Menu Planning: Grocery Shopping

One of my favorite household chores is grocery shopping. I guess it is because it makes me feel like a big girl. :) Or as Jeff would tell you, I love any excuse to plan and make a list.

When I make my grocery list, I first start with my menu plan. I write down the ingredients that I will need to make dinner. I also write down any items on my "short list."

Short List- an ongoing list of any items that you may be running low and or out of . I keep my short list on the refrigerator for easy access.

When I make my grocery list, I divide it into different categories. You know meat, dairy, can goods and household items. Here is a bonus tip, if you have an ITouch or IPhone you must get The Shopper App It is fantastic! It will divide it into categories for you plus it makes life much more simpler.

Here is what I used prior to being blessed with the Shopper ap.

I try to keep my grocery shopping simple. I usually shop at one store instead of going to where the deal is. It is just what works for me. I will buy the items that I use often in bulk because that saves us money in the end. But I have found that making a menu, grocery list and sticking to the list has been a huge help in the money saving department.

If you coupon shop or have any tips for saving on the bottom line, I would love to hear your ideas.

Menu Planning-Phase One

I am working on stream lining my menu plan and grocery shopping. My goal is to be able to have a 6-week rotation established so that I can create a standard grocery list and buy what I need in bulk.

My post it notes have been a huge help in keeping track of what we eat. (Please note the lasagna listed twice in a four week period, it's hubs all time favorite food) I usually try to keep it simple during the week since hubs works nights and has to be out the door by 6:15. Because of his work schedule, I try to avoid recipes that take 30-45 minutes. Lasagna obviously takes longer but it is the perfect meal to prepare in advance so all you have to do is throw it in the oven an hour before you eat.

When I am planning my menu, I follow this simple list.

Monday- salad or soup, sometimes both
Tuesday- Mexican
Wednesday- Chicken
Thursday- Pasta (lasagna, manicotti, spaghetti)
Friday night- Pizza night (sometimes with the family but most times a pizza from sam's club)
Saturday & Sunday- usually the kitchen is closed but every once in awhile I will cook gourmet sandwiches or Jeff will grill out

As you can see, I like things quick and easy. Nothing too over the top and nothing that requires much time.

Come back next Wednesday for Phase Two: Establishing a Grocery List.

Feel free to share your menu planning tips as well.

Overhaulin the Living Room/Office

The biggest thorn in my flesh is my living room/office. I have not done anything with this little place because I kept thinking we were going to move. And as you already know that is not the case right now, at least for another 6 months. Now my living room/office is going to get a major overhaul because I am choosing to fully embrace this period of our life.

The plan is simple: throw away and redecorate.

Here is a few of the things I am going to do.

• I am keeping the desk because I really need the storage for catalog pictures.

• I am changing out the office chair to something with more pizazz. Maybe a zebra print dining chair
• I am adding a hutch to my makeshift desk to house my notebooks and other misc office stuff.
• I am adding curtains to the windows since Jeff refuses to paint.
• I am also giving the love seat that the in laws gave to us to my sister in law (she has the matching sofa)
• I am bringing in my favorite chair and ottoman from storage.
• I plan to add a few lamps since we do not have an overhead light in the living room.
  
• I have a rug that I am going to throw down on our worn, dull apartment carpet.

My goal is to have the office serve as an office by day and a living room by night. At the end of the day, I want to clean off my desk and sit in my comfy chair without having to look at all this junk.

I realize that this is going to be a huge challenge but I am looking forward to having this project to sink my teeth into. I will keep you posted as I progress.

P.S. The above picture is what my desk looks like during the middle of catalog update season. It can get to be pretty scary and messy at times.

A-Z Homemaking-A Fun Lil Meme

I borrowed this from my friend who rocks because she let me raid her house for a pair of scissors on my way to the "Ornament making smack down 08"


A is for Aprons - yes/no? I love aprons. I inherited most of my great grandmothers and picked up a black and white toile looking one in New Orleans, the first ever family Road Trip.

B is for Baking - favourite thing to bake? chocolate chip cookies especially the kind that you break apart and cook. I love to bake actually and am looking forward to a slightly bigger kitchen when we move.

C is for Clothesline - do you have one? No since I currently live in an apartment not in the ghetto-I don't think my neighbors would enjoy that very much. My new house may end up having one b/c I love to dry sheets outside (It reminds me ofCousin Gay!)

D is for Donuts - have you ever made them? Thanks to my days at CDR, I do know how to make them. Maybe I should buy a FryDaddy so I can make the indoor version.

E is for Every Day - one homemaking task you do every day.

Laundry! Wash-Dry-Fold-Put away=my least favorite household chore


F is for Freezer - do you have a separate deep freeze? I will in oh, 60 days

G is for Garbage Disposal Unit - do you have one? Yes.

H is for Handbook - what’s your favourite homemaking resource? Home Comforts by Cheryl Mendelson (using A's answer-I love this book) but my all time favorite resource is (can you guess?) FLYLADY

I is for Ironing - love or hate it? indifferent, I only iron on Sundays for church

J is for Junk Draw - yes/no? How about re-naming them Messy Drawers with a Purpose (again A's answer!)

K is for Kitchen - colour and decorating scheme? umm, hello apartment life but don't worry I will show you the new kitchen when it is done

L is for Love - what’s your favourite part of homemaking? the feeling of calm that comes from my daily routines and decorating, oh how I love to put my stamp on things

M is for Mop - do you have one? Yes

N is for Nylons - machine or hand wash? never, ever wear them! I do have some unopened in my dresser that my mom insisted I buy an extra pair for my wedding day. I can't seem to throw them out since they were going to be worn at my wedding.

O is for Oven - do you use a window or open the oven door to check? yes

P is for Pizza - what do you put on yours? Pepperoni with a side of ranch to dip it in. (I picked up this habit when I babysat regularly for the Barrow's. I had never done this until Bre and Katie taught me the joy of ranch dressing and pizza!)

Q is for quiet - what do you do during the day when you get a quiet moment? I cherish it because I realize that this season will pass one day and I will not have as many quiet moments.

R is for Recipe Card Box - yes/no? Yes. I have a few recipe cards that I wrote when I was in a cooking class at FWC in the 7Th grade. I wrote really large and bubbly like back then

S is Style of House - what style is your house? Pottery Barn meets Southern Living magazine mix


T is for Tablecloths - do you use them? No. Do I have a few? Yes, one more thing I have inherited from my great grandmother

U is for Under The Kitchen Sink - organised or toxic wasteland? um, what do you think? It's organized

V is for Vacuum - how many times a week? Once a week. Vacuuming is Jeff's favorite thing to come home to, he would love it if I did it daily. Maybe one day I will do it everyday but right now, it's a weekly thing

W is for Wash - how many loads of washing do you do each week? 6 loads, Mon-Sat, one a day. I don't do laundry on Sundays, it's against my religion

Do you keep a daily list of things to do that you cross off? Yes. To Do lists and I are BFF's

Y is for Yard - who does what? Praise God for my amigos who take care of the apartment grounds. They really do a great job and I love it when they change out the flower beds to match the seasons. And yes, I have told them how much I enjoy it. Seriously, after living here for 7 years, you become one with the grounds people. Especially back in the day when I worked away from home, they would blow leaves on me as I walked to my car and just laugh. These are the times I am thankful for my days working with all Spanish speaking cooks, I could tell them to cut it out and joke around with them. It was all in good fun, I didn't sweat it.

Zzzz’s - what’s the last homemaking task you do before bed in the evening? Get my coffee ready for the morning, brush teeth, take vitamins and head to bed.

Progress Not Perfection

I was reading one of my favorite organizing blogs called Creative Organizing yesterday and her topic really struck a cord with me. Aby is addressing how we limit ourselves to organizing because we want it to be perfect and if it's not perfect we quit. But here she encourages us not think about the perfect way but to have progress in whatever way we choose.

I admit, I enjoy a clean home. I like the feeling that comes from going to bed each night knowing that my pathway to the bathroom is clear for my late night visit. I also enjoy being able to walk into my home after a being away and not have to trip on a bunch of stuff as I enter the door.

Truth be told, even though I enjoy a clean house, I very rarely get it. At least not to the perfect state that I desire. One of the biggest challenges for working inside my home is trying to keep work contained in an orderly fashion. Most days I am doing many things at once so by the end of the day, my desk is a mess and there are catalog pages scattered on the floor and dining table. This is the reason I have asked Jeff to find me a home with a yard big enough that we can put one of those portable barn type things in the back for my office. I really want to be able to walk away from work at the end of my day and walk into my home. And yet, I wouldn't trade working at home for having to commute to an office every day. I realize that I am very blessed with the job I have.

But back to the point of this blog, why do we let the need to be perfect hinder our progress. Growing up my mom used to sing a song to me called Practice Makes Perfect. I quit piano because I didn't want to practice the piano to become perfect, I just wanted it to happen for me. I quit dance because I couldn't get down my left turn pirouette. Looking back, I realize that it was dumb to quit, all I really needed was a little more practice.

Today as I sit looking at my cluttered little desk, the catalog pictures thrown all over the floor, the laundry piled high and the dishwasher waiting to be unloaded and reloaded, I am not going to strive for perfect but strive for progress.

Here is my challenge for you: Don't let the need for perfectionism rob you from making progress. Make a list of areas that you want to work on (home, family or personal) and strive to grow step by step in those areas. The goal is progress. And remember that setting a timer can be the best motivator to getting us started. I still enjoy the challenge of racing to finish a task in a 15 minute time frame.

If you are brave enough, I would love to hear what area you are going to challenge yourself to progress in rather than stiving for perfection.

Good luck!