Scattered Sundays and Meal Plan for February 13th – 19th

Calling all Puget Sound chicken owners. I’m in need of someone to act as my chicken baby momma (or dad) and raise some chicks for me. Due to allergies, we can’t raise chicks on our own, and have to get “coop ready” chickens to add to our flock. I’d love three to four more ladies, and I am willing to pay. If you are interested, please email me, message me on facebook, or leave a comment.

Guess what? It finally snowed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Like legit snow, and not just a heavy frost that foolishly shuts down the city. Actual flakes and actual accumulation.

I was stopped when I took this picture. And my Outback kicked ass on those unplowed roads.

I’m a bit of a iphone weather app whore, and when there is even a mention of potential snow, I check it at least hourly. I have been disappointed so many times, and like a lovesick fool, I keep coming back for more. When percentages like “90%” started showing up near the snowflake symbol, I was hopeful but built a little wall around my heart. Some flakes started around 7 pm Sunday night, and it didn’t stop snowing until noon the next day.

A snow day was called around 4:15 Monday morning, and Jack was beside himself with glee when he finally woke up and looked out the window. We love snow so very much, and it is a very rare occurrence here. And yes, my children are so pale that their faces blend in with the snow below.

I broke our No Spend February a little bit this week. I looked at my calendar and realized our friend’s kiddo was turning two and we had a birthday party coming up. I thought, I Googled, and looked through all the stuff in my sewing closet and came up with the idea of a felt play set. Ugh, I know, I rolled my eyes too. It seems like some Suzy Sunshine and Holly Hobbity bullshit. But…I had most of the supplies already, and I knew my additional financial output would be minimal.

Not sure how that fireman is supposed to be able to ride on that tiny ass fire truck.

I’m not sure why all the buildings look so scared. Troy was nice enough to draw a face on the guy for me.Total spent was at Joann’s with three coupons was $4.24. I’m also making a little felt board with a pocket on the back, but it hasn’t been completed yet. My crafting skills are not the best, but I hope effort makes up for the actual lack of talent.

Our bath toys are a bit out of control, and you know how much I love clutter. 🙁 I looked on Amazon, but the storage set up that looked like they would work for us all involved permanent sticky tape. Plus, they all cost $15 or more, and this is No Spend February. With a 1 gallon empty coconut oil bucket, and Troy’s drill, we created a $0 solution. This is also similar to how I reuse these buckets for blackberry picking in the summer.

My in-laws wanted Jack to spend the night on Saturday. No Spend February put a bit of a crimp in the day though. Any night without Jack would be a cause for us to run out and get teriyaki or something like that. Instead, we hunkered down and made pasta, a huge salad.

And we ate the first batch of whole wheat banana Nutella muffins I made while trying to hammer out the details of the recipe. They were freaking delicious, but a little too flat. It will be a tasty journey while I perfect it. And then share with you. #recipecreationperks

After our Thanksgiving that never was, I froze the turkey I had purchased. While making homemade chicken stock this week, I realized I was totally out of chicken carcasses (sorry, there is no better word to use here) in my freezer. Any time I make a whole chicken, I save the body in a Ziploc and throw it in the freezer. I save veggie peels in a separate Ziploc, and will make stock when I feel like dragging out my pressure canner and canning quarts of the stuff. My mom is on a liquid diet, so we’re burning through stock like you wouldn’t believe. That damn turkey taunts me every time I open the freezer door, so I’m roasting it this week. Meals for days, and stock for weeks.

I got a fun surprise in the mail this week in the form of some rad socks from my friend Anne. They’re Darn Tough Vermont Wool Socks. I’ve been a huge fan of the wool socks from Costco for a few years now, but maybe it’s just me, but they wear out after one season. I also noticed this year that they are no longer made in the USA, and are now made in China. The Darn Tough socks are made in the USA, and even better, they come with a lifetime guarantee. If you wear them out, the company will replace them for free. For life yo. It reminds me of Patagonia products (which I don’t own, but I aspire to); seems expensive upfront, but built for longevity. So, I’m adding them to my growing list of rad products made in the United States. ‘Merica and socks man, ‘Merica and socks.

Meal plan time!

Monday:: Pizza (Jack’s request) and salad. I’m annoyed with salad, but whatever.

Tuesday:: Thanksgivintines day! Roasted turkey, cranberry sauce (from my beloved stash of frozen cranberries), mashed potatoes, and I’m trying my hand at my sister’s stuffing recipe.

Wednesday:: Turkey, pesto, and mozzarella paninis, salad (snooooooooooore), and roasted root veggies.

Thursday:: Turkey noodle soup and biscuits.

Friday:: Popcorn and movie night. And Troy and I are having our long awaited date night.

Saturday:: Nachos with shredded turkey, black beans, and avocado.

Sunday:: Family dinner.

This week I spent exactly $45 at the grocery store. How often does that happen? With the snow, we missed our milk delivery, so I had to buy milk and eggs. The milk had a $.50 rebate from ibotta, and I also got a $.50 ibotta rebate for the eggs. I had a coupon for the salad and the cans of tomatoes (for soup for my mom).

What are you having this week?