Category Archives: meal planning

Thankful Thursday

Posted in bread, budgeting, budgets, California, cash envelopes, cooking, Gratitude, library, meal planning, swimming, Uncategorized by

I was grateful to the nurses at Oncology for being so nice, friendly, and efficient. My nurse noticed the uptick in my kappa numbers and mentioned it. I said I was quite disappointed but maybe the dosing just needs to be adjusted( which is what I think will happen). I also asked about Darlazex Fastpro and she said that is a once-a-month shot so maybe that’s what I’ll need to go to after trying the other options.

The huge storm is moving in and although we seem to be forecast not to have terrible wind it still will be gusting and lots of rain. I’m grateful that I got whatever I needed to get done yesterday. The Sierras and Tahoe are bracing for blizzard conditions and Cal Trans is warning people to stay home.

We continue to enjoy the free DVDs of Longmire from the library. A great series. I’m very excited about the new Shogun coming out. Shogun, the book, was a huge influence on me and Japanese culture. I loved the first miniseries with Richard Chamberlain. The Japanese did have some pretty horrific tortures and deaths ( heads rolling) but the beauty of the honor is somehow still infused, well, unless you were an enemy and then that wasn’t pleasant.

Today I’m grateful to feel good enough to make sourdough again, and I’m prepping lasagna to go in the freezer and I plan on making a soup for dinner. I took my dex at 5 pm last night and I think I like that better than taking it when I get home from infusion. It gives me time in the afternoon to do some stuff.

I’m grateful I got the March budget done. We have 2 cars to pay registration for and smog. I’ve saved enough in envelopes for one and the other I’ll need to figure out. My goal of course is that for next year these are fully funded.

I’m thankful I went to the pool Tuesday because I won’t be able to get back till next week with the storm and dex days. The Coast Guard kids were using 3 lanes which I was not thrilled about but otherwise, it was mellow.

This is about half in bloom. It’s cloudy so it doesn’t show how pretty it is in the sun.

Some happy daffodils from the yard. The pink tree is almost full out so with our weather turning for the worst, I’m not sure the flowers will make it. Next year I plan to buy 2 more bags of assorted daffodils to start filling in a few more places.

Frugal Friday

Posted in books, budgeting, budgets, California, cash envelopes, cooking, meal planning, pets, Uncategorized by

It’s been a frugal week for the most part. We went to Trader Joe’s and Winco for some basics that will last 2 weeks. That was last Saturday I think. With me having my chemo week, I don’t go out after Wed, so that’s Thursday and Friday and by Saturday the dex has pretty much worn off so I can do something if needed. My face is still pretty red this morning from Dex.

I did get some stuff done though, I vacuumed, feed my sourdough,mopped the floors, 1 load of laundry going. We always do one load a day even if its small. It keeps it from piling up. I moved some envelope cash around and put some in an envelope to back to the bank. That’s for Amazon stuff. I might make that a virtual envelope but the money I took out was from my personal spending as there was a plant based cook book that Sue over in Wales recommended highly. So I slpurged on that.

B is going to his gym and will pick up some things at Holiday Market. I need red onion, garlic, baking potatoes, and polenta. It’s been a challenge getting Bob’s Redmill polenta for some reason. I checked Amazon and it’s twice as expensive as the store. So Holiday looked like they had some in stock.

We filled up the Santa Fe after going to Sacramento and that was $50. Costco is still the cheapest gas around. 

I might go to the Roseville gym tomorrow but it depends on the rain. We did have a nice break yesterday but more is expected over the weekend. If I go, I’ll go slightly later so I can go into the library which opens at 10 on Sat.

I worked up a very flexible menu plan for the week:

no pizza tonight, I think will do :

baked potatoes with toppings and a big salad

turkey breast(frozen) and some mashed potatoes (also frozen) and home canned cranberry sauce.

chicken tortilla soup from the freezer

a left over night

fetticine alfredo with garlic shrimp( so my G F daughter can have shrimp )and salad.

brown rice with broccoli and some kind of crispy tofu.and maybe some panko shrimp.( that’s different from just the plain shrimp)

taco night with pressure canned pulled pork, lettuce etc.

I’ve got February’s budget done and the only thing I didn’t add was the VW’s registration and smog that just came in the mail but it’s not due till April so that’ll give me time to get and envelope stuffed. I may not end up the full amount but it’ll help. And I’ll need to add in Turbo Tax fee and if there’s taxes.

Next week looks good budget wise, hopefully no surprises.:)

Here’s the big boy, Guster

He says this is my Poang chair!!

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, cooking, freezer cooking, knee injury, meal planning by

A big thank you to Kathy for suggesting Facebook Marketplace. I got rid of the quilting frame this morning and am very happy about that. The lady who took it said her mom was a quilter and had recently passed away and left tons of fabric. So I’m thrilled.

We went to Winco first for groceries. I got some stock-up stuff like mayo, ketchup, olives, and some salad stuff too.

From there we went up to Trader Joe’s and also got some stock up stuff but also things like chips. I love their potato chips. They remind me of the chips I grew up on which were called Wise. An East Coast thing.

Then we decided to get a coffee at Panera. It was ok and the bear claw was subpar, unfortunately.

Overall a nice trip out. The rest of the day is just being home and seeing what needs doing. It’s a beautiful day out, almost 70 degrees. I may go sit in the sun for a while.

This week I have PT and then Velcade on Wednesday plus driving from there to Sacramento to see Dr. L. A bit much but that’s the way it is. I totally forgot I’ll be taking Dex because I was planning on going to the gym. But since I don’t drive on dex days that’s going to have to wait. It’s funny how quickly you forget what the routine is.:(

For dinner, I have a white bean soup from the freezer unless something else jumps out.

That’s it, for now, the sunshine is calling.

Saturday bits and bobs

Posted in books, budgeting, budgets, cash envelopes, frugalism, home stuff, library, meal planning by

I went to the gym yesterday in Roseville and did upper-body weights. At least it’s something to keep me going. I also dropped off my load of books at the library. The library wasn’t open so I’ll need to plan a stop there next week. I just finished the Anne Hillerman book ” The Stargazer”. It was good although her father was a bit more of a concise writer. Still, it’s good.

When I got home I warmed up the sunroom and then later did my PT exercises out there. The Ikea couch out there folds down and is low to the ground so that’s where I’m laying on my back and side to do the exercises. I still don’t think I can manage the floor because I’d need to use my knee to get up. Maybe in a few weeks, I can start practicing doing that.

I was over the moon that tRump had been told by the jury to pay 85 +million. Of course, who knows with appeals if he’ll ever pay but regardless it sends a message. I heard on the news(NPR) something about Christian evangelicals putting tRump out there as a messiah. crazy, ??? really?? He’s about as far away from Christian values as you can get.

B had an unplanned trip to the dentist for a toothache. I pulled some of the money from home EF and will deposit that next week so I can pay the CC. Fortunately, it’s not an infection so the crown can wait a little longer. We just finished paying that off in December so I need some time to build up that fund. I’ve been watching lots of YouTube cash stuffing. I’ve gotten a few good ideas and enjoy seeing how other people do it. Mine is very simple because we only get $ once a month so it’s a bit different than people who are stuffing paychecks. Still, it’s interesting.

I’m using 4 binders to track spending and to use for cash envelopes. Here’s the small Louis Vuitton. This is the one I take with me as it has my grocery money and coffee money.

We’ve had zero luck getting rid of the quilting frame. None of the thrift stores want it so now we’re stuck with what to do with it. Even Goodwill usually takes anything said no. hmm, not sure, but I guess the landfill unless I can think of something. Maybe the wood could be repurposed. ??

Today is a home day. I want to do the menu for the week, then check the freezer and pantry for ideas. I also want to take the 2 bins I took out from4 under the bed out to the garden shed and see if I need them out there or not.

Frugalwise, we did great this week. B went to Costco using the ‘stock up’ cash envelope. Mostly it was in fact stock ups. It was HP printer ink, AA batteries, toilet paper, eggs and a few other things that came in at $137. We bought our usual wine for the week and that’s it. Tomorrow(Sunday) I plan on going to Winco and TJ’s so that I have what I need for the week and not have to go to Safeway or Holiday. It does save money to plan on those 2 stores.

Simple Sunday

Posted in budgeting, California, cash envelopes, decluttering, meal planning, Uncategorized by

Another grey and somewhat rainy day. We went to Ikea yesterday and got dish towels and a mat for the sunroom and a few other things. We always get there right when they open and go through the downstairs door to the Marketplace. It wasn’t too busy until we were leaving and then loads of people were coming in. The dish towels I’ve been waiting to come into stock are still MIA. It’s been over a year since they were last in. So I got these instead. These are the ones we have in the trailer.

The cafe was open at 10am so we got a free coffee and a small breakfast to get through. It was nice.

This morning I vacuumed and worked on some budget sheets for my cash envelope binder. I’d really rather not buy some from Etsy if I can figure out how to do it. I’ve got an ok one done. It’s mostly to keep track of what cash needs to go back to the bank if I spend online. For instance, B’s Triumph motorcycle’s registration is due so I paid that online but I had some (not all) cash in an envelope for that. So far it’s working out very well.

The rest of the day is a bit more tidying in the bedroom mostly under the bed. I have a bit more to pull out and see what I want to do with those things. I have a bin with my canning stuff so I plan on pulling that out and consolidating it. Then moving it to the garden shed with all my jars. My reason for doing this is I plan to take the area rug out of that room this spring and I want as little under the bed as possible. I think we’re going to go with a vinyl plank flooring at least at this point.

Dinner is unknown at this point:)

Thankful Thursday, a day late, and Frugal Friday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, cash envelopes, cooking, frugalism, meal planning, Myeloma, simple foods by

I’m thankful I thought to call the ortho’s office since I hadn’t heard from them. It seemed like I wouldn’t get a call at least for a while:( So I have an appt to meet the doctor’s PA next week. I’d rather meet with the doctor but I guess it’s better than nothing.

I’m thankful I could go to the gym and even though I have the brace on I can do some upper body weights.

As always, grateful for the library where I got a bunch of old Tony Hillerman.

I’m grateful for LLS helping with insurance. I guess funding has been closed since I got my award and that’s over 6 months.

We’ve had a break from the rain and that’s always nice.

Frugal Friday Stuff:

We went to Trader Joe’s after the gym and I spent only $95 which included some wine. So that should get us through till the next budget starts.

We had another few meals from the freezer: mac and cheese, some breaded shrimp with veggies, grilled chicken/ tofu with rice. This coming week I’ll try and use at least 3 more freezer/pantry meals. I took out a frozen pizza dough to make pizza tonight. I have some extra red lentils that need using so I’ll probably do a curry with that.

Gas usage was low again as I’m not driving to the pool 2-3 times a week. I might start a cash envelope with gas money I think I’m saving for when I will be able to get back in the water. 

Today is a home day and I plan on doing more pantry consolidation. I have 3 bags ready to go to the food bank of stuff I probably won’t use so I’ll pass it on. I emptied one bin under the bed and the second one needs to be gone through. That one has foil, wrap, dried beans, and some oatmeal. I think some of the oatmeal ( Bob’s) is dated so I may need to use that in something or toss. I also have way too many boxes of pasta so I’ll throw a few of them in too.

Simplifying meals and food prep is a goal for this year. We basically eat the same thing week after week with just a few new recipes added in. But overall, that works best for us. I do love cooking so there’s that.

After Christmas…

Posted in books, California, cancer, cash envelopes, cooking, library, meal planning, seasonal things, Walking by

Today is my 3rd Velcade shot. I have another stye happening from the Velcade so my eyes are bothering me some. No walking this week as I must have overdone the leg muscles on the knee where the torn meniscus muscle is. So, I decided to just call this an ‘inactive ‘week, which drives me crazy because I want to walk and swim.

I’m hoping giving it some rest and stretching will help. Today after the shot, I have to drop books off at the library. I’m not going in because they have holiday hours and don’t open till 10am. Then I need to go over to the bank and then home. I’m considering doing upper body weights but I’ll wait till I’m there( by the library) to decide. ( The gym and library are next to each other).

On the menu plan this week:

breakfast for dinner

quiche with salad

steak bits and broccoli(tofu with broccoli for the veggie)

grilled chicken/ veggie pattie and some sort of veg

soup of some sort

New Year’s Eve will be our traditional sub sandwiches. I’ll get some GF rolls for my daughter. I saw some at Trader Joe’s so I’ll check there first. Her labs came back and she’s not celiac but she says she feels better not eating gluten right now so that’s good.

Our weather has been cloudy and cool. No rain but there might be some this weekend. Typical December/January weather, kind of gloomy and depressing.

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, cooking, Flylady, home stuff, meal planning, Uncategorized, Walking by

A cloudy but not too cold of a morning walk. The park had a few people showing up to do things Christmas related at the community center.

We are expecting quite a bit of rain this week so we’ll see how the driving to Roseville goes. The only day I have to go is Wednesday for infusion. If it’s miserable out, I probably won’t drive down to the gym/library.

On the agenda today is to tidy the house, vacuum, do the bedroom zone(done), and do a meal plan for the week with freezer /pantry meals. So far I have cheese tamales, mushroom spinach crepes, the meatballs from Costco, and baked potatoes. I might do a spaghetti night too.

I plan on doing some decluttering around the house. Mostly, misc stuff that just needs to go or seems to be unneeded. The end of the year is a perfect time to look around at what is being used and what is just in the way. Especially since I’m neurodivergent when it comes to visual clutter or even just visual things around me. I don’t like and/or get stressed at too much color, and patterns or things on the surfaces of things. Right now with Christmas, I’m stressed about the added stuff around which is probably why I put some of it away already. Well, it’s always a good idea to look around our homes with a fresh perspective.

Frugal Friday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, cash envelopes, cooking, meal planning by

Well, we made it to December!! Hopefully, the month goes smoothly with no upsets. In the past, December has had both my back fracture T 10 in 2003 and B’s MDS diagnosis in 2019. So I often have anxiety about December probably remembering the emotions at those times.

On the frugal things.

I’m planning to do a No Spend/low spend December. I have bought enough from Amazon over the last month so I want to scale back that spending. Besides Christmas things, I bought Simple Human garbage bags, beeswax candles, and ??? I don’t include food or gas or other necessities but no extra things.

B got the oil changed in the Santa Fe, it needed some new filters so that added to the cost. I’ll up the cash envelope so it can fully cover those things.

We had the propane filled and that was $259 so really not bad at all. This is a quarterly bill and I plan to start and envelope for that. I’ve been watching some Youtubers cash envelopes and most fill the envelopes and then take to the bank. I was curious if that’s what they did because some of their envelopes were quite large. One woman had $600 in one for daycare and then moved that over when it was due. So I like that idea and it will keep me accountable. I like the cash envelope system and it’s working very well really.

I didn’t go to the grocery store this week, except I sent B to go down to the Holiday Market for sour cream and buttermilk I needed for recipe which I haven’t made yet.

Today is still a Dex/ no drive day for me so I’m going to make some cookies and plan next week’s menu. This week we had 3 freezer meals including stuffed peppers last night. So that really helps the budget. I also used the last pressure canned split pea soup and that was delicious.

Tonight we’re ordering pizza. I need to do an order from Central Milling for my 00 pizza flour. I think I missed their Cyber Monday sale but that’s ok.

Tomorrow, I’m planning on going to the pool and then to Trader Joe’s so money will be spent there. I don’t need a whole lot but TJ’s always has something interesting.

Here’s a look at our BIG BUCKIE. He’s circling our hilltop looking for girls. I hope he stays safe and out of the road. Last week on the freeway I counted 4 dead deer. On our main road, I saw 2 deer hit by cars. People drive too fast thru town here where the speed limit is posted at 25mph.

I’m pretty sure he’s limping on that leg in the back. I hope he’s safe. I would love if an antler fell off though since I collect them.

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, cooking, meal planning, swimming, Uncategorized by

It was a cold morning walk with lots of frost at the park but no one else was there. 🙂

Yesterday, I baked 6 of the small sugar pumpkins and then made puree to freeze. I have 3 small ones left and I may or may not do them.

Then I made ‘Goldies Spinach Soup’ from the mystery book series by Diane Mott Davidson. It’s a great soup although she doesn’t puree hers and I do. No cooking today so I’ll just pull something from the freezer. I have a curry to use and some jasmine rice I froze so I think that’s what I’ll do.

Today, I plan to go to the Auburn gym and do upper body weights. After that, maybe put up some Christmas decorations. We’ll see.

This week has only my Velcade appt, a Roseville gym/library day, and one swim day.

We watched ‘Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, a classic Thanksgiving movie. Then the other night we watched ‘Knives Out’ which is one of my favorite Thanksgiving movies. It’s not really about Thanksgiving but it’s fall back East and looks like how it did when I was growing up.

We’ve finished all the leftovers from Thanksgiving and I made up 2 freezer meals. I’ve made some notes for next year to further simplify the meal.