Dave and I were talking on our way home from WA Saturday about how we could save money for the upcoming holidays and all tat we want to do with and for our family when they come into town. Instead of saving money we decided how we could just not spend money. So we made a plan. We both came up with this at the same time. We thought that we should try to eat from our pantry right now as Christmas is approaching. It would be good for our budget. We have a lot of food in there and the freezer right now so that is what we're going to do. Here's a journal of how it goes...
I got the idea from a website
I had read a while ago.
photo source: moneysavingmom.com
First, I looked at my calendar for this week. Then I looked in the freezer, refrigerator and pantry to see what the menu would be. I mostly plan for dinner only (except Sunday lunch is our big meal), since we have plenty of breakfast things and lunches are usually leftovers. (Dave will be gone for a couple of dinners so I'll pack him a cold dinner (like a sandwich) and he'll have the warm dinner for lunch the next day).
This week's menu: Sunday lunch (11/25): chili and cornbread (meat, bell peppers, tomato & onion from freezer; beans (canned and dried from pantry); cornbread (from the Mungers..they were joining us for lunch) Monday (11/26): Black bean burgers (freezer); acorn squash (freezer); couscous (pantry) and fruit (from Bountiful Baskets 2 weeks ago...now ripe) Tuesday (11/27): white bean (dried, pantry) & ham hock (freezer) soup; fruit (counter: I had gotten some fruit this weekend) Wednesday (11/28): Chili ; Cornbread (leftover from Sunday) Thursday (11/29): Breakfast for Dinner (we always have a lot of breakfast stuff....probably potatoes (from Bountiful Baskets) & eggs) Friday (11/30): dinner out with Sunday School class. I'll bring some dessert to share (from pantry) Saturday (12/1): dinner out with youth group. So, for my food budget this week I'll just spend $10 for the dinner out with the youth group. We'll just drink water or Italian sodas (since I have both already here at home). And to not spend gas money I'm going to try to walk to/from work (except Thursday which will be my errand day). I'm excited about this challenge. How do you save money during this crazy holiday season?
In the movie, Kate and Leopold, the script goes like this....
Oh, that means it's Sunday.
Oh, I don't want it to be Sunday.
I want more of this.
More 1876.
But, Kate, you don't work on Sundays.
We can have more.
Well, oh, no, 'cause Sunday is the day before the day I work, so...
It gets poisoned.
I like the movie. It's intriguing. Who wouldn't want to go back to a simpler time? If I were completely honest I don't really think that I would though. For instance, I like having a computer to type on. I learned how to type, I mean keyboard, I mean...well, you know...on a really old typewriter. You know, the ones that your fingers get caught in the keys. Then at school I took a typing class and got to use an electronic typewriter...WOW! I don't think I'm really that old, but when it comes to how far typing, I mean keyboarding, has come...I guess, I am, let's just say, experienced. :) Well, I digressed...back to Sunday mornings. When I was a little kid I would watch Sunday morning cartoons with my brother and sister, eating cereal while my parents slept in. Sometime in my early childhood some nice people from a nearby church came by one day and asked if they could take us to church on Sunday mornings. Our Sunday mornings would then be busy getting ready to go to church, then we'd wait outside, in front of our house for the church bus. I liked Sunday mornings. We moved, so my parents started taking us to church and sticking around. Sunday mornings then got crazy with us all getting ready to go to church. We'd make a mad scramble to get dressed, breakfast and get in our sweet refurbished 80s van, and then later (when I was older) into a VW van to go to church on time. We'd never make it on time. I really believe now that my family would have functioned better at a hispanic church even though we aren't hispanic. In Mexico, it's not really about getting to church on time....it's just about getting to church and being part of community. My family growing up would have blossomed in that environment...but we weren't in that environment...so the cultures collided when we went to church and were always late. Sunday mornings were crazy back then. I'm glad that someone invited me to church though.
I like how the American church has morphed over the past few decades. I especially like how when it will stay true to the Gospel of Jesus, but be diverse in it's practices. Most of the time, I find that it's just about being the church....worshiping the creator, fellowshipping with each other, sharing with others how God has changed our lives. Sometimes we let the "churchiness" get in the way...and we (sadly) measure people by their attendance, dress, speech, etc....but that is not really what the church is about....it's about fellowship...it's about community...it's about following what Jesus taught. I don't have kids to get ready for church anymore so there's not much hustle and bustle on a Sunday morning...and no Sunday morning cartoons. They are all grown up now. I only have a lazy Sunday morning before church. And even though I live right by church I usually end up walking into the service late. It's not that I don't try to get there early. Even when I get in the building early...something happens and I walk in the service late. I was early once...it felt weird..but still, each Sunday I try to be there on time. I don't agree with Kate (in Kate & Leopold) that Sundays are poisoned. I love having a day to hang out with people who are trying, like me, to walk the talk of Jesus. I love hearing what my pastor has been studying all week and seeing if, Lord willing, I'll be able to follow it this coming week. I don't love all the "churchiness"...but it's not about the "churchiness", it's about the worship and the fellowship, the community. So, since it's Sunday morning, I need to get going and get ready for church. I've got lunch started for after church....gotta run or I'll be late again!
Psalm 95:1-2
New King James Version (NKJV)
Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
(NOTE: I had to reformat the font since it didn't format right, then I looked at the clock and I had to get going....only 5 min late today...not too bad! :))
