Living Better One Day At A Time

This week, I thought I would make out a to do list of the things that I hope to accomplish throughout the week. These are in no particular order but are things that I want to get done.
Read at least 1.5 books for reviewWrite 1 book review and 1 product review on blogscour ads to make price matching sheet for grocery shopping this weekenddoctors appointment on Thursdaywork everyday (try to leave early at least 2 days so I can cut back)have 4 no spend days(if Bill gets his w-2 from work) Do our taxesTake blood pressure 2 times a day (per doctors orders)These are just some of the things I would like to get done. Hopefully I can accomplish them!

Now onto our menu plan for the week:



I make a list of what we have available for the week and then I choose one each morning depending on the mood we are in and what is going on. Here is what we have available for this week:

BBQ chicken sandwiches (crockpot), peas, carrots and cucumber
Lasagna
Pizza calzones and green beans and fruit
Ham and chees…

Last week, I went to my 27 week appointment at my OB/GYNs office.

The good news is that the glucola test that I did the week before came back fine, so I am NOT developing pregnancy diabetes.

The bad news is my blood pressure is still acting weird. Being high one day, normal another. She is also concerned because I am measuring 29 weeks instead of 27. Both of these things are kind of normal for me and being pregnant. With Rebecca I had pre-eclampsia and she came 3 weeks early. With Jacob I was always measuring further along, and he came 3 weeks early. Maybe history will repeat itself. That being said my doctor wants me to start taking it easy at home and cut back at work.



Cutting back at home is somewhat easier to do. I have given up the laundry duty to Bill. I HATE giving it up because I like to be in control of when the laundry gets done, etc. But I have to do this for my health and the health of the baby. I have also decided that I am going to do our grocery shopping differently. …

I Am Second: Real Stories. Changing Lives.  by Doug Bender and Dave Sterrett, is an inspirational book for anyone who is struggling in any aspect of their life. It is a collection of personal accounts of people who have faced some sort of adversity in their lives, only to come to realize that alone they cannot overcome these obstacles. However, if they realize that they are NOT first, that they are SECOND behind the power of God, then they are able to overcome the challenges. These personal accounts come from everyday people as well as famous people, including Michael W. Smith, Sam Bradford, Brian "Head" Welch, and Bethany Hamilton, just to name a few.

I found this book to be a very easy read. I would read a couple stories a day. They were uplifting and inspirational to me. I found aspects of each story that I could relate to and was uplifted by how these people hit rock bottom and then with the grace of God, were able to rise up and live a much better life.

Disclaimer: I …

Every week in 2012, I hope to have a financial recap of the week so that I can try to keep our variable spending under control and try to get as much money toward savings and debt repayment as possible. Today is the Friday Financial Update #4.

First of all this is a day late (thus the title)...I have been really bad this week about NOT keeping close tabs on financial stuff, partly because I have been tired from being pregnant, trying to adjust to doing some work from home and just being lazy I think. I just hope that I am not a dollar short, but I think that I already know that I am more than that on our variable spending due to my low paycheck.

These are the figures for the week:

1/20--+ 95.61 Pay from school
       -- -40.54 Walmart
1/21-- NO SPEND
1/22-- -29.52 Aldi
           - 41.16 Kroger
1/23-- NO SPEND
1/24-- NO SPEND
1/25-- + 16.00 payment from Trendsource
           - .75 Wendys
           - 6.85 Wendys
1/26-- - 4.48 McDonalds
           - 1.13 Taco Bell
------------------…

I have a lot going on in my brain...but I can't really focus enough to make different posts so I have decided to just do a random post here....So here is what is on my mind (not in any particular order): I am praying for a mom from my work who has to have cancer surgery next Wednesday. I got to talk to her today and she is being very positive about it. I hope all goes well as this woman is one of the nicest women I have ever known. Found out today that MY mom has to have an ultrasound and a biopsy to see why she is bleeding again after not bleeding for 2 years. They want to rule out cancer...not sure what to think about this one. MATERNITY LEAVE is freaking me out recently. Realized today that realistically I could give birth in 2 months. And I am NOT looking forward to having a c-section again, but it will be okay. It was nice to see my dad and youngest brother and sister tonight even if it was just for 45 minutes before Josh's boy scouts meeting I am thankful that my boss is bei…

I have been having problems commenting on other blogs, reading the comments on my own blog and I cannot respond at all to the comments on this blog! It is SO frustrating. From what I have seen on the web, I am not alone. So if you haven't heard from me in a while that is why! And to those who have commented on my blog, I finally figured out a way to read them, I just can't respond. Maybe it will be fixed soon!

Happy Monday everyone! And Happy Chinese New Year!



Here is what we are eating this week. I make a list on Sunday of potential meals, then I pick one each morning depending on what we like to eat or what we feel like. It works better for us than trying to plan each day in advance.



Tonight in honor of Chinese New Year, we are having sweet and sour chicken and rice.

For the rest of the week our options are:

Chicken and cheese casserole
Pizza calzones
pork chops
italian sausage and pasta
hamburger helper
leftovers

For more great menu ideas, visit orgjunkie.com



In other news, I am currently on a smoothie kick! I have been craving them like crazy. I had a Yoplait smoothie mix in the freezer that I made the other day and it was SO YUMMY!!!! My in-laws got me a Ninja drink maker for Christmas and it works PERFECTLY for my smoothies.



I have tried making homemade smoothies in the past but I never got the taste quite right. So this weekend I bought 5 bags of smoothie mixes from Walmart. They …

Every week in 2012, I hope to have a financial recap of the week so that I can try to keep our variable spending under control and try to get as much money toward savings and debt repayment as possible. Today is the Friday Financial Update #3.

This week was a lot better than last week. Probably because the weather was cold and icky outside. That being said, I am still struggling with how much we spend with our variable spending.

1/13/2012--NO SPEND
1/14/2012--$8.94 Walmart
                    $ 15.07 Aldi
1/15/2012--NO SPEND
1/16/2012--NO SPEND
1/17/2012-NO SPEND
1/18/2012-$17.66 Duke (gas for the car)
1/19/2012-NO SPEND

Like I said, it was a much better week with 5 NO SPEND days. :)

So for this week my totals are:

No Spend Days this week : 5 days
No Spend Days this year (goal is 186 days in 2012): 8
Ending balance as of 1/19 for variable spending: $16.27

Thankfully, Hubby and I both got paid this morning, so I will have $110 for variable spending for the next 2 weeks. This was the p…

This pregnancy seems to have creeped up on me in the last couple days. I finally look pregnant. I have been having heartburn at night. And I am super duper tired. All in the last couple days it seems this has come on. I talked to my boss about leaving work early 1 day a week. I just can't do everything anymore. I have to listen to my body and rest when I can.

Today is a day off of work for me, as it is Martin Luther King Day!

I have a few things to get done today that I really don't want to do...
I have to go have a glucola test done at the doctors office. (I hope the lab is open today). This has to be done before Thursday. I need to go snack shopping for work. I need to pick up a couple things from the grocery store for us here at home. Laundry needs to be finished. I have a book that I need to finish reading for a review. And I really should go outside and get the last of the Christmas decorations out of the front yard.


One thing that was on my list to do that I finished was our menu plan. I have found that if I just make a list of meals and then choose the morning of the day what we are going to eat, that it works much better for our family! So here is this week's menu choices:
Hamburger helper/ leftoversChili and grilled cheeseHam and cheese wraps, green beans, and saladItalian sausage and pasta skillet, macaroni and cheesePor…

Today I feel better than I have in about 2 weeks. I still have a runny nose, but it is not as bad as it has been. It stinks being sick. 

It is so cold here... 20 degrees...and snowy! UGH! A good day to stay in and get some things done.

Here is my to do list for today:

Laundry (I have at least 4 loads that need washing and drying and another 3 loads on top of that need to be put away----I HATE putting laundry away! )

Need to hem thicker curtains for the kids' rooms. There rooms are colder than the rest of the house and they need heavier curtains on their windows.

Need to hem Bill's pajamas.

Make out grocery list and find coupons to match.

I think that is about it. There are some other things that I could do, but the above is what I must get done. What are your plans for Saturday?

Every week in 2012, I hope to have a financial recap of the week so that I can try to keep our variable spending under control and try to get as much money toward savings and debt repayment as possible. Today is the Friday Financial Update #2.

Sorry this is late today. We had a snow day from work and school, so I spent the day napping, making brownies and just relaxing as much as possible, while trying to get over this nagging cold that I have. That being said....

Here is how we did on our variable spending this week. It was a spendy week, because everyone was sick, including Bill and I and we had some car maintenance that needed to be done.

1/6/2012--NO SPEND
1/7/2012--$3.97 Kroger (milk)
                 $25.96 Firestone (oil change)
                 $34.88 Kroger (gas for the car)
                 $35.00 Big Boy (date night for hubby and I)
1/8/2012--$8.44 Walmart (Sunday paper and a couple groceries)
1/9/2012--$20.42 Kroger (meds for Bill and ice cream for his sore throat)
1/10/2…

Man, this week has been spendy. Not really in big purchases but in small stuff. I was hoping to get some no-spend days in this week, but I don't think that will happen. I will have an update tomorrow....

That is the question that my dear hubby asked me the other day.

We were sitting in the living room watching TV and he felt the baby kick me in the stomach. He asked "Doesn't it feel weird to have a baby kicking you from the inside? Isn't it weird to know that you have another human being growing inside you?"

I never really thought about it as being weird. It has always felt completely natural to me. It is a feeling that I cannot express into words, but I don't think weird is anywhere how it feels to me. It is a feeling that I cherish. It is a feeling that may bring on anxiety and fear for the future, but one that I am grateful that I get to feel.

What will be weird is if we go through with getting my tubes tied after I have this baby. I have been pregnant 5 times since we got married in 2005. Miscarried in 2005, had Rebecca in 2006, Travis was born silently into Heaven in 2008, had Jacob in 2009 and now am pregnant with this baby boy. Bill and I have talked ab…

Man the weekend went by fast. We had a good day on Saturday. Had a date night with Dear Hubby, so although money was spent it was nice. Sunday, I had to go to the grocery store and just didn't feel good. I still don't feel good. I think I caught the cold that has been plaguing Rebecca and that made us take Jacob to Urgent Care last week. Yuck. Well as a mom, I guess I just have to keep going....

So with that being said here is what we are eating this week:


Tuna Helper and Macaroni and Cheese
Pork Chops, scalloped potatoes, green beans
Ham and Cheese wraps, veggie
Baked Ziti
Italian sausage and pasta skillet
Leftovers

What are you eating this week? Check out orgjunkie.com for more great menu ideas!

Every week in 2012, I hope to have a financial recap of the week so that I can try to keep our variable spending under control and try to get as much money toward savings and debt repayment as possible. Today is the Friday Financial Update #1.

Here is how we did on our variable spending this week. We had some unexpected things happen that equaled only 2 no spend days.

1/1/2012 --NO SPEND
1/2/2012 --21.96 Kroger (Groceries)
1/3/2012 --69.91 Walmart (Dear Hubby's Hobby)
1/4/2012 --NO SPEND
1/5/2012 --10.32 Walmart (Meds for Jacob)
               --10.75 Subway (Spend the morning at Urgent Care with Jake, needed lunch)

As I look back over this week, I can see that the grocery spending was because I ran out of stuff and went to the store for milk. I had been doing really well at only going 1 time a week, but with being at home over Christmas break from work and the kids being home, we just went through milk and food faster than normal. The Walmart charge is part of my Hubby's ho…

Being a BzzAgent has it's perks! For one you get to try out products that are brand new on the market and review them, for FREE!
As a BzzAgent, I get the opportunity to try out new items and to review them. I was delighted to be included in the Kroger's Private Selection bzz campaign to try their new appetizers, pizzas and desserts. I recently reviewed their Southwestern Style Chicken Trumpets appetizer.  I found that they were yummy but not worth the price. I also reviewed their frozen Pepperoni and Roasted Garlic pizza. I found that I didn't care for it all that much.

So with these two reviews in the past, I went into trying the dessert wondering if I was going to like it or not. On New Year's Eve, after we put the kids to bed, hubby wanted to watch Captain America and wanted ice cream. I wasn't really in an "ice cream" kind of mood, so I decided to try one of the new private selection desserts.

According to Bzzagent.com:

Private Selection® Frozen Des…