Category Archives: Christmas

December Catch up!

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It has been 16 days since I last posted a blog. I am not sure but that may have been the longest that I have gone without posting ever.   The last two and a half weeks have been full of fun with some sickness throw in to make things interesting.

Lily and I really enjoyed our short girls trip to Disney for four days.  I am going to try and get up a post with some more details but things are moving fast and furious as the end of the year approaches quickly.

The week before our trip, on Sunday (December 11) I made a visit to Urgent Care with a sinus infection.   By Friday of that week I was some better but fighting face pain which was thought to be a bacterial infection.  On the plane trip down to Disney, I started with  a cough. Full blown yuckiness occurred on both Wednesday and Thursday of our trip.  We arrived home late Thursday night and I tested positive for the flu on Friday.

Haley and her family arrived on Friday.   I actually felt some better on Christmas Eve which was spent at the Fire Department with the Youngs. Christmas Day was at home with Haley’s David responsible for the meal.

As on today Monday December 26th, I have a lingering cough but we managed to get Family pictures, a trip to Winston and the camper under a tarp so  things are starting to look up!

Saving on Saturday

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We all know that our grocery bill in one of the highest budgeted items.  And to be honest, I have been going way over budget this year most of the year!  Today, I spent the afternoon making sure that as little as possible of our food goes bad and is wasted.

We also managed to eat at home all three meals which is a huge money saver.  Matt used the Black stone to make sausage links and patties and bacon. I was in charge of eggs and hashbrowns.  Matt also used the Black stone to cook 3 pounds of hamburger to use in several different things today as well.

I opened the vegetable draw to discovery that most of the items were on the brink of going bad. I did fine one orange pepper that was fed to the chickens.  I chopped up 4 and half cups of peppers and 2 cups of celery that went into the freezer. I also left out sliced peppers to be eaten as lunches this week. I chopped 4 cucumbers to snack on. I used the remaining green onions in our loaded potato casserole that was made to prevent the remaining potatoes from going soft.

I used up a couple of boxes of Chex mix for reindeer crack and muddy buddy Chex mix. We also discovered that a couple of half boxes of Chex cereal were stale, but they were not wasted instead the chickens enjoyed a treat.

For meal prep, I made a batch of cheddar and bacon burgers, two loaded potato casserole went in the freezer for later use. I made a batch of my chili for dinner and to use with baked potatoes this week.  Matt made a batch of his chill for dinner and lunches next week.  We also have a pound of ground beef cooked for a taco pasta this week.

Finally, we saved money by wrapping presents this evening using the paper I found in the attic last year and tape that was purchased on sale several years ago.  I have enough paper to last several more years of Christmas.  By that time, may I can sell my “vintage” wiggles wrapping paper!

5 Things Friday

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  1. This has been one of the busiest weeks I can remember! Monday- Kendall Swim meet, Tuesday- Lilly’s birthday, Wednesday-Kids had church, Thursday- recovery day and Friday- Night out for dinner and shopping.
  2. Next week is just as busy except that I have meeting most evenings!  Tuesday is Matt’s work Christmas party, Wednesday- Church, and Friday- Swim Meet. I also have meetings several evenings and Kendall has swim practice every day.
  3. I have already blown the grocery budget for the month. I have already spent $319 on groceries.  Yikes.  Hopefully I can keep under $400
  4. I am finished with Christmas shopping.  We went to Old Navy last night and purchased some clothing for a child at one of my schools.  Now I have a BUNCH of wrapping to do which is my least favorite thing!
  5. We leave for Disney in 9 days!

5 Things Friday

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  1.  Christmas is my favorite time of the year!   We actually have finished with all the decorating!   Lily and I will be headed to Disney in 17 days for a girls only graduation trip!  This is truely a  once in a lifetime experience!
  2. The weather is still really bizarre!  We have several days in the 60s followed by days in the 40s and it feels like it is raining every other day!  We have had so much rain that we are currently trying to figure out ways to dry up the water because we have standing water at the back of the coop.
  3. This weekend is very unique and special…. no plans for the entire weekend other than church. My goal is to get caught up on some cleaning and have an awesome pajama day.
  4. We have scheduled family pictures for December 26th and only one person is still in need of a shirt to wear.
  5. Groceries are the biggest area that I am noticing a difference in cost.  We have been over our grocery budget for 4 out of the last 5 months. And not just a little over WAY over!   I am going to try and reduce our spending on groceries for at least the next 3 months. I will adjust the budget to this year’s average in January but I also would like to reduce the amount we are spending along with adding freezer space that I can feel this summer.  My current goal is to spend $100 in the month of December.

Saving on Saturday

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This is the Saturday after Thanksgiving so today is definitely different than most Saturdays! But here are a couple of ways we are saving today.

  1.  I have pressure canned 15 quarts and 2 pints of turkey stock.
  2. We are eating left-overs in various ways and forms.  Leftover sandwiches have been the biggest hit, but I made turkey sliders for dinner today which were also good.  My goal is to base the menu plan next week on what is still in the fridge instead of shopping in the freezer so stay tune for Monday!
  3. We are using the decorations that we already have. I did spend $37 on new sheets for my bed. And I placed an Amazon order for tent stakes and ways to connect the lights to Alexa.  Total holiday decoration spending $70! I did decide to use the same tree as last year and we dug out more lights that have been sitting in the box for years instead of purchasing more!
  4. My goal is to limit spending for Christmas this year as we prefer to spend time together and have lots of experiences.  I “need” to order one more gift, purchase gift cards for my nieces and purchase the experience for Amanda which is likely around $250 in order to complete Christmas shopping!
  5. My plan is to limit Grocery spending in the month of December to items we need for celebrating. Then for January, February and March only purchase items we are completely out of and eat on a regular basis. I am thinking diary and fruit will be the main items.

Tuesday Thoughts on Christmas

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Thanksgiving and Christmas are my two favorite holidays!   I love celebrating with lots of food, family and fun.   This year, I am excited not only for food, family and fun but also a Disney trip and family pictures!  This trip is a combination birthday and graduation trip for Lily.  It is a girls only trip that includes flights in both directions!

In the past, I have always begun buying Christmas gifts in January and honestly by this time most years I am pretty close to finishing up the shopping.  Lots and lots of gifts are usually a party of this holiday. I can even recall a Christmas where the girls each opened a gift every day in the month of December. This year is different.  I started thinking and talking about how I wanted to give gifts last year. My kids are all teens and older which means they have very expensive taste. They also have all been able to save and purchase expensive items during the year.  We are also a family that enjoys traveling.  In the past year, we have been on a trip to Oak Island, two trips to Myrtle Beach, a trip to Asheville and 2 trips to Disney.   During each of these trips, I have enjoyed buying items for the kids both needed and wanted.   How does this relate to Christmas?  I made the decision that instead of buying alot of gifts, or even buying large items that I would prefer to use money for more trips and entertainment.  For the kids at home, Lily, Zach and Kendall, they each will receive one Christmas present.  We already have a weeklong trip planned to Disney at Easter and a weeklong trip planned for Oak Island in July.  Zach and Kendall are both involved in sports, and I have been willing and able to purchase items above and beyond the requirements.  Things such as hoodies and pants with fancy mascots and such.  For Lily, she has lots of graduation items, extra clothing and a extra Disney trip.   Amanda has requested and will receive season pass for her family to the zoo.  Haley’s family decided they would enjoy a trip to Disney’s Hollywood Studios.    These gifts are all great options and things that I would normally not give at Christmas but sometimes simpler is better.

I LOVE family pictures!   I will always treasure the last set of family pictures taken in November 2016 with my dad’s death in February 2017.  I am still not ready and don’t know that I will ever be ready for “Young Family Pictures” again.  I am grateful that my mom understands and respects this. But I am ready and excited about my family pictures. The last time we have pictures made Braxton was 4 weeks old.  We have added Haley’s entire family and Braxton is 4.  The plan is for pictures over Christmas when everyone is here.  I was able to purchase all the boys’ shirts at Belk’s!   This is going to be awesome.

Christmas and Thanksgiving both look different this year, but I am excited for simple and less gifts!

 

 

5 Things Friday

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  1. Today is Veteran’s Day. We are being blessed by several friends and family members who have served in the military. So, it is important to us to say, “Thank you” and WE LOVE YOU!
  2. I had the day off work!  This is actually the first day that I have been at home since school started. Labor was spent in Florida and was a busy but fun time. Both the car and the Tahoe needed services appointments today and Zach had a doctor’s appointment.  Busy day off!
  3. We also experienced the second Tropical Storm this year. Not as much wind but several inches of rain have fallen. At least this time we have the automatic chicken door, so we did not have to worry about being outside.
  4. I have spent quite a bit of time in the kitchen today. I did go and purchase breakfast this morning. But I made stuffed green peppers for lunch.  For dinner Matt picked up a rotisserie chicken from Costco but I am a squash casserole, sweet potato casserole, stuffing and parmesan broccoli. This should give us several meal for the weekend. The chicken bones and skin are already in the crockpot for chicken broth that I plan to can tomorrow!
  5. It is snow village weekend!  The goal is to have the snow village assembled by Sunday! Here is a preview!

Staycation?

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I am not really sure if this is a staycation or not. The reason, this is my second week of Christmas break.  Most years I get two weeks at Christmas from the school system, so it is really not unusual.  The difference is that currently Matt is unemployed, so he is also at home during the break. So, is it a staycation?  Still not sure but anyway, here is what we are up to during our staycation or second week of Christmas break.

Put away all the Christmas decorations- We are 50% finished with this. Yesterday, Monday, we took down and put away the outside decorations.

Clean out and organize my building- This is actually part of putting away the decorations.  Matt made a trip to Goodwill two weeks ago with the first load of stuff from my building. I found 3 large totes of clothes that he has missed as well as several other items. We ended up taking another car full of items to Goodwill to donate.  Even with getting rid of a ton of stuff, we still did not have room to store several large decorations. We decided to try and find some unused space under the house… JACKPOT. We used a cinder block and huge sheets of cardboard (previously stored in my building). This made an awesome shelf for holding large outside decoration that just needed to be protected from the elements.

New rain barrel for Greenhouse. Under the house we discovered a 55 gallon plastic barrel, neither Matt nor I remembered it. It is actually the perfect size for using as a water supply for the greenhouse. We switched out the trashcan and it worked perfectly.

Install a new monitor for Matt. This is in anticipation of him beginning a new job and also some additional project work. You know that it can’t be as simple as just hanging a monitor on the wall. We had to move the cabinets above his desk by 4 inches. This meant that the notorious junk cabinets that have been a catch all for many (7ish) years needed to clean out and organized. In the process we ended up re-arranging the storage shelves in my office as well. Because we are use to doing the one touch method (if you touch it put it where it goes and not just move it to clean) both of our office areas ended up being straighten and cleaned!

Kendall and Zach are spending Monday and Tuesday in Durham. Lily will meet them for Ice Skating on Tuesday.

As you can see, we are extremely busy with some not so fun stuff!  My goal is to get all this done and organized so we can continue our camping adventure this spring and have some much-needed rest time on the weekends!

Let’s Talk Food!

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Food is always a huge part of any celebration for us!  This year did not disappoint!  We started on Wednesday morning with a trip to Cracker Barrel for breakfast!  Lunch/ Dinner was a really cool burger bar in Asheville called Juicy Lucy!

We enjoyed microwave breakfast meals in our camper both Thursday and Friday mornings!  These are a huge treat for us and at $27 for both mornings way cheaper than eating out! On Thursday, we enjoyed lunch at the Stable Cafe at Biltmore.

Christmas Eve, Friday, was our usual Pork BBQ with the addition of baked beans and mac and cheese!  This is definitely a repeat.

For Christmas morning/ lunch I made cheddar bay sausage balls, cream cheese cresant rolls and a hashbrown casserole.   For dinner we simply ate from the fridge with the healthy addition of deviled eggs, fruit and a veggie tray.

Sunday or the day after Christmas continued our food celebration, my Sunday school class had a pot luck breakfast, lunch was at La Caretta (Mexican) and dinner is appetizers at a gathering of friends.

After all this, I am sure a food coma is going to occur soon!

I have also had a chance to view out grocery spending for the year. I am very excited to announce that we spent $6,312.75 on groceries this year which is an average of $526.06 a month!!! This is actually a decrease in the overall average from last year.  I have been doing some thinking and planning.  I want to challenge myself to keep grocery spending to $50 a week for the months of January, February, March and May. We are travelling to Disney in April so I am not sure if that is realistic to even attempt to keep this same budget in April.  This will allow us to hopefully use up the majority of the food that is in our freezers so I can spend some time next summer, restocking with items that we currently are enjoying and make a bunch of prepared meals.  It will also allow me to get a realistic idea of what we need to spend on a weekly basis for fresh food and diary items.

5 Things Friday

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  1. My Christmas break starts today and last for 2 weeks. Zach and Kendall actually have school on Monday and Tuesday next week and they get an additional 2 days off after New Year’s. Lily does not start back to school until January 10th!
  2. We have our first official camping trip planned for next week. We are headed to Biltmore to enjoy the lights and an art exhibit!
  3. The greenhouse is being productive!  We have around 10 containers growing cooler weather foods. I am so excited about this and can’t wait to try some. Based on trial and error we have decreased the temperature for the heater to come on at to 45 and we are waiting to start watering again because some of the plants looked drowned.
  4. Our electric bill rose by $100 with an increase usage of 22% from last year. We are currently in the process of trying to determine how much of this we can control and what is to be expected with the greenhouse and camper. The good news is that it did not exceed the budgeted amount but is close.
  5. We started making Christmas treats last night… Reindeer crack and candied pecans.  I may work on cookies today if I get MOTIVATED!