There are some days when one feels like pulling the covers over ones head and sleeping in. Today was one of those days. I was still achy and not quite back to normal. I would have dearly loved to have ignored the alarm clock and gone back to sleep. Unfortunately, I had a project deadline to meet at the office, so, I dragged myself out of bed, got dressed, and went to work. Once there, I was able to focus on what needed to be done and got it done. The all important deadline was met.
Spent a quiet evening at home. My friend called and we chatted for a bit.
Later, I cooked the chicken breasts I had bought on Saturday. The two trays of chicken breasts yielded 10 halves. I sauted them in a little oil with some salt, ground pepper, and teriyaki sauce. I kept 2 pieces for our dinner and packaged the rest, 2 pieces per zippered freezer bag, and froze them. I will take out one bag at a time and slice the cooked chicken and use in a variety of ways - with a salad for a quick lunch to take to the office, stir-fried with vegetables and served over rice for dinner, etc.
For our dinner, tonight, I cooked a boxed rice and wild rice mix, to eat with the sauted chicken breasts. A bit of a special dinner on daughter's last night at home before she returns to university, tomorrow.
How was your Wednesday?
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Tuesday, January 13
Still not feeling 100%. But went to the office, anyway, and managed to have a productive day. By afternoon, however, I felt I couldn't carry on, so, took 3 hours of sick leave and came home. Not planning to do much, this evening. A cousin called and invited me to dinner to meet the visiting son of another cousin living overseas, but I made my excuses as I'm not feeling too well.
How has your day been?
How has your day been?
Monday, January 12, 2015
More Grocery Shopping, Sunday's Doings and Monday
On Sunday, I made a quick stop at the ethnic grocery store on my way to pick up my friend who came over to lunch. I purchased:
1 cauliflower, @$.89/lb = $1.18
green beans, @$.89/lb = $.75
1 lettuce = $1.39
1 cucumber = $.50
Total = $3.82
Add to Saturday's grocery spending of $36.81 = $40.63 spent so far in January.
I cooked the cauliflower to have with lunch: rice, chicken curry, cauliflower sauted with garlic and turmeric, leafy greens shredded and sauted with grated coconut, cucumber salad, and some of my homemade tomato chutney. It was a good Sunday lunch to share with my daughter and our friend.
The rest of Sunday was spent visiting with our friend, doing a little shopping together, coming back home for tea, dropping off my friend, having two of daughter's friends visit in the evening, and doing a load of laundry.
Today, Monday, I went to the office and had a productive work day. But started feeling ill in the afternoon. So, after I came home, I took a long, 3 hour nap! I'm feeling better now. Hopefully, I'll be back to feeling 100% after a good night's sleep.
How was your day?
1 cauliflower, @$.89/lb = $1.18
green beans, @$.89/lb = $.75
1 lettuce = $1.39
1 cucumber = $.50
Total = $3.82
Add to Saturday's grocery spending of $36.81 = $40.63 spent so far in January.
I cooked the cauliflower to have with lunch: rice, chicken curry, cauliflower sauted with garlic and turmeric, leafy greens shredded and sauted with grated coconut, cucumber salad, and some of my homemade tomato chutney. It was a good Sunday lunch to share with my daughter and our friend.
The rest of Sunday was spent visiting with our friend, doing a little shopping together, coming back home for tea, dropping off my friend, having two of daughter's friends visit in the evening, and doing a load of laundry.
Today, Monday, I went to the office and had a productive work day. But started feeling ill in the afternoon. So, after I came home, I took a long, 3 hour nap! I'm feeling better now. Hopefully, I'll be back to feeling 100% after a good night's sleep.
How was your day?
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Grocery Shopping
Yesterday, I went grocery shopping for the first time this year (had been eating from the fridge, freezer, and pantry up to that point).
My grocery budget doesn't include pet food, toiletries, household products, etc. Those items are budgeted separately; mainly because I like to know exactly how much I spend on various categories. The grocery budget is only for food items for my daughter and myself.
When my daughter was living at home full time, I set the grocery budget at $150 per month. Now that she's away at university, I am budgeting $75 for myself for the month, although, very often, I share what I've bought with her.
Yesterday, I shopped at one of the regular chain supermarkets (as opposed to the ethnic market). In addition to the groceries, I bought pet food and household products (3 air fresheners); if I include everything I bought, I spent a total of $65.97. Of which, $24.20 was for pet food, $2.40 was for household products, and $2.60 was sales tax on the pet food and household products (no taxes on food). So, the non-food items came to $29.20. Deduct $29.20 from the $65.97 I spent and it means I spent $36.77 on food items, which included soda and bottled coffee drinks which are treats.
Here's what I bought and spent:
1 gallon milk: $2.99
2 pkg. skinless/boneless chicken breasts @ $1.99/lb.; $4.30 + $4.94 = $9.24
2 pkg. sausages, @ $1.79 minus $.50 coupon = $1.29@ = $2.58
1 doz. large eggs ($2.99; free with coupon) = $0
3 jars peanut butter, $.99@ = $2.97
2 4-pack bottled coffee drinks, $4.99 + $.20 redemption value@ minus $1 coupon = $3.99+$.20@ = $7.98 + $.40 = $8.38
1 64-fl.oz apple juice, $2.99 minus $1 coupon = $1.99
2 boxes rice/wild rice mixes, $1@ = $2.00
2 cans fruit (peaches), $1.25@ minus $.20 coupon = $1.05@ = $2.10
1.45 lb bananas, $.69/lb = $1.00
3 2-liter soda, @ $.98 (includes $.10 redemption value) = $2.94
1 2-liter soda @$.98 minus $.40 coupon = $.58
1 17-oz. box cereal ($3.99; free with coupon) = $0
= $36.77
$75 - $36.77 = $38.23 balance left in this month's grocery budget.
Oops! I forgot to include the $0.04 I spent on 2 cans of tuna at the drug store, the other day! Yes, that's right, I spent all of 4 cents to buy 2 cans of tuna! They were on sale for $.77 each and I had a "bonus cash"-type coupon for $1.50, so my final cost came to $.04!
So, total spent on groceries in January, so far: $36.77 + $.04 = $36.81 and I have $38.19 left in my grocery budget.
The boneless, skinless chicken breasts are a convenience food of sorts for me; I usually try to pay no more than $.99/lb for chicken, which usually means whole chickens or legs or, occasionally, chicken breast halves with skin and bones. But $1.99/lb. is the best price for b/s chicken breasts in my area and an occasional splurge for me.
I might send some of the peanut butter with daughter when she returns to university this week, along with the free box of cereal (her favorite kind).
The canned fruit will go in the pantry as part of the emergency food store (I live in earthquake country). I only bought bananas as fresh fruit because I have fresh oranges from the garden and apples and grapes and pomegranates (also from the garden) in the fridge.
I do need to buy some fresh vegetables for the week, because I only have carrots and tomatoes on hand. But fresh vegetables tend to be on the expensive side at the chain supermarket; I will be passing by the ethnic store on my way to pick up my friend, today, so I will stop by and get some vegetables from there.
How is your grocery budget set up? Do you include pet food and household/toiletry items in your grocery budget? Or do you separate them out the way I do?
My grocery budget doesn't include pet food, toiletries, household products, etc. Those items are budgeted separately; mainly because I like to know exactly how much I spend on various categories. The grocery budget is only for food items for my daughter and myself.
When my daughter was living at home full time, I set the grocery budget at $150 per month. Now that she's away at university, I am budgeting $75 for myself for the month, although, very often, I share what I've bought with her.
Yesterday, I shopped at one of the regular chain supermarkets (as opposed to the ethnic market). In addition to the groceries, I bought pet food and household products (3 air fresheners); if I include everything I bought, I spent a total of $65.97. Of which, $24.20 was for pet food, $2.40 was for household products, and $2.60 was sales tax on the pet food and household products (no taxes on food). So, the non-food items came to $29.20. Deduct $29.20 from the $65.97 I spent and it means I spent $36.77 on food items, which included soda and bottled coffee drinks which are treats.
Here's what I bought and spent:
1 gallon milk: $2.99
2 pkg. skinless/boneless chicken breasts @ $1.99/lb.; $4.30 + $4.94 = $9.24
2 pkg. sausages, @ $1.79 minus $.50 coupon = $1.29@ = $2.58
1 doz. large eggs ($2.99; free with coupon) = $0
3 jars peanut butter, $.99@ = $2.97
2 4-pack bottled coffee drinks, $4.99 + $.20 redemption value@ minus $1 coupon = $3.99+$.20@ = $7.98 + $.40 = $8.38
1 64-fl.oz apple juice, $2.99 minus $1 coupon = $1.99
2 boxes rice/wild rice mixes, $1@ = $2.00
2 cans fruit (peaches), $1.25@ minus $.20 coupon = $1.05@ = $2.10
1.45 lb bananas, $.69/lb = $1.00
3 2-liter soda, @ $.98 (includes $.10 redemption value) = $2.94
1 2-liter soda @$.98 minus $.40 coupon = $.58
1 17-oz. box cereal ($3.99; free with coupon) = $0
= $36.77
$75 - $36.77 = $38.23 balance left in this month's grocery budget.
Oops! I forgot to include the $0.04 I spent on 2 cans of tuna at the drug store, the other day! Yes, that's right, I spent all of 4 cents to buy 2 cans of tuna! They were on sale for $.77 each and I had a "bonus cash"-type coupon for $1.50, so my final cost came to $.04!
So, total spent on groceries in January, so far: $36.77 + $.04 = $36.81 and I have $38.19 left in my grocery budget.
The boneless, skinless chicken breasts are a convenience food of sorts for me; I usually try to pay no more than $.99/lb for chicken, which usually means whole chickens or legs or, occasionally, chicken breast halves with skin and bones. But $1.99/lb. is the best price for b/s chicken breasts in my area and an occasional splurge for me.
I might send some of the peanut butter with daughter when she returns to university this week, along with the free box of cereal (her favorite kind).
The canned fruit will go in the pantry as part of the emergency food store (I live in earthquake country). I only bought bananas as fresh fruit because I have fresh oranges from the garden and apples and grapes and pomegranates (also from the garden) in the fridge.
I do need to buy some fresh vegetables for the week, because I only have carrots and tomatoes on hand. But fresh vegetables tend to be on the expensive side at the chain supermarket; I will be passing by the ethnic store on my way to pick up my friend, today, so I will stop by and get some vegetables from there.
How is your grocery budget set up? Do you include pet food and household/toiletry items in your grocery budget? Or do you separate them out the way I do?
Saturday, January 10, 2015
Bountiful Abundance
 |
| Oranges and Lemons |
In these times of budgeting and post-holiday financial belt tightenings, it is easy to focus on what we are having to give up and do without; it is easy to develop a general feeling of lack and to feel deprived. In the process, we tend to lose sight of the blessings of bountiful abundance in our lives.
I used to keep a daily gratitude journal in which I'd write down 5 things for which I am grateful. Now, I have decided to make a conscious effort to daily seek out and acknowledge the blessings of bountiful abundance in my life. I think it will be beneficial to focus more on the abundance and less on the lack.
This week's bountiful abundance is fruit from the garden. The oranges and the lemons on the trees in my backyard are ripening. Nothing can be a better example of bountiful abundance than a fruit tree so laden with fruit that the branches hang low to the ground (last year, the weight of the fruit actually broke a few of the branches on my orange tree).
Every week, since the middle of December, I've been picking several oranges and sharing them with daughter. It is hard to feel deprived when one is indulging in organically grown oranges, picked straight from the tree, fresh and sweet and juicy.
What are some of the examples of blessed abundance in your lives?
Decluttering
There are some people who like empty spaces and minimal possessions cluttering their homes and there are some who like holding on to items. I definitely belong to the "if there is room to store it, keep it" camp. However, with January and the New Year and the promise of new beginnings, I am feeling motivated to start decluttering and organizing my spaces.
Stuff is beginning to accumulate and pile up because all my storage spaces are full!
It used to be that, whenever I didn't have sufficient storage space, I'd try to increase storage space with additional shelves and boxes. These days, I try to limit the amount of stuff I have to the amount of storage space available.
For some, motivation to declutter might come from a life change. I know of people who declutter after the death of a spouse, when moving to a smaller home, because they are forming new relationships and combining two households, etc. I just want to declutter because I am running out of space to store things!
Once, I decluttered 10 items a day - either donated them, recycled, or simply tossed (although I tried to keep that to a minimum, preferring to donate and recycle as much as I could). Over time, my decluttering slowed down to a trickle. It's time to increase it, if not to 10 items a day, then 10 items a week. It should be doable.
What motivates you to declutter? What motivates you to start going through the cabinets and closets and pull out things to donate or toss?
Stuff is beginning to accumulate and pile up because all my storage spaces are full!
It used to be that, whenever I didn't have sufficient storage space, I'd try to increase storage space with additional shelves and boxes. These days, I try to limit the amount of stuff I have to the amount of storage space available.
For some, motivation to declutter might come from a life change. I know of people who declutter after the death of a spouse, when moving to a smaller home, because they are forming new relationships and combining two households, etc. I just want to declutter because I am running out of space to store things!
Once, I decluttered 10 items a day - either donated them, recycled, or simply tossed (although I tried to keep that to a minimum, preferring to donate and recycle as much as I could). Over time, my decluttering slowed down to a trickle. It's time to increase it, if not to 10 items a day, then 10 items a week. It should be doable.
What motivates you to declutter? What motivates you to start going through the cabinets and closets and pull out things to donate or toss?
Friday, January 9, 2015
Bacon & Egg Rolls
 |
| Bacon & Egg Rolls |
One of the items I usually keep in my freezer is frozen puff pastry dough. Packets of eight 5" x 5" frozen puff pastry dough squares sell for $2.50 a packet at the ethnic grocery store and I usually pick up a couple of packets when I shop there. I do know how to make puff pastry from scratch, and I suppose I could make a batch and keep in the freezer, but the store bought frozen puff pastry is an affordable convenience.
Today, I took two of the packets of frozen puff pastry, some leftover hard boiled eggs and the last few rashers of bacon from a packet of bacon I had in the fridge and, with daughter's help, made bacon and egg rolls for dinner. We quartered the eggs, cut the rashers of bacon into thirds and cut each square of puff pastry in half. Wrapped each piece of egg in a piece of bacon and encased the bacon-wrapped piece of egg in the pastry; sealed the edges with the tines of a fork, brushed the tops with milk and sprinkled with a bit of ground pepper and baked at 350F until the pastry was puffed and brown.
Daughter and I enjoyed some for our dinner and there's more for tomorrow night's dinner, as well. They'd make a good breakfast or tea time treat, as well.
Do you keep any frozen pastry dough on hand? What do you make with it?
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