sleepy & sore

Wow, I am still so achy in my side & so freaking sleepy, I can barely sit up. No idea what's going on with my body right  now besides it's being annoying.

Going to take a 30 minute nap if I can get the kids & dogs to be quiet enough then I'm taking a 1 mile walk while ds rides his bike. See if fresh air helps wake me up.

How's  your Wednesday going?

best wishes

another dinner down

Hi, how was your Tuesday? Taxes finished? I spent most of my day in bed moaning & groaning. Feels like somebody kicked the *bleep* out of my side. I have no idea what I did to it. Can't see anything wrong; but it sure aches whenever I move. Heck, even if I breathe deeply.

Needless to say, I didn't work out today. I still intend to do my nightly walking, but passed on Curves.

We had an interesting dinner tonight. Boiled thin spaghetti noodles & put some cheap spaghetti sauce over it. I had 18 leftover turkey slices, so I paired them up to make 9 servings. I coated them with ovenbake crumbs (was out of bread crumbs); then  heated them. After they were heated & the crumbs browned, I slide a slice of cheese between the pairs & reheated until it melted. Also made the last of the cornbread. YUM!

We had mixed reviews on the spaghetti sauce, mostly because it was a little sweet & bland. Or more likely, it's not the one we're use to. The younger ones loved it, while the older ones wanted more flavoring. However, everybody ate it & I think there was just enough spaghetti left over for a couple of the kids to have with lunch tomorrow. Once we go grocery shoppping, I think I'll try it again with the spaghetti we all love & see how that works out.I made this recipe because a friend of mine was talking about Chicken Parmesan the other night & this was as close as I could get to it right now.

What did you have for dinner? Try something new? Have an absolute favorite dinner that is simple & everybody loves? Share, please!

Best wishes

gained

I gained a pound last week. I'll be danged. Oh well, keep moving & try to avoid too many temptations & something's gotta give, right?

I made a green bean casserole tonight but added rice & ham to stretch it. I sprinkled french fried onions & some parmesan cheese on the top. The kids didn't like the way it looked, but I made them try it. They ate the fool outta it! I started with a huge pan of it & there's no leftovers. Not as good as the alfredo, but it was good enough! That's another meal down. LOL

How was your Monday? Ready to tackle the week or wishing for the weekend already?

Best wishes!

sick day

Ugh, felt like crud all day long. Spent most of my day dozing off & on. Whenever I stood up, I'd get dizzy. Of course, this did not stop me from cooking dinner. Hey, sick or not, still need to feed the young'uns.

We had turkey alfredo tonight with Jiffy cornbread. It was a hit! Hurray! I'm normally a box person. If it comes in a box, I will cook it. If it doesn't, well that's what I have dh for, right? The other day I was desperate for an easy sauce & found a simple alfredo sauce recipe online. I was a bit nervous because up until then, all of my sauces came from a jar or ready mix package - just add water (or milk!) Anyway, I had the ingredients on hand so I made it.  They said they liked it, so I tried another variation of it tonight. I believe I have found something easy I can make & they can brag about my newfound cooking ability. All is good! LOL

It's getting late, so I suppose I should shoo the munchkins to bed & walk the dogs. I haven't lost any weight this week, sadly. I think it's because I've been eating too few calories during the day & too many in the evening for dinner. I increased my walking & even worked out harder this week, so I know I've been active -except for today. ah well, something will budge sooner or later, right?

Did you have a good weekend? Do something really fun? Hang out & relax? Did you take the time, even a moment, to stop & to appreciate something really good in your life? If you haven't, stop & think of something that makes  you happy right now! We have to keep the good in sight & mind while sweeping the negative out the door & into the past.

Best wishes!

Bike Riding

Wow! I'm pretty proud of myself at the moment. I wanted to go to the gym today, but we're trying to conserve  our fuel. So, I hoped on my bike (10 speed) & rode there! It took me 30 minutes to get there -would have been about 10 minutes by car. There are a lot of hills so I had to walk the bike up a couple of them, but I'm still happy that I did it.

I know for an advid rider or probably the average person, it wouldn't be a big deal, but it was amazing for me. The women at Curves all cheered when I came in. They couldn't believe I had rode my bike there just to work out some more! LOL I was given a ride home, though. I didn't protest. Was a nice offer from one of the trainers. Once I made it home, went for another bike ride through the neighborhood with dh & a couple of the children. Ack! Tired!

A year ago, I couldn't walk for more than 15 minutes without being exhausted. Now I'm walking 5 miles a night & starting to ride my bicycle a little more, too!

Hope you're having a great weekend! Do something unexpected to make  yourself smile!

Best wishes!

Honey Baked Ham

For Christmas, my dh's boss gave him a couple of gift certificates for The Honey Baked Ham Company. Well, we dug those gift certificates out & decided this would be a very good time to use them. After work today, dh went by the closest store & picked up a 1/2 ham & roasted turkey breast. He had just enough left over to buy lunch for himself -was either that or they'd give him the unspent amount on another gift certificate & since it's taken us this long to use the first ones.... well LOL

We had ham tonight & I think if I am careful & mix it in with other stuff, I will get another 2 meals out of the ham & 2 from the turkey. I have 2 boxes of spaghetti noodles, so I figure one night I'll make turkey alfredo & another night ham & noodles with spaghetti sauce. If we like the sauce (brand I haven't tried before, but it was $1!), I'm going to use it to make pizza style sandwiches for lunch one day.  I also have plenty of rice & some frozen veggies so I intend to use Glory's idea & make a dinner pie with some of the meat. If it works out right and I get 5 meals out of this meat, then I'll only have to worry about 2 more dinners before payday!

This has definitely been an eye-opening experience for me. I've been in tight situations before financially, but never like this. Funny how you can roll with the punches & shrug it off when it's just  yourself, but when it involves the welfare of your children, well.. that's another story. I'm going to do my best to make sure we have a little more of a financial cushion. That & stock up my deep freeze next weekend! 

 I am very thankful for the suggestions & support. I feel very blessed.

Best wishes!

making a positive

Well, one good thing about being on a strict budget, I can't afford to overeat! LOL Hopefully I'll see a slight drop in pounds & that'll make something positive out of the negative.

Thanks for the suggestions, if anybody has any more meal ideas, would love to hear them. Please share!

Best wishes!

Meal ideas?

Hi, do you have any meal ideas? Specifically looking for cheap, easy, & able to stretch to feed a large family? Yes? Great, please share! No? oh, me either...

I have a slight dilemma. I have $100 to feed a family of 7 for 9 days. I've never been great at budgeting, so this isn't going to be easy for me. Add to it, it seems I don't even have adequate food basics/staples in the house. Wait, I do have a 5 pound bag of rice. I figure if I add rice to almost any meal, it'll help stretch the meal further.

No, I'm not asking anybody for a handout. I'm asking for meal ideas only. Well, any other helpful suggestions to make the meals stretch would be welcome, too.  If it were just me & dh, no problem. But I have 5 munchkins who think they need 3 squares plus 2 mini snacks a day or they'll simply wither up & blow away like dust. LOL  Sure they'll be craving pizza by next Friday.

Hope you're having a good week -it's half over already! woohoo!

Best wishes!

stuffed

I had the bright idea to save some money & time by reheating leftover spaghetti for dinner tonight. Wanted to jazz it up, so I added more noodles, sauce, & lots of cheeze. Also made cornbread. Now why did I go and do that??!  I was able to keep  my portion reasonable with the spaghetti, but I do love that cornbread & ate & ate & ate some more..... Now I'm sitting here with an overstuffed belly & not liking myself so much right now.

I'm even more frustrated because my weight had finally started budging downwards again & then I get stupid with my portion sizes. I overate for breakfast & lunch, too. My kids begged for french toast this morning -YUM! I ate 4 pieces! OM...wha??

Ah well, I will walk my 5 miles tonight & work harder on portion sizes tomorrow. How did  you do today? Did you get a work out in? Have a proud moment where you were able to defeat temptation? Share, please!

Best wishes!

How was your day?

Are you having a good Monday? Start  your week off with positive attitude? I read it was always a good idea to start your week off with exercise.

I was feeling very stressed today over financial matters so I took a 40 minute bike ride through the neighborhood. wow! That was great for my cardio! We live in a very  hilly area, so I was either peddling as fast as I could, or enjoying the wind in my face from the coasting.

Now I am off to walk the dogs & see if I can fit 3 or 4 miles of walking in before bedtime.

best wishes to you!