Category Archives: Home Projects

Jun 22

Siwtching Up the Rooms

Every often, my hubby will say to me “it is time to rearrange the rooms”. It used to stress me out, my ocd wasn’t a fan of rearranging rooms , or furniture at all, but now I kinda like it. So when my hubby said to me that it was time to move some furniture, I said go ahead. Happily I got a new spot for my desk.

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Now my desk is right under the stairs, and I’m across the room from my hubby. I really like the look of our formal office now, and the kitties like it too, one of them is always taking a nap under my chair.

Apr 1

Not Going Out In March: The Finale

Thank goodness March is over, and I can happily say that we made it through the entire month without picking up any fast food. I’m shocked that we actually made it through the month, I really had my doubts that it could be done. We are going to celebrate on April 1st with a few meals of take-out, so there goes last month’s savings, oh well.

So here is how the month went. Week #1 brought the complaints, and me obsessively stocking the kitchen with all of the needed staple items for meals. Week #2 went smooth, but the dishes were starting to pile up a bit, and the kids really wanted those Spiderman toys at McDonald’s. Week #3 was so tough, I really didn’t think that we were going to make it. I was really tired of cooking non-stop, and James had a few words to say too. Week #4 seemed to go better, and we were all happy just to count down the last few days before April.

The dishes really, truly took over the kitchen. I think I literally only had 2 days where I got them all caught up, and the kitchen wasn’t a total wreck. Also baking all of those homemade goodies from scratch not only used a ton of dishes, but I used 20 pounds of Flour in the month of March, crazy.

Now for the Savings: Well this was interesting, I really thought that not going out vs. purchasing more groceries would even out, and then I decided to factor in gas money. It is one of those things that you wouldn’t really think about, but all of those extra trips out to idle in the drive thru waste a lot of gas. I started noticing just how much gas money we were saving by Week #3, I needed to stop for gas, but my hubby hadn’t had to stop for gas at all. Each of us were stopping for gas at least twice a month for about $20.00 a trip.

So let’s break down the numbers:

  • Gas Money, it is usually $80.00 for two cars, and this month I had to stop and fill up once for $30.00, and James $0.00! So far that gives us a savings of $50.00!
  • Grocery Money: I decided to average out the last 3 months, and put the average against March’s grocery totals. Seeing the totals kinds scared me… Well I was definitely over for the Month of March by about $91.15, so there goes the great gas savings. Now I’m down $41.15 in savings.
  • Now for the fast food totals. I averaged the last seven months of fast food expenses, and it gave me a total of $199, yeah I know it sounds like a lot… Well for the entire month of March we spent $0.00!!!
  • Here is the Grand Total: Gas Savings $50.00, Grocery Overage -$91.15, but Not Going Out In March for fast food saved $199.00, so that gives us $157.85 in savings!

$157.85 isn’t too bad, but I have to admit I really don’t want to see the kitchen again for quite awhile. Thanks for following along on our Not Going Out In March Challenge!

Mar 29

Not Going Out in March Week #4 Review

Wow, I can’t believe that we are almost through the month of March, and we are also reaching the end of our challenge. We made it through week #4, and this week went a little smoother than week #3. James is really proud of us, and he is determined for us to make it through the next few days, but we are definitely celebrating on the first day of April!

Week 4 brought many tasty meals, and I restocked the freezer with a few staples for future meals. I made a Turkey on Sunday night, and that made for really simple lunches and dinners during the week. I also made 6 quarts of Turkey Stock that I will use for Turkey & Noodles, or Chicken Chow Mien in April. I also made homemade Broccoli & Potato Soup for fast lunches for me. I treated the kiddos to Kid Cuisine before their Doctor’s appointment on Friday, and Thade was thrilled.

To keep James co-worker’s from bringing in Donuts on Friday, I baked a double batch of Banana Muffins, and they were a big hit. I don’t think anyone missed take-out donuts on that day.

I’m really proud that we are almost finished with the month, and so far my family is still speaking to me. Dylan even gave me a great big hug, thanking me for his favorite meal on his birthday, or maybe it was thanking me for the batch of birthday brownies.

Mar 23

What the Boy’s Are Saying

I thought I’d interview my boy’s on what they think about the “Not Going Out In March Challenge” so far, and if they think I’ve gone completely bonkers in March.

First up is Thade!

Mom: Thade, what have you liked about the challenge so far?

Thade: Gives a big thumbs up. I’ve been really good about not eating any take-out.

Mom: What have you missed about take-out?

Thade: I don’t know, I didn’t miss anything. Oh wait I miss, Subway, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Pizza Hut, Gringo’s, and Dairy Queen, and Sonic.

Mom: Which meal or meals have been your favorite this month?

Thade: I liked everyone of them.

Mom: What challenge should we attempt next?

Thade: Eating take-out all month!

You gotta love five year old kiddos… Thade has been a really good sport this month.

Next up is my sweet hubby James

Well I was going to have a James interview for you, but he did an awesome post all about the March Challenge over at his blog. It is definitely worth a read, and James probably deserves a hug or two for being such a good sport this month.

Now for the littlest guy… Dylan

Dylan has probably been the most vocal about the challenge. He runs to his high chair, ready to see just what Mommy has in store for dinner. He always has an mmmm yummy reply, and so far he hasn’t said the words Happy Meal or Taco Bell. Dylan has been a trooper too. I think one of his favorite meals was Breakfast for Dinner, and this week I’ll be making Broccoli Cheese Casserole, his very favorite.

Feb 28

Springtime Saturday

I had an idea… I thought I would share a Springtime Project every Saturday until Springtime, and then I woke up today to snow… But I’ll go on ahead and share a project anyway.

This one is perfect for an indoor snowy weather day, and it will help out the freezing cold birds out there too.

Today we are making Outdoor Bird Feeders out of Plastic Bottles

For the Bird Feeder project you’ll need:

  • Bird Seed
  • Plastic Bottles that you were going to recycle anyway
  • Duct Tape
  • Hole Puncher
  • Sharp Scissors
  • Small Nail
  • Floss or String

Remove all of the labels off of the plastic bottles, and trim the bottles to the size that you would like your bird feeder. Use a strip of duct tape to cover the sharp edge that you just trimmed, and punch 3-4 holes around the bottle with your hole puncher. Use a small nail or needle to punch a few holes in the bottom of your bird feeder for drainage. Thread your string through the holes, and make sure that your string is long enough to hang the bird feeder on a tree or planter. Fill with bird seed and take them outside for the birdies.

Thade had fun filling the bird feeders with bird seed, and I think the song birds will enjoy the extra treat on a cold day like today.