The soda and energy drinks are Nathans. And he is the one that goes thru shampoo and conditioner and body wash :P I use a 2in1 sh/c and bar soap. Mine lasts longer. He says he only washes his hair every other day. To be fair, I'm not sure exactly how often I buy that stuff. Probably less than once a month. I just meant that when I do have to buy it, it adds up FAST!!! Anywhere from $4+ per bottle of stuff!!! :o I remember buying stuff like that for $1-2! Sheesh. Not $7 or 8! I have to count all the non-food household stuff in my budget when shopping. I would love to lower my spending costs, but that will happen on its own once Nathan is older, sooooo for now, I just buy what he wants. One day he will have to buy it and he will realize what it costs...and he will earn the $ or change what he buys.

I think prices vary in different states, I remember having a different spending amount the year I lived in Florida. And it depends on what you buy as to how much you spend. There are weeks I spend less and I love that. (When for instance, I do not have to buy household things and I'm already stocked up on snacks or meats - like next week I won't need to buy meats!). And the cost of everything has gone up anyway. I used to be able to feed all 5 of us for $200 and now I'm feeding 2! Sheesh.

Anyyyyywaaaay. I'm good and I hope you are enjoying your vacation!! I have my nerve study thing scheduled for Tuesday (next week) before Nathans ortho visit, so now I can't really move that up very far (if at all anyway, I haven't asked yet). I can't believe I forgot your birthday!! Happy Birthday!! Glad it was a good one. Hope you are doing well? You've been silent a bit. Did you get to go camping yet like you want to do ?

Lab Exam for the lab part of biology this week. And chapter 7 for Bio itself. I've already read the chapter, watched the video (wow only one?) and printed the stuff I need. I will watch the lecture/look at the PowerPoint tonight. Then do the assignment and start the lab exam. Did my discussion thread for English already, so now its waiting for others to respond again. (still no one but 1-2 people posting before Wed nights ugh!) Next week we do not have class because of fall break. (Teacher works for MY school district, not just the college, and the college officially has fall break starting the day after, so he decided NO CLASS next Wednesday either lol). Week after is when we have to turn in our first written assignment - short analysis paper. I have written one, but not positive I did it right. Was going to do it over break, but sat down to just start it, and wrote it all instead. Naturally :P

Yeah, I was wondering where Taarna was, too! Must be busy lately. Or just quiet. I know sometimes I love you guys but just don't want to talk :P

I buy the girls a case of Gatorade and a case of sams club.. whatever the sparkling ice stuff is, monthly. And once a month I'll buy a 12 pack of sprite or ginger ale or root beer,. But I'm mean and still make them share sodas. mostly because. OK. If I don't, they never drink it all anyway! And even the walmart brand is like $5 now!

I will say though, I try to keep a stock. Like, when the shampoo someone uses is on sale, I'll buy two. One for next, and then a backup. So that I almost never have to buy full price.

Or when pasta or rice is on sale, I'll pick up like, 5-6 boxes of pasta and two bags of rice, etc. Same for meat. We buy two big packs of chicken, a big roll of hamburger, a side of salmon, and a big pork loin every 2-3 months, and that's generally enough. And then I'll pick up steaks, or other stuff when we see them marked down. And we portion it all and package it all up. So like, the big pork loin is only like $20, and we'll get 4-5 meals worth of pork chops (6 per pack), plus a pork roast to make pulled pork or something out of. Each $17 pack of chicken will make two meals of just eating chicken, and two-three 'chicken in things'. The salmon just makes one meal.

But we only spend like $650 a month, and all five of us eat breakfast and dinner at home, and Alex and I lunch, too. But too, we're lucky and have the big freezers. And during the summer, we have the time and ability to buy big batches of stuff from the farmers market, etc, and then toss it in the freezer. Mostly we just do it with green beans, but we also have zucchini and squash from the garden, both grated and sliced.

But also, for a while we tried just meal planning and buying what we needed for the week, and it was SO MUCH MORE expensive, at least for us. Like.. I couldn't last doing that. So now we plan the week in advance (always including a meal that can wait until the next week, if we get busy or just want leftovers or a lazy night), basically on what we have AND what we want.. and the weather. :P

like, we have an overabundance of hamburger for some reason, PLUS we have to eat and leave before 5 tonight (again :/), so we're having hamburger steaks, fried potatoes and canned corn. Quick and easy, and we already had everything!

I try to meal plan too but like you said, it's a pain. And sometimes I end up just not wanting that. So I try to buy so I have a few choices and pull out what to have tomorrow after eating dinner. I have been looking at and trying a few new things for dinners since with hubby we ate grilled grilled grilled food all the time. And so I'm used to that but I don't like to grill outside. I have an electric indoor grill I'll use, but I'm tired of grilled food every day. But I also don't want spaghetti or tacos or things like that every day either. I have no idea how to cook fish other than fried. I have thought many times of trying it, but I also don't know if we will like it or not and I hate to waste $ and food if we don't. We have been a picky eating family for so long I just don't know what else to make. I ended up not liking the taco pasta dish. But at least I tried something different!

Nathan usually finishes the cans. He gets a 12pk of Dr pepper a week, some weeks I get to skip since he has enough left. Same for the energy drinks. He usually just has 1 a day, like the soda. I used to buy the bottles but they didn't get drank and they'd sit around. At least the cans I'll dump out if they sit since it's been opened. He drinks a LOT of water. Thus the water bottles in the game room instead of the trash. I wish he likes drinking it out of a cup cuz then I'd make him do that to be rid of the bottle mess. But I hate drinking water from cups and so does he .. I don't know why. Just too used to the bottles I guess. And I buy Walmart brand so at least that not too expensive for bottled water

I do want to start stocking up on nonperishables as I can, but I have to make sure it's stuff we will use.

[edit] 7pm OMG I just spend over 2hrs doing my lab exam. Trying to make sure I had all the right answers. I was only really unsure of one question. The others (19/20) I am pretty sure I got right. We will see later after she grades it. UUUUUGGGGH I dislike tests. Part of that time I was distracted by Shane on a phone call. Thank goodness the test was not timed :P I could have stopped at any point and started again later or even tomorrow if I wanted. But I'd rather finish. I also could have NOT answered the phone, but eh. A short break was ok.

Two hours is so long! But GREAT JOB KAT!

Yeah, I only stock up on stuff that I know we'll use, and mostly stuff that we can use in many different ways.

See, we don't use bottled water at all really, except I keep a 6 pack of Deer Park water under the floorboards in teh car for emergencies and stuff. We have well water though so.. I don't like town water at all.

Tonight was 4H signup night. El is doing cake decorating and beekeeping. Iz is doing arts and crafts, upcycling, and cake decorating. Lily is doing arts and crafts, upcycling, electronics, archery, sewing, and ... outdoor exploring

And I think I'm co-leading arts and crafts and upcyling. :P

Yea. Definitely NOT well water here. Well water is gooooood! Deer Park is ok. I prefer other brands. Dasani used to be my favorite til I got pregnant with Nathan, and then whenever I drank it, I SWEAR to you, I felt like ROCKS dropped into my stomach!! Crazy. So I stopped drinking it. Started buying walmart brand. Cheaper, so been getting it since. Only bottled water I refuse to drink now tho - and always have - is Aquafina. It is TERRIBLE. I cannot stand it. Like, I have to be desperate for a drink to sip that. And sip is what I do. I never ever ever finish a bottle of Aquafina unless its literally the ONLY drink I have all day, and its a HOT day! My mom gets Deer Park a lot. And ... I can't remember what else she gets, but something else. Maybe a grocery store brand. You would think water would be water. But noooope it is not!

Sounds like you and kids will be having fun again!! I can't wait to see what the cakes look like lol!! I so totally love making cakes. And cookies. And...well anything sweets. Since Nathan wants to have a Halloween party (gasp!) with some friends, I offered to make whatever spooky snacks he might like, as long as he tells me before and not day of. Like, Frankenstein cupcakes, or witch hat cookies, or white chocolate pretzel bones. (I LOOOOOVE those, even tho I am not a big marshmallow fan). Wonder if he will want some spooky punch or just regular sodas on ice (probably just regular sodas on ice lol)

It was a really weird way to do a test. Like normally I've been able to go back and recheck my answers if I wanted to - but on this exam, once you move on from the question, you CANNOT go back to it. It was move forward only, so before I moved on, I checked, doubled checked and checked again to make sure I'd selected the correct answer or written everything I wanted to write. The one I wasn't sure of was a written one - and I had to explain a graph. Which, I've always been bad at :P But I tried my best and I think I got it at least partially right. Just maybe not totally right.

We eat breakfast "at home", I eat mine at school tho and Nathan usually eats in the car or at school :P Not school breakfast tho. Nathan might sometimes if he is still hungry or wants what they are serving, but I doubt it. I used to eat cereal a lot, but milk upsets my stomach, so now its mostly granola bars for me, or muffins. Sometimes donuts. Nathan likes the granola bars too, but he also likes nutty bars, and poptarts. Sometimes he will want like, sausage biscuits or frozen waffles/pancakes, but not often. I eat school lunch most days or a cheapo quicky meal (like, the Dinty Moore microwavable stews/chicken meals or a can of soup). Nathan eats school lunch, sometimes takes a PBJ. Dinner is random, but mostly meat, potato or rice, veg and biscuit. I totally want/need more variety, but its hard to figure out what.

I like deer park because it's spring water. When we were in North Carolina, Alex and I had the WORST time because we were trying to buy gallons of water, but there was only one spring water. Which was actually deer park.. which is actually bottled pretty darned close to here haha.

I agree with Aquafina, it's AWFUL. Like.. I don't understand how people can drink that and prefer it.

I hate decorating cakes and cookies, I hate frosting things. i always make Alex or Elly do it :P

And yeah, teh girls generally refuse to eat school breakfasts now because they're so gross. El likes to make eggs or egg sandwiches if she has time, Lily eats a can of ravioli a lot. isabelle eats a chocolate chocolate chip muffin every. single. day. And a fruit cup. To make it healthy :P

Last night we ended up having hamburger steaks with roasted cauliflower, and Alex made a roasted garlic beer cheese sauce which was INCREDIBLE. I'm going ot have cauliflower for breakfast in a bit. I'm behind, today :P

Tonight we're either having kielbasa and corn, maybe buttered noodles, or we're having chicken broccoli cheese soup.

Aww see now I like frosting things! I may not be great at it but I have fun. But it just doesn't get eaten anymore. Like a batch of cupcakes. Half will get thrown away if not more. And cookies...same. ☹️ at Christmas my favorite thing was decorating sugar cookies with the kids. We haven't the last few years because they were wasted.

Pork steak tonight here. Plus the last of the broccoli casserole. And whatever else I feel like. Can veg or biscuits probably. I am a lot like Iz lol chocolate chocolate chip muffins are the best. Although I also make chocolate chip, strawberry and blueberry cheesecake and wild berry muffins. I cannot imagine eating ravioli for breakfast, but food is food!! I used to eat cold pizza for breakfast so I can't say much.

I like to eat leftovers for breakfast too, so I mean, I get the ravioli thing!

Isabelle, chocolate.. chocolate is her life haha.

See, that's not a problem here, because whatever we don't eat, the kids can bring to youth group, or band, or geeks guild, or I can bring to book club or so forth. Though normally everything just gets eaten :P

I don't really like leftovers. Not for most meats. Like I will reheat steak the next day but prefer not to. I almost never will eat leftover pork or chicken. I really don't know why not. I just... don't. I do like leftover chili, or stew, or like my broccoli casserole. Leftover taco meat makes great taco salad ;) I seriously need to set up a list of things I do like to eat and try to keep all things on hand for that, I guess. Especially things that I WILL eat leftover. Leftover potato has never been good unless its mashed potatoes. I can't stand reheated canned corn, which I find funny since I like reheated peas or green beans just fine :P I buy the small cans now tho, so I don't have any left over. Costs a little more, but no leftovers is good in my book.

Yes! I used to have kids over here all the time, or places they were involved with that I could take things to - gawd the cookies I went thru when Nathan was in football. Preteen boys eat almost as much as teenage boys LOL And they LOVED cookies after practice. So if we made cookies, I'd keep some for us, and take a bunch to them. Same for when they were in karate, and when Katie was here with her huge group of friends, they just all ate cookies or cupcakes or whatever. Or I'd send them home with some of those kids. Now tho. Just me and Nathan and extras sit around and go bad. :(

[edit] 715pm Well Alright Then. I knew next week was going to be off...but also this week? No class tonight. Fine. STILL only 2 other people posted in the discussion, so I answered to them, and signed off. Now I don't know what to do with my evening :P

where'd you go? :( I know you're around!

Kat, I'm picky with leftovers too, there's certain ones that I know I just won't eat, but Alex will, or the girls will, etc. Though with chicken, etc, I normally make it into something else, instead of just eating it as.. leftover chicken.

Last night we actually had leftovers instead, because I didn't want two types of soup in the fridge :P So we ate up the chicken corn chowder, most of hte lobster pasta, Alex took the last of the enchiladas to work for lunch today, and we ate half the pan of rice pudding. And some mashed potatoes.

So we can have the broccoli cheese soup tonight, instead :P

Hiii beauties. I've been around more off than on. Keel really burned me out but after that, I got busy catching up w/ house chores and then running around like crazy trying to have everything done by the time I picked up my daughter from the airport yesterday.
I haven't been very active over the last several months b/c of the PF in my foot and now it's pretty much completely gone and playing catchup has wreaked havoc on my body. I feel sore all over.
My brother, who was over for the last week and a half, barely helped me, even though he knew I was going to pay him for it. That's just irritating. Not only did I pay him, I was feeding him and letting him use my car (gas) to go to work. Grrrrrr....

Now, I'm just going to enjoy every last second of my daughter being here b/c I never really felt true loneliness until she was gone. Co-dependency is a bitch, lol.

<3 I'm glad you're enjoying your time with your daughter, and feeling better!

Our garden was.. trashed :P After vacation. BUT. The brussel sprouts actually look like they're doing well so.. yay for that?!

Brothers, man.

Mine is leaving to move to Oklahoma?! to move in with a girl he met online. He's leaving Saturday, I need to bring him to the bus stop and also give him money because he doesn't have enough to pay for his suitcase with his clothes, so he was just goign to take his computer. :/ I was going to give him $200 anyway, call it a birthday/Christmas gift, but like.. eesh.

I hope everything actually works out for him but like.. what are the odds that this isn't going to end up on one of those true crime shows?!

I can't believe people do that still, after all the bad stories that have come out.

It felt "hot" at 75 yesterday but my daughter felt cold. I had to laugh, since she's accustomed to MUCH higher temps down there. She had texted me asking if she should bring shorts and I showed her a screenshot of the next week of temps and she was like "it's so cold up there!". :P She's going to freeze this weekend when the high is only in the high 50's and the nights hit freezing (which is a little sooner than I remember from the previous couple years).

I read that our natural gas prices are going to go up this winter b/c instead of helping your own people out, you (the gov't) wants to provide Europe w/ OUR gas. As if higher fuel and grocery prices wasn't kicking our asses enough... I'll be eating a lot of non-meat soups this month just to make it through to the next paycheck due to the extra expenses (brother included) I've had.

It's going to be 71 today, and everyone is almost excited about how warm it'll be? Like.. bring the t-shirts back out,e veryone!

But it was still 37 this morning so, you know.. hoodies :P

Thankfully it hasn't hit actual freezing yet, because I don't want to turn the heat on until November, if I can help it. I just filled the fuel tank but.. I just about cry everytime I do it :P

OH BUT. Alex and I do need to clean out the corner, get up on the roof and measure the chimney, so we can get a chimney cleaning kit. I added the woodstove to our homeowners insurance, so we can use it again. Also, we have some wood to chop. :/

I just realized, it's going to be a busy rest of the week, here! Tonight is the homecoming bonfire, tomorrow is the football game, Saturday is the dance. And tomorrow we're going to go hang out with Rick and let the girls say goodbye or whatever, then E has therapy, Lily had to be at school at 2 for band practice.

Saturday we need to bring him to the bus station.. 7 hours early, BECAUSE.. Es friends are coming over for homecoming celebrations starting at noon. Instead of going to the dance, they're having a game night. Everyone is bringing snacks or drinks, and I said I'd buy pizza for them. Strict dress code of a onesie pajamas or formal wear.

LILY, however, is obviously going to the dance, with her boyfriend Jacob. Who even bought the tickets. Which is nice, because, after this past week, I am freaking broke.

And Sunday are Christmas pictures (yes, I know, I know, it's October 9th, but the cabins that she rents close on the 15th or something, and it's so gorgeous looking!).

Maybe rest day on Monday, since there's no school Friday or Monday :P

Taarna, Ugh on your brother. He should have helped more if he said he would :( So happy you have your daughter visiting!! I know you'll enjoy that. I am not really looking forward to Nathan turning 18/graduating/moving out. Because I already know I'll miss having him, I already miss having Katie nearby. I miss Shane too but not the same way, is that wrong to say? I guess its partly because he's been gone longer and I'm more used to him being gone, plus the agravation I had to deal with for him when he came home from Texas/job changes....and I will say it, also the fact he smokes. He doesn't inside, but it clings...so... yea.

And Mieke,. as for your brother, that is nice of you to help him to go out there. I would be leery of it myself, due to Shane's issue with the girl in Texas. But on the other hand, my dad met his wife, my stepmom, online, and they've been happily married for 20+ yrs.

It has been chilly in the mornings here, but still HOT by afternoon. Gotta love GA weather. 3 seasons in one day :P

Iz wasn't feeling well so we took an impromptu trip to the apple orchard. Even though she also decided to go tomorrow, with my brother.

I'm actually pretty happy with a few of teh pictures I took, so I'm going to show them off :P

SPOILER (click to toggle)

I won't lie, we had a lot of fun.

We also stopped at the store and picked up soda, cookies and chips for the kids on Saturday. The plan was, I'd buy them pizza and they'd bring drinks and snacks but.. not sure how well they'll actually.. bring drinks and snacks? They're having a party here instead of going to the dance, if I didn't say that earlier. So.. we got some. And even paper plates, though I loathe them and we use regular, washable stuff.. always. Iz also picked out some plastic champagne flutes nad wine glasses from teh dollar store for them :P

Oooh I bet Iz had fun going with just you. Mommy time! :) Hahah yea, the few times Katie's group said they'd provide snacks/drinks - most of them DID NOT....and it was a good thing we had some stuff available. Once they even said they'd all chip in for pizza - we got like $5 LOL Teenagers. I hope they have fun!!! Cute on Iz getting them champagne glasses! I had some of those plastic ones for the kids for a while. Now I just let them use my actual glass ones that rarely (if ever) get used. Like - maybe at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners and once in a blue moon at New Years is when they get used :P

Oh and , I promise, its low odds for a true crime show. I personally would give it medium odds for working out :P

yeahh.... I just made this huge post and the tab/page hasn't loaded at all so I can't even go back to retrieve it. Pretty irritating. (beyond irate at the moment)

I had a lot of lag with the forum loading today too ...especially while in my phone.

Been reading. Going to bed soon. Talk to you all tomorrow!!

Medium odds is better than what I was giving it so.. I'll take it! :P

I told him I did need her full name and address at least, before I would pick him up and bring him to the bus station tomorrow. Because like.. I can't call the sherriff for a well check and be like "Um, he got off the bus in.. Ardmore? And was going to live with some girl named Amanda.. something. No, I don't know where she lives."

This is my favorite from today! Check out the rearview mirror. :P Lilys idea, but very cool, IMO.