Bluebonnets and Tornados again in Texas

We tried the weekend before last to get Bluebonnet photos as it is a Texas and family tradition and it was a disaster. The weather turned cooler suddenly while we were out. The patch we found turned out to have cactus in it so both boys were cold, not smiling and Clark ended up with cactus spines on him.

We were debating going out again and made the last minute decision to head to Ennis this past Saturday. It was a decision that I am happy we made. Phillip pulled up a map of the Bluebonnet trail webpage which showed where the best fields are and after a bit of scouting around we found this amazing patch and had happy kids which made for great photos. These are a few of the photos that Phillip has edited.

And as always seems to happen when we get bluebonnet photos we are under tornado warnings tonight. They are predicting 80 mile an hour winds, tornadoes, and grapefruit sized hail. I know our lantern is charged but when I get home I will go ahead and get the bathroom ready just in case we need to seek shelter.  If the storm fizzles out or does not make it this far south I will still have a clean bathroom.

Fourth Week of Pantry Challenge Light

I made a couple of stops to take advantage of sales this week

Winco Trip:
2 gallons milk
2 cans refried beans
2 boxes honey buns
1 pkg mini pepperoni
1 Dublin peach soda
1 quart strawberries


Total: $12.83

Sprouts Trip:
6 pints blackberries
1 eggplant
~1&1/2 lbs grapes
1 watermelon
3 ears corn
~4&1/4 lbs bananas
2 bags chips
~1/4 lb dried cranberries
~1/2 lb raisins
1 pkg breakfast steaks
1 rump roast
4 muffins
2 hoagie rolls

Total: $30.82

Totals for the month thus far:  $254.74

I managed to get the menu plan done fairly quickly this week.

This is what really happened:

Sun Apr 17th:  Slow Cooker Pork Roast served with corn on the cob

Mon Apr 18th: French Bread pizzas from this recipe. I was not a fan, it was overly bready which will surprise a lot of people as I like pan pizza. I will put this one on the do not make again list.

Tue Apr 19th: Cheesy Chicken and Rice Bake. I did use leftover pork instead of chicken.

Wed Apr 20th: Meatloaf "muffins" with a smidge of Velveeta in them and homemade mashed potatoes. 

Thur Apr 21st: I had some tortillas to use up so I went with pork soft tacos

Fri Apr 22nd: Used up the last of the pork in a pot pie

Sat Apr 23rd: Bean burritos to use up more tortillas.

Savings Accounts and Looking Toward May

Next week I will write out my May budget but that is not what sparked the plan I want to put in place. I received a rebate check in the mail over the weekend from one of my grocery apps. Normally I would put this money back in my checking account to put toward whatever bills I have coming up, to purchase more groceries or to just spend. Today as I looked at the check I made a different decision. I deposited the amount into our vacation account. I drove to Florida with Logan 4 years ago to visit my family and brought my mom back with me for a couple of weeks. Logan loved it so much that he kept asking when we could go to the beach again. I told him we would have to save up for it as we do not have the money to just drop and go. Since then I have put $5 a month in a vacation account which of course puts something away but it is not enough to go often. I want to take the boys next summer to see my family and so I decided for the next month that any rebates or extra money will go into the vacation account. I am hoping that will add enough with the monthly deposits to comfortably drive down there and see whatever we want to. After next month I may sock the money away into another account or go back to the current mode of operation.


As for other challenges  I will continue trying to use up items at home but not do any formal pantry challenge starting next week. Menu planning will continue as this has made my life infinitely easier especially during the week.

Third Week of the Pantry Light Challenge

Friday trips to Target and Winco

Target trip:

1 case diapers
1 bottle dish soap
1 pkg wipes
1 pkg pork chops
1 whole chicken
1 20oz rootbeer

Total: $28.18

Winco trip:
1 loaf french bread
2 cans refried beans
3 dog bones
1 loaf bread
2 quarts beef broth
6 pack of Mike's hard peach lemonade
a few gummy fish for Logan
1 box of cheese and peanut butter crackers
1 quart blueberries
2 gallons milk

Total: $22.84

SubTotal: $231.09

Rebate Amount: $20.00

Total for Month ( as of 4-8-16): $211.09

This week started off with no meal plan. I never made one out on Sunday and the meals on Sunday and Monday reflect that. I was winging it without feeling it so we ate bad.

What the week really looked like:

Sun Apr 10th: Nachos using up some refried black beans I opened on accident when making the chicken enchilada rice casserole last week.

Mon Apr 11th: lacking inspiration and nothing in the fridge calling my name I went with the eggrolls and dumplings I had in the freezer. I added a stir fry using up some broccoli, carrots, mushrooms and snow peas I had on hand.

Tue Apr 12th: I am taking the kids to Chick-Fil-A tonight for a planting event they are having.

Wed Apr 13th: Cheesesteaks, these were really good and will definitely go into regular rotation.

Thur Apr 14th:  Grilled ribs served with skillet scalloped potatoes. The potatoes were really not great, they were just ok. The sauce was a little thin and anemic looking. I will probably use a different recipe if I ever make these again. 

Fri Apr 15th: Chicken alfredo pasta using some pre cooked fajita chicken I had in the freezer along with some dried mushrooms I put up.

Sat Apr 16th: BBQ little smokies with black beans and steamed rice.

Books Apr 1st Through Apr 15th

I do not have much to talk about with respect to audio books since the last post. I finished listening to Bill Nye's Unstoppable this week. It covers the subject of climate change and ridding our dependence on fossil fuels. He has some really good insights into research and ideas of things we can all do both at a local level and on a national level. This is a topic I am fairly well versed in and many suggestions I try to apply to my daily life. I am glad that we are waking up to this topic on a national level. After I finished that one I started listening to The Happiness Project which is something I had started reading in print but gladly switched over to audio book so I can finish it. On the fence currently with this one. I am always looking for insights to making my life better and some suggestions I have already been tackling such as cleaning up and simplifying your environment. We will see where else this goes and if I can use it in my daily life.

Print books are slower than ever. I finished Notorious Nineteen and thought it was an ok light read which is why I was reading it. Once it was finished I picked up Amish Life which was really just a cool picture book of the daily life of a couple of Amish groups. Once I looked through that one I went back to tackling my currently reading list. That meant trying to get through The Complete Idiot's Guide to Selling Your Crafts which I am not finding overly useful. I will finish it mainly to get it off my list and hope there are some tips I can use in it somewhere. I would love to supplement my income with my homemade items and get at least my student loans paid off.

Day Off....Or Was It?

We changed dental plans once Phillip was eligible at his new job as it was much better than the plan I had for us. This and the fact I chipped a tooth made it necessary that I make dental appointments for the boys and I . Last Friday was the day I scheduled their appointments in the morning and mine in the afternoon so Thursday I made this list before I left work.

And this is what I actually got done....

Up with the boys at 8am
Cook cinnamon toast for breakfast per Logan's request
Run the dishwasher
Do a load of laundry
Get a shower
Look at the list to make sure I have what I need in the car
Try to get package ready to mail
Realize we need to leave in a couple of minutes for the boy's appts
Rush to dentist
Both boys are seen and it is much less painless than last visit. Get quote on work Logan needs done
Take boys to Mcdonald's for lunch as Logan has missed lunch time at school
Take them both to the sitter as it is nearly noon and Logan has missed most of the school day
Go by the house hang a load of laundry out on the line
Start another load in the washer
Eat my lunch since I did not order for me at McDonald's
Unload the dishwasher
Clean up the kitchen
Put lunch dishes in dishwasher
Finish getting stuff ready for the mail
Load up car with items from list
Head to post office
Ship items
Go to dentist, get cleaning, discuss need for crown on chipped tooth and wisdom teeth extraction
Plant sale
Complete trade set up through trade group
Not enough time to go to church
Head to Target to pick up diapers
Library to return books
Pick up boys
Winco for milk
Home , clean out car
Boys play outside


I will stop there as my evenings are well documented without another commentary. I just wanted to show what a day "off" from work for me and many other working moms looks like. 

Second Week of Pantry Challenge Light

There was no produce co-op this last week as I chose to not participate. The amount I picked up last weekend was enough to last us about 3 weeks so it will be close to the end of the month before I participate again.

I went to Winco over the weekend and ended up going over budget but have some refunds to offset that amount.

Winco Trip:

1 (2) liter Pepsi
1 bag pistachios
2 gallons milk
2 cans refried beans
~2&1/4 lbs bananas
1 carton orange juice
1 Dublin bottling works peach soda
1 can enchilada sauce
2 trays of Flanken style ribs

Total: $32.87

Sub Total: $210.32

rebate refunds: $30.25

Total for the month (as of today): $180.07


I need to get some more milk and have another rebate on the way so I may make it out of this month meeting the pantry challenge as well as being under $200.00.


This week's menu plan:

What the plan actually looked like:

 Sun April 3rd:  I went out to grill the ribs and we did not have any propane. I tried to grill them using my cast iron grill pan but that filled the house with smoke. I ended up putting them on the broiling pan in the oven. served with asparagus sauteed in butter and garlic. 

Mon Apr 4th: I made the pork stir fry using up leftover pork from last week's menu. I cooked that with some carrots, the last of some frozen broccoli I had as well as some snow peas still left from a past basket. This was served with steamed rice.

Tue Apr 5th: One Pot Zucchini Mushroom Pasta. I used the peas from my garden which were not a full portion. If anyone else makes this increase the peas and mushrooms. I ended up scooping some of the liquid out as it was not even close to all absorbed. Phillip was not a fan of the zucchini and took almost all of it out of his dish.

Wed Apr 6th: Chicken Legs from the slow cooker seasoned with paprika, onion powder and granulated garlic. Served with homemade cinnamon apples that used up several apples that were getting a little soft. 

Thur Apr 7th: Using the leftover chicken from Wednesday and the leftover rice from Monday I tried this recipe for Chicken Enchilada Rice Casserole. I cut the recipe in half as I was not trying to feed a bunch of people and the amount I had in leftovers was not enough for the original recipe. It was tasty and Phillip had a couple of helpings. 

Fri Apr 8th: Grilled cheese

Sat Apr 9th:  chicken nuggets ( the last of these from the freezer) with homemade shells and cheese. 

Thoughts on the Pantry Challenge

I started the pantry challenge as a way to use up what I had on hand and cut my spending. It was partially successful, partially a failure. I did use up a great deal of what I had on hand and tried some good recipes out. The month ended with me realizing other than meat I have enough on hand to go another month which is what we are currently in the midst of. As for saving money I failed at this. I ended up using the extra money from my grocery budget to purchase some non food items such as diapers I found on special. I also put it toward a couple of pinterest projects I wanted to do for the house so none of ended up going to pay down my student loans which was my initial hope.

The huge success really was my ability to not shop. I am finally able to go into the grocery store and despite the sale objectively say that I do not need something. This shift is huge and will in the end save me as much as ending my need to shop for recreation did. Hopefully my kids will learn that meals can be amazing, nourishing and fun but do not have to consume as much of my time on the weekends.

Another success of the pantry challenge has been the meal planning. Things have occasionally not gone according to plan but sitting down on Sunday and thinking about what needs to be used up that week has helped with waste and time management during the week. I know ahead of time that I have all the ingredients on hand and it does not have to occupy my thoughts during the day. This was really a godsend when I did not feel well as dinner did not take a lot out of me. There have been a couple of nights when I did not want to make what I had planned and subbed something else but felt the freedom to do this.

Overall the pantry challenge was an amazing experience and I recommend it to everyone.

First Week of Pantry Challenge Light

So planning on starting another month of the pantry challenge was met with the need to restock on essentials. Saturday I picked up my co-op basket which I had added a hostess extra to.

Basket total: $36.50, I traded $6 worth of the produce that we were not going to eat for a jar of mayo, a box of dryer sheets and a container of oatmeal. 


In addition to this I went by Sprouts because I had (2) $5/$30 purchase coupons so I could stock up on some items we were out of like meat.

Sprouts Trip:

1lb strawberries
2 heads of garlic
~2&1/4 pounds of green grapes
~1&3/4 pounds sweet potatoes
1 bag potato chips
2 boxes snack grahams
1 bag veggie sticks
2 pkgs sliced cheddar cheese
2 pkgs pork chops
1 pork loin roast
2 pkgs ground beef
1 pkg chicken legs

Total: $34.76


Saturday was a crazy errand day which included a trip to the farmer's market and Target for diapers and groceries.

Farmer's Market:
1 wedge Granbury Gold Gouda from Eagle Mountain Cheese 

Total: $9.00


Target trip: ( groceries only)

1 pkg peeps
3 pkgs fruit snacks
1 head lettuce
3 jars store brand Nutella
1 jar Alfredo sauce
2 blocks cheese
~1/2 lb deli lunch meat
1 pkg raisins
2 pkgs dried cranberries
3 (1)lb pkgs ground beef
3 pkgs stew meat
2 dozen eggs
2 pkgs of yogurt tubes
2 pkgs Greek yogurt
1 pkg snack crackers
1 pkg deli sliced cheese
1 pound butter
2 cases diapers (largest boxes available)

Total: $97.19


After restocking this is what our menu looks like for this week.

This is what the week looked like:

Sun Mar 27th: Frozen Pizza

Mon Mar 28th: Baked potatoes, salad and garlic bread were on the menu. The potatoes in the past baskets have been rather small though so I decided to pull a trick my aunt and uncle used to make them go further. I washed and quartered the potatoes I had and then "baked" them in the microwave. I put some butter in the bowl and stirred them up to coat and then added cheese and bacon. I left the sour cream on the side since I tend to like a lot and most people do not. It turned out to be a pretty filling dinner.

Tue Mar 29th: Dinner with friends at Logan's favorite place Rosa's Cafe.

Wed Mar 30th:  I used the leftover spaghetti sauce  tossed a can of tomato sauce and cooked Penne pasta. I then covered that in shredded cheese and popped in the oven. As we were eating I was mad at myself for not throwing some mushrooms and spinach in there with the sauce.

Thur Mar 31st: Pork chops that I had cooked in the crock pot along with sauteed asparagus and mushrooms.

Fri Apr 1st: Biscuits and scrambled eggs

Sat Apr 2nd: Sandwiches