Dinner Date

This past Friday, Karen and I had a dinner date....but this wasn't just any NORMAL dinner date- we got to work in the kitchen and made several freezer meals for the month!

I'm so proud of us for getting our acts together and accomplishing what we did.

We didn't start cooking until after 7pm- if we would have started earlier in the evening we probably could have completed one or more meals, but it was a great 1st run.

Here's Karen hard at work:

And here's some of the meals I made.

1. Philly cheese steak sandwich filling, which will be enough for 2 meals......2. King Ranch chicken casserole- I made the entire recipe, but divided it into smaller containers...

3. I cooked about 2 lbs of frozen chicken, and seasoned the meat according to what dish they would be used in.

My feet started aching, so we wrapped it up around 10:15pm. Next time we'll start earlier and we'll have our recipes a little more planned out. I really wanted to make some muffins and pumpkin bread, but I can always do that this upcoming weekend.

Next time I hope to try some new recipes- Karen found this stuffed shells recipe that sounded yummy, but I'm waiting for a report :)

13 weeks

I never feel like having my photo taken after work/when Brandon gets home, so I took my own 13 week photo this morning.......
Today is the 1st day that I went the ENTIRE school day without feeling queasy! What a blessing!

Couponing @ Target

I scored some great deals at Super Target today. I only used the printable store coupons from www.target.com.

I always swing by the meat case, just to see if I can catch some 'reduced for quick sale' steak, etc. Well- today was my day. They had ground beef on sale for $0.99/lb!!! I couldn't believe it! They only had 5 packages left, so I took all of them. Karen is going to pay me back for 2 or 3 lbs and take 'em home.

Here's some other deals I found- price is after store coupon:
$0.50 broccoli
$0.74 pepperidge farm goldfish crackers x2
$0.84 valasic pickles
$1.59/bag market pantry cheese- x4
$2.89 gallon of milk

Hope you find some good deals too!

Updates

I just added a ticker- I think it'll be a fun way to keep track! This week, Baby K is the size of a plum, as shown below :)
I've been trying to take photos of myself every couple weeks to chart my 'growth.' I had Brandon take my picture over the weekend- he's me a day or two shy of 12 weeks (we were on our way to our date at the Melting Pot- yum):
And here's my picture the day after we got the positive home test (December 23rd):

It's a bit of a change, don't you think?

Just this week, I've started to not feel as sick to my stomach and I'm feeling some energy return. I actually stirred out tonight and got a new pair of pants at JC Penney's. It was a nice change of pace.

In other news, my sister passed her exam and is officially an RN! We are really proud of her. My kids are doing an amazing job at school- I'm working my tail off trying to get kiddos dismissed before the end of the school year.

Lastly, on the 'frugal' front, my friend Jeannette loaned me a rubbermaid tub FULL of summer maternity clothing, and a co-worker, Amy loaned me 2 HUGE bags full of maternity clothes. Between the 2 gals, I have over 25 shirts, 3-4 pairs of jeans, 3 pairs of capris, 1 dress and 1 pair of shorts! It's such a blessing to be able to borrow clothing and save our money for the baby and my maternity leave.

Valentines Day

Brandon and I celebrated Valentine's Day last night- at The Melting Pot! That place is amazing- expensive, but amazing. I can't wait to go there again. I'd have to say my favorite part was dessert.

In other news- I'm finally cooking a dinner! I haven't cooked a real meal in at least 2 weeks. But, the 1st timester is wrapping up, and I feel brave today. I decided to go ahead and make french dip sandwiches in the crockpot.
After 30 minutes of cooking, Brandon had to move the crockpot upstairs so I couldn't smell it......but it's still cooking and that's the point :)

I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Just a few things...

The other night, a friend and I were chatting, and we realized how much of a focus there is on frugality now days. With the economy the way it is, I think it's really important for Americans to take a good, hard look at the finances. Why spend over $300 for groceries a month for just 2 people? There's alot to be learned about cutting back & enjoying what you have and the time you spend with others.

There's somethings I won't compromise on though. And, now that we are pregnant, I'm curious to see where we draw the line when it comes to frugality with the baby. I've ready on other blogs that you only need some basic items for a baby, but I'm looking forward to buying a baby swing and some other 'non-neccessity' items. And, I don't think I should feel bad about it. As long as you don't over-spend, and keep putting money into savings, why cut every corner?

So I got to thinking- what are some things that I spend $ on right now? Here's a few things I could care less about being frugal about:

1. Hair care- from shampoo, to haircuts, to eyebrow waxing to highlighting- I don't really skimp in this area. I like for my hair to look nice. I enjoy going to the salon!

2. Hardwood/laminate floor cleaner- I'm addicted to Method's cleaner. I love it. It's expensive, and I don't care :)

3. Electronics & Appliances- you get what you pay for

4. Clothing- to an extent. I think you get what you pay for with clothing as well. I do wait for items to go on sale, but I am still a bit of a snob and shop only at certain stores. I'm not below consignment though, especially if I'm looking for a basic piece. But, I still by name-brand at consignment.

5. Medical Care- if we're sick, we're going to the doctor. I will never skip a yearly appt or physical

6. Scrapbooking- I scrapbook once a month, and I don't feel bad spending $10-$20 on that evening. That's my night out.

So, what things are you not as frugal about?

Here's the reason....

So, I've fallen behind on couponing. I've still been pretty frugal, but that's just because we've been staying home so much and going to bed early. There's a good reason for my lack of couponing/blogging/excitement:WE'RE HAVING A BABY!!!

I'm due 8/31 and we can't wait! We found out when we got back from Dallas, right before Christmas. We managed to keep it a secret from our parents & close friends for about 2 or 3 weeks, and we just now broke the news to our grandparents and the rest of our friends.

I have really struggled with getting dinner on the table every night. Thank goodness Brandon is so willing to learn how to cook and pick up take-out when requested :)

So, I hope to be back in my normal swing of blogging soon- the 1st trimester is almost over, and I'm already starting to feel better.