New Brake Pads

I love that my kids all like each other and help each other out. This was definitely a 2-man job. #2 son (under the car) needed new brake pads on his car. #3 son (kneeling) helped out.  

Old - left side.

New - right side

The October Challenge - Final Report

This was a great challenge. I have used up many items in my pantry that I haven't been inclined to touch for ages. No one starved, no one was injured, and no one lost any weight! The savings were not as great as I had hoped - my expectations always seem to exceed my realities. But we did put aside $200 to help pay down a bill- and that is a great beginning. I think some of the incidentals took up more money than actual food. And we could have saved more if I had done more baking from scratch.

This next month we are going to try to put aside the same $200 amount. We did do some significant grocery replenishing on November 1st, but stuck to a list of basics. We celebrated with a family favorite of Quesadillas for dinner - and watching a DVD episode of The Andy Griffith Show (Dh keeps saying I am a lot like Aunt Bea - hmmmmm.)

An unexpected savings came in the way of a broken AC unit. It is starting to cool off here - and though some of the afternoons are pretty warm - especially in the upstairs area - we are toughing it out and just letting the unit stay broken until springtime. Usually this time of year we keep the AC going during the day - so we are not putting out funds for a repair bill - and we expect to see big savings in our electric bill the next few months. In the end no matter how much we save, it won't cover the repairs costs - we actually need a new unit and have kept this one limping along for almost two years now - but we can at least delay for now and see what the Lord brings to us for the spring. Now we are enjoying the fresh air, cool nights, and lots of birds and squirrel chatter.

Rolled Oats

We have had slightly cooler weather here in central Florida - and the boxed cereal is long gone (see the Oct. Challenge posts). In order to accomodate #3 son's leaving time for work, I have had to get up early to cook up the oatmeal (oops, rolled oats). That is a good thing - 1.) I am up early and 2) Ds gets a good hot breakfast. My definition of early is 6 AM, so don't feel sorry for me - I should be up then, but had gotten lazy and was sleeping in until 7. I like being up and getting everyone breakfast, so horray for the October Challenge!

I buy my rolled oats in a 6 gallon pail from BreadBeckers. http://breadbeckers.com/ We have a local co-op group here that orders 4 times a year. I don't order every time, but usually at least twice a year. In fact the next order is due in a week or so, so I will need to check my stock of rolled oats, rice, and wheat berries. The 6 gallon pail of the rolled oats lasts me about 4 winter months (I use them for cookies, and other recipes too) and I generally go through a second bucket for the rest of the 8 months of the year.

Cooking details - Plain rolled oats take a looooong time to cook, and that is not a good morning for me. I have found that if I soak the oats overnight, then in the morning they cook up fast and creamy. For our family I put 4 to 4 1/2 cups of rolled oats in a pan and sprinkle with a little bit of salt. Cover them with water so that the water is about a 1/2 inch or more above the oats. No exact measurments needed. Put the lid on the pan and leave on the counter to soak overnight. In the morning I add a bit more water (I don't measure water, just add as needed - so that it looks right) and turn the burner on to medium heat. At this time I also add some pure maple syrup and brown sugar to the pan. Sometimes I will add cinnamon too. I stir it every so often. In about 10 minutes it is creamy and hot - Done! Most of the family likes to eat their oatmeal plain; I like a little milk on mine. The picture looks like a lot of milk, but it is really just a bit - there is a full bowl of oatmeal in there.

Everyone likes this and I make it about 4-5 times a week during the winter months. On the other days of the week we will have pancakes or homemade coffee cake, and occasionally eggs and all the fixings. I still haven't made the granola - that is also good to have on hand, though not everyone here likes it. Everyone here does agree that the oatmeal sticks with you until lunch time. A great start to the day.

The October Challenge - Part 2

So far we have done fairly well. There was a bit of a misunderstanding of the goal - but that is still fine. My goals are always a lot higher than my ability to attain them. I had originally hoped to keep the whole month to a very low cost - but Dh thought the time frame was for a pay period (15 days). So we are already over what I had hoped we would spend -- but the good news is we are still saving a lot of money. We may continue through the first couple weeks of November - we will see when we get there.

The first two weeks were fairly easy - there was a lot on hand. We still have a lot of food, but it is not as "visible". In place of the boxes you go and grab, I have to actually make the food. The family sees flour and eggs and milk - not the good food it makes up into. And we all have to learn to see snacks as something more than a bucket of ice cream or a bag of chips.

We have lots of meat still in the freezer, and plenty of grains and beans. We have bought produce as needed, but do have a supply of frozen and canned vegetables. We have had:
*hamburgers, frozen corn on the cob (I had two partially used bags of this in the freezer and didn't realize it) and the rest of the frozen french fries.
*homemade beef, rice and vegetable soup with Jiffy corn muffins.
*spaghetti and meat sauce
*oven roasted sirloin steaks in stoneware with mashed potatoes, frozen corn, and canned green beans.
*for snacks I have made pineapple scones, bran muffins, a cake, cookies, fruit smoothies and brownies.

On the menu tomorrow is oatmeal for breakfast (I soak my rolled oats overnight and in the morning they cook up creamy and fast), leftover soup and/or grilled cheese for those home for lunch, and supper is the guys fixing up the last of the boxed stuff in the freezer since The Princess and I have a late night with music lessons and band practice. I will fix a snack for the guys before we leave the house - maybe some date bar cookies or chipless choclate chip cookies.

This has been fun and stretched my creativity in food preparation - and I am getting lots of space freed up and easy access to cleaning cupboards and the refridgerator.

The October Challenge - Week 1

The first week has been pretty easy. We already had a lot of groceries on hand. Some of what I used includes the following:

From the freezer I used: a package of pork loins, chicken, pot pies, finished up two already opened boxes of sausages, and the kids used some frozen pizzas.

From the can foods shelf I used - yams to make a sweet potato casserole and corn nibblets.

From the boxed stuff on hand: Kraft mac and cheese, a cake mix, pancake mix, and some boxed cereal.

Snacks: We had homemade brownies and the cake that the Princess made. We were also using up items we had on hand (I think there were some pudding cups and granola bars around.)

Produce: potatoes and eggs.

We bought: bread (must make some!), milk, and canned crushed pineapple (I want to make pineapple scones.)

Next week should be pretty easy too - crunch time will come after the 15th!

The October Challenge

In an effort to pay off a few bills that have crept into our life - we are going to abstain from buying groceries during October (actually starting from now!) We will get the few things of necessity - like TP, fresh produce, and butter - that I can't otherwise obtain - but that is all. The goal is to keep spending under $150 for the month for groceries and supplies.

* I have all the grains and beans I need and a freezer full of meat.

* I am putting a stash of rags out where they are handy instead of paper towels.

* When the boxed cereal runs out - we use the bucket of rolled oats and homemade granola.

* Bread will be homemade - I have buckets of wheat berries ready to grind up.

* All snacks will be homemade - including the pudding.

* I have a stash of canned goods that just need a creative touch.

I will post an update or two as we go along - and then a final report at the end of October. Maybe we can make this a habit! Feel free to add helpful hints of ways you have economized.

As an extra (and because it is the only photo I could grab without assistance!) here is Fluffy, the Princess's kitty.

Blessings,

Patti