Author Archives: Sheila

Saving on Saturday- Pantry Challenge

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January has been a little rough overall for us.  For more details see this post from yesterday!  But today is the most “normal” day so far this month. It is a Saturday; we have snow on the ground and everyone is home. The goal for today is to finish putting away Christmas, unpack the camper and general catch up from the month of December.

I want to focus on the pantry challenge for this post.  This is the third year that I have attempted to participate in the pantry challenge.  I watched others do the pantry challenge in 2022.

I am going to continue or use the same rules this year for spending that I have in the past.  I am only going to buy things as we run out of them and need them.  I will continue to receive our subscribe and save items that are the best price from Amazon.   To be completely transparent, here is what I have already spent in the month of January, $10 at Aldi’s, I have a current order for pick up at Walmart for around $80 and finally Matt and Lily, will be picking up items from Costco today. I am going to estimate those at around $50. My subscribe and save is $105.46. I also had already purchased an order from Azure Standard as well.  So now that I see all the numbers on paper, my overall goal for the three months of the pantry challenge will be to spend less than $900 on groceries which is one month of our current budget.
I have decided to provide a little more structure to what food we are eating so that we can work on eating what food we have instead of just eating what we normally do and then buy more.  I worked hard over the summer to get lots of food in the freezer and to fill the canning pantry. I am working on keeping my kitchen pantry stocked and organized.  I was able to move items to the kitchen pantry so now I have a better idea of what we have and what we are using.

Here is a final list of the guidelines I would like to stick to during the months of January, February and March

1.Purchasing items that we are completely out of that are staples such as diary as well as buns or other items that will help use items we already have. Total spending for the three months of the 2025 will be less than $900
2. Use at least one “meal/meat portion of the meal” from the stand-up freezer each week. (This is where most of the meals are)
3. Use at least 3 jars a week from the canning pantry. (This can include lunches)
4. Use one item a week from the connivence freezer in my room. (This will also help me get a good handle on what exactly is in this freezer as well.
5. Each Monday after menu planning provide a list of how I followed the guidelines for the week.

Since the pantry challenge has been going on for a total of 11 days but we have only been home the past 6 days here is the list for that time period.
1. Current spending is at $206 with Amazon order and pick up order from Walmart. I will add Azure and Costco to the report on Monday. ($694 left for three months)
2. Fail for the week but we will be using several prepared meals for next week.
3. 7 jars from the canning pantry this week.
4. We pulled out and used 2 rolls of sausage from the connivence freezer this week.

Are you participating in the pantry challenge?  What are your rules?

 

5 Things Friday

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  1. This blog is to help me recall all things. Unfortunately, I did not need to recall how 2024 started. I spent the afternoon of January 1, 2024, sitting on a beach. The water was too cold, but the view was worth the chill.  I also was very sick with an eye infection and sinus infection.  My goal and prayer were that 2025 did not start out the same way.  Well, here is how things went this week. Coming home from Disney on Sunday January 5th, Matt had a cold that started on Tuesday and was not getting better, in fact he was getting worse and starting to cough a lot.  Zach had a doctor’s appointment on Tuesday morning to get a sport’s physical so that he could swim in a meet on Wednesday.  Lily was convinced she had a sinus infection but was not sick enough for a doctor’s visit.  We were also no sure how much exhaustion played into her being sick as well. Kendall was still limping from a sprain that happened the first of December, but she was able to walk, and I thought it was appearing less swollen.  I knew that this week would involve some doctor’s appointments but not that many.
  2. Matt took Kendall to the pediatrician on Monday afternoon where she was given a referral for an orthopedic visit. We decide this was easier that juggling multiple appointments on Tuesday.  I came home on Monday and was exhausted, and not feeling well at all. I ended up in bed around 6:30 and actually woke up a bit better on Tuesday.  Zach did have his scheduled sport’s physical on Tuesday.  The surprise of the day was Matt got progressively worse on Tuesday afternoon and ended up at Urgent Care. All testing and swabs were negative however because of his significantly increased blood pressure led to a prescription for high blood pressure that has been the biggest blessing of the week.
  3. Wednesday morning Kendall had an orthopedic appointment where the diagnosis was either a sprain or a tear.  This led to a referral for an MRI to get a final diagnosis.  I had forgotten that Matt had an appointment to have 2 areas of potential skin cancer removed.  He ended up taking off the day and was in bed from noon on.  Lily and I drove to Greensboro to watch a swim meet. Kendall spent the day on crutches.
  4. Thursday morning- Matt now has a stomach bug so I ended up driving Kendall to her MRI which ended up a good thing as I was able to view the results by lunchtime. It was a sprain, and she needed to keep stretching and working it out.
  5. Friday- the second official snow day of the year. Everyone ended up having a remote day as the weather was unpredictable and ended up starting around 1pm and by 2 the road was covered.  Lily is significantly worse and ended up at Urgent Care as well. She has a sinus infection. Both Zach and Kendall feel like crap but based on Matt’s early diagnosis we decided to treat with symptom relief medication.  Honestly it was a blessing as everyone did what they needed to do but was also able to sleep most of the crud off. Matt and I both ended up working full days but were able to keep an eye on the kids and make sure everyone eat and took medicine.

The good news is that by Saturday, everyone is feeling human and hopefully this sickness is gone for good!

Year In Review 2024/ 2025 Plans

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As I sat this morning and tried to get my head around the numbers for the year, I was also shocked to find that I have been blogging for 13 years. I was able to go back and review all 13 years!  The realization that this blog is for me more than anyone else also strengthens my resolve to continue to make this a point of accountability for myself if nothing else.  I do also know that my children enjoying stalking it to see pictures from years past so I will continue for that reason as well.  On a personal level this has been a very long and difficult year.  I have spent quite a bit of time at Baptist hospital for my mother with both appointments and 3 hospital stays. I was given a written reprimand at work in addition to the normal fun of teenagers. Matt and I have both increased our income. We currently have 2 car payments We are eating out at least once weekly as a family and this will likely not change whatsoever in the near future.

Now let’s look at some of the numbers

Emergency Fund- We are currently looking at our baby emergency fund sitting at $500.  It has occurred in the month of December.  I want to set a goal for 2025 to have this amount doubled to $1000.  My action step will be to transfer my monthly gas allowance into the account to help boast it consistently.

Groceries- The goal was $975 a month.  We have spent a total of 9766.65 or $813 a month on average!  This is huge!  I am so proud of us for reducing this number and staying within budget 9 of 12 month.  I will set the goal for 2025 at $820.  I do plan to participate in the Pantry Challenge to help reduce and maintain our spending level for January, February and possibly March.

Gas- Our current goal is $500 a month. We spent a total of 5000 a month for gas with an average of $410 a month.  We have had 4 trips to Florida this year so I am not at all surprised.  I am going to leave the goal of $500 a month and continue to monitor it.

Blogging- For many of the past years, my goal has been 15 per month. I did not hit this goal one single time this year. I have 111 blog post or an average of 9 post per month. For 2025- the goal will be 10 post per month.

Debit- We have made huge financial changes and did a bit of remodeling this year.  We did take out a HELOC on the house to help cover some expenses as some of the items needed to be done sooner rather than later. I also consolidated debt to the HELOC due to the lower interest rate.  Our current debt is   $265411 which includes both vehicles and Mortage payments. It has been several years since I set a  debt reduction goal, so for 2025 I want to reduce the amount to 200 hundred thousand.  This is a lofty goal but it can only make things easier.

Monday Menu Planning

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The Christmas break countdown is on!   With our Christmas party scheduled for next  Monday combined with the fact that I am tired, my plan is to keep things simple and not have alot of left-overs. 

Breakfast- Saturday-  Boys had a breakfast at church and I made an omelet.  . Sunday- Grits or Instant Oatmeal . Monday- Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday Friday– find it (breakfast burritos, muffins, oatmeal, omelets cereal and milk, French toast sticks, sausage, pop-tarts, and eggs. I have added a rice cake with peanut butter to my list of things to eat. 

Lunch- Saturday-Brunch at a local restaurant after  Braxton’s basketball game  Sunday- Bad Dadddy’s  Monday- soup  Tuesday,- soup Wednesday- eat out or leftovers Thursday- soup. Friday- eat out.

Dinner- Saturday- Ham bone soup   Sunday-white chicken chill Monday-pick a left-over soup   Tuesday- Spaghetti  .  Wednesday- Cheese Quesadilla .  Thursday- Chicken pie Friday-  Eat out before the swim meet.

Monday Menu Planning

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Luke 2:10 – “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all people.”

Just for the record, this is my favorite time of the year. I am not going to complain about how busy I am but enjoy every moment of it! 

I was pleasantly surprised on Sunday when I headed to the building to do some meal planning!  My freezer is pretty full and I need to start using it more.  Last week, I focused on soups and am planning to enjoy this week for at least lunch every day. I also started a crockpot of chicken broth this week to use for a variety of meals. 

Breakfast- Saturday-  Bacon and pancakes . Sunday- Grits or Instant Oatmeal . Monday- Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday Friday– find it (breakfast burritos, muffins, oatmeal, omelets cereal and milk, French toast sticks, sausage, pop-tarts, and eggs. 

Lunch- Saturday-Broccoli cheese soup- different recipe (don’t think I will repeat).   Sunday- East Coast wings  Monday, Tuesday,-  Wednesday, Thursday- soup. Friday- eat out.

Dinner- Saturday- Matt’s work party    Sunday-Rotisserie chicken from Costco, stuffing and cranberry sauce.    Monday-Leftover soup. Tuesday- Chicken and Rice .  Wednesday- Eating on the way to the swim meet .  Thursday- Squash Lasagna   Friday-  Salisbury steak and mashed potatoes (the current plan is to freeze a huge batch of mashed potatoes for our dinner party.)

Thursday Thoughts

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Lots of things are happening. Wanted to share a few thoughts with you.

  1. Our trip to Florida was different this time.  First, we drove my car instead of the Tahoe.  We chose this because of the holiday travel. I did not want to be pulling a camper on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.  By driving the car, we were able to stop for gas less, make better time, eat at a drive thru and overall spent about half the amount on gas as we normally do. Next, we purchased lighten lanes to use at Disney- This was a true luxury.  We were able to watch 3 shows, ride all the rides we wanted except 1 (Rise of the Resistance) in a shorter day at Hollywood Studios.  I am not convinced that we will need this in the future but they did make things much easier and quicker.  Finally we enjoyed staying at hotels but even Zach said he preferred the campground and staying in the camper to a hotel room.  I really missed the extra luggage space as well.
  2. Both kids are on the swim teams which means 3 days a week practice with one usually a morning one. We have two meets before Christmas Zach has also started baseball workouts which are also three days a week.
  3. The weather has made a massive change with snow and wind which means extreme cold, and I DISLIKE the cold. The benefit is that we are having lots of soup this week!
  4. My friend Nancy and I are planning a Christmas Dinner party. I am excited and really do enjoy cooking when I don’t have to hurry or worry about it.  I am hopefully to have some time to sit and plan and hopefully even share how I am planning and preparing for it.
  5. Because of the party, I would like to have our house clean and super clean. I had a house cleaner come this week on Monday and another cleaning scheduled for 3 days before the party.   I also am making a short list of extra chores that just need to be done ahead of time.
  6. In preparation for the party, I want to try out a dinner roll recipe and see if I can get decent results.  I hope to accomplish this on Saturday along with making Reindeer Crack.
  7. Most of the Christmas decorating is complete.  I decided to only put up a Disney Village and one LARGE tree.  I did add a couple of decorations to the kitchen but legitimately about half of the regular decorations.  We have not decorated the outside except for Matt who has installed permanent lights.  Another Saturday goal is to pull out and get the outside decorations done.
  8.  I currently have purchased and wrapped all Christmas presents!  I am super excited and proud of this accomplishment.
  9. My work continues to be stressful.  This school year has been one of the hardest for me.
  10. My mother’s surgery is scheduled for next week. This is to finally get her heart back in a normal rhythm.  I am praying this get her back some energy.
  11. We are headed back to Florida on the Saturday after Christmas. This trip has two purposes: celebrate Christmas with Haley and David  and bring Lily home!
  12. I am in total agreement that December is just as busy if more busy than the month of May!