TGIF Stuff

Hi!

It's a day off for me! And the kids!  I was glad I got to do parent/teacher interviews yesterday instead of today.  Both kids are doing well! :-)  My MIL is back from her cruise so the kids are spending the night with their grandparents.

I did the grocery shopping today and I'm consistently surprised at how much our groceries are.  This week I spent $148.  I bought bakery bread on sale for $1.50 (I think it's normally $2.29 or $2.49).  A dozen large eggs cost $3.39. Two liters of milk costs $3.59.  Ten pounds of potatoes cost $4.99 and 3 lbs of carrots is $2.99.  Is this expensive?  It certainly adds up!  I bought a big bag of cat food for $23.99. I used to buy the super cheap stuff at about 1/2 the price of what I bought today, but because it's been so cold, HH thought we should switch over to some "better" stuff!  When we gave Lisa the new food mixed in with her old food, she would pick out the new food and leave the old. I guess she likes it better!

On the other hand, I saved $14 on gas because of the grocery store giving coupons based on how much groceries you buy.  Today I earned $.04/liter off my next purchase.  (You can use up to 4 coupons when you buy gas and sometimes the store gives double or triple coupons.)

I found this picture on BHG.com.  

It kinda reminded me of mine and how I  painted them black. 

 I think I mentioned I'd had the idea (or rather saw the idea somewhere) to hang 6 or 9 on the wall to organize papers.  I like them on the stairs above and thought maybe I'd do it in the hallway.

We've had 2 frames fall and break their glass. I thought I should take out all the glass, but I haven't done it yet. I guess I'll just wait til they all fall and break!  ;-) The wall in the foreground on the right isn't exactly finished. It still needs a couple studs behind it and if our door is shut too roughly (usually by DS), the frames bounce off. I've put sticky tack on the bottom of them to help so we'll see how that goes. Anyway, I thought these pics would be changing more and it's kinda hard to change the pics if they're all behind glass and sticky tacked to the wall.  The clipboards may be a solution for when I grow tired of the frames.

This weekend is DD's Ice Show, A Night at the Movies.  It should be cute.  Her group is Mike Wazowski from Monster's University.

We've been having record cold temps this week- mostly around Neg20C (Neg4F) with windchills around Neg 27-28C (Neg20F).  The kids had indoor recess all week and twice my car wouldn't start because the battery was so cold.  Today it is right around freezing so it feels great!  However, next week it is going back down to Neg 20C a couple nights. :-(

Have a wonderful weekend! :-)

Tasty Tuesday

Hi!

Yesterday was a holiday, Islander Day, so it was a day off for everybody.  We had a blizzard on Sunday!  The kids had gone to Summerside to spend Saturday night and the plan was to have the in-laws and kids come back on Sunday for dinner.  However, the storm prevented this and DS and DD didn't get home til yesterday!  That was fine, though.  They have lots of friends in town and had a grand ole time being storm-stayed.  HH & I had a relaxing storm day too, watching "House of Cards" on Netflix.  The storm actually stopped around 4:00 Sunday, but our road didn't get plowed till around 10:00pm!  HH cleared our driveway and there was a big drift on the road right in front of the house.  It was nice and sunny (though cold) yesterday so the kids and I were able to go outside for a bit to build snow forts.

So, I went shopping this morning and spent around $120.  I didn't buy meats but I did I buy socks for HH, toothpaste and Ibuprofen so without those, it would've been around $100.  Finally, a more reasonable bill.

Here's our menu for the week.

• Mon- Frozen Lasagna, Crudites
• Tues- Leftover Curry Beef Stew from Sunday
• Wed- Beans- Haystacks by DS
• Thurs- Chicken Smelts, Roasted Cauliflower, Krispy Kale, Frozen Black Eyed Peas
• Fri- Pizza Creole Crockpot Chicken (see recipe below)
• Sat- Leftovers (Eggs?) Tortilla Cheese Pizza
• Sun- HH Soup (probably chicken) Slow cooker Chicken stock with pre-cooked potatoes and carrots

Here's a recipe I found in this library book.

Here's what we ate last year.

• Mon- Pasta, Frozen Chickpeas
• Tues- Porkchops, Broccoli, Potatoes
• Wed- Frozen Chickpeas, Quinoa, Chinese Cabbage (funny dinner!) No school today (b/c storm?)
• Thurs-//Turnip Soufflee, Bread (no power!)
• Fri- Homemade Mac & Cheese
• Sat- Homemade Pizza
• Sun- Lima Bean Cassoulet (Vegetarian Slow Cooker pg 102)

It's funny because last year the kids also got storm-stayed in town on Saturday and Sunday.  Plus we are expecting more snow tomorrow and Thursday just like last year!

Have a great week! :-) 

Tasty Tuesday

Hi!

It seems like I'm spending more and more on groceries lately.  I joined a new points program and I'm trying not to chase points,  but the last 2 weeks, I've spent over $200 on groceries each week!  And today, when I thought I didn't have much to buy, I still spent $150.  Although, this week I did get a ton of fresh produce so maybe that's why?

Anyway, here's what we're eating this week.

• Mon-Pasta Curry with Broccoli, Green Beans, Chick Peas
• Tues- Pan-fried Cod Leftover Salmon in Bisquick pancakes, Oven Baked Potatoes, Veg- Greek Salad, Sauteed Kale/Spinach
• Wed- Red Lentil Dal, Frozen Green Lentils, Reduced canned tomaotes, panfried onions, 2/3 c. instant brown Rice & 1/3 c. quinoa, Veg- Mache Salad, Crudites
• Thurs- Chicken Legs- marinated in yogurt, lemon juice, masala; Mashed potatoes, frozen mixed veggeis
• Fri- Pizza (Spinach)
• Sat- Leftovers
• Sun- Roast by HH

Last year's meals.

• Mon- Chili
• Tues- Sushi, Miso Soup
• Wed- Fish Sticks, Potatoes, Spinach
• Thur- Chicken Curry in Crockpot, rice
• Fri- Bagel Pizza
• Sat- Lentil Soup, Rice Pudding

Somebody cleared the pond Sunday evening, so we got to go skating on it last night!

We even saw a beaver where the pond has open water!

:-)

TGIF Thoughts

Hi!

Today is a day of school for the kids, but HH took them this morning to Summerside to spend the day!  I went for a walk with the walking group.  Now I'm home waiting for my coffee!

So, I tried the rug out in the front room.

At first, it seemed too busy to me, with the painted floor.

   

And I wasn't sure it went with the dresser.

 But I think once the room is all done, it'll look good.

The room will have a white bench with white "lockers" on the right in the above pic, wooden doors on the left, and the dresser (which could be re-painted, but may end up working in the space).  The walls will be white or cream and I'm leaning toward a planked white ceiling.  We have the planks from the kids' old room. I think right now there's just too much junk!

DS is learning at school about the food groups and how much of each group he needs. We realized we're all short on veggies and fruit!  So, I've been trying to serve more. I read an interesting article about how non-organic fruit and veggies are still good for you!  And it's better to eat a non-organic apple than an organic cracker snack pack.  I've fallen into the trap of not getting non-organic produce sometimes because I think it's "bad".  So, I'm gonna buy more produce now because the kids will eat it if it's there!  This week I've served cut up veggie sticks in little glasses with dip in the bottom.  I wasn't sure the kids would eat it or not, but they did! I must try to find that article again.  I was on HH's computer....

(Update: Here's the link to the article!)

Have a great weekend! :-)