This week's menu plan

So far I have spent half of this months grocery budget. I can't believe I have spent that much already. It's quite disappointing. My excuse is that I needed to stock up on some basics. Hopefully that means the rest of the month will easily be within budget. I am making menu plans to help. Here is this weeks plan:
Monday - Beef tator tot casserole
Tuesday - Veggie/beef soup in the crockpot and homemade bread
Wednesday - Hash and apple cobbler
Thursday - left over soup
Friday - homemade pizza
Saturday - marinated/grilled chicken on rice with veggies
Sunday - dh's day to cook!!!
Menu planning helps so much! It helps with budgeting and I never fret over what to make at 5:oopm. I really want to work on more crockpot meals. It is helpful in this season of my life. Baby could need a feeding right when I need to make supper and the crockpot could be cooking for me.

Making a grocery budget

I can't believe it's already November! Where does the time go?! Christmas is next month!!! The weather is finally starting to act seasonal around here. So glad to get rid of the heat, but not looking forward to snow and freezing cold weather.
Anyways, I have been working on budgeting and planning ahead with our finances. I have myself set to a grocery budget of $200 per month to start out. This will includes toiletries and other such supplies. I know I can do it, and if I'm real smart and frugal, I know I can whittle it down to about $140/month (or $35/week). This is my goal anyhow. So right now, I'm working on menues based upon what I have on hand plus sales. For anybody that has a Community Market in their area, they are having some great sales now thru Saturday. They also have Great Scot, Sack 'n' Save and Fulmer listed on their website, so I would think all these places run the same sales. If you have one of these stores nearby, it's worthwhile to go to their websites and sign up for their weekly emails. There is always a coupon in the email. Each week you can vote on which coupon should be in the next weeks email. Sometimes, there are great deals to be had with these coupons. Then again, some weeks I don't print out the coupon because it's an item we don't use. If you can get to one of these stores, make sure you bring your coupons! They are having a super double coupon event. Coupons up to $1 are doubled. Coupons between $1-$2 are worth $2. Then coupons worth $2 and up are face value. Top that with the sales, and you could really make out this week!
I am also working on a price book so that I can quickly compare prices between stores and know if it's a good deal or highway robbery.
So between making menues based on whats in-stock in my home and current store sales, using a price book and using coupons; I believe I can start the month out right and keep within my grocery budget! On top of that, I am trying to learn the CVS extra bucks program. So saving money, here I come!

Life is busy right now...

The baby is here. I had a baby girl on September 7. She weighed in at 8 lbs and was 21" long. She is now 12 lbs and 23"long and will be 7 weeks old tomorrow. She is built tall like her daddy and has his blonde hair and blue eyes. I am breastfeeding and by her weight gain, I'd say it is going well! We have had some issues with colic, but we are making it through this phase one day at a time. Amazingly, she is sleeping really good at night. Often 6 hours at a time (once we get her to settle down from the colickiness - is that a real word?) So that explains my absence from blogging. It is my goal to blog more often, as I have lots of ideas to explore. I am currently looking into ways of making money online, frugal shopping and cooking, frugal everything! Also still spinning my creative wheels for artsy money making ideas. I have found lots of cool blogs that are inspiring me to think outside the box.
Sites I am loving right now:
www.moneysavingmom.com Crystal is awesome! A must read for frugal minds!
www.craftster.org not your run-of-the-mill arts and crafts! Now these folks are what I call creative!
www.diaperswappers.com all you could ever want to know and have in the cloth diapering world and more! Yes, we are cloth diapering and I LOVE it! More on that in another post!
www.stoptheride.net yes, still one of my top sites to visit daily. Stephanie is my kind of gal! And she lives in the part of the U.S. that I just adore and love to visit!

No baby yet

Somehow my widget is wrong. I do not have 2 more days until my due date. It was actually on Monday. So I am now overdue! I feel ok for the most part though. Yesterday I had alot of cramping and tightening. The most I have had so far. So things are getting ready! I am gonna try to do as much housework as my body will let me and see if that helps speed things up. Yesterday, I mowed the grass and that really got the cramps going! But nothing after that! So we'll see what today brings!

4 more days until due date!

I see my midwife today. I am guessing not much more progress this week. That's ok, she won't be around this weekend so this baby can wait until she comes back! The laundry room is nearly finished! All the cabinets are installed. The countertop will be delivered today. Then we just have to get the washer/dryer in there and put up the trim. Yay! My first ever laundry room! Did I ever mention, I actually love to do laundry? I know, sounds crazy, but I really do!
Today is such a dreary, cloudy day. I could just sleep it away if I weren't so excited about stocking some of my shelves in the laundry room! Must be that nesting instinct!

Friday...Again!

So not much progress with the baby. Only a fingertip dilated. That's ok with me though, the laundry room isn't ready! I want that room done before the baby arrives! We will paint this weekend and the cabinets and flooring should be installed early next week! Then the countertop will be in later in the week.
More great links for you frugal folks (if anybody actually starts reading this!)
http://www.stoptheride.net/
http://frugalupstate.blogspot.com

Friday, July 20

Seems I've gotten in the habit of posting on Fridays. :)
Anyways, 'round here it's been busy. We have a good start on the laundry room now. Plumbing is in, most of the wiring and insulating are done and window is in.
Had my first baby shower last week and have another this Sunday. So far we are getting what we need. Thank goodness!
Have our childbirth classes tomorrow, I'm ready to get that over with. I have a feeling this baby is gonna come before September, so I'll be glad to take this class.
We actually received rain! A whole inch this week! Woohoo!!! For our corn, it's most likely too late, but for the beans there is still a slim hope that they may pull through despite the drought. We really hope some miracle happens with the crops - we just bought some acreage and the house, so please let the ground pay for itself!!
This week I have done really well with following a weekly schedule. I hope that I can keep that up. So far, I have yet to implement a Home Management Binder properly. Maybe some day I will be more organized!

Finally Friday...

it has finally cooled off! Still not enough rain here, but at least the weather will be comfortable for the family party tomorrow. Saw my midwife yesterday, and all is still good! She is suggesting massage therapy for my sciatic pain. Sounds good to me!
Found a website I am loving right now, http://lobchatter.blogspot.com/ hope she don't mind me linking to her site! Great ideas on living frugally! I have been trying to implement some of these ideas this past week. Keep up the good ideas!

First Post...

Hello, everyone! This is my first try at blogging. Hopefully, I will make this a worthwhile endeavor!