Whee! Time is Flying By...

 I finally figured out today how to shut off the date on photos.  This one taken two weeks ago one morning around 6:15am as John left for work.  It's surprising how dark it's already getting these early mornings, even on non-cloudy days.


I feel as though I've barely had time in the past few weeks to even bother to write at all.  I've been very busy of late, as I shared.  It's been another full and busy week and another weekend filled to the brim with family.  I do believe God is giving us a season of family time to enjoy our kids before we are moved into a new field of ministry.

Thrifty Thursday

 Friday: I had big plans for this day...and my plans were shortened considerably by Mama's announcement that she was coming to stay for three or four hours!  Nothing like an unexpected visitation to make you hurry up and finish up the business of homemaking!  I had meant to cook ahead for the weekend.  I did manage to put together a casserole of Spaghetti Diable which calls for cooked chicken.  I split the called for amounts between two dishes and froze half.  I had a  meal that Mama and I could share (and enough leftovers for John to take to lunch the next day) and a casserole for later when John and I need an easy meal.

Iced Tea Chat

 Well here I am... I guess you thought I'd gone away, hadn't you?  Not at all.  For some reason my time these past two weeks has been premium.  And then this week I just felt the need to shelter myself a little, not even realizing until now that it's the anniversary week of Granny dying....It's been quite a journey since this time last year.  Quite a long journey it seems.  Maybe that too is why I felt the need to shelter a bit.

John's last week off seemed particularly long.  He started with a day of class, finishing up the CEUs required to be licensed another two years as a Paramedic.  We're glad that is done.  Then we shopped for groceries a day later than usual and the very next day, on Friday, we packed up,  left home early and went down to visit our son and daughter in law and the grands! 

Week One- Grocery Challenge

Because I wanted my challenge to begin for July, I spent normally this last pay period.  However, since I don't want to wait until July 11 (our next shopping day) to start the challenge, I decided I would jot down the cost of items used that I'd bought in the last pay period and am using for this first week of challenge.  That really has been minimal thus far.

$2 hummus (we've used about half this week)

$2.50 pita chips

$3.99 coffee (half for this week)

$.99 bread x 2

$2.89 deli roast beef

$3.29 deli turkey (used about half)

$.99 xs 2eggs

$1.99 milk

$1 beef sausages

$1.65 Half and Half (used 1/2)

$1.99 Romaine lettuce (used 1/3)

$1.99 cheddar slices

$1.99 lemons

$2.14 nuts

$1.49 bagels

$1.49 blueberries

$2.64 soda

$2.00 peaches and plums

$1.49 chips

$1.79 ice cream
$1.69mushrooms
$.49 pudding (we used half this week)
$1.99 Blue Cheese (used half)
$1.99 Cottage cheese (used half)
$2 Mozzarella (used 1/2)
$1.99 mixed fruit (jar)
$52.34

Thrifty Thursday - Cutting Back

I know it's been two weeks since I shared my thrifty doings.  I've no excuse other than being busy this past week.  We took a quick trip south of us to visit the grandbabies and between the whirlwind trip and the rush to get there from the work week, I confess I was mightily tired.  But it was grand to see those children!  Focus is on the past week and all that we did to save, even while traveling.

Friday:  Before traveling to leave home, I packed a bag with frozen water bottles, cold soda, granola bars, crackers with peanut butter and a bag of cheese sticks.  I knew we wouldn't be on the road for endless hours, but long enough to get good and hungry.  And besides it was HOT outdoors so we'd definitely need plenty of water to carry along.

I used stored water to water the plants heavily.  Glad I did.  It got extremely hot while we were gone.

Menu Monday: Holiday Week

It's hot I tell ya: 106F temperature this past weekend and we won't even discuss the 'feels like' temperatures which were scary.  There's no doubt however, that July 4th in the U.S.A. brings up thoughts of cookouts and picnics and fireworks and all those sorts of things.  I confess I've had my share of all three complete with homemade ice cream churned the old fashioned way.  I've seen July 4ths so hot that your sandals melted on pavement and on the opposite end there was a misty evening of fireworks where we all wrapped up in the quilt we'd taken to sit upon!  It got COLD that evening.  Brrr!

I never did get to make my meatloaf last week.  I cranked up the oven to make a peach cobbler yesterday but it might be a while before I do that again.  Good as that cobbler was (notice the past tense...It's gone now but boy was it delicious), I don't believe it's worthwhile to heat up the entire house, especially when the outdoor temps are so high.  I'll have to wait for cooler weather, you know, when the thermometer dips into the low 90's, lol.

A Reply to IM

 

A reader said...

I so enjoy your sharing, Terri. I am always checking your blog to see if you have new insights for us!Today, I have a question for you. If you had someone to help with your housekeeping what chores would you assign them? I have been blessed with two workers for two hours every two weeks, and to be frank? I have no idea how to direct them! (We live simply by choice, so there not a lot to declutter. All the time can be spent cleaning!) 

 I keep a fairly clean home myself and periodically go through and do some deeper cleaning and decluttering...But there are always tasks I can't tackle right away or which are simply too big for me to handle on my own.  If I had been given the blessing you have, I'd definitely be looking at those tasks on my 'wish list'.  If it were a big enough task to warrant help I'd be happy to work alongside someone who had volunteered time to help to accomplish it. Soooo  I'd consider asking for help with washing windows or cleaning kitchen cabinets or  clearing out a closet or an area I kept meaning to work in but felt overwhelmed by.