Day in the Life: May 2013

It's been awhile since I've done one of these Day in the Life posts...in fact, I'm not sure that I've done one since Becca was born. And since I can't even remember last week, I know there's no way that I'll remember these little details unless I write them all down. So...here's a look into a day in my life right now!

Tuesday May 28th, 2013:

2am- Becca is awake. I bring her back into our room, and nurse her in bed. Usually she falls right back asleep, but she didn't today. At about 3am, she's drowsy so I lay her back down in her crib, and she seems to go back down without a fuss...which is a miracle! We lay her down drowsy but awake at bedtime and she'll put herself to sleep just fine, but that doesn't normally happen for night wakeups or naps. Maybe I got lucky tonight?!

3:10am- Lizzy comes into our room and crawls into bed. I ask her what's wrong, and she says that she doesn't want the giant to knock her over. Should I walk her back to her room? Yes, probably. But I fall asleep before I do.

3:15am- Becca's screaming hysterically. I pick her up and try to soothe her, but it doesn't seem to help at all. I'm actually not sure that she's even awake. After 15 minutes of holding and rocking her while she screams, I go give her a dose of Tylenol. Maybe she's teething and hurts? At about 3:30, Justin comes out, and I pass Becca off to him.

3:40am- I think Becca's asleep. She calmed down almost immediately after I gave her the Tylenol...maybe that was all she needed? Justin comes back to bed. Lizzy karate chops me in the stomach...ouch. Praying fervently that Becca stays asleep!

4:00am- Becca's screaming again. It's one of THOSE days, apparently. I bring her back to bed with us, and she wants to comfort nurse. It's amazing how small a king size bed can feel when you add two kids to the mix.

5:50am- Becca sits up suddenly. Apparently, she's done nursing, and is wide awake and ready to play.

6:05am- I bring Becca out to the living room so that she (hopefully) doesn't wake Lizzy. I put her in the exersaucer, and lay down on the couch. I set the timer on my phone for 15 minutes, hoping to get a power nap while she plays.

6:19am- Becca starts fussing. It's as if she KNEW there was one minute left until my alarm was going to go off! She's rooting around, and wants to nurse again. Weird, she doesn't normally eat this often!

6:40am- I wrap Becca up in a blanket, and we snuggle on the couch. Justin is leaving for work, so he stops over for kisses and goodbyes. I turn on the TV and lay Becca on my chest. She's asleep by about 7am. I lay her down in her crib, and lay down on the couch, hoping that maybe I'll actually get a little more time to sleep.

7:05am- So much for that idea. Lizzy's awake, and also just woke up Becca by yelling "GOOD MORNING EVERYONE!" Yeah. Good morning to you too Lizzy.

7:20am- Becca's back asleep. I make coffee and breakfast for Lizzy and I. She requests coffee and then giggles hysterically. She ends up with some yogurt, and I have a wheat bagel with peanut butter, some fruit, and coffee.

7:35am- I hear Becca fuss again. I run back and shove her pacifier in her mouth. I think she's asleep again! Happy dance in the hallway.

7:40am- Lizzy goes to get dressed. Usually, we lay out her clothes for the whole week, but I haven't yet so she picks something out--a black long sleeve shirt with candy canes and  black leggings. Oh well, not a battle I'm going to fight today. She'll change if she's too warm. I put on a TV show for Lizzy and finally sit down to eat my breakfast. If I can, I also like to work on the Bible reading plan I'm doing--right now, I'm reading through the New Testament chronologically. I jot down a couple of notes and then move on to prepping Lizzy's notebook for school.

8-8:39am- School time for Lizzy. Today, we worked on tracing her name, a few sight words, matching colors, a simple addition problem, a Bible Verse, and some time drawing. Lizzy has just started drawing people, and it's adorable. Today, when I ask her to draw a picture of herself, she draws herself holding hands with her cousin Payton. She's adorable.

8:39am- Becca's awake, but isn't upset. I let her hang in her crib so that I can color in a coloring book with Lizzy for a bit longer.

8:45am- Lizzy and I go get Becca out of her crib. We all snuggle on the couch for a bit, and then I feed Becca.

9:20am- I put Becca on the floor with Lizzy while I go to the bathroom. Side Note: 9 times out of 10, I find myself saying, "I need to go potty." Which is fine when you're with your 3 year old...but sounds much crazier when you're talking to a group of adults. Anyway...I come out 30 seconds later, and find Becca on the couch with Lizzy. Lizzy says, "I picked her up! We're snuggling!" We have a conversation at least once a day about how it isn't safe for Lizzy to pick up Becca quite yet.

9:25-10:30am- The girls play in the living room while I do some situps, squats, and pushups. I've been trying to do a few of each on the days that we don't do Couch to 5k. And by "I've been trying", I mean that I've done it for two days. Anyway...I'm on the floor, so naturally I become a human jungle gym! After that, I pay some bills while the girls play a bit more, which goes much more slowly than normal due to about 3 timeouts for Lizzy for kicking and throwing toys.

10:35am- Becca won't make eye contact any more, so I know she's getting sleepy again. I wrap her up in a blanket, and we snuggle on the couch for awhile before I lay her down at about 11am.

11:15am- Suddenly, there are guys with jackhammers right outside our house. Am I being punked? I brace myself for a wakeup, but Becca stays asleep, so I fold and put away a mountain of laundry while Lizzy plays on our bed. 

11:30am- I make Lizzy and I lunch, and we sit together and eat at the counter.

12:00pm- Becca's awake and hungry. I nurse her and then feed her some real food too.  Lizzy heads to her room for some quiet time before her swimming lessons later. She usually has quiet time from about 12-2pm. Of that time, Lizzy usually only spends a little over an hour actually in her room. The rest of the time is spent going potty, or coming out due to some crazy excuse (my nose itches, there's something in my teeth, I heard an airplane, etc)

12:15-1pm- Becca and I read a couple of books, but she's way more interested in playing with Lizzy's legos. We play together for awhile, and then I set her in the clothes basket with them to play while I pick up the living room a bit. Becca pulls herself to standing inside the basket and tips it over. It scared her big time, and she cries. I pick her up and give her snuggles. She snuggles right in, and closes her eyes

1:30pm- Becca's asleep, so I lay her down in her crib. This is UNHEARD of--I can almost never seem to get Becca's naptime and Lizzy's quiet time to overlap! BEST DAY EVER!

1:40pm- Lizzy starts playing her guitar and singing at the top of her lungs, which wakes up Becca. Of course. Crap. I pat her back until she's asleep again...about 1:50ish?

1:50-2:15pm- I use the next few minutes to transfer some music to my phone for our C25K run tomorrow. I also transfer all my photos from my phone to the laptop. Exciting stuff!

2:15-2:45pm- I get a snack for Lizzy, and help her find a swimsuit, towel, and goggles for swimming lessons. Becca's up at about 2:30pm, and her shirt is totally wet from drool. Please pop through already, little teeth! Change Becca's clothes, and we're out the door by 2:45pm.

3:00-3:30pm- Swim lessons for Lizzy. Today is water safety day. Part of the day is putting on lifejackets and practicing rescue floating. Lizzy is totally fine floating on her back without a lifejacket, but put a lifejacket on the girl, and she FREAKS OUT in the water. She hates being in the water with a lifejacket. Becca watches with a combination of terror and amazement--she does NOT like Lizzy in goggles.

3:30-4:00pm- I help Lizzy shower in the locker room and then we get her dressed. I have some quarters in the diaper bag, so on our way home we swing by Taco Bell to get a $1 slush/limeade for Lizzy and me.

4:15pm- We're home. I get the chicken for dinner in a marinade, and then sit down on the couch with Becca to look up a recipe on my phone. I look down, and Becca is asleep. Okaaaaayyyyy. Becca doesn't usually nap again before dinner, but I won't complain. We have a meeting tonight anyway and may be home late, so it's probably good that she's napping.

4:20-5:10pm- Lizzy helps me get dinner ready. We're having teriyaki chicken, and Lizzy likes to help "paint" the chicken with sauce.

5:10-5:35pm- Justin is home! So good to see him! He wrestles on the floor with Lizzy a bit. Becca wakes up, and I bring her into the living room. When Justin says hi, she waves!!! We do this several more times, and she waves every time. We all clap and cheer loudly, and Becca grins. Love her. 

5:40pm-7:00pm- We plate up dinner and then hop in the car. Justin and I are on the church council, and we have a meeting tonight. We also need to spend some time at church prepping for a big community BBQ and carnival that Justin and I are in charge of. It's only a couple of weeks away and I feel really behind this year! The girls are thrilled to see their Uncle Stump and Papa at church :) We also see Chuck, who gives Justin the baseball schedule for the year--whew. I've felt like our June was kind of on hold until I knew when his games would be!

7:00-8:00pm- We run to Wal-Mart to pick up milk, stamps, and a few other things. On the way home, we stop by Ryan and Renee's house to drop some things off, and we all talk for a few minutes. All the kids climb in the backseat and talk and laugh. Such a blessing to live so close! By 8pm, we're home and starting the bedtime routine. By 8:30pm, everyone is in jammies, teeth brushed, Bible Story read, prayers said, and Justin lays Lizzy down while I feed Becca one last time.

8:45pm- I lay Becca down. She's awake, and fusses for a few minutes, but is asleep by about 9pm. Justin and I each do some chores around the house--dishes, putting away laundry, etc. I make a chocolate mug cake, and it's pretty meh.

9:30pm- Justin and I snuggle on the couch and watch a couple episodes of How I Met Your Mother. We just found the show on Netflix recently, and have been working our way through the seasons. I love this part of the day.

10:30pm- We head to bed. I'm sure Becca will be up in a couple hours (yep), so I've gotta get some sleep while I can! GOODNIGHT!

(Sidenote: I'm sad that Justin is missing from the pictures! I actually did take a couple of photos that he was in, but he was wearing his work shirt with his company name clearly visible, so I elected to omit them. But he was here!)

Monday Musings

{one} 

So, I only have one pair of maternity jeans. They're actually a pair that I bought AFTER Lizzy was born, in a size smaller than I wore during my pregnancy with her to help bridge the gap while I still didn't fit into normal jeans. Anyway, they've fit this whole pregnancy, so they're what I've been wearing...but they're just starting to feel a little small and uncomfortable. But who wants to buy MORE maternity clothes at almost 34 weeks? With a clothing budget as nonexistent small as mine, I certainly don't.

Anyway, I was complaining to Justin about this on Sunday morning during my 'I don't have anything church appropriate to wear' rant, Justin responded, "Why don't you just buy a couple pairs of leggings to wear under dresses and with longer shirts and stuff?" It seriously cracked me up that J was advocating the whole leggings-as-pants thing....but sold.

{two}

I've not done a single bit of fall decorating this year...it is still in the 70's and 80's around here, so it doesn't really feel like fall yet. That said, I'm starting to really get antsy for mums, and yarn wreaths, and cozy warm blankets tossed over the couch. I feel a little conflicted about doing it--I've always had a hard time spending money on things like decor because they feel kind of frivilous to me when we're on a tight budget, like we always are. But on the other hand, even $20 on mums and a wreath form goes a long way towards making a house feel like a home...and surely we can find that somewhere in the budget.

{three} 

So, Justin's brother Ryan is turning 30 this month. The boys decided that to celebrate, they wanted to do this burger challenge that a local restaurant has--basically, you have to eat 5.5 pounds of food and a drink in 45 minutes. The time limit used to be 35 minutes, but no one had been able to complete it, so they bumped it to 45 minutes. Only one guy has ever completed it. So, the boys went on Saturday...and if you've ever wondered what 5.5 pounds of food looks like, this is it:

{I didn't go to watch, but I think the breakdown went like this: two pounds of burger, 1 pound of bacon, 1/2 pound of cheddar cheese, tomato,pickles,onion and lettuce, mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup served on a grilled 10 inch sesame seed bun along with 1 and 1/2 pounds of fries. Plus a drink}

Justin had been telling me for months that he could eat it no sweat...and while I'm pretty confident that I've seen him eat that much food before, he couldn't do it on Saturday. The only one that completed the challenge was Ryan...he ate it all, and in 34 minutes...which means that he now holds the record. Which means that I'm 100% sure that Justin is going to want to try and beat it someday ;) 

{four}

So, I did end up calling my doctor about the vision stuff that I mentioned in my last pregnancy post. He decided that he wanted me to go in for an EKG, blood work, and a few other tests, and so that's how I spent my Thursday afternoon. They said that everything came back normal, except that my thyroid was a little borderline, so they'll re-test it this week and then go from there. Basically though, it just sounds like vision issues and being kind of dizzy are par for the course for me when I'm pregnant. What can ya do? 

{five} 

Lizzy has been getting up ridiculously early for the past week or so. Like 4am early. And I'm just not comfortable with her running around all through the house at 4am while we're sleeping. Sometimes, she'll crawl into bed with us, which doesn't phase Justin at all, but totally wakes me up, especially since she doesn't usually ever go back to sleep. I keep looking at those toddler alarm clocks you can buy that change colors when it's okay for the kid to get up and out of bed--does anyone have one? I'm not sure whether or not Lizzy would actually stay in her room until the clock changed colors, but I feel like it might be worth a shot!

How to Make Fruit Leather

So last week, a local farm was offering you-pick peaches for about 50 cents a pound. Lizzy and I went, picked for about half an hour, filled our two boxes, and went to leave. I'm still not quite sure how this happened, but we had picked almost 70 pounds of peaches!

It didn't seem like a lot at first. But then, I'd practically peel and slice peaches to freeze all day long, and realize that it didn't even look like I'd made a DENT in the process. So, when I saw that my friend Kaitlin's sister (Megan) posted about making fruit leather out of the peaches she'd picked, I decided to give it a try and scoured Google/Pinterest looking for recipes. I ended up mostly following the directions from this recipe, with a few small variations, and it really was pretty easy.

Here's what you need: 
-Fruit of your choice
-Blender or food processor
-Saran Wrap OR a silpat baking sheet
-Cookie Sheet
-If using peaches, a little lemon juice
-To be at home for 6+ hours

First, pre-heat your oven to the lowest possible setting (I tried both 175 degrees and 200 degrees and had success with both). Then, slice your fruit into chunks that will be manageable by your blender/food processor. I was pureeing big batches of peaches at a time and then sticking the puree in the fridge to use as needed for the fruit leather, so I'm not sure how much you'd need for a single batch, but I'd probably guess about 3 cups of sliced/prepared fruit.

Then, blend away! If you're using peaches, I'd suggest adding a couple squirts of lemon juice to help brighten the flavor and keep the peaches from turning brown too quickly. Many recipes will also recommend adding honey, agave, or sugar at this stage, but I probably wouldn't unless your fruit was really really under-ripe and had no natural flavor.

-Then, take a cookie sheet and lay a single sheet of Saran-Wrap over the sheet, allowing a few extra inches of plastic wrap on each end for shrinkage. Smooth out as many wrinkles as possible, but do not pull the plastic wrap tight around the edges of the pan. Yes, you're going to put the Saran-Wrap in the oven. I know...it seems weird. But most Saran-Wrap is microwave safe, and at 175 degrees, your oven is probably a lot less warm than your microwave would be. That said, if you just can't get past the idea of putting Saran-Wrap in the oven, then use a Silpat baking sheet instead. I do not suggest using parchment paper or wax paper. The fruit leather will stick to both, I promise you.

Anyway, pour a smallish amount of your fruit puree onto the cookie sheet. The aim is to just cover the surface area of the cookie sheet--I'd say you want your puree to be 1/8" thick or less, and as uniform in thickness as possible. If you have one of those off-set frosting spreaders for cakes, this would be a perfect thing to use it for. I don't have one, so I just tilted the pan this way and that until the puree had covered most of the entire pan.

(Mine looked like this when it was all spread out)

Then, pop them into the oven. I did two batches at a time with no problem. Now, if you're baking at 175 or lower, I'd plan to check on the fruit leather after 4 hours. If you're baking at 200, check it after 3. Close the oven door, and walk away!

When you come back to check the fruit leather, you'll want to gently press a clean finger into the center of the pan. The fruit leather is done when you can remove your finger without getting any fruit residue. When baking at 175, this took about 6 hours. When baking at 200, this sometimes took more like 4. After that first initial check, you'll probably want to check pretty frequently, because the fruit leather tends to go from not-done to over-done really fast.

Now, here's the part that gets frustrating for a lot of people--the edges usually get done much more quickly than the middle. So, by the time the center is done and no longer tacky, the edges are usually pretty crispy. BUT, you can usually save it! Once you remove the pan from the oven, just pray the edges with a little water in a squirt bottle (or blot with a damp paper towel) and let sit for a half an hour or so. This usually re-hydrates the fruit leather enough to make it roll-able. Is the whole pan crispy? Don't toss it out-- you can still eat it! The crunchiness is nice over ice cream, or as a garnish. Or just to eat...because it is GOOD. Even when it's crunchy. Basically, don't stress over it. 

And lastly, you're ready to roll. I usually rolled up the whole pan of fruit leather at once, and then used clean scissors to slice the large roll into individual servings. I tossed the individual servings into a mason jar for storage. I have no doubt these things will get eaten really quickly in our house, so I didn't bother to make them cute, but you could also transfer them to individual pieces of parchment paper, roll them up, and tie with baker's twine. If you're fancy. But I'm not fancy, so there.

Linking up with AP for Project Pinterest!

 

This morning....

-I'm thinking of the stuffed zucchini recipe that I made for dinner last night. I was inspired by this awesome recipe from Annie's Eats:

Source: annies-eats.com via Meredith on Pinterest

But I was running short on time and ingredients, and so I just combined ground beef, pasta sauce, and sprinkled a bit of parmesan cheese on top (and baked in a water bath). They were delicious. I think Justin ate 3 of them. So, I can't even imagine how much more delicious the Annie's Eats version would be!

-I'm nervous about my skin cancer follow-up appointment tomorrow afternoon, even though I don't have any reason to think that I should be.

-I'm beyond irritated with OHSU, who handled the skin cancer fiasco, and who also sent me a letter that we received yesterday saying that they'd be sending us to collections as of today for non-payment.

Only? According to my records and my bank account, we last made a payment on 6/11/12 over the phone...so I have no idea what this "non-payment" crap is about. Literally, every month since the procedure in January, there has been some sort of issue with OHSU, and I'm tired of spending time each month on the phone with them trying to explain how they've messed up...again. I've done my share of paying on medical bills in my life, and literally no one has handled it as poorly as OHSU.

-I'm excited about the raspberry freezer jam that I made yesterday. If you've ever wanted to make jam, you should check out this photo tutorial that I did last year, because it literally takes 30 minutes and is the easiest and best thing in the world. And there's no cooking or baking involved whatsoever. 

-I'm loving this photo that Kaitlin snapped of Lizzy last Monday while we were all berry picking. I totally stole it off Facebook. Speaking of berry picking...I really probably should, you know, WASH the blueberries that we picked a week ago, and actually do something with them.

-I'm excited about this stack of books that I got at the library for $1, total. Love their fill-a-bag sales!

-I'm still laughing about the shirt that I got for Justin (bottom photo) on clearance for $3 for himwhile he and the other Justin tried their hand at making beer for the first time this past weekend. They've totally decided that their first batch of beer will be the BEST! BEER! EVER! (even if it doesn't turn out), just because they made it. I think they're probably right! 

What I Ate This Week

So, on this post last week, I showed you how we grocery shopped on (less than) a food stamps budget this month. I also promised to come back today with photos of what I ate for the past week, and I'm here to deliver!

Friday- Homemade (freezer) breakfast burrito with hash browns, sausage, bacon, and cheese (top left)/ Lizzy and I split some pasta salad, peppers, carrots, Yumm sauce, apple, and crackers with PB (top middle)/ brown rice, beans, Caribbean Jerk Beef Shish-ka-bobs, and fresh fruit salad (top right)

Saturday-Toast with peanut butter, banana, & honey. Fruit Salad, and coffee (bottom left) / Leftovers from dinner Friday night (bottom middle)/ BBQ Chicken and Salads at my parent's house (no photo).

Sunday- wheat toast with PB and jam/ brown rice, black beans, Yumm sauce, cheese, tomato, pepper, (homemade Yumm cup) and a peach/ crock pot beef roast, baked potato, steamed veggies with some cheese, strawberries.

Monday- yogurt with strawberries plus coffee, homemade Yumm cup, apple, some cheese (no cheese in Yumm cup)/ beef enchilada (leftover from Sunday's roast) with green sauce, milk, strawberries

Tuesday- breakfast burrito and a peach/leftover roast, steamed veggies, banana, and lemonade/leftover enchilada and an apple.

Wednesday- wheat toast with banana, peanut butter, and honey plus coffee/ split a 6inch turkey subway with Lizzy and cheddar Sunchips/ homemade pistachio pesto over wheat pasta and chicken, blueberries.

On Tuesday, I also was getting a hankering for something sweet, so I made these flour-less fudge cookies, which I really really liked. 

And then today, things looked like this:

Thursday: potluck at Mom's group--I tried eggs, a scone, and monkey bread/ grilled chicken with Yumm sauce, spinach salad, and strawberries (I also ate a breakfast burrito at about 3pm because I was still really hungry)/ homemade blackberry cobbler using applesauce instead of butter.

So here's what I have to say about shopping on a super tight grocery budget like ours:

• It often includes eating the same or similar things several days in a row, which can be boring at times, but helps from wasting food. My lunches are usually leftovers from dinner (Justin usually packs a sandwich for his lunch, and about half the time Lizzy has what I'm having and half the time she has a sandwich of some kind along with fruit and veggies). 
• It doesn't include a lot of convenience food or snacks. Sometimes, choosing to snack on an apple and cheese means that we have less cheese for dinner that night...which is generally fine, but just makes you think about what you're eating differently (am I really hungry, or do I just want something to munch on?) Most treats are homemade. We don't usually drink anything other than water, milk, and coffee, though I do love to splurge on good lemonade when we can. I've gotta meal plan in advance (and stick with it no matter how tired I am) since there's not really a last minute option like macaroni and cheese or frozen lasagna/pizza. I'm not gonna lie, sometimes it sucks, and all I want to do is grab a pizza and a soda (oh goodness, that sounds so good right now!). 
• I think we do a pretty decent job of eating fairly non-processed foods, but I could (and have at times) gone even more "scratch" than you saw this particular week--making bread, stock from scratch instead of canned, soaking beans instead of canned beans, etc. It helps save money, but is also a significant amount of additional work. 
• Justin likes to have meat every night at dinner. I'm not quite so attached to meat, so I often do the rice and beans thing for lunch because it's less expensive while still being filling.
• We usually eat a LOT more spinach salads since they're filling and inexpensive. But salads have been my one pregnancy aversion this time around, so you didn't see as much of it this particular week.  
• It's not possible to eat this much fruit on this budget during the winter.  
• I think it would be VERY HARD to shop on this type of a budget with food allergies. 

That's all for now! Any questions? Anybody else out there on a similar grocery budget have any tips you want to toss into the ring? 

Food Stamp Budget Grocery Shopping

As I mentioned in this post about the 2012 Farm Bill, one of the most important (and most hotly debated) part of the whole bill is the section that funds the SNAP (Food Stamps) program. I challenged my readers to live on the "food stamps budget", which is about $31 per person per week ($496 per month for a family of four) before making a decision about whether they think the program should be cut or extended. As a side note, the actual subsidy that a person receives on food stamps varies by their income, but for these purposes, the $31/week seems to be the generally accepted amount.

In the above linked post, I also mentioned that our family grocery budget is often right about $200 per month. And honestly, it didn't get down to that level until it was a necessity rather than an ideal. Some months, when we have more discretionary income, that number creeps back up to $300 or so. But the past few months have been tight money-wise. Honestly, in the past few months, we're sometimes scrambling to sell things on Craigslist or have a garage sale to make ends meet, so nearly every category of our budget has been slashed. It isn't always fun...to be totally honest, after Justin called me and told me the amount of his paycheck yesterday, I stomped my feet and cried and yelled at God that I was tired of all this trusting in Him for provision business, and that I just wanted to be able to go buy a baby outfit after our gender ultrasound this month, or go out to dinner for our anniversary...or build our farmhouse table, or just to be able to buy some darn cookies at the grocery store. It sucks not to have discretionary money in the budget. But then I came across this on Pinterest again:

Source: stumbleupon.com via Meredith on Pinterest

I don't care whether all the statistics are accurate--it was the reality check that I needed. It might suck to feel like we're poor, but even so, we are richer and more blessed than most. And those things I stomped my feet and yelled at God about? None of them are necessities, really. And the things that are necessities? Have been provided for in miraculous ways. So, I got myself together, and did what I always do on the last day of the month--a meal plan. And then I went grocery shopping, with our $200 budget in mind--which I know is just reality for lots of families, on food stamps or not. I try to shop once every two weeks, buying the bigger items such as cheese and meat at the beginning of the month. I buy produce and milk as needed. If all goes according to plan, I intend to take photos of what all we're eating this week and post them next Friday, so I won't go into the whole meal plan. Anyway, here's what I got:

{Please excuse my dirty floors}

Here's the run-down....keep in mind that we have meat in the freezer from our cow purchase.

5 dozen eggs- $5.98

16 oz frozen corn- $0.95

String cheese- $2.98

32oz Raspberry yogurt- $1.98

10 individual yogurts- $.44 each

2 eight ounce blocks of neufatchel cream cheese- $1.18 each

Shredded mozzarella cheese- $5.98

2lb block of cheddar cheese- $4.88

Two packages of Bar-S Bacon- $1.99 each

Large Jimmy Dean sausage- $5.89

2 packs frozen hash browns- $1.18 each

Frozen blackberries- $2.38

Frozen raspberries- $2.68

Original Yumm Sauce- $5.34

Sliced mushrooms- $1.49

Baby carrots- $0.79

Red Delicious apples- 2.83 pounds @ $0.89/lb

Jarred Applesauce- $1.88

Two 16 count flour tortilla- $4.68 each

10 pounds unbleached flour- $3.66

2 cans tomato sauce- two for $0.99 total

2 packets Italian dressing mix- $0.55 each

Three pack of fast-rising yeast- $0.88

Whole-wheat Ritz-$2.98

2 large cans of spaghetti sauce- $0.88 each

Folgers Coffee (small container)- $3.88

Jar of crushed garlic- $1.69

Red bell peppers- 0.64 pounds @ $1.98/lb

Bananas- 4.41 pounds @ $0.54/lb

5 pounds of potatoes- $1.49

Yellow Squash- 0.98 pounds @ $0.79/lb

Fuji apples- 3.29 pounds @$0.89/lb

Jar of medium black olives- $0.98

Green onions- $0.59

Two large cans baked beans- $1.78 each

Two loaves wheat bread- $2.18 each

Two containers strawberries- $1.48 each

6 oz blueberries- $1.89

Peaches-2.01 pounds @ $1.49/lb

Calico Cheese- $2.13

Total: $125.21, leaving $74.79 for the rest of the month. I'll keep y'all posted :)

Do Certain Recipes Intimidate Anyone Else?

I didn't cook a lot growing up, not because my mom didn't cook (she is an awesome cook and cooked all the time), but just because I had no interest in it. Sometime in college, I discovered that I actually do like to cook, and if I do say so myself, I think I've made quite a bit of progress cooking wise in just over 5 years! That said, there have always been a few recipes out there that just straight up intimidated me for some reason. I'd watch other people make them and profess how easy they are, but I was still scared to give them a shot.

Freezer Jam was one such instance, but I think I've conquered that one now thanks to this recipe (step-by-step with photos!). Beef roasts were another, but again, I think I've got that down now. If you can believe it, homemade ice cream even intimidated me for awhile, but now it's no biggie. Homemade bread--specifically yeast bread--was one that intimidated me for a LONG time, but a birthday gift of this book (non-affiliate link) from Justin last year made me love to bake artisan breads.

But cinnamon rolls? They were still intimidating. I'd attempted them once before, and they just didn't turn out as I'd hoped. They tasted good, but it was just a sticky, gooey, pain-in-the-butt mess that took FOREVER. But leave it to pregnancy to cause another inconvenient craving, which is how I found myself cleaning the kitchen last night at 6pm so that I could make cinnamon rolls from scratch. I enlisted Lizzy's help, and it actually wasn't too bad. Justin and I were each munching on a warm cinnamon roll by about 9:15pm (well, I was munching on one, he was munching on five).

And after Lizzy and I each had one this morning, there were only 2 of fifteen left (as a side note, cinnamon rolls are very hard to photograph!). Hopefully, Justin took some to work to share! Otherwise, I'm very jealous that he can eat 10 cinnamon rolls within 24 hours and not instantly gain 10 pounds. But I digress. If you're interested, here's the recipe, which was modified slightly from Kaitlyn Cooks, because I don't think some of the steps are absolutely necessary--will they improve your end result? I'm sure they will...but you'll still get a good result leaving the dough in your mixer rather than using both a mixer AND turning it out on a wood board...and I'm just all about simple.Which probably explains why I don't have nearly as making baking successes as cooking successes, since baking tends to require being a bit more precise, and you know, actually following the recipe. But, adding my own little spin on things worked here, so I'm gonna roll with it.

Dough Ingredients:

• 1 cup milk, warmed in the microwave for about 30 seconds.
• 2 1/2 tsp of active dry yeast (for me, this was about 1.5 packages)
• 1/2 cup of white sugar
• 2 room temperature eggs (they can't be cold, let them sit in warm water for a few minutes)
• 1/3 cup butter, melted 
• 1 tsp salt
• 5 cups AP flour

Filling Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup butter, softened

Cream Cheese Glaze:

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3-4 tbsp of milk

Directions: Add the warm milk to the bowl of a stand mixer and stir in the sugar, sprinkle with the yeast. Wait about 5-10 minutes. Add the melted butter, eggs and salt and mix together using the paddle attachment for a Kitchenaid mixer. Mix in the flour cup by cup switching over to the dough hook when the dough forms a ball. Knead in the stand mixer, adding a little more flour if the dough is too sticky (the original recipe said to knead the dough in the mixer for 8 minutes--I didn't time it, and probably only kneaded for 4 or 5). The dough should be smooth and elastic. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise about 1-1.5 hours. Punch down, re-cover, and let rest for 10 minutes.

Put dough on a lightly floured (and preferably clean) counter/table Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough lengthwise and cut into at least 12 rolls (I got 15 easily). Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch glass baking pan.

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 F.  Bake rolls for 15 minutes or until golden brown (see original recipe for an overnight option). While the cinnamon rolls are baking. Add the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla to your stand mixer bowl and beat with the whisk attachment until smooth, remembering to scrape down the sides and bottom. Add the milk tbsp by tbsp to thin out the glaze. Top hot rolls, fresh out of the oven, with a spoonful of glaze. Use the backside of the spoon to spread it. Enjoy these little guys warm.

They were worth cleaning the kitchen for the first time in weeks, for sure! 

As far as intimidating recipes go, anyone out there relate and have something that intimidates you to make? I think for me, the only one left that really makes me nervous is Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon, which I have wanted to make since I saw Julie & Julia, but still haven't attempted even though I really, really want to! I know there are simplified recipes out there, but I really want to go big and try the "original".

Source: manusmenu.com via Meredith on Pinterest

Someday...I will make it, even though it's sort of an all-day affair. I WILL, and it will be delicious. 

Delicious Food & A Burning Question of the Day.

So, there's this little hamburger joint in Southern Oregon that I'm seriously campaigning for Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives to come visit. I grew up in Southern Oregon, but I'd never been to this little burger place until about two years ago, and now I'm seriously hooked because the burgers available are just so delicious and unique. It's a small little place called Jaspers Cafe, but it is always busy, and there are literally people who come every single day. It's that good.

I mean, you want to put pastrami on your burger? Yeah, they do that. You want a burger with BBQ sauce, pineapple, bacon, and an onion ring? They've got it. You want a burger with peanut butter, bacon, and raspberry chipotle? Yep, they do that too (and while I was very suspect at first, it is GOOD). You want a burger topped with chorizo, a fried egg, bacon, and avocado? Yep, it's on the menu. A burger with blue cheese, apples, red grapes, and candied pecans? Yes, you can get that. Or maybe a kangaroo burger? Why yes, you can have that too. Or maybe a burger topped with a pot sticker, and then a sriracha, sweet chili, and ginger cream cheese. Yep, they've got it (and I'm dying to try it). And even with burgers like THAT, you're still paying $6-$8 a burger. It is seriously amazing, and if you're a local reader and haven't been, you need to go immediately. I'm serious.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, I saw on Facebook that they were asking people to send in photos of the food that they ordered so that they could put it on their website. We hadn't been in to eat in awhile since our eating out budget has basically been zero for the past few months, so I didn't have any photos to send in. However, I volunteered to just come in for a couple of hours one day and take photos of whatever was ordered. They said, "That would be great! We'll feed you!" and I said SOLD as fast as the words could leave my lips. So, I went in on Friday, and it was a TON of fun!

It was pointed out to me via Facebook that you can actually see the image of a dog in this last photo. Do you see it? Obviously, it was a funny coincidence and not intentional...but now I kinda think it should be the Jaspers mascot ;) 

 Anyway, food photography is not without its own learning curve and challenges, especially when you're not styling things yourself and are just shooting on the fly. Still, I was really happy with how these turned out, and I hope Jaspers loves them too, though I haven't heard back from them yet about what they thought! The photos must have done their job to some extent, because after editing them all morning, we proceeded to go back to eat there for lunch on Saturday  :)

Do you have a local restaurant that serves food like no place else and is your absolute favorite? What's the best part about it?