How I Made Life Happen

I have lots of new updates for everyone and I am so excited. Right now I am setting my printer up in a temporary home so I can send in my transcripts for school. I have applied for enrollment at the local community college for my associates in IT. I couldn't be happier.
You see all those commercials on TV about just picking up the phone and your like, yeah right. Pick up the phone and pay you thousands of dollars for credits that might not transfer or you have to take six extra classes unrelated to the major you really want. Well, I sucked it up and it turns out I qualify for all kinds of financial aid and grants and stuff. That's always fun, free money.

That isn't the only thing going on either, as most of you know I preggo and waiting patiently to find out what we are having. (I had a very uncooperative woman at the last ultra sound who gave me excuses like, ' The baby's too small to see.' and 'You can't tell this early.') What ever. Anyway the next scheduled ultra sound is for next Wednesday and my husband has taken the day off to join me. (These doctor visits are a little more challenging when you have a toddler to chase around. This is what I signed up for.

So with all this going on I like to make things as challenging as possible, cause why not, and I also joined a newly formed garden club for my town. We are looking to build a community garden in our town and use the produce we get from it to supply the schools with healthy lunches and snacks. (The end result is not set in stone, of course, there is no telling if we will get anything out of it just yet.)

So now I have my self, with child, doing my thing as a nanny, working on this garden project and now I'm trying to start school in a month or so. Fantastic! My husband once told me I am like my aunt. She is 70+  years old and retired, takes painting class, works a support group, does charity, still camps in her RV and to this day hosts all our family gatherings in her own home. Shit, I'm not nearly that organized but I am getting better.

So kids, I have this to say today.....
I don't care if you fucked off in high school, got preggo young, did a little time or simply didn't get great grades. I don't care what all your teachers in school told you, or if you just waited a while. There is always another chance. Another place for you and another direction you can take. If you don't like where you are at then do something about it. I did and I am the last person on earth anyone would have expected to end up here.

Meal Plan Week #2

Well, it's that day again, time to put together our meal plan for the week, pick up the few things we need until shopping day and organize my shopping list. Since I posted a couple weeks ago about my meal planning I thought I would update with this weeks entrees for week night meal ideas.

This week we will be having:
 Baked Mac & Cheese with a panko crust and some broccoli
Loaded Nachos. (not very healthy but you can add any ingredients you want to healthify it)
Corn Chowder and breadsticks. (Pillsbury now sells breadsticks in a can.)
Homemade Pizza/Calzone
Homemade Chicken Finger with a Panko crust, peas and fries
Burgers on the George Foreman and Oven fries
Panini's with leftover chowder
Chicken Caesar salad with homemade dressing (Here is the pin. This stuff is amazing!)

Some staples your will need for this plan is your standard chicken, hamburger, oil and sauce but don't forget to pick up some pizza crusts (tip: spaghetti sauce works just as good as pizza sauce and doesn't go bad as fast.) You will also need some block cheese, panko and maybe some fancy bread for the paninis. You know, if your feeling especially adventurous.

Well, off I go to check out some sales. Good luck and happy shopping.

Meal Planning, Saving Time And Money

So you have to go grocery shopping, huh? Don't pull your hair out or do any creative accounting to pay for it. I plan out our meals and saved my family hundreds of dollars every month. No you don't need to be an extreme couponer and you certainly don't need to make it your new part time job.

Here is a little back ground into why I started doing this. Before our daughter came along I was the manager of a portrait studio 45 minutes from my house. I worked 45 to 50 hours a week on a constantly changing schedule and sometimes, (about twice a week) I wouldn't get home until nearly one in the morning. This meant I ate lots of takeout  and slept when I was off to try and maintain some sort of normal schedule so real food and a full refrigerator was a bit hard to come by. Then I got preggo and quit my job to become a SAHM and nanny. Now we were down by nearly half our income and I am eating all my meals at home and thus, my meal planning began.

To start with you should know I like lists. A lot! So I have dozens of yellow legal pads all throughout the house and I highly recommend this because I hate hunting for paper every few hours. So I start by making my meal list.
MEALS: This part is fun. Write down your favorite recipes for the week, or two if you are like us and get paid bi-weekly, cruise those pintrest recipes you have been pinning all month, add in a few staples your family loves. Here is my list for this week,
Meatball subs
Homemade chicken fingers and oven fries
Stir fry (stressful days require and easier, one pot, meal.)
Spaghetti and Meatballs, (make your meatballs ahead and save yourself a step.)
Honey Dijon Chicken
Sloppy Joes
Wet Burritos
Lemon Chicken Pasta
Roasted Chicken with Mashed potatoes

Sometimes it's a challenge to plan too far ahead because fresh ingredients don't last as long so if your an every two week shopper then you should plan to pick up a couple more fresh things the following week or keep some frozen veggies on hand. I like to chop fresh veggies and freeze them. Bell peppers freeze amazingly and you can add a little healthy to almost any meal.
I also add an extra meal here and there because sometimes you just don't feel like having that for dinner and sometimes it is just easier to order some pizza. So don't feel like you have to follow your list to a T.

Now you got your list so now you need to scan through and figure out what you need for ingredients.
SHOPPING LIST:
Now you have an exact shopping list and you can stick to it. This can prevent impulse purchases, aimless wandering and strategically placed, over priced items. You just have to stick to it. (Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about the oreos or the fun sized twix bag.)

I am a Walmart shopper, okay I know they are a big corporate meenie but I don't work there, they are cheap and mama has gotta save some coin.

So you have your shopping list, let's go right? Nope, almost though. Walmart has a weekly flyer, like most grocery stores do so where ever you shop go ahead and flip through the sales. If you need corn anyway why not get the kind that's on sale. While this is a great strategy you have to keep your eyes open, I have noticed a lot of times the store brand, (for Walmart this is Great Value), tends to be still cheaper than the name brands sale price. We are all brand loyal to certain things like toothpaste, coffee or even TP and that is just fine but you can have your Crest toothpaste and generic canned veggies too.

Alright, you have your meals, your shopping list and you know what is on sale. You could head on out to fill your car with food but I have another step for you. I can assure you all this extra work pays off in the end. Most people shop at the same stores and know the layout like the back of their hand. This is a great skill to have, when you make your shopping list you should then make a second when the list is finalized. Ugh, I know more lists, I told you I like em. However, the second shopping list is to reorganize  the items by how your store is laid out. I start from the back and work my way up.

While this seems like a pointless step it really does serve a purpose. This prevents unneeded trips around the store, lots of back and forth and when you're walking back and forth you tend to see things on end caps and little odds and ends that you normally wouldn't buy but when you have walked by it six times you are more willing to snag it off the shelf. So I'm saving you time, money and hair pulling. Plus, a little heads up, produce is usually kept in the front of the store. If you grab that last you don't have to worry as much about weather or not your fresh food is sitting a room temp for too long. Besides, since you know exactly what you will need for the week, what's on sale and where everything is you can cut your shopping time and budget in half.

I hope this was at all helpful for you guys and I'll keep sharing my money saving tips and tricks. If you want to know more or share some of your ideas feel free leave a comment and feel free to share it up.
Happy shopping!