instant gratification

I (Jamie) generally pride myself on being fiscally responsible most of the time. Trevor and I try to be very careful with our finances as we plan for the future and attempt to eliminate all unnecessary debt. We have a detailed monthly budget and for the most part, do quite well sticking to it. We've come to appreciate the fact that we don't have cable or go to many movies; that we share a car and try to keep our eating out to a minimum (okay so we fail at this sometimes, but we are trying).

>>>Fast Forward>>> to today: I have been trying to figure out a way to get more cardio in to my exercise routine. Okay let's be honest, I've been trying to figure out a way to get motivated to exercise at all. I LOVE my Denise Austin Pilates for Everbody DVD, and who doesn't love a little Yoga Booty Ballet action, but I find that without additional cardio, these don't do me as much good as I would like, even if I would do them as often as I should. Ahem. :)

Oh right, so TODAY I found a top-rated workout DVD on Target.com. It just happened to be the 30 Day Shred by Jillian Michaels, the sassy trainer on The Biggest Loser. (If she can help people lose 100+ lbs., surely she can whip me into shape.) I decided that DVD would be just what I needed to kick start my workout plan. Better yet, it was only $8.49, a good price for any DVD, and I was excited to have found my thrifty little self a bit of a bargain. I thought that since Target was only a few miles away, I would just head over there at lunchtime, pick up my $8.49 30 Day Shred DVD and save myself some shipping cost. Plus, I could start my workout TONIGHT. As in, just a few hours from right now. I walked into the store at 11:45, and to my surprise, the workout DVDs weren't $8.49 like they were online. No, no. They were $14.99! $14.99, ya'll! Usually, I would have the self control to walk out of the store, head back to the computer, order the DVD for $8.49 + shipping, and give myself a mental high-five for having exercised good money management. But instead, (you guessed it) I walked out of the store at 12:00, having gained one Jilian Michaels DVD, but having given up $16.37 (tax included). I tried to justify it by saying that with shipping costs my purchase would have been close to that anyway, but to tell you the truth, I feel icky that I know I overpaid. I probably won't take the DVD back to the store...and...I probably will open it up the moment I walk through the front door and get ready to shred. But now, as I'm sitting in the in-between, I feel like I lost to the man.



I was too impatient to wait a week for something that I didn't know I needed three hours ago.

I know it's silly to be bent out of shape over $5 or $6, but I thought it a good eye opener today at what our society and ultimately what we have become. It goes far beyond dumb things like DVDs and $5...maybe if we were all wiser, more patient, and less selfish about material things, this world, and our economy would be a much, much different place.

Menu Monday

Okay, so it's Thursday and I've failed. I didn't post our menu this week because, quite frankly, it is boring. Not that I'm not grateful. I'm extremely grateful and God has abundantly provided for us during a little bit of a tight month. Twice this week, people from church have given us food leftover from church functions: some bakery items, pork, black beans and rice. Thus, our meals have been very similar, but pleasingly different. I'll give you an idea of what's been happening in our kitchen these past few days:

Monday: pressed ham, mozzerella, and spinach sandwiches on whole grain baguette (ingredients left over from last week and bread from the church)

Tuesday: shredded pork tacos, lime cilantro rice, and black beans (tacos left over from last weekend, rice and black beans left over from University lunch on Sunday) The lime cilantro rice was an experiment as I didn't have a recipe. It wasn't quite Chipotle, but I think it came close.

Wednesday: (unexpected night off and, as we usually eat at church, scramble to put dinner together) grilled cheese sandwiches and soup (chicken noodle for me, leftover vegetable beef for Trevor - don't worry mom, it was frozen - I'm not making him force down expired food)

Thursday: leftovers (weird, I know). I'll probably finish up the shredded pork tacos with a little corn on the side. Trevor is going to a show with a buddy and, I think, enjoying a little fish 'n' chips action beforehand.

Friday: chicken and black bean quesadillas, (maybe)spanish rice on the side

Saturday: something with cuban pork - not quite sure yet...maybe I can heat it in the crock pot with some sort of fruit sauce or glaze. I'll let you know how that one turns out.

Sunday: probably sandwiches. I'll make a pot of chili for the church's "souper" bowl party, so lunch will be nice and simple as we will, I'm certain, be eating ALL.DAY.LONG.

Like I said before - our menu has been boring, but I am so thankful that we have enough food to eat and full bellies when we go to sleep at night. It is true that if we put our faith and trust in Him, God certainly does take care of His own. I'm sure I'll have more to share along those lines, but for now...back to work for me... #.#

Menu Monday

Menu Monday already...geez, I feel like I just posted the last one. Sorry to keep you waiting, reader(s). I understand that the anticipation can sometimes be too much to bear. For the record - this week is going to be terribly boring. I have leftovers and ingredients from last week that need to be used pronto, so here we go:

Monday: PIZZA with simple green salad

Tuesday: Buttermilk Baked Chicken that we didn't get to eat Sunday

Wednesday: Dinner at church

Thursday: Leftover Soup with fresh corn muffins

Friday: Shredded Pork Tacos MMMM!

Saturday: Trevor helps himself to sandwiches/soup/salad (Jamie will be gone to a conference)

Sunday: soup or taco leftovers; or the old standby, grilled chicken with wild rice

See, I told you this week would be boring. But, what could be better than extending our $60 grocery trip last week to make it through this one too?! I think I only have a few things to purchase for this menu...who knows, maybe I'll come in under budget on our monthly groceries for the first time in a L-O-N-G while. What about you? What are you eating this week?

Menu Monday

I know Monday is almost over...but it technically is still Monday. Here's what we're eating at our house this week.

Monday: grilled chicken and wild rice w/ garlic butter green beans

Tuesday: tacos!

Wednesday: //church// Wednesdays are crazy for us...Trev leads worship for a service at church, and there's not a lot of time for dinner before we have to head out to set up. Thankfully our church provides really nice Wednesday dinners for just $5

Thursday: vegetable beef stew (for real this time)

Friday: mozzarella, ham, and spinach pressed sandwiches with sweet potato fries

Saturday
Brunch: fritatta, bacon, toast, juice
Dinner: leftovers

Sunday
Lunch: buttermilk baked chicken w/ spinach salad
Dinner: leftover stew and cheese sandwiches

Seriously?

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

Upon further discussion with my co-workers, we have determined that this is infact a spoof. They did have me going for awhile there.

Menu Monday

...and we're back...
After a wonderful week and a half with my family over the holidays, we're back and ready (or not) to get back into the swing of our normal, crazy life. Here's what we're eating at our house this week. Mostly trying to finish up all the leftover groceries from last week:

Monday: chili with tossed salad (sounds like a school lunch feature; Trevor has a meeting, so just Jamie for this one)

Tuesday: omlettes

Wednesday: chili with cornbread

Thursday: homemade pizza (on the grill perhaps?)

Friday: vegetable beef stew I've discovered that the bag of frozen soup veggies in the freezer isn't frozen soup veggies at all. It's frozen stir fry veggies. My beef cubes are already cooked and frozen in my broth, but I think I can still manage a stir fry out of this. (I told you - I am avoiding the grocery entirely this week) So Friday will now be beef stir fry. I think.

Saturday: leftovers and sandwiches

Sunday: lunch out; soup for dinner

As you can see, this week's menu is certainly not my greatest culinary accomplishment. However, I'm trying to go through it using only ingredients from my fridge and pantry - with no trips to the grocery store. We'll see...