This week we went over the $7+ that was from the week before last's overage, but I knew that would happen so I'm not all too concerned. Also, I noted in a previous week that Jaimie spent $6.99 on coffee, but it was $6.50.
This week we bought:
Clementines: $3.48 (on sale, with coupon)
Grapefruit: $1.99 (5 lbs, on sale)
Bananas: $1.30
Heavy cream: $3.79
Peanut butter: $2.85
Coffee: $13.00 (organic, free trade). Jaimie noted that if we really only had $25 a week to groceries all the time, he would give up coffee. I suggested that we could probably still afford coffee but it'd be a different brand. He said he'd give it up rather than drink something he doesn't like. He said that he felt guilty that he's the only one who drinks coffee and it always makes us go over budget. I don't think it's that big of a deal considering that he doesn't go out and buy a cup (or two, or four) of coffee every day, and making it at home does save money if you're a coffee drinker.
That totals $26.41. I think we will have to call it a wash for week 8's overage. Everyone goes over budget at times.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Ya gotta do what ya gotta do
Jaimie here. Shelly has always hated our main bathroom, and to be quite honest, so have I. As you can see below, it's tiny (can't do anything about that) and very dated.
The sink is cracked, though it doesn't leak, and there is no vent fan (there is a window, so it's technically up to code). The absence of a vent fan wasn't an issue before we had the windows replaced with well-sealed low-e, yadda yadda yadda, modern windows. Now that there's no breeze blowing through the bathroom, the paint on the ceiling has started to peel and we get mildew or mold spots on the ceiling. On top of that, the ugly teal tiles you can see in the first pic are horrible plastic things, and the shower surround was completely chopped when a previous owner put on a shower door (nasty things - hate 'em). Here's the result of the bad surround installation:
It's a huge spot of rot behind the surround. That section of wall will have to be replaced with greenwall. We decided that, since I'm on Spring Break this week, we would replace the tub and its enclosure. (Note that I also have to write a bunch of lesson plans this week.)
We went shopping yesterday to order the tub we wanted, a deep soaking tub with a recirculating heater, and decided to do the floor and walls while we were at it. Oh, and we also decided to replace that cracked sink. Hundreds of dollars later, we had a plan and a vent fan. The new tub and enclosure would be delivered on Sunday and I'd install it on Monday. (That was before we found the rotten wall.)
We started removing tiles as soon as the girls were in bed.
As Shelly says, this part was a lot of fun! We also pulled off the wallpaper and made a start at loosening the adhesive (yep, that's the order in which we did it).
They delivered the tub this morning (Sunday), and we discovered that I had not actually ordered the surround! Shelly was a bit upset by this. Sometime between the tub delivery and our leaving for Menard's, we decided to tile the tub enclosure instead of using a surround. This meant more work, but it also meant we could do what we wanted with it. We decided to do a simple brick pattern with 3x6 white "subway" tile. In the end, Shelly decided she's glad I forgot to order the surround.
Below are pics of tonight's demolition progress. I think it was another great date night. Now I'm going to take a shower in the old tub and wash my leg where the cat just scratched me. I'm sure Shelly will be posting later. See ya!
The sink is cracked, though it doesn't leak, and there is no vent fan (there is a window, so it's technically up to code). The absence of a vent fan wasn't an issue before we had the windows replaced with well-sealed low-e, yadda yadda yadda, modern windows. Now that there's no breeze blowing through the bathroom, the paint on the ceiling has started to peel and we get mildew or mold spots on the ceiling. On top of that, the ugly teal tiles you can see in the first pic are horrible plastic things, and the shower surround was completely chopped when a previous owner put on a shower door (nasty things - hate 'em). Here's the result of the bad surround installation:
We went shopping yesterday to order the tub we wanted, a deep soaking tub with a recirculating heater, and decided to do the floor and walls while we were at it. Oh, and we also decided to replace that cracked sink. Hundreds of dollars later, we had a plan and a vent fan. The new tub and enclosure would be delivered on Sunday and I'd install it on Monday. (That was before we found the rotten wall.)
We started removing tiles as soon as the girls were in bed.
As Shelly says, this part was a lot of fun! We also pulled off the wallpaper and made a start at loosening the adhesive (yep, that's the order in which we did it).
They delivered the tub this morning (Sunday), and we discovered that I had not actually ordered the surround! Shelly was a bit upset by this. Sometime between the tub delivery and our leaving for Menard's, we decided to tile the tub enclosure instead of using a surround. This meant more work, but it also meant we could do what we wanted with it. We decided to do a simple brick pattern with 3x6 white "subway" tile. In the end, Shelly decided she's glad I forgot to order the surround.
Below are pics of tonight's demolition progress. I think it was another great date night. Now I'm going to take a shower in the old tub and wash my leg where the cat just scratched me. I'm sure Shelly will be posting later. See ya!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Treasuring moments at the homestead
Though I know I will love the times when my children are old enough that I can sleep even if they are awake, I love this time with them too. It's not that long of a time that you get to breastfeed, and snuggle constantly, and have baths in the kitchen sink.
And it won't be forever that my girls will want to dress up in costume for story time.
And it won't be forever that my girls will want to dress up in costume for story time.
Greening up (or tie-dying) the kitchen
Monday, March 5, 2012
Week 9: $25 in groceries
With going quite a bit overboard in week 8, we're trying to make up the difference in the next couple of weeks, rather than going without any groceries this week at all.
These are our groceries for the week:
Eggs: $3.50 for two dozen. They are for sale for .99 a dozen elsewhere this week, but I like that the eggs we buy are local, organic, & free-range.
Bananas: $.55
Avocados: $3.56 (4 at .89 each)
Milk: $2.10 with coupon
Butter: $2.94, on sale. We didn't need it with some still in the freezer, but with a one-day sale for $.98 a pound, I bought 3.
Alaskan Pollock: $4.64. We haven't tried this before, but it's cheaper than tilapia so I thought we'd give it a try.
This week's total: $17.29. That leaves only $7.16 for next week (the $24.45 it was originally after week 8's budget, minus this week's. I think that we will likely end up going over again next week and taking it out in a future week).
These are our groceries for the week:
Eggs: $3.50 for two dozen. They are for sale for .99 a dozen elsewhere this week, but I like that the eggs we buy are local, organic, & free-range.
Bananas: $.55
Avocados: $3.56 (4 at .89 each)
Milk: $2.10 with coupon
Butter: $2.94, on sale. We didn't need it with some still in the freezer, but with a one-day sale for $.98 a pound, I bought 3.
Alaskan Pollock: $4.64. We haven't tried this before, but it's cheaper than tilapia so I thought we'd give it a try.
This week's total: $17.29. That leaves only $7.16 for next week (the $24.45 it was originally after week 8's budget, minus this week's. I think that we will likely end up going over again next week and taking it out in a future week).
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Menu plan (3/5/12)
Monday: tacos with home made tortillas and home made salsa
Tuesday: pasties (made with the leftover taco stuff and some bread dough)
(We made kind of a meat pie instead of individual pasties - with a fufu (plantain flour) crust.
Wednesday: Chicken, polenta, brussel sprouts and cauliflower. We're having company and she mentioned when we'd had polenta previously that she like it.
Thursday: Egg foo young (seriously, this stuff is delicious)
Friday: Fish, veggies, & couscous (unless we change it because we're having more company).
Saturday: I was planning for lamb, but since we had that tonight with couscous and corn, we'll have chicken, potatoes, and some veggie from the freezer.
Sunday: Something made with leftover chicken.
Tuesday: pasties (made with the leftover taco stuff and some bread dough)
(We made kind of a meat pie instead of individual pasties - with a fufu (plantain flour) crust.
Wednesday: Chicken, polenta, brussel sprouts and cauliflower. We're having company and she mentioned when we'd had polenta previously that she like it.
Thursday: Egg foo young (seriously, this stuff is delicious)
Friday: Fish, veggies, & couscous (unless we change it because we're having more company).
Saturday: I was planning for lamb, but since we had that tonight with couscous and corn, we'll have chicken, potatoes, and some veggie from the freezer.
Sunday: Something made with leftover chicken.
Seed porn
A few months ago, I got my seed catalogs in the mail. Jaimie calls them my seed porn. I refer to his cooking magazines as his food porn. It really is porn, because we will look at it for hours on end. We'll admit that we look at the pictures too, not just the articles.
Last year I went to a seed exchange/seed ordering gather at a friend's house. Looking at seed catalogs and planning a garden allows you to look forward to when you can get back outside and not be cooped up for so long. Of course we've been outside, but not for extended periods of time because the cold will get to you. There's no dirt to dig into because the ground it frozen. Everything is resting and I know it's said that we should be too, but I need the anticipation of having the warm sun, and green growth, and getting my hands full of dirt. As with most people around late winter, I think I'm going slightly crazy being inside all the time. I know that I'm being productive and eating well, but I'd rather be eating it straight from the garden because I just can't make it into the house without popping some delicious veggie in my mouth. For now, I am still eating well, but I would even give up the three types of ice cream I just made (banana cream, peanut butter with chocolate bits, and Guinness) for a juicy home grown tomato.
My mouth is watering already.
So this weekend I went to the same aforementioned friend's home and looked through catalogs together, discussing things we want to grow this year. It really does put me in a completely different mindset to have the anticipation of spring, even though it's two weeks away and planting time is even further away. While perusing through the luscious looking fruits, I came across some unexpected finds. Many catalogs are carrying fruit trees generally suited for warmer climates but are rated as far north as zone 4 (where we live). While this is exciting to me, I also want to make certain that we're not ordering Monsanto products. We ordered from three catalogs altogether, and I am excited to have my garden plan. (Well, the plan for what I want to plant, but not yet where I want to plant it all).
My friend has a great set-up to start from seed the things you need to start indoors. I am not so great with that, as my tomatoes are teeny, tiny little sprouts rather than plants at the end of 8 weeks. So, I will leave the indoor planting to the professional. She will provide me with these plants:
Ground cherries (delicious in pies, salsas, or just eaten fresh)
Tomatoes (beefsteak, pear, and sauce types)
Eggplant (mmm... baba ghanoush)
Basil
Thyme and other herbs
Hot peppers
Cantaloupe (yes, even this far north - it's called MN Midget)
Cucumbers
Watermelon
We will also be planting these:
Carrots
Parsnips (they didn't produce last year but I need to try again because the farmer's market doesn't carry them).
Turnips
Beets
Soybeans
Watermelon
onions
pumpkin
squash (zucchini and spaghetti, maybe some other winter squash too).
beans
peas
potatoes (red, blue, and whatever else I find for seed potatoes)
kale
lettuce
cilantro
nasturtiums
For the medicinal garden, we will start with:
Catnip
German chamomile
St John's Wort
Caledula
Sweet woodruff
(Eventually, I'd like to add skullcap, comfrey, mullein, wormwood, and white sage. We already have plantain, yarrow, and chickweed throughout the yard).
We ordered some white and red currant plants, honey berry plants (like blueberries, but earlier and without the acidic soil), a fig tree (yes, for zone 4) and two paw paw trees. I've never had paw paws but Jaimie likes them. Our friend ordered a persimmon tree and I said that we should just trade some fruit when they start producing in a few years. I'm also going to replace the strawberry plants. Mine don't seem to want to make very productive strawberries.
Hopefully everything we've planted so far will come back and grow well. This year we'll be able to harvest more of the asparagus that was planted two summers ago. For herbs, we have mint, oregano, and lemon balm. We also have rhubarb, raspberries, saskatoon berry (also like a blueberry but without acidic soil), grapes (well, a small vine anyway), hops, and the trees: plum, peach, pear, apple, and two cherry trees.
Now I've just got to plan out the layout!
Last year I went to a seed exchange/seed ordering gather at a friend's house. Looking at seed catalogs and planning a garden allows you to look forward to when you can get back outside and not be cooped up for so long. Of course we've been outside, but not for extended periods of time because the cold will get to you. There's no dirt to dig into because the ground it frozen. Everything is resting and I know it's said that we should be too, but I need the anticipation of having the warm sun, and green growth, and getting my hands full of dirt. As with most people around late winter, I think I'm going slightly crazy being inside all the time. I know that I'm being productive and eating well, but I'd rather be eating it straight from the garden because I just can't make it into the house without popping some delicious veggie in my mouth. For now, I am still eating well, but I would even give up the three types of ice cream I just made (banana cream, peanut butter with chocolate bits, and Guinness) for a juicy home grown tomato.
My mouth is watering already.
So this weekend I went to the same aforementioned friend's home and looked through catalogs together, discussing things we want to grow this year. It really does put me in a completely different mindset to have the anticipation of spring, even though it's two weeks away and planting time is even further away. While perusing through the luscious looking fruits, I came across some unexpected finds. Many catalogs are carrying fruit trees generally suited for warmer climates but are rated as far north as zone 4 (where we live). While this is exciting to me, I also want to make certain that we're not ordering Monsanto products. We ordered from three catalogs altogether, and I am excited to have my garden plan. (Well, the plan for what I want to plant, but not yet where I want to plant it all).
 |
| Seed porn and some food porn in the upper left (and a cat tail) |
My friend has a great set-up to start from seed the things you need to start indoors. I am not so great with that, as my tomatoes are teeny, tiny little sprouts rather than plants at the end of 8 weeks. So, I will leave the indoor planting to the professional. She will provide me with these plants:
Ground cherries (delicious in pies, salsas, or just eaten fresh)
Tomatoes (beefsteak, pear, and sauce types)
Eggplant (mmm... baba ghanoush)
Basil
Thyme and other herbs
Hot peppers
Cantaloupe (yes, even this far north - it's called MN Midget)
Cucumbers
Watermelon
We will also be planting these:
Carrots
Parsnips (they didn't produce last year but I need to try again because the farmer's market doesn't carry them).
Turnips
Beets
Soybeans
Watermelon
onions
pumpkin
squash (zucchini and spaghetti, maybe some other winter squash too).
beans
peas
potatoes (red, blue, and whatever else I find for seed potatoes)
kale
lettuce
cilantro
nasturtiums
For the medicinal garden, we will start with:
Catnip
German chamomile
St John's Wort
Caledula
Sweet woodruff
(Eventually, I'd like to add skullcap, comfrey, mullein, wormwood, and white sage. We already have plantain, yarrow, and chickweed throughout the yard).
We ordered some white and red currant plants, honey berry plants (like blueberries, but earlier and without the acidic soil), a fig tree (yes, for zone 4) and two paw paw trees. I've never had paw paws but Jaimie likes them. Our friend ordered a persimmon tree and I said that we should just trade some fruit when they start producing in a few years. I'm also going to replace the strawberry plants. Mine don't seem to want to make very productive strawberries.
Hopefully everything we've planted so far will come back and grow well. This year we'll be able to harvest more of the asparagus that was planted two summers ago. For herbs, we have mint, oregano, and lemon balm. We also have rhubarb, raspberries, saskatoon berry (also like a blueberry but without acidic soil), grapes (well, a small vine anyway), hops, and the trees: plum, peach, pear, apple, and two cherry trees.
Now I've just got to plan out the layout!
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