Getting Started

Today is the first day of a new year and a whole bunch of new possibility's!  I usually do my grocery shopping on Friday, but with the holiday decided to hold off a day.  Another motive was my $5 off coupon at $GM and starting with a clean shopping/budgeting slate for the new year.  Starting with today's trip, I will keep all grocery receipts for the year, in order to get a better grip on our spending habits, in hopes of it helping our budget bottom line.  I was real worried as hubby had just shared with me that food cost in 2011 would go up 3% and gas 6% (his pay only went up 2% - that's a major corp. for you).  Anyway, my goal was higher protein, low carb and more veggies (a-la-Leptin diet).  This being a tight after holiday week (real budget will start with first pay day in Jan., which is next week).  So with $40 (cash - always use cash) and my coupon to pay for tax, I went to the $GM.  I was so happy when I left and felt goals had been met!  I ended up spending$37.64

Here is what I found:

2 bags Romaine- marked half off - $1.50

2 bags 1lb. carrots-$.85 each (we share these and the romaine with bunny)

2lb. bag popcorn kernels - 1.85 (great snack in our air popper)

1lb. Mexican chorizo sausage- $2.25

2c. shred. cheese - $1.85

pkg. sliced provolone cheese - $2.00

4-1lb. ground turkey chubs- $5

green onions - $1

creamy peanut butter - $1

celery - $1

head of cauliflower - $2

3lb. bag sweet potato - $2.25

cinnamon broom marked half price - $2 (total splurge)

pantyliner - $1

pretzel sticks - $1

wheat bread - $1.05

15oz. tomato sauce - $.55

season salt - $1.65

4% cottage cheese/16oz. - $2

3lb. bag frozen chix tenders - $4

2 - pint size bottle 2% milk, marked half off - $.75 (will be used in morning coffee)

2 dozen eggs - $3

The chicken tenders were only $1 more than hot dogs for lunch and wayyyyyyyy more protein!  They will be great cooked on our table top grill with a little season salt.  Great price on those.  I probably should have skipped the broom, but I do enjoy the smell.  I try to get one every year and hang it on our pantry door.  Besides, it's right across from the ferret cage if you get my drift . . . LOL  Unfortunately I will have to pick up a few more items during the week, such as rabbit and dog food and maybe t.p. for us.  I will keep those receipts too.  Not sure how I will sub categorize them at the end of the year i.e. pets, paper products, food, ect.  But I feel this is a step in the right direction in reclaiming our pocket books and getting a handle on being a good steward of the blessings God brings us.

Here is twin dd E.  She went out with me today and wanted to spend some of her Christmas money.  She did well also, she got these two fairy dolls for only $2 each!

Not sure why I am tossing in this pic, but here is where a ton of our money goes!  Tina, the narcoleptic cat.  She has junk in her trunk, as the kids say : )  Here she is passed out next to our coffee cups on the hutch in the dinning room, on a pile of Christmas stockings awaiting to be put away.  Can we say precarious?

So here's to you and yours and hoping we all have a healthy and happy new year!

Blessings, Beth Ann

Menu Plan Monday ~ Leptin update

Good Monday morning all. We had a stormy week-end, but now a new day is upon us. I kicked off last week by going in and having lab work run for my 6 month med. review. I ended the week with a stellar lab report! I wish I had one of those photographic minds, so as to share all the numbers with you, but alas I don't. So here is the good news from doc. appt. in a nut shell. I have been following a leptin/lo-carb diet since the middle of Nov. 2009. I had a doc. appt. in Dec. of '09 that showed some good news, but this last one was the kicker. Since Dec. I have lost 43 lbs (woo- woo!) and cut my triglyceride level in half! I now have good cholesterol : ) I must confess that trying to come up with something my chronically ill son can eat and watching Michael Pollan's Food, INC. has helped keep me motivated! At my house we are at the point that I make everything from scratch, and I mean everything! I make my own coffee creamer, my own BBQ sauce, use only spelt flour in any baking (muffins, pancakes, etc.), well you get the point. The kid can't eat anything and I WON'T eat just anything now that I know what is in processed food and how the animals are treated and processed. So . . . with that said, here is a look at this weeks leptin/low-carb menu for our home:

Monday: Turkey meatloaf w/broccoli

Tuesday: Zucchini pancakes w/grilled chicken

Wednesday: Bacon and Salmon casserole w/green beans (didn't make last week)

Thursday: Beef stroganoff (no noodles, make cauli-rice)w/Brussels sprouts

Friday: Crock pot chicken w/mixed veggies

Saturday: Salmon seashell pasta salad (use brown rice pasta) on Boston lettuce

Sunday: Stuffed peppers (red, yellow or orange - son can't eat green)

For more MPM visit www.orgjunkie.com

Whats for dinner at your home this week?

Blessings, Beth Ann

Knits & Bits

TGIF all : ) Another sunny day in the upper 80's here in middle TN. A little rain for the garden would be good, but not worried yet.
Just thought I would pop in with a couple updates. Yesterday I drove with big son, might not ever happen again! My shoulder is bruised from my seat belt and all his sudden 'stops' ~ ugh. The kid needs practice. I am so glad the number of required driving hours increased before teenagers get their licences.

I am also currently trying to talk big son into trying the chiropractor and or acupuncture for his Fibro. The meds. the neurologist gave him are not helping and he still has a couple weeks before his next appt. I have read that acupuncture has had good results in Fibro people. I just get so concerned for Z. He worked Mon. and Tue. and was sooooooo sick Wed. (this is typical). He was so weak that he had a hard time getting out of bed and walking. At one point his feet shot out from under him and he fell and hit his head. He said that didn't help his 15 month migraine one bit! : P

I finished yet another knitted scarf, part of my stock pile for selling at craft shows/fairs. I am hoping to have quiet a little stash by the time all the Christmas shows start. I thought this was like a rock start scarf, the older kids said it reminded them of Halloween because of the colors I chose.

It has a two tone rust color and black fringe

Can you see the metallic shimmer?

Next I am finishing up a Christmas bib for the new baby and starting some wrist warmers (the new rage) knitted in the round on 4 double pointed needles. It is dicey to say the least, hope I get use to it. I picked up a cool free pattern at Hobby Lobby today, for knitted camo cargo pants. They had Bre written all over them. They will make great jammy pants : )

Blessings, Beth Ann

Checking in . . .

Sorry it has been so long and that there are no cute pic's to accompany this post. Been a couple of long busy weeks, mostly health wise. First, the stomach flu went through our house and hit everyone eventually in a two week span ~ yuck.

Then big son Z has been battling his chronic pain and made a couple trips to the ER and doc office. This time last year he almost died and when it was all over, the doc's said his chronic pain was probably CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome). In the past 14 months it has gotten steadily worse and now they are looking at FBS, or Fibromyalgia. Tonight he has an appointment with a neurologist, to see about his head pain. Z says it feels like millions of knives are being stuck in his brain, constantly :( We are again juggling his diet and all our energy seems to be focused on him. So exhausting. I hope we find some answers soon.

On a brighter note: We bought a new desk top and I am blogging from it right now! I am loving the 18" LCD screen, very easy on my bad eyes (swear the eye doc is going to give quad focals next). It is also refreshing to not have it shutting down on me every 7-8 minutes or so, makes checking email a tad faster when not constantly rebooting : ) Now I just have to move some files, pic's and ect. from one machine to the other.

Other news: hubby found a great deal on a rotary mower for our yard. Will be nice not to have to scramble around for gas money all summer for our lawnmower, not to mention safer for the kids to use!

Blessings, Beth Ann

Menus' and more 2/6 - 2/12

Come on in and sit a spell, that's what my meerkat (at left) is doing : ) I want to briefly share a PTL with you (praise the LORD). Grandma S. ended up having some emergency back surgery yesterday and we got the word today that she is awake and doing great! We have every reason to believe she will be home by Monday and on the road to recovery, PTL. This is so hard on us, being so far away, their in Vegas. She is the only Grandma the twins have ever known and our older kids have forged a deep bond of acceptance with Grandma S and Grandpa D too. These folks are like the parents I never had. Bless you guys!

Time for a menu and leptin update. I haven't been on a scale in about a week (need a new battery) but guessing I have lost about 35 lbs. now. The biggest kick is that I can now fit into 2 pair of jeans I haven't worn in about 3 years and can button up 4 (count 'em, 4) coats/jackets that I couldn't before. However I am still not into my pre-twin pants yet, sigh. Those kids really kicked my butt when I got pregnant with them - LOL Now I am making time for me, and making sure we are ALL eating healthy meals . My middle dd has even gone down one pant size without even trying : ) Here is a look at our Leptin/lo-carb, high protein dinner menu for this week:

Saturday: Baked chicken w/brown rice and steamed cabbage

Sunday: Meatza (faux pizza) w/ salad

Monday: Mexican cheese casserole w/ brussel sprouts

Tuesday: Country fried steak w/green beans

Wednesday: Church dinner & bible study ~ grill night (from canceled last week)

Thursday: Chicken Casserole w/broccoli

Friday: leftovers : p

Remember, you can always eat as many dark green veggies as you need to fill up, but keep your carbs under 20g. a meal and always less then your protein!

Blessings, Beth Ann

Good news, sad news, baby news & anxiety attacks

Lets start with the good news, no one from our church will have to man their pick axe! The good people of our church used old fashioned ingenuity and figured out the problem. It was so simple a child could have done it, actually a child did, we think : ) Let's just say I am both embarrassed but thrilled to say it involved a garden hose and some MAJOR seepage! Pastor has dismantled and hidden the handle from the outdoor spicket and we will muster through the likely $7oo + water bill, bravely. Praise the LORD!

Next, the sad news. One of my closest friends daughter is fighting cervical cancer. It is so scary, on every front. It is so emotional, for everyone involved. It's heartbreaking, plain and simple.

Baby news! It looks like my next grand baby will be a boy and will arrive on July 12th, 2o1o. Lets all hope and pray since last time they told us right up to the second they pulled him out (and $5oo worth of pick stuff latter) that my dd was having a girl! We were all surprised : )

Don't know where to begin here. I guess at the beginning (good place huh?). About 15 months ago our home was robbed. Yesterday five homes on the street behind us were robbed. The police think it's the same guy. They claim they can't prove it yet. Best part? So not only is he out there still running around, but he lives across the street from us! I haven't slept one minute since I heard yesterday. When we were robbed, we were on vacation in S.C. and had to cut it short and come home. Oh yeah, it also happened on my big 4oth b-day. I don't have b-days anymore. Yesterday, all these folks were still home and sleeping. To scary. Does he have a weapon so he doesn't care? I know I am having anxiety attacks again. I had them right after it happened to us 15 months ago (also had them right after I had the twins, coincidence?). I can't say that I have had a good nights sleep since then. This is insane. So it's like 1:35 a.m. right now. Guess I will work on finishing up some of my knitting projects so I can start to crochet a BLUE (?) baby blanket.

Blessings, Beth Ann

2010 Blessings

Welcome all to 2010 and blessings for you!

For the new year I am considering starting a second blog based on the Leptin health plan we are following. High protein, low carbs, which means pretty much no sugar or darn little. It seems to help all our food issues and food allergies we have been struggling with for the past year. It seems to jive with our sugar, yeast, dairy, and gluten allergies.

I would love to share with you all our successes and failures as we navigate a brand new year and try to reach a healthier lifestyle. I would include menus, recipes, new items and news items = LOL Please keep me posted on if this sounds appealing or not. I feel so strongly about the message in this book and have the seen the results in myself, my spouse and friends, that I want to share with all!

My new week starts on Saturday, through Friday. So I tend to do my weekly shopping on Friday or Saturday morning, which is also the best time for reduced products at my local stores. Yes I do weekly shopping as I found that seemed to increase my reduced product finds and was easier to pay meals forward (meals not used being used the next menu) and reduce spending the following week. We are a family of 6 (2 adults, 2 teenagers, 2 grammar aged children) and I had created a budget of $75 a week , which pretty much includes everything but utilities - LOL But eating more fresh meat and veggies (the green ones) is a bit more spendy, not to mention our handicapped animal ministry stretches the budget as well. Even though oldest son works at the local animal hospital and chips in for these critters, I upped our weekly grocery budget to about $100 a week give or take.

Here is a look at my week starting 1/2/10, ending 1/8/10:

Breakfasts: Eggs, Cottage Cheese, Sausage, toast and almond butter

Lunches: Tuna, hot dogs, chicken, burgers and leftovers

Dinners: Sat. - Mexican slow cooker stew
Sun. - Crock pot chicken casserole, home style
Mon. - Crock pot chicken mole'
Tue. - Ham and broccoli cheese soup
Wed. - Church, if nothing I can eat there then : BBQ beef w/ green beans
Thur. - Cube steak with gravy, slow cooker
Fri. - Chicken in creamy horseradish sauce, slow cooker

There you have it in a nutshell, what I am thinking about in the new year. I thought I could call my second blog, 'Liv'n the Leptin Life'. What do you think?

Blessings, Beth Ann

Three weeks in . . .

Just checking in to let everyone know we are still alive and mostly over the snotitise. It only lasted about 3 1/2 weeks! LOL I also wanted to mention that as of yesterday it has been 3 weeks that hubby and I started following the book 'Mastering Leptin' , which is a hormone. Basically you cure any hormone imbalances by diet, a predominately lo-carb one. I want to stress though that carbs are allowed though! Just that your protein has to be higher than your carb intake, which is not the norm for a sad diet (standard American diet). So if your meat for dinner - say chicken is 32g protein, keep your dinner carb at around half of that or less. There is a link at the right in my Amazon favorites, check it out. I have lost 21 pounds in the past 3 weeks and hubby is right around 20 lost as well. My energy is increasing every day and I am not dreading my doc appt. next week, like I usually do. I have long known that diet was key to most health issues and had previous success with lo-carb, but money is a factor. My good friend had been reading this book and saw another of our friends drop 70 pounds in 5 months. She staged a health intervention and gave me this book. After much emotional baggage was unloaded she offered support and took me shopping to get me started. It is still a struggle financially, but we are truly motivated and I know that in my friends I'm not alone and have my own support system.

I am anticipating that by Christmas I will have lost at least 10% of my body weight and come the new year I will be ready to start an exercise regimen. Blessedly I live only two blocks from a city park with a very . . . energetic walking track : )

Blessings, Beth Ann