Menu with what's on sale for the week of Mar. 24-Mar. 30

$75.26

Breakfast
1-Chocolate Chip pancakes
2-Cold cereal, milk
3-Pancakes, apple juice
4-Cold cereal, milk
5-French toast
6-Cinnamon toast, yogurt
7-Toast, yogurt, banana

Lunch
1-PB&J sandwich, carrots
2-PB&J sandwich, apple
3-PB&J sandwich, orange
4-PB&J sandwich, celery, orange
5-PB&J sandwich, apple wedges
6-chicken salad sandwich, carrots
7-Hot dogs

Dinner
1-Meat loaf, mashed potatoes/butter, vegetable
2-Spinach and strawberry salad, brownies
3-Pasta Alfredo, steamed broccoli
4-Fried or baked chicken breasts, green salad, vegetable, rice pudding
5-Hamburgers, green salad,
6-Leftovers, strawberry shortcake
7-London broil, rice, deviled eggs, vegetable

Desserts:
Rice pudding
strawberry shortcake made with yellow cake mix, crushed berries and cool whip topping
brownies

Grocery List:
Albertsons:
93% lean gr. beef, 5# or more, $1.79 lb., aprox. $8.95
Dole bananas, .39 lb., buy 3 lbs. at $1.17
Albertsons chocolate chips, $1.69
Mini carrots, 10/$10

Bashas:
Gala or red apples, .79 lb, buy 4 lbs. at $3.16
Bashas split chicken breasts, .99 lb, buy 4 lbs. at $3.96
Premium strawberries, .99 for 1 lb., buy 2 lbs.
Bashas milk, $2.19, buy 3 gallons at $6.57
18 count eggs at $1.29 with Shocker! coupon and $15 in purchases
Food Club butter at $1.29 with shocker! coupon and $15 in purchases
Cool whip topping, 2/$3, buy 1

Note: Milk is cheaper at Albies this week, but buying it at Bashas allows you to use the shocker coupons for the two items

Fry's
Buy 8 deal
1-Classico Alfredo sauce, $1.49
2-American Beauty pasta, .79
3-Krusteaz pancake mix, $1.99
4-Best Foods Mayonnaise, $2.49
5-Mott's apple juice, .99
6-Mott's apple juice, .99
7-Oscar Mayer hot dogs, .99
8-Kellogg's cereal, $1.77

Kroger Value peanut butter, $1.47, buy 2
Kroger Value bread, .88, buy 4
Rice, I've allowed for $2.99
Hot dog buns, I've allowed for $1.50
Hamburger buns, I've allowed for $1.50
Broccoli, .88 lb.

Safeway:
Rancher's Reserve london broil, $1.77 lb, buy 3 lbs. at $5.31
Fresh Express salad, .99, buy 2
Betty Crocker cake mix, .69, buy a yellow cake mix, or white
Betty crocker traditional brownie mix, .69
Lucerne yogurt, 3/$1, buy 8

Sprouts:
Navel oranges, .49 lb., buy 5 lbs. at $2.45
bunched spinach, .88, buy 2 at $1.76

Items not on grocery list:
syrup
jelly
spices
herbs
sugar
flour
oil
Pam

Hamburger

The hamburger (93%) that is on sale for $1.79 lb. at Albertson's this week is really good hamburger. I bought 2 packages yesterday. That was about 10 lbs. I brought it home and browned it up in the fry pan. I have a big fry pan and I had to do it in 3 batches. It was really lean but I still rinsed it off with hot water after it was cooked, drained in a colander, then seasoned it with garlice salt. I then packaged in sandwich baggies and froze. We'll use it for tacos, shepherd's pie, spaghetti sauce, lasagna, crockpot lasagna, quesadillas, burritos, taco soup, macho nachos and enchilada casserole or green enchiladas. Does that sound like we eat a lot of Mexican food? The older I get the more I love it. I couldn't survive living in London or a place where Mexican food doesn't exist and I couldn't buy flour tortillas for cheese crisps. I probably got ten or eleven packages of cooked ground beef. And that was even after the 17 yr. old eating machine had a bowl and a half of straight seasoned hamburger crumbles for his lunch. I take a little comfort in knowing if I am not around my kids could get a bag of straight hamburger out of the freezer, heat it and be perfectly happy with that for lunch or dinner. And one of them would eat the same amount that I intended to use for dinner for the whole family. Anyway, I digress. I am going back for more tomorrow. I may even get really a lot and do some hamburger canning this week. I haven't totally psyched myself up yet to do the canning but maybe by tomorrow I will be.

What do you do for Easter?

So. I am up and blogging when I'd rather be sleeping. So of course, being up got me thinking about Easter next week. I was thinking if I had any killer recipes to post and I was vaguely thinking about the menu. Vaguely. We usually have ham and some kind of funeral potato to go with it. And the daughter will make some kind of green cool whip marshmallow pineapple salad thing. We usually have the ever popular cheesecake pie with Strawberry freezer jam for a topping for dessert. I feel like shaking things up a bit though. What do you have or do for Easter? I'd love to know. Post in comments.

Weeks 11 & 12

Weeks eleven and twelve of the box/cabinet/shelf/drawer a day challenge. Not much to report for week numero 11. It was enough to do laundry and dishes and meals that week. Do you ever have those kinds of weeks? I know you must. So this week, week twelve...seems like I've been moving and rearranging piles. Ugh. Do you ever just move piles from point A to point B, only to then move them from point B to point C and sometimes to points D, E, F and G? Or am I the only one who needs help and/or a serious 12 step program for this clutter problem? I do have a plan of attack today, so that is good. I plan to clean and straighten an easy drawer in the kitchen, clean off my kitchen table so my husband will come home and say, "Holy cow, when did we get that table?" (it never gets old, the joke I mean, not the table) and then empty out a cabinet and put the contents in a pile for the Spring cleaning/exchange day our ward is having next month for the ward activity. It's going to be like a giant yard sale only just exhanges will be made, no money will pass hands. Then what's left will be open for the Spanish Branch to come look at and take what they need. My daughter says, "Mom it just doesn't make sense to me to "spring clean" and then exchange junk with someone." She may be right. But the final outcome, letting the Spanish Branch members come and take what they NEED, will be the positive.

A few words...

On sandwich meat. You know, the kind that is usually $8, or $9 or $10 per pound at the grocery deli. I went with my husband last week to do some shopping for one of the restaurants and was amazed. Amazed at how cheap you can buy deli quality sandwich meat if you buy in bulk and if you are able to or willing to slice it yourself.

Pastrami-we bought whole pastramis at Costco Business. If you have a Costco card you can get into Costco Business. It was aproximately 35th Ave./Indian School. In the big complex where Pros Ranch Market is. Busy place. It was aproximately $24-$29 for a whole pastrami, depending on how big they were, and averaged out to be about $3/lb. I weighed out the finished, sliced product and about a pound was lost in slicing, due to the fact, I'm sure that there was a lot of juice and water in the package.

Turkey and Black Forest ham-If you buy the whole Black Forest hams or Jennie O cooked turkey breasts by the case at Sam's Club they give you a special price. I don't have the exact price but my husband thought that it was $1.57/lb. for the turkey and $2.57/lb. for the ham. Again, a lot of meat, and a lot of $ when you're thinking of a case of turkey or ham. I think that it may be four of each to a case. So it is initially a big investment at about $30 each turkey or aproximately $120 per case. But you could go in with 3 or 4 or more people and it will freeze well, I'm sure. And if you just wanted to buy only one at a time, you probably could at a higher price which would most likely be far below deli case prices. Call Sam's Clubs and Costco's meat departments and find out what you can and can't do. Few people realize that buying their meats by the case at Sam's and Costco is so cost effective. I think that you can buy fresh meat by the case as well. Just ask, what have you got to lose if you already have a membership to one of those places? I've always found the butchers at those stores to be really nice and helpful.

Roast Beef-The husband had his employee buy the whole cooked roast beef at Smart & Final so I'm not sure how much that ended up being per pound. So check it out sometime when you happen by a Smart & Final.

So if you're willing to hand slice or have access to a slicer (be careful), you can really save a lot in a year's time by buying your sandwich meat that way. Ham should be coming on cheap this coming week before Easter at our local grocery stores. Buy it in the meat section cheap and use it for sandwiches.

Menu with what's on sale for the week of Mar. 17-Mar.23

It's been a bad tupperware week for me. I had been missing a few of my square tupperware that I send sandwiches to school in so that they don't get squished. They were either in the freezer with some leftover in them or in the vast wasteland that is my son's room. So I began sending in other shapes and sizes of tupperware to school. We started to find lids and their bottoms one at a time and then in multiples out in the backyard with assorted plastic baggie destruction. The dog thinks that refrigerator dishes are the new chewy toy. When my son gets home from school he lets them spill out of his backpack and onto the floor of his room. She then sneaks into his room when the opportunity comes and takes one. Viola, instant puppy party.

It doesn't seem like an awesome, screamin, smokin hot grocery deal week this week. That said, it may be that the stores are gearing up for Easter sales in a week or two. And with what is on sale, it didn't take me long to come to budget on the menu. First try. There are one or two things that are priced really good this week.

$74.71
+$1.98 for broth I forgot

=$76.69

Breakfast
1-Oatmeal
2-Eggs, toast
3-Oatmeal
4-Cold cereal, milk
5-Oatmeal
6-Cinnamon toast
7-Cold cereal, milk, bacon, if any is left

Lunch
1-PB&J sandwich, string cheese
2-Cottage cheese, strawberries, chicken noodle soup
3-chicken noodle soup, apple
4-PB&J sandwich, orange
5-Chicken wrap with leftover chicken meat, apple
6-Bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches
7-PB&J sandwich

Dinner
1-Potato soup, sliced scallions, crumbled bacon, if desired, as topper, crusty baguette. If using veg or chicken broth instead of water, add $1.98 to total.

2-Chicken sausage, garlic powder and a little olive oil, peppers and onions and pasta. Green salad.

3-Pot roast, potatoes, canned vegetable of choice

4-Chicken thighs, mashed potatoes, gravy, canned vegetable of choice

5-Fish sticks, steamed broccoli, Rice A Roni

6-Cobb salad. Green salad with bacon crumbles and hard boiled egg. Crusty baguette

7-Grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup

Desserts:
Chocolate pudding
strawberries

Grocery list:
Albertson's
Top Value bacon, $1.77, buy 2
Albertson's string cheese, $1.77
Albertson's cheese singles, $1.77
radishes/gr. onions, 2/$1.00, buy 1 of each
Green Giant canned vegetables, 5/$3.00, buy 2 of your choice

Bashas'
Chuck roast, $1.49 lb., buy 3 lbs. at $4.47
Strawberries, 2/$3, buy 2
Bashas' milk, $1.88 gal., buy 2
Basha's cottage cheese, $1.19
Crusty baguette, .99, buy 2
10 lb. bag of russet potatoes, $2.00
Eggs, I've allowed $1.99 doz., buy 2 doz.

Fry's
Campbell's chicken noodle or tomato soup, 3/$1, buy 6 cans, four chicken noodle, 2 tomato
Van de Kamps fish sticks, $3.49
Jello gelatin or pudding mix, .99, buy 2
Kroger Value bread, .88, buy 4
Kroger Value peanut butter, $1.47
Kroger Value cereal, I've allowed for $1.50
Fry's spaghetti, .88
Flour tortillas, I've allowed, $2.99
If you opt to use broth with the potato soup, get two cans of veg. or chicken broth at aprox. .99/can. I usually get the Frys brand as it's usually the cheaper option but with the holiday looming close in, Swanson's may be on sale.

Safeway
Broccoli crown, .68 lb., buy 2 lbs.
Rice A Roni, .75

Sprouts
Navel oranges, .49 lb., buy 10 lbs. at $4.90
cucumbers, .49 each
Romaine, .88 each, buy 2
Fuji apples, .99 lb., buy 3 lbs.
Chicken drumsticks or thighs, .89 lb., buy 4 lbs. at $3.56
Chicken sausage, $2.99 lb., buy 1 lb.
Oats by bulk, .79 lb., buy 2 lbs.
Onion, I've allowed for .50
red pepper, .88 each
Roma tomatoes, .99 lb., buy 1 lb.

Items not on grocery list:
Mayonnaise
jelly
spices, herbs
butter
sugar
flour or cornstarch for gravy thickener

Other great deals this week:
Strawberries, $1.47-sprouts
Dole salads, $1-Fry's, Bashas
Kroger Value sugar, .99-Fry's
Jet puffed marshmallows, 10/$10-Fry's
Albertson's milk, $1.88-Albertson's
chuck roast, $1.88 lb.-Albertson's (Albies)
Apples, $1 lb.-Albertson's
C&H sugar, $1.99 with Shocker! coup from Wed. ad and $10 purchase-Bashas
Gold Medal Flour, .99 with Shocker! coupon from Wed. ad and $10 purchase-Bashas
Starkist tuna, .69-Bashas

Recipes for St. Patrick's Day

Irish Soda Bread
Here is the link to the recipe that I posted (link) for the menu for the week for Irish Soda bread
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/irish_soda_bread/

Irish Soda Bread Muffins
Also, a recipe I found a link for from Simply Recipes to The Recipe Girl for Irish Soda bread muffins. It looks intriguing.
http://therecipegirl.blogspot.com/2008/03/irish-soda-bread-muffins.html

Corned Beef and Cabbage
This recipe, for corned beef and cabbage is on Simply Recipes. She tells you how to bake corned beef with a yummy sweet, hot, mustard on it or to simply boil it.
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/corned_beef_and_cabbage/

Easy Corned Beef and Cabbage (and bacon)
And this one I've made before. It is yummy, I think. Although it has salty ingredients in it so I don't make it as much as I would like to. It uses canned corned beef. I like canned corned beef. I saw Paula Deen make this on her show a couple of years ago so I tried it and like it so much that I made it again.
http://pauladeen.com/index.php/recipes/view2/easy_corned_beef_and_cabbage/

Baked Potato Bar
Baked potatoes with an assortment of toppings: shredded cheddar, bacon crumbles, sliced green onion, sour cream, ham dices, gravy, seasoned ground beef, salsa, chili, steamed broccoli, cheese sauce, ranch dressing.

Potato Soup
See recipes on the left side.

Colcannon
Tyler Florence made this on his "The Ultimate" show. Looks yummy and authentic. Colcannon is a traditional Irish dish. Potatoes, cabbage, bacon, butter....
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tylers-ultimate/colcannon-recipe/index.html

Blarney Stone Bars
This recipe for a sweet treat, Blarney Stone Bars looks good, from Taste of Home magazine.
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Blarney-Stone-Bars

Week 10

Week number ten of the drawer/box/cabinet a day challenge and this evening I took a box of "stuff", a bag of "stuff" and a stuffed animal to my friend for her yard sale tomorrow that she is having to finance her school orchestra trip. Treasures like a Polaroid camera that no one can find film for, two walkmans from the 80's, a game boy wormlight and old, but nice, clothes. Felt good to get it out of the house. This week's interesting find? My mom's old garter/girdles and about 4 brand new packages of stockings or hose from the 60's or 70's. Not pantyhose, for you youngsters who've never seen stockings or hose before, but the kind that had to be held up with a contraption that looked like some form of torture to me when I was a child. Interesting, eh? Not as weird as some of the things I've run into lately, but interesting nonetheless.

Menu for what's on sale for the week of Mar. 10-Mar.16

Up, awake, doing laundry and getting the kids off to seminary. Lots of great buys this week and if you love corned beef, now is the time to stock up on it and freeze, although check store ads as one store had a limit of 2 to purschase at a time. I had some time yesterday to do the budget menu, so here it is.

$79.12

Breakfast

1-French toast, apple juice
2-Oatmeal
3-Eggs, toast
4-Cold cereal
5-Egg biscuit, apple juice
6-Cinnamon toast
7-Oatmeal

Lunch

1-PB&J sandwich, cookie (cake mix cookies, see recipes)
2-Ramen noodles, apple
3-Lunch meat sandwich, clementine, cookie
4-Ramen noodles, orange
5-PB&J sandwich, carrots, clementine
6-Ramen noodles, clementine
7-PB&J sandwich, apple

Dinner

1-Baked chicken thighs, oriental cole slaw(see recipes, omit nuts unless you already have them), boiled or roasted red potatoes

2-Taco soup, see recipes, sour cream and sliced green onion to top

3-Fish, green salad with sliced hard boiled eggs, canned veg.

4-Hamburgers with buns, potato salad, strawberries

5-Corned beef brisket, cabbage, potatoes, Irish soda bread (see http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/irish_soda_bread/

6-Spaghetti and sauce, green salad, garlic toast if enough bread is left

7-Beef and cheese enchiladas, green salad

Desserts:
Cake mix Cookies
Strawberries

Grocery List
Albertsons
Ground round, 5 lbs. or more $1.77 lb., aprox. $8.85

Bashas'
La Victoria Enchilada sauce, 2/$4, buy 1
Maruchan Ramen noodles, 6/$1, buy 7 at $1.19
Van de Kamps seafood, $3.99
Daisy sour cream, .99
navel oranges, .99 lb., buy 2 lbs at $1.98

Fry's:
Green Giant canned vegetables, .59, buy 2, one needs to be corn for the Taco soup
Pillsbury Grands! biscuits, 10/$10, buy 1
Betty Crocker cake mis, .99
Point Cut cornish beef brisket, $1.27/lb., buy aprox. 3 lbs. at $3.81
Cabbage, 4 lbs/$1, I've allowed for 4 lbs.
Kroger mini carrots, .88 each
Strawberries, 2/$3, buy 1 at $1.50
Fry's milk, 1/2 gal. 10/$10, buy 4
Kroger cheese, 3/$5, buy 2 shredded at $3.33
Hunt's pasta sauce, 10/$10
Kroger butter, $2.39, buy 1
Kroger Value peanut butter, $1.49
Kroger Value bread, .88, buy 4
Eggs, $2.00, buy 3
Kroger Value cereal, I've allowed for $1.50
Flour tortillas, I've allowed for $2.99
Hamburger buns, I've allowed for $1.50
Tomato sauce, 2 small cans or one 15 oz., I've allowed for .88
Taco seasoning, I've allowed for $1.00
green onions, I've allowed for .99
small onion, I've allowed for .50 (use half for soup, half for enchiladas)

Safeway:
chicken thighs, .88, buy 3 lbs. at $2.64
5 lbs. of red potatoes, .99
Barrilla pasta, .88
Bush's beans, 10/$10, buy 1 black or pinto bean
Hunt's diced tomatoes, 10/$10, buy 1
Saturday and Sunday only
Mott's apple juice, .99
Oscar Mayer deli shaved lunchmeat, $1.99

Sprouts:
Red or gold delicious apples, .88 lb, buy 3 at $2.64
5 lb. box cuties clementines, $2.99
Oats from bin, .79 lb., buy 1 lb.
Iceberg lettuce, .77 each
Tomatoes, I've allowed for $1.00

Item's not on grocery list:
raisins
buttermilk (use regular milk and vinegar)
leavenings
spices
mayonnaise
jelly
mustard, ketchup, relish

Other great deals this week:
7 Up, RC or A&W, .80-Albertsons
Ocean Spray cranberry juice, $2.00-Albertsons
Fresh asparagus, .99 lb.-Albertsons
Corned beef brisket, $1.27-Bashas
Del Monte vegs., .59-Bashas
Dreyers ice cream, $2.50-Bashas
Tree top or Hansens juice boxes, .99-Bashas
Bashas milk, $2.19-Bashas
Strawberries, 2/$3-Bashas
Red Potatoes, .99-Bashas
Betty Crocker potatoes, .88-Fry's
Gold Medal flour, $1.77-Fry's
Fry's applesauce or cups, 2/$3-Fry's
Breyer ice cream, 2/$5-Safeway
Corned beef, $1.27-Safeway
Cabbage, 4lbs./$1-Safeway
Orowheat Rye bread, $2.99-Safeway

Menu with what's on sale for the week of Mar. 3-Mar. 9

What can I say? It's 27 minutes shy of being Tuesday. Just one day before the NEW ads come out. It's been a week. And I just finished the dishes after helping my daughter make 2 Hill Cumorah cakes and then boiling some beets from the garden. They are cooling now. I almost said to myself, "forget it, it's too late in the shopping week to post a menu." But I am up anyway doing laundry so I might as well. So if you were needing to grocery shop tomorrow, this may be just for you.

$71.19

Breakfast
1-Blueberry pancakes
2-Oatmeal, Sunny D
3-Cold cereal, milk
4-Oatmeal
5-Egg biscuit, juice
6-Cold cereal, milk
7-Pancakes

Lunch
1-PB&J sandwich, apple
2-tuna sandwich, orange
3-PB&J sandwich, brownie
4-Tuna sandwich, apple
5-PB&J sandwich, brownie
6-Egg salad sandwich, leftover grapes, strawberries
7-Bacon sandwich

Dinner
1-Spinach salad, biscuits. Use spinach, strawberries, grape halves, apple diced and Brianna's poppyseed dressing. Throw in some almonds or cashews if you have them.

2-Chicken, mashed potatoes, canned veg.

3-Roast beef, roasted potatoes, canned veg.

4-Chicken pot pie, salad (Use leftover chicken, make a gravy out of the pan drippings from the chicken and use leftover vegs. make a pie dough and put that on top)

5-Spaghetti, salad with olives

6-BBQ beef sandwiches on hamburger buns (use leftover roast beef), canned veg. NOTE: I failed to put BBQ sauce on the grocery list, so if you need it, you will need to add about $2.50 to the total

7-Crustless spinach quiche, applesauce

Albertsons
Albertsons cereal , 10/$10, buy1
Albertsons olives, 10/$10, buy 1
Albertsons eggs, $1, buy 2
Albertsons homestyle biscuits, 2/$1
Fresh strawberries $2.99 each
Albertsons chunk cheese, $2.99

Bashas
Bashas milk, $1.88, buy 3
Farmland bacon, $1.99
Dole Iceberg salad, .99, buy 2
Food Club salad dressing, .99
Pillsbury brownie mix, .99
Food Club Pancake mix, $1.99
Food Club applesauce, 2/$3
Brianna's Poppyseed dressing, allow for $4.50

Fry's
Red seedless grapes, .77
Sunny D, 10/$10, buy 1
Kroger Value peanut butter, $1.47
Gr. onions and radishes, 2/$1, buy one of each
navel oranges, $1 lb., buy 5 lbs.
Kroger Value bread, .88, buy 4
Fry's spaghetti, .88
Kroger Value spag. sauce, $1.15

Safeway
Boneless beef bottom round roast, $1.88 lb., at $5.64
Boneless, skinless chicken breast, $1.69 lb., at $5.07
Safeway tuna, 2/$1, buy 2
Safeway vegs, 2/$1, buy 3
russet Potatoes, .68, 5# bag, buy 1
Safeway hot dog/hamburger buns, .99
Hawaii's Own frozen juice, 10/$10

Sprouts
Blueberries, 4/$5, buy 1
Braeburn apples, .88 lb., buy 4 at $3.52
bunched spinach, .88, buy 4 at $3.52
sweet onions, .88 lb.
Oatmeal, .79 lb.

Items not on list:
Mayo
jelly
flour
butter
syrup
BBQ sauce

Week 9

I know, you are all waiting anxiously for my weekly drawer a day challenge update. Ha. It's gone well this week, nothing spectacular, but the slow and steady approach, and there's nothing wrong with that. I organized DVD's and dusted out one side of the entertainment center yesterday while watching "Cash Cab". Anything to keep my attention span for dusting. I love that show. The day before that I did about 3, I think it was, drawers to my dresser. The contents are still on a chair to discard or clean. I still need to continue to file about 10 things each day and work on the pictures. I was perusing around on "DIRTy little secrets" the other day, see my favorite blogs section, and she said how one of her friends said, "I never knew your house was so dirty." I think we all have sections of the house that go unattended or some of us are collectors and don't see our house as dirty or cluttered, just filled with the things we love or need. Or think we need. It's easy to let it get out of hand though and gradually we become accustomed to it. She also said on her blog that sometimes it's about taking two steps forwards and one step backwards. I totally get that analogy. Hence, I can justify the contents of the 3 drawers on the living room chair. Which, by the way, I WILL, take care of today. Along with the dryer load of clean towels on the other chair. Ha. It's all about feeling good about the little victories. The little victories and changing bad habits to become more organized in every day living. Remember that the woman who just wrote that found her daughter's four year High School plan this past week tucked away in a magazine in the basket of magazines. I had been taking the house apart looking for that thing which I was certain I had file due to past experience with four year High School plans and kid #1. And, of course, I found it the day AFTER she needed it to fill out her schedule for next year(it all worked out fine, if you're wondering, they are letting her come back next year despite her idiot mother). It's never too late to alter the course of your life. One bad habit, one drawer or one magazine at a time.

?

The question mark as the title is because I don't know what to title it, don't know what I'm feeling, have so much to do this morning but for some reason feel compelled to blog. Blah. My mind is racing.

My husband lost his phone this morning, couldn't find it anywhere as he was getting ready for work. I finally tracked it down, it was in the car of a friend of his, they had gone to the hospital last night to give someone a priesthood blessing (more LDS speak) and anyway, I have it now. But I can't call the husband to tell him I have it and I don't know which deli he's at right now. And I've also added to my job description "GPS". He doesn't abuse it but last week he called me to help him find his way to a catering via mapquest. And again this morning. I actually find it quite amusing. What did we do without mapquest?

My husband is also starting a new church calling this week. Sigh. Sorry, more LDS lingo. We are a church with a lay clergy so everyone does something in the church to keep it running. We call those jobs, "callings". And I started a new calling about a month ago. Whenever we have changes like this to our family, I become reflective about where we are, where we should be and what we can improve on in our spirituality and our family life. There's so much room for improvement on my end! So much room.

Well, I am going to go clean the gross bathrooms, then go through the dresser in my room and my medicine cabinets to get back on track for the drawer a day challenge. I may even make a run to Goodwill today. I have got to get back in the swing of it. It makes me feel so much better about myself and my house.

For my menu a day challenge for my Food Storage project, I came up with some ideas last week. Now what have I done with that paper? Can't find it. Here is what I remember and what I have so far:

Dinner ideas:
Chili
Beef stew and drop biscuits
Shepherd's Pie
Potato soup
Spaghetti or penne and sauce
Chicken enchilada casserole
Green pork enchiladas
Taco soup
Tacos or burritos
Beans with ham
Pork and stuffing
Beef and gravy over mashed potatoes
Tuna sandwiches

Breakfast ideas:
Oatmeal or steel cut oats with maple flavored syup
Pancakes, syrup
cold cereal
toast and jam
PB&J sandwich

Keep in mind, worst case scenario, everything will need to be made in a solar oven. Which I don't have yet, but want to get.