My Menu Plan- 2 days late.... :-)

Monday
Breakfast –Cereal/ Fresh Fruit/Toast
Lunch – Chicken Nachos
Dinner – Cracker Chicken/Couscous/Steamed Green Beans

Tuesday
Breakfast – Waffles/Fresh Fruit
Lunch – Deli Wraps/yogurt/sliced apples
Dinner- Meatball Subs

Wednesday
Breakfast- Eggs/Toast
Lunch- Pizza/Garden Salad
Dinner- Spaghetti Meatballs

Thursday
Breakfast- French Toast/Fresh Blueberries
Lunch – Baked Potato/Broccoli
Dinner- Chili/ Breadsticks

Friday
Breakfast- Cereal/Fresh Fruit
Lunch- Leftover Chili/salad
Dinner- Pork Chops/applesauce/stuffing/beans

Saturday
Breakfast- Pancakes
Lunch- Hot Dogs/Beans
Dinner- Chicken Broccoli Croissants

Sunday
Breakfast- Cinnamon Rolls
Lunch- Brunch
Dinner- Chinese Chicken Salad

I was surfing the net looking for information on the failed bailout and the next steps that our government might take. I came across a political blog, and on that I found this statement given by Congressman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX)

It details some of his core conservative principles, and resonates with my own thoughts about the bailout. Read the whole thing for yourselves at the link listed above.

Bailout Frustrating...Pure and Simple

Our family is working toward becoming debt free. It's something we believe is not only the right way to live, but it's also wise. How in the world then can we move forward working toward this goal, when our country and the people making major decisions in the economic community continue to borrow against our future??? (Not only our future, but our children's future?)

I do not believe this bailout will help us in the long run, and I have some serious doubts it will help us in the short term. Our economy has not gotten to this point overnight.... so no one should believe it will be fixed overnight. It won't.

I guess what is frustrating to me most of all is that my ideals and what I believe to be right, are polar opposite to what our economic actions are in this country. I read something Paulson said.... "I won't bet against the American people ... We will work through this," Paulson said on NBC. "I wouldn't bet against the long-term fundamentals of the U.S. economy."

What long term fundamentals? Mr. Paulson will have to go way back in his memory to come up with some long-term findamentals he can bet on. Because for the past 40-50 years our society has put great stock in credit. Nothing for cash, everything for credit. And you know what? The average family is broke! There is little to no equity.

This article describes somewhat the $700 bailout process, and states: "If the Treasury tapped its full authority, the bailout would put every man, woman and child in the United States on the hook for more than $2,000." (Hey nice to know that even our infants will be on the hook for this one). The thing I find ironic in a very sarcastic way...is that we just received a rebate check from the government in July. It's purpose according to the government...to stimulate the economy. I'm thinkin' that didn't work very well. Oh, and now they'd like to take back that money and a bit more...in a bailout for Wall Street...

And they wonder why our confidence is shot.

Leading economists from around the country oppose the bailout

The following is an article detailing an open letter sent to Congress by leading economists. I'm always interested in what experts in the field have to say: At the very end of the article below, you can click ona link that lists all the economists across the country who have signed this open letter so far.

Economists Send Open Letter to Congress Opposing Wall Street Bailout

$700 billion bailout....

I'm concerned...are you concerned? I just wrote my state representative to ask that he carefully consider all the options concerning this bailout. (I know Dave Ramsey is advocating one method, and I truly don't have enough information to support or recommend it. That is why I asked that our state representative carefully look at all the options.)

I don't know what the answer to our country's economic problems are... but I DO know adding to our National Debt is not the answer. I am alarmed at how quickly such a huge decision is being rushed through, when Congress many times cannot agree on seemingly straightforward bills. This proposal has tentacles all over the place, and I wonder if anyone is looking carefully at all the ramifications.

Here is one article I found and I'm sure I'll be posting a few more in the days ahead. Click Here

Frugal Furniture

I posted about my husband's ability to change our brakes to save a ton of money. Well, let me tell you another area where we LOVE to be frugal! We are all about re-using an item. For instance in this photo of my children's bedroom...I bought this bed (headboard AND footboard) for $10. Yes, that's right, $10! (There is a matching bed right next to this one, just not in the photo, and it was the same price tag) I found both of them at a Goodwill store, and they did not look like this when I bought them. However, they were sturdy pieces of furniture that could be re-finished. And that is just what I did. This project was all mine as I sanded the headboard and footboard and re-finished them in a cherry stain. Two new beds for $20 plus the cost of a small can of stain and some sandpaper! Pretty cool huh? Oh and btw- the small bookcase I found 4 years later (same finish) at an antique store. It too was $10. :-)

Here is our latest project... I found these rocking chairs for $25 a piece. They are in very good condition other than the need to be refinished. They're sturdy and the seats are strong! So, I plan on sanding them down and painting them black to go on my covered front porch. I've been wanting black rocking chairs for awhile now. I think these will do nicely! I'm not sure when I will tackle this project, but when I do I'll be sure to post pictures!

My menu Plan

I finally got around to making my menu plan for the week.... It feels good to get that on the fridge and know what we are having for meals ...especially dinner!

Monday
Breakfast –Waffles/Fruit/OJ
Lunch – Salad with baked Chicken
Dinner – Pot Pie

Tuesday
Breakfast – Cereal/Fruit/Toast
Lunch – Deli Wraps/yogurt
Dinner- Fiesta Chicken

Wednesday
Breakfast- Eggs/Toast
Lunch- Nachos/ Salad
Dinner- Cracker Chicken

Thursday
Breakfast- French Toast
Lunch – Baked Potato/Broccoli
Dinner- London Broil/ Rice

Friday
Breakfast- Cereal
Lunch- Pizza/Salad
Dinner- Leftovers

Saturday
Breakfast- Pancakes
Lunch- Sandwiches/Fruit
Dinner- Dinner Out

Sunday
Breakfast- Cinnamon Rolls
Lunch- Chinese Chicken Salad
Dinner- Ravioli

Behind the 8 ball

Once again I find I am a little bit behind the 8 ball regarding my menu planning. I have all the grocery fliers so I will be going through those this morning and trying to come up with a menu plan for the week.....

So, menu plan coming soon!

Works for me Wednesday

Well, what is working for me lately is my crockpot. We have been super busy with all the kids activities! So, last week I broke out my crockpot twice. Both times on football nights... Last week I made Italian sausage in the crockpot which we all enjoyed after practice. But the beauty of that, was I made a double batch, so that we could have it the next night served over pasta with a side salad. Two nights where I barely had to cook!

This week I decided to make homemade meatballs. (They rock by the way!) We had meatball subs last night and they were delicious! Rave review by all the family. The best part again is that I doubled the batch. We can have meatballs with spaghetti tonight and another salad. All I have to do is make the pasta as the salad is already done!

As the weather is turning cooler, definitely break out your crockpot and start utilizing it! You'll be thankful for the stress free dinner, and you'll probably save money too from pre-planning and not eating out as often! There are some great recipes at All Recipes .com Check it out, they have ratings and tons of reviews too! Oh and for more great ideas go to Works for me Wednesday hosted by Rocks in My Dryer!

Proud of me!

Just wanted to say quickly that I was soooo tempted to eat out this evening. It's been a l-o-n-g day, and the chicken that I planned to use was still frozen. (I didn't take it out in time). But I decided at the last minute to just use the microwave to thaw it, and I could make my chicken fried rice. I'm so glad I did.... I stuck to my menu and saved about $40 by not eating out! Plus it was a hit with almost all my family. Ds1 was not thrilled, so I'm thinking this would be a dinner for every once in awhile. Then my husband could take the leftovers to work!