Unseasonably warm winter or confused daffodil?

I think a bit of both.

Yesterday began as a kitchen day. It had been a while since I did a fair amount of baking (and we were almost out of bread). I baked 4 loaves of whole wheat sandwich bread, a dozen cinnamon-raisin buns, a batch of cinnamon granola, a small batch of cupcakes (my sweet tooth kicking in), and I made a quart of Greek yogurt. I finished up just in time for a gorgeous day to come to my yard.

I was able to have lunch on the deck, haul one of the laundry racks outside to dry a load of clothes in the almost-spring air, and wandered into the garden to check on the bulbs that I planted this past fall. That's when I spied this daffodil all poised to bring spring to me! Alas, the sneak peek at spring was short-lived. Rain and cooler temps are expected to return later today.

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Now for the boring part of this post (boring for you, maybe, but exceedingly helpful for me).
I spent a good share of Tuesday afternoon rereading last year's January, February and March grocery journals. January and February were low-spend grocery months, but March was quite high. We could afford that last year. But our budget has changed since then.

Not wanting to repeat some of the excessive spending from last March, I took some time to look over the journals. I was able to pinpoint some particulars to avoid for this March, hoping to be more mindful of our budget. To that end, I am mentally preparing for potential sales and mark downs. Deciding in advance, should specific foods come up for sale this next month, how much am I willing to spend on each, and how much in quantity am I willing to stockpile. This is an important step for me. If I establish my boundaries in advance, I am much more likely to keep my spending in check.

I mention all of this, as keeping records has helped our household live within our means, regardless of income. Writing it down (or typing it up) keeps us accountable. Just knowing that it will be recorded somewhere keeps a check on a good deal of my spending. It's like a budget report card. The written record is the evidence of good or poor spending choices.

In addition, this record gives me something to look back to, evaluate and learn from. When I'm feeling down about our finances, I can look to success in meeting our budget, and remind myself that we're doing well given our circumstances. And, I can reflect on our spending and find areas for improvement, or pitfalls to avoid.

I feel confident that we'll be able to reduce our grocery costs for this March, as compared to last year. A bit of preparation makes all the difference for me.

Sometimes, I think we're just a tad too squeamish

There are times when upon later reflection, I've realized that I was unreasonably squeamish about something, usually food.

The company where my son works brings in take-out for lunch everyday, as a perk for its employees. One day last week, they had take-out Chinese for lunch. There was a large carton of white rice and a smaller one of brown rice leftover. The office was just going to throw this rice away at the end of the day, when my son spoke up and said he'd take it home.

My initial thought was, "ewww! Leftovers from people I don't even know!" I considered dumping it into the compost. Then I came to my senses. We gladly eat at church potlucks, with 100 or more people in attendance. I don't know all the people who've enjoyed those potlucks. We've eaten at restaurant buffets, and not only do I not know the other patrons, but I have no idea how long anything has sat on the buffet. This was rice, almost untouched with the exception of a spoon. My son not only works with these people, but considers them work-friends. So why was it that one kind of communal food was okay with me, but not another?

A good friend was relating her weekend evening with granddaughters. They had dinner at my friend's home, but left half glasses of their milk. My friend refrigerated the milk, to use in the next days. At first I had that same reaction as before, "ewww! Used milk!" But these were her dear granddaughters. How many times have we shared a lick of an ice cream cone with our child? Or tasted the baby food right from the infant's spoon? Or shared a brownie, piece of cake or cookie with our spouse? My reaction then seemed completely incongruent with other behaviors of mine.

You all know that I buy mostly marked down milk. There's usually 4-7 days left until the sell-by date. I see many other folks reach around the marked down milk, for a fresher container at regular price. This is totally reasonable, if you think that the container won't be used before it expires, and need a longer use-by window to consume the entire container. But what if you know that your family will indeed use all the milk before the sell-by date? My family goes through 1 gallon of milk every 3  1/2 days. I can easily use at least 1 marked down gallon of milk before the sell-by date comes around.

What about those bananas marked down because they are looking ripe? I mentioned to a friend who's been trying to reduce her grocery bill, that when I shop regular grocery stores for bananas, I always buy the red-taped ones, to save some money. She had that same reaction about my banana choice. "Ewww! Old bananas, yuck!" I pointed out that most of our store's red-taped bananas are just barely ripe, and just about ready for consumption. While I wouldn't want to eat a black banana, as is, I am more than happy to eat a perfectly ripe one. I suggested to my friend that she could buy a couple of the ripe bananas, then another couple of less-ripe ones (at regular price) for later in the week. She thought this was a reasonable compromise. When you think about it, if you're shopping for produce just once per week, by the end of the week, all of the produce left in your kitchen is "old". If reducing the grocery bill is important to your budget, then buying a few marked-down items to use early in the week, could be a help.

So, back to the rice that my son brought home last week. I did decide to use it that next day. I made a garlic and peanut sauce to pour over the white rice for dinner that night. And the day after, I mixed the brown rice with oatmeal for breakfast. Both dishes were very delicious. And I feel good about not wasting the food.

A little squeamishness has saved many a life, avoiding potentially harmful bacteria. But sometimes, I do think we're a bit too squeamish. Mostly, we just need to use common sense and think things through.