Thrifty Thursday

It’s funny as a kid I despised the fact that I thought our family was poor.  (We really weren’t  – just middle class.)  But my mother was always saying that we couldn’t afford things so I believed that we were poor.   I’m sure I repeat the mantra to my children although I try very hard not to use that verbage.  I prefer to say that I choose not to spend our money in that way.  The truth is that most of us can “afford” quite a bit.  If there is something that we really want  we can generally skrimp and save to get it. 

Since I am the breadwinner in a one income family I have to be a little more ummm shall we say creative in how we spend our money.   After the household expenses, and gymnastics and karate lessons, student loans and FOOD oh my goodness our family goes through a lot of food but I digress…..the point is that we don’t have much discretionary income left to spend on clothing, entertainment etc.  This could pose a problem for me because I like nice things, and I like to stay fashionably current.   The blogosphere came to my rescue.

I have been so inspired by many of the great bloggers out there who are thrifty and I started about a year or so ago attempting to thrift new outfits or repurpose old ones to keep them current.   So for my first thrifty thursday post here is an outfit  that was mostly thrifted or bought on thecheap.  What do you think? 

Pants – $5 thrifted May 2010 

Shoes – $2.99 thrifted May 2009

Shirt – $3.00 Walmart clearance fall 2008

Cardi – I think this was a handme down from my mom but I can’t remember : (

Belt – came with skirt on clearance at JC Pennys for $8.77 Oct 2010

necklace – lia sophia $15 as a hostess item

Earrings – lia sophia free with hostess credit

Tuesday Food Review

Tuesdays for our family are one, of many, days where we are usually in a rush.  [I say we lovingly because it is actually the one day of the week I can take a deep breath and spend the first hour home alone - I love it!!]

Our oldest boy attends a group in Hastings from 3:45 – 4:45.  Hubby is thankful to get to spend that hour at the gym which is next door and happens to be where he works as a trainer.  Then they zip back to Middleville to pick up the other two boys, and shoot over to karate which actually starts at 5 but they don’t get there until 5:30, and then they return home at about 7 and we begin the daily homework ritual. 

[Daily Homework ritual  Me: what homework do you have?  Them: none.  Me:  I looked online and you have this this and this due.  Them:  It's so unfair back when you went to school parents couldn't look online to see what the assignments were.  Me:  Yes, I know but we had to walk to school a mile in the snow uphill both ways.  Ok that's an old family joke and I totally took the bus to school every day. Then we all sit down and work on homework which is usually none for the middle guy, a few minutes for the youngest, and until the oldest is whining that he can't stay awake anymore and doesn't understand why he has to take algebra anyway]

Anyhoo – the point of all of this babbling is that like most of you, I don’t have a ton of time to spend in the kitchen making gourmet meals.  Don’t get me wrong I love to cook and love good food but there are days that we are just happy to eat.  With that in mind I created this salad that is one of those super fast throw together meals - that all the kids will eat. 

1 bag romaine lettuce

1/2 plastic container of grape tomatoes

1/2 cup shredded parmesan

1/2 lb. prepared chicken strips from the deli (or McDonald’s if your grocer doesn’t carry them) cut into 1 inch chunks.

Toss all ingredients together.  Top it with your favorite dressing.  

If you feel like you need a little more than salad especially if it is dinner time you can serve with a loaf of crusty french bread and real butter.  

Try it out – let me know what you think.

Do you have a fitness goal?

I am a firm believer that one of the best things you can do to look your best is to stay healthy.  Now, don’t get me wrong  I am not saying that everyone should weigh 120 lbs and be a size 2.   That is not necessarily healthy.  For some this may be their ideal weight – for others not so much.  So staying healthy means eating well, staying hydrated, excersizing, and just generally taking good care of yourself. 

As vague as my overall goals sound I do actually have a set fitness routine. In large part because I am a creature of habit and because I like routine.  Monday nights are always a cardio night for me.  I feel like this gets my week off to a great start – gets the blood pumping and helps me to feel ready to face the next day.    Tuesdays I do strength training (upper body) and yoga, Wednesdays I do pilates or yoga and an abdominal workout.  Thursday is cardio again, Friday strength training lower body and yoga, Saturday cardio again.  Sunday rest.

How about you?  Do you have a set fitness goal?  What steps are you taking to achieve those goals?  What do you feel like gets in the way of accomplishing your goal and/or what needs to change so that you can achieve the desired results?