Menu Plan Monday - April 7-14

My menu plan was all carefully made, and shopped for, and then Miss Pear got sick, and then she shared with us.... So who knows how this menu plan will work out, but it is nice to have a plan, and ideas to steal from. Also, because I try to plan the bulk of my meals from my freezer and pantry, and then stock said freezer and pantry using sales. This not only saves us money, it is great when we get sick unexpectedly because our pantry includes a stock pile of pharmacy like type purchases. (see how I am doing this while saving money here.)

Our meals for the weekends are constantly being bumped because of people coming to see our place as we are trying to sell, and are therefore trying to keep it neat (somehow I don't think anyone wants to see our dirty dishes). Or they are arriving just as I would have to be starting supper. This is so frustrating! If you have any ideas on this, please let me know. We are tired of sandwiches and of leaving just as we were going to start lunch. We have a 22 month old too.....

So without further ado, here is my menu plan, Saturday to Saturday as that is grocery shopping day!



Saturday

Breakfast - Hot Cross Buns
Lunch - Pizza Rolls
Supper - Veggie Lasagna from the freezer

Sunday

Breakfast - Overnight Blueberry French Toast
Lunch - Left Over Lasagna
Supper - BBQ Steak, sweet potatoes, carrots and rolls

Monday

Breakfast** - Yogurt and Fruit
Lunch - Macaroni Bake (freezer)
Supper - Chili (freezer)

Tuesday

Breakfast - French Toast
Lunch - Tuna Sandwiches
Supper - Meatballs with Pineapple sauce, rice, veggies

Wednesday

Breakfast - Yogurt and fruit
Lunch - Pasta
Supper - Chicken Cacciatore and Rice


Thursday

Breakfast - Raisin Bagel and fruit
Lunch - Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Supper - Spaghetti and veggies

Friday (Mr Pear telecommutes)

Breakfast - Cinnamon Buns (make on Thursday)
Lunch - Turkey Burgers and baby carrots
Supper - Pizza and Salad (I have found that if I put pineapple on it, Miss Pear eats it happily)

Saturday

Breakfast - Pancakes
Lunch - Pepper Steak Rice (freezer)
Supper - Creamy Chicken with Wild Rice* (Slow cooker)

Breads
Oatmeal Bread~
Sourdough Bread -- third time using this starter
3 Four Bread~


Cookies
Spicy Dad's
No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal

Loaves and Muffins
Soy Banana Loaf~
Apple Loaf ~
Banana Oatmeal Muffins
Orange Loaf ~

Other
Lemon Pie
Blueberry Pie
Granola Bars
Granola
Fruit Leather

~ from the More with Less Cookbook (can be found on my sidebar if you want to check it out).

* Indicates a new recipe, a review will be posted after I have made it.

** During the week it is just Miss Pear and I for lunch

Someone Else's Home

As I mentioned earlier this week, we are very discouraged with trying to sell our home, and really have had quite enough of this! A lovely agent called Monday or Tuesday night to show our home, and after I hung up from arranging an appointment, I wanted to call back and cancel. I don't want to show our home any more. I am done.

I am done because this whole time we have been on the market (since September! There have been governments who have lasted less time than we have been on the market!) I have felt like I am living in someone else's home.

I am afraid to start any real projects - like really organizing that guest room closet - because I am convinced I will get everything out and someone will knock on our door!

I am loath to start major baking projects or multiple baking projects because as soon as the kitchen is at its worst, someone will knock on our door!

I am constantly cleaning up Miss Pear's things because I don't want to be so far behind that I cannot tidy up in 15 minutes or less!

I stick to my housekeeping schedule out of paranoia rather than a sincere desire to bless my family. Even Tuesday, on three hours sleep I stripped our bed (including mattress and pillow covers, after all, it is the first week of the month), washed it all, and remade it, changed our towels, changed Miss Pear's crib and bathroom towels, dusted both rooms, cleaned both bathrooms and swept the kitchen floor....all after hosting a play date! I think I am slowly losing it here!

I pulled out material to cut in order to make napkins. Miss Pear woke up, and one of the first things I did, after greeting her, changing her, etc, was to put the fabric away!

My sweet mother-in-law gave me Christmas money, some of which I used to buy the Edwardian apron pattern and material, and I have gotten as far as cutting the pattern, nothing else! After all, there is the mess of cutting the material, then I have to open up my sewing machine, and what if someone calls! Then there is the material for the new place mats, napkins and apron, all matching, that I have been meaning to make since September - still in the bag. Then there is the material to line Miss Pear's toy basket, also still in the bag.

I think I am living on hold...not good.

But I really can only describe how I am feeling about all this by saying that I feel like I am living in someone else's home and they are expected home any moment!

But yet, I know that God has a plan in play - a good one! One I am going to look back on and go, "Wow, guess it was all worth it!" I know this, and am very confident it is true. And so I pray for the fulfillment of His plan, and for faith and confidence in Him to get through this. Did I mention that my most frequent prayer right now is, "Please help me Lord, I cannot do this!" Knowing full well that He can.

My mother-in-law is coming down for two weeks the end of this month, and by golly we are going to get some of these projects done!

We can do it, because if someone calls there are two of us to do the mad dash tidy......

Although in the mean time, we are again fighting discouragement. Our agent wants us to cut our price...again. And the other two town homes for sale in our complex are going to sell as they have offers pending against them. We are definitely in need of a miracle.

Miss Pear is very sick with a cold today, and someone wants to see our home at 3:00....so here we go again....

Money Saving Baby Steps

So as you may know from reading around here that I am trying to be more frugal.

Basically, we live in a very expensive area - Southern California AKA Shake and Bake - although we are more bake than shake in our particular neck of the woods. The bad news is that we are trying to move to a more expensive area so that my husband will not have to commute 80 miles each way. (Our monthly gas budget is currently too scary to mention.)

So to help, I am taking baby steps to cut budget lines now so when we move it is not a case of desperation! We also have specific savings goals I want to help us reach in any way I can! Mostly I am trusting God to provide, as always, but I am also trying to use wisely what He is blessing us with!

Baby step number 1: Use what we have more thoroughly!

Baby step number 2: Combine the grocery and household goods budget lines under the grocery amount.

This second item is tricky. It is technically two line items on our budget. So rather than divide my focus, I have a new goal.

To shop with savvy and intelligence so that each month I can purchase both our household goods and groceries with the money budgeted for groceries. (Baby step number 3 will be to cut the $ amount).

I started making steps towards this last month, but this is the month where I start keeping serious track.

Here is how I did on this week's shopping:

CVS - Spent about $8 for $40 worth of items, and discovered that ECB's now print out on the same receipt - no more waiting for the next shopping trip to get them! I should do better and CVS going forward now as I think established with the ECB's.

Vons - great sales, and with sales and double coupons I saved 51% on my bill. A first for me! I have been working hard to save more than I spend without buying stuff we don't need for a long time and I finally accomplished it!

Henry's - $16 for milk and produce -- local store with great produce that is also cheaper, and where we can get organic milk.

I ended the week about $2 over budget to my combining goal, but I did a big shop this week because of great sales, also, looking at my pantry, I may just need milk, fruits and veggies next week! (I filled some very big gaps in it this week). Also, it is a monthly budget, I just break it up weekly to help me.

Unfortunately we ran out of something I had to go to Home Depot for, and spent $12.93, but have a $3 rebate. So that stinks, but I now have BBQ pans for the summer, and finally have Windex outdoor to clean our second story windows! Technically I should include this in my budget, but my husband is not sure about that. He is thinking I should cut myself some slack. I am tracking grocery items and household items separately so that can still see each, but really am trying to meet the goal I set for myself.

One thing I am doing to reach Baby Step number 2 goal is to not look through my cookbooks to see what looks good, and then buying all I need to make it. I have a list of recipes I would like to try, and when I make my menu I consult that to see if I have most things in my pantry. If I do, I put it on the list, if not I keep watching for sales. I am basically trying cook and bake from my pantry and freezer and replenishing those with sales and a few other items I need that week. That helps a lot!

Of course I am also clipping coupons, and getting a friend who does not coupon to bless me with hers! (In return I give her daughter all my Bed Bath and Beyond coupons! They just bought a house, so they need them!) Ideally I am buying sale items and combining with coupons (and the Vons near our place is having great sales recently and is doing double coupons).

I also am using the CVS ExtraCare program to earn ExtraBucks, and I think I am at the point now that if I shop carefully I will be spending very little each week there, so that helps a lot too.

Things that make this hard:
Miss Pear is allergic to potatoes, eggs, and severely allergic to nuts.
Heart disease and high cholesterol run in both our families so we are careful in the meat we eat and try to eat a healthy lower fat diet.

But I am certain that we can do this!

It is a lot of work at first, but my husband is pleased with the savings so far, and I really feel like this is something God wants me to do, so that settles it!

Note:
Crystal had a great series on supermarket savings (that she turned into an ebook). The blog series helped me tremendously, and I have it printed out to help me!

Rachel had a post about how to get started with CVS ExtraBucks and that helped me a lot too!

Stamping with Miss Pear

So we decided it would be fun to try stamping with Miss Pear.

We rounded up all the supplies (including washable, non-toxic ink pads), broke out the paper, cover the kitchen table in newspaper and began!

I used the scientific starting method of covering the table with paper, laying out all the supplies, explaining, demonstrating, and then letting Miss Pear have at it! We had so much fun.

It was great fun! The smaller stamps that I thought might be awkward for Miss Pear were actually the perfect size!

So far, we are focusing on putting the stamp down squarely in the ink, then squarely on the paper, and not dipping our fingers in the ink pad and then touching things that are not covered in paper.

We had a blast! We are not up to stamping our own Easter cards this year, but we had a great time!

I highly recommend the washable ink pads, they do wash off, unless you have as much ink on our fingers as Miss Pear did, then it takes a day or so to wear off, but a good hand washing eliminated the little stamped fingerprints everywhere, at least in our case!

Just a mom

A good friend of mine recently emailed this to me. It has been making the rounds for a while, but I wanted to share it nonetheless. My friend said that she thought it sounded like something I would do....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

JUST A MOM?

A woman, renewing her driver's license at the County
Clerk 's office
Was asked by the woman recorder to state her occupation.


She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself.


"What I mean is," explained the recorder,
"do you have a job or are you just a......?"

"Of course I have a job," snapped the woman.


"I'm a Mom."

"We don't list 'Mom' as an occupation, 'housewife'
covers it,"
Said the recorder emphatically.


I forgot all about her story until one day I found
myself in the
Same situation, this time at our own Town Hall.

The Clerk was obviously a career woman, poised,
Efficient and possessed of a high sounding title like,
"Official Interrogator" or "Town Registrar."


"What is your occupation?" she probed.

What made me say it?
I do not know.
The words simply popped out.
"I'm a Research Associate in the field of
Child Development and Human Relations."

The clerk paused, ball-point pen frozen in midair and
Looked up as though she had not heard right.


I repeated the title slowly emphasizing the most
significant words.
Then I stared with wonder as my pronouncement was
written,
In bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.

"Might I ask," said the clerk with new interest,
"just what you do in your field?"

Coolly, without any trace of fluster in my voice,
I heard myself reply,
"I have a continuing program of research,
[what mother doesn't)
In the laboratory and in the field,
(normally I would have said indoors and out).
I'm working for my Masters, (first the Lord and then the
whole family)
And a lready have four credits (all daughters).
Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the
humanities,
(any mother care to disagree?)
And I often work 14 hours a day, (24 is more like it).

But the job is more challenging than most
run-of-the-mill careers and the rewards are
More of a satisfaction rather than just money."

There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk's
voice as she
Completed the form, stood up and personally ushered me
to the door.

As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up by my glamorous
new career,
I was greeted by my lab assistants -- ages 13, 7, and 3.

Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model,
(a 6 month old baby) in the child development program,
Testing out a new vocal pattern.
I felt I had scored a beat on bureaucracy!
And I had gone on the official records as someone more
distinguished and indispensable to mankind than
"just another Mom." Motherhood!


What a glorious career!
Especially when there's a title on the door.

Does this make grandmothers
"Senior Research associates in the field of
Child Development and Human Relations"
And great grandmothers
"Executive Senior Research Associates"?
I think so!!!
I also think it makes Aunts
"Associate Research Assistants".

Encouraging!

As a stay at home wife and mother living in California who prays I will be blessed to home school our children, I found this article encouraging.....

The Crucifixion from a Medical Perspective

Mrs. B over at Cherish the Home has an excellent article posted that looks at the crucifixion of Jesus from a medical perspective. It is honest and graphic, but worth the read.

Sometimes in our churches we kind of gloss over the physical pain that Jesus experienced on our behalf. We use the phrases like flogging and crucified, but don't explain those terms. And the Roman empire had this process down to a brutal and merciless form of torturous death.

As hard as the article is to read, it is well written, and does not seek the shock value, it seeks honesty. I highly recommend it for reading in preparation for Good Friday.

WFMW - Car Edition - Air Conditioning gear

When Miss Pear was about 6-8 weeks old I was required to appear at an USCIS Office (formerly the INS) for both the processing of my application for permanent residency (green card) and to have my fingerprints taken for the 3rd time because they had expired, again...I will pause while you ponder that last statement...and while you get all the jokes out of your system....this could take a while.....

So because I was nursing, Miss Pear refused to take a bottle, and we expected this to take all morning, Miss Pear came with us, even though we had a perfectly good babysitter grandmother visiting.

The appointment went well, but the office was FREEZING! They had the air conditioning CRANKED!

And we did not have a warm blanket to wrap Miss Pear up in - just a receiving blanket. After all, it was a beautiful June day!

So in addition to emergency items we keep car blankets in the car - one for picnicking or the beach, and something to keep little ones warm. We also keep a little poncho now that Miss Pear is getting bigger.

Being prepared with warm clothing -- not for cold weather, we live in Southern California, we need warm clothing in the car for the unexpected cranked air-conditioning!

Today is works for me Wednesday, the car edition, so for more great ideas, head on over to Mrs. Dryer's - there are some great tips!

Book Review: The Way of Perfection

I recently finished

The Way of Perfection

which was an unusual book in the fact that Theresa of Avila had written it to the nuns in her order, not to a woman some 600 years later! The result is an unusually conversational style for that time period which is delightful.

I did find this book to be a bit hard to read as she would sometimes get caught up in bunny trails, or repeat herself by saying it in a completely different way to emphasize points to her nuns. But this is well worth overcoming to gleam the nuggets in this book.

One important thing she discussed is praying with our whole focus being on the Lord, and even taking time to focus our thoughts and heart before we begin! Oh, this was a reminder and lesson I sorely needed! So often I just launch in, and to be honest, I wonder how God could get a word in edgewise! Prayer is a conversation, and so often when I launch in, it becomes a monologue.

She also has great discussions about getting along with others in the order, which could very well be retitled getting along with others in the Church, and she makes points in such a way that you wonder why you have fallen into that bad behavior! Or at least I did!

But there was one point that struck me, that I still think about, and still wonder about. I was reading this book when we discovered that we were going to lose our baby, and miscarried, and when I read this quote on page 99, it stuck in my head, "...the King does not allow himself to be taken except by the one who surrenders wholly to Him." So often I find that I want so much to submit to the Lord, but part of me rebells! In this case I found myself submitting because I had finally collapsed under the weight of it all. I remember asking our pastor if it was really submission, if it really counted if I did not consciously decide to commit be just collapsed under it all. He assured me that it was, and I find myself reviewing this statement from the book again in light of this. It is true, I want as much of the Lord in my life as possible, and that only comes through obedience and submission.

This was not the easiest to read book, but it was worth it! So often we write off, or ignore the saints in the protestant church, but in doing so we miss some great opportunities to learn from those who have gone before us. And I must say that I learned a great deal from this book!

However, I do recommend reading her biography first, particularly:

Teresa Of Avila

On the Mrs. Pear rating system (below) I give this book 4 pears!

5 Pears - Fabulous! Too good for words! What do you mean you haven't read this one yet! Go, immediately, and get a copy! This book must be in your library! I would lend you mind, but I cannot part with it! Besides, I think I will start rereading it tonight!

4 Pears - Excellent - I loved this book, definitely worth picking up or borrowing from a friend or getting from a library - a must read!

3 Pears - Good - I liked it, it would be a good book to get from your library or to borrow from a friend, probably not one to invest precious book money in though.

2 Pears - Not bad - it would be okay if I were stranded in an airport or on a deserted island and this was all I could find to read.

1 Pear - Awful! Do not waste your time or money on this one! How did this get published?

Is crying aloud in real estate?

I am SO discouraged.

Our house has been on the market since September and has not sold.

A house in our town home complex listed a month and a half ago, and just got an offer that will lead to them selling. We found out last night. I ended up getting about 3 hours of sleep.

It is very discouraging. We are priced right, have great hickory hardwood floors, oak shutters on the living room windows, a front balcony, back yard, three bedrooms, all new carpet and fresh paint.

Every one raves about it, and no one makes a reasonable offer. (No word on the 4 people who were here on Sunday, so not looking good).

I love our home, we have worked very hard on decorating it, and I work hard to keep it up, and no one wants it.

I know God has a big plan in play that I cannot see, and I am trusting in Him to get us through this, but I am feeling discouraged today.

Miss Pear, the impatient gardener

So Miss Pear likes to examine her pots that have seeds planted in them to see if anything is growing yet. She likes the up close examination - she gets her nose about two inches from the soil and studies it carefully, then looks from other angles, just to be certain, all the while talking in a sweet little voice to her seeds.

So far only one speck of green, but Miss Pear checks each pot each day with great care, from different angles, and then repeats.

Remebering...

Mrs. Dryer has a great post up about remembering her lost baby that resonated with me!

It has been one month, and we feel better than we did, even though there are still days that it hurts, a lot. Part of us will always be attached to that little baby we did not get to hold. But we prayed for him, talked to him, and made lots of plans for him. And we will see him one day. Until then, there is no way we will forget that child we had inside me for a couple short weeks.

Menu Plan Monday - March 31 - April 7

Hi,

My focus this week is getting ready for Easter weekend, and getting a new stash of lunches in the freezer for Mr. Pear. (Hot Cross buns are already in the freezer!)

The Pepperoni Rolls that I finally made last week were delicious - the only changes I made were that I used my home made pizza sauce, and put it in the rolls instead of saving it for dipping. I think I would add pineapple next time just for Miss Pear!

Our meals for the weekends are constantly being bumped because of people coming to see our place as we are trying to sell, and are therefore trying to keep it neat (somehow I don't think anyone wants to see our dirty dishes). If you have any ideas on this, please let me know. We are tired of sandwiches and of leaving just as we were going to start lunch. We have a 22 month old too.....

So without further ado, here is my menu plan, Saturday to Saturday as that is grocery shopping day!



Saturday

Breakfast - Hot Cross Buns
Lunch - Out for lunch - someone was coming to see our place and we were hungry!
Supper - Pizza

Sunday

Breakfast - Cereal and fruit
Lunch - BBQ Hamburgers
Supper - Chicken Enchiladas (from the freezer), Tomato and Sweet Pepper Rice, and Veggies

Monday

Breakfast** - Yogurt and Fruit
Lunch - Tuna Sandwiches and tomatoes
Supper - Spaghetti and salad (make sauce in slow cooker)

Tuesday

Breakfast - Raisin Bagel and fruit
Lunch - Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Supper - BBQ Chicken and Veggies

Wednesday

Breakfast - Yogurt and fruit
Lunch - Macaroni Bake Leftovers
Supper - Taco Stuffed Jumbo Shells (make a tray for the freezer)


Thursday(day Mr. Pear telecommutes, we think)

Breakfast - Raisin Bagel and fruit
Lunch - Turkey Burgers
Supper - Meatloaf, Sweet Potato Fries, beans

Friday (Mr Pear is off)

Breakfast - Hot Cross Buns
Lunch - Veggie Soup and Rolls
Supper - Veggie Lasagna and Bread

Saturday

Breakfast - Hot Cross Buns and Fruit
Lunch - Leftover Lasagna
Supper - Southwest Skillet

Breads
Oatmeal Bread~
Sourdough Bread -- third time using this starter
3 Four Bread~


Cookies
Spicy Dad's
No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal

Loaves and Muffins
Soy Banana Loaf~
Apple Loaf ~
Banana Oatmeal Muffins
Orange Loaf ~

Other
Bunny Cake (Three dimensional, Devil's food flavor using this pan)
Butter Tart Square
Blueberry Pie
Granola Bars
Granola
Fruit Leather

~ from the More with Less Cookbook (can be found on my sidebar if you want to check it out).

* Indicates a new recipe, a review will be posted after I have made it.

** During the week it is just Miss Pear and I for lunch

Umm, yes, I will get back to you on that

My dear Internets (to quote Boomama)

I am feeling the ick today (nothing serious, just ick), and thought this would be a great day to rest with my laptop on my knees and post witty posts and intelligent book reviews, and regale you with humorous stories from this past week.

Yet, I cannot.

I am much too busy trying to manage this parade of real estate agents and their clients through our home and being gracious to them, and refraining from sinking to one particular agent's level of rudeness.

I must say that my experience of running my parent's hotel and my professional training as a planner (nope, not kidding) are coming in very handy!

Happy Sunday, I must dash to prepare for yet another agent.

May the Lord bless you abundantly this precious Lord's Day.

The Mrs. Pear Book Review Rating System

You may have picked up on the fact that I LOVE to read. And I love to talk about what I read. So I would like to do some book reviews on my little blog! However, it occurs to me that a rating system would be helpful, so I designed my own little version of it:


5 Pears - Fabulous! Too good for words! What do you mean you haven't read this one yet! Go, immediately, and get a copy! This book must be in your library! I would lend you mind, but I cannot part with it! Besides, I think I will start rereading it tonight!

4 Pears - Excellent - I loved this book, definitely worth picking up or borrowing from a friend or getting from a library - a must read!

3 Pears - Good - I liked it, it would be a good book to get from your library or to borrow from a friend, probably not one to invest precious book money in though.

2 Pears - Not bad - it would be okay if I were stranded in an airport or on a deserted island and this was all I could find to read.

1 Pear - Awful! Do not waste your time or money on this one! How did this get published?

2 book reviews posting shortly...I hope.