Monday, February 1, 2010

new years goal update...

welp, we've made it to february... and lee and i are really excited about staying on track with our goals for the year!

i could NOT be prouder of him for taking his lunch EVERYDAY to work this month... sometimes this includes breakfast and/or dinner, too!! he figured it up a few days ago, its saved us at least a couple hundred dollars (at least!) THIS MONTH ALONE! way to go, honey!!

as for me, cooking at home has been a challenge. i won't say i haven't "cheated" a time or two, but i will say when we did eat out or i picked something up for us, i was much more conscious of what we were spending... and we've definitely enjoyed it more... its more of a "treat" now than the norm...the way i think it should be :)

and "pleasantly surprised" would be an understatement as to how little our grocery bill has been... i'm spending about the same thing, on average, each week... but tossing away WAYYYY less!!

the dishes could have become a problem--they usually are the root of my disgust for cooking (...what little disgust that i do have for cooking--i enjoy it, really.)... somehow, i've managed to stay on top of it--putting up clean ones, re-loading the dishwasher while stuff is on the stove/in the oven/in the microwave...so i'm busy "multitasking" instead of babysitting what's on the stove... and i've had some help, too!! lee seems to know when i'm at the end of my rope or have had an EXTRA long day--he's been a great help in putting away clean dishes and loading up the dishwasher for round two 53729... :) and lemme just tell you guys, he's gotten really good at loading that thing to. the. BRIM!! way to go, lee--someone's taught you well... ha!

i've tried some new recipes... some came out GREAT, some were pantry concotions, some we now enjoy on a weekly basis... and some, well, they'll remain unmentioned--because they went nearly un-eaten :) ...i'll post later on some of the better ones we've tried

...i've also enjoyed the planning aspect of it, too (well, duh!)... i've been able to make recipes and do "recipe remakes" on night #2--which cuts the "work load" in half... because i've always heard if you're gonna get in the kitchen, make it worth your time!

not to mention, nershi's gotten a few perks out of the deal too... he's the official "plate-licker" of our house... and based on his performance, he'll hold this office for an extended term.

here's a few pictures from our dinner last night--crock pot barbeque chicken & macaroni and cheese...
check out his form! using his sweet little paw to keep the plate from sliding all over the place!
..oh, good one, nersh! ...move it over a little bit for a plate tilt!
he likes momma's cookin' too!
lee's got some overnight trips coming up, so i'm hoping to stock up the freezer with some goodies for us to enjoy whenever our little squirt decides she's ready to meet us...

overall, i'm really excited about how our challenge has...umm... CHALLENGED us and rewarded us SO QUICKLY! and in case you already forgot, i'm also VERY proud of lee--and how committed he is and what an encouragement he's been to me when i felt like cheating!

1 comment:

Jennifer said...

Have you read any cookbooks by Robin Miller? She has some really healthy recipes with ideas of stretching things, making more meals out of the essential ingredients. You might like it. I know I have.

Congrats on sticking with it!!!!