My boys are sick of oatmeal!

We have had an incredibly busy week this week, so I am a little behind. It's been a few days since I've posted. Monday, the boys and I went to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago with my Mom & Dad. The boys had a blast. It was their first visit, and I hadn't been there in at least 15 years and niether had my parents. We got to take in all the exhibits, and even saw the Sea Monsters movie at the Omnimax. The boys were a little hesitant about the movie, and they freaked out just a little...but once it started they calmed down and relaxed and really enjoyed it. I think the farm & space exhibits were their favorites. I don't think I personally had a favorite exhibit, I just enjoyed looking at it all! Alot of the exhibits were closed for maintenance, so the boys didn't get to see the coal mine, and they didn't get to go into the airplane. But since many of the exhibits were closed for repair, general admission to the musuem was FREE! And everyone knows how much SimplyMommy loves to get things free! I was not aware of it, but they have several days each month with free admission, so we will definately be going back this summer. I will have to pay for parking, unless we take public transportation, but I think that would be more expensive in the long run.

Anyhoo, I'm getting way off topic here!

The Hubster and I pledged to plug the holes in our budget in 2008, and save $7000. And January, so far has been a good experience for us. We have been trying to track every dollar (with the exception of allowances...that is our fun money. If we don't get *fun money*, we won't stay on budget). We did pretty well, we were a little lax at the beginning of the month, then tightened up the purse strings towards the end. So I think we are learning through this process. I had a little trouble with my current spread sheet system keeping track of all of our expenditures. I have almost like a ledger system and not an accrual system on my spread sheet. So I put the totals spent for the month in, and cannot track individual expenses. So this month, I will be keeping my main budget on a spreadsheet, to make sure we stay under our "master" numbers. Then I will be adding in an index card system, as well. I will assign each paycheck an index card. At the top, it will have the date and the payment amount. Below that, I will list each individual expenditure that we take out of that particular paycheck. It will also help us get our *extra* money each week into savings. Basically, at the end of the week, what ever is left over will go to savings. That will insure, that our extra money that isn't set to be spent goes into savings...but also money that was budgeted for groceries, for example, that wasn't spent will make it into savings as well.

We sat down last night and looked at January so far, and we did find some spending leaks. We made a four extra trips to the grocery store, for non-essential items. Dh went for essential items but also picked up things like hot chocolate, ice cream & pop. While I agree that we deserve treats on occassion, running to an expensive grocery store (becuase it is close) is not the answer. So we are going to be adding some treats & 2 - liters of pop to our grocery list each week. In the long run, since we are buying them anyways, it will be cheaper, if I just get them on my original grocery trip to Aldi's!

I ran out of flour this week, so my poor boys are getting so sick of oatmeal every morning since! Since I am out of flour (and vow not to make an unscheduled trip to the store), I can't make pancakes or waffles for them. So this morning, my youngest and I experimented with pretty good results! We made oatmeal pancakes, here is the recipe:

Flourless Oatmeal Pancakes:
2 cups ground oatmeal (whir oatmeal in blender for 2 minutes)
1 tbs sugar
2 tsp baking soda
cinamon & nutmeg to taste
1 egg
1 cup of milk
1 tbs oil

Mix the dry ingredients, then add egg, milk & oil. Mix well. Cook on a griddle for 2 minutes per side. Serve with syrup or for a healthier version, serve topped with sugarfree applesauce or sugarfree preserves!

We also went out to eat 4 times this month. And our misc. spending was at $360.00 and we had about $200.00 that we can't account for. Am I peeved? Of course! But this gives us something to strive for next month. Now we have the numbers to come in under. There were things, like household expenses (dog food, cat food, etc.) that came up and I didn't have a specific area in the budget for. So, it had to go into misc. But now I can go through my misc, and see what I need to make new budget categories for.

So, all in all, we are on the right track this month. We are hoping to have our $7000 saved within 16 months. So we will need to put just over $400 away each month and it should be doable. Especially, after the truck is paid off here shortly! So, I have to say, I feel so much better than I have in years. We have been continuously behind on bills for over 2 years now, and in February, for the first time, we will be current on everything! Woo Hoo!

Homemade Tortillas

The hubby and I made homemade tortillas today for the first time and we had an absolute blast! So, I thought I would share some pics and the recipe here! We are having fiesta chicken tonight, so we'll be eating these with it. I think I am going to have to make another batch, because this first "trial" batch is almost gone already!

Homemade Tortillas:

2 c. flour

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 c. shortening or veg. oil

1/2 c. warm water

Put flour, salt & baking powder into a bowl. Mix the oil into flour mix until it forms little balls. Add water, a bit at a time, until dough is soft and pliable. Knead and form 8 - 10 balls. Roll out as thin as possible. Cook one at a time in a hot skillet, with melted butter. Flip when a bubble begins to form. Cook each side less than 1 minute!

These are delicious and so yummy! I think they are easily going to become a family favorite!

Grocery Challange - Week #4

Alrighty....I'll have to see how we did this week. I sent the hubby to the store this week since I am without a truck at them moment. I have to say...he impressed me. This was the first time I have ever sent him to the grocery store and he didn't stray from the list. Ok, well...he bought ice cream, but we had talked about it before he left...and we just never "officially" put it on the grocery list!

So here we go:
Household Items:
I've decided to start including TP in this category, since I have added the category to the budget. It just seems like the right place for it to be!
$2.29 ~ TP (should be okay now for 2 weeks)
$5.99 ~ kitchen bags (I wouldn't have bought the giant one...but we won't need them any time soon)
$5.49 ~ Dog food
$1.03 ~ Tax
$14.80 ~ Total
Making the monthly total $24.75

Breakfast:
Didn't need to pick anything up this week. We still have plenty around
Oatmeal
Eggs & Sausage (since I stocked up when sausage was .99/pound)
waffles &/or pancakes

Lunch:
Same as last week

Dinners:
$3.71 Corn Chowder & Garlic Bread
6 cans of corn (2.34), 1 tube sausage (.99 on sale), onion (.20), 1 cup of milk (.18), chicken broth (free from boiled chicken), garlic bread (free from BOGO last week).
$3.49 BBQ Chicken Sandwiches & Green Beans
Chicken (1/2 of legs & thighs bag 1.75), Homemade BBQ sauce (est. .50), Buns (.75), Green Beans (.49)
$3.90 Fiesta Chicken & Refried Beans
Chicken (other 1/2 of bag 1.75), Diced tomatoes (.45), can of corn (.39), spices (neg.), rice (.33), refried beans (.98)
$2.86 Meatless Chili
4 cans of chili beans (1.56), diced tomatoes (.45), 2 cans tomato sauce (.40)
$1.89 French Onion Soup (for the adults) & Mac-n-Cheese (for the kids)
onions (1.56), broth (free), mac-n-cheese (.33)
$4.08 Homemade Pizza
cheese (2.69), sauce (.40), spices (neg.), sausage (.99 on sale), homemade crust (neg.)
FREE Leftover Night


We also have a birthday this week! My youngest is turning 4...and I can hardly believe it! So we will be having a cake and ice cream, and the total on that is $3.43, but worth it!

So that is basicall it! Total for groceries this week was $42.57. Even with the extra peas & tomato sauce that the Hubster found when he got home. He thinks someone threw them in his cart by accident, so hopefully they won't be missing them when they get home!

Monthly totals are:
Groceries ~ $166.89/$200.00
Household ~ $24.75/no budget til next month

Saving money this weekend....

I woke up to a tempurature of -5 at 7:30 this morning...and it hasn't gotten much warmer! So, we are staying in this weekend. I sent Pat to the grocery store, so that will be taken care of, and other than that...we will be staying in until at least Tuesday, when my oldest goes back to school. And hopefully, it will be warmed up by then!

Sooooooo cold....I can't wait for Spring!

Day #8 ~ Smoke Free

Well, I am doing it! I am eight days smoke free and for the most part, not missing it anymore! Every once in awhile, I get hit out of the blue with a craving, but they are totally manageable! I have gained a few pounds, but I am working to keep them down...just need to work out every day!

So far, I have saved myself $38.40! (figure smokes are about $4.80/pack)

Grocery Challange - Week #3

I stayed under budget again this week! Woo hoo! We did eat out over the weekend, Pat and I were pretty horrible, because the kids went to Grandma & Grandpa's, so we splurged a bit! But we will certainly get back on track this week!

I did have to buy a few things this week, that I was going to take out of my grocery budget...but I think I will make a seperate category for them in the budget. I think I will do a household category to include; dog food, cat food, cat litter, cleaning supplies, laundry supplies, dish soap, etc. So this week on Household misc. I spent $10.98. I'm not sure how much I am going to include per month for this category. I think I will watch my spending this month and see what I spend, but I am thinking about $30/month

As for groceries, here is my meal plan for the week:

Breakfast:
Oatmeal (purchased 2 weeks ago - still very full...might get a whole month out of it)
toast

Lunch:
School lunch:
Tuna sandwich, PB crackers or Pretzels & applesauce (from freezer)
Hubby:
Sandwich & corn chips
Us at home:
Leftovers!

Dinners:
Chicken Casserole with salad & corn
Spagetti
Brats w/ Green Beans
Biscuits & Gravy
Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup
Meatball Subs
Chili

Snack:
Hot Sausage Dip

I spent a total of: $27.88 this week, and I stocked up on sausage that was on sale at Sullivan's for $0.99 per tube. Because I am so far under budget, I think I might go back and get some more since it is on sale. Plus, I do have a list of some things I forgot (butter, syrup & a request for more salad). So, since I am only halfway through my budget...I will probably do some stocking up this week!

Total for January Grocery Challange: $124.32/$200.00

I think I might just succeed on this one, this month!

Day #3 - Smoke Free

Well, I think I've made it over the worst of it...I think! Last night, hubby had had a bad day, so he wanted to have a few drinks. So he went out and got some bloody mary stuff. I've never tried them, so I told him I would try it. It was actually pretty good, but the mix he got was way to spicy. But I do think I could drink them, if they were made with regular V8. Anyhoo, I'm getting way off topic here already! I think he didn't want to drink alone, so he was talking me into having screwdriver (which I had about 3 sips of becuase the OJ was sour). Anyhoo, still off topic. I didn't want to drink this soon after quitting smoking, becuase I know I will have a really hard time drinking and not smoking, becuase to me they go hand in hand!

But I did it! I opened the garage door to go out to the man cave, to smoke....but turned around, shut the door and left hubby outside smoking alone! I am so proud of myself! If i was able to turn down a cigarette when it was right there in front of me, tempting me...I think I will really be able to kick this habit. While I was considering smoking, I just kept thinking to myself, that I have already conquered 2 days of not smoking, and dealing with the withdrawls. If I smoke now, those 2 days were for nothing, and I have to start all over with the withdrawal symptoms, and I didnt' want to do that.

I have to say that I am already feeling much better! I have waaaaay more energy during the day and my face is actually looking healthier. I no longer have the dark circles under my eyes, the changes are amazing after only 48 hours. When you are smoking, you know it is bad for you...but I don't think you realize just how actually poisonous it is until you quit and see what it was doing to your body!

I, of course, still have some nasty stuff going on. I keep coughing up junk out of my lungs. As annoying as it is, it is good for me. It is getting all the junk out of my lungs, and that can only be good. I am having trouble sleeping still. I can sleep for about an hour, then I wake up...so it is off and on all night long. I actually did get a couple of solid hours last night which was so nice! So maybe tonight, I'll be able to sleep better...I need to kick the afternoon java, that might help too!

I have gained a few pounds so far (all in the first day), but I think that it was becuase I was being careless and wasn't watching what I ate. I wasn't really prepared to quit smoking, I had no gum and no game plan...I just decided to do it...which so far is working out for me. But now, I am armed with gum and my weight isn't going back up! I plan on jumping on the elliptical today, so hopefully that will help! I've also noticed in the 2 days since quitting...I've been more...well, um, regular....so to speak. I've never been regular in my life, but the last 2 days has been like clockwork, so it will be interesting to see what this does for my digestive system. It actually seems to be working better now that I've kicked the butts. But we'll see! I definately think I might try to take up jogging, once I can breath a bit better! It'll help me keep the weight off and get down to my goal weight and stay smoke free!