September Acres

After much trial and error, I have discovered that doing a monthly meal plan works best for me . I only have to sit down once to create a meal plan - not four or five times. I have an idea of what we're doing the entire month which works out perfect for a busy schedule. I can shop ahead - if I plan on making chicken alfredo, chicken enchiladas & grilled chicken in a month I can look for larger packs of chicken, which are often less per pound than smaller packs.  I like to shop every two weeks and knowing what my plans for the month are help me stock up when things are on sale. I use a calendar for my meal plan - I like to be able to see each day on the calendar and I enter what we are having for dinner as well as any activities going on that day.  And I always write in pencil because I usually end up changing at least a couple of days during the month. Here's what my February looks like: Cheesy chicken vermicelli  & steamed broccoli  ...

It's that time of year again here at September Acres.  It's No Spend February!  I believe this is the fifth year we are doing this and I am more than ready.  The rest of the family is not quite as excited though - as with past years.  But they know it's coming... I call this a 'no spend' month but realistically it's more of a ' controlled spend ' month as I still buy some groceries (perishables, for example) and pay for LM's gymnastics lessons.  But other than that things get pretty frugal around here. Here's what no spend February means for us: No vacations . No extra-curricular shopping activities.   This is a big one and probably the one place that most unnecessary spending occurs.  Those trips to the Target dollar spot really add up and will be cut out this month (and maybe beyond).  We've also just come off Christmas and birthdays so no one needs anything. No eating out .  As in years past, we'll go  if we're being ...

Luckily, I do not often get sick.  As a mom it's really hard to have any down time and keep things running smoothly.  But yesterday I just didn't feel well.  I don't think it's the flu or a cold but not being a doctor it's hard to tell.  I'm feeling a bit better today and should be able to resume my normal activities. But yesterday was another story.  Unfortunately, LM had a dentist appointment after school that I couldn't change on such short notice.  I tried to lay low for the rest of the day.  That was a bit hard since the members of my family didn't realize that I seriously did not feel well.  At the end of the afternoon I had had it and finally said 'what do I need to do or say to make you understand that I don't feel well' and that I wouldn't be doing the following: I am not going out to the car in the dark to search for your library book. I am not washing clothes 'for fun' so you will have your favorite hockey pant...

When we went to Utah after Christmas we had a big day planned with my sister in Salt Lake, starting with a trip to the Capital Theatre   to see The Nutcracker.  It was LM's first time to see it and she was pretty excited.  She wasn't super excited to dress up, but that was part of the deal.  We all loved the ballet - The Nutcracker is always a good one in my opinion. We then headed over to the Clark Planetarium  before dinner.  LM loves planetariums as much as I do.  We spent time walking around looking at the exhibits.  The above photo is LM walking on the moon.  She also walked on Mars, which was right across the hallway.   We definitely plan on going again. After dinner we headed over to Temple Square  to see the lights.  Us - and a large portion of the state of Utah.  It was packed - and one of the coldest nights of the year.  No matter how crowded and cold, it's always a beautiful sight....

Over the past few days we've had the coldest temps in 20 years here in Arizona .  Many other parts of the U.S. have been breaking records as well.  When it's that cold out I always love a nice warm meal at home.  But putting that nice warm meal on a cold plate is no fun. To keep things warm I pop my (microwave safe) plates and bowls in the microwave for a little warm up.  One plate warms up nicely in about 30 seconds.  If I am stacking up 3 or 4 I'll start with 60 seconds and add more time until the plates are to my liking.  You don't want them too hot though or your food will cool off before you can handle the plates. :) I also love warming up my mugs for tea or hot chocolate (we still have our hot cocoa bar up) How are you keeping warm in the frigid temps?

One of the most popular new year's resolutions has got to be 'saving money'.  A noble resolution for sure, especially after the holiday spending frenzy many of us go on from Thanksgiving to New Year's Eve.  While I didn't make any resolutions this year, I am always interested in tightening our belts after the holidays.   I kept hearing about this 52 Week Money Challenge.   The idea is to save $1 for the number of the week we are in during the year. $1 for week one, $2 for week two and so on.  If you are faithful in doing this you will have $1378.00 by week 52 of this year.  Pretty neat, isn't it?   The woman behind this challenge is a lot like many of us.   Meet her here.   I have seen ideas about reversing this challenge  by saving the $52 the first week, $51 the second week, etc.  The theory behind this is that during the last weeks of the year, we tend to have holiday expenses making it harder to set aside $40 plus...

Source Every year I make New Year's Resolutions - they're usually the same old ones: get organized, lose weight, exercise more, eat healthier, eat less sugar, be nicer - probably many of the sames ones other people have written down. Every year I get off to a pretty good start. And then reality sets in.  The days get busier as school starts back up and we get back into our routines.  Routine sounds great until it gets slammed by a doctor or car maintenance appointment.  The three mile walk gets replaced by the three hour wait at the dealership.  And there goes my 'exercise every day' resolution. And then I feel guilty. So, this year there will be no resolutions.  I know what I need to do to and writing down a list of things or putting them out there in a post doesn't make them happen.  I don't plan on being a sloth for the whole of 2013 but if I learned anything in 2012 it's that life happens, plans change, best intentions go out the window and l...

LM and I planned to drive back to Utah with my sister after Christmas so she wouldn't have to drive alone.  A few hours into the trip and along the only 15 mile stretch without cell service, we had a tire problem.  We were lucky that a nice lady and her daughter stopped while my sister was walking to get cell service and was able to call her husband (after 10 minutes on hold with AAA) to have a tow truck come pick us up and take us to St. George to get the car fixed. Deciding to make the best of the situation, we took a few pictures while we waited.  We could have been stuck in a worse place, don't you think? I have always wanted to stop here for a photo shoot and lunch (we were within walking distance of the picnic area) but this wasn't quite the way I had planned it. It was a chilly but beautiful day with not a cloud in the sky. And below is our ride to St. George.  Yes, four of us were stuffed in the cab of that truck. After  lunc...