Menu Planning Monday

In an effort to become organized (a goal that I have struggled with for years), I have decided to participate in Menu Planning Monday from Organizing Junkie. I've been meaning to do this for weeks, but have been too unorganized to get it together in time. ha! Another goal (which I'm better with) is saving money/living as frugally as possible. Our goal is to only spend $200/month on food for the two of us, for everything - including going out to eat.

Weekly Menu:

Monday – goulash, spaetzle, and cooked carrots $9.00

Tuesday – grilled cheese and tomato soup $2.00

Wednesday – ravioli with marinara sauce and peas $3.50

Thursday – grilled chicken and green beans $4.00

Friday – salad with grilled chicken $3.00

Saturday & Sunday – whatever we eat with my parents in Pittsburgh!

Weekly Total: $21.50 (not including the weekend) I was liberal with all of my costing (meaning that most of my meals probably cost less than the estimate) so my total is most likely less than this. We also need to add in $2.19 for a gallon of milk to go with our dinners. This is not the overall total for the week since we eat more than dinner everyday nor does it include fruits/veggies/snacks which usually cost about $10-15/week. Keep in mind that we only buy what is on sale (Sundays tend to be the best days for meat/produce at our local supermarkets), so this cost is based on what we find.

Goulash Recipe:
1 lb roast (cut of choice)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 cans water
1 package dry onion soup mix

Directions:
preheat oven to 350, cut roast into cubes (about 1 inch), place all ingredients in cast iron or other oven safe dutch oven, cook for 2 hours

I'm Baaaack!

Mr. Happily-ever-after and I arrived back at home last night after a great trip to see his family. We spent all of yesterday driving back home. We stopped in South Carolina to eat lunch with my grandparents (I wish we could do that more often!). Then we went to see Carolina Couple a little further down the road. We brought subs from Publix (Mr. H and his friend's favorite) for everyone. We then went to the driving range to hit a few golf balls. Although we did not get in until 1:30 this morning, I love breaking the trip up like that.
We have the post trip hangover. You know the one I'm talking about, you walk into your house and look around and realize how much you have to do to catch up from being gone (this especially happens once everything is brought into the house). It hits like a brick wall. Every time. The amount of laundry that needs to be done, all of the small things (that really add up) that need to be put away, the mail, e-mails, etc, etc, etc. Sigh. It's almost worse than a real hangover because it will take an entire day (maybe more) to catch up on everything and a nap/tylenol/water will not cure it...and it will still be around if avoided.
So, today is going to be spent coming out of the fog and back to reality. With lots of fun music for motivation (can we say 80's?) and maybe a DIY show or two (to motivate Mr. H). AND knowing that we get to go out to dinner tonight after everything is finished...for free!

Remeber these?

Mr. Happily-ever-after and I are in Florida visiting his family. We're enjoying some time hanging out and relaxing. Since we've been here we have played board games from childhood, especially after dinner. I had forgot how much fun Life can be...especially with a 5 year old (I kept thinking that I'm still trying to figure out 'Life'). OR Uno? Remember that one? I haven't played it since I was younger. It is still so much fun, especially now that we're older and have strategies on how to play (like saving all of your draw 2's for the person with 1 card left....or who ever won last time). Seriously, these games were so fun...I think tonight might include Clue. That is, unless my niece convinces everyone to play the Candyland DVD game (somehow I don't think that will be quite as good as the real thing, but we will see).

My Husband Rocks because....

I know that I've skimped on this subject, but it is still an important topic since a marriage needs constant maintenance to stay strong. So, without further adieu:

My husband rocks because he has the most patience out of anyone that I have ever met. ever. I have a tendency to get caught up in the moment and hot-headed. He usually has an even temper about everything and keeps me in line. If something goes wrong, he looks at the situation and thinks of what would make it better. Seriously, I usually get frustrated and upset thus making the situation even worse.

Mr. Happily-ever-after has stayed extremely calm with the whole we're moving, oh wait, no we're not...maybe we are after all. During all of that, I debated starting a job or waiting it out...or finding a job that is not in my field to help pay the bills....I was a wreck and didn't know what to do. He just held me and made my worries melt away.




For more information on MHR Fridays, click here.

Happy Hump Day!

I must admit that Wednesday is quite possibly my favorite weekday for two reasons: (1) the name still gets me when someone says "happy hump day" and I'm not expecting it from them like a boss or casual acquaintance (juvenile, I know, but it's the small things) and (2) if you make it through the day then you're more than half way through the week. #2 is mostly the reason because I'm a bit of a list maker (even though I rarely make it through my whole list). I always have been, probably always will be. I even counted down the minutes of every single class from high school through my last course in grad school.

Makes me sound organized, right? Yeah right is more like it. I am quite possibly the most unorganized person on the planet. My mother still tells me that I would lose my head if it was not attached to my body. I try. Seriously, I've been working on getting better; however, the thought of cleaning often holds me back. You know, looking at a pile of stuff to organize, the piles of mail, half finished projects. They kill my life. I get so overwhelmed and do not even know where to begin. (If anyone has any advice on how to overcome this cleaning anxiety, I welcome any and all ideas!)

Well, lately I've begun to turn a new leaf. I've decided that waking up to a sink like this outweighs any negative feelings that I have toward cleaning. I mean really...who wants to wake up to grimy dishes that need to be washed before you even use them? Dawn doesn't go well with coffee.


Instead, I make sure that my kitchen sink is clean before I go to bed at night. It looks more like this. I wake up every morning with one less item on my daily to-do list and a lot less avoidance of my kitchen. One of my mom's other famous lines from growing up was 'It will only take 2 minutes' to try to motivate my siblings and I to get something done. And she is so right with this one (don't you just hate when you realize your mom is right...or worse, that you are becoming your mother...scary)

Growing Up and Cleaning Out

One of Mr. Happily-ever-after's friends says that you know you're getting older when your buddy tells you that he got his girl pregnant and instead of saying, "What did you do?" you say, "Congrats, man, that's great." I was shocked, too, the first time that I heard it...But it is so true. We are getting older. Friends are getting married and having babies and we are so happy for all of them (not that we were not happy for them when everyone was younger, it is different now)

I had another one of those experiences today while shopping (shh, Mr H does not know that I went, yet). I went to the normal stores - Old Navy, Kohl's, Target, the mall (which only has about 25 stores in it, I kid you not). I was in the mall and about to walk into American Eagle to see their sales when I saw a group of girls that looked like they were still in elementary/early middle school going into the store talking about 'how cool' their clothes are....I even think one mentioned her first kiss in the conversation (not really, but they were talking about boys etc)...At that moment I decided that maybe I'm getting a little to old to wear the same clothes as these girls. It's not that I'm too old, I got to thinking about how they are cut, etc. Will my body look flattering in this, if it is not made for people that have curves? I mean, some of them aren't too bad, but really I get nervous that I'm trying to hold onto my youth too much.

So, I skipped the stores of my middle and high school days (AE, Aeropostale, Holister) and moved on to the department stores....I must say that shopping in the women's section at these stores does not mean that you cannot find cute clothes. I found a TON that I loved, but settled on a few since I don't start work until next month. I still plan on shopping at the 'young' stores every now and again (you never know when you'll find something cute and grown up, right?)

I also came home to clean out everything that is faded/does not fit so well anymore. I love purging my closet of everything that is taking up space and making my life more cluttered. (If only I could accomplish this with the rest of my house/life) And, it feels good to donate everything that I know will not be worn to Goodwill.

So what did I buy, you ask?
I got all of this

And this

And spent less that $60! I know, I could not believe it either. But when you have tags like this, it is hard to say no.
That's right, I got one shirt (it was a plain, but still) was $2.97...and others for $7.20 and $4.99...I love finding a good deal on clothes! I plan on going back to Kohl's to get a pair of jeans on Wednesday when their sale begins. I hope Mr. H does not get too mad at me for spending some money. After all, I did pick up a few things for him.

If you can't take the heat...

...don't try the spiciest wings on the planet! Mr. Happily-ever-after and one of his friends from college decided to do a food tour of the state this weekend...we started my meeting his friend and girlfriend about two hours away for a burger - the place was closed by the time we got there (who only stays open until 4:00 on a Saturday?!), so we grabbed a bite at a local pub before going to see The Hangover. The movie was absolutely hilarious....I highly recommend it. We came home, watched the UFC fight and finally went to bed at about 5 (how I used to pull all-nighters is beyond me....seriously, I felt so old this morning when I couldn't get out of bed).
Today we went to a wing place about 2 hours in the opposite direction. The challenge is to eat 10 of their spiciest wings to get your name on the wall of flame, a t-shirt, and an ulcer. I did not try this since I have been having reflux issues and decided that anything in which a waiver is required before eating is not worth it. Mr. H. and his friend, however, decided that the benefits/bragging rights outweighed the risks. Mr. H barely finished all 10 of the wings...he scratched his leg after wiping off his hands with a wet nap and his leg started to burn. His friend made it through 3....I have no idea how either even ate one!
One of the waitresses showed us the basic sauce - it is black AND the main ingredient in pepper spray (if that gives any indication as to what they were up against). She said that they mix this with their hottest 'other' sauce to make in more mild. Seriously, who would willingly do this?!
In the end we have a lot of good memories and pictures of the event (sorry I still can't post pictures)....Mr. H got a t-shirt and his name on the wall.