Travel

Well I did it. I did the impossible, and convinced my adoring husband to move. But there's a twist. We are packing it in with the apartment/housing situation, and moving into an RV. He bought the tow car this week, I love it, it's a Saturn Wagon with the tow equipment already installed. Next is finding the RV, and that is our next step. I can't believe it, but we are on our way. Stay tuned for all the funny follies about THAT adventure.

My son turns 5 this week, I can't believe it, I'm so excited for him. He is ready!

We have been downsizing over the last few weeks, donating a lot to goodwill and freecycle. It is nice to declutter.

I went ahead and did another Albertsons run, oop this time was $7.38. I didn't have any Bertolli coupons or it would have been less but I love the sauce. I went back and did it again getting mostly sauce but the oop wasn't bragworthy so I didn't take a pic.

I ventured out after 10 pm last night to do the Albertsons buy $30 get $15 deal. My OOP for this trip was $6.70 and I got $18 back to spend next time. I was very happy except remind me to never ever go to that store past 8 p.m. I have been trying to get coupons together and organized, and though I've gotten a small pile you can see I'm not organized yet :) I wanted to do this deal again and again varying the products, but it's such a hassle with the CATS not printing correctly at this store I think I'll wait until the Kraft sale that starts this Weds.

To do Goals

There are a few things I need to do over the next two months that will enable me to do OAMC- Once a month cooking- stockpiling, organizing etc. and thought if I made a list on here I would be held accountable.

1. Stockpile coupons- online printing, ordering from Ebay, I personally like TheCouponMaster.com, Newspapers. I haven't tried to trade or joined a coupon train yet. I don't think I'm organized or experienced enough for this yet, but maybe in the future.

2. Get a stand-up freezer. Absolutely necessary for Once A Month Cooking and for stockpiling fridge foods and I don't have one. I'll probably try to find one from Craigslist.com and will keep it in the locking storage room outside of the apartment in the porch/sitting area.

3. Organize pantry- along with this I am converting the entire outside storage room to a large pantry area. There simply isn't any room in the apartment to stockpile the way I want/need to and we have a garage to keep stuff in so I think it will work. Currently it is filled with boxes, but that will change once I can get dh to help me move everything out:)

4. Get a food saver of some sort. They are expensive, but since I want to freeze everything I think it is worth it. I haven't researched brands or how it even works yet, so I don't know which is the best deal. I'll post once I get that far.

Hmm... it's all I can think of this second but will add to it, of if anyone has any ideas I would love to hear them.

What's for dinner?

I have never been able to claim fame of being a great ‘homemaker’ in the general sense- I don’t enjoy alot of cooking, I like cleaning even less, I am not a scrapbooker (though I wish I were), not into crafts like crocheting or knitting or sewing (again wish I were), the idea of homeschooling my kids would consist of someone else coming over to teach them, being a happy SAHM is a struggle for me, and I don’t really know what ‘crunchy’ means, but I am pretty sure that I am not. Partly because I am who I am, and partly because of my upbringing- but I know these things about myself and have made peace with it. On the other hand I have a strong sense of family, believe in higher education, love my children more than anything else in existence, and have a true appreciation for a faster, easier, organized, creative way of doing things and keeping a home. I have so much respect for my fellow homemaker friends who can seemingly do it all- raise 4 kids with their husbands overseas, shop on a tight budget but still manage to get everything that’s needed, keep their house clean and organized and somehow find time to make 3 meals a day plus snacks, plus blog online or work even, not to mention sewing a ripped hem and baking fresh bread or cookies. These women are my heroes (I have my friend Pam in mind right now). One thing I do love is the hunt for a good deal. I love to save money on items, to coupon, and my goal for the last year since I really started up with it has been to create the ultimate pantry with a stockpile to last at least 6 months and to get a freezer to store frozen foods in as well. Along with that, I’m interested in learning new recipes, do it yourself techniques, and finding faster shortcuts that lead to the same results as longer cooking. Hey I guess I do have a bit of homemaker in me lol. Especially since we just downsized from a house to an apartment, this place is completely unorganized. I stopped couponing for a few months and am out of the loop with the current hot deals. I have no stockpile and am so tired of thinking ‘What’s for dinner?’ and that’s what inspired the name of this post. With my surgery in 3 months, I thought it was about time I start to work on these goals so that life while I’m recovering will be easier on me and my family.

So as I start from ground zero- including no coupons- watch me create at least a small stockpile, get back on the deal track, and organize this place- maybe I’ll even make fresh bread in that bread machine I got a yard sale for $5 months ago.