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Roberts

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Roberts

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Roberts

My Zentangle for the Diva Challenge #254

This zentangle was done on the bottom of the box of chocolates that my husband gave me for Valentines Day this year. The tangles used are Auraknot and footlites. Not my best work, but its the best I could do with a sharpie and a ball point pen. This was also my first attempt at Auraknot. I am looking forward to practicing it more.

Rest of January

This month kind of got out of hand. We could have done better on the no spending. We did try our first attempt at pot sickers, which tasted good but fell apart. We used venison but some of the measurements were off so it was a little dry. When we did cook, we were great at getting inventive with our food. We tried to only buy fresh veggies as well as bread and cheese. We ate almost all our leftovers too. We are still trying not to go crazy with the spending for February,  but our pantry stores are low. What we know we won't eat, I am going to donate to the local food shelter.

We have been making progress on the final phase of our basement remodel. I actually unpacked a large number of boxes and put things away. It's been years since some of that stuff has seen the light of day. Some will go to new homes when garage sale season is here.

My parents are nearby this month,  so I have some cleaning to do before they come visit for the weekend.

Week 2 Recap

1/3/15 - in our house, Saturday is Mommy's day to sleep in. The Hubby made corn beef hash and sunny side up eggs for breakfast. The Kurig wasn't working so we had white Russians with breakfast.  We went sledding in the small window there was good enough weather to do so. Then we ventured out to find some new pants for my weed of a daughter and a new snow outfit. The one she has been using was two sizes to small. We caved at lunch and bought some McDonald's,  but stayed to the dollar menu and avoided the happy meal. At this point we planned on doing some grocery shopping, but the weather became an issue. For dinner we made mac and cheese with spam and canned peas. DD's choice.

1/4/15 - Sunday, Daddy's day to sleep in. Gave the kid some shredded mini wheats and I had the leftover hash. After a while, I woke up the hubby and then started on laundry and rearranged DD'S closet and dresser so she can start picking out her own clothes. Then we had some Ramen with frozen green beans for lunch aka in our house as slurpy noodles. Since we still needed to go grocery shopping for milk and a few other household items, we ventured out into the cold after nap time. We caved again and got Subway. Daddy split his with DD and I got a six inch. Avoiding the kids meal again. The we went to Walmart and got everything on our small list. The Hubby talked about replenishing some food items, but I stuck to my guns and said no. If we really like a meal, we will just have to remember when we talk about what items to stock our pantry with when this exercise is over. Some items were high priced so we still spent over $100. We didn't get anything that wasn't on our list, so feeling proud there. The bonus came when filling up my gas tank on the way home. I haven't paid under $25 to fill up a tank since 2004!

1/5/15 - I was running late today so I grabbed one of DD's gogurts for breakfast. For lunch, the hubby made us open face tuna melts with bacon weaves. So good. That was the last of the tuna. Hubby made brisket sandwiches from some leftovers. I developed a head ache shortly after dinner and went to bed.

1/6/15 - went out to lunch today. Then after DD'S dance class, came home and had leftover mac and cheese.

1/7/15 - had soup for lunch.  Hubby made a super yummy brisket and pulled pork chili from stored meet in the freezer.

1/8/15 - had leftover chili for lunch. Kidd and hubby had peanut butter and honey sanfwiches. Made chicken parm with a mix of remaining pastas from mostly empty boxes and the last of the chicken patties from the freezer. While we were cooking dinner, we thought about and made a list of what we want to stick our pantry with after the purge. Then we played some games with DD to help her learn her letters. We also tough her Go Fish.

1/9/15 - I had leftovers from last night. Dinner was corned beef that I cooled in the crock pot all day, with sliced and sautéed Brussels Sprouts.  DD even ate all her dinner in under 7 minutes. We played some go fish, then watched some Max Steel. DD told the hubby "Daddy get your but moving". Hubby replied with "is that how you are supposed to talk to me?" To which she replied "No. Daddy will you please get your but moving?" We both just laughed.

Catching up

It has been 1598 days since my last post. A lot can happened in 4 years, 4 months and 15 days. Let's do a quick recap from where we left off...

8/18/10 - When I wrote this post I was dealing with a lot of personal issues. Mostly, depression from dealing with infertility. We had been trying to get pregnant since early 2008. The longer it took, and the more problems that arose, the more the people around me were successful in getting pregnant. So when I heard about someone terminating their pregnancy, after announcing to their family they were going to be grandparents, I was furious.

Little did I know, only 4 months later, I would find out I was pregnant after a successful insemination.

8/6/11, 11:40pm - With a final push, my daughter takes her first breath in this world. An easy healthy pregnancy under my belt and I was ready for motherhood. I figure the lack of morning sickness and any other complications was the universe's way of apologizing for the hardships of trying to conceive.

Sleepless nights and troubles with my husband bottle feeding when I was not around to nurse the little one are all part of the parenthood package. I did have many blessings through the first year. My child, obviously,  as well as an abundance of breast milk. I had such a surplus,  I donated 930 ounces to The Mothers Milk Bank in Denver, CO to help feed premature and sick babies.

My Darling Daughter (DD) nursed until 16 months old. She refused my breast on Christmas eve 2012.  I have become very passionate about breastfeeding and encourage and support all the new mothers in my life. I highly recommend The La Leche League's The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding.

I received two promotions at work.

My husband started his own landscaping business.

We have traveled a lot more then usual: California five times, Daytona Beach, Seattle, South Dakota a few times, and most recently Texas for a cousins wedding. Family has visited us, even some that have not visited before.

Two of our close friends moved to the area from California, both living with us breifly. My parents are planning a move to be closer to us this year, as well as another school friend with her family.

My DD is now three and as stubborn as me. We're potty training, going to dance classes and crafting. She has every family member wrapped around her finger but seems to have a particularly special bond with her Uncle.

Now that we are mostly up to date, we can move on to why I came back to the blog. My husband and I, as most families are this time of year, are broke. One way we are working on tightening our belts is to not buy food, except staples/perishables like milk, eggs, bread etc. We plan to eat our way through our pantry improvising meals as we go.

12/30/14 - made diner with egg noodles, cream of chicken soup, canned diced tomatoes,  canned carrots, leftover onion from Christmas dinner. It was tasty and a hit.

12/31/14 - Made tacos for dinner with leftover brisket, taco shells from an office food fest (we don't buy the shells, we prefer fresh), salsa, cheese, sour cream, leftover beans from nachos. We did buy lettuce for this meal. These were super tasty.

1/1/15 - Breakfast was pancakes from the last of our bisquick,  we were out of our usual pancake mix, with frozen blueberries.
Lunch was homemade gnocchi from leftover Christmas mashed potatoes in a lemon butter sauce with mini bell peppers.
Diner was nachos using the last of the leftover beans, olives, cheese, salsa, sour cream. I paired it with a Republic Margarita with the tequila we picked up in Texas.

This will not become a food blog. I just want to record the meals we make from what is in our pantry to help keep me focused on the goal of curbing our eating out spending habbits, our health, and cleaning out our overstocked pantry and not wasting the money that went in to stocking it.

Happy New Year.

Decisions to last a lifetime

Sometimes when we make a decision we don't think of the consequences. How they will affect us and others. Today, tomorrow, years down the road. We all make mistakes we need to live with. I just hope she can.

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Is it good news or bad news?

I found out some interesting news today about someone in my life. I'm having conflicting feelings about it. I feel disappointed, happy, sad, self-pity, uncertainty and hope. There are three ways this could go. I hope she can make informed decisions and the one that is right for her.

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Girls Night Out

Last night was the Third Annual Girls Night Out here in Sidney. I went with a few of my friends. It was a great time. I took the opportunity of the sales to spend some money within the community. I love The Book Corner but most of the time can't afford their prices. So its nice when I can. I picked up Burned by P.C. and Kristin Cast. I had been waiting for it to come out so I am excited to start reading it. I also found Nightlight. Its a spoof on Twilight so I am really excited to read that. I also picked up a new book light. Then we headed over to Imagine That and I picked up something for David's graduation party in a few weeks. Then the girls and I wandered around downtown waiting for the movie to start. This year it was Its Complicated which was hysterical. I love a full movie theater. It just makes the experience more enjoyable. I had lots of cool goodies in my goodie bag and had a great time exploring stores I have never gone into before. I hope next year is just as enjoyable. I couldn't have asked for better weather either.

Have you seen my voice?

So I have been sick since Sunday last. It started out as an achy kind of feeling with mild chest congestion. I didn't go to work Monday or Tuesday. Wednesday I decided I might as well go back to work. There doing some demo work in my office to rearrange some cubes. Which I am excited about since I will be getting a bigger cube. Anyway, so I was feeling better but not fantastic. Last night I had a Passion Party that I didn't want to back out of. But with all the talking for my presentation I have now lost my voice. I couldn't take it anymore this morning so I went to Wal-Mart to get some cough syrup. Felt like an addict taking it as soon as I was out of the store. I need my fix man give me the red stuff. Ha. Then I woke up David so we could go to the spring expo. Where I have since insured that fact that my voice is gone by talking. But I did get to have lunch with some friends which was fun minus the fact that I could no longer join in the conversation. So now I am hopefully going to give my throat a rest. Maybe a nap too.

It's Been A While

Not much has been going on. I've been in a bit of a slump. Just kind of hanging out with the hubby and friends. But the weather is turning and I am starting to feel energized again. Time for spring cleaning and BBQs. This past winter was really draining on me. I just hope the weather holds for a while.

I'm starting to get really busy. My home based business is doing its spring boom. Which is a blessing and a curse. I love the money but don't like the time I put into it. Every time I think about stopping I get lots of business and can't tell people, "No, I don't want your money. Sorry."

We remodeled our upstairs bathroom in February. It turned out really nice. From drab grey to vivid blue and white. It looks very clean. We are accenting it with seashells. Kind of played out but I like it.

David and I have been trying to get pregnant for about a year now. Some minor issues that we have worked out with the doctor and were hoping to see results soon. David bought me a baby blanket and a "My First Teddy" for my birthday. It was really sweet. Its nice to know that he is ready for a family.

My Mom and Sister came to visit in December. It was great to have them here. Leah taught me how to knit. I have to admit though, I have not worked on it since she left.
One of David's cousins also came to visit for New Years.

Some friends of mine and I went on a girls birthday weekend in Denver a few weekends back. It was a blast. Were thinking about making it an annual trip.

My Husband is Amazing!

My husband went pheasant hunting for 6 days and when he got back he had an Acer netbook for me. How sweet is that. Its perfect for me and I am just loving getting in set up just for me. Of course no of it would have been possible without my mother-in-law who bought it off her husband to give to my hubby as a gift. So thanks Mom too!

A Brand New CAR!

So a few weeks ago my husband bought a "New" car for me. I was keeping my enthusiasm in check until now. It's a 1996 Saturn SL2 Manual. I love it. Its gold and I can deal with that. But Its a car, and not just any car, my car. Paid In Full.We bought it for cash at the local dealership. And its almost exactly like my first car. (Which was a 1996 Saturn SL2 but it was green with a sun roof and spoiler.)
It needed some love and boy did we give it. New Windshield, front tire, valve cover gasket, spark plugs and wires. We also did a little cosmetic work to it. New OH SHIT handles in the back, rear deck lid, rear ash tray (for change), some trim on windows and a Saturn emblem on the hood. And an oil change and new wipers for good measure.

So I am re-acquainting myself with driving a stick. Its been over 4 years since I have driving one. Or had a car to myself in that long. I look forward to the day that I don't kill it.

Totes, totes and more totes

On Friday after work I started cleaning out a hall closet. This closet is add in the way it was built and so, not knowing what to do with it I started tossing stuff in it. Its above the stairs to my basement so in order to accommodate the stairs it has stairs itself. Which make 3 different levels of storage space in it. Its a deep closet because of this. So After I emptied all the contents into the living room I measured all the "steps" and headed to Wal-Mart.

After purchasing $100 in totes I went home and started filling them. Hubby came home and helped out too. Because of all the room we made in the closet, we had room to store kitchen appliances that we don't use very often. I don't think my kitchen counters have ever been so clean.

On Saturday I went back to Wal-Mart and spent another $100 on totes to organize two more hall closets. My linen and coat closets. I also bought 2 extra large totes to store blankets in.

My house feels very organized at the moment. I am trying to get rid of things I have been saving for "someday I might need them". I am a huge pack rat and no longer want to be. I have 3 more upstairs closets to go through and 3 down stairs and a downstairs bedroom. I am hoping to tackle those in the next few months. I need to save up some more tote money.

I spent Sunday on the couch with the hubby enjoying one of the last weekends together before hunting season is fully underway.

Rawr

This was just to funny and cute not to share.



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Candy?

Hey Kids! Want some candy?

Dove Hunting

Made this fun animation of my husband dove hunting this weekend.



Ok apparently I suck and can't get it to animate. Oh well, Check out more pics here

Photos during Dove Hunt

I love my CSB

I am leaving for vacation today and my best friend CSB had a presant waiting for me this am. She told me that I couldn't get to excited and I seriously had to reign that in because it was THIS!



I am so excited to read it. But I am waiting for my flight this evening, or while waiting in the airport. She is also giving the hubby and me a ride to the airport. I think she is really doing this so she can get her Starbucks on. I also have a lil cash for her for her troubles, as is only fair. BOUNUS! Paying for the Starbucks too. That's just how we roll.

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