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I'll post my thoughts tomorrow!

Savings

I figured out my saving today!

Last month we spent $587.56 eating out and $272.76 on groceries. This month I spent $587.56 on groceries. I calculated it as a savings of $323.88. WOW! The last month eating out total only counts for debit card purchases, so it could be a larger savings. I know we used cash sometimes. That is amazing to me!

I also caved today. Some people...no names mentioned...we tempting me to go out to eat after church today. We ended up inviting them over for sandwiches. It was great fun! I am glad that B-Rock held his ground and refused to let me go out! Just a few more days and it's all over. I am ending this with a lunch meeting at the Ramada Inn on Wednesday. I'm glad the meeting wasn't scheduled for an earlier date.

Jaimie and I are talking about continuing the blog, so stick around for more recipies and things!

Long Overdue...Again

It has been a good week since B-Rock got home. We behaved, but I didn't have a lot of things around the house, so we ate a lot of leftovers and throw togethers. It was good though. B-Rockhas been coming home for lunch this week, because he has been waking up late for work. Its been nice seeing him during the day.

The Bear is the big cheater in the family. She went to McD with her dear friend Gjeeh. I can't blame her! It's not really cheating though, because Gjeeh paid.

With only a few days left, I am looking forward to not having to remind myself not to eat out. I am happy that I able to go this long and hope that I can continue. I will admit that I haven't lost any weight, but I know that I have saved money. This is the first time that I have been able to pay all my bills for the month within the first two weeks. It's nice and stress free! Although, the Bonnie (my car) is sick and needs some major repairs, so there goes the money we saved. We did talk about getting a new car, but we are going to try to make her work through the next year! She's a trooper and has been a GREAT car!

Thanks to everyone that is following our blog! I hope you enjoy it!

Catching Up

Holy cow! It's been one week since I last updated! Please forgive me! I promise that I haven't fallen off the wagon! I only semi-cheated once! So here's the scoop...

It was not a week of wonderful meals. It was more simple meals to get us by.

Monday - Leftovers for B-Rock and Spaghetti O's for me and The Bear
Tuesday - Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
Wednesday - Sandwiches with Jaimie (We made it on the best rolls ever made! I will admit that they came from the evil Walmart, but oh were they good! They were bolillo rolls.)
Thursday - Grill Chicken on Greens for B-Rock and Bunco potluck for me, so The Bear got the Mac-N-Cheese with veggies and Chicken dish I made for Bunco.
Friday - Low-Fat Zesty Shrimp and Pasta

Today, The Bear and I had fried eggs with toast. She loved it and even asked for seconds. We are hanging low this week as B-Rock is out of town. That's either going to make this challenge easier, because I won't have to make any big meals, or it will make it harder, because I will want to just get the two of us something easy...like take-out! We'll see what happens.

Take Out...

No, we didn't cheat at Jaimie's house. Although, it has been very difficult for my husband. Every time we drive by McDonald's, his mouth is watering and he says, "I would do anything for a Big Mac." We have solved the problem tonight by making homemade quesadillas and buying a tub of salsa from our FAVORITE local Mexican restaurant.
Tomorrow, I am meeting with my coworkers for lunch to send off a dear coworker that will be gone for 7-weeks. She is going to be with her husband for chemo treatments at Mayo Clinic. :( I promised my family that I would eat lunch with them before I left, so I plan to either just have a cup of coffee or maybe dessert while we are out. As my husband said, "You signed us up for this." I had to laugh at that one. :)

Fresh Fish Anyone?

So this is a "before" picture of Saturday night's meal at Jaimie's house! It was the best fish I have had in a lloonngg time! Yummy! And, even better, my husband caught these beautiful trout, so it was free. :) We did eat out today and even though we didn't cheat on the rules (my mom treated for Father's Day), it felt wrong in some ways. It is like I have this feeling that I'm not truly completing the challenge. I was able to push beyond the guilt (smile) and we did enjoy the great company and the amazing food. We had guests for dinner tonight. I made rotini with grilled chicken, and roasted red pepper alfredo (cheated and used a jar for the sauce), garlic bread, and salad. We had nice food and great conversation! We are heading out to camp, so it won't be hard to dine in for the next couple of days...there's no where to go!!

The Toughest Day of them All....Saturday

Saturdays are my (Janet's) biggest eat out day. We often get McD for breakfast, Jimmy Johns or something for lunch, and then go somewhere for dinner. Today was not bad though! B-Rock had to take a little road trip in the morning, so he took a granola bar and apple with him. The Bear and I had frosted mini wheats for breakfast. We ended up going to a graduation party with yummy home cooked food and I made homemade pizza for dinner. It was nice! Tomorrow I am stocked up for after church lunch and we are going to the in-laws for Father's Day dinner. Then we begin week two! I haven't even begun to think about meals yet!

This way of life does take extra planning. I had a change to my menu (Jaimie) tonight, because I knew we would be getting home from the lake and everyone would be starving. So, I threw together a pot of White Chili (yes, it was 90+degrees here today) in the Crock Pot before we left. But, it was well worth it when we came home! We ate in the basement's partially finished "living room" and enjoyed some Disney channel in the cool room with our yummy chili! Hopefully we will be eating dinner around the table tomorrow night.

So far, so good at Jaimie's house. Today was a bit of a challenge because it was my husband's first day of vacation. And, I do have to admit, I am having twinges of guilt. We picked up some chicken from a grocery deli today. It was my husbands way of getting his "fix" for Genera' Tso's Chicken without completely cheating. He even had me call Janet to make sure we "Weren't cheating on her." We only bought the meat and brought it home to eat with our own side dishes. And, I will say this, since it is his first day of vacation, we normally would have eaten out for lunch and dinner. So, in many respects, it was a very successful day...especially due to the fact that I didn't hear any complaining from my husband. :) The greatest thing is, we probably saved at a minimum of $30 by not eating out today (that's including the deli chicken)!
Tomorrow night, we will be having my family's favorite dinner. It is my own recipe and thankfully, everyone in our house loves it. I will be making "Creole Chicken and Sausage with Pasta." It isn't for everyone, but like I said, we love it. Go to our "Good Recipes" and I will post the recipe for anyone that is interested.
We hope people are reading this and it is inspiring your families to take on the challenge!


Day 3 and Going Strong

Yesterday was a wonderful day. The Bear, Hedgie, and I went to Jaimie's house for lasagna, playing, and a movie. The food was great, the company was even better. Jaimie and I talked about how easy it was to fly through the drive through instead of taking the time to make something. I think that habit is the hardest one to break. Both kids were at daycare yesterday and I had a couple of appointments, which brought the temptation on full force. In the past, I would have done through McD instead of making something at home. I didn't give in though. I made myself a flat bread sandwich with salami and turkey. It was good.

I changed my menu around a little bit. I decided to make the chicken dish, because I figured the chicken needed to be used up. It was very yummy. I served it with asparagus. At what point has someone eaten to much asparagus? I love that stuff!

Strange Start

So, the month of no eating out has officially started! At my house (Jaimie) we woke up a little late for our "park date." So, the first thing Faith (7) says, "We can stop at McDonald's and get breakfast." Okay, the first meal and she already wants to go out...we may be in trouble. Luckily, I planned ahead for days like this and have a stash of granola bars. Whew!
Lunch is where it gets interesting. We stopped to visit my mom at her store and we are there around 11:30am. She is well aware of the challenge before both of our families and is excited and supportive. So, she says, "Well, I found $5 in my pocket this morning. Why don't you run over to Subway and get a 'footlong' for you and the kids." I am so happy that we will get to eat lunch with her, but feeling somewhat a let down that I am not even going to make it through the first day without a meal out.
For supper, we had leftovers...
So, tomorrow is going to be the big day for our house! I want to bake some bread in the morning and Janet and her kids are coming over for dinner. We may grill or have lasagna, but everything will be DINING IN! For my lasagna recipe, go to Ragu No Boil Lasagna.

Send us your recipe ideas, maybe we can try them out and post about them!

Let the Games Begin

T minus 1 hour 55 minutes until the games begin!

I did a HUGE grocery run today! I actually saved a lot using sales and coupons! I am very excited to begin this experience. I am already feeling tempted though. I was thinking about The Bear being at daycare tomorrow and that I could get Border Grill for lunch. Then I had to remind myself that I cannot do that. I think that I am going to miss Border Grill the most. I know I can make similar things at home, but nothing compares. Yum! Yum!

Here's my dinner menu for the week:

Monday - Asian Beef Stir-Fry
Tuesday - Unknown...Jaimie and I are having a sleepover with the Rats, so we will do dinner together.
Wednesday - Pork Medallions with Cranberry Stuffing
Thursday - Mediterranean Chicken
Friday - Garlic Streak and Onions

I will deal with Saturday and Sunday later in the week. I figure if I am ready to go for the weekdays I won't be as tempted.

Getting Closer

So, as we get closer to the start day two things are happening to me (Janet). First, I am getting nervous. I keep thinking, "Why am I doing this?" Second, I keep wanting to eat out! It's like I am trying to overload, so I don't miss it when I can't do it! That is silly, but it's real!

In preparation for this, I am going to start making a list of things that I want to always have in the house. I figure if there is always something to make then I won't feel pressured to go out. Jaimie and I are also going to plan menus each week, so we can be prepared with supplies. If you have any recommendations for kid friendly and easy meals please let us know!

This really is going to be fun!

Sneak Peak

So, if I post my first entry does it mean it's true? My friend Jaimie and I have decided that, beginning June 14th, we are going to go an entire month without eating out. That means no carry out, no dining out, just home cooked meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The only exception to this rule will be for special occasions that involve going out to eat and of course travel. The goal for both of us is to save money and maybe drop a few pounds in the process! The plan is that we will both blog through this experience. Look for recipes, advice, and laughter as we share this month with you. Who knows...it might lead to something more!