Sunday, January 17, 2010

Menu Plan 1/18-1/24



The eat from the pantry challenge has been going well this week. I have to go pick up some WIC tomorrow, because I have just about exhausted my evaporated milk stash for cooking and the kids are getting cranky without their juice. I discovered they don't like V8, which is unfortunate because we have quite a few cans of it left over from me buying it while I was pregnant, but not being able to drink it because I was pregnant and it made my heartburn horrible!

My refrigerator is about bare (and oh my I need to scrub it really good!) and you can see all the way to the back wall of my cabinets. I'm not really sure how much longer I can go on the Challenge. We'll see.




I have to admit that I haven't stuck to a single menu plan so far! At all. Like I don't think I've made a single meal on the day I had planned on making it. I look at it to see what I planned, and then I think of something that sounds better than that. Lol. Or my husband requests something. I guess I'll try again... We're going to be trying to eat lots of small meals and snacks each day to lose weight, so I figure I will plan for 3 of them, and there should be atleast two snacks thrown in each day between these. I just can't plan for snacks. It would damage my sanity.

Monday-

Oatmeal

Grilled chicken breasts

Broccoli cheese Soup and Cornbread

Tuesday-

Scrambled Eggs

Leftover Soup

I'll be at an Avon meeting, Husband will probably be feeding the kids sanwiches.

Wednesday-

Healthy Cereal

Sandwich

Turkey Tacos

Thursday-

Pancakes (very small portions)

Clam Chowder

Fajitas

Friday-

Sausage Biscuit

Sandwich

Pork Chop

Saturday-

Cereal

BLTs

Tuna Casserole

Sunday-

Muffins

Grilled chicken Salads

Veggie Soup

I had just started getting back into the swing of cooking every night, and now I'm going to have to adjust to cooking healthier foods... If I can just keep it in mind it won't be a problem but as absent minded as I have gotten here lately, I just have a feeling I'm going to cook up some huge unhealthy meal and remember once it's all done that I'm supposed to be sticking to the lighter side. At which point my husband will eat it all. And then blame it on me when he gains weight at the next weigh in. Lol. Good times ahead.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Free 8x10 Portraits Everyday!!!

When you have multiple children (or one child for that matter) trying to have professional portraits taken on a regular basis to document how they grow can get expensive fast! The other day while leaving Wal-Mart, I found something that will save my family a lot of money this year! When you purchase a Portrait Smiles Club Membership for only 29.99 you can go in to have a picture taken once a day and get a free 8x10!!! It also gets you some pretty great discounts on other portrait purchases if you decide a few times a year you want a larger package. Go here for more details!

See my previous post for some Avon sale highlights and shipping codes and let me know if you need samples!

Check out more ways to stretch your dollars farther on Frugal Friday at Life as Mom!

Want Samples?

If you see anything on my Avon Website that you aren't sure about, but think you might want to try if it works like it says it does, let me know and I will mail you a sample, if they are available from Avon. Samples cost me money, so please only request them from me if you are willing to order from my website. I am confident that our products work very well, so I would be happy to send a sample out so you can see that for yourself!

What do you do?

I'm not having a good day. If you read my blog often, you may have noticed I haven't really been having a good month. 2010 started out with me being tired and has gone downhill. Lol. It's nothing serious, just a funk I've gotten into, I'm just blah...

I was just wondering, because I know I'm not the only one who has these blah times, what do you do when you feel blah? I know some people take a small vacation and get away from it all for a day or two, but that is soooo not in our budget. The next time we will be getting out of town will be late February or early March, and I just don't want to feel blah until then!!!

Comments would be appreciated, and if I find a cure I will definatley let you know!!!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

WFMW: SparkPeople

So I wasn't planning on focusing on losing weight this year. I have so much on my plate right now(haha, get it) and I'm so busy chasing kids that honestly I have been slowly losing weight ever since I had my 3 month old, just because Two 2 year olds and a three month old use up a lot of energy, and I hardly ever have time to eat. However, My husband texted me tonight and informed me that his workplace (Wal-Mart) is having a charity weight loss competition, and it is an opportunity for him to stay motivated (he's been in a bit more of a rush to start a diet than I have), help out charity, and there is also a cash prize at the end of it for the winner. I'm definatley not going to discourage him! As soon as he said he needed me to start cooking healthier meals for him, I knew where to go!

About two years ago, right after my first daughter was born, I was in a huge rush to start losing weight, and I got an email with a link in it to this wonderful website called SparkPeople. This site has it all, Calorie Trackers, Community Forums, Groups, Motivation, Weight loss tracker, a whole seperate site for recipes, exercises, and more!

And it's all free! That works for me!!!

SparkPeople.com: Get a Free Online Diet

Avon Avon Avon!

There's a whole new set of deals out on my Avon Website, the current shipping code is RFSC3 for free shipping on an order of $20 or more

Check out the Special Offers page, where they have lots of good deals on one item when you buy a certain item like Astonishing Lengths mascara for only $1.99 with select makeup purchase or Nail Experts Instant Gel Cuticle Remover for only $1.99 with select nail purchase or Moisture Effective Eye Makeup Remover Lotion for only $.99 with select Makeup purchase.

Also if you Go Here there is information about a sweepstakes for a trip to Hollywood and Dinner with Mario Lopez, which you can enter with select purchases. There's a lot of good deals on products that qualify you for an entry!

If you want to try out the Anew products which I talked about here or any of the other Anew products, register on my website and then send me a comment or email me at alexismckellar at yahoo dot com and I'll apply a 20% discount to your entire next purchase as long as it has an Anew product in it!



If you have any questions about any of the Avon products, feel free to ask, if I don't know I can find the answer for you!!!

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Menu Plan, and Pantry Challenge

Oh my. I am a mother. As a mother I have "mommy moments" Y'all I friggin forgot that I was supposed to try to do the whole cook for a week in one day thing today. LOL. Just forgot. Sigh.

So here is the new plan. I'm going to look for simple recipes that I can make quickly, I'm going to start setting my meat for the week out to thaw on Sundays, and I'm just going to cook every day. I think I can do it.





As far as the Pantry Challenge goes, I'm doing good, my roomate ran out for some milk and eggs a couple days ago, but other than that I haven't made any shopping trips. It's strangely exciting seeing the cupboards starting to get a little bare (considering normally I'm obsessed with keeping them stocked stocked stocked- never run out of anything!) It's nice to know the next time I go shopping I will absolutley have a place to put the groceries! lol.



My Menu Plan for this week is as follows:


Monday- Going to make breakfast for supper on my husband's night off so that I can make a triple or quadruple batch of pancakes and freeze them. Been meaning to do this for a while now!


Tuesday- Baked Potato Soup. Going to try to do some homemade bread to go with it, we'll see.


Wednesday- Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches and French Fries


Thursday- Slow Cooker Taco Soup


Friday- Pork Stir Fry


Saturday- Grilled Chicken Salads, Breadsticks


Sunday- Veggie Soup, Cornbread


I guess I'm feeling a little better. More energy and whatnot. Just no memory.

If you have been thinking about buying some Avon, now would be a great time, there are still some great sales going on, and quite frankly, I NEED THE SALES. Lol. So Pop on over to www.youravon.com/amcgilberry and pick up some essentials! It would be soooo greatly appreciated!


Thanks for reading! Come back soon!

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

I'm Booking it in 2010!


So I hadn't really put much thought into trying to read more (just not something that really crosses your mind when you're chasing kids around all day) but when I saw this on Life as Mom I figured I could find some time somewhere to read (used to be one of my biggest passions, along with writing, it's amazing how your life just kinda rearranges itself without you realizing it!) So my plan for 2010 is to read Jane Austen's Novels (been meaning to do this for a while!)

Pride and Prejudice
Persuasion
Emma
Northanger Abbey
Sense and Sensibility
Mansfield Park
Lady Susan
I think this is going to be a lot of fun, and also a great way to unwind and relieve some stress at the end of the day once the kids are in bed! I really need to relax here lately, I'm way too stressed! I really think this will help me hang on to my sanity! Sometimes it's good to prove to yourself that you can still read books written for adults, when you've been reading so many written for toddlers!!!

Backwards WFMW



Ok, so today's Works for me Wednesday is backwards, and I'm supposed to ask a question. In light of my recent failure at cooking a weeks worth of food in one day, and my constant failures at getting in the kitchen on a daily basis and getting supper on the table since I had my now 3 month old...

How do you suggest to keep a 3 month old entertained and happy long enough to make supper for my family?

Any attempts at advice would be soooo hugely appreciated!!! I'm going crazy.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Menu Plan 1/4-1/10



I'm tired. Nothing fancy is going to be happening in my kitchen this week.

Monday- Enchiladas

Tuesday- Baked Ziti Casserole

Wednesday- Pizza Subs
Thursday- Chicken Fajitas

Friday- Homemade Pizza

Saturday- Sesame Chicken

Sunday- Broccoli and Cheese Chicken

Blah. Maybe I'll find some energy sometime this week and get a better plan together for next week! I really hope so! Luckily my family really never complains about anything.

Check out my website at www.youravon.com/amcgilberry

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Ok so it did happen, sort of...

I got in the kitchen as soon as the baby was laid down for the night and made four meals in about 2 hours. Nowhere near what I wanted to achieve today. I feel somewhat defeated.

I mean as far as the whole eat from the pantry thing, I have stuck to it so far, all our meals so far this month have been made from what we had on hand. But my real challenge to myself was to find a way that I could have dinner on the table every night without stressing myself out.

I have not accomplished that whatsoever.

But I'm not going to give up. I don't know what I am going to do, but it will not be to give up!

Make sure you check my post about the latest deals Avon has right now here or just go browse my website at www.youravon.com/amcgilberry! Order something. It would make me feel better. LOL.

It's just not happening today

So today was supposed to be my first big cooking day. I was supposed to cook for the entire week starting first thing this morning. I had a plan put together, I had my recipes in order, I had meat laid out. It isn't happening. I have two of my kids and they are both sick and grumpy. I'm feeling a bit under the weather too. I popped a roast in the oven earlier and that was our lunch and will be our Dinner too, so that way I have bought myself some time anyway. Hopefully I will get a huge burst of energy after the kids go to bed and I'll still be able to get some of the cooking done that I wanted to do. Sigh.

Friday, January 1, 2010

Avon New Year's Spree

Avon's New Year's Spree starts today with savings site-wide. You can still use coupon code Winter5 for free shipping on orders of $5 or more, through January 11.

www.youravon.com/amcgilberry

If you haven't ever tried it, I suggest the Anew skincare line. It's an excellent anti-aging line developed by avon. There are three catergories in the Anew line: Rejuvenate, Reversalist, and Ultimate. The general age guidelines are Rejuvenate 30+, Reversalist 40+, and Ultimate 50+, but there is a nifty quiz you can take here to find out which is right for you. There's the Anew Essentials for any age and they also have Anew clinical for specific problems you want to target. My personal favorite is the Anew Clinical Eye Lift. It's great for tired mommies (of which I am one)! No wonder it's Avon's #1 bestselling product! There's some great deals on Anew right now, so it's a great time to try it!

Also, the original Skin So Soft has a great deal on select products, buy one get one free, save up to $16!

Hope everyone's having a great New Year so far!