I'm dreaming of a White Christmas.

Oh, right, it's February so Christmas has come and gone. Well, it's snowing yet again and though it looks all cheery and bright, I'm done (ever see "The f word"?). I needed something to get me in the spirit (or to go along with my spirits - which I'm out of *gasp*)... this will do. Long live the Queen I say - and all things British.

Instead of blogging.

I've been watching this. I'm addicted to BBC. It's really becoming a problem - well, not a problem so much as a sneaky little obsession. There's a difference right?

I'm also developing a crush on Hammond and Jeremy... middle aged men who are also obsessed with fast cars - not that I'm obsessed with fast cars, just television programs about fast cars, movies about fast cars, and pretending to drive a fast car (even though I really, really, I can not stress this enough, really, don't). *sigh*. Hammond rather likes muscle cars that go fast and Jeremy (much, much older than me) likes sophisticated cars, like Mercedes, that also go fast. So you see? What's a girl to do?! How can I possibly be watching crap like American Idol or Survivor when I could be watching humourous, adorable men in beautiful fast cars/planes/trains/boats/motorcycles/helicopters?

Grocery List.

In my defence, I didn't buy wine and I bought a lot more organic items (Thank you "My Year of Meats") and more organic/free range meat than I usually buy... so the total cost this week was $108.38. I did buy beer (hangs head in shame). But we discussed this and beer is a necessity! Yah, I'm sticking with that and nothing, I repeat, nothing you can say will change my mind. I am trying to limit it to a 12 pack a week. Which sounds like an awful lot if you're a non-drinker but there's two of us here and that doesn't even amount to one beer a day - and that by-the-way, is what you should be consuming in order to be heart healthy! Yah.

So now that I've convinced myself that I've made a wise and Lent worthy decision... I did actually buy more than I had anticipated. $28.28 of the total was actually spent on Saturday (there's no picture) and that's when I bought the beer, 3 loaves of bread (from the bakery sale rack), and 2 oranges (I bought Blue Moon beer and you HAVE to drink it with oranges). How this comes to $28.00 is beside me but it does.

The pictured items are from Giant Eagle. As I went to all the little markets last week I really didn't need anything from them this week. One good thing about G.E. - double coupons! Gotta love that. I didn't have very many but they do add up! The yogurts are for lunches (kids) and A. and I will eat from the big container. I know I could use this for the kids lunches too but it's one of those little treats the kids like (please refrain from telling me how I'm wrecking the environment). The Rice Krispies and the pineapple are for the cake walk at the school carnival this week.

Drumroll ..... And this weeks dinner list is as follows. There's a few from last week - we had invites to neighbours or I ran out of time and made something else quick instead - like pancakes or grilled cheese sandwiches. Perhaps tomorrow would be a good time to list some of the things I plan on packing for lunches?! Always exciting!

Monday: Falafels with rice, cucumbers and tomatoes

Tuesday: Red Lentil Dal (yep, didn't get around to making it last week so here it is again)

Wednesday: Beef Soup with Barley (hmm... didn't make this either. Went to a birthday party and they served pizza... mmm... pizza....)

Thursday: Chicken enchiladas

Friday: Pasta with spinach feta sausages, broccoli and shredded mozzarella cheese.

Saturday: Wraps with tuna sauce (cause I didn't make these either - oops...)

Sunday: Spaghetti and tofu with finger licking peanut sauce (from the best of Cooking Light, page 147).

How to Make Newspaper Pots

See all those little paper pots? Aren't they cute? Not perfect but I think they'll do the trick. I looked online to find instructions on making paper pots that would work for plantings and quite frankly, aside from the one video I couldn't find anything (note: I'm not a good googler. I get irked when 100 unrelated sites pop up.). Alright, I just googled "How to make paper pots" and about a gazillion things showed up. Crap. Anyway, I did try and it was all a little complicated and I was trying to make my life easier. So, I folded paper until I came up with a little pocket big enough to throw some dirt in and a seed. I'm thinking this doesn't have to be rocket science! If you'd rather buy some fandangled contraption to build your pots you can do that too. Me? I'm on that whole Lent/Budget/Broke thing so I'm just gonna get my son to help me and call it a craft.

Get some kid in the neighbourhood or heck, use your own, to cut 'rings' out of toilet paper rolls. I was going to use all those rolls but then I realized that that expensive toilet paper that we all like so much uses bleached rolls - see the little suckers? Darn it. I'll be recycling those instead. I'm not sure if bleached paper is bad for your garden in such small quantities and I'm too lazy to look it up.

While the kid is cutting you can fold your paper. I like using the local paper and I rip a full piece in half as the half tends to be almost square instead of a long rectangle. This makes it small and then it seems to fold nicely. Read it first before you rip it up okay. Get up to date on local happenings!

So, fold your half paper in half. That looks like a dental coupon there doesn't it? I don't think it's my dentist though... See, that's why you should read it first...

Then, and here's where it gets a might bit tricky (even harder to describe when your 'helpers' talking in your ear as you're trying to type)... take the bottom left hand corner and bring it up to the top of your page. This creates a triangle on the left hand side of your folded paper and eventually, the little pocket you put soil in.

See? There's that little triangle only in this picture I've folded the bottom half of the paper up to the top.... is this making any sense at all? If you look at the previous picture you'll see the dogs legs on the bottom part of the picture and when you fold it up the dogs from the other side are now visible. This might also take off some of your rectangle (the bottom part of the triangle folds too).

Now that you are thoroughly confused, fold the paper to the right about 3 inches or so. Can you see the left side of the triangle under my fingers?

Alright, now fold it again.... and again....

And put one of those handy rings around your column.

And look at that - there's a pouch in there!!! Holy man - who knew?!

And continue going until you've used up all those rings and that newspaper. Hopefully I just saved you $12.99 plus shipping. You can use it to send me some seeds.... or if you don't understand a darn thing I've just written you can keep your $12.99 and use it to buy a bottle of wine instead. In fact, do that. Then drink the wine and come back to this blog and then see if you can make the pots. Yah, try that!

By the way, that was week one on "the list of stuff I have to get out of my closet"...

Hi Hoooo....

A little reference to those working dwarfs... you know, just in case you missed it...

I was thinking (never a good thing quite frankly) and I think that I'm always giving something up for Lent but never seeming to actually do anything. And yet, the piles of stuff that aren't done just keep piling up. The above picture is one pile of "stuff" that isn't done - oh, wait, the jeans are done (wahoo!) but the rest isn't. And the kitchen? Not done... And the quick quilt for E.? Not done. That darn tub? Still not finished. I always have great intentions. I'm a great starter of projects - finishing? That's the hard part. I tend to get distracted. The fact that this blog is still going is a freakin' miracle!


Stops babbling...

Which leads me to my next goal: To Actually Get Stuff Done! I'm going to try to finish at least 1 thing a week. I mean, come on, that shouldn't be hard! I've got tons of time - E.'s busy watching Magic School Bus - that's an easy hour and yes, my dishes are piling up and yes, the laundry is begging to be washed and there's something crawling on the floor that probably shouldn't be crawling on my floor but hey, I've got tons of time. Right? TONS... I feel like we've had this conversation before.


Where's that bottle of wine....

Ho Hum....

As I sit here and watch the snow fly (geez, I'm sure getting tired of talking about all this snow) I'm also contemplating the idea my family was throwing around about Lent. Each year we try to explain to the kids just what lent is. Since we aren't devote Catholics or even strict Christians, I'm pretty sure we lose something in the translation and more due to the brief nature of our explanation than anything else: Jesus in the desert for 40 days & 40 nights contemplating his worthiness of God; as well as an anthropological explanation, (have to use that degree somehow) that perhaps it's also a way to combine faith and the need for survival (for example: the people were starting to run out of food and fasting was a way to extend the food supplies).

My children's response was, "So, it's kinda like us on our budget then?". I'm thinking they get it - well, at least they get the anthropological explanation anyway...

Alrighty then... we've decided, as a family, that in order to get that full feeling of Lent we're going to give up buying anything that isn't a total necessity (are you rolling your eyes yet). Easy enough right?

Now, here's the hard part: What exactly is a necessity? Does that mean I shouldn't be buying dishwasher detergent when I could make due with washing the plates by hand? But what about the environment? Washing dishes in the dishwasher can actually be better than washing by hand. And what about birthdays and anniversaries? What do you do when people ask you to go to the show or out for coffee? How do you handle 'pre-existing' appointments?

Don't get me wrong, I don't think everything costs money - far from it! There are tons of things we can do that are better for us, better for the family and probably better for the environment (bye, bye plastic bags...). Where I can do these things I will - if I'm not already. But as a family? Even I'm shaking my head and down right laughing...

By the way, are chocolate and wine necessities??!!!

This is how we started our day. I'm in a little bit of a cheeky mood. Not sure if it's because the kids have BOTH been home since Friday or if I'm just getting a might bit of cabin fever. These lovely little scones, yes, scones not dog biscuits, fit nicely in one hand while the other holds a mug of deliciously hot coffee (complete with homemade creamer).

For dinner, sweet potato and banana pancakes topped with sugared walnuts. Mmmm.... I think I'm on carb overload. And, I think that's why it's snowing again! We're hunkering down and settling in for winter. We really have no choice.

Tomorrow is the start of Lent - Ash Wednesday. We've been tossing around an idea as a family. I'm anxious to hear what you think of it. The last two years (did I say this already) I gave up chocolate. I don't think I'm that strong anymore... did you know the kids have been home for 4 days!!! *sigh*

Note: The walnuts are my own invention. Simply put some walnuts (lots cause you're going to want lots) in a dry fry pan and heat until warm. Then add some brown sugar, stir, add corn syrup (oh, that's right I said corn syrup!), a dollop of butter and stir some more until it's all ooey gooey yummers. Then mix in just a half teaspoon of sea salt. Mix some more - be patient, it's all going to be worth it. When it's super sticky take it off and gobble it all up (careful they're hot). You'd like to only eat one, maybe two but before you know it, "voila", it's gone!

It must be the start of the week.

The wine - there always has to be something! I'm quite interested in trying this little number. I laugh. It's a Malbec so it should be quite a full wine. At Trader Joe's yesterday there was a wall of this. Now, that's either a great sign or... well, I shudder to think what else it might mean. Since I'm not buying too many cases these days my wine has become rather important and it would suck if this was bland. Cost of wine: $6.39 - state tax included.

Giant Eagle purchases. Grand total: $32.80. 16 items.

Raisin Rack total: $24.47 - I get a lot of the bulk items here like spices and flours and such. They also have great prices on tofu and Udon noodles. 13 tems.

Trader Joe's : (don't gasp) $42.42 - By far the most expensive (who knew?) 18 items that included cream cheese, coffee and almond butter - darn almond butter and your almondy goodness!

Alright, if you broke out your calculator you would have come upon a grand total of $106.08. This doesn't include the dishwasher detergent that I have to go out and get today. I'm trying hard to keep this weekly budget under $100.00 (that's for four people). I realize this is quite a lot of money and some people have it worse than that but for the life of me I'm just not making it. How about the rest of you? Do you have a budget? Do you have a set goal that you'd rather not break for the week/month? I've got big plans for this budget: wait until tomorrow when we hit Pancake Tuesday and the day before the beginning of Lent - oh, the season is already upon us!

And the menu for this week:
Sunday: as stated yesterday - Chinese Food! Hurray.

Monday: Beef wrapped around stuffing, garlic mashed potatoes and salad.

Tuesday: Pancakes! (guess what day it is?!)

Wednesday: Enchiladas (beans, tomatoes, rice (from sunday) and cheese)

Thursday: Squash Soup (with pepitas -mmm....)

Friday: Wraps with tonnato sauce, grated carrots, coleslaw mix and black olives

Saturday: Red Lentil Dhal (This is my first time making this. Cross your fingers)

Sunday: Beef and Barley Soup with biscuits.

Happy Valentines Day!

At the restaurant.
At the library. Look really close. Now stare into the center of the picture. See the musician?

You just gotta love a holiday that's represented by a grown man in a diaper (I like this version best though I would settle for the Elmer Fudd version as well). Yah, I think I deserve chocolates just for that (or in my case, 2 packs of M&M's - oh, you know it baby)!

I went on my date night with my little love on Friday (S.). It was extremely fantastic. I don't think I've been out like that in ages - and certainly not with any man in my house (don't feel bad for me - I actually prefer, currently, to go out by myself). The evening started with a live band (okay, one guy) playing acoustic guitar at the local library. One more reason I love my town. We sat for an hour and listened to this guy strum away old songs. Calming and fabulous!

Next, we walked down the street and stopped in for dinner at the local inn. It's a might bit grown-up (and a might bit pricey - there goes the budget). I was hesitant at first but I figured any place that has crayons and a kids menu is up for us! We had a very grown-up dinner with a cheese plate to start, our own dinners and then creme brulee for dessert. It was a 2 1/2 hour dinner and not once did I think they needed to hurry up with the check. We wrote our own story (posted below) and drew pictures and talked and talked and laughed and talked some more. It was a dream date *sigh*. The chef even came out and talked to S. about his dinner - oh, the glamour! S. thought that was just about the coolest thing ever (we're big fans of Gordon Ramsey).

Tonight is going pretty much the same. Lovely home dinner of Chinese food (Happy Chinese New Year)! Cheesecake for dessert and now, tea and the Olympics. *sigh* Pinch me 'cause I must be dreaming. Happy Day everyone.

Our story: Once upon a time, there lived a big, peaceful giant who loved to dance. One evening the gentle giant twirled and he shook the land. The mayor became flustered by all the excitement. One night the giant danced so hard the whole country shook. When the people saw who it was the people were mad. Fortunately, the giant quickly apologized and the people were happy. the giant said that he loved to dance and the people said, "O.K.". The End.

(a little note: I wrote a line then S. wrote a line. It's not award winning fiction but it's all he could talk about on Saturday).

It all started with a bottle...

I checked on my newly bottled vanilla beans and I have to say I was delightfully surprised! Don't they look gorgeous?! It's like pandora's box has been opened and I have seen the light! Oh, what else can I make? I've already tried the coffee cream (Chai version) - to die for. I remember the recipe but I can't figure out where I got it (maybe here?). I apologize. But for those out there who'd like to make it: 1 can sweetened condensed milk (don't stop here though I know it's way too easy. Oh, how I love thee Mr. Condensed Milk), 1 tsp each cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom, 1 cup regular milk (whateva you got in the fridge). That's it! Mix. Shake. Pour and Enjoy. Yummers. Especially good on cold, snowy winter mornings. Not that I've had any of those (it's snowing AGAIN).

I also happened upon a Pumpkin Spice Recipe (or two). I'd like to try this but I'm a little nervous of all the little bits that might show up in the bottom of my cup. Anyone tried it?

And it snowed...

It snowed and it's still snowing. I've never been one to let the weather get me down so to brighten the day up, I made pink soup (purple E. says). It was delicious - E. finished the bowl and shared only 2 tablespoons with me. I think he ate it just because he thought it was a cool colour but I tricked him - it was full of nutrients too (potatoes, beets, sweet potato and home-made broth).

Also, I made homemade granola to boot! Look at me, all this energy and soon I'm going to weigh 300 pounds. The granola is a combination of recipes from Smitten Kitchen and Miserly Moms by Jonni McCoy.

Now, because I always need another project and because I keep reading these blogs by people who actually use the stuff in their house for a project (what?! crazy talk...) I decided to make a new comforter for E.'s bed. What I've started thus far is to take the crib skirt apart (with matching bumper pads and comforter - oh, weren't we funny) in order to join those parts to aforementioned comforter. Seems like an easy task and with luck I could have this done by this evening... Oh, how I make myself giggle.

This is the matching comforter and bumper pads. The bumper pads I might make into some throw pillows or something. Whatcha think?

(The blogs with those crafty people can be found on your right hand side. Go ahead, take a gander but don't blame me if you start taking bumper pads apart and creating flour sacks.)

SNOW DAY!

The trees look beautiful.
Oh, so beautiful. I think I'm done with the snow...

Luckily we had enough to make Sugar-on-Snow! Phew. This one is made with Molasses not maple syrup. Same principle though.

I even felt like whipping up a batch of cookies. My own recipe - Chewy Date and Coconut Almonds. I'll list the recipe later. As for now, I'm running around screaming, I mean, talking quietly, to the kids. It was after all a snow day so both of them are home. I'm whipping up a big ol' glass of wine later...

Dinner for the week. Again.

$102.40 later this is what I have to show for my efforts yesterday. Not much. I did splurge and get beer, Camembert cheese and coffee creamer (I had a coupon). All good deals I think and they make me just a little happier. The one thing that didn't was those darn South Beach Diet wraps. At $4.59 a package I was hoping they would make my life easier but low and behold they're crap! Don't waste your money. The kids wondered why I didn't just make my own since these ones tasted, and acted, like cardboard. Touche kids. The vitamins also set me back but alas, my husband and I have decided it's time to take care of ourselves. Ick.

The torture list for this week is as follows:

Sunday (last night): Fish tacos. Yep, we used those wraps and some walleye I had in the fridge. Yum. Yum. Yum. I'd still rather have a Wahoos. Oh, how I miss you Wahoo....(cries a little at the thought of it). I tried to recreate the spanish rice and black beans and the salsa (yes R., your recipe) and I think I did a pretty good job. Still wish I had been at Wahoos...

Monday: Black Bean soup. Little S. is going to hate this.

Tuesday: Eggplant Parmesan. Nothing fancy, I'm just pulling it out of the freezer and serving it over egg noodles. Though easy this might be my least favourite of the week.

Wednesday: Spaghetti with chopped bacon, broccoli, and mozza cheese with a side salad - mmmmm... Surprisingly easy and yet everyone loves, loves, loves this!

Thursday: Toss up here. Perhaps we should take it to a vote. I've got a Cheese Souffle with hash browns or Beef with veggies and potatoes. This will be a time thing and whichever loses this day will be served on Saturday. That's just how I roll. Friday's a date night here and though it's not in the budget I'm taking Mr. S. out! A little bonding time between the two of us. It's amazing the difference in his personality after he gets a little one on one time. Go figure.

Well, that's it. Not a very exciting week I'm afraid. I did make home-made vanilla extract yesterday (sooo tired of paying coffee money for something I use so little of). The website seems to be easy enough to follow. I had a couple of beans hanging around and an empty bottle. I used the vodka (80 proof) instead of any other type and I didn't add a sweetener. I'm thinking I see a vanilla martini in my future!

I'm in love with:

This skirt from The Loft. In fact, I'm probably in love with everything in this store.

These boots though I wouldn't actually wear them. I just like to have them in my closet for those days when you feel like you want to kick someone in the a*$. Or when you just want to feel like Wonder Woman. I guess I need a gold lasso now too... hmmm....

Buddy. My sons each have one of these monsters and they love them too. How cute?!

Lip happiness. I have a Mentha lip shine in every purse. And they taste great too. If you're lucky like me you have a C.O. Bigelow store nearby. If not, you can order it on-line or go to a Bath & Body Works store. The men's products are great too - you know, for the man in your life (Valentines day is coming up).

These dishes and the matching glasses. I've got a set of 10 (they were on sale) and it's just waiting for the sun to come out, the snow to melt and the grass to grow! Meet me out by the patio in April. It would be great if it happened sooner but I've a feeling those dishes are going to be living in my basement for a few more months. *sigh* Cute though right? Thanks Ms. S. for your 'help' in buying them ('help' here means she stood behind me saying I'd regret it if they weren't mine. In hindsight, she was right. She also grabbed me a few missing pieces - gotta love that -smooch- ).

This running shirt. I just know I'd run like the wind if I was wearing this. Superfast! Okay, actually these days I'm more bound to start walking/crawling after a mile so it would mainly be me thinking I was as fast as The Green Lantern and singing a little bit of Chariots of Fire in my head. You get the picture I'm sure. It's sad but if I had the shirt at least I'd look good.

Seems to be a theme here. I think I've been hanging with the boys too much today. Happy Superhero dreams to all of you out there. May Batman visit you while you sleep (now which one will you choose? George Clooney? Val Kilmer?)

Feelings of Pride.

You've heard me talk about Canada - a lot. I miss it. I miss everyone saying, "eh?". I miss grey buildings, siding and everything looking just a little bit old (like 1970's not 1870's). I miss Hockey Night in Canada. I miss my friends there. And as much as I dislike facebook (though you wouldn't know it 'cause I'm on there all the time) I love the fact that I can see what all my old friends are doing up North. So, imagine how delighted I was (okay, I cried a little when I watched it - shaking my head at myself) when I came upon this little treasure.

It's a rap video by a kid in Thunder Bay. And as the name suggests, it's my home town. Believe it or not, this is where I'm from. I've walked those exact streets. I've eaten pancakes at the Hoito (and if you ever get there I highly recommend you do too). I was a bartender at the Moose Lodge (oh, yes, yes, I was). I've seen the spot where Terry Fox ended his run. This evening I'm pouring myself a Canadian Club and watching this with my hubby. He's from there too!

Happy Friday everyone. Hope you get to know a little bit about me after this - and please, don't hold it against me!

It's cloudy and grey.

Special shout out to Ms. M. She headed back to the North today. Thanks for the good times lady. See you on your next visit!

And so I stayed inside and made cookies with Mr. E. It was great! We made two kinds: Mom's Chocolate Chip Meringues (thank you, thank you Smitten Kitchen) and The Best-Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies (soo bad for you but oh so good). What a great way to start the day. And we tested them (a few times) and low and behold, they weren't poison. Phew.

By the way, one of my favourite things lately is Trader Joe's Harvest Grains Blend. Big, big fan. I'm sorry if you're not lucky enough to have a Trader Joe's in your neck of the woods (in CO. you've got Sunflower Market and so you shouldn't complain). They have so many wonderful items - for example Charles Shaw wine - great sauces, good dried food section and they carry Pirate Booty (mmm... I love pirate booty).

And that's it for today I'm afraid. I'm busy making the lamb burgers (more like meatballs), the grains (instead of the rice I said I was going to make), and the wraps. Mmm... supper is going to be so delicious (can you tell I'm hungry). Have a good evening everyone!

Dinner List for the week.

Coffee Cake with Butternut Squash from Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld but made by me.

Beef and Bean soup. Mmm... with a side of sunflower baguette. Sounds lovely.

First off, did you catch the second part of Emma on Sunday? If not, and I'm appalled that you didn't, you can catch it again on PBS Masterpiece classics. Gotta love that free television. And here's a nifty piece of trivia for you - you're all going to be googling this I just KNOW it!!! - the guy who plays Mr. Knightley, Jonny Lee Miller, was once married to Angelina Jolie. No joking. Oh, yes, my mind is filled with tons of useful trivia. Sadly, I have no where but here to use it.

Now, before I get too far off course... it's been known to happen... I told my good friend R. that I'd list some of my meal plans for this week. Yes, you can now go to anyone of the other blogs you read... This may not be exciting...

Sunday: Seared Beef, Garlic mashed potatoes, and steamed broccoli. For dessert I made a coffee cake with a pkg of frozen squash in the middle. This works amazingly well if you put cinnamon on it for flavouring and use a bit of brown sugar in your cake (oh, so very sneaky). That's all I did to the squash besides defrosting it.

Monday: The leftover beef and mashed potatoes were thrown in the Crock-Pot with a can of tomatoes, onions, garlic, white beans and some stock. E. and I got that yummy sunflower baguette and that was used for a side filler! For dessert, yes we usually have something for dessert, a chickpea cookie (the recipe is from Seinfelds' cookbook).

Tuesday: Lettuce Wraps: Boston leaf, hummus, grated carrots, chopped peanuts. Steamed broccoli and brown rice.

Wednesday: Dough wrapped hot dogs (homemade bread dough cut into strips and then wrapped around a hot dog), cauliflower (I bought a pkg of frozen cauliflower) and homemade sweet potato fries. This means we're going to have fresh bread for the rest of the week. Anything leftover (I chuckle, there's never leftovers of homemade bread) gets put in the freezer and used as a stuffing for Easter dinner!

Thursday: Lamb burgers (sorry vegetarians) with tzatiki sauce and rice (homemade tortillas will be the wrap for these (thanks R. for the recipe).

Friday: Tofu and Spinach in a peanut coconut sauce served over rice. If I'm feeling adventurous I might make Naan bread or I suppose I could save some of those wraps from Thursday... hmmm...

Saturday: I suspect Pasta; probably spaghetti with a can of tomatoes and feta cheese. This is also market day here so you just never know!

Just an FYI that I might veer off course and get a little lazy. If I do, and I might, my back ups are always pancakes, pizza or soup from the freezer. The pancakes will include some sort of vegetable (ewwww you say? no, no, it might be pureed squash or cauliflower) or a banana or apple... you know, something to make me feel like I'm feeding my kids something nutritious.

Mondays sometimes suck.

The harsh reality of Christmas and a trip to Disney have officially hit my home. Oh, and the rise in electricity this month (what the f*(* is that?). And you've guessed it we're back on a budget! Hurray for us. Not that we haven't been on a budget, really we've been on a budget... It's just now it's going to seem a lot more like we're on a budget. It's not all that bad and there are some that have it worse but at some point in your life you just think that eventually you wouldn't be swimming quite so hard to keep your head above water. Crud.

Really, really, it's not all that bad (I'm moaning a bit). In fact, I've probably said this before, it's a bit of a challenge. For instance, I went to the local grocery store today and got all the food I need for the week. It was a grand total of $54.82. Not bad if I don't say so myself. I used coupons and only bought things if I ABSOLUTELY needed them. There's not a lot of organics (please don't freak out) which makes a difference. I did try to buy the best I could for the least amount of money (like the all natural tomatoes - yes, that's a lot of tomatoes. They were 10 for $10). Now, I do have quite a staple pantry and that helps too. We'll see if I have to make a trip anywhere this week. Hopefully not...

Also, I plan on listing my supper list for the week tomorrow but for now, here's what was on my receipt:

Soy milk
Giant Eagle Skim Milk (gallon - no Hormones added)
2 - I can't believe it's not butter (then what the heck is it?)
Dannon yogurt (4 pack)
10 Redpack tomato (the big cans)
5 bags of frozen veggies (onions, cauliflower, corns and mixed)
2 - Nestle chocolate chips (mmm... I smell cookies)
1 - Giant Eagle brand cheerios
100 pack natural coffee filters (I'm looking for an alternative - got one?)
1 fresh celery
bulk carrots (4)
1 pkg. coleslaw
1 cucumber
1 yam
2 - 5lb bags of potatoes
G.E. large eggs 18 count
1 sunflower baguette