Publix Bargain Meal May 28- June 3

Y'all! The header for this post has JUNE in it. I can.not.believe that it is almost June. This year has flown by. In less than 2 months, I will have a one year old. I was just mentioning to my husband--babies are so crazy. In one breath, you can't imagine life without them, and in the other breath, it seems like they just got here. Nuts. But, I wouldn't trade them for anything. Not even a night at the Outer Banks, listening to the waves lap up to the shore. Not that I'm jonesing for the beach or anything. No. Nothing like that.

So, since it's almost JUNE people, I thought we'd celebrate summer with a wonderful, grilled meal. The true beauty of grilled food is that I have no idea how to operate our grill. That's right. Not a clue. My husband has deemed himself the king of charcoal (the man likes to be king ), and that is fine with me. I like having a little less cooking to do. I've always said that if something existed that was the opposite of the protestant work ethic, well, that'd fit me to a tee.

Anyway...

This weeks' meal is grilled London broil, horseradish sauce, rolls, and grilled zuchinni.

I love London broil. Such a great, cheap piece of meat. And, because you slice it thinly to serve it, no one even realizes that the serving size is only 4 ounces. A fabulous trick of the eye. My favorite way to prepare it? Sprinkle some Montreal Steak Seasoning on, smear with a bit of olive oil, let it sit for 2-8 hours, then fire up the grill. We like ours medium rare. Good stuff.

London broil--on sale--$2.27
sour cream--on sale $1.39 until 5/29--$1.05
horseradish--approx $0.50
chives--not even gonna remind you to plant your herbs!
lemon juice
zuchinni--on sale--$0.99
rolls--I buy the frozen blobs of dough--secret family recipe--$1.50

Total cost for a lovely meal you mostly didn't cook--$6.31

As always, for more ideas, check out Bargain Meal of the Week at $5 dinners.

Kroger Bargain Meal May 24-30

This week's Kroger bargain meal is a little late, due to the stomach virus that hit my house this weekend. But, I'm feeling better now (whew!), and so, better late than never (if that isn't the motto of my life, I don't know what is), here is the meal.

My sister-in-law Leslie is married to a real (as my Pappa would say) EYE-talian. As such, she cooks a whole lot of EYE-talian food. And, it is really good. So, when she offered up her recipe for Italian Wedding Soup, I was all over it. This soup is a little time intensive, but it's really good, and we find it worth it. It also makes 8 servings, so I get a freezer meal out of it. Always a good thing.

Italian Wedding Soup

Meatballs:

1/2 pound Italian sausage--on sale--$1

1/2 pound ground beef--on sale $2/lb--$1

1 egg, beaten--on sale 12/$1--$0.08

1/3 to 1/2 cup bread crumbs--free if you use leftover bread

garlic to taste

Mix all this up and make into mini meatballs, about 1/2 inch across. Set aside.

Soup:

1 chicken--on sale $0.89/lb--$1.35

1 onion--$0.25

1 stalk celery--$0.20

1 carrot--$0.20

salt and pepper, to taste

Boil chicken with onion, celery, and carrot until done. Discard onion, celery, and carrot. Debone chicken and set aside half of meat for another purpose. For remaining meat, shred or chop into bite size pieces.

To finish soup--

1 onion, chopped fine--$0.25

1/2 cup chopped celery--$0.20

1/2 cup chopped carrot--$0.20

1 package frozen spinach--approx $0.75

1/2 pound small pasta, like orzo--approx $0.50

Saute onion, celery, and carrot until transluscent. Add to broth, along with spinach. Bring broth and chicken to a simmer. Add meatballs and orzo, and cook for 15-20 minutes, until meatballs are done.

Total cost of your fabulous EYE-talian meal (*smile*)--$5.98 or $2.99/4 servings

As always, check out the very popular bargain meals of the week over at $5dinners.com. Always something new and different to inspire you!

Why?

Why is it that when little kids get stomach viruses, they throw up a couple of times, then are right back to normal?

And when the parents of those little kids get the same virus, they are wiped out for more than a day??

These are the mysteries of life.

My personal shopper

My mother (affectionately known as "Honey" to my boys) is the queen of thrift shopping. She's been doing it forever, and she has one of those eagle eyes. She taught me well through the years. As a young professional, though, my interest waned. I would hit a thrift store every now and then, but it wasn't really a way of life. I can even name one or two towns we lived that I never even found the thrift store!!! And, unfortunately, as I got my brain back and my interest was renewed, I started having babies. Thrifting with little kids? Not as easy as when you are alone.

That's why I am SOOOO thankful for my mom. Every once in a while, Frequently, I email her blogs with pictures of things that I like so she can spot cool stuff for me. I love to email her posts from Like Merchant Ships. Meredith has awesome style. Probably the closest to my style that I've sent in the blog world. It's a classic mix of traditional and vintage coolness. Think Southern Living meets etsy. In a good way.

This week, I was reading along at The Handmade Dress, and I had to have those pyrex bowls! She leans toward the aqua and pink, but my childhood memories included the bright primary colored ones. I already owned the yellow and blue ones, so I emailed my mom to find me the red and green ones.

The next day? She brought them to me, already purchased and waiting for me. My blue bowl is somewhere, um, not able to be found. Probably filled with matchbox cars somewhere.

Aren't these colors beautiful?

And filled with strawberries? Doesn't that make you want to dive in?

And, every now and then, my personal shopper surprises me with cool stuff like these sunglasses to catapult me into a little bit better style.

Thanks for thinking of me while you thrift, Mama! You're the best!

Our garden

Long ago, in a world without babies and blogs, I used to scrapbook. They were so fun to put together, and I really enjoyed losing myself in the process. My husband's favorite page to this day remains one that dubbed him "The Tomato King." He fancies himself some sort of gentleman farmer, and he loves getting his hands dirty out there.

Thank goodness.

Cause I, like any self-respecting Southerner, love some home-grown tomatoes. Only two things that money can't buy....that's true love and home-grown tomatoes. So, every summer, I need those tomatoes. Only problem? I'm not big on the yard/garden/outside. I know, I know. It's the sweat, though. I just hate it. My mama has the most beautiful garden you'll ever see. Me? I'm happy to be like my Mamama and my Nana, who both married well. Just like those grandmas of mine, I get to just point and tell my husband where to put the plants.

Now that is true love.

This year, we have 6 of these small gardens (one isn't pictured). He's got all sorts of stuff planted for me. Onions, carrots, radishes, lettuce, bok choy, squash, zuchinni, cucumbers. And, I know that he has okra and more cucumbers to plant this weekend. Eight tomato plants in the bed not pictured, too.

And, we have the equivalent of 3 of those boxes on the side of the house. It's hard to see, but there are 24 tomato plants in this bed (yep, that makes 32). Everything from chocolate cherry tomatoes to Cherokee Purple to Better Boy. And a bit of basil, too.

The Tomato King has been busy.

Publix Bargain Meal May 21-27

My local Publix runs sales Thursday-Wednesday. Yesterday, however, we were visiting my mom, and I got to go to a Publix that runs Wednesday-Tuesday. I don't want to admit how geeked out I felt at getting the sales a day early. If you have coupons, you can get free salad dressing and A-1 sauce for 10 cents. A great coupon week.

This week, my thoughts run to enchiladas. We had them last night, and it's an incredible "loaves and fishes" type of meal. Last night's meal included 3 types. Beef, cheese, and roasted veggie. Honestly? Anything can go in an enchilada. It's a great place for leftovers. A small amount of ingredients can stretch a long way. This recipe shows how to assemble the enchiladas. Oh, and while I've made my own homemade sauce many times, for this, we really do like Old El Paso best. **hangs head in shame**

not every blogger remembers to swat away the family to take pictures of a meal when it's hot and bubbling

Enchiladas

1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded--thighs on sale--$0.99

Corn tortillas--around 20--$1

Canola oil for frying--$0.50

Enchilada sauce--$1.39

1 can tomato sauce (8 oz)--$0.50

2 cups water

chicken bouillon (I use a Mexican brand that is chicken and tomato)--$0.07

salt--go light on this

pepper--around 1/2 t

chili powder--around 1 T

garlic powder--around 1 t

Cheese, usually about 4 ounces--on sale $2/8 ounces--$1

To make the sauce, combine the enchilada sauce, the tomato sauce, water, and bouillon. Add spices to taste. Simmer this on a back burner. Meanwhile, fry each corn tortilla in a bit of canola oil. Dip each one in the enchilada sauce, and then stack them all on a plate (to me, this is the least messy way to do it). Then fill each enchilada with some of the meat. Place seam side down on a plate or a casserole dish.

To serve, I do this two ways. One way is to place 3 enchiladas on a plate, microwave for a minute, top with warm sauce and a bit of cheese. This makes them more like restaurant style enchiladas (which we prefer). The second way is to put them all in a casserole dish, top with sauce and cheese, then bake until warm and bubbly. This is definitely more homestyle, but very tasty, and easy to freeze. And, having casseroles in the freezer is a very good thing.

For us, this recipe makes about 20 enchiladas. That's enough for a supper/lunch (4 servings), plus another for the freezer (another 4 servings). So, I'm counting this as an 8 serving meal.

Total cost--$5.45--for 4 servings $2.73

We serve this with shredded lettuce, a few sliced onions, and sour cream. You could also add rice and/or beans.

Lettuce--approx $0.50

Onions--on sale $0.67/lb--$0.20

Sour cream--on sale $1.25--$0.30

Rice--$0.30

Beans--I use dried--about 1/4 pound for 4 people--$0.25

Total cost for 4--$4.28

Before and After

I'm sure you've heard of cutting hair at home as a great frugal tip. As a kid, I had long straight hair (funny...some things never change), and my mom always cut my bangs and trimmed the back. The Tightwad Gazette recommended cutting everyone's hair at home. And, just yesterday, one of my favorite bloggers reminded us of how much money it saves (have you priced haircuts recently?).

So, with all that motivation, we're good frugal people, and we cut Will's hair at home.

Um, disclaimer here.

Will is my spirited child. When it came time to cut his hair for the first time, we were scared. Really scared. Would he throw a conniption fit? Run screaming from the salon? Force us to travel a hundred miles to a place no one recognized us? So, we did what any good parent would do.

We went to Walmart.

We got some fabulous Wahl clippers, put ole' Will on the back porch, and we went to town. We've been cutting his hair ever since.

Last night was haircut night. And, true to form, the tears start even before one hair is trimmed.

But, with a little ice cream cone bribery, we make it through the haircut.

And, a few more tears and a shower later, he's good to go in his Superman jammies.

be sure to notice the ever-present Matchbox cars in that right hand

And I didn't even need to wear a paper bag over my head in the salon.

Kroger Bargain Meal May 17-23

I like stretching my brain every week to think of both the Kroger bargain meal and the Publix bargain meal. The more weeks I come up with meals, though, the more I realize that I really depend on having lots of different places to shop. On a regular basis, I hit those two stores, one other local store, and 3 international markets (they cater to different nationalities). I also sometimes go to Aldi's, a local farmers' market, and we have our own garden. I think that if I had less choices, my grocery bills would definitely be higher. So, for those of y'all with limited choices, my hat is off to you! Y'all rock!

This week, Kroger has hot dogs on sale. And, y'all. It's an embarrassing fact, but I do like a good hot dog now and again. Totally goes against any cool foodie-ness, but sometimes.... And, seeing how it's Memorial Day and all, you have a great excuse to fire up the grill.

Hot dogs--on sale 5/$5--$1

Buns--on sale--$1

Vidalia onions--on sale $0.79/lb--$0.40

Serve with black bean and corn salad

Corn--on sale 3/$1--$1

Black beans--use 3/4 pound dried (you're going for a 3 to 1 ratio of beans to corn)--$0.75

Onion--on sale--$0.40

Cilantro--$0.50

Jalapeno--$0.20

Vinagrette--I make it with oil, vinegar, cumin, and lime juice--$0.50

Total cost for this meal--$5.75

Because the bean salad is pretty filling, you might get away with serving only one hot dog per person. If so, you'll have leftover buns. And, this is the perfect recipe for them.

6 onion rolls--use whatever leftover bread you have--free
1 cup grated cheddar cheese--on sale $1.79/8 ounces--$0.90
1 1/2 sticks butter--on sale $2/lb--$0.75
1 8 ounce package cream cheese--on sale $1--$1
10 eggs--on sale $1/dozen--$0.83
2 cups milk--on sale $1.99/gal--$0.25
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
dash of cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chopped chives--surely you've got some started, right??--free

So, using leftover bread/buns/what-have-you, the total cost--$3.73 (and it's enough to serve more than 4, so perfect for company or covered dish)

There you go! Two meals in one week. For even more, check out bargain meal of the week over at $5 dinners. You will be happy you did.

Meal Plan

This week, corn is still on sale 4/$1, and the farmers' market is starting to hop. Local greens are in season, and I have a fridge full of them. Added to the ones I bought, I also pilfered some from my mom's garden. She had beautiful baby beet greens and chard. Her garden is beautiful this year, as is my husband's. I can't wait for July and the tomatoes!

Friday: roasted veggie and ground pork tacos

Saturday: cookout for lunch (contributed black bean/corn salad and brownies), take-out for supper

Sunday: biscuits and gravy for brunch, out for Mexican for a late lunch, no supper

Monday: gumbo z'herbes, rice, salad with tiny roasted baby beets

Tuesday: stir-fry with tofu and broccoli, rice

Wednesday: roasted veggie enchiladas (with leftovers), salad

Thursday: garlic pork and kale sausage, cooked into pasta with eggplant and tomatoes, salad

Date night!

We've recently (um, this week) made the switch to a Saturday date night. An early bedtime on Friday was becoming an impossible task, with little boys that were so excited about the weekend and spending time with Daddy. So, we gave up. It seems Fridays are morphing into stay-up-a-little-late nights, enjoying the beginning of the weekend. As a plus, our Saturdays are usually busy, and that makes early bedtime much easier.

Cause as much as I love those little boys, I really love their Daddy, too.

This week was a back to normal (after weeks of sickness and hospitals and, before that, birthday celebrations) at home date-night, complete with take out from one of our favorites. As a born and bred southerner, it gives me a special thrill to pick up calzones from a guy with a pure Bronx accent. Makes me feel exotic and all.

Calzones!

The best salad dressing you'll ever eat

A classic summer drink, Arnold Palmers.

And we topped the evening with a retro throw back--three of the episodes from the first season of Beverly Hills, 90210. How fun! We have the whole first season on Netflix, so we'll be enjoying those this summer. Takes me right back. So, don't mind me if I bust out my high waisted jeans sometime soon. It's cool, cause it's retro, you know.

White chicken chili

This recipe for chicken chili started out with inspiration here. She calls it Three Sisters Chili because she uses corn, squash, and beans. Because of my substitutions, it was just chicken chili this time.

Chicken Chili
Ingredients:
1-2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
1/2 lb. dried white beans (Great Northern or Navy beans)
6 c. chicken broth (plus more as needed.)
1 bay leaf
1 t. salt
1 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 T unsalted butter
1 lg. onion, chopped
6 lg. cloves garlic, minced
1 poblano chile, stemmed, seeded and chopped into medium dice
1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed and seeded, minced
1 T chile powder
1 ½ t. cumin
1 t. oregano
1 T olive oil
2 T all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 c. shredded Mexican 4 Cheese Blend
½ eggplant, peeled and cut into ½ in. dice
⅓ c. chopped cilantro plus additional for garnish

To make this, soak the beans overnight, or (more like me), when you remember to think about supper, do the quickie 2 hour soak (after bringing the water to a boil). Drain the beans. Season the broth with salt and bay. Then, cook the beans in the chicken broth, about 1-2 hours. Once they are done, saute the onions and peppers in the olive oil and butter until tender. Add the flour to make a roux. Add the milk, whisking all the time, until it is smooth and thick. Add in the cheese to make a cheese sauce. Add this cheese sauce, the cooked chicken, the eggplant, and the cilantro to the pot of beans. Cook until the eggplant is tender, and the chili is heated through, about 30 minutes. Garnish with additional cilantro.

This chili would be good with Ro-tel added, as well as good garnished with sour cream. It would also be a good place to use many, many different vegetables, whatever you have in your house. I could imagine squash, zuchinni, corn, tomatoes, even chard in this. Those things just didn't happen in my house that night. I'm sure that there was a good reason, but honestly? You probably don't want to hear about "my knee turned red" (aka a skinned knee) in a post about supper. I'll save that for another time.

Check out the great blog The Grocery Cart Challenge today. She's got a round-up of budget stretching recipes from all over. If you've never checked out Gayle's blog, now is the time. She feeds 6 folks on $60/week. Quite the inspiration!

Enjoying summer

Will loves playing in the hose. At our house, I'm all about keeping it simple. If a toy somehow finds it's way to us (um, which translates as the Salvation Army, consignment sales, or a grandparent), we're all over it. If not, well, I figure that we're making memories by playing with regular ole' stuff (how's that for justifying a frugal lifestyle?). This is at Honey's house, with the fancy, lots of sprays to choose from, hose.

And, in big news, Mac is crawling!! Woohoo! Now that he has a reason to be on his belly, he's also rolling over regularly. I had suspected that he knew how to roll over, just didn't see the point (he hates being stuck on his tummy). And, yep, as soon as he knew how to crawl, he's rolling over all the time. Chasing Will, chasing the dog, and trying to pull up on anything he can. Watch out! Here comes Mac!

Publix Bargain Meal May 14-20

I can always tell when I start feeling better after a sickness because I start wanting to get in the kitchen. Cookbooks are my fall-back after I've read all the library books and magazines in the house. I think I'm on my third one this week. I feel really good, but my mother-in-law is here to make sure that I don't overdo. My husband also did all the grocery shopping this week. We are out of trash bags, but we do have the largest packages of cheese you can imagine in the fridge. I'd love to be in his brain when he decides what is worth buying.

I'm glad for all the help, from my mom keeping my boys while I was in the hospital, to my husband doing the grocery shopping, even for my mother-in-law coming in and entertaining my toddler so I could rest this week. But, I'm sure you understand. It's time for me to get back to normal! I need to grocery shop. To wash diapers. To scrub toilets. The glamorous parts of my life, of course.

This week, Publix doesn't have any rocking meat sales. Italian sausage is $2.99/pound, which is probably the best deal in the flyer. To stretch meat, sometimes I add it to bean based dishes. We love beans. Really. They are so good, and they are one of the few foods that all 4 of us love, from Daddy on down to the 9 month old baby. So, for this week, this soup looks really good.

1 pkg. (5 links) turkey Italian sausage--on sale $2.99/lb--use 1/2 lb--$1.50
1 medium onion, chopped--on sale 5 lb/$2.99--$0.20
2 tsp. olive oil--$0.10
1 tsp. dried oregano--pennies
2 tsp. ground fennel--pennies (and those who know me well know that this is the one flavor I don't like, so I'll leave it out)
1 T minced garlic--pennies
1 cup slow roasted tomatoes, finely chopped--on sale $0.99/lb--$0.99
1 can diced tomatoes with juice--approx $1
1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas) mashed slightly--use dried, cooked--$.30
1/2 cup brown lentils--$0.30
4 cups chicken stock--free
4 cups water (or partly tomato liquid if using canned tomatoes)--free
2-3 T fresh chopped basil--omit or use your garden produce! Man, I love summer.
freshly grated parmesan cheese (optional, for serving soup)--$0.50

Soup cost $4.89/6 servings or $3.26/4 servings

Serve with:
corn on the cob--on sale 8/$2--$1
watermelon--on sale $0.49/lb--$1

Total cost--$5.26

As always, check out bargain meal of the week over at $5 dinners for more inspiration. Your family's new favorite meal may be only a click away!

Kroger Bargain Meal May 10-16

Where I live, a covered dish just isn't a covered dish without some version of hashbrown casserole. And, honestly, some of the versions? Not that great. This one is our favorite. I love that one recipe makes two 8x8 pans, which is enough for us for two meals. I make one and freeze one. The second one is ready to go for covered dish, supper for a new baby, or just for a busy day. I love having stuff in my freezer for busy days.

Sometimes, I serve hashbrown casserole as a side dish for breakfast for supper. Quick, easy, and the "fancy-ness" of the hashbrowns disguises just how simple the meal is. Other times, it's a great side dish for regular supper-time meats, and sometimes, it's a good solid side dish for a vegetable plate dinner. This week is a simple one. Roasted chicken, hashbrown casserole, and broccoli.

Chicken (use 2 pounds bone in for 4 people)--on sale--$1.99
Hashbrowns--on sale--$0.99
Cheese--on sale 24 oz/$3.99--$1.33
Cream of chicken soup--approx $1
Onion--$0.25
Sour cream--approx $1
Butter--approx $0.63
Broccoli--on sale $0.99/pound--$1

Total cost--$8.19

Minus the cost of the smaller hashbrown casserole now in your freezer ($2.10)--$6.09

Meal Plan Monday

Sometimes, life throws you a curve. Last week, my gallbladder had to come out. As a result, my boys spent 4 days with grandma, my husband ate all my favorite fast foods (!!!!!!), and I was hooked up to an IV for several days, with nothing by mouth. I'd wax on about the turkey sandwich, but wait, I've already done that. I had a menu plan, but, of course, it was abandoned mid week (my week runs Friday-Thursday for meal planning).

This week, I have a skeleton menu plan. We'll do what we can, patch together the rest, and hope for my appetite to return. I'm already physically feeling much, much better. My appetite is somewhere in there, I'm sure. I'll wait on the old girl. A fat girl's appetite is not one that will run away forever. There are few things in life that are sure, but that's definitely one of them.

Breakfasts: oatmeal, cheese toast, eggs in a frame

Lunch: leftovers, Ramen, tuna fish, pasta with butter and cheese

Friday: pasta (hey, nothing else sounded good), salad
Saturday: tacos
Sunday: grilled chicken, corn on the cob, new potatoes (you go, Mike!)
Monday: chicken and rice casserole (from the freezer), salad
Tuesday: white chicken chili (from the freezer)
Wednesday: fish (from the freezer...hmm...notice a theme??), rice, green beans
Thursday: spaghetti (freezer again)

Mother's Day

This week has been amazingly full of ups and downs, as we worried about my health, I worried about my boys surviving without me (they did fine), and I recovered from surgery. My husband has gotten a rare glimpse into exactly what I do around here. And I think that he is suitably impressed. He should be. Motherhood isn't for the faint of heart.



On the occasion of my second Mother's Day, I thought I'd offer 10 things I've learned in the last couple of years:



1. Nothing prepares you for the intensity of mothering. The constant-ness. The depth and breadth of love you feel for these little people. The way that they permeate every thing you do, every decision you make, every feeling you feel.



2. I have an awesome mother, who did so many things right. She loves Jesus with all her heart, she loves people more than things, and she taught us to chase our dreams, no matter where the flight path takes us. And, even as awesome as all that, she is an even better grandmother. Seeing her love my boys so over-the-top, in such an unconditional, full of emotion, way, well, it's a pretty wonderful thing.



3. I did not know that nursing school would prepare me for motherhood. I loved being a nurse, but I always thought nursing and mothering weren't really the same. Turns out, the skill of changing diapers in a nursing home? Means that I can honestly say "no big deal" about toddlers in cloth.



4. Seeing personalities develop before my eyes is just so fascinating and wonderful, all at once. I love seeing the first words come, their little brains figuring stuff out, and I love seeing them interact with other people.



5. A good marriage makes for a better mother. We're on the other side of a long year. One stuffed with a new baby, a job change, a house that wouldn't sell, and a salary cut. We can look and know that we're on the other side of that year now, and we're happier for it.



6. Being a mama makes you cling to Jesus like nothing else has ever done. There is no way that I could have made it through the last 2 and a half years without God. No way. He is my rock, my fortress, my place to hide. In Him alone is my hope.



7. Two little kids under the age of three makes eating out difficult. Enough said.



8. Having people around you to reassure you in your journey is a good thing. I'm very thankful for my MOPS group, for reminding me that there are thousands of women out there at every step of the journey, many of us praying daily for our kids, hoping for a wonderful future, and everyday, being excited by the things that our kids are teaching us.



9. Sometime shortly after their second birthday, little boys start looking funny in jon-jons. Yes, there. I've said it. There is an end to the jon-jons. Though, they are very, very, (did I say very?) cute while they last.



10. When I look at my bank account, it's not as fat as I would like it. When I look at where I live, it's not as wonderful or big or beautiful as I would like. When I think of my budget, it's tighter than I would like. My body isn't as thin or as beautiful as I'd like. And my hair is always going to be flat. But... when I look at my boys, I don't see any of those things. I see complete and total joy at being their mother. I am so very thankful that God has graced me with the ability to love them and help them to grow into Godly men.



I am so very blessed on this Mother's Day.

An Exciting Week

Instead of living the very exciting week of blogging and facebooking, MOPS and grocery shopping, I've spent the week in the hospital, recovering from pancreatitis and gallbladder surgery. I think that I'm on my way to recovery now, and I foresee a low fat diet in my future.

Hopefully soon my blog will be back to normal, with lots of healthy, new, gallbladder friendly recipes to share.

I'll tell you, this week, I learned that I am very, very thankful for a husband that dropped everything to be at my side, my parents that dropped everything to care for my boys (including a never-had-bottle-in-his-life baby) for 3 nights, and for really good medical care. My pre-op nurse was someone I went to nursing school with. Seeing her familiar face in a scary time, as well as having my brother drop by to see me unexpectedly? Totally worth driving an hour to the hospital that we choose to use. That turkey sandwich they fed me for lunch today (after 3 1/2 days without food)? That was a pretty darn good turkey sandwich, too. So, I'm thankful for a great family and for turkey sandwiches.

It'll always be about the food. LOL