101 Things in 1001 Days May 2012

#24 Write more stories my grandparents have told me down in the journal I have for that purpose. Done
#56 Plant eggplant and rhubarb - eggplant planted
#59 Take the boys strawberry picking - done
#61 Take the boys to a museum - done - we went to the Dubois Co. IN museum
#38 Put $1000 in savings. Done
#52 Clean out cabinet in bathroom #3 - done
#90 Blog 15 books for Booksneeze - 1 blogged - new total 2/15
#60 Take the boys to a zoo - done - we went to the Mesker Park Zoo in Evansville, IN
#25 Personal journal entries - added 2 - new total - 23/143
#26 Uncurable Bookworm blog - 1 entry added - new total 5/70
#27 Homekeeping blog - 4 entries added - new total 25/286
#78 Juvenile fiction - read 1 - new total 12/25
#80 Fiction - 4 read - new total 11/50
#81 Nonfiction - 5 read - new total 21/50
#82 New recipes - tried 7 - new total 37/143
#29 Handwritten cards & letters - sent 4 - new total 14/35
#83 Meal plans - new total 9/72

Garden Update May 2012

We have been doing a lot of gardening this month and the plants are thriving. So far in containers we have tomatoes, bell peppers, banana peppers, white eggplant, sweet potatoes, cinnamon basil, rosemary, blueberries, lemon thyme, apple mint, chocolate mint, pineapple sage, parsley, lavender, lettuce,squash, and marigolds. In the garden patch in the landscaping we have more squash, cherry tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, lemon cucumbers, cucumbers, eggplant, raspberries, marigolds, oregano, sweet potatoes, and spearmint. I've also planted a peony, a lilac, moss rose, snapdragons, dianthus, and zinnias.

Many of the herbs are planted in cheery red & yellow pots in the front of the house. Other plants are in pots and some are in 5 gallon buckets, ice cream buckets, and inexpensive black plastic containers that I found at Home Depot. I am nearly finished planting. I may make one more trip to get just a few more plants, but most of the work now will be weeding and watering. We are looking forward to harvesting our fresh vegetables!

101 Things in 1001 Days April 2012 Progress

#25 Personsal journal entries - added 7 - new total = 21/143 #26 Uncurable Bookworm blog - added 1 entry - new total = 4/70 #27 Homekeeping blog - added 4 entries - new total = 21/286 #70 Write a new poem - I wrote 2. This is the first I've writen in about 6 or 7 years so this is the highlight of my progress list for this month. #78 Juvy fiction books read - 4 - new total = 11/25 #79 Y/A fiction books read - 2 - new total = 4/15 #80 Fiction books read - 2 - new total = 7/50 #81 Nonfiction books read -9 - new total = 16/50 #82 New recipes tries - 5 - new total = 30/143 #83 New total for meal plans written = 7/72 #87 Watch "Dolphin Tale" and "Mr. Popper's Penguins" - done. Those made for two fun family movie nights. #91 Pull down wallpaper in hall bathroom and paint. Jim pulled the wallpaper down on his day off. #96 Make a blanket for Seth - started loom knitting one.

Gardening In Pots

I have begun this summer's container garden. A few weeks ago I bought several plants and tucked them into the large pot and 5 gallon buckets of soil that I saved from last year. Those plant (Roma tomatoes, 2 other varieties of tomatoes, red leaf and butter lettuce, sewwt banana peppers, red bell peppers, and yellow squash) are growing well. Tonight, an impromptu run to Rural King and Wal-Mart meant more plants and some cheery red and yellow pots to put them in. Tonight I potted apple mint, chocolate mint, pineapple sage, white eggplant, yellow and orange bell peppers, curly leaf parsley, and lavender. I still have cherry tomato, tomato, yellow squash, cucumber, orange bell pepper, lemon cucumber, and jalapeno plants that need to go in the ground. That means I need to yank a huge amount of weeds and clover out of the little garden patch in a corner of our landscaping. That corner already holds raspberries, oregano, and spearmint left from last year. Once I remove the weeds and put in the new plants, that corner will be finished. I am almost finished with the planting. The only things I still want to plant are sweet potatoes, rhubarb, and a few flowers. We were offered some space in a neighbor's garden and may also put some sweet corn over there. Since I just got into the last of the frozen peppers and strawberry jam from last year's garden, I am eager to see things growing again.

Real Food at Big Lots?

While shopping at Big Lots recently I was pleasantly surprised to find a nice assortment of snack foods made with real ingredients. Two that we have been enjoying are Garden of Eatin Sprouted Blues corn tortilla chips and Newman's Organics Organic Chocolate Alphabet Cookies. Both are made with real food ingredients such as blue corn, green lentils, organic chocolate, and cocoa. The tortilla chips are sturdy enough to hold up to dips, yet satisfying on their own. The cookies are very chocolatey without being too sweet. In addition to these two snacks, I spotted other snacks, cereals, and organic canned goods. There was also a display of Bob's Red Mill flours and grains. It is so nice to know I have a source for real food convenience foods at heavily discounted prices.

Menu Plan April 22-28

Here is this week's menu plan. There are two baseball games plus a practice in the evenings this week so I've tried to plan easy one-pot or crock pot meals for those nights. Breakfasts- granola, fruit, yogurt, cereal, toast with peanut butter or Nutella, juice, milk Lunches- turkey, ham, chicken, or pbj sandwiches, turkey, cheese, & crackers, fruit, Go-Gurt, pretzels, sugar cookie bars, some school lunches Suppers- Grilled hamburgers & corn on the cob Crock-pot chicken & dumplings with carrots, applesauce One-pot spaghetti made with ground turkey, kiwi, strawberries Leftovers Toasted ham, turkey, & swiss sandwiches, oranges, stir-fry veggies Corn fritters with honey sauce, green beans, mandarin oranges Leftovers or breakfast for supper Snacks-fruit, popcorn, pretzels, animal crackers, celery with peanut butter, graham crackers with Nutella, sugar cookie bars, carrot bread, no-bake energy balls, peanut butter crakers

Pick Another Checkout Lane Honey

When I saw Pick Another Checkout Lane Honey by Joanie Dema & Heather Wheeler at my local library I was interested enough in the title to pick it up. I'm so glad I did. This book is full of practical, easy to follow, instructions on how to make couponing work for anyone. The information is presented in a conversational tone sprinkled with humor, making the book a quick and fun read. At the end of the book coupon policies for many major stores are included. These policies, along with all of the other helpful tips in the book make this an excellent reference for couponing. As an occasional couponer, I was already familiar with much of the ideas in this book; however I did pick up some new information. After reading this book I am inspired to coupon with more focus and to begin slashing our grocery budget. I highly recommend Pick Another Checkout Lane Honey for anyone interested in couponing or in reducing expenses.