free food here ...), and got to work putting them back in order. I love to score great deals. I also love the security that comes along with having a grocery stockpile. If we were absolutely destitute tomorrow, at least we'd be able to eat for awhile. Every now and then, though, I get this sticky inkling that we need to downsize a little and use up what we have (and of course make room for MORE great deals ... muahaha!).

I've been tossing around the idea of a month-long menu for awhile now, mostly inspired by the Happy Housewife's free form 30 Days of Meals. The scheduler in me wants to wait until the beginning of a month so everything fits in nice and proper. The perfectionist in me couldn't get in gear in time to re-organize the pantries for an April 1st launch. The impulsive me just wants to do. it. right. now. I just keep thinking ... it's almost spring time ... that's fresh produce season ... I will need so much more room for putting up veggies and fruit this year ... and then its butcher time in the fall ... and the freezer is almost full ... you can't put a whole pig and half a cow in a full freezer ... not without a mess. Yes, there really are that many elipses inside my head. And so, since I finally got the pantries closer to orderly, I'm caving on schedule perfection, indulging my frugal tree-hugging maniac ramblings and starting in nearly the middle of the month. Eh well, 30 days are 30 days, right? They don't have to all fit on one calendar.

So, without further ado, our 30 Days of Meals based on what we have on hand. I will still be shopping as the deals allow, and we'll need butter (um, now, actually), milk, eggs, and likely lettuce at some point. We're also out of bread, but I have myself convinced that not going to the grocery means I'll be motivated to make some. It might happen. Maybe.

Crockpot Pork Roast x2
Seared Beef Roast x2 (I just bought these last night ... they're $2/lb at Meijer this week ... go get some!)
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
Spaghetti with Meatball Marinara
Corn Tacos x2
Em Hash (recipe ... er ... well, general concept forthcoming) x2
Homemade Pizza x2
Crockpot Whole Garlic Chicken
Chicken Pot Pie Casserole with Biscuits (from leftover whole chicken)
Ham and Potato Casserole
Grilled and Glazed Ham Steaks x2
Venison Helper
Soup and Grilled Bacon & Cheese Sandwiches x2
Baked Pork Chops
Grilled Marinaded Pork Chops
Grilled Cod/Tilapia
Chicken Mongo (so much fun ... hopefully with pictures when we get to it)
Sausage and Spinach Lasagne
Sauce Your Own Meatballs and Potatoes (you pick: sweet & sour, bbq, swedish, marinara ... I keep the sauces frozen in bags and knock a chunk off to warm up based on what everyone wants)
Breakfast for Dinner: Pancakes, Eggs, Sausage
ItaliSoy Grilled Chicken Breasts (the easiest marinade in. the. world.)
Popcorn Chicken and Fries (from a recipe at the Heavenly Homemaker)
Fried Chicken Salads

Sides and accompianments may get a little wacky as I try to use up the pre-made boxed stuff we have accumulated. We aren't buying anymore once we get through what we have, but I refuse to let freebie food go to waste. Each meal also includes at least one cooked and one raw veggie, but we'll play that by ear week by week based on what's on sale, what everyone feels like, and what we have left in the freezer (ps, Green Giant Steamers are in the 10/10 11th free this week at Meijer ... nearly free if you have doubles and still cheap if you don't).

This week ...

M: Frozen pizza ... which is not on the list, so I guess that must mean the list starts tomorrow.
T: Seared Beef Roast, cubed potatoes, cooked carrots, green salads, biscuits
W: Grilled and Glazed Ham Steaks, boxed au gratins, frozen green veggie, raw carrots
R: Tacos (!!) and Spanish rice
F: Broccoli Cheese Soup with Grilled Bacon & Cheese Sandwiches (guess I'm going to need bread after all ...), salads
S: Homemade pizzas and dinner salads
U: Sausage and spinach lasagne, garlic breadsticks, salad

There you have it! I'm giving this Month of Meals thing a go, and hopefully by the middle of May we'll have freed up some wiggle room for the bounty of summer and early fall bacon. Who doesn't loooooove bacon?!

What are you eating this week?

Simply,

Em.

It's a Blog-iversary and a Giveaway!

2009-04-13T12:00:00.001-04:00

Photo: Cellach

365 days ... 112 posts ... the inaugural year of Gratitude. Simplicity. Frugality. comes to an end today.

I was not new to blogging a year ago, but I was entirely new to blogging for people other than my friends, that was targeted around a topic other than me getting cranky about something, and that was (mostly) curse word free. I had started posting entries about using up leftovers and grocery store deals, but save a small handful of my friends, my other blog's readers weren't so much interested. After some prodding by Be, my mom, and others, GSF became a reality and you know the rest of the story (or at least you can find it out by clicking through the archive).

I hope that you've enjoyed the posting here so far. I've really enjoyed writing over the last year, scoping deals, telling you hilarious (and often disastrous) stories of our frugal endeavors, and being a part of the frugal/simple/saver/personal finance/homemaking bloggy community. I have learned a ton about the mechanics of blogging for an audience, and I appreciate all of you for sticking through that learning curve.

In the coming year, look for more coupon strategies, deal alerts, stories of crazy frugality, gratituesdays, and a special spring/summer series coming super soon. If you have any suggestions for material you'd like to see, or questions about ... well, anything, I'd love to get a note from you about them.

Photo: Jen Chan

Now, on to business ... an "-iversary " be it Anni-, Blog-, or otherwise wouldn't be complete without two of my favorite things: cake and presents. Being that it is likely impossible to ship cake without it turning to mush ... and that I don't know that cake would ever last here long enough to get to a post office ... we're sticking with presents. I have a giveaway for one of you, a set of 5 cookbooks from the P Cubed Practical Series. They are quick reads with glossy pictures of all the recipes which always helps me decide 1: if I should try to make it or not and 2: if I screwed it up at the end when it doesn't look at all like the picture. Included are a copy each of Practical Pizzas, Practical Stir-fry, Practical Baking, Practical Desserts, and Practical Chocolate; all are approximately 20-30 pages.

Sooooooo, how do you enter?

1. Post a comment to this entry saying ... well, whatever you want to for your first entry.

2. Include in that comment your favorite part of GSF and/or a question or suggestion for the next year for your second entry.

3. Post the giveaway info to your blog and link back to GSF, then come and tell me you did it (including the link) for your third entry.

That's 3 chances to win for each of you! The giveaway will remain open until midnight EST on Friday, April 17, 2009 so you have plenty of time to get in on the fun. Once closed, I will use a random number generator to choose the winner who will then have 48 hours to respond or forfeit their prize.

Thanks again for a great first year. I'm looking forward to an even cooler second one. Now, quickly, run off and tell your friends about the giveaway so you can get all your chances in and I can send you this stack of yummy cookbooks. While you're gone, I think I'll have some cake ...

Simply (and thankfully!),

Em.

(I'll be back soon with the menu ... )

Super Saving Saturday

2009-04-11T18:19:00.000-04:00

I didn't get to Meijer until today, just in time to grab a handful of this week's deals before the ad change. For the record, this one Meijer mealbox (store) coupon per transaction thing is beginning to annoy me. Take heed, corporate, if you're still reading (they used to show up in my stat counter's IP log all the time). The average family probably needs more than one of any given item. My family of 5, and those with even larger families may well be inclined to switch to a store with price matching and less ridiculous transaction limits. /rant, and on to the deals ...

1st
5 Suave deodorant:on sale for $1.79 - 5th item free promo - 75c/1 coupons = 41c for all 5!
4 Starkist tuna packets: 25% off = $1.43/ea. - $1/4 mealbox - $1/2 manufacturer = 68c/ea.
4 Swanson's chicken/beef stock: on sale 3/$2 - $1/4 mealbox - 40c/1 manufacturer = 32c/ea.
2 French's mustard: on sale for $1 - 50c/1 manufacturer coupons = 50c/ea - $1 catalina generated by buying 2 = FREE!
5 Kraft salad dressings: on sale for $1.67 - $1.50/1 manufacturer coupons = 17c/ea + $1 worth of FREE produce with each bottle from a tearpad coupon.
1 McCormick seasoning grinder: on sale for $1.67 - $1/1 mealbox - $1/1 manufacturer = 33c MONEY-MAKER!
2 Ziplock Containers: on sale 2/$4 - $1/2 mealbox - $1/1 manufacturer peelies = 50c/ea!
4 Swiffer refill items: on sale 25% off for a total of $22.98 - $10 rebate I'm about to mail in for buying $20 worth = $12.98 (not wonderful, but we have been out for a looooong time).

Total SPENT: $34.94
Total SAVED: $38.17

2nd
4 Starkist pouches
4 Swanson broths
1 McCormick grinder
2 Ziplock containers
5 Suave deodorants

Total SPENT: $9.74
Total SAVED: $19.15

3rd
4 Starkist pouches
4 Swanson broths
1 McCormick grinder
2 Ziplock containers

Total SPENT: $5.84
Total SAVED: $12.61

4th
4 Starkist pouches
1 McCormick grinder

Total SPENT: $3.39
Total SAVED: $6.16
------------------------------
TOTAL SPENT: $53.91
TOTAL SAVED: $83.86 ... 62%!

Hooray deals! I could have made it $5 sweeter if the transaction limits didn't exist for the mealbox coupons because I have this $5/$60 cat that I've been carrying around forever hoping I can get my total over $60 so I can use the darn thing. So far, no luck. It expires the day after tomorrow ... eek.

How did you do this week? Any great deals?

Simply,

Em.

Gratituesday: Lessons Learned

2009-04-07T23:28:00.000-04:00

So, I hear the economy isn't looking so hot these days. This isn't news in Michigan ... at all. We've been enjoying the lovely recession-esque times for quite awhile. Years, I think. Tight financial times mean two things: belt-tightening and re-evaluation of priorities (hopefully) and personal financial crisis (hopefully not). You could likely ask just about any random person the street about someone they know and their financial meltdowns and get story after story about foreclosures, job losses, judgements, homelessness, hunger, and the like. None of that am I grateful for.

Some people very close to me, whom I will not indicate my relationship to as there are people who know the real life me who are likely reading, are having a rough go of it. They're overextended in credit. They have a vehicle with financing they cannot afford. They recently suffered a temporary job set back dropping their income to one instead of a much more comfortable two. They are spending more than they can really afford to, and are now scrambling to switch things up to make ends meet in the short term. In an economy where this same scenario is being played out nationwide, they are not unique or alone. That makes my heart sad.

We, Be and I, could just as easily been in the exact same place. We have one income (half an income?). We have a very tight financial situation ... and credit card debt ... and more month than money sometimes. The thing that keeps us from that same desperate, terrible feeling crisis mode is that we simply recognized the need to change earlier ... in a better economy ... when our backs weren't as tightly to the wall. We were lucky enough to get an eye opening lesson in budgeting, stewardship, the evils of credit debt, and necessary frugality before we had to crash course through it to save our skins. We were close ... precariously close ... but we came out alright. For that, I am grateful.

We didn't get here alone. We aren't that cool. We didn't even have the wherewithal or foresight or self-awareness to know we needed change until the last second, and we surely didn't think up the way we do things these days ... the methods that saved us from absolute financial ruin. For those involved in that process, who pulled us away from the edge, who made it possible that we can have the skills necessary to ride out a recession (hopefully), I am grateful.

For Dave Ramsey's straight talk about zero based budgeting and the slavery that is credit card debt, I am grateful.

For baby steps and an emergency fund (albeit small) that has saved us when Be needed prescriptions, the propane man came unexpectedly to refill the tank, my car tried to fall apart, and the security of knowing that any of them could happen again without me having a panicked hissy fit, I am grateful.

For the ladies of the budget board I used to co-host that taught me everything I know about stretching budgets, dealing with creditors, the legality of some financial institution practices, the necessity of miscellaneous categories, and the envelope system, I am grateful.

For my collected group of online friends, the source of my couponing initiation, the support system that applauds you for saving $4 extra this month and cares about how much change you pulled out of your couch, I am grateful.

For sweet personal finance bloggers who regularly teach me via my Google Reader about retirement and investing and all kinds of assorted frugal hacks, I am grateful.

For the crisis that led us to rethink the way we did things, the near rock bottom that we had to hit to get there, and yes, even the tears involved, I am grateful, for I know now that the hard part is over quickly and the rest ... when you know how to manage it ... is smooth sailing.

Simply,

Em.

For more grateful goodness, check out the Heavenly Homemaker!

Menu ... Tuesday? Again?!

2009-04-07T01:20:00.001-04:00

Menu Tuesday does not have the ring Menu Monday does. We are still working with my father's restrictive menu options, so although we for sure have a menu, I can't seem to get the darn thing online in time (also, ps, it's the week before finals ... ugh). Off the top of my head, I remember this much ...

M: Chicken Stir Fry
T: Hamburger Stew
W: Pork Chops and Potatoes
R: Chicken Something
F: Fish and Baked Fries
S: Leftovers?
Su: Open ... because I don't know what our holiday plans are just yet.

There's a much more detailed version sitting on my counter ... in the kitchen ... across the house from where my office is ... and darn it if I'm not just far too lazy to go get it tonight (did I mention the finals ...? grrr). I hope you have your menus planned, loves. They're lifesavers for sure. Tonight, when I needed to spend the afternoon/evening working on my 20 page paper for Thursday after a morning/afternoon of 'daddy duty' all I had to do is point Be in the direction of the menu and leave him to it. We didn't starve. I didn't have to run around like a mad woman. Everyone wins.

To see more menus ... real ones ... with more details than my sketchy memory can give you tonight ... check out Org. Junkie.

Simply,

Em.

A Frugal Girl's Dilemma

2009-04-05T23:31:00.004-04:00

We are a generally broke people, Be and I. We're down to 1/2 an income since he's still battling the work comp people (almost 2 years) and my coaching job takes a hiatus over the spring and summer. Darn those kids and their not wanting to go to school all year so I can get paid! Ha. Really, though, we don't mind our necessitated thrift all that much. We like being good stewards, paying down the debt from when we weren't so great at that, and trying out creative ways to stretch our tiny budget all over the place. My dilemma today, though, is when is it ok to stop being practical for a hot second and splurge?

My knee jerk reaction, after years of penny pinching and general miserly-ness is to say "Never!". Living a super thrifty lifestyle changes you over time, I think. Most things are no longer necessities, but luxuries cut out to make the zero based budget balance. Every extra penny goes to debt payments, and every money related thought is about how to better utilize current resources for even greater needs. Many, especially in our spendthrift populous, would think us thrifty folk nutjobs. We hear our friends, family, finance experts, and people on the street tell us all about how we just have to have discretionary cash to spend as we please without recourse or we will surely go insane and spontaneously combust. Yet, there are many of us, the frugal underground, who have not turned to self-immolation (and shhhhh, but we're happy about it). I have been one of the few, the proud, the unquestioning frugal for years and years ... until possibly, today.

The backstory here is that we have rewards checking accounts through our bank. They're free, and we signed up for the points rewards program when they started offering it to people who already had accounts instead of only new openers a couple years ago. Then, of course, we forgot about it. All this while the bank has been keeping track of the transactions we've made, and has added points (2/$1 plus bonuses for savings account transfers, opening new accounts, direct deposit, and EFTs) accordingly. I remembered this ... today, and logged in to see where I stood as far as points totals and reward costs were concerned.

Ooooooh, boy!

It's apparently good to forget about your rewards account for ... um ... years. I have something over 35,000 points! Immediately, of course, I called Be to make him log into his account and check his balance ... a whopping 33,000! Each of us is sitting on roughly $75 worth of redeemable value whether we choose giftcards, cash, or something from the prize (read: lame) catalog (who needs another umbrella, anyway?). As I skimmed the pages of available gifts, my pulse quickened when I saw that Barnes and Noble giftcards were on the list.

Ok, I confess ... I am a book-a-holic. A bibliophile who agreed at the beginning of this journey toward good stewardship to use the library instead, making a rule that I couldn't spend any money on books until well after we were debt free. As our budget is often precariously arranged, this rule has not been a problem. I don't have credit I can use anymore, so no money = no risk of spending it on books.

Faced with the choice between cashing in my points for more practical giftcards like those for the gas station and CVS or the entirely splurge-tastic (new word! ha) B&N, I am paralyzed. On the one hand, I should be a good steward. I should be practical, always. I should do the right thing and add to my family's budget with a smile on my face. On the other hand, it's free money ... money we would not have otherwise had anyway ... and money I would absolutely looooooooove to spend on books. Oh, my dear frugal friends, what is a girl to do? Be, with his cool exterior told me to do whatever I wanted to do. Ugh. That means nothing when you have a competition going on between wants and probably shoulds.

So, my lovely readers, I'm taking suggestions. What would you do if you could choose a $75 gift card? Would you splurge? Would you be ascetic about it? Would you have to write blog posts about it, and hope the comments helped you decide? Help a girl out here, pretty please?

Simply,

Em.

Super Saver Saturday: Party Time! Excellent!

2009-04-04T22:46:00.001-04:00

"Are you having a party?", asked the cashier, the manager in charge, 5 or 6 people we passed on the way to the check out, and the people behind us in line as we pushed an entire cart full of 2 liter bottles of pop to the checkout lanes. It took 2 of us to drag the darn thing up to the front of the store in the first place. 2 liters, it would seem, are quite heavy.

My answer, of course, a simple "Yes?".

I don't like to answer a lot of questions at the grocery store. I often get weird looks for what makes it on the conveyor belt, and other than casually replying that I have a hungry family of 5 to feed, I don't go into details about why we need 17 boxes of spaghetti or 40 cans of tuna fish at one time. It was just easier this weekend to go along with the assumption that no sane person would buy 55 2 liters (which is how many fit in the cart at one time without toppling over) unless they were throwing a huge party. Bring the limes over, apparently there's a social gathering predicted for my basement 2 liter stash in the near future.

My shopping for the week included (and we're up to 7 people this week as we have house guests while my father recovers from open heart surgery) ...

Trip Numero Uno
2 2ltrs Big Red: 88c/ea on sale - B3 Squirt, G BR Free coupon = FREE!
7.77lbs of sweet potatoes: 99c/lb = $7.69
(I cannot WAIT for sweet potato fries this week! Yay!)
4 2ltrs Regular Coke: $1.49/ea = $5.96
3 2ltrs Diet Coke: $1.49/ea = $4.47
6 2ltrs assorted Squirt: 88c/ea on sale = $5.28
7 2ltrs assorted Dr. Pepper: 88c/ea on sale = $6.16
12 Yoplait: 50c/ea on sale - $1/10 instant store deal - 40c/6 coupons = 35c/ea
6 Stouffer's french bread pizzas: $2/ea on sale - B5, G1 Free store deal - $1/3 Meijer coupons = $1.33/ea
4 boxes Orville microwave popcorn: clearanced to $1.60/ea (1/2 price! yay!)
Bottle Deposit: $2.20

Total Spent: $49.68
Total Saved: $27.76

Trip Nombre Deux
2 1lb containers of strawberries: $1.50/ea on sale = $3
18 2ltrs assorted Dr. Pepper: 88c/ea on sale = $15.84
7 2ltrs assorted Faygo: 58c/ea on sale = $4.06
2.94lbs of green grapes, 5.05lbs of red: $1.49/lb on sale = $11.91
Bottle Deposit: $3.10

Total Spent: $41.39
Total Saved: $17.08

Third Time's A Charm
45 2ltrs assorted Dr. Pepper: 88c/ea on sale = $39.60
8 2ltrs assorted Faygo: 58c/ea on sale = $4.64
Bottle Deposit: $5.30
- $9 in catalinas from the Kraft deal last week

Total Spent: $40.54
Total Saved: $34.77

Overall Total Spent: $121.61
Overall Total Saved: $79.61
(adjusted for returnable deposits ...)

That's about a 40% savings ... but on a more realistic note, it's at least an extra $60 in my pocket. This family of mine is full of pop drinkers, and although they deal rather well with my odd meal concoctions, wacky deals, and stockpiling they refuse to deal without a rather regular supply of pop. It's the one thing I pay full price for when we're out rather than just getting by without ... sad when we don't even buy milk until it goes on sale. Ha. So, reality-wise, pop sales are my lifesaver. They're why I spend an entire afternoon doing transactions at Meijer when the limit is 4. They're why I load my trunk to capacity with plastic bottles. They're why I look like a lunatic throwing a party with my cart full of soda. I get to keep that $60+ in my pocket now, even though I had to lay out quite a bit to stock up. 100 fresh 2 liters should hold us for a while ... I hope.

Did you nail any good deals this week? Tell us about them by linking to Super Saver Saturdays at MoneySavingMom!

Simply,

Em.

GDA: Pop and Excedrin

2009-04-03T20:33:00.000-04:00

Meijer has Dr. Pepper brand varieties of pop for 88c through tomorrow (Saturday) and best of all there's no limit. Usually when these sales happen there's a limit of 4 making for an entire afternoon at the grocery repeating transactions. No limit means time saved, and I am digging it.

AND!

Faygo 2ltrs are 59c! I don't like their cola products, but my family can put a dent in the red and orange varieties.Yay!

AND!

Excedrin 24ct is on sale for 99c. Use the $1/1 coupons and make it FREE!

Any other great deals before this week ends?

Simply,

Em.

Gratituesday: List-o-rama

2009-03-31T01:27:00.002-04:00

It's a tired grateful day, I think he accepts shorthand ...

... sunshine! finally!
... a recovering dad who is (fingers crossed) coming home tomorrow.
... great nurses that kept him taken care of with a smile, despite the icky hospital politics they're dealing with.
... a family ready to jump up and pitch in during his stay with us.
... love.
... that smile.
... a G-d that knows exactly the right things for me to be doing at the right moment, no matter if I know it then or not.
... a school semester that's almost over (and a 100% paper this week to boot!).
... no class on Thursday.
... hot pink, highly worn, slightly tattered Crocs.
... the coolest mom in the world.
... a warm (ok, warm-ish) house to come home to.
... hilarious friends.
... the freedom of time, busy, but not limited by a 9-5.
... a freezer full of potential quick fix healthy goodness ... seriously, a lifesaver.
... Barb (my fondly adored rhubarb plant) is coming back!
... green leaves, soon to be tulips and daffodils.
... and really, sunshine ... oh, how I have missed sunshine.

What are you grateful for today?

Menu Plan ... Tuesday?

2009-03-31T00:54:00.002-04:00

For more menus ... tons of them, in fact, check out Org. Junkie.

Monday?

Errr, oops. I swear there was menu planning on Monday (scout's honor). I was elbow deep in trying to figure out the mechanics of the calorie, salt, and fat limited diabetic exchange diet my dad will be coming home to (hopefully tomorrow). He's coming to stay with us while he recuperates so that his wife (my stepmom) can keep working. He can't be left alone for awhile, and since it would seem you can never find a minute alone in this house of mine, it's the perfect spot. With his recovery comes a very specific, very detailed menu requirement, and I swear I spent the better part of the evening trying to figure it out. My word! With all the counting and making sure to include so many breads or veggies or fruits (!! at every meal ...?! what is this, Florida?), I plum forgot about posting about it. Without further ado, the menu as it stands for now ... I'm still working out the kinks of making sure he gets the right foods without winding up with a mutiny from the rest of the family ... le sigh.

MONDAY
Ground turkey, garlic rice, and spinach ... something we've taken to calling Dirty Rice Florentine .. how fancy.

TUESDAY
B: Peanut butter toast, milk, and bananas
L: Tuna fish sandwich, carrots, salad, and fruit salad
D: Pork chops, baked potato, biscuit, green veggie, salad

WEDNESDAY
B: Cereal, egg on toast, apple, and 1/2 banana
L: Turkey cheese paninis, veggie soup, carrots, and grapes
D: Beef goulash with tomatoes and mushrooms, green salad

THURSDAY
B: Cherry oatmeal and peanut butter toast
L: Chicken loaded baked potato, broccoli and mushrooms, salad, fruited jello
D: Grilled marinaded fish, herbed rice, biscuit, green veggie, cucumbers

FRIDAY
B: Toasted egg sandwich, grapes and melon chunks
L: Firehouse pizza, salad, whole fruit
D: Chicken veggie saute, mashed potatoes, green salad

SATURDAY
B: Pancakes with homemade sugar free cherry syrup, sausage patties, banana
L: PBJs, carrots with hummus
D: TBA (my stepmom likes to cook, and wants to cook for us while she's here so I'm leaving the weekend when she doesn't have to work open for her to choose)

SUNDAY
B: Egg white breakfast burritos with cheese, cherries from freezer
L: Dinner leftovers, green salad with carrots, fruited jello
D: TBA (same as Saturday)

Whew!

We are not breakfast and lunch planners here. I'm lucky if I get a dinner menu finished, making this a pretty big change for us. The way I see it, any one of three things could happen. We could all be inspired to more active meal planning through this journey. We may all lose 20 pounds, or my family will mutiny and order pizza while I'm not looking.

What's on your menu this week?

Simply,

Em.

Gratituesday: He is ok.

2009-03-24T11:44:00.004-04:00

Have you checked out Laura's blog yet? Click here!

Not Very Grateful Sounding Intro ...
Can I just tell you, before we get on with the grateful festivities, that I hate having to preface all of my entries lately with, "I'm so sorry I haven't been around. I'll do better, I swear."? I do. I wish I could blog full time and not have to worry about any of it. Life does not agree with this idea right now ... pulling me from blogging to school, homework, housework, sleep, managing Be's injuries and doctor's appointments, and a host of other less fun things to do than write for you. I feel like I have to apologize for my life, if there are any of you out there left to apologize to. I'm (secretly) currently afraid of my stats counter. *sigh* Today is not the day for pity parties about time management. Today is Tuesday! Gratituesday! And now on with it ...

Much more Grateful Sounding Here ...
My dad had open heart surgery yesterday. They cracked open his chest and did a quadruple bypass of some mostly blocked arteries. I am still kind of in a blur about the whole thing. He was not a cardiac patient, really, until about 2 weeks ago. He did not have a slow decline of repetitious pills and appointments and the like. He had some high blood pressure, but it was managed well with medications. Then, boom! Chest pain led to a stress test which led to a cardiac cath which lead to an appointment for open heart surgery yesterday.

First and foremost, I am grateful for his surgery being successful. As I write today, he's still on a ventilator (standard post-open heart procedure, fyi). I just talked to the critical care nurse in his room (because the hospital is 40 minutes from here ... in the opposite direction of school ... ) and they're going to try to get rid of the tube this afternoon. He was already waking up when I saw him yesterday. He didn't experience any major surgical complications, and honestly save the hundred tubes everywhere, he didn't look all that bad post-op. For all of that, I am grateful. For the grace that saves him, I don't even have words.

I am resisting telling you all about how cool my dad is because it sounds too much like eulogizing in my very superstitious head right now. He's a funny guy, though. You might like him. After many, many cloudy days, I'm just grateful that the sun is starting to peek out.

Thank you, thank you.

Simply,

Em.

Honey, I'm hoooooome!

2009-03-11T11:47:00.002-04:00

Hello?

*tap tap*

Is this thing on?

I'm hoping a handful of you are still out there after my all too long vacation hiatus. We went to Disney, did all those great Disney things, had a blast, and didn't blog a single second we were there. $10.95/day for WiFi? Um, no, not from the pocket of a frugal blogger. So, we did without using the internet, and other than the 650 emails I came home to, it was the best feeling. I did miss my bloggy friends for sure. I feel so behind in keeping track of everyone's lives. Ha.

My house is of course a mess. I promise I didn't leave it that way. I know the 'Rules of Simple Vacationing' ... do one thing, and one thing only, clean your house so that you come home to something at least reasonably serene. Check. What I did not consider was the possibility that the people housesitting for us would then go on to wreck the entire place. *sigh* I am in no mind or mood for cleaning it either, as I seem to have brought home some awful Tropical Bird Flu (ok, really, it's just an awful chest cold/flu/bronchitis thing, don't call the CDC) and feel like death warmed over. Intead, I am inclined to try to catch up on my blog reader, drink hot chocolate (it's snowing again!), and try to cough the last of this stuff out of here. Want to read along with me?

Sarah deals in using up freebie pie crusts. I didn't get in on this deal, but from the looks of that elephant ear, and Be's absolute adoration of pie, I think I probably should have.

The Good Human cancelled his trash service to be more cognizant of what he was throwing away (and to save money!). We are working towards a similar goal here. We only fill the trash bin every 2-3 weeks rather than weekly. If I could get it lower, and Be could drive the Jeep, we'd likely be on the same program.

Broke Grad Student lays out the 5 stupid ways we waste money. Guilty on all accounts at some point, for sure.

Crystal always has all the good deals, including this post with 2 different ways to get a FREE Arby's "Roastburger". I'm still trying to figure out what the heck these things are ... and how exactly they're browned but not "fried" (magic? me thinks so). I don't generally eat there, but a freebie lunch for my family? Ok by me.

JD's wife, Kris, is a seed starting machine. I looooooooove posts in the late winter/early spring about seed starting because it means it will be time to put those little germinators to dirt in this house very soon. I love gardens. I love growing our own food. I love the look of those cute little seed pots all in a row. Love love love love it! Where is my seed catalog?

Pizza Hut Book-It is now open to homeschoolers. Book-It is that rad program where you read books in order to get free personal pan pizzas. Reading is fun. Pizza is fun. Reading for pizza is fabulous. I loved this program as a kid, and now everyone can do it! Hooray! Thanks, Crystal.

First, I absolutely adore the Happy Housewife. Now, she's making pita in her bread machine. I love pita in ways I cannot explain. It is the perfect bread. I could eat it constantly, with every meal, as the only food allowed me for years. Now, I kind of wish I had a bread machine.

Are you a baggie washer? We are. Gayle is. It's not lunacy, I promise.

I'm feeling absolutely blah today. Lisa at the Simple Mom has 16 tips for increasing your energy levels. Maybe I could just get over this Tropical Bird Flu and call it good?

Or maybe just a nap?

Simply,

Em.

Gratituesday: Huge News Edition

2009-02-24T12:34:00.002-05:00

For more Gratituesday, check out Laura's blog.

I have BIG news!

We (my brother and I) have the most amazing mother on this planet. She is that crazy fun mom that still knows how to make everything better, find your missing sock, and laugh at herself. She is so strong, an immense model for women everywhere ... most specifically me, and she doesn't take any crap from anyone. I have her same no-nonsense attitude ... just possibly amplified to 11. I feel like I could go on for 100 years and still not say all the good things about her. For her, for our relationship, for our living situation (we own a house together that we all live in -- crazy fun), and for every single day that I get to share my life with her ... giggles, hilarious stories, sous chef dinner duties, and the occasional tears. I love you, Mom. For you, I am most thankful.

Enough suspense? Really?! Come on, lady, where's the BIG news ...?!

My amazing mother has a birthday coming up a week from today. It's a big one, this birthday, like the capital B-I-G kind. 3 years ago, around her birthday time, my brother and I were sitting around dreaming of places we could whisk our mother off to for her BIG birthday this year. She deserves more than I can ever give her, and we wanted to give her one of those 'experience of a lifetime' kind of trips.

But ... what about your frugal life? ... your debt?

Yea. Exactly. I mean, where can you really 'whisk' someone off to when you have a bare-bones-we-just-keep-the-lights-on-and-try-to-climb-this-mountain-of-debt budget?

Well ....

3 years is a long time to plan. Really, it's a long time to save. We spent almost none of that time actually planning. We knew from the word 'go' where we wanted to take her, we just didn't know how we were going to pay for it. I am happy to announce that through budget tightening, extra income acquisition (eBay, craigslist, surveys, cashcrate, inboxdollars, etc), collecting change, shorting the grocery budget, and doing odd jobs we have managed to both keep up with the debt snowball AND fund this BIG birthday vacay. *whew*!

Alright, already! Where are you going?!

Ok, ok ... we are departing on Thursday, southward bound to ...

That's right! We have a date with a mouse. We shall return (never? please? ha) on Sunday, 3/8. I will endeavor to blog from Orlando, assuming Be packs the laptop. If you don't hear from me, he probably left the computer at home, or I'm simply far too busy living up the not-so-wintery Florida weather and spending time with the most deserving woman in the world. To her, I am forever grateful.

Simply,

Em.

Super Saver Saturday: 100th Post Edition

2009-02-22T02:47:00.002-05:00

Hooray 100th blog post! Not-so-hooray shopping this week. I didn't even look at the Meijer ad until last (Friday) night. I didn't cut last week's coupons until then either. School has been weird, and I spent a lot of time writing a 16 page midterm exam last week instead of worrying about grocery shopping (or doing anything else). That is one of my favorite parts of having a huge stockpile of food and household goods. If I don't make it to the store, we will not starve. It allows me to put my attention on my family, on school work, on my job, or whatever else distracts me from deal finding at the moment. There will be more sales, I always tell myself, even though it is impossible to believe at the moment. Today, we happened to go out in a blizzard to get car parts ... a long and painful (for the frugal and/or broke-ish) story, so I decided to make it worthwhile by swinging into Meijer for some last minute deals. Literally last minute, since my receipt says I checked out at 1115pm. Yikes.

6 Fancy Feast Medley cat food: .75c/ea on sale - $1/6 coupon = .58c/ea
8 Friskies Indoor Select cat food: .75c/ea on sale - BOGO coupons = .38c/ea
6 Ortega taco seasoning: price dropped to .57c/ea - .75c/2 coupons = .20c/ea
1 Fryin' Magic: price dropped to $1.69 - .75c peelie on box = .94c
10 Dannon yogurt: .40c/ea on sale - $1/10 coupon = .30c/ea
2 Jimmy Dean's breakfast entrees: $2/ea on sale - $1/1 coupons = $1/ea
1 Popcorn Seasoning Shaker: clearanced to $1.44

and in the 10/10 (11th FREE!) ...
6 Knorr noodle sides - .75c/2 coupons = .53c/ea
3 Chef Boyardee spaghetti - .35c/3 coupon = .78c/ea
1 Meijer zip top bag
12 Bumblebee tuna lunch kits

TOTAL SPENT: $33.28
TOTAL SAVED: $25.70

Ok, not my best showing. Mostly, my little brother loves those Bumblebee lunch kits. So much that I usually put them in his stocking at the holidays. He got a new job last week, and I'm so darn proud of him that I splurged on a case of them (small box, only 12 of those buggers in there) since they were on the 10/10 (11th FREE!). Now he can throw them in his lunch and think of how much he loves his rad sister. Riiiiiiiight.

Simply,

Em.

Gratituesday

2009-02-17T01:09:00.004-05:00

I'm not inclined to write huge prose about my gratitude this week. There's not necessarily an overarching theme or common thread to pull it all together other than I happen to be grateful about a bunch of random things (ok, about mostly everything ...), so I will save you the forced narrative and we'll do a snippet version today.

(Ooooooh, and I have to number things. It's one part former policy debater and one part current minor OCD-er)

1. My baby brother got himself a job this week. That's no small feat in this state these days with our double digit unemployment rates. It's pretty good paying for his experience, and I don't think he hates it, a bonus.

2. We had a full house over the weekend, which I love. We got to hang out, relax, be crafty, cook yummy food, and laugh hysterically (remember the late night cake run excursion?).

3. The weather was actually pretty ok ... warming up a little during the day, letting the sun peek out from behind the massive gray grossness that has been smothering us for months. Sunny weather always makes me inherently more grateful. It's not that I'm not grateful on overcast days, simply that the conscious act is culled to the front of my brain by warm sunny weather.

4. There was cake. And pie. And ice cream. And pita. All reasons to be praiseful regardless of the rest of your life.

5. The adorable Be was exceptionally adorable this week. I like it when he takes the time to remind me why I like him in the first place. Haha. Those of you in the 'we have been together 100 (ok, 8 ...) years' club can relate, no?

6. The house is cleaner than it was on Friday. This is always a good thing.

7. I got to spend some absolutely blissful time alone in my house this afternoon. Seriously, I have not had the house all to myself in ages ... months at least. I enjoy even a few hours of time to clean, deal with clutter, prepare food, tidy the office (read: write blogs and waste time on the internet), and just relish the super quiet of our home. It's one of those 'Aaaahhhhhh' moments.

8. I found a number of great reads online this week. A couple helped me with some crafty things I've been trying to figure out. Another, a blog about conversion stories, spoke to my heart. How great is the internet? I. Love. It.

9. We have an abundance of produce in our house this week. This doesn't happen in the winter months here ... um, ever. I will enjoy the bounty of broccoli and bell peppers more because of that.

...

Of course, before I could get to 10, I came to the realization that my house has grown quiet again. This means only one thing ... everyone scampered off to bed (because I'm really writing on what most people consider Monday night). This brings another thought ... I bet the 2 that ate dinner at 1130 left it out for me to put away. Ugh. Moments of inconsideration make it difficult for me to be perfectly grateful. Now, to close my eyes for a moment and let the warm fuzzy feelings of living and loving that which we are most grateful for erase the beginning to bubble irritation about what I'm likely to find in the kitchen only moments from now ...

...

...

... still trying ...

...

... come on, guy, be still my heart.

Simply,

Em.

Menu Plan Monday: Use it Up Edition

2009-02-16T17:46:00.002-05:00

For a million more menus, check out Org. Junkie.

This week we are on a mission to use up the bits of this and that which are cluttering up the fridge. I want to cook/eat everything in there, clean the whole thing top to bottom, and start over with stuff from the freezer. I couldn't even get a frozen pizza into my outside freezer right now, it's so crammed full of awesome deals. Maybe it's the coming spring weather or the fact that I can walk outside without freezing immediately to the core, but I'm getting those 'Clean Everything!', 'Start Anew!' feelings. Now, to be practical about it instead of cleaning like a crazy until 4am only to collapse, exhausted, with more of a mess than I started with ...

MONDAY
Crockpot Beef Roast, Carrots, Onions, Red Skinned Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli

That's it. Haha. The only day I know for sure, simply because it's already been cooking for 5 hours. The rest of the week will be an amalgamation of things from the fridge. What? I have no idea. There's some leftover fajitas in there, some ground beef, cheese, celery and carrots, some onion and bell pepper, a head of broccoli. Hmmmm. I should put some solid time in taking stock of what pieces can go together. Yea, maybe I'll go do it right now ...

Simply,

Em.

Super Saving Saturday: Buy Nearly Nothing Edition

2009-02-14T03:05:00.000-05:00

I didn't really grocery shop this week ... well, kind of. On Tuesday, I swung by Meijer to use up some rain checks that were expiring for beef round roasts and Fast Fixin' frozen chicken. The chicken wound up being a super deal when the cashier took the 1/2 price rain check to mean 1/2 off this week's sale price making them $1 each after the adjustment and a $1/1 coupon. 32oz bags of breaded frozen chicken for $1?! Yes, please.

Friday and Saturday, while out running other errands, we swung back into Meijer for the Super Weekend Sale. Friday included a handful of ingredients for stir-fry night because we had company, almost all of which we found on clearance ... yay! We needed mushrooms, baby corn, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, bell peppers (which are NOT in season ... which I still feel incredibly guilty about ... shhhhhh, don't tell, ok?), and pita.

Saturday was solely for the purpose of getting Buy 2, Get 3 Free 16.9oz 6pks of Dr. Pepper products. I have a house full of pop drinkers, and even though I continue to find 100 other ways to cut our grocery budget, they insist that pop cannot be cut entirely. *sigh* On this issue (unlike the ongoing prodding toward cancelling the cable), I do not intend to win. Instead I just make sure to stock up on great sales and call it good. We can't win them all, right? We really can't win them all when arguing exclusively with adults. 5 6pks including the bottle deposit was less than $11. That's good enough for me.

Now, confession time. Friday night, after making amazingly yummy cooked to order stir-fry, we wanted dessert. Sensible people would throw something together. Good hostesses would have prepared for this inevitability and made something ahead ... or at least had something good to pull from the freezer and defrost into dessert magic. I, on the other hand, was persuaded into the entirely non-Em act of 'running to the store' to 'pick up a few things' (read: CAKE!). Can you use your immense psycic ability to forecast how this turned out? Ha.

Yea.

We came home with 2 loaves of clearanced Italian Bread (for Saturday's french toast breakfast), 1 pkg of clearanced cheese bread twists, 1 clearanced 6 count cupcake tray, 1 cheese cake, a can of raspberry pie filling, 1/2 gallon of vanilla ice cream, and a clearanced strawberry rhubarb pie (Be capital L loves pie ... and I never buy it ... or make it, meanie I am). Yes, that's right, 'run to the store' alright. On the one hand, this is a never ever (ever ever ever) happens here occurrence and that inclines me to chalk it up to craziness and not worry about it. On the other hand, I'm kind of disappointed in myself for not a: being better prepared, b: being willing to come up with something on the fly from what we had on hand, and c: for getting a little clearanced baked good crazy. On top of all of that, it's a solid 15 mile drive from my house to Meijer ... which I happily drove at the time ... just for cake. Did I hit my head somewhere? Was I abducted by the pod people? I do love (Love!!) cake, but this is soooooooooooo not an Em thing to do. *hmph*

Forgive me, frugal bloggy readers, my name is Em and I have had a temporary relapse. For cake. And assorted other clearanced baked goods.

Simply,

Em.

WFMW: Condiments Galore!

2009-02-11T19:49:00.005-05:00

For more WFMW, check out Rocks In My Dryer.

Photo: zen

In the past, when packing school or work lunches, I would squirt a bunch of the lunch-bearer's favorite condiments into tiny little plastic Tupperware containers and toss them in the bag. Nearly every lunch left the house with a wee fistful of those little buggers since we don't 'dress' sandwiches when packing them to prevent squishy nightmares at lunchtime. It's a good plan in that everyone can have what they want in their lunch, however it has failed us miserably on more than one occasion.

The lunch box gets left over the weekend in someone's desk with remnants of mayo left unused and forgotten ... a joy to clean out on Monday night when it finally makes its way home. The condiment containers have spilled, both because the lids didn't make it on tightly and because they simply bumped up against too many other things and came loose ... another evening spent trying to scrub mustard out of a nylon lunchbag. Or, my personal favorite, the person will not grab the containers, which have inevitably (and magically) wandered off in the middle of the night to some back corner of the fridge to party it up with their full size compadres ... leaving a complainy lunch eater with a dry sandwich or salad.

At the same time, when ever we got take out there would be a massive pile of those little packets of whatever sauce or substance is supposed to go with your food. There were always approximately 843 more of them than any one person needs in one meal, and at the end of the night they would make the trip from the counter to the trash can with the rest of the 'dishes'.

Then, it kind of hit me one night ... wouldn't it be fun to have those little packets in your lunch instead of potentially spilling, woefully oversized, and requiring a utensil to use containers? Ah ha! It's the simplest thing, really. When we get take out, the leftover sauce and condiment packets go in a plastic shoebox sized container on a shelf in the pantry. When I make lunches, they get tucked inside. Easy peasy! Plus, it's kind of fun to have mini-sizes of things you wouldn't think to pack in a lunch ... hot sauce, soy sauce, relish, and the like. It makes lunch more interesting, it keeps the lunch eaters in this house happier, and it saves me from doing extra dishes. Oh, and did I mention that the whole endeavor is free?! Hooray all around!

I mean, really, have you ever tried to scrub mustard out of nylon webbing?

Simply,

Em.

The Pinocchio of Bloggers ...

2009-02-10T10:29:00.004-05:00

You know how Pinocchio asks all the time about being a 'real boy'? That's how I feel about blogging today. I never set out to be a 'real blogger'. I mostly wanted a place to share this crazy frugal life with a handful of my friends who both a: think me crazy for washing out ziplock bags and b: secretly want to be frugal-cool (... or not so secretly as in the case of my buddy WesO who thinks my breakout calculations of what dinner ingredients cost are fun ... nerds unite!). I never thought I'd be bloggy friends with a bunch of amazing people, or that I would participate in regular features like today's Gratituesday. Today brings the next big step ... a blog carnival.

If you follow me on facebook, you would have seen my status about entering the carnival yesterday. I entered the 164th edition of the Festival of Frugality hosted this week by Broke Grad Student, and my entry on the (not-so-traditional) way we reused our holiday wrapping paper this year was accepted for inclusion. If you're looking, it's second from the bottom, haha. Now, I'm not entirely sure how these bloggy carnivals work exactly. I have a small inclination that they accept everyone that writes anything at all related to the topic. I am ridiculously proud regardless.

Someday, I'll be a real blogger.

Simply,

Em.

Gratituesday: Sing-a-long Edition

2009-02-10T10:07:00.008-05:00

For more Gratituesday, check out Laura's blog.

For this week's Gratituesday, I'm letting Leonard Cohen do the talking for me. The emphasis is mine. Turn it up.

Now I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the L-rd
But you don't really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you
To a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

Baby I have been here before
I know this room, I've walked this floor
I used to live alone before I new you.
I've seen your flag on the marble arch
Love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

There was a time you let me know
What's really going on below
But now you never show it to me, do you?
And remember when I moved in you
The holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

You say I took the name in vain
I don't even know the name
But if I did, well really, what's it to you?
There's a blaze of light
In every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Halleluah

I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even through
It all went wrong
I'll stand before the L-rd of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah!

Always, very simply,

Em.