The beginning of the week was sunny, but cool.  One afternoon, when she got home from school,  Michaela and I went down to the river to watch the Wheatland Ferry.  She needed to buy some Valentines, so we did her errands first, then decided to take a little ride, since it was so sunny.  So, with French fries in hand, we drove down to the sparkling river, and spent some time throwing rocks into the river, counting the cars that crossed on the ferry, and just enjoying the afternoon.  It really perked up her afternoon, and I enjoyed myself very much, as well.  I’m always delighted to find a low-cost outing to do with her.  It does her good to get out into the fresh air.

In fact, she had so much fun, that she came up with a plan for Tuesday afternoon.   On Tuesdays, Jake stays after school for choir, so we decided to take him to a near-by park to swing, even though evening was approaching.  Unfortunately, we were only able to stay for a short time, when he began to feel poorly.  We went right home.  He stayed with me Wednesday morning and all day Thursday.  He laid down or sat down all day, both days, at my house.  My mom took him to his house Wednesday afternoon, where he proceeded to sleep for 2 hours.  I’m sure he is fine now, but his daddy was able to care for him after that, if he needed it.

In the midst of it all, life went on, as it does.  I made fajitas with some pork chops that were getting old in the freezer, an old pepper I found in the fridge, and an onion.  Rob ate that for a couple of day for dinner and in his lunch.

I made rhubarb/strawberry crisp with some frozen fruit that had been there for quite a while.  I made some ground pork-vegetable soup with frozen veggies, pork, potatoes, etc. Alissa made biscuits.  We snacked on popcorn.  I made pizza from pre-made crusts I had on hand.  At the end of the week, my schedule got crazy, and so we had food from Wendy’s, and then Rob got me a real treat, Chinese food, on Saturday, because I was correcting and grading school work.  He was treating me because he knows how much I love teaching and don’t love correcting.

I corrected home-school work for about 7 hours on Friday night and Saturday, most of that being on Saturday since I was gone all day Friday.  We have a meeting coming up where I need to turn in grades, etc., for the diploma program the girls are enrolled in.  It’s still significantly less money than a private school, so it’s worth it to me to do all the correcting, etc.

The price wars continue in the grocery stores near where my aunt and sister live.  It’s only about 20-25 minutes away, and we go there frequently, so I’m not complaining. (It’s not far in miles, it’s traffic that takes the time). I got potatoes for 10 lbs/99c (2 bags), Ritz for 99c/box (1), apple juice for 99c (I ended up with 7 because 2 stores were doing this one), pork loin for 99c/lb (2-4 lb chunks), 25c cans of tomatoes (2), Honey Nut Cheerios (99c/box), and chili-48c/can (2).  At the Fred Meyers near me, I got the other apple juices and peanut butter for 99c (5), tuna for 50c/can(5), pasta for 50c/lb(5),  and my free candy bar. Going to multiple stores, shopping the sales, downloading and clipping coupons, and keeping track of prices takes a lot of work, but since it turns my modest grocery budget into a nicely stocked pantry, I don’t mind.

Ja’Ana cleaned house for the lady she works for weekly.  She also had a youth group outing where they planted cherry trees to earn money for their upcoming mission trip to help at a camp in Montana during spring break.  We aren’t going this time, just her, and I’m sure it will be a great experience for her.  I’m really glad they give them opportunities to earn money for these trips. It helps us a lot, and teaches the kids to value their trip more.  Both girls had extra youth group outings this week, along with the normal meetings.  So, we were very busy this week.  You could say we were fueled with all the chocolate from Valentine’s Day.  Too bad the car can’t run on chocolate:)

I was able to go to JoAnn’s and use the last gift card I had in my stash.  Patterns were 99c, so I got a handful.  I got some floss, as I have been embroidering towels, and can’t find my extra floss stash.  Thankfully, it’s not expensive and I only needed a very few colors for what I’m working on.  I will continue to look through the bins in the shop for my floss!  So frustrating when I had my hands on it so recently, but……it happens.

A couple of years ago, I was given a huge ziplock full of floss.  I recently put that floss in a very safe place.  In a bin.  In the shop.  It’s still there.  Very safe.   Very, very safe.

I was able to use a 20% off my entire purchase coupon.  I got a little fabric, too.  I want to sew a few items for Patsy, and will also use some of the fabric I still have in my stash in the shop.  I hoped to start on that today, but the correcting and house chores took my time (plus the fact that I fell asleep on the couch late this afternoon!!!). Thankfully, tomorrow is another day and floss is inexpensive:)

Have you lost anything lately?