Menu Plan Monday

From Confessions of an unorganized momma

 

I've been on an unorganized hiatus for a while, but I'll try my hand at menu planning yet again. I'm hoping to get better at preparing my Menus in advance in 2009. I hope I can finally tackle it. I'm starting a diet this week, so hopefully I can watch my calories and portions in the process.


Monday-Chicken Fajitas
Tuesday- Venison Roast & Mixed Vegetables (I'm not gonna lie, I've never prepared a venison roast and I'm not looking forward to eating it)
Wednesday- Venison Stroganoff (made with leftover Venison roast)
Thursday-Just me and Ash, so we'll probably just have leftovers
Friday- Blackened Chicken Salad (whether the hubby likes it or not we're having salad)
Saturday-Roast Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Corn
Sunday- Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

For more Menu Plan Mondays, check out Org Junkie.

Kmart Deals 12/28

I didn't find too many fabulous deals for myself this week at Kmart. Their prices are a little high when items are not on sale, but I found a couple deals I couldn't live without.

Gillette Bodywash $3.49 on sale (Reg. price $4.49 and Walmarts reg. $3.97)
-$2 coupon
Total OOP = $1.49

Rimmel Mousse Foundation $4.14 on sale (Reg. price $8.28, was 50% off)
-$1 coupon in Beauty Book (I actually stumbled upon some while in the store)
Total OOP = $3.14 I'm excited to try this stuff at that price!

Downy 51oz $5.00 on sale
-$1 coupon
Total OOP = $4.00

Total before coupons $13.48
Total after coupons $9.48

Walmart Deals 12/28

I had a small, but really successful trip to Walmart today. I didn't really need anything, but had some coupons that were expiring so I was deal hunting.

 Huggies CleanTeam Bath Wash $2.50 on clearance
-$1 coupon
Total OOP = $1.50

Russell Stover Assorted Chocolates 10 oz. $2.24 on clearance (was $4.48)
-$1 coupon
Total OOP = $1.24

Tide 40oz $5.00
-$1 coupon
Total OOP = $4.00

Dawn 15oz $1.12
-$0.50 coupon
Total OOP = $0.62

Gift tags 100 ct $0.50 on clearance (was $1.00)

Crest toothpaste $2.48
-$1 coupon
Total OOP = $1.48

Total before coupons $14.77
Total after coupons $10.27

It's that time of year again...

Time for those New Year's resolutions. I always refuse to actually call any idea I get this time of year a "resolution" but rather a goal. I always have the goals but rarely the follow-through to acheive the goal. This year I absolutely HAVE to achieve my goal. I absolutely NEED to lose weight. I don't want to because it's work and aside from losing weight after having my son, I've never succeeded. Do you think I could start breastfeeding again to help since that's how I did it last time? hehe

So, Monday I start a diet. I'm not really sure what I'm doing yet. I think I am going to just keep track of what I eat, calories, portions, etc. and exercise. I know it sounds extremely excruciating fun. You're probably jealous. The goal is 35 pounds, but I'd settle for 20. Heck, I'd even settle for 10 at this point. I just NEED to lose weight, after all I think I have 2 pairs of pants that currently fit me beside my sweats. I am going to see if I can get hubby on board, but I'm not sure that will ever happen. He knows that he could stand to lose some weight too. I won't hold my breath though.

I'll post any healthy recipes I come across and personally try/enjoy. Wish me luck.

OMG Oreo Balls!

While I was cruising the internet for some fudge recipes/ideas, I somehow stumbled upon a recipe for Oreo Balls. I had never heard of them and they looked simple enough. What a mistake to make these, they are DELICIOUS!

Oreo Balls
1 package regular Oreos (or a store brand if you're watching your budget)
1-2 package(s) Cream Cheese
1 package chocolate chips + 1 T. shortening or Almond Bark for dipping (I used a mix of the two)

Crush Oreos in food processor (or put in baggie and crush). Mix in Cream Cheese (I again used the food processor for this part). Put in fridge to chill for a couple of hours. Once chilled, form into small balls. Dip balls in melted chocolate using a fork, toothipick, or whatever works for you. Place on wax lined baking sheet and chill. Eat and enjoy!

I only used one package of cream cheese, but they may have benefited from a little more. I would really like to try Mint Oreos with this recipe. I also used a mix of Almond Bark and chocolate chips for the dipping chocolate. You could use white chocolate or make any other alterations that suit your fancy.

Walmart Trip 12/20

I'm finally getting around to posting about my Walmart trip on Saturday. I can thank my fudge making extravaganza for hogging up my time on Saturday. I'm not going to itemize my receipt because there were only 4 items that I used coupons on and those were my "bargains." The other items were things we needed and didn't have coupons for.

2- Oil of Olay Regenerist Cleansers $6.44 ea.
1-Glade Scented Oil Candle $2.77
2-Glade Scented Oil Refills $2.00 ea
1-Green Giant Steamers Mixed Vegetable $1.00
$20.65 before coupons
-$5 off any 1 Regenerist Moisturizer or 2 Regenerist Cleansers
-$2.50 off Glade Scented Oil Candle
Buy 1 Glade Scented Oil Refill get one Free
-$0.50 off Green Giant Steamers
$10.65 OOP after coupons

Plus there is a rebate on Oil of Olay Products, so I will actually gain money on that purchase. Gotta love that!

I wish that was my actual total, but I bought other things so my total was $102.xx before coupons and $92.xx after. The cashier even commented about how it pays to coupon.

An Award!!!

My blog received an award!!! Alright, so I received it a month ago and am FINALLY getting around to posting about it. **hides in shame** Better late than never, right?

I received my lovely award from Berleen. She's a fellow Minnesotan and a reason for Thursday Thunks. She has an amazing sense of humor. :) Thanks Berleen. Sorry it's taken me so long to post this!

From Awards

So, here are the rules to receiving this award:

1. You have to pass it on to 5 other fabulous blogs in a post.

2. You have to list 5 of your fabulous addictions in the post.

3. You must copy and paste the rules and the instructions below in the post.



Instructions:

On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them. When you post your five winners, make sure you link them as well. To add the award to your post, simply right-click, save image, then "add image" it in your post as a picture so your winners can save it as To add it to your sidebar, add the "picture" gadget. Also, don't forget to let your winners know they won an award from you by emailing them or leaving a comment on their blog.
 
 
Here are my 5 nominations (in no particular order):
1. Tara (Deal Seeking Mom) - Tara has a wonderful blog with lots of ways to stretch your budget. She has great information on getting deals at CVS and Walgreens. I've learned a lot and am still learning from her blog.
 
2. Niki (Free2BeFrugal) - Niki always has lots of frugal tips and freebies in her blog. She also has yummy Meal Plan Monday menus.
 
3. Crystal (Money Saving Mom) - Crystal also has a lot of frugal tips in her blog (are you noticing a pattern of the blogs I visit yet?) as well as freebies. Crystal's on a bit of a holiday blog break, but I'm definitely looking forward to her posts in the new year.
 
4. 5 Dollar Dinners- 5 Dollar Dinners has a lot of frugal recipes and tips. She even breaks down the cost of the recipe so you can see how much each meal costs. She has a lot of fun recipes if you're looking for something new.
 
5. Marcy (Stretching A Buck) - Marcy has  a lot of great tips and loads of printable coupons.


Now, on to the final part of the award. Here are my 5 addictions.

1. Sugar. Any sort of sweet or baked good or anything with sugar in it.
2. The internet. Blogging, Facebook, Message Boards. I spend way too much time on the net.
3. My son. I just love hugging and kissing my sweet boy. He's amazing.
4. Cooking. I love to cook/bake. I hate cleaning up, but I could cook all day if I had a need to make that much food.
5. Starbucks Peppermint Mochas. I no longer live near a Starbucks, but when I get near one my car instantly pulls towards it. :)

Thursday Thunks

1. If you had to have a brain transplant and had to choose between a cat brain and a dog brain, which would you choose?


Well, cats usually seem a little smarter, but I think I would have to choose a dog brain. I'm really not a cat person anyway. Dogs always seem to have fun. I know my dogs sure do.

2. Why do you think bananas are shaped the way they are?
Easier to grab? Besides most of the other fruits are round or roundish so why not stand out and be different.

3. Mayonnaise or Miracle Whip?
This one really depends upon the mood because I will eat both. And if you're referring to what I call them, I think I use mayo interchangeably wheter it's mayonnaise or Miracle Whip.

4. Do you use keyboard shortcuts?
Very few. An occasional function key and the dreaded CTRL, Alt, Delete when the computer's being a POS.
5. Are you a member at InsanityCafe Forums & Arcade? If not, you should be.
No I'm not and I don't appreciate being told what to do. ;)

6. Where I live it was a low of -19 degrees this morning - what was your low last night/this morning?
You know, I didn't watch the weather this morning so I'm not sure. It was no warmer than -10 this morning so the temp was probably pretty close to the -19. Why do we live in Minnesota?

7. Do you like hard boiled eggs?
Not really. I really dislike the yolk.

8. Have you ever drank green beer?
No. Beer makes me feel green. It tastes awful so I don't drink it.

9. Whats your favorite cleaner?
Whoever is doing the cleaning for me! :D I really like using The Works if I'm cleaning the bathroom. Otherwise a bleach spray for most other cleaning projects.

10.White or whole wheat bread?
Both. I bake my own, so it just depends upon what flour I feel like using.

11. Everyone has some type of phobia - whats yours?
Arachnaphobia. Spiders=ewwwwwwww.

12. Aren't you glad there weren't any Christmas related meme questions?
Yes, I worked retail for over 6 years so I am very Bah humbug about Christmasy (hehe) stuff.

For more Thursday Thunks go here. You won't regret it.

YouData

I was reading Free2BeFrugal and stumbled upon Niki's post about YouData. I had seen the site before, but was hesitant to sign up. Today I decided what the heck. I saw by Niki's post that you would be paid weekly to your PayPal account and in Niki's first week she earned $9. Now that is by no means a large sum, but that's 1/4 of our water bill or 1/2 of our Netflix bill each month. Or if you want to relate it to groceries, thats a few jugs of milk. I signed up and tried out the service. I was pleased that you had to give very little personal information. No mailing address, no social security number. An email address and a mobile phone number are the only personal details they asked for. I was also pleased at how simple it is to earn money. In about 15 minutes I earned $5.86. I downloaded their ad player and visited the links they provided. I was pleased to see that they are not an affiliate program where you need to refer people to make more money. So, by telling you about this program, I in no way benefit monetarily. I recommend you go check out their site and consider sigining up. It's certainly worth a try.

Couponing

I have discovered a new obsession. Coupons! I am just starting out, so I still have a lot to learn. The stores that are close to me do not double coupons, so my goal is to make a trip once a month to a town where grocery stores do. I also hope to strategize those visits with Kmart doubles, if there is an even that month. I did my first Kmart doubles a couple weeks ago and I had a blast! I intend to me more organized for the next round, if there is a next round. I'm not normally a Kmart shopper, but they doubled coupons up to and including $2. I got Dove shampoo for $0.79 and the conditioner was free! I got free Diego band-aids for Ashton too. I'm going shopping tomorrow and already have some coupons ready. I hope to post my savings on here after each shopping trip. I'm a little bummed that the next couple batches of newspapers will not have coupons, but look forward to 2009's coupons.

One resource I want to mention is AFC. I have found this site to be extremely helpful in addition to many of the frugal blogs I visit.

Wow!

Has it really been nearly a month since I last posted? Where has the time gone! Thanksgiving came, then my son's 2 year old birthday, and then a week of Ash being sick. Now here I am, I caught his bug although so far I think I am doing a lot better than he was. I promise to have some new and hopefully interesting posts now. I am back and nothing is going to bring me down now! hehe