Monday Plan Menu: Making it Stretch!

Thanks to my unexpected weekend away, I have several meals from last week's menu plan that we didn't end up eating.  So, they are back on the list this week!  I'm hoping this will mean we can make it until Friday until I need to go grocery shopping again!  I'm excited that this will also help our grocery budget for the month!

Weekly Goals: 9/23/12

I feel like it has been so long since I have posted my weekly goals!  Life has just been so busy.  But, I have how much of a difference not writing out my goals and sharing them makes.  This week is certain to be another busy one with me working four evenings this week.  So, writing out my goals is more important than ever.

My daily task that I am trying to develop into a habit is in red below.  Things I need to improve on from last week are marked with an *.

Spiritual Life

• *Read Bible daily.
• Part of making this happen will be implementing  an afternoon quiet time for the kids and I. 
• Be consistent in praying for requests on my list 
• I have a new prayer journal that I am using to help with this.

Family life

• Start working with kids on implementing an afternoon quiet time
• I am planning to start Monday with 20 minutes and slowly increase that time.
• Take Sis to a doctor's appointment on Wednesday

Home life

• Finish all laundry on Monday.
• Start Sunday night
• Set timer and change over every hour
• Clean off counters every day
• Try very hard to clean as I go since I won't have much time for concentrated cleaning

Church Life

• Attend church Wednesday 
• Work at a local homeless mission in the thrift store

Physical Life

• Measure all foods to make sure I am eating the correct portion.  
• Track every bite I eat.
• Lose at least 1 pound. 
• Drink at least two bottles (refillable bottles, not disposable!) of water/day. 
• Earn at least 15 activity points this week.
• Try to get to bed by 10:30 every night I don't work, 12:15 on the nights I do.   
• Put on makeup every day

Social Life

• Yeah right

Financial life

• Update budget software daily
• Do not overspend!
• Pay bills  
• Create budget for October 
• Have budget meeting with DH

Mental life

• Continue working on blog  
• Teach

Homeschool Life

• Print out materials 

Work Life 

• Work on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday

The Empty Boat

Wow!  What a weekend!  I had the great blessing to be able to attend the True Women '12 conference in Indianapolis with about a dozen ladies from my church.  As I mentioned before I left, it was a very last-minute decision. 

When the chance was first presented to our ladies at church, I decided not to go because it would mean being out of town on my kids' birthday.  But, then we found out the iPhone launched that day and we knew we wouldn't be able to spend the day as a family like we had planned since Daddy would be working all day.  So, when my mom called me up and said she wanted to give me her ticket, I just knew that I wanted to go.  The idea of spending time with other ladies and learning from great speakers sounded wonderful.  I talked with hubby and then the kids and they all said they didn't mind if I made the trip.

I am so glad that I decided to go!  This was an experience I won't soon forget.  I've been thinking about how to share this experience with you all and have had so many memories, moments, quotes, and events run through my mind.  How could I fit it all in?  Finally, I decided to share the moment that had the most impact on me.  

I'm Still Here!

I just wanted to write a quick post to let everyone know I am still here!  I have started a couple of posts the last few days, but just haven't had time to finish them!  I'm thinking that, now that school is in full-swing, I may not be able to post every single day.

I am unexpectedly going to be out of town this weekend. Some ladies from my church are attending a conference. I didn't originally plan on going because my kids' birthday is tomorrow and we always try to do something special on the day of their birthday (in addition to the party we already had). But, then my hubby found out the iPhone launched that day (he works for a cell phone company) and he is pretty much going to be working non-stop this weekend. He will go in around 6am on Friday and probably won't get home until around midnight.

Monday Plan Monday: Eating from the Pantry

With all the shopping I have been doing lately in trying to set up a price book, my pantry is full!  (Special thanks to Kate Megill from Teaching What is Good and her new e-book, Cut it Out!  How I Feed my Family of 10 for $500 a Month Without Coupons.   I'm so excited you are being featured on Menu Plan Monday!)

So, I'm going to try and create at least a week's worth of meals from my panty.  I'm hoping to actually end up with enough for two weeks, though.  I do know that avoiding the grocery store completely won't be possible, though.  I need a few staples, like eggs and milk, and I also need some toiletries.  But, by eating things that we already have, I'm hoping to save some money.

A Review and my First Giveaway!!!

A few weeks ago I was contacted and asked to review the first video in a a new video devotional series called True Beauty: Finding Your Identity in Jesus (David C Cook/Flannel, September 2012), by Lisa Chan.  I was thrilled!  That someone out there had seen my blog and actually wanted to use me to help reach others with their message shocked me.  Why would the choose my rinky-dink blog who almost no one in the world reads?

Then, I watched the video.  That is when I realized that it wasn't the production company or the advertising agency that had chosen me to review this devotional.  It was God.  I could practically hear Him whispering, "Stacy, this is for you," as I watched it.

The first devotional in the series is called Be Still and is all about finding time to spend alone with Christ in the midst of our busy lives.  If you have read my blog at all, you know that this is something I really struggle with.

In fact, I have been putting off watching this video for a couple of weeks, with Monday as the deadline for posting this review, because I have been too busy to get around to it.  Despite the fact that I was excited about this opportunity, I just couldn't seem to find the time to watch the video and compose my thoughts about it.  Tonight, I came home and wanted to just crash on the couch.  But, I knew that I had to watch the video and write about it.

I admit that I wasn't that excited about it.  I was tired.  I needed to cook dinner.  I wanted to relax.  But, it needed to be done.

Birthday Traditions

I feel like I haven't been posting at all lately.  Between my busy week last week and a stomach bug I had yesterday, I've missed a lot of days!  I'm hoping to get back on track and pasting on a regular basis.

Today, I wanted to share a little with you about the party this weekend.  My twins are turning seven in a about a week, but we held their party a little early with the hopes of it being warm enough to swim.  It ended up being 76 and sunny.  Not warm enough for me to brave the pool, but the kids had no problem jumping right in!

The kids' birthday is a pretty big deal around here.  Maybe because they are twins and share a birthday - making it twice as big.  Or maybe because of my own birthday issues (I'm a Christmas baby - Dec 21 - and my birthday tended to get lost in the shuffle).  Whatever the reason, we love to celebrate their birthday!

We have a few traditions that we always observe and a few new things we like to try each year.

Menu Plan Monday: Getting Back to "Normal"

I'm still recovering from a very hectic weekend.  We had the twins' birthday party yesterday and I've been preparing for it all week!  We had a lot of fun (which I'll write about later), but I'm glad to be getting back to normal.  This includes no more junky party food!  After my disappointing weight gain last week, I am going to be working hard this week to make sure it doesn't happen again!  Thankfully, I have a menu plan in place that makes it little simpler.

Day	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Desert	Hubby's Lunch
Mon	Muffins	Shadow Steaks, Fries	Chicken Viola	Ice cream	Sub Sandwich, Chips, Apple Sauce, Fiber Bar
Tue	Pancakes	Hot dog, chips, veggies	Forgotten Chicken	Peanut butter pie	Healthy Choice?, Yogurt, Fiber Bar, Chips
Wed	Apple Bake	Muffin tin/Ramen noodle	Sausage & Sauerkraut	Ice cream	Day off work
Thu	Homemade doughnuts	Peanut butter sandwiches/leftovers	Tacos	Sugar Cookies	Sandwich Wrap, Bran Muffin, Pudding, Chips
Fri	Fried eggs/Smoothie	Taco wontons	Italian Crescent Casserole	Chocolate Chip Cookies	Healthy Choice?, Yogurt, Fiber Bar, Chips
Sat	Bacon, scrambled eggs	Leftover veggie soup	Fried Chicken	Ice cream	Tuna Salad, Toast
Sun	Pancakes	Leftover Baked Rigatoni	Enchiladas	Chocolate Chip Cookies	Day off work

I know I planned on posting some recipes this week.  But, with everything going on last week, I just didn't get pictures!  I promise I'll do better this week.

Once again, I'm linking up over at I'm an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday. 

What Stress Can Do...

I'll be completely honest.  I'm disappointed.  I'm discouraged.  I'm only two weeks into trying to loose weight and I feel like I've failed.

I gained weight this week.  0.8 lbs to be precise.

My frustration comes because I did everything I was supposed to!  I stayed in my points, I did TONS of moving while cleaning the house top to bottom, and I even went to the gym to work out on Monday!  When I was hungry, I grabbed an apple instead of potato chips.  I measured my food and didn't go back for more unless I had already planned it.  I tracked every bite!

Yet, I gained.

The only reason I can think of is that I've also been under a lot of stress this week.  With the kids' birthday party tomorrow, I've had to find time to go to work, teach school, take my kids to all their activities, clean the whole house (that wouldn't be such a big deal if I wasn't such a slob), clean the backyard and the solar cover for the pool, trim the hedges, pull weeds from the flower beds, shop for party food, and bake and decorate a cake.  It has been a long week!

We'll see if I'm right next week.  Because, I'm not giving up!  I'm sticking with it.  One bad week is not going to make me give up and quit.  I know I can do this!

				MEASUREMENTS
DATE	WEIGHT	LBS. TO GOAL	BMI	WAIST	HIPS	CHEST	THIGH	CALF	ANKLE	ARMS	BRA SIZE
8/25/12	263.30	108.30	42.49	40.00	51.50	43.00	32.00	19.50	10.50	16.00	42G
9/1/12	258.40	103.40	41.70	38.50	51.00	42.00	32.00	19.50	10.50	16.00	42G
9/8/12	259.20	104.20	41.83	38.50	51.00	41.50	31.00	19.00	10.50	16.00	42G
Loss	4.90	4.90	0.79	1.50	0.50	1.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00