Posted in Show and Tell Friday

I thought I'd share with you our trip over Mother's Day weekend for this Friday's Show 'n Tell.  I can already tell you that this post is going to be looooooonnnnggggg, so if you need a potty break or a cup of coffee/tea, hop to it.  I'll wait.  Incidentally, I began with 79 photos that were loaded to photobucket to use in this post.  I tried to be judicious during the selection process - you're welcome.  Also, it's interesting to note that I've always sighed when I read of a fellow blogger who decided to break her post into two because it had gotten TOO BIG.  I always figured I'd much rather read everything at once (no patience, here).  Well, I realize now it's not so much for the sake of the readers as it is for the blogger.  Firstly, it takes a certain amount of je ne sais quois to think that someone is actually going to want to voluntarily plow through your tome; I mean, really, other women have LIVES, you know.  Secondly, if you knew how many man hours went into this post - holy cow.  I shudder to think what I could have creatively accomplished around the house had I funnelled these hours into more domestic endeavours.  Nonetheless, on I will plow.  You should know, though, that the following is not for the faint of heart, or the short of time.  Good luck.

For Mother's Day, hubby and the boys took us all camping down to Tucson.  To be honest, it's not our first choice as a vacation destination in this state (not even top 5), but it was our first trip with the new truck (and no sway bars yet), so hubby wanted a pretty level shot towing.  So, Tucson it was.  And what fun we had!!

We got a late start on Friday due to hubby working longer than anticipated/hoped for, but we still managed to get down shortly after sunset (it's about a 2 hour drive).  We stayed at an RV resort, not a state campground, and here I have to interject a bit of information for my non-desert-dwelling readers.

We stayed in state campgrounds all the time back in Michigan.  We *loved* them!  Apparently, they are not the same thing here, and so have never stayed in one.  Maybe we'd be pleasantly surprised, but probably not.  Here privately owned RV parks are much more the norm, and offer more of what we like in a campground:  full hook-ups (hello, it's summer in Arizona, and I NEED my A/C), swimming pool (see previous comment), and convenient location.  Plus, we make our reservation and they check us in no matter the time (learned this last year when we had our 3-hour tour trip, but I digress).  Anyway, that is why we stay in private RV parks.  Oh, while we're aside like this, can I just tell you how ODD it is to camp without GRASS???  All there is is rock and pavement.  It's surreal, that's for sure.  Getting back to our story...

Where was I?  Oh yeah, Friday.  Anyway, we set up camp, grabbed a bite to eat, and then relaxed for the evening.  Got up bright and early Saturday morning and had breakfast outside before packing a lunch and heading out for the day.  (Notice no grass - but as a perk, yes, each campsite comes standard with that nice table and chair set.)

Our first stop of the day was at San Xavier Mission, which is the oldest Catholic mission in the United States.  You can read more about it and see photos (click on "History") of the iconography that fill the church HERE.  (I was uncomfortable taking photos inside the church; this is an active parish and there were people praying - us among them.)  Here are our photos of our visit there.

The above photo and the following photo were taken at a little chapel in the courtyard of the mission.  The photo seen below is one of the stations of the cross that was embedded in the wall surrounding the tiny chapel.

On the mission grounds, there is a hill that you can climb up to a grotto (devoted to Our Lady of Lourdes), and then make the final push up to the cross.  This is from the first level of the hill:

The grotto was absent of all statuary due to restoration, so I won't show you pictures of an empty grotto (see that judicious selection process at work; or rather, *don't* see it).  The men decided to take a break before climbing to the top.

Here are some shots I took whilst waiting for the men to reach the top (don't be fooled - it's not this green but in a few, very few, farming spots around the state):

And, finally, at the top:

Here are some nature shots I just couldn't resist that can be found in the landscaping all around the mission:

a prickly pear cactus blooming

a barrel cactus in bloom

a purple prickly pear cactus

See the cute roadrunner in the shade?  They are increasingly difficult to spot out and about, so had to snap a photo of the little guy (or gal):

We also got mooned by a prairie dog, but I'm trying to be judicious.  If you want to see it, let me know and I'll throw it in.

We had a lovely time, wrapping up our visit with some Indian Fry bread we bought from a vendor.  Sorry, didn't get any photos of the Fry bread, it disappeared too quickly, but here's one of the vendors in front of the mission:

the 'roof' of the shelter was made from the twigs of the ocotillo cactus; I thought this was pretty:

After our visit, we hit the highway and headed south.  We wound up at the Missile Silo Museum.

Back during the cold war, the United States of America had 54 Titan 2 Missiles located in three cities in three states.  18 each were located in Wichita, Kansas, Little Rock, Arkansas, and Tucson, Arizona.  After the cold war, all but one silo were deactivated and destroyed.  This museum is the only one that remains.  The 103 ft. Titan 2 Missile is still in the silo, and the whole place gives off an air of "deactivated.... for now" kind of feeling.  Piper asked what it would take to reactivate the site, and was never directly answered.  We were told that there are over 400 modern missiles at-the-ready like this throughout the United States (that thought gave me surprisingly little comfort), and so reactivating this one would be unnecessary.  Still doesn't answer his question.  Here's an artist's rendering of what's below ground:

Here is a model of the missile in its silo:

We waited in the informational part of the museum until our hour and 15 minute tour began.

This is part of the missile guidance system.  Piper got to talking to the man next to him, who said that he actually works with these nowadays and they're now the size of somewhere between a softball and a volleyball.  This one was the size of at least three soccer balls!

Then we watched an informational video full of history bits and terrifying footage of what a nuclear bomb would do to a house.  After the kids were properly awed, we headed outside to tour the missile site at ground-level.

When the missile silo was converted into a museum, they removed the top and put a glass ceiling over it so that you can look down all nine stories of the silo.  Here is my unsuccessful attempt at getting a photo through the glass.  There really was no good place to shoot from, so I tried using my shadow to help.  Oh well.

After our tour above ground, we descended to the second story of the silo.  Our tour guide showed us around the control center:

Ray (our tour guide) took a shine to Jigger, and so Jigger was picked to help Ray simulate a missile launch.

Here it's interesting to note that each level was built on platforms that were held up/together by springs.  This was a shock-absorber.  Everything they did was to contain the blast and absorb the shock.  It was an amazing piece of engineering.

Here's a photo of the missile from the second floor:

Here's a long hallway connecting the missile silo with the middle building (stairwell), and for you movie buffs, a scene in Star Trek: First Contact was shot here:

All in all, this was a lovely field trip, and well worth the time and money.  After this, we were more than ready to hit the pool:

The next morning, before leisurely heading home, we went to Mother's Day mass at St. Augustine's Cathedral after a lovely breakfast.  Oh, and calling our mothers and grandmothers too, of course.

Happy Mother's Day!!

If you'd like to participate in Show and Tell with Canadagirl, or just read more S&T's, please do go visit Mary.  And if you're still reading, do go have a bit of a lie-down to compensate.  I know I am.

Posted in Educational Pursuits

Posted in A Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today...

Outside My Window... I hear birds chattering in the cooler morning air and the second wave of garbage trucks zipping through the neighborhood.

I am thinking... That I need to start focusing more and thinking less for awhile.

From the learning rooms... While most are wrapping up their school year, while we're still in full swing here.  I need to let housework go a little more and pick up more books with my kids.

I am thankful for... a husband who gets up and goes to work Every Day, whether he wants to or not, so that I can be at home and home educate our children.

From the kitchen... the seductive smell of French Roast coffee freshly brewed and the sound of a fridge screaming at me to be cleaned.

I am wearing... a tan skirt, black T-shirt, black flip flops, and my hair is pulled back in a barrette.

I am reading... several books, actually, among them being Rend Unto Caesar by Charles J. Chaput, Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich, Moving On by Sarah ban Breathnach, Freakonomics by Levitt and Dubner, and Boundaries: Face to Face by Cloud & Townsend.  Yep, pretty much all at the same time.

I am hoping... to make some serious headway on this house this week.

I am creating... lists of meals and chores for the week, lesson plans for Jigger this week, and a calmer me.

I am praying... for guidance and focus.

Around the house... serious de-cluttering is the word of the season.

One of my favorite things... unexpected road trips taken just for the sake of driving, like we took yesterday.

A few plans for the rest of the week... make a run to the library, get caught up in science with the boys, start planning for camping trip the following weekend, go through unused school books to sell and list them online.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing...

For other daybook entries, please go visit Peggy.

Posted in Recipes

I don't know if I've ever shared this with you, but I have a "hate" relationship going with my breadmaker.  I saved my money and dreamed of a day when I could buy a breadmaker to help out with the bread-making (duh) around here, and it would "free me!"  Ahem.  Not so much.  I purchased one, and dreamed of the baked goods, pizza crusts, etc., that I would be making in no time (literally and figuratively speaking).

I brought that coveted machine home, prepped it, and read the manual.  It was too late to start anything that night, but bright and early the following morning I eagerly tackled my first loaf of bread.  Anticipation ran high throughout the home (we don't get out much), peeks were stolen through the top, and time was counted down.  It appeared all was well.  Until the timer 'ding'-ed and the lid was opened.  It had fallen.  I had failed.

As an aside here, let me tell you in all honesty (and with all humility, *snort*) that I fully expected my very first loaf to turn out P.E.R.F.E.C.T.ly.  I'm not kidding.  My relative success in the kitchen has given me, shall we say, relative arrogance.  *sigh*  So the first loaf's less-than-perfect appearance ticked me off.  I didn't question my method, I jumped right to blaming the machine.  It didn't matter that the family judged it tasty - it wasn't good enough for me.  So there.

Immediately (okay, maybe the next day) I combed through the directions and put another loaf in the machine.  Same. Stinking. Results.  And the same with the third loaf.  And fourth.  By now, I'm hopping mad.  WHY exactly had I coveted this thing??  Further conversation with a girlfriend did nothing except add fuel to my anger when she shook her head and exclaimed she had Never Had A Problem With Her Bread Machine.  But she sent me a list of things to troubleshoot.  None of them helped.  Not a one.

So, I put the dratted thing in the pantry and vowed to cool off before trying anything again, if I didn't give it to charity first.  Weeks (months) went by, and during a hectic baking day, I decided to give it another shot.  I had some pizza dough I wanted to make up and freeze, so I threw the ingredients in on the dough cycle.  No worries there - even if it did fall, so what?

Ahem.  Falling wasn't the problem this time.  When the 'ding'-er went off, I eagerly opened the lid to discover the thing-that-was-taking-over-my-machine.  Dough was E.V.E.R.Y.W.H.E.R.E.  Over the sides of the pan, all over the heating element, stuck to the sides of the maker.  I'm not a little ashamed to say that I got hopping mad (again), muttered under my breath about the machine that was obviously trying to drive me insane, threw dark looks at my children warning them to Stay Away, and in general threw a little fit for a good 10 minutes.  Yep.  That's me.

After that, I'm amazed that I decided to try my machine ever again, but I did, and had an Alleluia moment when I opened that lid.  You know the one:  light streaming down over your head, angels singing in their heavenly voices, and gratitude humming in your chest.  Because it Finally Worked.

So, now I have a love-hate relationship with my breadmaker (you don't think I can just forget all of its cruelties because of one success story, do you??).  I thought I'd share with you my successful recipe in case you had a breadmaker you hated too.  Even if you love yours, you can have this recipe too.  Even if you don't have a breadmaker, you can probably make this without a problem the old-fashioned way (my preferred method, to be honest).  This is a wonderful recipe, because you make it up the afternoon/evening before and set it to rise in the fridge so you can just take it out and pop it in the oven for breakfast the next day.  And it's amazing!!  I hope you enjoy it!

Cinnamon-Raisin Bread

1¼ c. warm water
1 tsp. salt
¼ c. brown sugar
2 Tbs. oil (I used melted butter)
3½ c. flour
2½ tsp. yeast

Put the ingredients in your bread machine in the order given, with the yeast in a little "well" in the center of the flour.  Set to dough cycle.  Let rise in the machine, then pull out and roll into a rectangle.  Sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon, and raisins.  Roll up jelly roll style and fold seam down into a (well) greased loaf pan.  Cover with a tea towel and put in the dridge.  Let rise overnight and pull out to finish rising in the morning.  Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes.

After rising overnight, before baking:

I don't start this before 3 p.m., as it rises far too much and gets airy when baked.  It's wonderful, though, to have your home smelling wonderfully when your family gets up.  Jigger's nose led him right to the bread this morning, even before he kissed me Good Morning.  Ü

So, try this recipe, and let me know if you like your breadmaker just a little.  And if you have a total love relationship with your breadmaker, I really don't want to hear about it.  Really.

Posted in Recipes

Well, I crashed last night before loading the final installment of my Baking Day yesterday, so thought I'd share it now.  I did indeed get the Vegetable Rice Soup made, and served it up with Pigs-in-Blankets that I made yesterday.

I also made a quick batch of No-Bake Cookies, which went over extremely well in our home last night.

I thawed the meat, but have absolutely no energy to do anything with it today, so I may be bumping tonight's meal to tomorrow and pulling burritos out of the freezer to have with a salad, as we're going to be running errands (library and groceries) all afternoon.  Who likes cooking after grocery shopping, honestly?  Not me, so frozen burritos, here we come.

I did, indeed, get the bread in the fridge last night as well, and that recipe and story (of course there's a story!) will be posted tomorrow.  For now, I'm going to go clean out my fridge, throw lunch on, and gear myself up to go grocery shopping and run errands in this 100°+ heat.  Anyone want to trade homes?  Apparently you can't sell anything in today's market, so we're open to a trade.  *grin*

Have a wonderful Thursday!

Posted in Recipes

Well, the oven went off at five minutes to one - and while my entire list did not get done, a good portion of it did.  I am satisfied with my morning's labors.

First thing, I threw together some whole wheat bread and then some banana chocolate chip muffins.

Next, I put together 32 Pigs-in-a-Blanket:

Finally, I topped it off with an experiment - Pizza Hot Pockets.  They taste delicious, but they are quite large, so instead of making 12 I think I'll stretch the dough to make 18 instead next time.  I used the dough recipe for the Piggies, then filled them with spagetti sauce and mozzarella cheese.  Next time, if I can get them on sale ;), I'll put pepperoni in as well.  And maybe fill some with cheddar cheese and thinly sliced ham.  And even though they were experimental, they were devoured with great enthusiasm.

Now, I'm off to do history with Jigger, hopefully get some grading done and some water down me, then back in to the kitchen for the afternoon round.  Here's a preview:  make veggie soup (for dinner with piggies), cook rice (to go in the soup), make some Cinnamon-Raisin Bread and set to rise in the fridge for breakfast tomorrow, thaw some ground chicken for dinner tomorrow night, and maybe even make some no-bake cookies.  See you then!

Posted in Recipes

Good day to you all!  In a bid to make sure our family eats better-than-well in spite of our decreased grocery budget, I have been hard at work preparing another weekly list of meals along with daily assignments.  I've determined that today shall be a baking day in order to stock up the freezer and plan ahead.  I'll be back on throughout the day to share my progress with you.

On tap for this morning:  whole wheat bread, mix the O.J., make pigs-in-blankets, hot pockets (pizza), French bread, banana chocolate chip muffins, blueberry muffins-cancelled, not enough blueberries, and pitas if I have time.

Here in the desert the daily temps are over 100° on a daily basis, so it is wisest to run the oven in the morning before it gets too hot.  Time-of-use for the electric company is also now in effect, which means that electrical consumption between the hours of 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. costs more.  To this end, I make sure that my laundry is done by noon each day, and that my dinner is as prepared as I can get it by 1 p.m.

Stop by later to see how baking day turned out, and to read more about my menu plans if you're looking for ways to save money or pare back.

Posted in Recipes

As requested, here is the recipe for my Red Beans & Rice dish that was on my menu for the week:

Red Beans & Rice:

1 pound kielbasa, cut in half length-wise and then sliced
½ onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, pressed
1 red, orange, or yellow bell pepper, chopped
4 cups (2 cans) red beans (drained)
1 can chopped tomatoes with juice, or 1½ - 2 cups fresh tomatoes
½ tsp. thyme
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
4 cups brown rice, cooked

In a skillet over medium-low heat, cook kielbasa for about 2 minutes.  Add onion, garlic, and pepper, and sauté until veggies are tender.  Add beans and tomatoes with their juice.  Season with thyme, cayenne, and salt and pepper to taste.  Serve over rice, or add to rice, stir, and serve.

Enjoy!

Posted in The Daily Grind

Because I'm not technologically savvy, what I'm about to share with you may elicit yawns and quick clicks to a far more interesting post.  I won't take it personally if you are light years ahead of me on the Internet.  But somewhere out there, there are women just like me.  We yell at the computer because it can't read our minds, we pound on the keyboard when trying to make ourselves understood (which has the same effect as pointing out a direction to a blind person), and we get excited when we "fix" the computer by turning it off and then on again.  Just because we're not up on computers doesn't mean we don't appreciate a wonderful tool (if we can get it to work right).

All this being said, saving time is far more important than saving money, and it is here that I can help my technologically-stunted sisters:  spend 15 minutes signing up and setting up an account over at bloglines.  You will not regret it.  You put in the URLs of all of your favorite blogs, and they gather them for you in one spot!!  No more bopping around from one page to another, waiting for a page to load, and then when it does, you realize the author hasn't updated it yet.  They highlight the blogs that have new posts - I know, take a breath.

Always one to come slowly to new things (blogging is pretty much enough for me; hubby's and my Facebook page sits there only for contact purposes anymore, and I cancelled my Twitter account yesterday because every time I brought it up it caused my computer to seize up like an arthritic woman in sub-zero temperature grabbing for her aluminum cane), I ignored the subtle clues I was reading in others' posts.  You know, the talk about RSS feeds, reading a post through their collector, etc.  I'm not sorry I did, I'm just glad that my naturally technologically reticent side finally caught up to society.  Now watch, they'll be obsolete inside a month.  *sigh*  Oh well, it'll be great while it lasts.

Posted in Tightwad Tuesdays

After my last post in which I gave snippets of things I have been busy doing lately, I was asked to share the burrito recipe I had made.  I will do one or two better than that.  I'll share several time-saving ideas when it comes to meals-on-the-fly, or, as we refer to them, homemade fast-food meals.

Having meals on hand isn't just a treat, it's a necessity for those of us looking to cut more unnecessary money out of our budget.  One fast food meal can cost upwards of $25 - which was 1/4 of my total food budget!  I say was, because we are really streamlining our budget right now, and I'm now down to $75 per week.  So, one fast food meal is now, *gulp*, one-THIRD of my current food budget.  Yikes!  Being tired or cross or lazy now costs my family 1/3 of our weekly groceries!!  That should put dining out into perspective.

In my bid to cut all dining out expenses from our budget, I knew I had to get tough - disciplined tough.  I had to plan, anticipate, and WORK.  Because believe you me, having a fully stocked kitchen which anticipates ALL things isn't for the faint of heart.  I began with a notepad, and wrote down enough breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks for a week.  Then, on another sheet of paper, I began ruthlessly scheduling my days.  It looks something like this:

Wednesday (the day I made this list):  dinner - Polenta Pie and Salad
prep:  soak beans overnight for chili, make yoghurt, prep Cinnamon-Raisin Bread

Thursday:  breakfast - Cinnamon-Raisin Bread and fruit;
lunch - Veggie Soup and Cheese Quesedillas
dinner - (CP) Chili and Cornbread
prep:  bake Cinnamon-Raisin bread first thing in the morning; make Cinnamon-Raisin oatmeal mix and store in pantry; make Banana-Chocolate Chip Muffins for Friday's breakfast; make whole wheat bread; go grocery shopping; thaw a gallon of milk before bed

Friday:  breakfast - Banana-Chocolate Chip Muffins and fruit;
lunch - Polenta with Spaghetti Sauce and veggies;
dinner - Pigs-in-Blankets, coleslaw, chips;
prep:  (A.M.) assemble polenta and place in fridge for lunch; shred cabbage for dinner and place in fridge; make batch of burritos and freeze; make batch of pigs-in-blankets and freeze

Saturday:  breakfast - homemade granola with strawberries and fruit;
lunch - see list of possible lunches freezer burritos loaded with cheese, enchilada sauce, & lettuce;
dinner - homemade pizza and salad meatloaf, peas, baked potatoes;
prep:  assemble breakfast casserole for Sunday and throw in fridge; thaw chicken for Sunday dinner; artisan bread starter; pull out Banana Bread from freezer to thaw for Sunday breakfast; make yoghurt; pulled out muffins from freezer for breakfast instead

Sunday:  breakfast - Scrambled Egg Casserole, Banana Bread, fruit Super Power Muffins and fruit;
dinner - Hunky Chicken, salad, bread homemade pizza and salad
prep:  thaw chicken broth for Monday's dinner; pull out Banana bread for Monday's breakfast from freezer

Monday:  breakfast - Banana Bread and fruit (and lots of coffee - ugh);
lunch - pigs-in-blanket (yep, we're addicted) and pineapple;
dinner - Crock Pot Mushroom soup, boule bread, salad;
prep:  make artisan bread; throw dinner in crock-pot by 11 a.m.

Tuesday:  breakfast - Cinnamon-Raisin Oatmeal and fruit
lunch - beans and rice;
dinner - Veggie Stir Fry and homemade vegetarian sushi (my first attempt :P);
prep:  prepare all veggies for stir fry; make vegetarian sushi rolls and store in fridge; make whole wheat bread; make whole wheat French bread rolls and freeze; soak red beans for Wednesday's dinner; transfer bag of bagels from freezer to fridge

Wednesday:  breakfast - Bagels and fruit;
lunch - leftovers;
dinner - Red Beans & Rice and Salad;
prep:  Grocery List and Meal plan; make whole wheat pitas

Now, while reading through this, you see that Saturday and Sunday had quite a bit crossed out.  That's because PLANS ALWAYS CHANGE.  Saturday hubby and I thought we'd go grab the travel trailer from storage, pull it over to the house, and commence a leisurely spring cleaning and general maintenance on it throughout the day.  We're planning a trip to Tucson this weekend, and wanted to get ready.  (For entertaining reading, feel free to read how our LAST trip to Tucson last May turned out.  At least we don't have Irish dance to contend with this time, lol.)  We left the boys home in the morning and trotted off to storage.  (okay, we didn't really trot - hubby bought a tank last weekend and so we roared off to storage)  We got to storage, threw the old hitch (sidenote here: this hitch-with-sway-bars was my grandparents that they always used when camping; this hitch has been towing me around since I was a tyke, so sentimental feelings about a piece of rusty metal abound) onto the new truck, and realized with a dismayed disbelief that the old hitch wasn't going to work.  It was too high for us to hook the trailer onto.  As in, a good 6-8" too high.  I readily conceded defeat, but hubby, being a hubby and all, tried to make it work.  Several cotter pins and trips to the hardware store later (they all snapped from him trying to get the trailer higher), he finally admitted this wasn't going to work.  We needed a new hitch.  I suggested passing "GO" and heading straight to Camping World.  He shook his head and stubbornly headed off to Checkers auto supply.  Seeing where this was headed, I called the boys and told them we'd be awhile and then asked hubby to stop for water (it's pushing 100* now here in AZ, and you don't leave home without water unless you're coming right back; critical flaw in our plan) and grabbed some corn chips as well (hey, if you could see into the future like I did, you would've grabbed them too).  Checkers had some items, but none of the hitches or hitch balls were rated over 5,000 lbs.  Our trailer is rated at 7,600 lbs., fully loaded.  Heh-hmmmm.  Next stop, Wal-Mart.  Less choices than Checkers.  Out we go.  Our third stop takes us to an RV store.  They have the hitch ball we need, but not the hitch.  We might have purchased that, but the lady behind the counter tried telling my husband that instead of a $300 hitch that would do the trick, he'd be better off flipping the axles of the trailer to raise it to the height we needed.  Yeah, you know what happened.  He put the hitch ball back and walked out without purchasing anything.  Don't try to sell a man something more expensive, bill it as less expensive and less trouble, and expect a man to purchase a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g. from you, especially if you are a woman.  Doesn't go over real well.

By this time, it's lunch, and I'm calling the boys to tell them we're now on our way to Camping World , which is about an hour round trip.  They're hungry, and so I tell them to grab a couple of the burritos out of the freezer and deck them out for lunch.  They're happy (of course they're happy - they're home eating when they want and playing Guitar Hero Band on the Wii with no interference) and off we drive.  At Camping World, we finally find it - a hitch with sway bar attachments that has a variable height adjuster - yay!!  The cost?  $302 and some change.  If you were paying attention earlier (and I don't blame you if you weren't - this post is going on waaaaayyyy longer than I had anticipated), you caught the part where we just purchased a new (to us) truck - an F-350 diesel to be exact.  So we're not exactly flush right now (hence the grocery budget cut), and $300 is looking like a looooooot of money - which it is.  So, we pick up a standard ball and hitch, appropriate weight requirements, and head out the door to go back to storage.  On the way, we stop at home real quick to have a burrito (they cook up in about 5 minutes - faster than the drive thru), and I spend all of 5 minutes throwing potatoes in the crock pot to bake.  Turn it on high, and hit the road.  By the time we get the trailer home, it is about 4 o'clock in the afternoon.  Oh.  My.  Gosh.

Well, we settled in to Spring Clean, but not so leisurely anymore.  I scrubbed, did laundry, vacuumed, mopped, sprayed, wiped, and sanitized.  Hubby worked outside, and we didn't stop until about 7 p.m.  We came in the house, showered, and headed down to the kitchen, where baked potatoes were waiting for us.  I pulled mini-meatloaves out of the freezer (bake your meatloaf recipe in muffin tin instead of loaf pan, and you have individual meatloaves perfect for just this occasion), nuked them for 5 minutes, and threw some frozen peas on the stove.  Within 15 minutes we were settling down to a wonderful meal - where previously we would have ordered out after a day like that.  Hubby was appreciative, and I was so happy I had all that available to do my job.  (as an endnote - I am very proud to announce that after two days of working on the trailer and all of the roadblocks we came up against, not once did hubby and I have cross words.  We're growing up, indeed. )

I highly encourage every woman out there to take a good look at her kitchen and make it work for you.  Living on a budget is time-consuming, but if you plan it right, it'll pay off in spades.

To read more Tightwad Tuesday posts, or to join in yourself, please go visit Mary for more information.  Have a wonderful week!