A New Year!!

Happy New Year!!! I am trying something new this year. A friend on her blog "challenged" everyone to try and go 2 weeks or 1 month and not spend any money except for gas and bills. I talked to Dan and the boys and they said they were in for the "challenge". I got a book at the library called "Once-A-Month Cooking". I am going to try and do the one month. I picked what calendar I wanted to do and then made out my grocery list. I also made sure that I made a list for lunches and breakfasts. Noah and I went Friday and started my shopping. I only made it to one store before I was starting to get a heachache, so I had to come home before it got worse. I went back out on Saturday and went to Aldi(love that store) and Kroger. I was able to get everything that I needed. I still need to go to the Amish store and get some ham for lunches. I can get the same ham there for about $2/lb and at kroger it is $7. I can also get fresh Mozzarella for about $2/lb and it is the best mozz cheese. So on Monday, I am going to try and get in to town to get the final few things. For the month, I spent $449.84. That is all the groceries that I needed. I think next month I am going to make my own menu up and try and reduce the amount. I will spend Monday cooking everything and getting it in the freezer. Then each morning I will take something out for supper and thaw it and heat it. It will make it easier for Dan and the boys in case I am sick. I am praying that this will work for us. I think if nothing else, it will get me organized. I had been praying for God to show me a way to help with our budget...Thanks Lindsay!

Noah goes back to school on Monday. I am sad about it, but Samuel starts back as well, so that should make my day go quicker. I am so excited that Samuel has really gotten into reading. I have caught him several times over Christmas break, sitting and reading. We are noticing that he is reading signs and words on ads, more and more. I hope that he will stay excited about it.

Samuel got a guinea pig on Friday. It is really cute! Samuel paid for the cage and feed, and bedding and toys with his own money. My parents gave him a Petsmart gift card for him to go and pick one out. He first said he wanted to name it Bubbles, but then changed it to Fluffy. The first time he held it after he came home, his eyes got red and watery, and then he had welts on his arms where he held it. We think he is just allergic to the timothy hay. I pray he is not allergic to the pig. It would break his heart if he was.

I ordered new cell phones. I got a great deal thru Verizon. No activation fee and Dan and I got our phones for free. Noah was able to get the phone he wanted. We are going to get rid of our land line and just have cells. Dan will have to carry 2 phones-one for work and one for us. Noah will be able to call and text as much as he wants. Dan and I won't need to worry about using our minutes, which will be nice.

My headaches have been constantly at a 6-8 on a scale to 10. They seem to come almost every evening, and I usually get a fever with them. My fever is usually 99*-101*...just enough to make me miserable. I have several doctor's appts coming up. I am going to try and go to my family dr and have him check my kidneys and see if I have an infection. I have done the pink lemonade and will probably make some tomorrow. I think the infection just got too bad for the lemonade to fix. I also want to get my bloodwork done for the research doctor. Maybe I can get back on my glucophage and metanx. These made me feel better when I took them and was monitored. I am going to try and start taking the glucophage Monday and then get some metanx from my family dr. I hope that this helps. We are all going to try and eat healthier this year. We are cutting out a lot of the sugars and junk food.

I am going to let Samuel have my Facebook page. He loves the games and I am only going to use it to keep in touch with friends and family from out of state or very far away. I have felt that I need to cut out some of my computer stuff. I had fb, caringbridge, e-mail, and this blog. I am cutting out fb and caringbridge. I just really feel that these things are taking away from family time, and that is so much core important. In the time that it takes to write on caringbridge, and check out fb, I could play a game with my boys. Dan and I have been talking about how we want to cut out a lot of the tv and computer time. There are so many other things that are more important. God has really been working on my heart about this.

On the subject of eliminating "stuff" that takes away from family, I have begun to eliminate "stuff" that is just sitting around the house. The boys and I cleaned out our closets, and going thru our bedrooms, as well as other rooms. I am getting rid of dishes, pans, clothes, knick-knacks, and anything else that we don't need. Not only is it making our home more spacious, but it is going to someone that needs it more than us...not to mention a tax break. So in the next few weeks I am going to clean out all of the rooms and get rid of "things" around our house. I am hoping to get it so the house is not cluttered and easier to clean, so that when spring comes, and we put out our garden, I won't need to spend so much time in the house, but be able to work outside and help.

Anxious to see what the new year brings!