Heavy Sigh

I haven’t blogged in quite a while, thanks to computer issues. I would not call them resolved, but maybe they are. My techie friend walked me through restoring my laptop back to factory settings. That was scary. We survived and I hope to be back and blogging soon.

Here’s a quick update:

Brendan has been “away” for a couple of months and will be home on Wednesday if everything goes as expected (famous last words?).

Kyla turned 12 and went to her first Bible Camp last week. She had a blast! She also learned some great songs. I am reminded of all the fun camp songs I learned and still know from my youth (was that really so long ago?).

Ryann has had some major dental procedures for someone so young, she was brave and is so over it.

Tara has completed potty training and boy am I happy!

Caitlyn is talking up a storm and I am sure that we will be able to understand her soon.

Steve has been working on the pool and other home projects, relieved that congress voted to keep some money in NASA and therefore his job. He is also adjusting to his company's new 9/80 plan. While I like him having every other Friday off, I don’t like the 9 hour workday.

I have been volunteering at the Center for Pregnancy Choices a few hours a week and hold the position of Financial Advisor, but really I am just the accounts receivable clerk, or one of them. I love my Wednesday evenings, especially when we go out for pie after closing.

I am also recovering from my second miscarriage in less than a year. I hope the doctor will be able to determine the cause. We decided years ago to let God control the size of our family so we know this is all part of His plan. I do want to know what is causing the miscarriages, mostly because I want to be healthy for my grandchildren. My heart grieves for the little ones I have lost, but I rejoice that they never knew the pain of this world and are in heaven with Jesus!

We are preparing for homeschool to start in a few weeks and I am trying to work on some kind of schedule that is neither rigid or too flimsy (for lack of a better word). I have a quirk that causes me to rebel against rigid schedules, pray that we find balance and are able to accomplish a lot this year.

Well, I need to get on with the scheduling and other mundane tasks (laundry and breadmaking for starters.)

God Bless!

Menu Planning – My Way

I am no expert, but this is what works for me.  Instead of wondering “what’s for dinner” every week, I have a 28 day plan.  Since we are not through the first 28 days, I am going to show you how I plan.

Each season, I look at our calendar and see which evenings have activities and I plan around that.  Let’s take a look, shall we?

Sunday this is the day to rest, so simple is the key AND since Saturday mornings Steve has Men’s Breakfast, we don’t usually have a large Saturday morning breakfast, I have decided that Sunday evening will be Breakfast for Dinner.  Sometimes, this means quiche (or egg pie), pancakes or eggs and sausage, I plan for quiche every other week and wing it the remaining Sunday evenings.  Sometimes, when there is an activity or an abundance of leftovers, we eat leftovers.

Monday is probably our busy evening.  We have piano lessons  (Kyla) and Tae Kwon Do (Steve and oldest kids) so I try to make something in the crock-pot or stockpot early in the day.  When it gets warmer, we will have chef salads on Mondays.

Tuesday is the day we host a Bible Study in our home.  I also invite folks for dinner beforehand, so I make this a casserole night.  Many times I can just pull one out of the freezer, but I sometimes have to make a lot so that I can freeze some for later.  Most Tuesdays my dear friend Cathy comes to help me, so bulk cooking on a busy night is not so overwhelming.

Wednesday is a free night, I try to make something more involved on these days. Baked chicken, pork chops, fish or steak are on the menu for Wednesdays.  I am not above pulling something from the freezer though.

Thursday is not really a busy night, Brendan has praise band practice, but I still take it easy.  This is Pasta Night, so spaghetti, or chicken alfredo (from chicken I froze previously), or mac and cheese (homemade of course) are on the menu for Thursdays.  I make spaghetti sauce in bulk, so that is a real time saver.  Mac and cheese is a great leftover!

Friday is Fun Food night.  We have hamburgers, hotdogs, tacos, nachos or gyro burgers on Fridays, usually in front of the TV watching a movie.

Saturday is Pizza Night.  Usually homemade, sometimes frozen or take out, but never boring.  The easiest pizza is made with french bread for crust (yes, I can make french bread, but don’t always).  I make a pretty good pizza crust (thanks to an on-line friend), but I struggle with rolling it out and putting it in the pans.  I am still learning though.

Breakfasts are usually eggs and toast, breakfast tacos, or granola.  Sometimes we make muffins and I plan to try making bagels soon.

Lunches are usually leftovers or sandwiches.

So, there you have it.  I will let you know how the 28 day menu goes.

Our Life as Frugal…

Or green or greenly frugal, maybe frugally green.  Someone really needs to shorten that.  Let’s give it a try:

GREENAL (um…no!)

FRUEEN (scary rock band)

GRUGAL (sounds like a search engine)

FRUGREEN (maybe)

Anyhow, it is a lifestyle we are pursuing.  Thankfully, they go hand in hand – for the most part.  So, just how are we doing this?  Well, I will tell you.

The first thing we did was attempt to use cloth diapers.  I say attempt because we are not currently using them (much to my shame).  We found that the wetness gave the babies rashes. Once Tara is completely out of diapers, I may give it another go with Caitlyn.  Cloth diapers are frugal in that you do not buy them over and over and over.  They are green because you do not throw them away AND it is best to air dry them, saving landfills and electricity ($$).

Next, we dry most of our laundry outside on the line when the weather permits.  I really want to find an efficient way to do this indoors when weather does not permit.  Until then, I do what I can.  This saves money on electricity.

We also use cloth dinner napkins and tissues almost exclusively.  We keep some paper on hand for times when the laundry is backed up or for you who may come visit us.  I like cloth in these instances for a variety of reasons. One being that cloth is nicer than paper, feels softer on your skin.  Another is that it is a great way to use up left over fabric.  We use only paper in the bathroom, incase you were wondering.

As I look around our home, I find that there are too many things that get used once and then thrown away.  My newest goal is to eliminate them all together.  The main two being: paper towels (I keep them for bacon purposes only) & plastic bags (I would love to find a better way to store bread).  I know that you can wash zip-top bags, but really I don’t have time or space for that.  I have heard you can wash them in the washing machine (in a lingerie bag or something) then hang them to dry, but I have not decided zip-top bags are really worth the trouble.  I have a vast and growing collection of glass and plastic containers for storing leftovers.  All glass would be greener, but I think I should use up the plastic and only replace them with glass when they are no longer serviceable.

Growing a garden and canning is one of my favorites.  We are still enjoying applesauce from apples I got (picked or gathered) for free from my dear friends.  Our raspberry jam was grown, picked and canned right here at Villa de Morgan.

My least favorite? Trying to reduce our food budget.  We eat a lot of meat.  Steve loves meat and seems lost when a meal does not include meat, but he knows why and is such a good sport.  We also have Brendan who is a 15 year old eating machine (in cycles).  The whole family is coming to accept that we don’t eat cold cereal off the shelves (homemade granola is healthier, more filling and less expensive) and that water is the only beverage offered here. The little girls probably don’t know that bread comes from the store.

How do you do frugal or green or both?