whoa dude

a month?!  what the butt!  That flew by.  Anyone else excited that summer FINALLY arrived?  This is the season I live for, so I've been outside and all over the place.  LOVE it. 

I've also gotten hooked on some decorating blogs.  Oh my.  The Nate Berkus show made some comment (isn't it terrible that I don't remember even that any more?!  this show is on during what was my 10am nursing session...got somewhat addicted there too...ohhhh dear).  Anyway.  Here's the list of what I've been reading lately.  OH decorating...looooove.  :o)
http://www.younghouselove.com/
http://www.centsationalgirl.com/
http://www.gusandlula.com/
http://littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/


And now, I'm driving my husband nuts with all my baskets and burlap and "high and wide" curtains and painting wishes and etc.  :o)  I think he's liking it though. 

We finally got new couches!  When I graduated collge, we (I was) were blessed with my parent's friends couches when they moved to CA and had to downsize.  I'm sure the couches are no less than 20 years old.  Great quality and very comfortable (here they are if you're looking for a set) - it was just time to buy something that we picked out together.  We got dark chocolate leather.  Yummm!!  And they're so comfortable.  You'll have to come over and enjoy them with us. 

And what about meal planning, you ask?  I know I know.  I've been doing it, just not posting.  We've also been out of town quite a bit, so we've been sharing meals with friends and family and holidays.  I'll post next week's tomorrow (it will be anemic also as I have work stuff all week long). 

HAPPY SUMMER!  How have you been enjoying the beautiful (minus last week's sauna temps) weather?

Week 4 Menu

Oh my, am I behind or what?!  Life's been a bit crazy.  Here's what this week is (was) looking like...

Monday -
Pork fajitas with sauted red peppers and onions

Tuesday -
Venison steaks and broccoli

Wednesday -
Roasted chicken (pepper & salt), corn (frozen from last summer, yuuuummm), and freezer twice-baked potatoes

Thursday -
Over-priced auction hotdogs

Friday -
Chicken salad

Saturday -
Going to try Italian Baked Chicken and Pastina

Sunday -
Pheasant - not sure how I'll be cooking it yet.  I'll post about what I decide.  All I know is I'm tired of having these "birds with feet" carcasses in  my freezer - it's time to eat them.  :o)

Grocery shopping list...
I'll be checking PYD for any can't miss deals.  Otherwise, I'm just looking for some fruit, yogurt, and fresh veggies.

Meal planning - month one verdict:  SUPER awesome on the budget.  I will note that I've depleted some of my pantry stash, but I should be able to restock that without much issue. 

How about you?  Have you tried menu planning?

hair cut deal - today only!

I mentioned Regency Beauty in my last money saving post...and if you stop by a location today (6/15), you can either get a $1 haircut or pick up a card for a $1 haircut anytime this year!!

http://www.regencybeauty.com/offer/dollar/haircut.aspx

How cool is that!?

Week 3 Menu

Week three!  Week two was a bit hectic...we had a couple of nights of leftovers because some of the dishes made SO much food.  Going forward, I'll be building in one "free" night where we'll finish up some extras.  Anyway, none of the pork was cooked last week and we definitely didn't do the roast. 

Monday -
Pork loin, butterflied with salt, pepper, and grainy mustard

Tuesday -
Pork Fajitas (leftover from Monday)

Wednesday -
Out for dinner...and a baby sitter!  Wheee!  :o)

Thursday -
Leftovers!

Friday -
Father's day weekend!

Saturday -
Father's day weekend!

Sunday -
Father's day weekend!
Not much on my list this week.  In fact, I probably won't even make it to the store unless I'm supposed to be providing potato salad for the weekend, then I'll need some potatoes.  We'll be shopping our pantry this week!  Now that's a budget friendly week!  :o)

corningwear

Just so you know....corningwear is NOT unbreakable, in case you were wondering.  I think it's supposed to be, but today we determined it is decidedly NOT.  :o( 

shoot.  Turns out holding a baby, re-heating a donut, and then covering the donut in powdered sugar was not in the cards.  :o(

Money Saving - Idea #3

How about those haircuts, huh?  I've done the $70 hair cut at Juut and I've done just about every low-cost salon out there too (Great Clips, Fantastic Sam's, Aveda Institute (students), and Juut's New artist acadamy). 

Perhaps I'm picky about my hair, but I don't find that the more expensive haircuts are always better.  I've stuck with a stylist when I've liked the initial cut, but the subsequent ones never match up. 

I recently connected with someone who's in the know about two Fantastic Sam's in Maple Grove.  She recommended a stylist at each salon and so I'm off to try the Bass Lake Road one this week.  I'll let you know how it goes.  Here's the style I'm requesting...

Fantastic Sam's info, in case you'd like to give either location a try.

Chelsey - Bass Lake Salon

**6334 Vinewood Lane Maple Grove – corner of 494 and Bass Lake Rd

Dori - Weaver Lake Salon

**12549 73rd Ave N Maple Grove – off of Weaver Lake Rd near Dairy Queen

Also, I just received a coupon for a $10.99 shampoo, haircut, and blowdry in the mail yesterday. I recommend calling ahead to verify the stylist is working - no appointments, but I plan on waiting for Chelsey even if someone else is available.

Other low-cost options:

• Juut New Artist Academy - $25 to $35 for a cut & style
• These stylists already graduated from beauty school, this is Juut's additional training
• I've gotten checked by an instructor once (bonus!), but not the other 4-5 times I've been there
• Fair deal - plan on paying about $5 for parking
• Aveda Institute - $15+ for a cut & style
• These stylists can be only a few months into school or just about to graduate
• All haircuts are checked by an instructor
• Plan on this taking about two hours
• Regency Beauty Institute - $9 for a cut, $12 for a cut & style
• These stylists can be only a few months into school or just about to graduate
• All haircuts are checked my an instructor
• I haven't been here, but I've heard that since the classes are smaller the instructor review is much more thorough. 

How about you?  Do you have any experience with the Regency school and/or any other great places to get a good, inexpensive haircut?

Money Saving - Idea #2

Who loves pudding cups for lunch??  I do, sometimes, but my husband would eat three in a day.  I typically don't buy these for us because...
1.  Who KNOWS what's in them to last so long...especially the shelf stable ones!
2.  They're stinking expensive!  I just saw six cups on sale for $2.79!

So, great idea....make your own pudding cups! 
I got two packages of pudding mix ($0.46 for a package at Aldi) and a gallon of milk ($2.69 at Aldi).  Then, I used the little tupperware type snack cups that are about the same size as a pudding cup.  (My mom found about 10 of them at a garage sale with lids for a dollar!)

Mix each flavor separately with just a little less than the two cups of milk the package specifies. 
Layer the flavors in the cups, put on the lid, and refrigerate!

By my math I spent about $1.50 for nine pudding cups...which saved $2.64!  And you can choose the flavors and combinations you want!  Wheeee!  :o) 

What flavors are you going to try??

Week 2 Menu

Alrighty, week two!  We didn't get to the mac & cheese last week (we had a happy hour on friday, yay!), so it's moving to this week.  I did some freezer prep over the weekend.  Made a double batch of pizza dough (enough for four pizzas in the freezer now), double batch of cookie dough (baked some up, portioned the rest), and chopped up some strawberries ($0.99 per pound at Aldi last week and this week).

Monday -
Spaghetti & Venison Meat Sauce (leftover from the lasagna making from last week)

Tuesday -
Steaks (yay for shopping our freezer..finding some good stuff at the bottom) & cheesy potatoes (from church freezer cooking)

Wednesday -
Three Cheese Bacon Mac & Cheese

Thursday -
Pork loin & asparagus

Friday -
Pork Fajitas (with onions & peppers)

Saturday -
Pizza (heard that Sam's has 5lbs of pepperoni for $13...hoping Costco has something similar, this is MUCH better than the $2.50/6oz or so you get on the Hormel stuff)

Sunday -
Roast, potatoes, onions

Items on my grocery list this week:
3# frozen Chicken breasts at Rainbow - $4.99
10 flour tortillas at Aldi - $0.99
1# Shredded Mozz Cheese at Alid - $3.29
Would love to hear your menu for this week...I could use your ideas for my menu next week! 

Cloth Diapering...Let's do it!

Well, I've mentioned it.  About a bazillion times.  I'm addicted.  To cloth diapering.  :o)

So, what do I do?  I start another blog.  You should probably check it out. 
http://bekahsclothbums.blogspot.com/

And here's my goal: post at least three times per week in BOTH bekahsclothbums and RamblingRandomness

That's right.  I know you're pumped.  Tell me what I should write about!  :o)

Here's today's randomness...I've regularly been giving the munchkin a paper towel to play with while I put everything back together after nursing.  Well, today, she put her new teeth to good use and bit a piece off and then ate it.  She made a funny look, and then swallowed it.  OOps.  I guess that's the last time she gets a paper towel!

Week 1 Menu

I'm committing.  I'm going to start meal planning.  To try and keep myself accountable, I'll be posting them here each week. 

Monday -
Hotdogs & Brats on the grill (happy memorial day, and THANK YOU to all our service-people!)

Tuesday -
Rosemary roasted chicken and asparagus edamame

Wednesday -
Homemade Pizza

Thursday -
Chicken Enchiladas (leftover chicken from Tuesday)

Friday -
3 cheese bacon macaroni

Saturday -
Fried egg sandwiches

Sunday -
Venison Lasagna

Do you plan your meals out?  Share your plan for this week!  I know we can all use the inspiration of other's ideas!

Meat shopping at Home!

We have a deep freeze (aka, chest freezer) that I don't think I could live without.  My husband hunts, so we need someplace to store all that meat.  We also co-op with a couple other families on raising chickens and butchering them each summer...so a place to store 15-18 ten pound chickens all year is super important! 

All that to say, I should rarely buy meat, but I still find myself checking out with a *great* deal on chicken or something.  I'm challenging myself to use what we already have before I go purchasing more.  Since venison is VERY plentiful at our house, here is creative use number one:

Venison Enchilada's (AKA Venchilada's):
1 lb ground venison (I had venison steaks that I put through our meat grinder)
1 packet taco seasoning
1/2 can tomato sauce
1 can hot enchilada sauce
6 flour tortillas
8 ounces cheddar cheese - grated

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Brown the ground venison on medium high heat.  Before meat is completely cooked, add the packet of taco seasoning.  Finish browning and then add the tomato sauce and 1/2 the grated cheese.  Stir together until cheese is melted into the meat.

Spray a 9x13" pan.  Spoon the meat into a tortilla.  Roll up and place seam side down in the pan.  Use the rest of the meat to fill the other tortilla's.  Pour the enchilada sauce over the rolled up Venchilada's (try to cover all of them) and then sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbling.  Enjoy!

Honest appraisal - These were delicious!  You couldn't tell they were venison, which is a big thumbs up for me.  My husband said these should definitely be added to the regular dinner rotation.  Works for me if it helps us get the venison moving out of the freezer before next season! 

Your turn - what do you need to use up in your freezer before spending more at the store?

Money Saving - Idea #1

**Make your favorite snack at home**

For us, this is the quaker chewy granola bar...chocolate chip, please. I just saw a box of 12 on sale for $2.50 today. I made 18 (larger than quaker's) for an estimated $2.

Mock Quaker Choc Chip Granola Bars
3 C rolled oats
1.5 C crisped rice
1/2 C melted butter
1/3 C brown sugar
1 t vanilla
1 t baking soda
1 C honey
1 C flour

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Mix everything together in a bowl until thoroughly moistened and clumpy. Spray a 9x13" pan (I used glass, so that I could cut in the pan without worrying about scratches) and pour everything in the pan. Spray a spatula and press down into the pan. Bake at 325 for 18 - 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and press everything down again with the sprayed spatula. Let cool for 10-15 minutes and cut into granola sized bars (I made 18, I think I may make them smaller next time). Let cool another 30 minutes. Remove from pan with spatula and separate to completely cool on a wire rack. I then put each one in a plastic baggie, taped closed (didn't have the little snack bags or waxed paper that I wanted to use), and tossed them all into an empty quaker granola bar box. Tada!!

Honest appraisal - they taste a little bit different, but that's because we're using honey instead of corn syrup and invert sugar (because we don't even know what invert sugar is!). They taste more like cascadian farm granola bars - sweet but healthy. MMMMM.

Your turn, what snacks have you found are just as good or better to make at home?

re-Kickin it off

Life update:  I'm back at work (2 months now) - part-time (which is amazing) and I have a six month old (!).  With four days at home, I've had the chance to read a bunch of blogs and be inspired by all of these other moms who have such neat stuff to share!

Topics I've been thinking about lately are creative ways to save money, freezer cooking meals, cloth diapering, and home decorating....  Actually, if I could find a way to make all of these be my job, I would be...oh LOVE.  :o)

born for leaving?

Well...it's been a while i spose.

I was listening to the radio this morning on a rushed run into the office to pick up the FMLA paperwork I accidently left on the top of a random filing cabinet (GAAA).  Anyway.  A Zac Brown Band song was on and there's a line in it that "he's a gypsy soul, and he was born for leaving" and I realized that there are several country soungs with this line in it.  It made me pause because we are NOT made for leaving.  NO one is made for leaving.  Where does this concept originate?  Is it an easy way to excuse us runnning from/leaving problems?  Is this related to our difficulty in taking responsibility for our actions?  IE - "the report was overlooked" instead of "I overlooked the report"?  It made me sad.  We are made for a lot of things, but leaving isn't one of them.  We're made to be in community with one another, we're made for love, we're made to glorify God...but we're not made for leaving.  I may need to write the ZBB a letter. 

Happy Tuesday and post-valentine's day!  I hope yours was pink and red and everything lovely. :o)