Sit still?? never

Just when I think I will sit still. I get busier. I managed over this weekend to get a menu made out, which took days to make, Nothing sounded good. I am so worn out on certain meals that I just could not get that menu made. But finally, managed. And got the grocery shopping done. Of course going OVER budget. sigh. After that got the garage sorta cleaned up. Clovis the attack cat has been acting sick and it was freaking me out. Shes 15 years old. I dont expect her to live forever, but sheesh.. She was vomiting. A lot. (ok so clovis is a vomiter anyways but this was excessive) And shes was acting very very odd. Shes feral(Ok the older she gets the more we can call her somewhat domesticated.....Somewhat....) and she wanted attention constantly. Which is def not normal. Plus shedding like no tomorrow(way more than she ever has in previous years) So while at the store we realized.... We need to buy old cat food. Not just the regular outdoor stuff. She needs old lady stuff lol. Got her more hair ball treatment stuff. (which may be why she felt like crap) After giving her the hairball stuff for 4 days, and the senior food. Shes acting a lot better.  We can hope it stays that way.
My ankle is still in the brace(ok so it isnt at this exact moment...Im just sitting geez!!)I wont say its getting better. Or worse. Still got 2 weeks and a few days left in this thing. And not time to just sit and rest it.
The boys are doing ok. Driving me nuts. Mr B is in that preteen crap that is really starting to get on my nerves. Attitude... uggg..And of course the bear doesnt like it so... he gets a attitude lol. Im gonna work their tails off!!
Im trying to clean the fire out of this house. Did really good. But now its about time to declutter and maybe do a garage sale again. Need to come up with a LOT more to do that though(And its freaking 100 plus degrees out here right now UG!!)
Busy week ahead. Gymnastics CAP and work. Among other stuff.Got my fingers crossed once again for papa bear. Soon I hope to scream out the news (and no I am not prego.. wash your mouth out!!) If that happened it would be a damn miracle. Or I gots me a boyfriend lolol. (and on that note......)lolololl

Menu only for a week this time

Again some repeat due to a incident with the neighbors freezer that we helped eat the food before it went bad.(Reminders to people if you have a upright freezer...MAKE SURE THE DOOR IS CLOSED! )
1. Chili Dogs and chips
2. Crockpot chicken burritos
3.Taco salad
4. Chicken Fried steak mashed potatoes gravy and corn on the cob
5. Meatloaf, either fried or roasted potatoes
6. Egg Mcmuffins with canadian bacon
7.Frito Chili Pie
8. Pork Chops applesauce pasta and green beans
9. Bedder chedders and hot links

So there are a couple extras on there and still have more in the freezer. I always plan a few extras in just for those days that I dont feel like doing much. Mondays and Tuesdays are always crazy for us so the simple quick meals end up there. And this week I am going to be taking off a few days. I really need a time to recoop from the crazy no sleep these past 2 weeks. My body has hated me. I spent yesterday barely keeping my eyes open.  I probably spent only a few hours awake all day. On top of that I feel like I have been run over by a truck. During my days off I hope to get a new to me vehicle. :D I cant wait!!
Ok back to the menu, I know that I never say HOW I fix these items. Well.. honestly Im trying to make them healthier. Sometimes I think we eat WAY too much fatty foods. (umm the scale is telling me so) The hot dogs are all beef. I wont eat the weird leftover part hotdogs lol. Chicken fried steak...yeah that one is pretty fatty :) But I am a southern kinda gal..mostly. Meatloaf I drain as much of the fat as I can off it. Im really thinking its going to be roasted potatoes. As much as I loooooooove fried potatoes I need to limit the grease intake. Frito chili pie is a fatty food that we dont eat often. But it is super cheap on the budget. Pork chops will be grilled. So much healthier that way. I am trying to eliminate the amount of bread we eat. We eat a ton of bread. I like my bread....But its gonna be cut WAY down.
Yesterday during my incoherent awake moments I made deer jerky. It was a product of the neighbors freezer being left open. Did not want the deer meat to go bad. In all I did 4 lbs of deer meat. Still have 1lb left and some deer steak to do before it goes bad(wish me luck I have NEVER fixed deer steak!)

The crazy life update.. umm I have no idea. I really have walked through life like a zombie the past couple weeks. I do know Mr B is working his butt off on these grades, I am now doing the facebook for CAP, Lil bear is being a punk lol. This week will be a busy one, mainly because taxes should be here Tues, Then we can go get tires put on the car(it REALLY needs them) brakes windshield wipers.... And doing the great van hunt. Also have doc appt for lil bear, gymnastics, CAP, and who knows what else.

A new week

SO far the menu is working great. Im sticking to it and will have plenty into the next shopping trip that I should actually come in under budget. I cant wait to finally come under budget lol. Also probably taking on a overnight job that only last like 6 days but it makes ok money to make up for some of the shortcomings. Taxes will hopefully be able to be filed in the coming week(just waiting on one more paper... PLEASE let it come this week) As soon as we can get another vehicle I will definitely be all on board for Papa bear to get a new job. I want to make sure I have reliable transportation in case his hours change if he does indeed find a new job.

The boys are out of school tomorrow. I have no idea what we are going to do. Not much Im sure. Mr B is having some issues with school work and is now failing 2 classes so he is enduring the grounding. Just when I think his head on straight.... The weather is supposed to be super nice tomorrow and so I think Im gonna make at least one of them enjoy it haha.

We are supposed to take lil bear to the doc this week. Honestly I am so not happy with the way the new doc is handling the sleep apnea issue.. Including stating we should take him to a behavior specialist...That I think I will be asking to see the main doc. So far the different treatments have included steroid sprays up the nose for 2 weeks that stuffed him up where he had more trouble breathing. The next 2 weeks was supposed to be a mix of Unisom and breathe right strips. Lets say.. I gave the unisom for all of 2 days when I just couldnt bring myself to do it again. To me I am thinking.. hmmm the kid stops breathing in his sleep so why am I giving him something to relax him even more where he may stop breathing for longer.. Yeah no sense at all. Breathe right strips he likes.. Sucky part is they come in boxes of 12 for close to $4.50...So looks like I get to add to my budget for those. He does like how it makes it EASIER to breathe. But another crappy part... We still hear him stop breathing..so obviously thats not working all the way either. I need the other docs input now. this lady is just starting to tick me off lol.

Ok so my fingers are crossed that this is going to be a good week...... :D :D

Menu Menu Menu

YES I'm doing this AGAIN lol. Technically I never stopped. I don't make it by the days of the week, I make a list for 2 weeks plus extra quicker stuff JUST IN CASE. I do NOT shop by the week. Me and stores just do not get along. I honestly LOATHE to shop(yeah I know I'm a female...and your point is???) So here it goes..
DINNER
1.Chicken Fajitas, Chips, bean dip and salsa
2.Roast Carrots and potatoes
3.Baked Ziti, garlic toast, corn
4.Corn dog muffins, mac and cheese
5. Sub sammies and chips
6.Soft tacos refried beans and spanish rice
7.Biscuits and sausage gravy
8.Chicken and pasta alfredo, garlic bread, green beans
9. Pinto Beans, rice and corn bread
10.Spaghetti, green beans, Bread with butter
11. Grilled Cheese and crockpot potato soup
12. Chicken Strips and Fries
13.Turkey Casserole, Peas
14,Polish Sausage and dirty rice
15.Chicken and Dumplings Bread with butter
16.Smothered steak,rice
17.Bean burritos(havent decided with what yet)
18.Steak Baked potato blackeyed peas
19.Pulled Pork Sammies
20.Pizza
21. Loaded baked potato with BBQ pork

Breakfast and Lunch 
Now these are just mainly for weekends kids eat at school during the week(or for me)
Pancakes
scrambled eggs and toast
cereal
waffles
muffins

I dont eat lunch much...so not many diff things lol
sandwiches(we have lunch meat-PB-and cheese And 3 different types of bread)
ramen
any leftover
cheese tortillas
Tuna Mac

Crossed off what we have had already. Yesterday I made a big crockpot of pinto beans. These will be used for at least 4 different meals. We had the beans and cornbread tonight. We also have bean burritos that Im making refried beans for out of the already cooked beans. And the bean dip for chicken fahitas, as well as refried beans for soft taco night. When I do the roast Im also at the same time preparing the chicken for chicken and dumplings. The pulled pork sammies will also yeild the pork for the potatoes. Turkey is from Thanksgiving,....Trying to cut cost where I can, and also make 2 meals at once so that when a busy night hits, all I have to do is reheat. This is almost a full month of not repeating a meal as well. I HATE eating the same things multiple times in a month.
When we went to the store to buy the things needed, I also purchased some fruits. I hate to say it but 3 stores later and most the fruit looked like crap. So ended up with a few oranges, some apples and bananas. I wanted grapefruits.. but man they look like someone used them for batting practice.
Buying groceries is getting harder and harder. The prices are killing me. No matter what I cut out and how I only shop on sale etc.. Feeding our smaller family of four is becoming insane. I dont have any tips today on shopping in a budget lol. All I can say is do as much as you can from scratch and stay away from the peanut butter. I almost had a heart attack when I saw that price. I also noticed we have cut a lot of beef from our diet because of the price. Chicken is cheaper(not by much grr) Beans are a lot cheaper(although I noticed those have also gone up....) Most the meat I got was not expensive...ok well it was but I only buy enough to make meals from for most meals. Soups and stuff like that will. Smothered steak will not..

It really isnt hard to make a list of foods you like. I have a master list as well that we add to everytime we try a new recipe and like it. Make yourself a master list and you wont be eating spaghetti twice a week :D

A look at budgets once again

While we strive to get our heads back above water, I am happy to say 1 credit card is paid off! We are really ignoring a lot of the credit cards right now to focus on the most important(like Dave Ramsey says) But paying off 1 does make me feel good. We are still focusing on getting everything caught up, and making sure stuff is paid on time, and then back to credit cards our focus will get. Paying off that one, leaves me the minimum amount to put towards another one. and that will hopefully continue to work. Soon I hope to get other ones going down in balance :D

Budgets

All the talk over at The Happy Housewife regarding budgets, hits home hard. We have been living on a single income completely since October of 2008, when I lost my job. We were not prepared. Had no savings. SO to say it has been hard is a understatement. We have sacrificed a ton. And on top of all this, we decided to go back to homeschooling our kids. But as he said, we will do what is best for them.
Now my kids don't ask for much. They really are good kids. Even with their flaws, I couldn't ask for better. But it is VERY hard for us to take them to the store and see they want something.. But instead of asking for the item, They ask do we have $5 or $10 for this. It is heartbreaking to say no we don't. On top of all this we put ourselves in deep debt. Not as bad as I have seen others do. But it is not where we wanted to be. When I lost my job, we depended on a credit card...or 2...or 3...or more.. For just your basic necessities in life. Gas,food,some bills, and always running short. I see A LOT of people complaining when they see someone else doing better. And it's sad. I look at it this way. Those people who are doing good. Did it for themselves. And no matter how bad things look. We did it to ourselves. No one made us put ourselves in debt.
Now, the question is.....HOW do I get out of it?
First- We cancel those unnecessary items. Cable--gone Cell phones are next to go. Ok.. well that sums up our unnecessary items. Doesn't seem like much does it..Well we are not ones who decided we needed every new thing on the shelves lol.

Second-Selling things that we really don't have to have. We sold a lot of our stuff before. Now we are selling the other stuff. Our motor home is soon to find a new home(we hope) Now before you say MOTOR HOME!! HOW IN THE WORLD?? Its a 1976 Winnebago, that we traded a vehicle for. We love it. But well tent camping is fine by me. And I think it teaches more respect for nature.

Third-Find more money. My husband really likes me being home with the kids. And I have days I feel I should be in the workplace helping. Many days. I don't like him bearing the burden alone. I do have my online business. And it helps some. But instead of taking 10 years to pay off our debt. We want to hit it faster than that. I do not want to spend the next 10 years worrying about debt.


I am sure there is more I could do. I look for anyway I can to cut cost. And to make money. But these are the main things. I can live without a cell phone, a motor home, cable. I can't live without food, and my family. And my family means more to me than anything. And I am grateful to my husband, who would rather work 14 hours days, to keep me at home with our kids, so we can pay off debt and get ourselves to the place we want to be.

I think I can I think I can I think I can

Ahhh the story of my life..Right now, TRYING to make money.. Worried about Mr Bs bday thats coming up REALLY soon. And making decisions to either make a nice double digit party(hes turning 10!) or not do anything and pay the bills. Its a very frustrating predicament. One that we are sick of being in. There are those days you feel extremely bummed, because no matter how hard you try you cant get your head above water. And those other days, where ya know living on love is fine. For some reason Mr B's double digit party that we want to be special, is my breaking point. Seems like the month of July and the month of December we get hit by something. Both the months of birthdays. And then add Christmas in Dec. I hate having to decide, to pay a bill and not get a present. Or to not pay the bill, and get him a present. Ugg ok, going back to crunch numbers.

Are you a Swaggernaut yet??

Well if not you should be!!! Use this search engine And win bucks to use to buy things! HOW SIMPLE IS THAT?? I joined up a couple months ago and love it. Watching the bucks add up is great. I will be doing lots of my Christmas shopping this year from winning bucks JUST FOR SEARCHING! Click the swagbucks link. And then enter the code CASHISKING and get 5 free swagbucks! JUST for signing up!






I think its worth a shot! Don't you??