Celebrating Success

I was so proud of myself on Friday. I had an appointment in the morning, lasting until just after noon. I got in my car to drive home, and I kept thinking about picking up lunch somewhere. After about 15 minutes (the drive is about 30 minutes), I changed my thinking from "where could I get something delicious, but healthy?" to "what could I make at home that would be fast, delicious and healthy?" Delicious seemed to be most important!

I did come up with something. And it was delicious. And it didn't cost me anything extra! I made a quick, 2-cup batch of soup with the bulk bin items from WinCo, a piece of cinnamon toast and a glass of orange juice. Easy, healthy and yummy!

I was so pleased with myself about that lunch. I have renewed interest in prudence with our spending. I was watching a video about a woman photographer from the late 1800s to early 1900s. It was not only the story of her photography, but also of her life and attention to detail. I have met my match in her, I am convinced. This woman was so careful in documenting all of her correspondence, all of her expenses and all of her income. Really remarkable. I was inspired by how she took life on, just as it came to her.

Her name was Evelyn Cameron. The title of the video is Evelyn Cameron: Pictures from a Worthy Life. It aired on Montana PBS in 2009, and may be available through your library.

I will continue to be thoughtful with my spending, opting for long-term goal realization over short-term enjoyment. And I'm celebrating my successes, one after another!

When was the last time you celebrated one of your successes? Tell me all about it.

Cheap & Cheerful Suppers for a Late January Week

Friday

• lentil and vegetable soup, using whatever veggies I could find in the fridge, plus canned green beans, canned tomatoes and some macaroni pasta
• freshly-baked French bread (it came out of the oven 5 minutes before serving, can't get much fresher than that!)
• tangerines
• blondies that my daughter made, late, late, late last night (love those night-owl university students!)

Saturday

• hot dogs
• a pasta and nut sauce
• canned green beans
• cole slaw

Sunday

• ham and corn pudding
• yam casserole, topped with mini-marshmallows
• cole slaw

Monday

• leftover ham and corn pudding
• leftover yam casserole
• candied pineapple slices, sauteed in butter and brown sugar

Tuesday

• 10-minute turkey pot pie
• canned cranberry sauce
• olives
• blackberry-rhubarb sauce (from the freezer)

Wednesday

• leftover lentil and vegetable soup, topped with cheese
• garlic toast made from leftover French bread
• dried cranberries

Thursday

• baked turkey bacon
• pancake squares
• stewed prunes

So, another week gone. I don't know if you've noticed, but there's a repeating pattern in my menus. Friday I always make double of everything. I freeze half, and on the following Wednesday, we have a completely leftover meal. Sunday, I also double-batch most of dinner. Then on Monday we eat leftovers.  Thursday is always an easy breakfast for dinner menu. And my husband now always cooks on Saturday. This routine greatly reduces the amount of time I spend cooking dinners.

The other area in which I am really saving time is grocery shopping. I stocked up pretty well in the fall months. I'm now using those supplies for the bulk of our groceries needs. I have another busy weekend ahead of me (volunteering all day on Saturday), so I don't think I'll have time for any grocery shopping this morning, after my appointment. We are running low on eggs. So be it. I can save time by skipping grocery shopping this week, then doing a big stock-up next Friday, when I won't have other weekend obligations to follow through on. 

Do you ever find yourself facing this sort of decision -- shop now and have ample supplies, or, delay shopping another week and save 2 hours? It is a way to save time. One of my delightful daughters offered to "help" with the grocery shopping. It was sounding great until I realized that her list consisted mostly of Cheetos and Doritos, while mine consisted of the "boring" foods like eggs and whole wheat flour. I did make a promise to do a huge shopping trip the first week of March, and maybe some Cheetos will make it into that shopping trip.

Anyway, I'm wishing everyone a great weekend. If you live where there's a storm, I hope you don't have to go out in it, but can sit by a window and just enjoy the view. Snow is always prettier when I don't have to drive in it.