Good morning!
It is Thursday, the 9th of October, and we are well into Blogtober here on Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. I thought for today I would do a grocery haul, it is something I used to do a lot and then stopped, just like most of everything I used to post on here. Oh Sandra!
But never you mind. I must say that I am very much enjoying being back here in my little corner, and blogging my daily life. It has brought a renewed sense of love for blogging that I honestly thought may have been gone for good.
I think the minute I made the decision to step away from social media and to focus more on my life, my home, my family, the things I love and my blog, everything just fell into place. Sort of like a Rubik's cube, when you turn it one last time and everything falls into place. Yes, just like that.
It feels like I've gone back a decade at least, and right back to who I was and oh my goodness, I do not ever want to go back to a few months ago. I felt so lost and out of place, always anxious about what was happening in the world around me, waiting for the shoe to drop, getting frustrated on social media with the onslaught of influencers and everything looking so cookie cutter, yuck.
Anyway, so I am back with a grocery haul today. I did my bi-weekly grocery shopping yesterday. Not sure how the prices are where you live, but groceries seem to have gone up again, especially the meats. My goodness. I spent $350. Didn't really need toiletries, and kept my meats to a minimum, relying more on cheaper and quicker meals for dinners.
As you know the government is shutdown and Curt works on base, so he is furloughed and that means a huge pay cut for us. So we make do with what we have and I simply cut here and there on a few things and it all works out in the end.
Whew, that is a lot of babbling just to say "wanna see my groceries?". OK, let's just get on with it.
Starting with the pet stuff. I usually get Elliott's food from Amazon because I buy the big 24 packs, but lately they have been a bit of pain in the you know what, and sometimes don't have it, other times it takes really long to ship. Walmart and my local commissary also tend to never have his food, so it's a bit of struggle at times. In case you didn't know, he is super picky and likes a very specific brand and food which is the Fancy Feast Medley Chicken Florentine with Spinach, he will also eat the grilled Salmon. That's it.
I still had some in his box, but bought a few more, as well as some treats for him and some treats for Kaia.
Cat dry food, this is the only one he likes as well. Told you, picky boy!
Some laundry softener and I am always in need of food storage boxes, they are like socks in this house, they disappear, or a lid disappears or just the box. It's the strangest thing, so I got a few more. This box of 26 pieces was only $8, so a good price.
Curt eats a lot of apples, and right now they're on sale at Walmart for $2.99, so I got two bags of those and a bag of Clementines which are also on sale for $3.99.
A bag of onions which I always have on hand, some Roma tomatoes for salads and cooking, 1 cucumber because I still have one in the fridge, and some garlic to make my garlic paste for cooking as well.
Garlic bread. I usually make my own, but this one was pretty cheap so grabbed it instead. Homestyle meatballs, 3 bags of chicken drumsticks, one for us and two for Kaia's food which I make every week. A box of burger patties and some pork sausage for Zuppa Toscana.
Chicken Breast strips for a shortcut Parmesan Chicken dinner. Hotdogs and Kielbasa sausage.
2 packs of hotdog buns for chili dogs, a package of mini garlic naan for me. Some wholewheat bread for me as well, soy sauce, tuna, oatmilk, enchilada sauce, quinoa, chickpeas and black eyed peas.
Cookies for the boys. I very rarely eat cookies, not really a cookie fan. I know it sounds crazy but I don't know, just never been a cookie fan. hahahah
Gallon and quart size ziplocs, and a Pumpkin Spice limited edition Dawn for my sister in law who will be visiting from South Africa, in December.
Bananas, potatoes and peppers.
Spring mix, romaine salad and some ham.
An iceberg lettuce, cabbage, eggplant and zucchini.
Kimchi noodles for my husband, I don't know why he likes these, but once in a while he enjoys a pack. Diced tomatoes, black beans, corn, cholula sauce and 2 jars of spaghetti sauce.
Butternut squash, ground turkey and hot sausage
Heavy cream, battered fish fillets, half and half and my Irish butter.
And last, a bag of frozen broccoli. I also picked up 2 cases of Dasani water and two 12 packs of soda for the kids.
I do need to go by the commissary to get my ground beef, some trash bags which I completely forgot to get 🙄and anything else that didn't make the list either. Why does it always feel like at least one item is forgotten?
Alright, I will leave you with the meal plan for the next two weeks. Have a blessed Thursday ♥
Wednesday 8th
Beef enchiladas, rice, salad
Thursday 9th
Kielbasa and potatoes, steamed broccoli
Friday 10th
Chili dogs, oven fries
Saturday 11th
Zuppa Toscana, Grilled cheese and ham
Sunday 12th
Parmesan Chicken and Spaghetti, Salad
Monday 13th
Sausage Stuffed Eggplant (ground turkey), sauteed squash
Tuesday 14th
Mushroom Swiss Burgers, Pasta Salad
Wednesday 15th
Mediterranean Chicken, Quinoa, Salad
Thursday 16th
Breaded fish fillets with tomato and onion, black eyed pea salad
Friday 17th
Sloppy Joes, Sweet Potato fries
Saturday 18th
Slow Cooked Turkey Chili with quinoa and black beans
Sunday 19th
Meatball subs
Monday 20th
Slow Cooker Cabbage rolls
Tuesday 21st
Breakfast for dinner
5 comments:
I just want to say I am SO impressed! I'm terrible at meal planning but I need to do this sooo badly! We usually end up eating out on a whim and its because of poor planning, so I'm so inspired by this post!
I agree, I feel so much freeer the more I blog and the more I step away from social media I feel like myself again! I'm loving this season of my life, and it feels very much like who I am created to be ! So I agree- 10000%! And I'm so thankful to be following your blog so I can have someone else who is in the same mindset!
And you are a great shopper! That's a great haul for the price! And that powerwash soap is great, I got it a few weeks ago and it smells good and works great!
I'm so happy you found this new balance in life. Sometimes it can be hard to know what to do, but it sounds like you managed to find a good way forward!
I do meal planning, but about every other day, as we get leftovers. I also use leftovers to pack my husband's lunch, and pre-make a baked breakfast. Meals also follow what's in season in the garden, but we are now in a frost warning, and our garden is done for the season. I am hoping the frost misses us, so I can dehydrate more herbs. I don't use social media unless it's to search a business, event or recipe anymore. I am hoping to find a place to donate handmade items to this winter, so my hands do not stay idle, but yet get a good rest too. Have a blessed weekend.
Sandra, I'm impressed with your meal planning! We are totally winging it over here, now that I'm working 3 days a week. It's basically a grab what you can or what can we throw together quick. I think you got a good haul for the money. And yes, there's always something else that was needed and then it's back to the store, even though I told myself that a big haul would keep me out of there for a few weeks :) I'm so glad you're loving the daily blogging. I'm enjoying your posts, as always.
I am enjoying your blogtober days. Debbie sent me over and your blog reminds me of the old days. I agree about social media and between you and Debbie, I just might start blogging again. I am a meal planner as well. Just one week at a time and I don't assign days to the meals because life happens when I want a whole afternoon to cook something special and time won't allow me to be in the kitchen for that long.
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