Happy 4th of July!!
Our local fireworks were last night and today, we are off having fun on the 4th. It's hard to believe it is already the middle of summer!! I have really enjoyed this summer because it has been fairly comfortable. Yes, we've had a few hot and steamy days but 80 degrees with some humidity is a little more bearable than 100 degrees with a heat index that makes it feel like 110 degrees. Last year by this point, I was making plans to escape the record breaking heat and ended up spending a long weekend with the kids at my brothers home in Indiana. This year, we have beautiful weather and I'm loving it. We've created "central air" in the two bedrooms by using fans to push cooler air into the boys room making it much better for sleeping. We had thought we would have to buy an A/C unit for their room but, so far, this plan has worked.
On to other things such as the weekly menu. I did do food prep last Saturday when I went shopping after vacation but did not take any photos. It included cutting up a free watermelon that I got after mentioning to the manger I know well that the last two I bought I had to throw away because they were so under ripe (and this watermelon was perfect), shucking 12 ears of corn to eat with meals this week - you can't beat $0.15 a piece-, blueberries, grapes, lettuce, and limes for drinking water.
We are in the middle of getting both cars fixed (the truck was unplanned, Darryl's car was planned) so our goal is to spend as little money as possible right now so we can get those things taken care of without feeling too much of a pinch so I'm working to keep meals as simple as possible, using the weekly ad to plan means and using as many coupons as I can get my hands on. On a side note, I used to coupon a lot - I'd spend up to 20 hours a week planning, cutting, printing, and shopping to save about 30% on my bill. I finally decided that my time was worth more than that and quit. I'm slowly starting to get back into it some. Even if I can knock $10.00 of what I spend, I figure that is a good deal.
Here's the plan:
Friday - Hamburgers, corn on the cob, and chips
Saturday - Brats, baked beans, Macaroni Salad
Sunday - Teryaki Chicken Thighs, Macaroni Salad and Corn on the cob
Monday - Beef Strogenoff, green beans and rolls
Tuesday - Oven Baked Chicken Thighs, Mac and Cheese, Carrots and bread
Wednesday - Just the boys and I - we'll probably get out of the house for dinner :-)
Thursday - Sloppy Joes, Pickles and Tater Tots
