Monthly Archives: August 2013

Random Tuesday Thoughts 8/13/2013

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  • it is four days until we leave on vacation….3 days until we pack and five days until Haley starts college
  • My work schedule will be changing again this fall with later evenings all four days that I am working
  • Kendall is starting to get excited about Kindergarten. She and Lily have 13 days until they start school.
  • One of the things that I realize just yesterday is that naps are no longer taken in Kindergarten, so to prep Kendall for this change, we stopped naps today. I did explain to both she and Lily that weekend naps are still required because Mommy needs them!
  • I think I have decided to spend my birthday money on both a wallet and pocketbook. I really need a wallet but want something different for a purse.
  • This will be the first week since I have returned to work that I have been able to not pack lunch. On Monday, my director purchased lunch for me. I was able to eat the rest today as leftovers. On Wednesday, my plan is to use my free birthday meal ticket and Friday will be a special treat just so I will not have to pack lunch. Actually the truth is that we are trying to eat up all the leftovers so there should not be anything left for me to pack on Friday anyway.
  • Each of the little kids will have about $25 to spend on vacation as they have been doing small chores for the past several weeks to earn spending money.
  • This is also the first post ever that did not contain a spelling error, prior to spell check.

Square Foot Garden

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photoI haven’t written much about our Square foot garden this year but we have been enjoying cucumbers, a few green peppers and tomatoes. I have even been able to freeze some of the extra tomatoes to use during the winter. This year we tried something new and moved our watermelon and cantaloupe to the back side of our deck. I was hoping that this sunny spot would work well. It has! Above you can see our first harvest! We are so excited to eat these.

After the success of this year we are already making plans for bigger and better next year. We will be adding a box for squash only as they take a lot of room and I would like to be able to freeze some for use in squash casseroles.  We also will be spreading out the watermelon and cantaloupe plant as the watermelon have really overtaken so this will allow both more room to grow. The plan is to replace the 3 spots for squash with more tomatoes plants.

If you recall we did not participate in the co-op this year and have not really missed the extra vegetables as we have received several gifts of produce in addition to our garden.

I do have quite a supply of zucchini from last year so this was not a big deal either. We are continuing to clean out and re organize our freezers which should help with decisions as to what to plant and plan for in the future!

 

Random Thursday Update

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  • We leave for the beach in 9 days. I am probably more excited about that than the kids!
  • Purchasing only items we are out of has kept my grocery spending down to $60 so far. That includes a 3 month supply of toilet paper purchased yesterday!
  • Gas budget is low as well. We have only spent $100 so far for the month. I am hoping to stay way low with our trip this month!
  • Today, Haley Lily, Kendall and myself all had dental appointments. Haley and Kendall were cavity free. I was as well but am needing some gum work done. Lily has several major issues the first of which will be 2 teeth “wrapped” due to cavities. She also has several other areas of concern and most like definitely will need orthodontic work in the future
  • Lily also had an eye appointment today. Much better news there, she does not have to patch anymore but may have to again in the next couple of years. She was so excited as she is working hard to not cross her eyes without her glasses!
  • I have been working some longer hours this weeks so am definitely looking forward to some relaxing pool time if the weather cooperates!

Budget Blurbs

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I had a vacation day today so I am enjoying a long weekend. Yesterday was pay day as well as the beginning of the month so I thought this would be a good way to start the month.

  • Groceries- I am continuing to roll over the excess from June. We spent $324 on groceries in July. Our currently budget is $124 so that we will be even for the year. Today I spent $40 at Costco so that leaves up $82 for the rest of the month. The currently plan is to only purchase “needed” items until after our beach trip. So we will be making a huge stock up trip the first weekend in September as well as purchasing chicken from Zaycon foods.  My goal is to end August even for the year!
  • Vacation- Because of my pay schedule, I will receive 3 paychecks this month instead of two. The plan is to use the middle check as our vacation money with a little pulled to offset our regular expenses. The budget is as follows:
    Condo Rental= $800, half was a deposit with the remaining due the week we leave.  Total expense $400
    Gas- $200.  One tank of gas each way and a third tank for the week at the Beach
    Meals- I have prepared ahead the majority of the meals and already purchased a lot of the food. We are planning on eating out twice each way (total 4). With an additional three meals out at the beach, one of these meals will be from the gift fund as it will serve as my Birthday meal, a second will be at the treat of friends who are staying with us for half the week. So in reality we will be eating 5 meals out during the trip and purchasing some groceries as well. Total Budget is $500
    Entertainment- My philosophy at the beach is we enjoy the beach most of the time. However I am putting in $100 for putt putt and or a trip to Magic Kingdom for the kids. A lot depends on the weather and we also may slide some of the grocery money to this as well.
    Total Budget for vacation:$1600 with $400 already paid.
  • Clothing- I have been doing quite a bit of shopping over the past two weeks. I purchased bras for myself, swim suits for everyone but Matt, Pajamas for Lily and Zach, Shorts for Matt, socks and shoes for myself and Lily, and the three white t-shirts an one pair of socks that were on Kendall’s supply list. This should keep us well stock until the weather has a definite turn to cooler probably late October or early November.
  • Gas- I have lower our gas budget to $400 after examining our spending for the year so far.

My goals this month are simple keep groceries, gas and vacation as close to even as possible. I don’t think we will have any extra income this month but as long as we stay even I will be happy.