Something I Stumbled Across

Normally I'd try to look deeper into something so I could post with some bit of accuracy, but I truly stumbled onto this and thought it was something that I should share while it's going on.

It seems that some of our Blog Friends are in Africa. Uganda to be more exact. They are there with a group called Compassion. I don't know much about this at all. I just know that one of the Mom's That I Read sometimes is there and writing about it.

If you have some extra time, go take a look. (Click on the first link and scroll down just a little to get a list of the bloggers.) It's certainly put things in perspecive for me.

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Menu-Plan-Monday (with costs!)

I know I must be getting old but it can't be just me can it? It seems that we roll from one "Holiday" to another. Can you believe that Valentines day is this week? Mike and I have never celebrated it in any real way. But with the girls we try to make things fun. Which in this case means making cupcakes and cookies all week long for various activities it seems.

:/

And I'm hosting the Wednesday night Bible Study this week. I was drafted when I was out of the room looking after a little girl with a (really, seriously) huge pump knot on her head. It's okay though, they'll show me everything! Don't worry about a thing! They'll be there to walk me through it my first time! And then one by one they've had to drop out it for various reasons. So what I know is this:

˜I make up the menu and bring it to church (I do menu's every week! No problem!)
˜People sign up on Sunday morning (didn't happen, I had 2 people sign up)
˜People call at the last minute asking what they can bring (so I'm told)
˜I fill in around the edges
˜I get there early and set it all up and break it all down (no problem, if I can find the stuff that used to set it up and break it down)

Sound fun? Yeah?

On to the menu. Prices are rounded to the nearest 25¢. The total price of food is counted on the day that it is cooked. Leftovers are counted as $0. On any day that no vegetable is mentioned there is a raw vegetable platter served and $2 is added to the menu cost for that day for the cost of the vegetables with dressing. There are always homemade rolls. They cost me less than 35¢ to make and last for several days.

Monday - Roast chicken (leftover), leftover beans, vegetable platter $2

Tuesday - Grilled pork chops, baked potatoes, rolls $15.25

Wednesday - Bible Study, if you read above, I won't know till Wed.! $45 (? hopefully much less)

Thursday - Leftover pork chop sandwiches, chips $5

Friday - Pizza (frozen, on sale), salad $6.50

Total for the work week: $73.75 (or less)

For more menu inspiration, head over to Laura's Blog!

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Notice Anything Different?

I've been *so* wanting a custom blog look, and was just not very successful in doing it myself. I emailed the only blog template designer that I knew several weeks ago, but never heard back from her. So I was pretty much resigned to having the same old blog.

And then with the Bloggy Giveaway, I saw a few blog designers that I'd never seen before. Most were beautiful, but not my "style" (whatever that is).

And then I found Revka, over at RS Designs. I ♥ her stuff. She's sweet, gracious, prompt and GOOD! Not to mention affordable! She has made this a very positive experience.

I simply can't recommend her enough.

Thank you Revka!

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Works For Me Wednesday

The blog giveaway was really a lot of fun! And I actually won something (which I plan to post about when it gets here)! But I think the best part of it was getting introduced to all the different people who blog. I've found some blogs that I will definitely frequent!

And I also saw the Works For Me Wednesday posts! I've seen them before and maybe even participated once or twice, but it's been a long time. Well, this time when I saw that it was specific with questions about your favorite online stores, I had to jump on the bandwagon!

I ♥ online shopping.

So let's see... I love Woot!, it's a site that has a different product each day with a great price. You never know what's gonna be there! So it's fun to check out each day.

And if you like that one you'll probably like DealsClick.com. Same kind of thing except they have one "big deal" (ha) that lasts all day and then an hourly deal as well. That of course changes. Ever hour.

I also love the Retail Store at Equal Exchange. They sell fairly traded (wonderful and some organic!) coffee, tea and chocolate!

Got any favorite links to share? Head on over to Rocks In My Dryer!

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Menu-Plan-Monday (With Costs!)

I've been *so* busy the last few days that I wasn't even planning to do MPM this week, and then I find out the my husband is checking my blog from work to see what we're having for dinner.

:)

So I suppose I have an obligation.

What I'm working with this week:
Huge bags of organice root vegetables. Lettuce bought on sale a couple of days ago.

On to the menu. Prices are rounded to the nearest 25¢. The total price of food is counted on the day that it is cooked. Leftovers are counted as $0. On any day that no vegetable is mentioned there is a raw vegetable platter served and $2 is added to the menu cost for that day for the cost of the vegetables with dressing. There are always homemade rolls. They cost me less than 35¢ to make and last for several days.

Monday - Crockpot garlic chicken legs, brown rice, vegetable platter. $8.50

Tuesday - Huge salads with leftover chicken. $1.50

Wednesday - No dinner at church this week. It's Ash Wednesday Service. We'll have sandwiches when we get home on homemade whole wheat bread. $6.50

Thursday - Grilled sausages with turnip greens and corn/onion cornbread. $4.25

Friday - White bean/ham soup with leftover cornbread. Vegetable platter. $6.50

Total for the work week - $27.25 (Woo-hoo! Good week!)

For more menu inspiration, head over to Laura's Blog!

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And the Winner of the $25 B&N Giftcard Is....

Okay, I had no idea there would be so many comments. 466! Amazing! So I decided to use a random number generator instead of a daughter. I hope no one minds. :)

The random number generator picked....

#236 And this entry number (after counting many times to make sure) was...

Emily @ http://raisingmonkeys.blogspot.com/ & http://mommypracticality.blogspot.com/

Many congratulations to you Emily! I've already left a comment on her blog and sent an email. Should there be no response in the allotted time, I will draw again.

This has really be so much fun (and work!) and I want to thank you all for participating. I will be visiting each of your blogs that left a comment, though it may take me a while!

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