Princess Perky's Page

At the store yesterday we walked all around, and backtracked, cause I let my son be in charge of the list, which means we walked right past so many things we needed and had to go back for them! But he felt very important, so I don't mind.

Course my legs mind! I am tired, I am a wuss really I must be to think walking around a store for 45 minutes is work, 'course I had to carry my 18 lb kid for half of it, that is part of why I think it is work.

I am wondering if it counts as frugal fitness though, I would have done it regardless of my get in shape goal...

err we don't want to talk about it....

Actually we bought, grapes, apples, flour, and sugar, that was the budget, then we also bought cheese, pickles (splurge) grahams (splurge) milk, eggs, corn bread (I make lousy from scratch) and bounce.

Really not like we got that much splurging.

Most of the flour is to bake and share at church, the rest is all foods I think are healthy, and I don't want to cut just to pay off the house earlier.

My son hates handwriting, he loves being creative, loves drawing, loves reading. But hates handwriting, mostly I go easy on him because I didn't write for years do to my dislike, not till we accuired a word proccessor and my hands grew did I 'write' for fun.

But I hit on an idea for some subtle weekly practice, the grocery list. Kid wants my to buy burger buns, he needs to help make the grocery list! Plus it will help with spelling, though many foods are 'weird' (sugar?)

So far this Months working out challenge has been a frugal success, apparently if you just do it it works! I am a 'perfectionist' not as in I do it all right, but that if I don't do it perfect I want to give up and avoid it.

Well Self.com has some strength training moves, written out, I am terrible at following workout directions written out. But I did it, I just tried to figure them out for 20 minutes, and I surrvived! Judging by mild pain and desire to rest the following day I think I did some good! I have done it three times now, and while I still don't think I am doing it perfectly, but I seem to be getting more definition in my waistline, so it must be doing something!

I also have the misconception that a mini walk is a waste of time, which is silly with all the reports on how any excercise is beter than none, so this week even if I can only get out for 15 minutes (20 if you count coat s on time for 3 little ones!) I am doing it! I did it once already this week (the other days we had time for 30 minutes or more) It was a bit cold and we had to spend more time bundleing up than at the playground, but we did it, and I burned (according to self.com) I think 75 calories. Hey thats 75 more than nothing!

Ok so I relly shouldn't complain, plenty of people in the north are in the middle of winter right now, and here I am with cold feet complaining about the weather which will be 65 or 70 mid afternoon. But I live in the south for a reason, I want summer here!!!!

Now ask me mid August and I will be desperate for winter!

I am cold, I want to dress my baby in less, My kids out the door faster and without wondering whihc coat is needed. I want to go outside more (burn calories!) and I want to stop having the winter sloth that effects me every year (I think they have a disease name for it now, something about lack of sunshine makeing people depressed, and stuff - I just get fat and lazy though, or well that and a bit depressed)

well actually the kids ate them up, but my husband and I were not interested in a repeat anytime soon!

I actually have a sortof menu for the next week planned:

Spinache lasagna
Burgers (found them on sale, great price)
Enchaladas (or tacos, depending on how lazy I am)
Chili
Rice something (I said sortof!)
French toast

I keep forgetting to put in here, I picked Marches goal, frugal fitness!

I really need to get back in the habit of walking and working out, between a baby and winter sloth I am out of shape!

I found

DH has said NO to the bigger car, and I understand why, I just don't happen to agree. But oh well.

Ok so I really do know that I do not need a bigger car, but Oh I REALLY want one. We have a car that seats 5, two adults in front, and three car seats accross the back.

But no one else, just us, which means I can't ask my niece to babysit, no way to get her home .

I can't have any friends of the kids in the car, no room.

I can't sit beside my baby to distract him on long car trips (like 5 hours to Bros, or 8 to Pgh) No room.

This sucks....

At the playground yesterday I was talking to a woman who said my son looked like the kid who won the parents cover contest. Or parenting, or something. Really I swear they are all written by the same person! But the winner got 3,000 dollars for sending in a picture!

I was thinking I should consider sending my kids picture out (all 3 of the kids) to see if I can get money, but at the same time, do I really want to look up all those addresses and spend the stamp money? What are the odds on that sort of thing?

I am trying to get the stuff out of my 'uncategorized' group from the old format into nice neat categories, and in the process I am reading up on things about a year ago. Back when I thought I would be in debt for the rest of my sons childhood! I am still sure I will have hte house that long, but I have hopes of improving that.

I was also reading on how hard it was to get my grocery bill down, and now I am still complaining, so I guess not all has changed in the year!

My son has requested a dinosaur cake for his birthday, I aim to please but I am not buying a store dedorated cake, So instead we got him a lego dinosaur set, and we will put the dinosaurs on the cake, he gets the rest as his gift. I figure some green grassy areas, and some blue water maybe some form of vulcano (cupcake on top, with red icing on sides?) But now I have to work on the invitations to fit, and decorations or games.

Last year at 3 he got a 'treasure hunt' complete with buried tresure.

The year before (2yo) we played 'Blue's clues' complete with blue pawprints.

At 1yo we just did balloons and hoped he didn't have a meltdown (he didn't)

I was thining of doing an invitation with dinosaur footprints or something, prehistoric wording maybe? Not sure how to do that, but I know after my experience with antiqued paper for the treasure hunt, I am NOT doing that! I want printable paper! No way am I handwriting that many invitations again!

I had a bag of fresh carrots yesterday so I shredded the whole lot. Only my son eats them raw, but we all like them in things. Last night was black bean fiesta, and I tossed in a cup of shreds, you couldn't even tell, but it tasted good.

Actually the beans were really good, not err, beany . I have no idea how I did that, but I hope I can repeat soon.

I also have plans to make carrot muffins with the shreds, and in the meantime I froze them, unfortunatly I don't have enough freezer containers to freeze that much, so I used ziplocks, my last two. I will have to get more, I would rather go with containers for reusability (no offense to ziplock washers, I just don't) but I like the flexability of the bag, cause I have to 'break offf' a chunk when I use it.

So yesterday we went to BJs and Foodlion, not bad for a total of 100$ Not great but better than last month, and it included two gifts.

But then we also went to the science center, for $37 plus 25 for dinner.

I also paid the phone bill, we spent 20$ in calls over the limit!!! No more talking to mom every day (sorry mom)

The good news is I grabbed a cloth diaper today, and am a bit more commited to spending less.

This is a good thing I am the only woman I know whos husband is generally smaller, but he is in great shape, and aside from around an inch when I am pregnant he has always been. (he is also the same height, so no extra width due to height.


The only excercise planned today is a trip to BJs for groceries, but luggimg around my 18lb kid should make it count!

I payed bills last night, still a rather large total in there, which is partly cool, but also partly hard to be frugal with!

This is a good thing, I don't want them to fit, and they don't, only 1 week of half hearted effort and already they don't fit, that is awesome, I love it, I really am looking forward to the next few weeks in hopes of more good news (maybe more pants that don't fit!)

Oh and I have great news, spring is here in NC!!!! I went for a walk this morning, wonderful weather, I have windows open right now! I love NC!!!! (well talk to me again in August, but I love it now!)

My husband has been playing the challenge game for only 2 months in his spare time. You can check the details at his site if you want

The rooms are reserved at 151 a night, but Mom didn't get an exact total so I don't know what the cost is, I might want to budget more for the trip if the rooms are over 150 like origionally though.

I also am running into the food gap, Mom forgets it is not only my kids that eat a ton, but DH and I as well, culture shock comes to mind! I have to look into how much food we can pack, as I am sure grocery prices in DC are more than here in Charlotte.

We also have tentative plans for our next trip to PGH, around Easter, as soon as I can get some firm dates off of my bro and BIL, we can firm up our dates. I hate unpredictability when planning is needed!

So I really want to workout, and get my prepregnancy size back, but....err.... well.... I don't have any church clothes that will fit if I do! I realized this as a I got ready Sunday, I honestly have no smaller skirts for church!

Though on an up note I did find, already, my current skirt was loose, that means one week of halfhearted work is paying off!

I think it may be anti frugal, but when I am down I will buy a new skirt! One that is the proper length. I really don't like mid calf, I feel frumpy, so for church I think long and flowing, but fitted waist. Heh, kindof fun to dream, and I prolly should start looking now, I can be rather picky, so it could take awhile to find something!

Not as in Stupid (they are quite smart) but as in actually using them as weights. I was lifting my youngest in 'baby presses' the other night, and I thought for fun I would continue with some other mini workouts. IT sent all three into giggle fits, but I managed to burn a few calories, and more interestingly to me, in just 10 minutes I was soreish the next day!

Not enough to regret it, just enough to think progresss will be made on the waistline. Children may be the most frugal workout, and alot more fun than any other form IMO!

I also did 'baby curls' 'baby kisses' (like crunches but to kiss a kids head. Lots of 'kid lifts' (requires balance on the kids part, sitting on the sides or tops of my legs) and some old fashioned wiggles, wiggle the legs with them on top and watch the hair floof and the giggles emmerge!

Then I also tried 'zooming' them in a basket, bit of an arm workout and managed to get my heart rate pumped up, I just added my 4 month old when I needed to 'cool down' (can't zoom him quite as fast!)

The church we go to has a goal of raising 2 million to build a new sanctuary, I agree it is a need, their current one is too small, but I also don't see how they are going to get 2 million in addition to their monthly expenses!

One family talked about 10K extra for a couple families (2mil/10K = 500 families)

There are not 500 families in the church! There are prolly not 500 active members! I really think some common sense frugality is in order, but no one asked me.

OUCH!

140! that is WAAAAAY over budget, see what I mean about getting the money out of the account!

431 for the month! way over budget, by a huge amount!

I don't know if we are going to do better in March or if we are going to change the budget!

When I had a CC debt looming over my head I was generally motivated, I would get discouraged but I was still motivated, now? well umm it ain't easy!

Getting up early to pay off a house in 24 years instead of 25 is not easy! well getting up period after nursing DS isn't easy period!

I need to write down the debt and see how to tweak the numbers to make me more motivated. Like DS will be out of college before I get the house paid off! Maybe if I figure out what extra we will have to pay to get it done before he is 18 or something. (I would love to do it in less than 7 years though, like the bible tine for debt)

My husbands poker challenge is actually working, he just got our kids three educational games with a gift certificate he earned (we might have bought one without it, but not all 3, so we can't add the money to the challenge or anything), and his original investment is up to around 200, pretty good for a hobby!

I had my first grader review his new Computer game and just today a new CD of his, I think it is helping him with the 'complete sentences' and expressing himself. I put it all up on our website and I want to move it to the BBA website so that I can let other people read it. (I am fanatical about letting people see our real names and address, and such.)

Mainly becaue I want to know if it is reasonable from a first grader! This is such a frugal way to get English practice, and help me remember what is on the computer games in a couple years when my daughter is ready for them.

edit, I did it!

I know I said this before, but It hasn't moved and I went and splurged! Well we did. I needed eggs to make brownies, so I suggested to DH we go to the store a day early, no big deal, or to much money, except we had to have dinner out before shopping! to the tune of 50$! what was I thinking! I know it is there and I wanted to splurge.

Then we went shopping I dunno how much yet, and we still have to get some things! Really I HAVE got to move that money!

On a plus note it gave me great satisfaction to buy the wipes at a1$ more a box, just because I had no CC debt, and I like unscented better. (why does it cost more to get unscented?)

So do you suppoise walking around carrying a 17lb baby counts as excersise for Thursday? I hope so cause it was all I got!

I finally remembered, they drop off this collection bag for clothing and whatnot everyonce in awhile and I always forget to fill and put it out, not that I don't have stuff, just that I forget to put said stuff out.

This time I did it, and that will save on Gas for a trip to the Good will, well I still have more stuff but it is raining and I didn't want to get the cardboard wet, but maybe they will do it again. I would love to empty my house of clutter without having any hassle (or cost)

I got up at 5 and worked out, then I went to self.com to log it, and the food I ate aleady, well I am in the middle of the oatmeal now. But I think keeping track online will help me, and since my waistline is going the wrong way after my baby I need the help!

So far it says I burned 189 calories working out, dunno how accurate that is though.

Oh and I wrote out the check for the CC, no more huge numbers in the checking account, but what a relief!

Now normally I have good eaters, they eat what I put in front of them with little to no complaint, but on occasion I find a meal they devour as fast as I can dish it up, well not my husband, he never eats fast no matter how good! Anyway I have to write the recipe down fast so I don't forget it!(I made it up tonight - well based off of other peoples similar dishes, or at least what my taste buds rmember of them)

Parsley Potatoes: Warning-I don't do amounts!

1. Cut up and boil some potatoes (6?)

2. Add veggies when you can poke the potatoes with a fork but before they are done (I used corn, but I hope small green peas or cut up carrots would work too) (3 or 4 cups)

3. Drain then put back in pot with:
- 3/4 stick of butter (salted or not)
- onion powder (some)
- pepper (some)
- parsely (lots)

4. Mix together
-chicken boilion and
-2 cups boiling water (I used the kettle) and
-1 tablespoon cornstarch

5. Add above onto potatoes and vegetables warm up and serve.