Living What I Love...One Bite At A Time!
After I knew for sure that I was going to be back in school next year, we got to looking at the budget and we’re going to have to make some major cutbacks. Especially since I won’t be working any more (I’ll have a bit of financial aid, but nothing near what I’m currently making. Which isn’t actually much since I’m a teacher, lol.) We want to get as much paid off as possible before my last paycheck in August as we can.
Here are the things we’ve gotten paid off so far…
Things we want to get paid off before August 25th…
If we can get all of these things paid off before I head back to school it will free up a good $800 or so a month.
We also want to build our savings a bit more because we really want to buy a house this summer. Lofty goals huh?
Well, the first thing that we’ve cut in the budget is food. Wah 🙁
But I seriously spend waaaay too much money on food. Like, I’ve been spending 5-600 bucks a month in the grocery store. Yup.
So I’ve cut the budget way back and my goal is $250/month for groceries. The first thing I did to try and save money grocery wise is get a costco membership (I simply refuse to shop at Wal-Mart. I hate that place!). Wowy- wow, I love that place! The best thing that will come out of it is the gigantic quantities of fruits and veggies that I can get so inexpensively! I can no longer afford the organic fruits and veggies unfortunately. And that sucks, but I’d rather buy a house honestly. I’ll just have to get over it.
Look at these massive quantities of the veggies that I got!
SIX, count em SIX romaine hearts for around $3!! This would have cost well over $10 in the regular grocery store! And this will last for about two weeks. Can you believe that?!
GIGANTO bag of broccoli for (I think) $3.99!! I’m going to freeze half of it and save it for cooking/stir fry. I can use this in so many different ways. This three pounds of broccoli would have cost me probably $7-8 in the regular grocery store.
Monster bag of Asparagus. 2.25 lbs! I think I’ll freeze some of this as well. I see lots of stir frys coming up! In the regular store this would probably cost around $10- I paid $4.99.
Look at these blackberries. They are gorgeous! This is a pound I think- around 5 bucks. No telling what this would he been at the regular store, probably around $15 or so. Crazy!
And look at this MONSTEROUS container of strawberries for $6!!!
I don’t even want to think about how much this would cost in the regular store.
Really big container of cherry tomatoes. Justin (AKA hubby) eats these things like candy- he loves tomatoes! I think these were around $4. At the regular store they would have been somewhere around $15-$20.
And my splurge item! Dried fruit/nut mix. This was $11 BUT it will last us a really long time. And.it.is.fabulous! I have already munched on it a couple of times. LOVE!!
It has in it…
I also found some antibiotic free all-natural boneless skinless chicken breast. (no picture).
Wow, can you believe the deals I got?!?! Then I had to stop at the local grocery for a few things that we needed small quantities of. All in all, I spent $109. I normally spend around $140 per grocery trip. And this stuff will last at least 2 weeks (some of it will last longer). I think I will make my budget- no problemo!
Cheers!!
yayayay!! I’ve officially gotten into two different programs for school next year! See? (pardon the hair and sunburn- it was play day at school today)
You can’t really read it, but I promise it says congratulations on both of them!
So I basically have two choices here. The first program I got into is for a Master’s in Music therapy.
Here are my thoughts on that… when I applied to the program I hadn’t done a whole lot of research on the field, but the more and more I research, the more and more I see that it is almost exactly what I am doing right now, except with special education students (mostly the severe and profound in the lifeskills class). And since I don’t enjoy what I am doing right now and I’m trying to get out of it I don’t think that’s the route I should go.
Here’s the thing about having a degree in music… It’s cool and I know A LOT about music, but there are really only two things that you can do with that degree. 1) teach 2) play professionally. Since I have been teaching for 5 years and hate it, that rules out number 1. And since I have been teaching I really haven’t had much time to play my instrument in the last few years, and not really at all this year, so that rules out number 2. So you see my problem?
Also, I hate to say this, but being a music teacher at one of the suckiest places around and having a principal that dislikes you only because you were there before she was (seriously the woman treats all of us that were at that school before her like crap! I don’t know what her problem is) has really killed the passion and excitement that I have for music. 🙁 I just kind of want to get out of the field and just play for the enjoyment and the love of my instrument.
Which leads me to the other program that I got into…
I also got accepted to do an equivalency degree in Dietetics! At the end of the program I will be an R.D. (registered Dietician)!!
Then after the internship and whatnot I would probably go straight into a Master’s program- right now I’m leaning towards either a M.S in Nutrition or M.S. in Sports and Exercise Nutrition. Fun, huh? I know, it’s a crazy different change in careers, right?! I just need a change, I see no hope or future in what I am doing right now and I feel like this can be a fresh start for me. With this new route I can see many different opportunities and a much happier future. I love food and I love learning about nutrition and the way it works with our bodies.
R.D.!!!! I’m going to orientation to get all registered for classes and whatnot on June 4th. That’s so soooooon! I CANNOT wait to get started!
Sarah Chapman, R.D.- looks good huh?
This post has turned hella long, so I’m going to get going. I’m way too excited to post about food, so I’ll catch you tomorrow.
I found a recipe for overnight oats yesterday so I decided to make them for breakfast this morning. I didn’t care much for the texture, it was a little slimey in my opinion. And it didn’t sit all that well in my tummy. Oh well, I’ll just pack an extra snack for this morning.
Here are my oats (I used blueberry oikos instead of the plain greek yogurt that the recipe called for because I don’t do plain yogurt of any sort. It’s straight up nast-tay.
Today is playday at school and I’m in charge of the 50 yard dash all.day.long.
We’ll see how that goes, I’m not really looking forward to it all that much to be honest. But at least I won’t be stuck inside all day!
See ya!!
Yayayay! I got my car back today! I got a brand new front end (that’s what she said). New hood, new stripes, new grill, new bumper. I had to pay the deductable, which sucks, but look at the beautifulness…
back to earlier today. I had the most AWESOME lunch! I took two whole wheat tortillas, black beans, pepperjack cheese, peppers and onions and made a quesadilla. Oh wow, it was sooooo good! Everyone should try this!
I topped it with some salsa and a few slices of avocado.
Then it was on to work. Same ole same ole…11 days!
After I got home from school I made a snack- the last bits of my chocolate chip cookie dough PB on a slice of WW bread.
Look what I passed on my way to the body shop- the new Cowboy’s Stadium!
After I picked up my car, I ran to whole foods (it was right down the street) and got some salad fixings that we needed. I also grabbed something to drink- love this!
And a fruit leather- grape! This stuff is like candy to me (since I don’t eat candy, LOL). I want to learn how to make this stuff!!
Then I cruised around a bit (I missed my car! It was at the shop for a week and a half). Then I cruised on home to make some dinner. We had some Amy’s veggie burgers on whole wheat buns and oven fries.
Well, I guess that about sums up my day. I’ve got a fun field trip planned for Saturday. I’m not gonna lie- I’m pretty stoked about it!
Sorry about the picture quality- it’s from the camera phone. sigh.
