Grocery Shopping

Grocery shopping took almost 4 hours, from the time I picked Matt up to when we finished putting away all the food. Correction - Matt is dividing up the meat, so it's technically not put away yet.

Since we have to pay Matt's traffic ticket from May, and our electric bill was about four times the normal amount, I didn't have a lot of money for food. I decided to get enough food for four weeks, since my next paycheck is going towards rent.

I had about $150 for one months worth of food for two people. That's not a lot. Normally we spend about $250 a month on food. (Matt is addicted to energy drinks, so that eats a lot into the budget.)

I got our basics - milk, eggs, sugar (we make Kool-Aid instead of buying soda or juice), 20 lbs potatoes (cheaper than pasta, and I hate rice), frozen veggies (on sale at Lucky for $0.88/lb), fruit, a few boxes of pasta, and cans of soup (Lucky had then on sale).

I know that meatless dinners save a lot of money. But Matt likes meat! Sausage (for homemade pizza) was on sale at Lucky for .88 cents, so I got 4 of those. Smart & Final had chicken breast on sale for $0.99/lb, so a pack of that was less than $5. They also had pork cushion on sale. It was my most pricy meat - about 10 lbs for $17. But it was boneless, so that's ok. But Superior had whole chickens for $0.69/lb, so we got 4 whole chicken for less than $9. Along with smoked sausages (lunches for Matt), and some more cheese, that pretty much rounded out our shopping trip.

I'm pretty stocked up on baking supplies, so that should last us a month. I will pick up some more milk, bread, ice cream, and fruit next payday anyway - less than $20.

Yes, Matt did get energy drinks, but at Big Lots, so they are cheap.

Anyway, I'm pretty happy we spent in our budget and got so much meat. Matt should not complain!!

Sharon and Dave are coming for dinner tomorrow. Guess what we are having? Roast whole chicken!

Quiet Weekend

I came down with an inner ear infection about two weeks ago, and it seemed to be going away (thanks to antibiotics).  But on Thursday and Friday night last week, I kept waking up with intense pain in my ear. 

 

So on Saturday morning, Matt took me to Urgent Care.  Turns out my infection went to my outer ear.  Ouch!  I got different antibiotics, ear drops, and pain meds.  I don’t like the ear drops – they make my ear super itchy.  But I love the pain meds!  It is hydrocodone with acetaminophen.  I get super drowsy, my arms get tingly, and everything is funny.  Oh – and there is no pain whatsoever.  Yay!

 

Other than that, things are pretty quiet.  We are waiting for the results of Matt’s apprenticeship examination.  If he passed, he should get an interview.  But the program doesn’t start til January, so we have awhile to wait, anyway.  Hopefully we will start getting unemployment money in a couple weeks. 

 

Both Beth and Gina are engaged, and it looks like their weddings will be about a week apart next October.  I’m so excited for both of them.  I made Julia a quilt for her wedding with her wedding colors.  Gina requested one with her wedding colors, and I think Beth would like one out of her wedding colors, so I need to start thinking about patterns.  I’d like to do a double wedding ring quilt (Example: http://www.paperpanache.com/ecart/pix/DWRgal/DaggetT9.jpg), but I have heard they are super difficult. 

 

We are enjoying going to Our Savior Lutheran in Arcadia.  The pastor is very friendly, and I enjoy his sermons.  He does a small children’s sermon before the main sermon, and it is always amusing and thought provoking.  The congregation sings hymns, and this past Sunday, they used hymns I did not know!!  I couldn’t believe it!  We are going to continue going for another month or so, and then if we still like it, we will consider becoming members. 

 

Pre-Kids Bucket List

I have a list of things I want to get done before we have kids. 

 

·         Purchase a second car (something cheap for Matt to putt around town in). 

·         Purchase a washer/dryer (this one doesn’t need a vent: http://www.homedepot.com/buy/lg-electronics-36-cu-ft-doe-high-efficiency-all-in-one-washer-and-electric-dryer-in-white-wm3987hw.html).  

·         Scrapbook our wedding pictures, plus all our other pictures too. 

·         Find a second couch, more chests and shelves (and finally get all our stuff out of boxes), and a new bed.

·         Paint our bedroom.

·         Get a shower curtain and get rid of that awful sliding door.

·         Hang curtains, sew couch throw pillows.

·         Purchase a television (least important).

 

The italicized stuff is what I won’t do until January, when we find out if we are staying in North Hollywood or moving elsewhere.  We won’t know until we know if Matt gets into the sheet metal apprenticeship program.  He had an interview at Harbor Freight earlier this week, and the manager liked him, but we won’t know for a week or so if he got a job there.  It’s only part time, but it’s something.

 

Tomorrow, Matt is gaming, so I am determined to sew the throw pillows, at the very least.  I’ve had the fabric since, oh, March, but I just haven’t sewn them.  I also have some emerald taffeta that I want to sew into a circle skirt.  Along with laundry and other cleaning, it should be a busy day for me!

 

 

 

 

What I Baked: chocolate glazed cake

We had Jocelyn over for dinner, and I made a yellow cake with chocolate glaze. I got the glaze from Rachel at www.heart-of-light.blogspot.com.

It's really easy. I used 3 oz of semi sweet chocolate chips, 3 oz butter, and 3 tablespoons powdered sugar. I microwaved it until melted, then whisked it together, then poured it onto the cake. It was delicious!!!

Apple Picking

On Saturday, my family went apple picking in Oak Glen. Mom and I split a half bushel of apples - we have a lot now!!

Tomorrow, Matt has an interview at Harbor Freight for a clerk position. Then his sheet metal apprenticeship exam is on the 14th. I am praying he aces it! It would mean a better life for us, for sure.

What I Made: Circle Skirt

I used Simplicity 1812 to make this cute circle skirt. I had to make the yoke smaller, because it went straight down instead of flaring out, creating an awkward line. Other than that, really simple to make and fun to wear!

http://www.simplicity.com/p-7510-misses-plus-size-skirts-and-knit-top.aspx

Happenings in Mouse World

This is the first post I've actually typed on a computer in a long time.  Usually, I send the post remotely via email.  So this will be a really long post.

FYI - I have to add a picture of me, since Facebook is posting a maternity pic from below, and everyone will think I'm pregnant!  I'm not!

Currently, I'm battling a cold. But I slept practically all day, so I can't sleep now.  Sad!!

Which is bad, because I'm supposed to take my basal temperature at 4:15, and its midnight.  Oh well - probably won't be that accurate. 

Basal temperature?  What? 

Hmmm.... well I got my IUD taken out on Thursday, and so I'm charting my temperatures to determine when I'm fertile and when I'm not.  I had to get the IUD taken out because I was having some unpleasant side effects, and anyway, we are hoping to get pregnant in the late autumn or early winter.

YAY!!!!

Matt is having trouble adjusting to the emotional aspect of becoming a father.  So we are waiting until he is more comfortable with the idea.  Me - I've been waiting for this for almost seven years.  A lot of mistakes in my life were made because I tried to rush this.  But I'm ready - so ready.  Financially, we are okay.  We would be better if Matt got into the apprenticeship this January, but even if he doesn't, we will be okay.  Emotionally, I am SOOO there.  I want more than anything for next year, when we go applepicking with Mom and Dad, to bring along Baby Cubical Mouse.  And I really want to have a baby before Beth and Gina have their weddings.  I'd rather not be ready to pop at their weddings.  

I did manage to drag myself out of bed around noon.  We ran to a couple thrift stores.  Matt needs work clothes, and we're not going to pay a ton of money for clothes that will get ruined by oil.  While we were shopping, I found a two pairs of jeans and a pair of capris that fit my legs perfectly, but are too small in the waist.  (That is my perpetual problem with jeans - my butt is a size bigger than my thighs.)  They will be perfect to convert to maternity jeans!!  I found a couple tutorials, but I think my best option is to get some jersey from Joann's, take the waistband off the jeans, and convert them to very high waisted maternity jeans, like these at Motherhood Maternity.  I'll add an elastic band at the top, too.  

Speaking of maternity clothes, I've been searching all over the internet for tutorials.  Unlike about ten years or so ago, maternity patterns are not available in plus sizes, and actual maternity clothes are very rare and very expensive.  So far, the cutest (and best) ones I've found are:

This rouched shirt tutorial from Homemade by Jill:

I love this countdown shirt from DIY Maternity:

I'm a huge fan of this empire dress that uses a T shirt for the top, from Do it Yourself Divas, but I would make it shorter, since I'm not a fan of maxi dresses:

This one is almost the same, but uses a woven shirt and jersey fabric for the skirt (opposite from the one above), from Versus:

I like this tutorial, but it uses a men's shirt, so I would have to get, like, a 3XL men's shirt for it to work! (From DIY Maternity)

I'm not a huge fan of maternity skirts, mostly because they slip all over the place, but this one from DIY Maternity could work!

So that is what I have found.  I'm not going to actually make anything until it's time, but I'm glad all these other ladies before me have figured out the DIY clothes!!