Writing Inspiration — goals and excuses

I have felt a complete lack of inspiration when it comes to blog writing lately. Please note that its been nearly 2 full weeks since I last put up a post. I’m sure I’ve had witty thoughts, inspiriting words to write and interesting articles, but none have lasted long enough to make it into the post editor. Maybe that’s  my problem? Maybe I should be writing the posts in evernote.

Anyhoo, one day this last week, I found I had the best excuse ever for the complete lack of inspiration and energy. I’m pregnant!

Yes, let me holler that a bit louder and more clearly. I’M PREGNANT!!!!!

And the timing is just about perfect as far is it being an excuse for not blogging. God’s timing is perfect in other ways, too, though I doubt He intended to give me an excuse for not blogging over that two week period.

I should still have some goals for May, right? After all, there are birthdays this month that require some sort of gift like object (little boy and a nephew), one of the languishing baby blankets is for a friend who’s hubby got a job (yea!) and is moving this summer (boo!), and June is quite out for getting much other than survival done. I’ve worked out to teach some swimming lessons that month — though that gets one goal done, “swimming lessons for little boy”.

Of course, I also need to be sure and tell the story of our journey to grow our family. And post #500 is quickly approaching and there is the sense that it should be some deep/insightful/exciting kind of post. We’ll see.

As for April goals, I did okay.

1. Write Hubby a love note (though it was by email, that still counts, yes?)
2. Work on morning devotion habit (a bit of Bible study, a bit of prayer)
3. Finish the 2 very late baby blankets (since both babies are born!)
4. Read 2 new books.
5. Keep up the blog habit (2x a week!)
6. Work on being intentional with my time.

Yeah, I think I did okay. In fact, I read way more than 2 new books as I jumped for the ‘ultimate homemaking e-book bundle’ last week. 97 e-books. I’ve made it though a slew of those books, though some I stopped reading after a  page or two when I figured out I wasn’t so interested in that book. (note to self: I should review these books as I read them)

May goals…

May will be about maintenance. Maintain habits, maintain house, that sort of thing. And I’ll dabble… in sewing, reading books. And I’ll aim to post about them along the way.

I love the idea of making goals and working towards them, but that seems to be what is first to go when my energy lags or life gets busy. I must remember to make the goals work for me, not be a slave to them.

And Happy Mother’s Day! I got a great mother’s day gift this year…. a positive pregnancy test. Any other fun gifts?

 

Crazy Boy Not-Activities

Little Man has reached a point of activity and need for interaction that I’m having to get intentional to meet. He will be 2 in mid-May (really? already? no way!) and he is most certainly a crazy 2 year old.

So, what does the good mother do? She goes to look for activity ideas on the internet.

As I read about these activities, and there are some really creative people out there, I can’t help but think, “wow, they must have a kid who has already figured out how to be gentle” or “they must have a really calm child” or “their child must be really careful about staying clean”. Some activities got me thinking about the mess that Little Man would make, or the craziness that would ensue  Let me give you a run down.

Involving paint:

I found activities that were about painting with different items: bubble wrap, toy cars, toilet sponge, blocks. Fun ideas, for sure, and for the child who loves to paint, this gives them a chance to explore the effects of various textures. Little Man, on the other hand, would like fling the paint covered object creating what might be taken for a post-modern painting on our walls. And on him, and the table, and the floor, and the cats, and me. Perhaps, they just ought to be outside activities.

Involving food:

Painting with food? Sounds like fun! Use pudding, yogurt (#31 on this list), or any spreadable food item. See concerns about paint to understand my reluctance to try this.

Involving bags of stuff:

There are a variety of things that are fun to play with when they are in a bag and you get to manipulate the item through the bag. Activity #24 on this list, or a bag of ice cubes with dodads in them, or a ziplock bag full of goop (glue, pudding) and they child can draw in the goop through the bag (can’t figure where I saw this). These are all well and good, until a kiddo decides to open the bag. Or he squeezes the bag so it bursts, or he bites through the bag. (or a cat decides to chew on the bag). I love the i-spy variations (bag or bottle filled with rice/sand/etc and other small items to find in the filler material), and I think I could set up a bottle so that Little Man can’t get in it, but I would fear for the stitching on any bag.

Involving bins of stuff:

We did this. I set up a container filled with rice, lentils and beans and let Little Man have at it. He loved it! He played for 40 ish minutes. And I was sweeping up rice, lentils and beans for a month afterwards. Turns out the beans make good cat toys, too. Other ideas include pictures of loved ones or other pictures in oats, or spaghetti on a ‘town’. Perhaps its just that these are outside activities for us. Generally, anything able to be thrown will be thrown, but that applies to anything we do.

When I figure out good activities, and how I’m going about meeting Little Man’s need for interaction, without going crazy myself, I will post about it. That way if you have a crazy child, you can get some ideas.

I would love any other ideas you’ve got… ideally things I can set Little Man up with and just let him play. Ideas that I do with him are welcome also!

Blowing the Budget and Goal reflections

Yes, this is how this week has been. I’ve been so tired all week, I think from just finishing 2 projects with AB (never (?) doing 2 at the same time again!), in laws in town (free childcare!) and a beautiful spring. Yeah, I haven’t wanted to do *anything* this week. Today, along with the beginnings of a cold, I feel renewed energy to look at life and get back on the bandwagon. You’d think I’d have learned by now, after 35 years, that this ebbing and flowing of energy is quite normal and, likely, healthy. All that to say that I don’t think I’ll get everything on my April goal list done in April, but I’ve got good excuses.

As for the grocery budget — yep, I very much blew it this month. And the quarter cow was ready. I’m treating the cost of the cow differently this year, though I might change it if Hubby or someone else thinks this isn’t a fair way.

Okay, details…  In all its glory, my April grocery spending:

9-Apr	sams	126.77
4-Apr	walmart	14.53
2-Apr	HEB	27.15
17-Apr	sam’s	26.44
16-Apr	HEB	50.63
17-Apr	HEB	4.3
6-Apr	atwoods	10.72
23-Apr	sams	39.54
23-Apr	walmart	16.18
21-Apr	HEB	16.99
27-Apr	WAlmart	13.64
27-Apr	HEB	36.39
27-Apr	Meat House	8.41
27-Apr	Meat House	34.41	412.92
	total	391.69

I splurged and got some amazingly yummy and spicy breakfast sausage at the Meat House. I ought not have (one way that being on a cash envelope system would save me).

The $412.92 was the quarter of a cow. I’ve divided that out over 12 months, and each month there will be an automatic $34.41 debit. I’ve also created a sheet to keep track of my use of the beef. When I picked up the meat, I got a list of all the packages, so I figured how many packages a month (or packages per X months) I can use to finish it all in a year. If nothing else, meal planning is simplified (sort of. I need to figure out new ways to using sirloin and t-bones rather than just grilling. maybe.)

The crockpot is now running with roasted bones to make bone broth. I’ll boil it down to really-really concentrated after I’ve leached all the goodness I can out of those bones. In last year’s cow, I got 2 packages of ‘soup bones’. And this year I got 2 packages again. I tried using the ‘soup bones’ to make stew, but the meat was really a bit wonky and tough, so into broth making they go. We’ll see how the addition of a bit of meat affects the broth. I suspect that the broth will be more meaty, but we will see!

Now, sweet readers, you have a job. First, how is your April food budget shaping up? Second, how can I help you gain control over that food spending? Do you want to/need to spend less?

Bluebonnet pictures

I think that its a tradition in central Texas to get pictures of the kids/family in bluebonnets in the spring. After 4 years of living here, we finally did it…

 

Of course, I had to take pictures of the flowers themselves.

 

We’ve had enough rain of late that everything is growing. And April has been amazingly cool, its been so wonderful.

And of course, there was nature all around us, so *someone* had to poke it with a stick. Little Man was happy to do the duty.

Grocery Budget Update

Back at the end of February, I was thinking about how everyone claims that if you spend cash, you spend less. I suspect this is because when your cash is gone, its just gone. Credit cards are dangerous in this way, in that you can spend more than the amount of money you’ve got. But if you pay the credit card off each month, have reward points that you use strategically, and treat even credit purchases like cash, I think you wouldn’t find the cash/credit difference less.

That said, I decided I’d set a limit for my March food budget. I  looked at the last several months and found that my *average* was less than $350 and was less than $300 for the 4 months previously. I though some of this is because I hadn’t needed to buy any of the items that we buy in bulk. Nonetheless, I set my March limit at $300.

Do note, I don’t include any paper goods, baby goods (except food), clothing, etc in my food numbers. Its just food, including actual food, seeds and transplants for garden veggies.

March 2013 — I set the limit at $300. So, I figured I’ve got $75 a week (I needed a weekly guideline). And since I’ve been buying the bulk items previously, I thought they will just work into the budget just fine.

3/4/2013	Aldi	2.53
3/5/2013	HEB	20.25
3/7/2013	aldi	21.23
3/15/2013	Walmart	3.64
3/19/2013	sams	119.76
12-Mar	aldis	26.28
12-Mar	HEB	4.78
23-Mar	Walmart	3.63
21-Mar	HEB	27.04
	total	229.14

Whew! I did okay. I came in under budget.

April 2013 — I’m sticking to the $300 budget. If I was running cash, I could, if I wanted, transfer the previous month’s balance to this month, but I’m not doing that right now. The budget resets each month. Here’s the run down so far:

9-Apr	sams	126.77
4-Apr	walmart	14.53
2-Apr	HEB	27.15
17-Apr	sam’s	26.44
16-Apr	HEB	50.63
17-Apr	HEB	4.3
6-Apr	atwoods	10.72
	total	260.54

Oh, dear. I still have a week and a half left in April and only $40 to spend! Ugh. You’ll notice the big Sam’s run, which includes the annual membership dues. And, to be honest, I haven’t been paying as close attention as I did in March.

For the past 12 months, I’m doing pretty good…

Jan-13		267.91
Feb-13		232.5
Mar-13		229.14
Apr-12		772.65
May-12		359.04
Jun-12		250.4
Jul-12		231.47
Aug-12		407.36
Sep-12		297.94
1-Oct-12		307.03
1-Nov-12		289.45
1-Dec-12		282.77
monthly average		327.305

April 2012 was when we got the quarter cow, thus the crazy number. I expect we will get our quarter cow in the next week or two, which will really throw the monthly budget off. I have ideas on how to ease the effect on a monthly basis. I promise to share that when we get the cow and I have actual numbers to share.

How’s your monthly food budget going? Staying on track?

 

 

Monthly Goals: updates and new ones

Yeah, we are a week into April and I’m only just now figuring out April goals. Upon the return from our trip, I hit the ground running. I picked up 2 projects with my job, one of which has been eating my lunch until yesterday. I finally hit my stride, which means it’s not taking hours (like 3 or 4) to do the work (only 2, which is the expected time frame). Which is very nice.

So, March — I did okay.

1. Write Hubby a love note
2. Finish 2 books that are currently in progress
3. Limit online dinking to 1 hour a day (total)
   1.  Sort out blogs in reader to only the ones I really read and are good for me
   2.    Unsubscribe emails – erewards, one roast veg
4. Finish Baby girl’s blanket, finish Green Baby’s blanket
5. Finish wrap skirt

Yeah, I fell through on the really important goal! Argh.

Since the start of April, I did finish 2 baby blankets for the twins that were unexpectedly born early. Two girls, who are doing well right now.

I finished the wrap skirt, but it is just too small. The friend who has sent me the pieces, all already cut out, is smaller than me. Bummer, because the material is just gorgeous.

gorgeous fabric. too small wrap.

Okay, April goals.

1. Write Hubby a love note
2. Work on morning devotion habit (a bit of Bible study, a bit of prayer)
3. Finish the 2 very late baby blankets (since both babies are born!)
4. Read 2 new books
5. Keep up the blog habit (2x a week!)
6. Work on being intentional with my time

Other things that are going on around here include the garden, visiting in-laws, adoption education class next week, 1 major and 1 minor work project, a crazy and very active little boy who loves to be outside, and one tired mom-mom who ought to go on walks more often. Let’s just say that life is a bit busy right now. Luckily, its busy with things that I quite enjoy (or love very much!)

Geffen Hemp/cotton inserts — a review

I usually review books, but, today, I’m reviewing a diapering product. Yea for variety!

This was the first time I’ve purchased a cloth diaper thing new. I’ve purchased fabric to make various items, and I’ve been given new stuff, but the vast majority of our stash are hand-me-down items.

old and dying hemp inserts

The hemp inserts we have are very well used. And they are starting to fall apart. So, I decided to replace them. I looked around, I compared prices, I calculated the cost per layer of material in the insert*, and decided to order the Geffen Baby Super Absorbers. They got washed once before being pressed into service and they worked great from the start. Its recommended to wash them at least 3 times before using, I had special circumstances, though.

the inserts

Last night, they were put to the test though. I put 2 into a pocket diaper. Wow, trim.

thinnest nighttime diaper ever

see how thin this is?

just the two inserts

so trim

Everything shifts to below that cutest ever belly

Yep, only 2. Normally, I would put 1 large hemp insert, 2 small hemp inserts and 1 layer microfiber strip into a diaper and this works the vast majority of the time.

This morning, after nearly 12 hours of sleep, little boy’s pajama pant fronts were damp and I could tell there was some leakage out the top of the diaper. The pj pant top had folded over into the top of the diaper and this diaper (a Haute Pocket) doesn’t have that extra bit of PUL across the top inside.

Conclusion, I’ll add a hemp insert, but, I think, my nighttime diapers will consist of 2 Geffen Baby Super Absorbers and a hemp insert.

An additional thought: When I received the package, I found on the package these diapers are labeled “absorbency level 3, 12-18 months and nighttime, absorbs approx. 8 – 9 oz”. There is even a chart on the package labeling showing the levels of absorbency. I would have really liked to see this in the online descriptions. If I had, I would have ordered the next absorbency up “Super Absorbers Plus”, slotted for 18-36 months. I know each child is unique in how much they pee at night (and every night is a bit different!), but such guidelines are so useful when figuring out a new product.

Yes, when I need something more absorbent, I will likely go back to Geffen Baby.

*my calculations — It came down to Geffen Baby vs Thirsties and I went with higher hemp content from there.

ebay gal — 2 layers, 4″ x 12″, 6 inserts, 55% Hemp, 45% cotton — fleece, $13 [$2.17 per insert, $1.08 per layer]

geffen baby — 5 layers, 5.5″ x 13.5″, 6 inserts, 60% hemp 40% cotton — fleece, $21.99 [$3.67 per insert, $0.73 per layer]

thirsties — 6 layers, 5″ x 12″, 2 inserts, 55% Hemp 45% cotton – jersey, $8.75 [$4.37 per insert, $0.73 per layer]

Indian Meadow Nature Trail

We ended up spending 2 nights at Dog Canyon, which is a campground around the back of Guadalupe Mountains National Park. The first night there, we were the only ones there (save park rangers). We saw other people people that second day, but there was only one other camper that second night (and a trailer with 3 folks).

Near the campgrounds is a short hiking trail called Indian Meadow Nature Trail. At the start there was a brochure that had ‘stops’ described that pointed out flora and fauna and explained various things about that part of the country.

On this side of the mountains, they get a bit more rain, and so there are more trees and grass, and less prickly pears and other ‘pokies’ as Little Man learned to call them. We ended up walking the trail twice that day, since Little Man asked for it by name in the afternoon. It is about 1.5 miles all the way around and he walked it both times. Sorry, he *hiked* it both times. That was another word he learned and used a lot on this trip.

There was a wash just behind the campground and there were Maple trees back there. The area had lots of Juniper (otherwise known as Cedar in central Texas according to the ranger), some Ponderosa Pine and Maples. A few Oaks were also present in the meadow. They had a fire blow through several years ago and we learned how the grass burns quick, but the trees create a real hot spot and sometime the fire is hot enough to sterilize the ground underneath.

We also learned that the area was named “Dog Canyon” because there used to be lots of prairie dogs there, but the ranchers got rid of them. The ranger explained how the prairie dogs would selectively harvest around their burrow so that the grass in that area was different than in places further away from their burrow. And the bison liked the grass right around prairie dog burrows quite a bit.

It was drastically interesting to learn how fire and prairie dogs effect the types of grasses that are growing. There were other things to learn, but this is what’s still in my head 2 weeks later.

squirmy boy.

little boy tracks. Fingers scrapping up dirt to throw.

sleepy boy. First day without a nap ever.

Is that not a really dirty face?

watching the sun set behind the mountains. We got to watch it rise over the eastern batch of mountains that morning in the meadow.

Gardening Time!

This weekend was all about getting the summer garden together. General principle, I’ve been told, is put your tomatoes and other warm weather plants out after Easter. Before Easter, they will freeze. And the week before Easter, it did freeze one night — down to 28′ and that would have knocked any warm weather plant down for the count. And since we were gone over Easter weekend, all the garden prep got left to this weekend.

A most gracious Hubby got out there with Little Man and I Saturday morning and helped get the garden turned. And he finished turning it Sunday morning. Today, I got the transplants put out.

Some reflections on gardening here –

• I’d love to adopt a no-till method, but I don’t think it would work here. You’ve got to dig out the burmuda grass and other weeds, they are tremendously hardy. And the black clay of our soil is heavy, thick and sticky. And that is in our garden, which has had sand and organic matter added every year for 3 years now.
• Gardening is *hard* work. And I love it.
• Little boys love dirt. But even little boys can hit an outside limit.
• Garlic is confusing! I put a good number in last fall, one batch about 2 or 3 weeks before the second batch. The first batch seems good and grown, but upon digging up one bulb, it hasn’t bulbed out yet. Alas, when!?
• Taking a risk — we purchased one strawberry plant. Just maybe?
• I wussed out on starting from seeds. I did start some peppers, but between Little Man and the cats, none of the seedlings made it past seed-leaf stage.
• I got 5 tomatoes and 4 peppers. 1 pepper is in a pot out front.

And a few pictures –

Before the work began. Garlic up front, lentils in back.

After the work. Garlic up front, tomatoes and peppers in back.

Those are ollas.

Santiago Pepper

strawberries!

from front to back: kale, kale, lettuce lettuce, spinach (pot is hidden)

Menu for the week of April 7 to 13

I’m back on the menu planning bandwagon! I did ‘plan’ a menu last week, but I was so overwhelmed with getting back into town and back to normal life that it never got posted.

Let’s just say I’m quite impressed when folks are able to plan posts for when they are not about to manually post.

Okay, here goes –

Sunday — likely leftovers? unsure… must decide soon!

Monday — Mustard Pork Tenderloin (grilled, likely?), new potatoes (I wonder if I can do these on the grill, too?), salad (greens from my pots out front!)

Tuesday — real, red sauce pizza (I did a white sauce pizza last Friday and though it was good, it didn’t itch the pizza itch for Hubby)

Wednesday — Crockpot Jambalaya (original recipe from savingdinner.com, but I’ve modified to fit our tastes)

Thursday — leftovers

Friday — unfried chicken, salad

Saturday — leftovers

What’s on your menu for this week?

Embarrassing moments at Carlsbad Caverns

The Caverns are amazingly beautiful. Even for one like me who really doesn’t like closed spaces. It was a ton of fun and so wonderful to experience the 90% humidity after the dryness of the Guadalupe Mountains.

We had a few embarrassing moments in the caverns, though.

First, while going through The Big Room (which is quite big, for sure), there is one stalagmite that looks :::ahem::: like a boob. Of course, both Hubby and I giggle a bit and attempt to keep walking. Yes, we likely pointed as we giggled. And then it happened. The lady (and her family, I’m guessing husband and daughter) who was just ahead of us turned to us and said something to the effect of, “What’s amazing is that after millions of years, its still firm. No sag at all!” I watched her (supposed) daughter melt in embarrassment and she attempted to usher nipple lady on. But oh, no, nipple lady continued talking about what this particular stalagmite looked like and how firm it still was. This went on for much longer than either Hubby or I was comfortable with. Actually, the very first comment out of her mouth left us uncomfortable. I’m so glad Little Man isn’t quite old enough to understand any of it.

A bit later, as Little Man reached his limit (nap time!) he began to yell ‘gobble, gobble, gobble!” We have no idea where this work came from, and I don’t think its actually in reference to what a turkey says. And he continued, and when he realized it echoed, he kept going. It felt like he continued with ‘gobble, gobble, gobble’ for 10 or 15 minutes. It was likely more like 5 minutes. Hubby spoke in my ear, “type 2 fun”. Not long after, he feel asleep. I had him wrapped on my back and it was the greatest thing ever to have hi fall asleep on my back.

walking down into the caverns

I guess I should explain ‘type 2 fun’. We found a book “The Ultimate Hiker’s Gear Guide” (a gear guide for the ultimate hiker, that is), and the author explains his system for classifying fun. Type 1 fun is fun at the time and fun to talk about later. Type 2 fun isn’t so fun at the time, but is a ton of fun to talk about later. Type 3 fun isn’t fun at the moment, nor is it fun to talk about later.

Have you had any type 2 fun lately? And any embarrassing moments?

Changing the system

One thing I was reminded of, as we prepped for our trip was that one ought not change any systems right before leaving.

Late Monday morning, I put Little Man in a sposie diaper and washed *all* the diapers. I didn’t want to leave any wet diapers around, and we’d planned on using sposies for the trip, except the two nights we planned on backpacking in. As fortunes would show, I was quite lucky the hemp/cotton inserts I’d ordered arrived that morning, so they got into the wash as well.

Now, up to this point, Little Man had worn sposies one here, one there, but usually only one, rarely/never two in a row. But that Monday, but the second diaper change, his bottom was looking red and irritated. By the time I changed the third sposie, his skin was so irritated he cried as I wiped his bum and he had little blisters that bled (just a tiny bit). I pulled out a cloth diaper for the night. At the time, I didn’t know if it was the sposie or the poop (ya know — sometimes its the poop that irritates!). But I didn’t have time to figure it out, either!

But, the next morning, all blisters were gone and the bum in question was a smooth as a baby’s bottom should be.

The next morning we quick pulled the packages of sposies out of the car and I sat in the back with a basket of freshly washed diapers on my lap, which I folded slowly over the first hour of driving. Though the new inserts needed another 2 or 3 washes, I used them in the overnight diapers and they worked great! Those new inserts expanded my nighttime inserts so I could have 5 overnight diapers! Before I had the inserts (hemp ones) to put together only 3 diapers at a go.

Lesson learned. Don’t change the system all of the sudden when you don’t have time to make sure it works.

Here’s some of what I’ve figured out about traveling with cloth:

• Its not all that bad, though poops on the road are a bit difficult to deal with.
• Have lots of plastic bags. The kid you get from the store when checking out work great at keeping the smell contained when you tie them tight. If its not a poopy diaper, I will twist the bag closed and then tie it when I add a second diaper. Poopy diapers get solids dumped into the appropriate place (toilet or 6 inch hole), the into a bag that gets tied tight (yes, they will need to get dunked and swished or sprayed at some point before washing).
• Pre-folds seem to travel the best. Flats are nice since they are fairly easy to wash and dry quickly.

My Dad and his wife let me wash the diapers at their house, which meant a 4 day stretch between washings. Not too bad. I did rinse the diapers at one camp ground about 3 days in, but unless you are able to let the dry, I’m not sure its worth it. It was dry there, but cool, so I ended up wrapping up the diapers in bags to save for washing. I guess rinsing them was good, though.

Questions? Please ask. I love the cloth diapers and am happy to talk about them!

Back from the middle of no-where

Yep, seriously… the middle of no-where!

Back on March 18 or so, I picked up a project with my job that I had to crank out by that next Sunday. Made for a crazy week.

On Tuesday, March 26, we got up, not too early, and took off driving west. All the way to Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Its a beautiful place, for sure, but is seriously the middle of no-where. 55 miles from Carlsbad (the nearest city) and 114 miles from El Paso. And no cell reception, at all. But it was gorgeous. And major inhospitable  I’m really glad we don’t live out there. I promise more stories as the week continues.

I think this is Guadalupe Peak.

Over that week, we camped at Pine Springs Campground (Guadalupe Mountains National Park), Rattlesnake Canyon (Carlsbad Caverns National Park) and Dog Canyon Campgrounds (Guadalupe Mountains National Park). It was a great time, for sure. And Little Man spend more time out doors than ever before in his short life, and he loved it. He got *so* dirty, slept so little, and got to poke a whole lot of nature with a stick.

Can you see all that dirt?

We finished the trip with a few days in Lubbock with my Dad and his wife. That was a ton of fun and Little Man really enjoyed the time with Granddaddy and Grandmom. He even got to hunt Easter eggs Sunday afternoon.

I have a ton of stories to tell, and lots of good reflections. Here’s  a start:

-Don’t change your diapering system at the last minute just for a trip. Bad things happen.

-Don’t expect little boys to nap when its in a tent. Going to sleep at night is hard enough.

-The desert gets cold at night. And windy.

-If you see some nature, you ought to poke it with a stick.

Menu for week of March 18 to 24

Well, late again…. but here it is…

Monday, 3-18 — Crockpot Jambalaya

Tuesday, 3-19 — leftovers, easy

Wednesday, 3-20 — green chili cassserole (I’m working on using up freezer stuff and I have loads of ‘green chili’. Tomatillos did great in the garden last year.)

Thursday, 3-21 — pollo con crema (major yummy, can be main with chicken or pork… I ought to post the recipe. Very worth sharing.)

Friday, 3-22 — pizza (still working on getting the crust to the right thickness. Not to bread-like, but not crunchy thin…)

Saturday, 3-23 — department potluck

Sunday, 3-24 — leftovers

 

What are you planning for this week?

And head over to Money Saving Mom for more menus.