Sam Squared

    Yikes, these pans blackened in the ridges.  An old picture of a couple versions of  homemade pizza.    I'd rather not do a regular grocery shop until the holiday weekend is over. After the splurging at both the farmers market and strawberry patch (and I intend to pick again this week) I want to be more intentional with the rest of my shopping. I'll need a few things for the party at my sister's and contribution to the meals at the lake though. I'll only go up for about 1/2 day Saturday and be on cat duty otherwise but will be there for at least a meal. Even for these events, I don't need a lot as some ingredients are on hand.       Friday's my sister's party and I'm planning cherry crisp, apple and carrot slaw salad, and broccoli salad. For the lake, I'll grab a family pack of chicken thighs, make black bean and corn salsa, tortilla chips, a pasta salad, and another cherry crisp. I'll bring muffins too for breakfast as two of my kids...

                           I copy the previous week, delete the old and updated as I go along the week as a way even when busy and not in a blogging mindset I'm accountable to myself.  Here's my recap of Friday, June 20 to Thursday, June 26. Avoiding Spending/ Saving on Needs The heat and humidity was above normal over the weekend. I'm fortunate to have an energy efficient home so even with using AC it's been minimally as needed, and I even tweaked it up to 77 so it truly is warm before it kicks on. I used a lingering bottle, I think finally the last, of Angry Orchard from Christmas to make a beer bread. I used the minimum amount of sugar. It's an ok bread, toasted, tastes pretty good for peanut butter. There was still some by Wednesday, but getting dry, so I made a sort of French toast bake. I froze it for my youngest ( after tasting- not bad) as she absolutely loves French toast bakes. She can warm a chunk...

     I'm going using Wednesday again to check in, at least on first four. Lose five pounds.  Nothing! I'm very frustrated but will look back over the past week and see where the faults lie. I'm sure it's the bites here and there creeping that I'm not paying attention to.  Walk 10 miles per week.  Fair still In that it's 10 miles, but not very intentional and I missed opportunities to move more. On the good side, I had a very long swim Saturday.  Strength and weight resistance exercise two hours per week.  Fail...must get better at this.  Ensure I have at least six fruit and veg servings per day with at least three being vegetables.   Lacking as well and too many carbs and apparently too many snacks.  Resume 16-8 intermittent fasting, meals/ snacks only between 12-8, but aiming for nothing past 7:00. The 8:00 gives me flexibility for nights like trivia that doesn't start until 7:00.  Most days this has been the plan. Calori...

      I Googled and went down lots of paths to confirm that yes, the base price will go up from $1.25 to $1.50 at Dollar Trees everywhere in the US. It's started at my local one on some items such as  bakery items, mashed potatoes, and some snacks. So are there any good buys at Dollar Tree left?       The greeting cards haven't been 2/$1.00 for a while but looks like most will stay at the $1.00 point. This has been helpful for me with the volume of confirmations, graduations, weddings, and babies being born in the last year.       I'll still grab shelf stable milk and almond milk. The convenience, even if $3 a 1/2 gallon is more than fresh is worth it to me to have it on hand and avoid a store run or going without. It's a necessity in my coffee and I do a lot of baking using both. At $1.50 it's still better priced than other shelf stable brands I've seen.       DT carries a box of fancy crackers usually foun...

       It was a hit steamy weekend. My son had a Friday and Sunday gig at the brewery/ pizza farm so stayed at the lake. As no one was there with him on Saturday pup and I went up for the afternoon and I got a good swim. The water hadn't caught up to the air temps so the cold water felt good on my hip and groin that I've battled with soreness. He had grilled chicken for lunch and there was plenty left so we had a nice supper before pup and I went home. I'd have stayed but can't leave the kitty alone overnight. Pup enjoyed cooling down and new again sniffs. I wish I had planned ahead to bring my (widowed) sister along. She'd have enjoyed the afternoon.  She and I are planning a midweek stay there in July instead of camping.  Pup explored and swam and lived his best life.  One tired pup!       Sunday the kitten made sure I knew she was left alone longer than she liked yesterday. I was heavily scolded. I hady my seemingly weekly pity party ...

                         I copy the previous week, delete the old and updated as I go along the week as a way even when busy and not in a blogging mindset I'm accountable to myself.  Here's my recap of Friday, June 13 to Thursday, June 19. Avoiding Spending/ Saving on Needs Made a copy cat Nothing Bundt lemon cake. Total cost including eggs, $7.20. The same size at the bakery is up to $40. Now not sure mine would quite feed 18, but 13 of us had decent slices and there was leftovers.  For my one Tuesday family lunch for June, I joined for the Tuesday burger, fries, shake $10 special at a newish restaurant I wanted to try. It was ok and fortunately I had mowed earlier to burn extra calories.  Bought just the minimal groceries ( after the weekend food shop for hosting), by making sure to use every fresh ingredient in the house, no waste.  Used my daughter's app at her local grocery store for four extr...

    Old picture, but trying to be more meal intentional.   I'm going using Wednesday again to check in, at least on first four. Lose five pounds. I at least lost the addition weight the little Memphis get away added, but have not lost any additional. I looked over past doctor visits and in September 2024, I was at the lowest weight I have been in two decades. That's my target by fall again, so keeping these mini monthly goals alive is important. Then, I'll try for an even healthier weight.  Walk 10 miles per week. Fair. Some days the grand pup got 4 walks, shorter and other days 2-3, but longer.  Strength and weight resistance exercise two hours per week. Fail...must get better at this.  Ensure I have at least six fruit and veg servings per day with at least three being vegetables.  Lacking as well and too many carbs.  Resume 16-8 intermittent fasting, meals/ snacks only between 12-8, but aiming for nothing past 7:00. The 8:00 gives me flexib...

      My life seems small after the horrific murders and attempted murders in my state. In my work, I had contact periodically with our elected part-time legislative members and had the pleasure of meeting Representative Hortman. She and her husband were also parents, siblings, friends, as are Senator Hoffman and his wife who miraculously survived, just regular people trying to do right for their community.  The world is unbearably wounded and don't know how it can recover with the amount of hatred.       I got through Fathers Day. Having no father, my kids no father or grandfathers, and now even my youngest and I with no Godfather (my brother), it's just a day. It's also sad with the leadup to these kind of holidays pushing gift ideas in ads and morning news shows and special features on programs. Maybe someday if my son or I get son-in-laws with children, I'll feel the fun again for it as a holiday. It was always such a fun day in the past when ...

      It's just another sad day in the world, America, my state. Evil seems to be winning. 

                       I copy the previous week, delete the old and updated as I go along the week as a way even when busy and not in a blogging mindset I'm accountable to myself.  Here's my recap of Friday, June 6 to Thursday, June 12. Avoiding Spending/ Saving on Needs Other than (see below) the unplanned purchases, I spent minimally this week.  I haven't had the first gas tank fill of June yet, but will tomorrow, and I have a goal to not use more than two tank fulls. My friend got my hard seltzer at Trivia but then I picked up two house made root beers, so spent $10 on entertainment. I made sure to cancel the boat insurance (see below) effective June 6th. I'm not sure what the credit will be, but it will help as insurance is due next month on the car my daughter drives. Tabs for my car are due by end of month.  I used of remnants of jam and two frozen bananas for one batch of mini quick breads on Sunday m...

           No oodles and oodles of pantry and freezer here, but ample. I'll do a moderate shop on Friday, but I'm really trying to stretch out groceries for the month and start getting more in the shop to replenish and loss leader mode rather than a regular weekly shop. To do that, I'm going to start coming up with a master list of main meals with what's in my house as of today.       Some days it's just me for supper because of sons schedule and if there's some thing he can heat up, I'm likely to just make myself a piece of toast with peanut butter. Sometimes the girls are here which leans towards more plant based foods. This is just a supper list as lunches are usually leftovers or a basic sandwich or salad. Breakfast, if eaten is oatmeal, toast, quick bread/ muffins and maybe an egg here and there, fruit and of course coffee. Pork loin chops, mashed potatoes and gravy ( tonight), mixed veg BBQ Pork loin with Mac and cheese , green beans Pu...

           May was not a healthy month. I did not lose weight, both as I did not make great eating choices and not nearly the amount of exercise I need. Last week was horrendous in terms of calories consumed- multiple alcoholic drinks plus calorie laden food means excess calories regardless of how much walking we did. With the rest of June,  I must be more intentional now that summer is here. Still trying for a accountability, I'm going to use Wednesday again to check in, at least on first four. Lose five pounds. My get away was not good for any weight loss so I'm starting behind here. I do not want to go to my August one year check on my knee and weight more than pre-surgery.  Walk 10 miles per week. This both helps me burn calories but it's good for my mental health. Per my June goals, I want at least a good walk a week in a new area. Strength and weight resistance exercise two hours per week. Ensure I have at least six fruit and veg servings pe...

      Schools now out in our town and for all my family with kids. I hope to get summer ball schedules as that's a nice  break to go watch a game on a perfect summer night. I have at least another  grad party to attend, but it's not until July. This week, I'm focused on home. My house really has been in neglect with me being gone and before that being outside more than in. I'm having family bookclub/cards Saturday after we do our Adopt a Park cleaning, so that gives me motivation.       Yesterday was just a tidying day with dusting and vacuuming, nearly daily needs with pets and open windows. I got the back yard mowed after it dried out some from the overnight showers. Today is kitchen focused. I'm purging my storage container area, if it doesn't have a matching lid, it's gone. I'll also clean the coffee and toaster areas, and minimally get the bakers rack looking pristine. Windows and floor will get a better job than the usual. There's rain ...

       There's a bit more I could write about on the trip, but trying not to put you to sleep. Also, m y android is getting outdated and pictures not the best so many are on my sister's phone and she'll share with me, but here's a few I had. My  older sister and I had to keep reminding ourselves that while we were vacationing, little sister was working. We had to make sure not to be bad influences and keep her up all hours. No problem there as I turn into a pumpkin by 10:00. As you read Friday, we ate well; we drank well too.      Sunday, arriving about noon and given an early check-in, was a day to check out the scene of downtown Memphis, Beale Street, live music, and many beverages. As the weather wasn't much different than home, we were quite comfortable. Dinner was at Hueys, a Memphis staple with many locations. We had beverages and conversation poolside back at the hotel before calling it a day.       Monday got off to a s...

                     I copy the previous week, delete the old and updated as I go along the week as a way even when busy and not in a blogging mindset I'm accountable to myself.  Here's my recap of Friday, May 30 to Thursday, June 5. Avoiding Spending/ Saving on Needs I bought a box of crunchy oats and honey granola bars to toss in my back pack for the trip. These are great for taking that hungry edge off when out and about, avoiding over priced snacks. Of course I had my water bottle to fill as well. Actually never used them as breakfast was so substantial but came in handy for the 12:00 flight home. Having my Delta AmEx means no checked bag fee on first bag. I technically had a carry-on size plus my backpack, but as my sister has to check hers, there was no time saving by carrying on and it's nice not having to wheel a case along in the airport. Both were full flights anyway.  Spent Intentionally I budgeted a certai...