![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dancerjodiMina is feeling better, sleeping better. Yay and stuff! Despite that it has been an odd week. I'm fairly sure I have conjunctivitis, but my regular PCP appt is tomorrow. I called to see if I could get some drugs in the meantime without them looking at me. I do not want to go in 2 days in a row. I am washing diligently, trying to keep away from folks.
Snow caused dance class cancellations. I'm hoping to have ballet tonight.
At almost the end of another month, I compared our expenses to our budget. Once again we are going over with groceries and "weekend" which is a general entertainment budget and includes things like going out to eat, stops at coffee shops, museums, that kind of thing. The numbers I've put into our budget for these things are totally reasonable (and infact, overinflated, imo). We just keep getting lazy and spending more. Lazy sometimes in the "I don't want to cook" and lazy sometimes in the "I forgot to plan". I want to figure out a good system for acquiring things and cooking things that lessens the time I spend doing this and the money I spend doing this. I've read a bunch over time on the intorweb in regards to techniques, but need to find the best fit for us. Do you have any favorite things that really work for you to reduce time/money spent on "food" or "entertainment" (with kids). Keep in mind, we're trying to stick with the organics/natural/nonprocessed which does come with a price.
It is astounding the time we spend related to food aquisition/prep and laundry now that we have a kid. One kid, and it made a huge difference! We can be better, and we will.
In other grown up stuff, we will be hopefully soon sitting down to do the kind of life planning things we should have done a while ago, but is even more important now that we have a kid. Like a will, and all of that stuff. I did set up Health Care Proxys and Advanced Directives before I went into the hospital to have Mina.
Exercise! I need it! This weather is just getting me down. I'll probably feel better once my eye isn't itchy, swollen, red and a bit fuzzy, of course. :)
Snow caused dance class cancellations. I'm hoping to have ballet tonight.
At almost the end of another month, I compared our expenses to our budget. Once again we are going over with groceries and "weekend" which is a general entertainment budget and includes things like going out to eat, stops at coffee shops, museums, that kind of thing. The numbers I've put into our budget for these things are totally reasonable (and infact, overinflated, imo). We just keep getting lazy and spending more. Lazy sometimes in the "I don't want to cook" and lazy sometimes in the "I forgot to plan". I want to figure out a good system for acquiring things and cooking things that lessens the time I spend doing this and the money I spend doing this. I've read a bunch over time on the intorweb in regards to techniques, but need to find the best fit for us. Do you have any favorite things that really work for you to reduce time/money spent on "food" or "entertainment" (with kids). Keep in mind, we're trying to stick with the organics/natural/nonprocessed which does come with a price.
It is astounding the time we spend related to food aquisition/prep and laundry now that we have a kid. One kid, and it made a huge difference! We can be better, and we will.
In other grown up stuff, we will be hopefully soon sitting down to do the kind of life planning things we should have done a while ago, but is even more important now that we have a kid. Like a will, and all of that stuff. I did set up Health Care Proxys and Advanced Directives before I went into the hospital to have Mina.
Exercise! I need it! This weather is just getting me down. I'll probably feel better once my eye isn't itchy, swollen, red and a bit fuzzy, of course. :)
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2013-03-21 04:23 pm (UTC)Then I got pregnant. LOL. That plan has gone right out the window along with all motivation to cook 95% of the time!
Dried beans vs. canned beans are a big one: easy to soak overnight, lower in sodium, cheaper, etc.
Pizza dough, which you can now buy organic or whole wheat in grocery store's is another great one to leave out in a bowl overnight with a towel, and it will rise by dinnertime, and can be made quickly & cheaply into dinner. Rich once used a rolling pin to really thin out the dough, divide it in half, and we got 2 thin-crust pizzas from it, which led to us both eating less and having more leftover.
Quiche is another cheap, make-ahead goodie: 2 frozen pie crusts, assorted veggies, cook 2 pies at once, freeze one for later. Heats in seconds in the microwave. Good with salads. Both pizza & quiche are great with soy cheese: the fake cheese stays extra gooey extra long! I'll toss some sharp cheddar or herbed havarti in with mostly soy mozz on a quiche for extra flavor.
Do you have a slow cooker? We got one in the fall, but haven't gotten into regular use or favorite recipes yet. Works great for snow-day, overnight steel-cut oatmeal though. :)
no subject
Date: 2013-03-21 04:35 pm (UTC)Meal Mixer was one of the better meal planning sites. You can set calorie & dietary restrictions for each family member, swap out recipe suggestions, etc. http://www.mealmixer.com/
Here's some links for make-ahead, freezer meals. The chop, freeze, crockpot one looks really quick & simple:
http://kojo-designs.com/2012/04/getting-organized-a-whole-months-worth-of-meals-via-crockpot-freezer-cooking/
http://onceamonthmom.com/
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/04/how-to-make-your-favorite-meals-freezer.html
I'm really *hoping* I find the motivation to do this once or twice pre-baby, so that we don't have to think about meals with a newborn, but...I'm not going to force the issue either.
no subject
Date: 2013-03-21 04:41 pm (UTC)http://www.americastestkitchen.com/episodes/detail.php?docid=35182
no subject
Date: 2013-03-21 06:35 pm (UTC)Me too. When the weather gets a bit nicer I want to do some Prospect Hill and maybe Middlesex Fells trips... And there was one of the gardens you guys went a few times that I forget the name of that would be another nice "out and about" style of laid back exercise.
We should like plan stuff or something ;)
no subject
Date: 2013-03-21 07:10 pm (UTC)"We should like plan stuff or something"
Indeed! I haven't done trails at Prospect Hill since I was 9 and went to summer camp there! :)