Food Savings

With the instability lately with Justin's work, we have been trying to find some ways to cut our budget.  We discovered that food costs were one of our biggest expenses as we buy organic whenever we can and eat very little processed food.  I did some research and came across a book called Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half.  It is written by "America's Cheapest Family" and wow did it really change the way I now shop and cook.  The good thing is that none of the strategies involve clipping coupons for hours or shopping 10 different stores each week- in fact one of the best tips that I am using is grocery shopping once a month.  It sounds a little crazy- but here is how it works:
1. Make a list of every meal you know how to make- I separated my list into different types of protein and vegetarian recipes
2. Look at your calendar for the month and plug in meals based on how busy your day is...i.e. if I will be in meetings at work till 7pm I'm doing a pot roast in the crock pot or if I am home at 3 I might make a more intricate meal. (You really only need about 20 meals because you will do leftovers about 2 nights per week)
3. Make a list of every item you need to make each of your meals, then cross items off your list that you already have in your kitchen
4. Check your store circular and decide which store has the majority of your items on sale.
5. If you have time check coupons- don't clip coupons for things you don't have on your list!

After just a couple months of doing this- we have saved a tremendous amount of money (and time) just by shopping once a month- I never realized how much I was spending just to stop by and pick up "a few things".

On my next post I'll talk about my once a month cooking day and a few other tips I picked up from the book.

New Year, New Blog

After a long hiatus, I have decided to come back to the blog world. After talking to a few friends and co-workers I found out that Justin and I do a lot of things that are out of the ordinary- from vermiculture (worm farming) to fair trade to preparing for foster care- I guess we do things our own way. I hope to use this blog to inspire people who want to go green(er), become passionate about social justice, or maybe need some new vegetarian recipes. I hope I learn from all of you as well.

I've been a bad poster lately... I guess because I really haven't had much to say.  I think I'm battling that line between contentment and longing for something more.  Anyone else ever been there?    

Husband Training

Does anyone else have this problem with their significant other?  I mean- I really love my husband, don't get me wrong, but how hard is it?  I decided to use my frustration in a creative way rather than nagging for the 1000th time. I think we both got a little chuckle out of it.

Time

So obviously this is an appropriate post for someone who hasn't posted in 2 months!  I have been really struggling with time management, especially as it relates to my spiritual life the past couple months.  It really made me think about how we, as Americans, spend our time.  We are obsessed with schedules, calendars, etc.  Many of us have our days planned out to the second, packed full of things we "have to do".  I've been thinking about how we Western culture people are the only people who live this way.  I learned in a multicultural class in grad school that there are time driven cultures and event driven cultures.  I love (traditional, not Americanized) hispanic culture... people get up when the sun comes up, they eat when they get hungry, they take a siesta when they get tired and a little too hot, work again till they hit a stopping point, and go home and enjoy their family gatherings.  Think about tribal nations in Africa... do they wake up to the alarm clock, punch in at the time clock, eat at 12:00 sharp?  While all people groups have struggles, I dream what it might be like to feel that kind of freedom.  I don't think God ever intended us to be a slave to the clock, to the schedule.  I think we as a culture should work less, spend less, and enjoy experiences in life!  We only get to do this once and I think we as a culture have missed the boat.

Philly

I can't believe that I haven't posted since almost Thanksgiving!  Don't give up on me.  This past weekend Justin and I got to go to Philadelphia (I had to attend a conference for work and I asked him to tag along).  While we were there, we decided to stay an extra day and play around in the city.  I've been up the east coast into New York and the surrounding area and Justin has never been anywhere northeast.  I was worried that we wouldn't really like it b/c I hated New York when I visited.  We really had a great time though... Philly is less hustle and bustle than NY and there were so many historic sights- the Liberty Bell, the original Bill of Rights, the building where they held the first Continental Congress.  It left us a little awestruck to know that we were standing in the room the Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, etc. stood when pour nation was first beginning.  The architecture was beautiful as well!  We also had to go to South Philly and have a cheesesteak... actually we had 3 while we were there.  If you ever go to Philly- go to Jim's- it was definitely our favorite!  I'll add pictures later...

Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!

Dogs, dogs, and more dogs...

This is Minnie (the black one) and Freddie (the tan below) 

These are of the Maltese mix- Justin was calling her Fluffy, but the name doesn't really fit her- she's pretty fiesty!


So I guess I've kinda fallen off of the blogger scene for a little while, but like my title suggests, our life has been consumed by dogs, dogs, and more dogs lately.  A few weeks ago we took in a momma lab with 8 puppies as well as 4 additional dogs (not including Rita ad Tigo).  Two (Freddie and Minnie) we got adopted to 2 families in Wisconson and we took them to Dallas over Thanksgiving to start their travel.  They are now with their new families and doing great.  Another was a little maltese mix- we think someone tried to kill her by spilling some type of chemical on her.  As you can see, she's making it ok and hopefully she'll be adopted soon.  We also have a new pit bull named Olivia.  She had an eye removed today because she was either attacked or it rotted out.  She is very scared, but has such a sweet temperment.   We are so missing our acre of land in Monticello as 14 dogs are a little much in a duplex (good thing my dad is an animal lover!)