Snow. Yes, snow.

Posted on December 8, 2009 by Kelly

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There are two things that never happen where I live. The first is making it one summer without your home being invaded by ants. The second thing is: snow.

Now I can cross that last part off my list because last Friday we did get a bit of the white stuff. A whole 2 inches of it. Officially I cannot say that this is the only snow of the year because we did get some last February. But this time. Well, this time the snow stuck.

After it started falling much noise ensued. There was a lot of jumping up and down and yelling of “Snow! Snow! Snow!” A mad dash to the window and face pressed up against the window to watch the pretty stuff fall from the sky.

The kids loved the white stuff, too.

I know that people who live up North and deal with this on a regular basis will disagree, but, this stuff is so p-u-r-t-y. Folks, I just reveled in how beautiful all aspects of God’s creation are. The flakes floated down so quietly, so peacefully. To be a snowflake for just a little while . . .

I took many pictures and will think on this when I am enduring 100+ degrees for ~~300~~ 3 weeks straight.

What a welcome reprieve!

Menu Plan Monday

Posted on December 7, 2009 by Kelly

Thanks again, Laura, for being willing to be interviewed! What a blessing you are.

If you would, please fill out my demographics survey. Thanks muchly! Without further ado here is my menu plan for this week:

Monday -

B – Oatmeal

L – Sandwiches

D – Pumpkin Soup

Tuesday -

B – Chocolate Chip Muffins

L – Sandwiches

D – Bean & Cornbread Casserole

Wednesday -

B – Oatmeal

L – Breakfast Tacos

D – Taco Pinwheel

Thursday -

B – Banana Muffins (IF we can get some bananas in the house. My kids seem to devour them as soon as they get home)

L – Sandwiches

D – Fiesta Chicken (only I will change this and make it in the crockpot)

Friday -

B – Oatmeal

L – Sausage & Cheese Turnovers

D – Vegetarian Chili

Saturday -

B – Daddy makes French Toast

L – Sandwiches

D – Pizza

Make sure to stop over to visit Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie!

Help a Girl Out, Please (Demographics Survey)

Posted on December 4, 2009 by Kelly

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Who are you?

Really that is such a strange way to start a blog post. But who are you my wonderful readers? Tell me a bit about yourself! If you would, please click on the link below and fill out my survey. I will have no idea who fills out what so be assured that your information is totally confidential.

I really need to know pretty please and I can’t afford to give away any super duper prizes on this so please accept my humble thanks.

It’s easier than falling down. I promise.

*Update: Wendy asked two good questions in the comment section. I’ll post them here just in case you too are wondering!

“Kelly,
Just came by and completed your survey. How is the information going to be used? There wasn’t a space for answering “why” I’m following or coming to your blog, though you said that’s one of the purposes of it, so I’m going to answer that here. I’m just wondering why you needed people’s income levels and education.” -Wendy

Here is my answer, in short: “a) I want to know who is reading my blog and why. I did not put in an option to answer why in the survey as I assumed that people would leave that in the comments. Next time I’ll make sure to add that in.
b) I am compiling my much needed media kit. I have advertisers often email and ask to purchase ad space. I need to have something to give them as far as stats go. The income and education questions are merely to give advertisers and sponsors an idea as to who reads my blog.”

My wondiferous survey is only a click away!

Photo credits: yarranz

Interview with the Organizing Junkie

Posted on December 4, 2009 by Kelly

*This is the last post in my Menu-Planning How To Series. I got a lot of great feedback on this and I thank you for it! I hope it has helped in some way. Just in case you have not yet ready the first four posts here they are: part one, part two, part three, part four.*

Today I will share with you an interview with Laura from I’m An Organizing Junkie. She hostesses the very popular Menu Plan Monday meme. If you have not participated in this meme I highly encourage you to do so. Not only will you get great inspiration on how to make your own menu plans you will also be motivated to make your own! Make sure you visit Laura’s website. It is jam-packed with great organizational tips, info, and recipes.

Thank you, Laura, for taking time to do this interview! I owe you one.

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Laura is an addict of all things organizing especially containers. She is addicted to the high that comes with living a life of order and simplicity and is always looking for her next “fix”. You can find her blogging regularly and sharing her passion for organizing and menu planning over at I’m an Organizing Junkie.

What prompted you to start meal planning?

I started menu planning four years ago when I became a stay at home mom after the company I worked for closed down and I had my third child. I was having trouble getting dinner on the table each night just flying by the seat of my pants and I knew if I didn’t do something about it soon I’d lose my mind. I started menu planning just a couple of meals a week and it didn’t take long for me to recognize that menu planning was the answer to my prayers. It literally changed my life.

Would you share with us how you menu plan? How long does it take you? Do you do it weekly? Monthly? Bi-Weekly? Do you base it off of coupons/sales/etc?

I sit down every Sunday evening for about a half hour to an hour to menu plan. I start by looking through the sales flyers to determine which meat is on sale. Then I slot in which meat I want to have on which day and I often include a meatless night as well as a leftover day so nothing goes to waste. Once I know which meat I’m cooking I hit the internet scouring blogs for yummy recipes. I actually have a recipes folder set up in my Favorites with sub folders for the various meats, potatoes, veggies, appetizers, desserts, etc. I have quite the selection of recipes there that I’ve bookmarked from all over the web. This speeds up the process considerably. I’m very careful to select recipes that are easy to prepare, don’t require a huge number of ingredients and are relatively healthy. Once my meal plan is created I do up a grocery list so it’s ready and waiting for when I go out to do my weekly Monday morning grocery shop.

What resources do you use to help you meal plan?

My biggest resources is the internet, specifically the Taste of Home recipe website. I also like the sites Tasty Kitchen and Kraft Foods for recipes. Coupons aren’t big in my little Canadian town so they don’t play a big factor in my menu process unfortunately.

What do you feel is the biggest benefit to meal planning?

There are so many! We are eating healthier, I was able to reduce my weekly grocery budget by $75.00 and I no longer have the 4:00 meltdown where I’m staring into the fridge wondering what in the world I’m going to cook for dinner. I also LOVE the flexibility that menu planning provides. I can easily swap days out if I need to and it doesn’t hurt a thing. You can find a list of all my reasons for menu planning here.

What tips do you have for someone who is just starting out planning meals?

If planning a whole week intimidates you, start with a couple of days. Do that for a couple of weeks and move up from there. Check out Menu Plan Monday and see what others are eating each week. You’ll find plenty of inspiration. Don’t be afraid to try out some new recipes to help get you out of a rut and motivate you to continue. I encourage you to give it a try and be blessed by the many benefits. It’s not near as hard as you might think it is, I promise!

Shopping – Menu Planning How-To’s Part Four

Posted on December 1, 2009 by Kelly

*I highly recommend you read parts one, two, and three of this Menu Planning How-To’s Series before continuing.*

Okay. So we have covered Why menu planning is a good idea, various ways How menu planning can be achieved, and the many different resources available to Help you menu plan. Today we will be discussing how shopping factors in to meal planning.

First off, shopping willy-nilly at the grocery store without a list is a bad idea. Having some idea of what you need and writing it down on paper will not only save you a headache as you browse the aisles, you will save lots of moolah as well. Below I will share some shopping tips and how to organize a shopping trip while you are in the process of meal planning.

Tips to keep in mind

Do not go to the grocery store either hungry or tired. This is often talked about and well known but yes, it does bear repeating. If you are hungry while walking about a building packed with food you will buy stuff you don’t need. Your cart will suddenly be carrying all kinds of packaged snacks and things you might not normally buy. As for the tired part, you are less likely to stick to your list if you aren’t energized and are bogged down by fatigue. I go shopping by myself early in the morning after breakfast. The plus to this is that there are less people at the stores during this time.
Shop by aisle. We’ll go more into this later on but this tip will save you a lot of time.
Don’t forget a pen or pencil to cross things off of your list. You will see easily what is left for you to pick up and you’ll be encouraged by seeing that you are getting something done.
If you are not the one who will be shopping (say, for instance, you are sending your husband to the grocery store) make your shopping list easily understood by that person. For instance, if I write down three cans diced tomatoes, I’ll know in my mind that I want the large cans. My husband won’t know that so I make sure to write down the ounces needed when I make a shopping list that he will be using.
Leave the cold stuff for last. In my grocery store the produce is the first thing you see when you walk into the store. Then there are the frozen food sections. I start on the aisles just past those, such as the coffee and tea aisle, and work my way to the back of the store where the dairy items are. Then I go back to the store and pick up any frozen items or produce before I head to check-out. This ensures that my cold items are not thawing or warming up while I am getting other things.
If you use coupons or price match with flyers, keep those readily available for you to look at. I suggest a clipboard with your shopping list and flyers and coupons attached. You will have everything ready at check out. Digging around in a cluttered purse after shopping to find crinkled up coupons and the like makes for an unhappy check-out experience. (Ask me how I know!) Of course, there are many ladies out there who have couponing down to a science and so they may offer other suggestions on how to better do this. As I have said before I do not coupon or price match myself.
When putting grocery and non-grocery items on the conveyor built, group them together. Cold stuff together, boxes together, canned goods together, personal items together, and cleaning products together. Anything fragile such as eggs or bread needs to go at the end so that you can place those on top without getting ruined.

How to create a shopping list while making your menu plan.

There are two ways I generally go about this. I either write out the list as I plug in each meal for my meal plan, or I make up the entire meal plan and then look at each day and write down needed ingredients. Personally I find it easier and faster to make up the menu plan at one time and then to move on to the shopping list and do that separately. Otherwise I have two things going on at once and I feel bogged down and easily get discouraged.
If you haven’t done so it would be wise to keep a pad of paper on the fridge help up by a magnet to write down items as you think of them before meal planning time. If I see I am low on something I add it before I actually run out. I rarely run out of items at the last minute. Also, if my husband calls me on his way home from work and asks if I need anything at the store, I can easily look at my running list and let him know. Works great and saves me quite a few headaches. When you are finished making your shopping list from your new meal plan, make sure to add whatever you still need from the fridge list.
When writing up your shopping list group items together in two categories: food and non-food. I shop at a major supermarket and most non-food items are kept separately from the food items. I generally get paper items and anything we don’t eat before I actually starting putting groceries into my cart. Keep any cleaning supplies away from food so that there is no contamination to what you are going to put into your mouth.
When making this shopping list be sure that you are thinking ahead. Look around your home. If you have half a package of toilet paper you may think you have enough to last till the next shopping trip, but more than likely you will run out. Go ahead and purchase whatever you are getting low on if you are financially able. Remember, less trips to the grocery store for last-minute items means less spending of your hard-earned dollars.
Make an extra copy or two of your shopping list. There have been a few times when I have either spilled something on my list making it unreadable or have lost it entirely. Because I make extra copies and also keep a copy on my computer I don’t need to panic.

What have I missed? How do you shop? What tips do you have? I hope this has helped somewhat and will give some basic ideas as to how making a shopping list and how shopping at the grocery store can save money and time.

On Friday I will be sharing an interview Laura from Organizing Junkie! Stay tuned!

Photo credits: iboy_daniel, BruceTurner,