In The Refiner's Fire

No photos this week - we've been so busy and I'm going to write this quickly before heading off to bed.  I do realize I owe you gift photos - never fear, they're coming! 

Being in Ministry, Holy Week (Palm Sunday though Easter) is always super busy - more than Christmas even!  Top that off with me pushing a bit too hard and having a major shingles attack on Thursday morning, us receiving about 8 inches of really wet snow on Wednesday afternoon/evening, and all of us just being tired this week, and I am again way behind on things.  Fortunately, I had planned on getting nothing for work done this week so I'll be okay come next week no matter what I did or didn't get done this week.   The children and I have been on Spring Break this week - YAY! - so we were able to take it easy and do some fun things too.

Here's some things we did this week that I think count as "frugal":

* Enjoyed brunch at church on Palm Sunday.

* Ate at home all other meals except o…

So way back the end of February, I realized I hadn't written about any goals for February and I decided I was really going to nail in March.  Then I got sick and everything flew out the window. 

So, since March is almost over and this is Holy Week and I really need something else to do (do you hear the sarcasm?), I decided I would post my goals for the rest of March - since I'm finally feeling like I'm well again. (And, yes, that was a heck of a run-on sentence! Thank you very much.)

So, here we go for the rest of March (from 3/22 to 3/31):

* Read 2 books for my research.
* Write 1000 words on my writings that I need to do for work and school.
* Calculate and Submit Mid-term grades.
* Finished the shredding at the office that I need to do. 
* Remove two stacks of old papers from my bookcase at work and file, scan or shred as needed.
* Prep one unit for my summer class.
* Sew a new Easter tablecloth.
* Finish at least 5 gifts.
* Finish 2 mostly-finished embroidery project…

Can't believe we're into Holy Week already!  I know it's early this year but, man, the time has just flown!

Other than Worship services and our normal activities, we're not doing anything special.  I'm grateful.  I feel like we do too much running as it is!  Here's what we're eating this week:

Sunday, March 20, Palm Sunday:
    Brunch: At church, served by the Youth Group
    Snack: Popcorn
    Dinner: Chicken Tenders, Sliced-Upright Baked Potatoes, Apple-Melon-Banana Salad

Monday, March 21:
   Breakfast: Eggs, Toast
   Lunch; Leftover Chicken, Sliced Apples
   Snack: Yogurt
   Dinner: Soup in the Crockpot, Homemade Bread, Tossed Salad

Tuesday, March 22:
   Breakfast: Chai Spiced Oatmeal
   Lunch: Leftover Soup
   Snack: Yogurt
   Dinner: Steak Stir Fry, Rice, Sliced Cantaloupe

Wednesday, March 23:
   Breakfast: Oatmeal Muffins, Bananas
   Lunch: Sandwiches, Cut Veggies, Cookie
   Snack: Cut Veggies
   Dinner: Waffles, Bacon, Apple-Melon Salad

Thursday, M…

Happy Saturday Everyone!

We woke up this morning to another blanket of snow and icy roads.  Our snow had been gone for weeks and we had temperatures in the 50'sF and even a day where we reached 64F!  So it was quite the surprise this morning when everything was white again.  Thankfully, it was melted by noon so I don't think it did any damage to the little plants that were starting to poke their heads up.

John and I made grocery shopping a mini-date with a stop at Target and the Dollar Tree to fill the children's Easter baskets before hand.  We always get the children the things they need to "finish off" their Easter outfits (tights/socks, hair bands, necktie, etc.) for their Easter baskets so we end up spending a bit more than we would if we just bought candy. They then end up wearing the items for the entire summer. Either way, we're all sent and spent about $12 on all of that.  That came out of the "Miscellaneous" part of our budget.

Groceries r…

I *think* I'm finally getting caught up after being super ill for over two weeks.  Yesterday, Thursday, I finally felt well again for the first time since the end of February.  I'm grateful for being back into the swing of things!

I'm just going to recap this week since I really don't have much of a memory from the rest of the month! **GRIN**  I think I slept more than anything else those weeks.  Does that count as frugal?

* Made oatmeal and oatmeal-butterscotch cookies from scratch.

* Ate one meal at church and two others catered at meetings at work.  Ate the rest at home or brown-bagged. 

* Cooked soup in the crockpot and put the leftovers in the freezer for later.

* John brought home a pretty carnation for me, leftover from St. Patrick's day at work.

* I taught an extra Jazzercise class this week and made a little extra money.

* John preached for a friend this week and made a little extra money.

* Worked on embroidery for a couple of gifts that I'm making. …

It's really starting to feel like spring around here!  Warm and sunny - light coats, no boots, and the ability to spend time outside without hats, mittens and scarves!  I'm loving it!

The children were playing touch football in the backyard this weekend and had a blast.  The buds are starting to peek out on my rhododendron - the first of my plants to bloom each year.  I'm hoping we have lots of more of this ahead!
Here's what we're eating this week:

Sunday, March 13th:
   Breakfast: Smoothies (with fruit from the freezer)
   Lunch: Buttermilk Coffee Cake, Bacon, Banana-Strawberry Salad
   Snack: Popcorn
   Dinner: Pork Roast, Potatoes, Tossed Salad, Apple-Pear-Banana Salad

Monday, March 14th:
   Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs and Toast
   Lunch: Leftover Roast and Potatoes
   Snack: Yogurt
   Dinner: Tuna Cakes, Rice, Pear-Mandarin Orange-Banana Salad

Tuesday, March 15th:
   Breakfast: Chai Spiced Oatmeal
   Lunch: Leftover Rice and Tuna
   Snack: Yogurt
   Dinner: Pa…

I *think* I'm finally caught up with most things and am feeling mostly back to normal (I still get super tired pretty quickly and have some sinus drainage) but I think this next week is going to be quite normal.  Hurray!   No one likes being ill and I am definitely ready to be done with it!

John and I spent most of our March grocery budget last weekend at Sam's Club stocking up on flour, toilet paper, cheese and some meat so we stuck with $20 for today's shopping trip.  We did just fine!

One store and here's what we purchased:

Vegetable Oil $2.69
Crisco Butter Flavored Shortening $3.89
Hunts Diced Tomatoes 15oz cans 5 @ $0.50each = $2.50
Banquet Sausage 2 @ $0.50 each = $1
Fresh Express Salad $1.50
Green Bell Pepper $0.99
2.79lbs D'Anjou Pears @ $1.29/lb = $3.60
3.25 Yellow Bananas @ $0.59/lb = $1.92
2# Yellow Onions $1.39

Total for all of this: $19.48

Also included in the photo are three boxes of Act Microwave Popcorn at $0.50 each.  Those were purchased for a fu…

So after being sick, sick, sick, for a week and a half I *think* I'm finally on the mend.  I actually tried working out this weekend and didn't feel like I was going to pass out so that's a huge improvement! 

I haven't been that ill in ages - and I'm still not sure what was going on. I do know it is similar to some things going around at work that are all virus-related so I'm counting myself fortunate that I wasn't down and out longer. 

Anyway, we're two trips to the store in this month so far - one to the "regular" store (apples, pears, bananas, yogurt and spinach) and one to Sam's Club warehouse to stock up on TP, flour, cheese and some meat.  We have about $40 left for the month - or two trips of about $20 each so I'm grateful for all that we've gotten.  After a lot of talking, John and I decided to up our budget back to our regular amount since we were basically out of meat and desperately needed toilet paper (one of the few…