Saving Inspiration

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One of the titles that inspired my saving money at the grocery store effort was Your Grocery Budget Toolbox by Anne Simpson.  I appreciated her focus on how to buy the healthiest food possible based on your budget. (I think if there were a Trader Joe's nearby, my grocery list would look very similar to hers.) Nutrition is a vital component in managing my Fibro symptoms, and I'm not willing to sacrifice all quality for the bottom line. I also like how her method acknowledges that coupons can be useful in saving money, they are not the basis for keeping your food budget under control.

She too is a proponent of Once A Month Shopping (OAMS), but makes weekly forays to get fresh produce and dairy. I may try this myself as I'm not sure I like the limits of buying produce once a month, at least until it is CSA season. DH didn't mind doing the weekly grocery shopping, so I'm sure he would be willing to continue with the job.

At any rate, check it out if you too are trying to stretch your money dollars. You can get some of the information in the book from her blog as well!

5FF: I'm Such a Teas

*5 things. About Fibro. Every Friday*

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Some can't live without coffee. Me? I can not live without my tea! Not even my favorite heating pad can worm me up faster than a cup of tea. Naturally, I have to tell you which ones I like best.

1. Traditional Medicinal Everyday Detox Tea:  It is naturally caffeine free, which means I can enjoy it any time of day. It is slightly sweet, and what I love the most about it is the way it relieves my dry mouth symptoms!

2.  PG Tips: A full bodied, fully caffeinated, black tea. I drink a cup of this first thing in the morning when I don't have to worry about the caffeine keeping me awake all night. Lovely with a splash of soy milk.

3.  Peppermint tea: Another naturally caffeine-free drink. I love having this in the afternoon with a light snack. It does help settle my stomach after I have indulged in the wrong kind of food. A very good tea to have on hand for those with IBS.

4. Stash Chai Spice Decaf Tea: This is my go-to evening beverage! It smells divine. I don't mind skipping dessert when I have this with a touch of honey and some soy milk. It is also very tasty straight up.

5.  Red Blossom Tea Company Dragon Pearl Jasmine Supreme: This is hands down my most favorite green tea! Just a few "pearls" in your cup of hot water produces the most heavenly-scented tea on the planet. When brewed properly, it has an incredible floral/sweet flavor. I also like that you can get 2 or 3 steepings out of the same leaves before discarding.

Fascinating tea tip: Does your tea taste bitter? Many try to correct this by adding sugar, which will actually end up making your tea taste even more bitter. Smooth out the flavor by adding a slice of lemon. To avoid bitter tasting tea, be sure to use the correct temperature of water and remove the tea in a timely fashion. If you are using a bag, don't squeeze it to get the water out :)

CSA: Fresh & Local

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In my mind, I'm a keen gardener with the ability to provide copious amounts of fresh produce to consume during the growing season. In reality, I'm a girl with big ideas and a black thumb. Having finally come to terms with the fact that I will never be the kind of urban homesteader who feed her family solely from the produce of her garden, I have decided to invest in a CSA program.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is perfect for people like me who want to enjoy fresh produce, but don't have the time/space/energy to grow their own food. We did it one summer before Turtle was born. It was a treat to go out to the farm to pick up our box of goodies each week. We wouldn't be picking up from a farm this time around, but there is an option to purchase a share of spring harvests. Assuming that I will be continuing with my OAMS effort, having weekly fresh produce will be an enormous treat.

I'm drooling already thinking about fresh asparagus. Maybe I should stop writing about farm fresh produce, and actually fill out the form to reserve our share!

Have you ever done CSA before?

Saving Money at the Grocery Store

New year. New ideas. I've got plans, Baby!

Naturally, these plans cost money. It may surprise you to learn that I don't rake in big bucks as an early childhood educator. Big bonuses and hefty raises are not part of my foreseeable future, so in order to get the things I would like I need to stretch the money that does trickle in.

During my winter break I indulged in reading about saving money on groceries. The grocery store seems to eat a frightening amount of my paycheck, so it seemed a logical place to start. A common theme amongst the titles I read was the concept of Once A Month Shopping (OAMS). The theory being that we tend to spend money on unnecessary things each time we go to the store. The fewer times you go to the store, the fewer unnecessary purchases you make. It requires meticulous planning, an iron will, and some space in which to store your food. It sounded completely crazy, so of course I just had to try it.

Knowing my ability to over plan and over complicate, I made a menu for the month and jumped right in while I had the time and energy before classes resumed.

It was physically more challenging than I had anticipated. Those shopping carts can hold A LOT of food, and they can get heavy! It didn't take much more time than it takes me to do a weekly shop. (Fortunately I had the foresight to leave Turtle at home with DH, which helped speed the whole shopping process up considerably.) I can't imagine doing this on my own on a bad pain day. I expect once I get the hang of this I can plan well enough to delay the shopping a few days if I had to without running out of food.

It has only been a week, but it feels like we have barely made a dent in the food I brought home. So far, I have noticed that I am more conscious about making sure we are wasting as little food as possible. This may explain why it feels we have eaten so little of our stockpile -we're getting more miles out the food we prepare! The truly interesting time will be the end of the month. Will I have to break down and go to the store before the month is through, or will we be able to tough it out?  Stay tuned to find out!

What do you think -is OAMS something you would try?

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My 2013 One Little Word is......

I'm not a resolutions kind of girl. I do like to plan and have goals, but resolutions just don't work for me.  Instead of writing out a list of things I want to accomplish, I think I will try creating a word that will guide my actions during the next 12 months.

Except, what I chose isn't really a word. It's a phrase.

Are you ready for it?

My 2013 One Little Word is......Big Girl Pants!

This year, I want to stop making excuses and just do what needs to be done (including going to the gym regularly in order to wear smaller girl pants. Irony.)

I suppose I could have gone with "Just Do It", but Nike already claimed that one.  Besides, Big Girl Pants is much funnier, which is very me.

I've already put the phrase to use already! Instead of leaving a few dirty dishes in the sink, I went ahead and washed them even though I was completely exhausted. Waking up to an empty sink is very good for the soul!

Do you do resolutions?

BTW, this post is brought to you image-free because Blogger has decided that it cannot read any of the photos I am trying to add.

New page leaf

Happy New Year!

Are you as full of new ideas, new plans, goals, and challenges as I am?

It must be all this wondrous time off that has really started the old gray cells working. I am trying something new with my blogging -writing out my ideas on paper first! Somehow, I like what I come up with when I can longhand it first. Plus I am hoping that it will help me post more regularly. I have lots of ideas on which to write, but my mind always goes blank when I sit down in front of the computer. Weird.

So I have a lovely new notebook to start the new year. I shall have to be firm with Turtle as to whom this notebook belongs, otherwise I will find it  in her room, covered with her lovely artwork and handwriting. (Yes, she's writing now!)

I'm going to beat the intimidation of the first blank page by starting my writing on the second page.

Here's to an abundant & joyful year!

5FF: Forgetting

*Five things. Every Friday. About Fibro*

Hello, Brain Fog!

The upcoming holidays seem to be highlighting just how awful my memory is. Sometimes, I am amazed that I manage to get myself to work at all, let alone get to work appropriately dressed and with everything I need for the day. So for today's post, I thought I would highlight the five things that most frequently bypass my brain.

1. My purse. I don't go far to get to the gym or work, and I generally don't stop at any stores on the way home from work. This means for the most part, I can get by without my purse. However, it is where I keep my padlock and music -both essential components for working out at the gym. I keep these items in my purse as the my current gym bag has no pockets, and I hate having to pull everything out just to find these tiny items. Sometimes, I merely forget my purse in the car at the gym. This is easily fixed by a quick trip out to the parking lot. It is not a quick fix when I manage to leave my purse at home. When this happens, I can write off working out before work.

2. Work clothes. I pack my gym bag the night before. I just don't always remember to pack everything I need to change into post-workout. I can get by with casual work attire, but sweaty t-shirts are just a tad too casual. Not to mention, uncomfortable.

3. My lunch. Again, I prepare my lunch for the next day when I get home from work. I don't always remember to take it out of the fridge when I leave for work.

4. My vitamins. I am horrible at remembering to take my vitamins, and medicine in general. This pre-dates my Fibro diagnosis, but is noticeably worse these days. It is a bit ironic, as some of the vitamins are supposed to help my brain function better.

5. My blog. Don't think I didn't notice that this Friday post is going up on Saturday! I am stuck using an app to post on my blog, and there is no feature to schedule posts in advance. There is also no feature that smacks me upside the head to remind me to post something.

There you have it -my forgotten list. What do you struggle to remember?

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