12-26-13

9:15am

We had a very nice Christmas with family!

Today me and hubby are waking up with aches and pains.

I had to get up out of bed early this morning because

my back and body was hurting.

Hubby is still in bed with a couple of heating pads

saying his body is hurting also.

Last night I got sick because of acid

reflux not allowing me to sleep too well.

Well at least we survived and made it through Christmas.

It's been a struggle but we did it somehow.

11:00am

I took down all indoor Christmas decorations and the tree.

It's been a rough Christmas, Fall & Winter for us just trying to get

by and we are so glad it's over with and don't

need the daily reminder of it for the next week.

Between sickness, hubby missing a week of work due to his back,

me having 2 hospital stays and

trying to stretch a penny as far as it will go,

I am so done with this year and look forward

to getting back on our feet the best we can next year.

As much as I hate to say it but I am going

to see if we can get help from the hospital

with my hospital bills and then I might

see if we can qualify for food stamps

once I get enough money to round up to get

our important paperwork like SS cards 

and birth certificates because I have misplaced them.

Birth certificates cost around $27 a person

to replace so that adds up.

Next year our health insurance is going up even

more so that alone will be a struggle to cover those costs.

4:35pm

Sitting here making out a menu and a grocery list

for the next week.  It's still slim pickings when

it comes to money and the budget at the moment

so have to come up with some really cheap meals.

Right now I have kids home on Christmas break

and hubby home for one week during Christmas

and off New Year's day.

So that means extra food for extra meals.

Breakfasts

Days 1 - 2. Cereal

3. Pancakes
4.  Muffins

5 - 6. Egg sandwiches

7.  Pumpkin bread
8.  Skillet apple pie biscuits

Lunches 

1 - 2. Hot dogs 

3 - 4. Tuna ramen noodles 

5 - 6.  Grilled cheese & chicken noodle soup

7.  Bologna sandwiches

Suppers

1.  Deer stew with potatoes, gravy & carrots.

2.  Beef (deer) noodles with gravy & mushrooms.

3.  Ham & potato soup

4.  Breakfast casserole (potatoes, ground sausage, eggs & cheese)

5.  Fried Italian sausage & potatoes with cheddar cheese

6.  Hamburgers & french fries

7.  Sloppy joes & tater tots

8.  Chicken nuggets & seasoned curly fries.
and if we can afford it...
pork roast & saurkraut.

Snacks

1. Chips with dip

2.  Cookies made from scratch

(I have all the ingredients from where I just

quit baking for Christmas)

3.  Pumpkin bread

7:30pm

Just back from the grocery store.

We spent $65 for the next week or so for a family of 4

to get everything needed for the above meals.

This also included pop, beer, styrofoam plates and I got

a bag of cinnamon pine cones marked down.

Kroger has Christmas items marked down 70% off

and toys marked down to 50% off.

I was hoping to find some pork roast on sale

for New Years but didn't.  Maybe this coming

week they'll go on sale.

Gotta have some pork and sauerkraut.

I need all the luck we can get!

Oh, would you believe that Kroger

was out of eggs and potatoes??!!

Shelves were bare!