Granted, we're only feeding 3 people and not 5, but sometimes, it's harder to keep expenses down when your feeding a small number of people after years of feeding large numbers of people! My goal for this year was to keep our expenses for groceries under $250/month. When you keep in mind that I also have to find food that is gluten, dairy, and soy free, it seems reasonable to keep expenses that high.
Grocery Trip: $75
I picked up 2 packages of chicken breasts: buy one, get one free.
I also picked up sweet potatoes, white potatoes, onions, bananas, celery, and a bag of dried beans.
2 quarts of veggie stock.
1/2 gallon of cashew milk.
1 pound of GF oatmeal.
Frozen Vegetables.
Coconut Milk Yogurt,
5 pound bag of frozen fruit.
And a few other odds and ends.
Here's what we made with it:
Root Vegetable Tagine with Kale:
https://feedmephoebe.com/tagine-recipes/
This very filling recipe provided us with dinner Sunday night and lunch for 2 extra days.
Smoothie Fruit Bowls
My tummy has been acting up for the last month. This month, my goal is to eat foods that will nourish and heal my GI Tract. (It's a Celiac Flare-Up. Not certain where the contamination came from, though.)
Have you had a smoothie bowl? You mix the yogurt with some fruit and juice, and then pour it into a bowl with nuts, seeds, berries, and other goodness on the top. I used what I had on hand, so my bowls were made with coconut milk yogurt and pineapple, and topped with coconut, dried mixed berries, pumpkin seeds, and sliced bananas. So much goodness!
White Chicken Chili
One of my favorite chili dishes. I like to take a break from the tomato every once in a while! This was another huge pot of soup, with leftovers for lunch for several more days. Both daughter and I take our lunch to work, and reheat it there. It's always a treat to have some leftovers!
Quinoa Acorn Squash Rings
http://tastefulventure.com/roasted-acorn-squash-with-cranberry-walnut-quinoa-stuffing/
Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole
Made in the Insta-Pot
Spaghetti
I had lots of leftovers this week! We finished most of them off today around lunch time. I still need to make dinner for tonight - but I'm not terribly hungry right now!
How did you do with your grocery shopping this week?
Saturday, January 13, 2018
Wednesday, January 10, 2018
Lawrence Public Library
 | ||||
While we were in Kansas, we ventured over to the Lawrence Public Library. I have been following them on Facebook for quite some time. I love their social media presence, and I just couldn't wait to see their physical building!
I can honestly say this was one of the most surprising libraries I've ever been in. The building is large, and built in a circle. (Hence the fiction loop below.) They have a large auditorium in the front as you enter the building, in addition to a coffee shop. Looking at the picture below - you can see the fiction loop along the back wall. You can also see the open doorway halfway down - that's where the circulation department is located, and you can also shortcut over to the non-fiction collection, the children's and young adult section and access the stairs to the basement. It's a gorgeous building that brings in light, air, and art - oh so much art. The building was breathtaking!
Join me in a tour of this beautiful building!
 |
| Front Entrance |
 |
| The back of the building, along the fiction loop. Romance is on the right. |
 |
| Coming off of the fiction loop and into the non-fiction. If you look at the front of the building, this is on the right hand side of the building. |
 |
| The back corner of the building. Just look at those gorgeous windows! There's another set on the other side of the building, both overlook the big park across the street from the library. |
 |
| The center of the building. I guess the proper word is atrium. Stairs to the downstairs on the left. |
 |
| Children's is directly across. Look at that beautiful strand up above! |
 |
| Downstairs. Meeting Rooms, Business Center, Computer Lab, and Local History Section. So many people down here - it was impossible to get pictures without faces. |
 |
| Lovely artwork in the basement! |
 |
| View from downstairs looking up. |
 |
| Looking into the children's section from the atrium area. |
 |
| You can't see it from here - but the city has flooded one end of the park across the street from the library to make an ice rink. You can kind of see the ice and the kids skating on it if you squint! |
Lawrence Public Library Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/lawrencepubliclibrary/
Lawrence Public Library Website:
http://www.lawrence.lib.ks.us/
Monday, January 8, 2018
A Trip to Kansas
Middle child has a new job. We spent last week moving him out to Kansas and getting him settled into his new apartment. He was offered the job six weeks ago, and we've spent the last six weeks getting him ready to move - buying a car, getting insurance, finding an apartment, packing everything up, unpacking and deciding what he REALLY needed, and then packing up again.
If you weren't paying attention last week, the weather was pretty horrendous.
When we left here on New Year's Eve, we had two cars loaded with junk, and the roads were snow covered. I drove one car, and husband drove the other. Let me tell you, we were thrilled to get west of the mountains and away from the snow!
We moved out of the snow and into the cold. New Year's Day, the temperature was a warm and wonderful -5*F. The windchill took that temperature down even further.
He moved into his apartment on Tuesday. With the windchill, the temperature was down to -15*F. Good Lord, it was cold! We moved him in, but moving someone in while wearing heavy down coats and gloves is an entirely new experience. It's slow, and you just can't seem to move fast enough. When we finished, I couldn't feel my face. Due to middle child's lack of moving space, he had no furniture to sit on, so we sat on the floor, huddled around heating grates, trying to warm up!
His apartment is very nice. It's a one bedroom. He has a small galley kitchen, his own washer and dryer, and a built in desk in the kitchen. His bathroom is attached to his bedroom. All told, he's got 800 square feet of space. It's a very nice size for a young man starting out on his own!
The temperature wasn't a lot warmer when we came back home. It was still below zero, but the windchill wasn't as severe. The road back seemed to be even longer than the road out. Possibly because we were coming from the Central Time to Eastern.
Middle child is settled as best he can be. He has food. He now has two chairs - one a kitchen chair and one a living room chair. We offered a U-Haul trailer. His grandmother has furniture she wanted him to take with him, but he refused to take it. So.... he has very little furniture, and no tv or internet.
As he reminded me, he can get internet at the library, and he's going to be at work more than he's going to be home.
We're flying out to see him at Easter - we know he's not going to have any vacation time for a while now. Hopefully we'll pick up a few more things for him while we're out there next. Like maybe a sofa. Or possibly a kitchen table. Maybe even a bed. (Although, if I must admit, I didn't have an actual bed in my apartment for the first year I lived out on my own. He doesn't know that - but you know, I can understand.)
It's kind of odd to see our kids grow up and take off on their own. I mean, it's what we spent the last 20 - odd years working towards, but it's still weird to see them out on their own when all you see in your head is a toddler running around with a giant stuffed Cheetah, wearing a black cape and conquering the neighborhood!
Wow I'm going to miss him!
If you weren't paying attention last week, the weather was pretty horrendous.
When we left here on New Year's Eve, we had two cars loaded with junk, and the roads were snow covered. I drove one car, and husband drove the other. Let me tell you, we were thrilled to get west of the mountains and away from the snow!
We moved out of the snow and into the cold. New Year's Day, the temperature was a warm and wonderful -5*F. The windchill took that temperature down even further.
He moved into his apartment on Tuesday. With the windchill, the temperature was down to -15*F. Good Lord, it was cold! We moved him in, but moving someone in while wearing heavy down coats and gloves is an entirely new experience. It's slow, and you just can't seem to move fast enough. When we finished, I couldn't feel my face. Due to middle child's lack of moving space, he had no furniture to sit on, so we sat on the floor, huddled around heating grates, trying to warm up!
His apartment is very nice. It's a one bedroom. He has a small galley kitchen, his own washer and dryer, and a built in desk in the kitchen. His bathroom is attached to his bedroom. All told, he's got 800 square feet of space. It's a very nice size for a young man starting out on his own!
The temperature wasn't a lot warmer when we came back home. It was still below zero, but the windchill wasn't as severe. The road back seemed to be even longer than the road out. Possibly because we were coming from the Central Time to Eastern.
Middle child is settled as best he can be. He has food. He now has two chairs - one a kitchen chair and one a living room chair. We offered a U-Haul trailer. His grandmother has furniture she wanted him to take with him, but he refused to take it. So.... he has very little furniture, and no tv or internet.
As he reminded me, he can get internet at the library, and he's going to be at work more than he's going to be home.
We're flying out to see him at Easter - we know he's not going to have any vacation time for a while now. Hopefully we'll pick up a few more things for him while we're out there next. Like maybe a sofa. Or possibly a kitchen table. Maybe even a bed. (Although, if I must admit, I didn't have an actual bed in my apartment for the first year I lived out on my own. He doesn't know that - but you know, I can understand.)
It's kind of odd to see our kids grow up and take off on their own. I mean, it's what we spent the last 20 - odd years working towards, but it's still weird to see them out on their own when all you see in your head is a toddler running around with a giant stuffed Cheetah, wearing a black cape and conquering the neighborhood!
Wow I'm going to miss him!
Thursday, January 4, 2018
Random Pictures
Are Painted Rocks a thing where you live? The idea is to paint the Rocks and hide them. Whoever finds the rock posts them to the Facebook Group listed on back of the rock and then resides them. I found these in the library. I'm going to hide them in another library today.
Christmas cards. I still haven't mailed them yet!
Sunset a couple of nights ago. Just beautiful!
The National Christmas Tree in Washington DC.
Friday, December 29, 2017
New Year's Resolutions - December Update
It's time for a look back at this past year. What kind of progress did I make towards my resolutions for the year? I have a list of things I hope to accomplish every year. While I don't always finish everything, I do manage to finish a significant portion of them!
1) Complete 12 Home Improvement Projects
This was a year of a LOT of home improvement. Expensive home improvement! I'm hoping that this next year holds no major plumbing repairs! This month, we installed the shades in the kitchen windows. Yes, we've been living here 10 years and never had shades in the kitchen windows. Finally done! The last improvement involved the work that the contractor never came back to finish up - despite my repeated calls to them. Thankfully hubby is handy, so he was able to finish things up. He installed the kick plates under the cabinets, and the laminate on the end of the cabinets. He then installed a hardwood back to the empty space under the cabinet that covers the yellow tile and matches the laminate. It looks very professional, if I do say so myself! Actually, I'm really glad that I kept track of this one - sometimes it feels like we do nothing around here - it's nice to have an actual list of what we really do accomplish.
The list:
1) Recover the kitchen chairs.
2) Add the knobs to the cabinet under the kitchen sink.
3) Fix the sewer line out of the house, through the basement wall.
4) Replace the baseboard heater in the hall bathroom.
5) Replace the lighting in the hall bathroom.
6) Re-enamel the hallway bathroom tile.
7) Replace the light at the bottom of the basement stairwell.
8) Paint the cinder block wall in the basement where we replaced the pipe.
9) Fix the running toilet in the Master Bathroom.
10) Fix the leaking pipes under the toilets down in the basement. (Copper Pipes)
11) Install shades in the kitchen
12) Finish out the portion under the cabinets in the bathroom that the contractor never finished.
2) Lose a few more inches around my waist.
Honestly, I wanted to lose 2-3 inches. How hard can that be?
Difficult. Very difficult.
It really does get harder as you get older.
I've lost 1 inch. ONE INCH. It's progress, and I'll take it. But I really wish I'd lost more.
3) Get away with my husband - TWICE - this year.
Done!
The first trip was a long weekend to visit our oldest child at school. (OK, that's a maybe..)
Second was the long weekend we spent in Princeton - he was up there for business, and I went up there for a long weekend at our own expense at the end of his official business.
We did get in a third trip - out to Denver for a Memorial Service. We enjoyed ourselves, and had a great time catching up with family from all over the country.
4) Lenten Cleaning Challenge
Done! 40 bags in 40 days! I'm looking forward to doing this one again next year!
5) Post at least 12 book reviews on my Books for Teens Blog
I've been reading a lot of YA fiction this month! Almost everything I've read has been a hit.
You can see my blog here:
https://librarynut-booksforteens.blogspot.com/
6) Finish the Hallway Bathroom
9 years after the long nightmare began, we now have 2 working bathrooms in our house! While the contractor wasn't everything I expected, we have working bathrooms!
7) Participate in the NoSpenduary Challenge
The moratorium is over! We still don't wantonly spend money, but our savings account is back up where it should be, tuition has been paid, and we're plotting our big home improvement project for next year. Hopefully, that one doesn't cascade into a larger project like this year's project did.
Who am I kidding? It's a home improvement project on a 48 year old house. OF COURSE it's going to be more involved than we want it to be. We need to add an emergency cushion onto the funding for that project when we start planning it out.
8) Learn another language.
This one was a great thought, but it never has gone anywhere.
9) 100 Things Every Marylander Should Do
I've done a few! Maryland is a beautiful state! I might not have done as many as I wanted, but it's nice to have seen a few of the items on the list.
10) Daughter's Quilt
Progress! I am making big progress! It won't be finished before the end of 2017, but it will be finished before the end of the school year!
11) Clean Out Closet and Dresser Drawers
Done! And the stuff I no longer need has been sent to Goodwill.
12) Clean Out the Little Room in the Basement and Make it Usable
A little progress has been made. I moved the wooden shelves out and into another room. I put oldest child's stuff on those shelves. These are the boxes of stuff that he wants to keep long term but just doesn't have the space for in his current apartment.
13) Work on Landscaping the Front Yard
Well, since our next big project is going to be replacing the roof and adding a front porch to the house, I'm not going to do anything with the landscaping until after the porch is finished. This one will be a no go for this year.
14) Take at Least One Class through the ALA
I finished the class! ! Hooray! Now to get the other 2.8 CEU's I need to renew my certificate before June of 2019.
This was a year of a LOT of home improvement. Expensive home improvement! I'm hoping that this next year holds no major plumbing repairs! This month, we installed the shades in the kitchen windows. Yes, we've been living here 10 years and never had shades in the kitchen windows. Finally done! The last improvement involved the work that the contractor never came back to finish up - despite my repeated calls to them. Thankfully hubby is handy, so he was able to finish things up. He installed the kick plates under the cabinets, and the laminate on the end of the cabinets. He then installed a hardwood back to the empty space under the cabinet that covers the yellow tile and matches the laminate. It looks very professional, if I do say so myself! Actually, I'm really glad that I kept track of this one - sometimes it feels like we do nothing around here - it's nice to have an actual list of what we really do accomplish.
The list:
1) Recover the kitchen chairs.
2) Add the knobs to the cabinet under the kitchen sink.
3) Fix the sewer line out of the house, through the basement wall.
4) Replace the baseboard heater in the hall bathroom.
5) Replace the lighting in the hall bathroom.
6) Re-enamel the hallway bathroom tile.
7) Replace the light at the bottom of the basement stairwell.
8) Paint the cinder block wall in the basement where we replaced the pipe.
9) Fix the running toilet in the Master Bathroom.
10) Fix the leaking pipes under the toilets down in the basement. (Copper Pipes)
11) Install shades in the kitchen
12) Finish out the portion under the cabinets in the bathroom that the contractor never finished.
Honestly, I wanted to lose 2-3 inches. How hard can that be?
Difficult. Very difficult.
It really does get harder as you get older.
I've lost 1 inch. ONE INCH. It's progress, and I'll take it. But I really wish I'd lost more.
Done!
The first trip was a long weekend to visit our oldest child at school. (OK, that's a maybe..)
Second was the long weekend we spent in Princeton - he was up there for business, and I went up there for a long weekend at our own expense at the end of his official business.
We did get in a third trip - out to Denver for a Memorial Service. We enjoyed ourselves, and had a great time catching up with family from all over the country.
Done! 40 bags in 40 days! I'm looking forward to doing this one again next year!
I've been reading a lot of YA fiction this month! Almost everything I've read has been a hit.
You can see my blog here:
https://librarynut-booksforteens.blogspot.com/
9 years after the long nightmare began, we now have 2 working bathrooms in our house! While the contractor wasn't everything I expected, we have working bathrooms!
The moratorium is over! We still don't wantonly spend money, but our savings account is back up where it should be, tuition has been paid, and we're plotting our big home improvement project for next year. Hopefully, that one doesn't cascade into a larger project like this year's project did.
Who am I kidding? It's a home improvement project on a 48 year old house. OF COURSE it's going to be more involved than we want it to be. We need to add an emergency cushion onto the funding for that project when we start planning it out.
8) Learn another language.
This one was a great thought, but it never has gone anywhere.
9) 100 Things Every Marylander Should Do
I've done a few! Maryland is a beautiful state! I might not have done as many as I wanted, but it's nice to have seen a few of the items on the list.
10) Daughter's Quilt
Progress! I am making big progress! It won't be finished before the end of 2017, but it will be finished before the end of the school year!
 |
| Luna REALLY likes the quilt. |
Done! And the stuff I no longer need has been sent to Goodwill.
12) Clean Out the Little Room in the Basement and Make it Usable
A little progress has been made. I moved the wooden shelves out and into another room. I put oldest child's stuff on those shelves. These are the boxes of stuff that he wants to keep long term but just doesn't have the space for in his current apartment.
13) Work on Landscaping the Front Yard
Well, since our next big project is going to be replacing the roof and adding a front porch to the house, I'm not going to do anything with the landscaping until after the porch is finished. This one will be a no go for this year.
I finished the class! ! Hooray! Now to get the other 2.8 CEU's I need to renew my certificate before June of 2019.
Thursday, December 28, 2017
2018 Resolutions
I have big plans, big things I want to accomplish this year! How much will I actually manage to get done? There's a lot of change coming in the next year, and so many things I want to do. Hopefully I can get them all done. I've found that by keeping track of my resolutions on the blog, I actually manage to make most of my dreams happen!
1) Participate in the No-Spenduary Challenge
I've done this several years now, and every year I find that it has been well worth my time and effort. Money is saved, debts are paid, and home improvement projects are done with the money that is saved. Traditionally done for the month of January, you can find more information here: http://www.frugaldebtfreelife.com/main/2015/1/1/starting-the-new-year-with-a-no-spenduary-challenge.html?rq=nospenduary
2) 40 Bags in 40 Days
The idea is to clean out 1 bag of "stuff" out of the house every day during Lent. It's a great way to get junk out of the house! I'm looking forward to doing this one again! You can find the challenge here: White House Black Shutters.
3) Get Away With My Husband Twice
What did I read in the back of Debbie MacCombers last book? They've begun their "Adventure before Dementia". It's time for us to do the same. Time to start knocking some places off of our bucket list.
4) Pay off 1 Big Debt
Gotta get it done!
5) Finish Daughter's and Husband's Quilt
I need to close the edges of husband's quilt. I've repaired the quilt top made by my Mother in Law before he went to college. I put a new back and new lining in, and I retied all the layers together. Now, I just have to sew the edges together now. Daughter's quilt needs to be finished - it's over half quilted now. I need to finish quilting it and then sew it together.
6) Get out to visit Middle Child this year
Since he now lives halfway across the country, I want to get out to see him at least once this year.
7) Replace the Roof on the House
We're missing shingles now. Husband got up on the roof and did a temporary repair - but it needs to be professionally fixed. I'd like to get a front porch added when we replace the roof.
9) Exercise MOST days during the week.
This has been more of a challenge than I'd like to admit since I've gone back to work full time. I'm going to define MOST of the week as 4 days.
10) Make my Christmas gifts this year.
This one is tough. I've made Christmas gifts for my extended family in the past, but I quit when I found out that my relatives gave away the hats, scarves, etc. that I made for them. Kind of disheartening when you realize that the $40 worth of yarn I spent weeks making into a felted hat was thrown out. For them, I go with gift cards. I'm thinking more about my very close friends and co-workers.
11) Cut my grocery budget to $250/month.
So, now that we're down to just me, my husband, and the youngest child.. . I need to cut down our expenses. I've been a little out of control over the last six months of the year with middle child home and having gone back to work full time. So, I'm going to keep a closer eye on our spending this year on keeping this under control. With only of us living at home, we can easily keep our expenses down if I really put an effort into it.
12) Turn my yarn and fabric stash into something more... (but what?)
I've got a lot of yarn, and a lot of fabric. What am I going to do with it all? This will be the challenge of the year!
13) Take one item off of my Bucket List
Which one? Where to begin? What to do?
14) Have one Media Free Day per week
There is so much noise going on in our world... and so many distractions. And my job demands constant media exposure and knowledge. One day a week, I'm going to shut them all out and spend the day in peace with just myself. Who knows what great things I'll accomplish on my day off from the media?
15) Visit 12 libraries I have never been to before
I know, I work in a library. But, I absolutely love visiting libraries! I want to go to 12 libraries I haven't been to before and then post pictures. How about you? Would you be willing to share your library photos with me?
16) Get Away With My Husband - Just the two of us - Twice
After last year, I'd like to add the caveat that it not be for a funeral. I'd like to just get away and spend time away from home being just us.
I have a couple of professional goals I want to meet, too. I'm not going to list them here, but they're in the back of my mind!
1) Participate in the No-Spenduary Challenge
I've done this several years now, and every year I find that it has been well worth my time and effort. Money is saved, debts are paid, and home improvement projects are done with the money that is saved. Traditionally done for the month of January, you can find more information here: http://www.frugaldebtfreelife.com/main/2015/1/1/starting-the-new-year-with-a-no-spenduary-challenge.html?rq=nospenduary
2) 40 Bags in 40 Days
The idea is to clean out 1 bag of "stuff" out of the house every day during Lent. It's a great way to get junk out of the house! I'm looking forward to doing this one again! You can find the challenge here: White House Black Shutters.
3) Get Away With My Husband Twice
What did I read in the back of Debbie MacCombers last book? They've begun their "Adventure before Dementia". It's time for us to do the same. Time to start knocking some places off of our bucket list.
4) Pay off 1 Big Debt
Gotta get it done!
5) Finish Daughter's and Husband's Quilt
I need to close the edges of husband's quilt. I've repaired the quilt top made by my Mother in Law before he went to college. I put a new back and new lining in, and I retied all the layers together. Now, I just have to sew the edges together now. Daughter's quilt needs to be finished - it's over half quilted now. I need to finish quilting it and then sew it together.
6) Get out to visit Middle Child this year
Since he now lives halfway across the country, I want to get out to see him at least once this year.
7) Replace the Roof on the House
We're missing shingles now. Husband got up on the roof and did a temporary repair - but it needs to be professionally fixed. I'd like to get a front porch added when we replace the roof.
9) Exercise MOST days during the week.
This has been more of a challenge than I'd like to admit since I've gone back to work full time. I'm going to define MOST of the week as 4 days.
10) Make my Christmas gifts this year.
This one is tough. I've made Christmas gifts for my extended family in the past, but I quit when I found out that my relatives gave away the hats, scarves, etc. that I made for them. Kind of disheartening when you realize that the $40 worth of yarn I spent weeks making into a felted hat was thrown out. For them, I go with gift cards. I'm thinking more about my very close friends and co-workers.
11) Cut my grocery budget to $250/month.
So, now that we're down to just me, my husband, and the youngest child.. . I need to cut down our expenses. I've been a little out of control over the last six months of the year with middle child home and having gone back to work full time. So, I'm going to keep a closer eye on our spending this year on keeping this under control. With only of us living at home, we can easily keep our expenses down if I really put an effort into it.
12) Turn my yarn and fabric stash into something more... (but what?)
I've got a lot of yarn, and a lot of fabric. What am I going to do with it all? This will be the challenge of the year!
13) Take one item off of my Bucket List
Which one? Where to begin? What to do?
14) Have one Media Free Day per week
There is so much noise going on in our world... and so many distractions. And my job demands constant media exposure and knowledge. One day a week, I'm going to shut them all out and spend the day in peace with just myself. Who knows what great things I'll accomplish on my day off from the media?
15) Visit 12 libraries I have never been to before
I know, I work in a library. But, I absolutely love visiting libraries! I want to go to 12 libraries I haven't been to before and then post pictures. How about you? Would you be willing to share your library photos with me?
16) Get Away With My Husband - Just the two of us - Twice
After last year, I'd like to add the caveat that it not be for a funeral. I'd like to just get away and spend time away from home being just us.
I have a couple of professional goals I want to meet, too. I'm not going to list them here, but they're in the back of my mind!
1) PG #1
2) PG #2
It's a long list! I didn't knock them all out last year. Can I do it this year?
What about you?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)