Menu plan, week of 1/10/11

This week will be a bit of an odd week for me so I only have 1 meal planned to carry me through.

Dinners:
Chicken and Dumplings and salad (recipe later this week)

Lunch:
Leftovers
Peanut butter sandwich

Breakfast:
Fruit
Muffins

Snacks:
Fruit
Carrots
Fig Newtons

January Eating from the Pantry Challenge - Week 1

I did pretty well this week on groceries. At Kroger I spent ~ $13 (lost receipt - whoops!) on the following staples. I needed milk and bread. The Diet Coke is a guilty pleasure but it is cheaper than buying it in the vending machine which I am prone to do.

The large box of Corn Chex was marked down to $1.75 and I have no idea why. The puddings were holiday themed and were also marked down - to $0.50 each.

I bought 2 shampoos at Target this week because I am on the verge of being out of shampoo. Target was having a decent sale and I had a coupon so it worked out. I got both of these for $2.59 but paid using a gift card so these were FREE.


On a second trip to Kroger I picked up some other items that I am almost out of (Veggie Oil, paper towels, etc) for a total of $6.41.

And I did have a splurge trip that I just couldn't pass up. Harris Teeter has boneless chicken breast on sale for Buy 1 Get 2 Free which is a fantastic deal. So I got 5.6 lbs of chicken for just over $9.

Given that I am trying to eat from the pantry this month, this seems like quite a bit to spend. However, now that I've stocked up on some staples that I was missing following the holidays, I should be in a good position to minimize spending for the rest of the month!

Total for the week: $28.79
Total for the month: $28.79

2011 Goals: Personal Development

As I mentioned previously, I am structuring my goals a little differently this year. The first area I mentioned was Home Remodeling. The second area I want to focus on this year is Personal Development. This means activities that will either teach me something or force me to try something new.

2011 Personal Development Goals:
- Read at least 3 books per month. Topics are flexible but I think the act of reading is important because it keeps me away from the television.
- Try 1 new recipe per month. I find myself repeating the same recipes over and over and while I do enjoy what I cook, I am probably missing out on a lot of other delicious meals. I might even find a new favorite!
- Attempt 6 "Do it yourself" projects. Following MoneySavingMom's example, I am going to try to step out of my box a little and try some new things. Some of these may tie into my home remodeling goals.
- Volunteer somewhere at least once per month. Volunteering has so many benefits - it can even improve your health!

I will try to blog about each of these activities as I complete them so stay tuned!

Booking It in 2011

Another year, another set of goals. I tried to focus on reading a bit in 2010 but didn't have much of a structure to it. I am hoping that by following along with FishMama's Booking It challenge, I'll keep up my motivation to keep up with some reading.

My goal is to read 3 books per month. At this point I don't have any specific topic area goals. Ideally I'd read at least 1 'informational' book and 1 book purely for pleasure.

I'm not sure how this will turn out, but the important thing is to keep up with the reading!

New Year, New Organizational System

One thing I have struggled with is keeping on top of my cleaning. I have a busy schedule and often find myself behind on housekeeping. When this happens I tend to spend a whole night catching up, which is neither fun nor time efficient.

So, with the start of 2011, I am trying out a new type of system (Inspired by Jack's mom). I printed out a list of tasks I try to accomplish in a typical week and laminated it.

Then I taped it into the kitchen cabinet where I keep my office supplies. I go into this cabinet every day so I will see the to-do list regularly. I also put a dry erase marker in there so that I can mark the items that have already been completed for the week.

Hopefully by the end of the week everything will be crossed off! I'll keep you updated on how this system works for me.

January Eating from the Pantry Challenge!

FishMama over at Life As Mom is hosting a Pantry Challenge this month. The point of the challenge is to make the most of what you have, either by stocking your pantry, using items in your pantry, or whatever else you might need.

For me, this means clearing out some food from the freezer and pantry before they go bad. So, for the month of January I am going to limit myself to 50% of my grocery budget. Grocery money can be used for necessary items, produce, meat, and perishables. Any extra money left over at the end of the month will go into the home improvement fund!

I will keep you updated on my progress!

2011 Goals: Home Remodeling

This year I am structuring my goals a little differently. Instead of one long list of goals, I am going to separate them all by category. First up - home remodeling.

2011 Home Remodeling Goals
- Tile Backsplash for Kitchen
- Paint rest of house (dining room, hallways, living room, master bedroom)
- Replace light fixture in dining room
- Replace kitchen faucet
- Replace towel racks in all bathrooms

These are probably a little ambitious, especially because a few of these are above my skill level and probably will require that I hire a professional. But, whatever gets accomplished will be better than accomplishing nothing at all!!

I haven't set a timeline for these because some of it will depend on saving enough money for each goal. My plan is to pay cash for all of these renovations. I will update on progress as I cross things off the list!