Shopping Trip 1/3/11

So, I did pretty well tonight, considering! lol Since I am eating out of the pantry this month, I couldn't buy much, but I did decide to go ahead and buy the french bread from Wal-Mart for the garlic bread I want to make this week! It was only $1.50, so I justified it!

Anyway, here are my purchases:

All from Wal-Mart.

Skim milk gallon - $3.18
French Bread, huge loaf - $1.50
1.67 lbs Golden delicious Apples - $2.29
6 rolls of WM brand toilet paper - $0.97
Total: $8.02 w/tax

Food Price "Book"

I've been wanting to do this for a while, but never have the motivation. Am I getting the best prices for the food I buy? Hmmm... well, let's see... I did an experiment last week. I bought 2 boxes of Velveeta Shells & Cheese from Walmart at for $2.00 a box. I also bought 2 boxes from Dillons(Kroger brand) for $1.25 each (regular price $1.50) and then 2 boxes of the Aldi brand from ALDI of course for $1.29 each. I then made each brand for the family. All were equally good. Nobody said anything bad about any brand. So... looks like if Dillons is having a sale, I go with that brand, if not, I go with the ALDI brand!

Item	PC	WM	DL	AL
Shells & Cheese	?	$2.00	$1.25	$1.29
Skim Milk	?	$3.18	?	$2.74

I will add to this as I have time!:)

Crochet and Crafty Stuff

My DH bought me crochet patterns, hooks, and yarn for Christmas! :) I'm excited to get started... tomorrow! I have been waiting for the boys to go back to school to start, because they keep me pretty busy! lol Here are the patterns he bought me(I picked them out lol):

Nubby Newsboy Cap

Newborn Hooded Cocoon

Jester Hat with PomPoms

Mystic Owl Hat

Owl Hat - Yes, I love owls! lol

Sweet & Sassy Hat

Flap Hat

I have the yarn to make the Nubby Newsboy Cap for myself, the Flap Hat for DS10 and then one Jester Hat with PomPoms(he also got me a PomPom maker!). My short term goal is to make 10 hats or various crafty things to put into an Etsy shop to start selling! As I sell things, I will buy more patterns to make a bigger variety of things. I did make sure all of the patterns I bought stated that they can be sold online and at Etsy, because there are a lot of sellers out there that do not allow this.

Anyway, I will post pics as I finish projects!:)

Clean out the pantry challenge goals

So, my goals and rules for the Clean out the Pantry Challenge are as follows:

Goal:
We want to lose weight, so our goal is to get through all the processed and fattening stuff in our pantry, freezer, and fridge this month, so that we can replace it with healthier options.

Rules: 
So, my rules for myself for this challenge are to only buy dairy and produce, UNLESS there are just some amazing deals on healthy foods that I cannot pass up! I would like the option on stocking up when the prices are low, so I don't want to deprive myself of shopping in this case!:)

I have my pantry/freezer/fridge list on this post.

Monday Menus

Monday: New Year's Eve Leftovers - after tonight they will be gone!:)
Tuesday: Chicken Fried Rice (Mac & Cheese for DS16 and DS10 who hate rice, and DS16 is vegetarian anyway)
Wednesday: Venison steaks, Suddenly Salad, Mashed Potatoes, Peas, Rolls
Thursday: Spaghetti, Garlic Bread (I'm deciding on this one, I really WANT garlic bread, but we don't have any so I either have to make the bread from scratch or forgo it since I am eating from the pantry this month)
Friday: Pancakes
Saturday: Sweet & Sour Chicken and rice or noodles
Sunday: fend for yourself day

Downsizing ME!

So, DH and I decided that we would lose weight this year. I have tried EVERY diet known to man! lol OK, maybe not every one, but a lot... low-fat, low-carb, hCG, Weight Watchers, 6 Minutes in the Morning, IsaGenix, etc etc etc. I have lost weight only to gain it back. The last diet was the hCG diet, and I DID lose quite a bit of weight, only to gain it all back and more. It came off QUICK and came back just as quick! I also started losing my hair... so decided the hCG diet was not for me after all. I would rather be fat with good hair than thin with no hair! LOL Sooo, we have decided to be SMART about weight loss this time.

We are going to take things slow, so that we actually stick to it. We are not using a "diet" but we are going to change the way we do things. We are not going to DEPRIVE ourselves of anything. We are going to make better choices!

So, this is a break down of what we plan to do week by week. We might change some things as we go along.

1. We will buy no more sweets! We can finish what we have in the house, but we will no longer bring that CRAP into our home. Some may say, "But you have KIDS! Are you going to deprive them of sweets!??" No, we are not depriving them or us of anything... we are making better choices. I'm not saying I will never make dessert, because I love to bake, but we are eliminating all store bought sweets! Also, by doing this, we will have healthier snacks available for us and the boys. They will learn from  this as well!
2. We will drink WATER! We don't drink enough water. We drink plenty of sweet tea, iced coffees, soda, etc. But we do not drink enough plain water. Once again, we will not be depriving ourselves: we will allow for 1 vice, and mine just happens to be coffee! I will allow myself ONE iced coffee per day. My iced coffee consists of creamer, skim milk, coffee and ice. I can have this in the morning or in the evening, but only ONCE a day! The rest of the day I will drink WATER. I can also have herbal tea. I have a lot of herbal tea on hand, so I should really use that up. 
3. We will learn portion control! This means smaller portions! And bigger portions of vegetables compared to the other stuff on our plates! We can eat slower also to help make those portions seem to be bigger than they actually are.
4. We will get up and MOVE! There is no reason to not exercise! We will find something we like to do and do it! I personally get bored easily, so I will probably find several somethings to do! One thing we like to do together is take walks, so we might take an after dinner walk daily. I have more weight to lose than DH does, so I will probably find one other way to move during the day. I like to do workout videos, so I might do some of those, and then play on the WII Fit.
5. Eat more natural food! We eat a lot of processed foods, so we really need to get back to the earth and eat more whole grains, fruits, and vegetables and less CRAP! We are going to find a way to do all of this without blowing our budget!

So, I will be posting our progress here and let you know how things are going!

1 of 365 by photogrrl77 · 365 Project

So, I have decided to join in the 365 photo a day project!:) Maybe this will help my creative blocks!:)


1 of 365 by photogrrl77 · 365 Project