Cold Nights = Warm Meals!

I'm participating in OrgJunkie's Menu Plan Monday now! (She has a great blog, btw!) I hope to do this on a more regular basis now that we are dining in more often. I meal plan just about every single week, but don't post it too often here. Here's our (dinner) plan for the week (main dish only):

Sunday: Kielbasa
Monday: Chicken Divan (Riley's favorite!)
Tuesday: One-Pot Salsa Beef Skillet (Brad's night to cook)
Wednesday: Breakfast for dinner! Waffles, bacon, applesauce, & OJ!
Thursday: Crockpot Ribs & Mashed Potatoes
Friday: Movie night & dinner at church (where we eat hot dogs and popcorn)
Saturday: Couples' Night In at our house - we will enjoy a potluck! Who knows what all we will have? :)

What are your plans for the week? We are planning lots of WARM meals as it is starting to get very, very cold here! Brrrr!

Cooking In and Staying In

By now I'm sure you've noticed that the HappyGoMommy! family loves to eat out. We do! Everything from chain restaurants, to carryout, to local little restaurants. Well, we've decided to see if we can go without eating out (including carryout!) for an entire month! We are not doing this because we need to save the money (though that will be nice), but rather, to see if we can actually not eat in restaurants for a month! This was a family idea, and I'll report later on how we're doing...!

I picked up groceries today for the next week and decided to include some fast family foods that we normally don't do - prepackaged chicken fajitas, frozen pizzas, etc. - in addition to all of the ingredients for my homemade meals. My theory is that if I have a few super-quick and low-mess foods on hand,we will be less tempted to dine out! When I do cook (usually most nights a week), I usually prepare my meals from scratch or mostly-from-scratch, and I do complete meals (dinner, side, veggie, fruit, bread, etc.). My sweet husband has also decided to prepare dinner once per week to give me a night off. He loves trying new recipes as much as I do, which I really appreciate! :) We have lots of cookbooks and recipe magazines around our home!

Do you have any meals that are super-simple to do when you are crunched for time or not wanting to prepare a full meal? If so, I would love to hear about them or receive your recipes.

Of course, this doesn't include eating out at friends' or family's homes, so feel free to invite us over if you'd like!! :) I'm sure we would appreciate the change of scenery, not to mention the conversation and good company. :)

You Say It's Your Birthday . . .

Today was my birthday! Yay! I had a great day with my family and enjoyed the day. We usually take school off when it is anyone's birthday (in the family!), but we decided to still have school today and do our school work. The kids were great for school and we got a lot accomplished. We are currently studying Europe and spent today learning about Norway. After that, we met my parents and Brad for lunch at Casa's (a local Italian restaurant - yum!!). I received some nice presents from my family (thanks!).

My sweet husband surprised me by telling me to enjoy an afternoon out and he would take care of the kids (including gym class) and straightening up the house. Yay! I headed off for a relaxing afternoon of reading & browsing at Border's, followed by shopping at the mall (thanks for the shopping money, Addie!), and getting my driver's license renewed (oh for joy! At least it was a good photo day!).

After hanging out with my family at home later on and opening presents (thanks, babe!), the five of us headed out for dinner. Very good! The kids wanted to go out for ice cream afterwards, but because Owen was starting to get fussy, we simply came home and had homemade sundaes for dessert! Much easier! I also came home to hear my favorite niece and nephew singing for me on my answering machine - too cute! Finally, our family spent some time playing games (of my choice!) and we played until I won. :) Yes, it took several games!

Thanks to all for my birthday cards, facebook comments, and gifts! I am especially thankful for my friends & family!

VOTE!

Be sure to vote today! Not sure where you vote? Or the voting hours? Call your local Republican or Democratic headquarters. Then go vote. Need a ride? Give me a call and I'll take you (if you live in IN of course!). :) No matter what happens, this is a historical election for our great country. I'd tell you who to vote for (if you don't know by now!), but you need to make your own informed decision. Now, go VOTE!

Sunday Night

Here's how a routine Sunday evening (my favorite, btw!) goes around HappyGoMommy's house:
Dinner - usually homemade pizza by Brad - yum!

Straightening up the house - kids have to help, of course!

Playing games with the kids - usually dominoes, cards, or "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" (which we usually are!)

Baths & bedtime for the kiddos

And finally, our time! Brad and I enjoy some football and enjoy hanging out for the rest of the evening. :) A great time to relax at the end of a weekend. I am usually folding baskets upon baskets of laundry while we watch a game and catch up on our lives with each other.
I love routines - though I also enjoy change! - and Sunday afternoons and evenings are especially nice. I think I just like them because they're comfy. :) Happy Sunday!

A Book & A Blog

I read a great book this past week and thought I'd share about it. Scratch Beginnings was written by Adam Shephard and in it, he writes about searching for the "American Dream." It is a true story of his life in 2007. He starts out with just $25 and heads to a southern city to see if he can succeed. His measurable goals were clear: at the end of the experiment (one year), he wanted to live in a furnished apartment, have an operable car, have $2500 in cash, and be in a position where he can continue to improve his circumstances (by going to school or starting a business).

The book is written in a very casual style, and if you can get past the language that some of the people he meets along the way use, it is a great read! You get a behind-the-scenes look at shelter life, being homeless, and trying to find a job without an education or degree. I think it gives a good look into how some of the poor live. Although some people have complained that he could not know what it is like to be truly poor, because he is a white male, college graduate (though he did not rely on that), with no dependents.

If you have heard of - or read - Nickel and Dimed, this is his rebuttal to that book. In that book, Barbara Ehrenreich discusses how the pursual of the American Dream is hopeless. I recommend you read them both and make your own conclusions. :) Let me know if you do - or if you have already read them!

And about a blog - I know I have mentioned this site before, but because I like it so much, it gets another mention! :) Have you checked out The Simple Dollar yet? Trent runs a GREAT site and his advice is excellent. I appreciate all of his advice and am trying to incorporate more of his tips into my daily life. Check it out if get a chance & let me know what you think!

Happy Halloween!

BOO! Hope you are enjoying your scary day. :) We are enjoying a very pleasant day here in the Midwest. School went very well (always a good thing for a Friday!), and we are headed to Trunk or Treating this evening! Too fun. My kids are dressing as an angel, giraffe and Scooby Doo. And in case you don't see me today, here is what I have on:

I'm looking forward to a fun weekend of early birthday shopping (for me!), dinner with family, church, working outside in the yard, and getting some inside chores done as well. That, and catching up on some reading as well! (And trying not to swipe candy from our kids' buckets! Oh come on - you know you do it, too!!)

Hope you have a great weekend wherever you are! What are your plans for the Halloween weekend??

Catching Up!

Hello friends! I have been busy lately, but all has been well. We are just plugging away with school, church, work, and life in general! The weather here is getting colder - my favorite time of year! I love leaves, cozy sweatshirts, hayrides, and everything associated with fall!
I haven't posted about school in awhile, so I thought I'd post a short update of our year so far. I will also begin catching up with the Homeschool Memoirs posts again soon! I've been so busy homeschooling that I haven't posted about homeschooling. :)

We've really had a great year so far this year, and we are already over 1/4 of the way done for the year! We have finished studying North America and deserts, and have moved on to South America and rain forests. It's been fun!We're also plugging away with math, language arts, science, Bible, music, & more. The kids have done awesome at Bible quizzing this year, and we just registered for Upward Basketball (Quinn) and Cheerleading (Riley), which will begin soon.
We've studied: latitudes, longitudes, banyan trees, buttresses, multiplication, punctuation, direct quotations, and capitalization. We've made sand art, cakes out of globes, and forest canopies, as well as had a Mexican fiesta and gone on field trips!

Brad and I enjoyed a weekend away this weekend on a marriage retreat. It was a great time away to focus on our relationship and each other. Always needed when lives are busy! Sarah Palin was in town over the weekend, but we didn't go to the rally as it wouldn't have made for a very romantic evening. :)

I would love to post photos, but I am having difficulty with Typepad uploading my photos....argghh! I hope to have it working soon!

Vote '08

I had the opportunity to go to a Sarah Palin rally on Friday and jumped on it! Brad was willing to handle the kids & our volunteer obligation Friday night (church movie night), and he strongly encouraged me to go. Thanks, babe - you rock!
I have wanted the chance to go to a political rally in the past, but didn't want to see Obama or his wife here in town....no thanks!

So when I heard Sarah Palin would be in Noblesville, less than two hours from my home, I decided to go! I picked up my tickets from Republican headquarters the first morning they were available, and it's a good thing I did. They ran out shortly thereafter!

I asked some friends to join me, so there were four of us gals (good friends & fellow homeschool moms) who headed down on Friday afternoon. We left before 1pm, stopped for a quick lunch, and were in Noblesville at Verizon Music Center by about 2:30. (The rally was scheduled to begin at 4:30.) Traffic was great, but it was crowded when we got there. (Side note: Verizon used to be called "Deer Creek," and the last time I was there was to see a Hootie & The Blowfish concert - years ago!! And back when Noblesville was still very rural!)

We stood in a long line for over an hour to get in & through security.....everyone was wearing cool political shirts and you could also buy buttons, bumper stickers, shirts, etc., while standing in line. We made it through security with only one of us having to be scanned with the wand (way to go, Rikki!). We found great seats in the front half, sat down, and waited for it to begin.
After a little while, I decided to go closer to get some pictures and realized we could stand right in front at the rail! I called one of the gals (yes, from a distance of only 30 yards or so - yay for cell phones!) as I saved us a spot and they hurried down to join us. We had a great spot to see Gov. Palin come out & speak. Lieutenant Governor Becky Skillman spoke and country singer Aaron Tippin got the crowd fired up before she Gov. Palin came out.

She spoke about lower taxes, less government control, and restoring our country. She was a great speaker & certainly had everyone fired up! She also quoted John McCain's famous line from the debate this week - "If Obama had wanted to run against George Bush, he should have run four years ago!" I certainly think she is tough enough to be the next VP. I wouldn't want to be on her bad side.

After she spoke, she came out to the crowd for awhile and we had the chance to shake her hand, talk to her, and have her sign our tickets.

(More photos to come soon!)

Why am I supporting McCain/Palin in the election this year? Because I strongly believe in less government and more personal responsibility. I am pro-life and pro-one-man-one-woman marriage. I don't believe socialism is a way to make our country strong enough to fight other countries. I believe in clinging to God, unlike other candidates. :) I believe in change and hope - through a leader who has experience and knowledge to get us there.

Book Giveaway Winner!

Congrats to Kay! She left this comment on day 10 of my Saving Smart! series:

I have truly enjoyed reading your money saving tips! I came across your blog via 2p's and it couldn't have come at a better time in our life. As for my favorite tip, day 8 and Fridays to pass it on to the kids would have to be it.....although none of them were bad :)

I used this site and it randomly chose #4, so comment #4 wins! Kay, email me your address as well as your choice of which book you would like to receive, and it will be on its way to you! Thanks again for all of the positive feedback on this series! Happy saving!