start small. think big.

 

Yesterday, many churches across Australia took part in Compassion Sunday. Ours was one of them.  I came away inspired.  Inspired by this one statement.  'start small.  think big.'

I find, when I am participant in one of these sorts of events that I am always ALWAYS touched emotionally.  Operation Christmas Child ... when we watch a video of a child who would never otherwise have received a gift, opening a shoe box, I am reduced to tears.  Watoto Childrens Choir ... when I've seen them performed and listened to their stories of hopelessness and despair, I am reduced to tears.  

But really, what good are my tears?

Unless they spur me towards action.

Yesterday I sat and watched, once again in tears, confronted with the reality that more than 1.4 billion people in the developing world live below the poverty line (U.S.$1.25 per day) and that EVERY YEAR more than 9 million children under the age of 5 die. Two-thirds of these deaths — more than 6 million every year — are preventable,  and one third of them are from malnutrition. 923 million people worldwide are undernourished, and there are more than 9 million deaths related to hunger each year. 

I've heard this stuff before.  I've shed tears about it before.  Who hasn't?

But what good are my tears?  

Without action.

1.4 billion people ... that's a whole lot of people who need help ... who need someone to do something.  That's a whole lot of overwhelming hopelessness.  It's intimidating and daunting.  It's probably easier to just do nothing. 

One of the videos we watched yesterday is called Soundarya's story (you can download the full version here if you want to see it, just scroll down to the bottom of the page and you'll see links to a few videos.) In the video there was a boy, probably not much older than my boy.  He and his brothers work with their Dad doing back breaking, mind numbing work, for less than .30c a day.  At one point the boy said this "I do have dreams for a better future, but my dreams will never come true, so let me not have any dreams at all."  

That is not ok with me.  So the question I ask myself is ... how can I just do nothing?

I can't.

But what can I do?

I can start small ...

And I'm going to.  

I thought about it all day yesterday.  About the choices I have.  The choices I continually make.  Will I eat out?  Will I eat at home?  Will I buy a snack because I'm a little bit peckish?  Will I eat the lunch that I brought to work or will I just discard it and buy something else? And those choices are just about food ... but they are choices.  And I have power over how I chose.

Often I'll make a choice and then feel bad about it.  But, whatever, I get over it and move on.  I started to wonder what would happen if my choice had another side to it.  Like ... I can buy that snack, or I can save what I would have spent on that snack.  Not for myself.  But for someone else.  What if by making a different choice, I could actually make life better for someone else?  Sounds crazy but a $3 bag of chips is 10 days salary for the boy who has decided it's better not to dream ...

So, this is where I am going to start.  With my choices.  I'm making a budget category called "CHOICE" ... and every time I make the choice NOT to buy something indulgent or unnecessary, I'm going to transfer what I would have spent into that 'envelope'.   Does that mean that I'll never again buy a hot chocolate from my favorite cafe?  Probably not.  Does that mean I need to feel guilty if I do?  I don't think so.  What it does mean is that I will make more conscious decisions about this sort of spending.  

Yesterday, we went directly from church to buy school shoes for the kids.  I was ready to eat ... I'd say I was starving, but really ... not in the true meaning.  Normally I would have just grabbed us something to eat, knowing full well that we'd be home to a fridge full of leftovers, in just an hour.

But I didn't.  I couldn't.  

There is now $20 in my CHOICE envelope.

I hope that in time, it will lead to something bigger ... 

For now ... I'm choosing to start small.  

But, at the very least, I'm choosing to start ....

Coloring Pages

A few years ago, I stopped buying coloring books for the kids.
Except for when we go on a big overseas trip ... then I let them pick one to take with.
But, other than that, I've found that their tastes change too quickly and they tire of the coloring
book before it is finished, and it's money wasted. I dislike money wasted. Don't you ?



I've found that printing one picture at a time is a better solution.

I can print whatever takes their fancy at that moment.
Like yesterday, Jono wanted a football and Alia wanted a Princess.

I just go to google.com ... put in "Princess coloring pages" or whatever it is they want,
click images in the top left hand corner and it brings up blank coloring pages.
The kids pick the one they want. I hit print. Voila !

It's too easy ...

Let's Talk Grocery Budgets ...

I wrote this post for my Menu Plan Monday post over at my cooking blog but decided to post it here as well ... I'd love to know your budgeting thoughts and if you have any ideas, suggestions, great CHEAP but healthy recipe ideas ....

Menu Plan Monday is hosted by Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

So, last week, we spent way over our grocery budget. Various factors contributed to it ... including my constant frustration that our weekly budget is too low. But ... the way we have structured our finances doesn't leave room to make it bigger, and that is totally our choice (meaning we could change it but we've chosen not to) so I'm DETERMINED to find a way to make this budget work. $220 a week. Feeding a family of four, three meals EVERY DAY. We eat out very infrequently. Working it out per meal, you're looking at $10 a meal EXCEPT that we buy toiletries, laundry/dishwashing/cleaning supplies and cat food out of that $220 as well. I don't know exactly what the breakdown is to be able to determine how much that makes it per meal that we are working with ... But, that one of my new goals.

In my menu planning, I am going to use the online shopping site to determine how much each meal will cost to make. I'm going to do it as if I had to buy every item and then list that price with my recipes. So ... for future menu's I'll be able to choose according to price as well ... and if I already have some of the ingredients then the price will come down and that is a BONUS ! I think that with proper planning, I can still cook the way we are accustomed to me cooking, but within the confines of our budget that we want to stick to.

I need to shop more in season too. I'm not real good at knowing what is 'in season' since we can get most things year round here. But ... obviously, there are seasons when they are 'in season' and they are cheaper. I'm going to buy meat at the butcher. I'm going to try and get back to doing one bulk meal a week (or maybe a fortnight) to freeze for later weeks. I am going to try and bake something each week to go in the lunches. And I'm going to experiment with making grain bread in my bread maker. Did I mention I am determined ?!?!

We've also got grand plans to expand our little garden beds so we can grow as much as we are able. Australia has great weather for growing veggies year round and we are trying to get our garden established so we can take advantage of that.

Our plan for this week, through Thursday ... I will shop on Friday ... is to get through without going to the grocery store. I had to buy milk and a bag of oats this morning. Cost me $3. But ... we were totally out of cereal and Rory needs milk for his coffee so those had to be bought. As for the meals, we're getting creative ... using up what we have in the pantry and fridge/freezer, which isn't much.

So ... there you have it ... I'd love to know your thoughts !!

If you want to see what we are actually going to be eating, you can read the menu part of this post over at The Beans Blog ...

{internet fabulousity}

phew.
i've been busy this afternoon !
i've done the menu plan for next week and the shopping !
and all from my computer !
and all while i was doing laundry !
i'm so excited about the prospect of internet grocery shopping !!




i think it will be fabulous on so many levels.

1. i don't have to try and fit it into school hours
2. i don't have to take the kids with me
3. i don't spend extra because i go into the store hungry
4. or because something is on sale
5. or because something looks good and i just can't resist it
6. or because it's at eye level
7. or because the right music is playing !! ha ha
8. i can see what my total is and adjust it if necessary before I pay and without a headache !
9. all the 'unit prices' are worked out for me and i can sort by them
10. i can change my order until a certain number of hours before delivery
11. it all gets delivered to my door
and best of all
12. I CAN SHOP IN MY PAJAMAS !!!!!!

Seriously, I think it's going to be great for our budget.
I don't tend to make it out of the grocery store for less than $200 a week.
Today, I spent $119.47 !!!
TOTAL !!!
Guess that shows you how much of an impulse buyer I am !


Anyway ... gotta run.
Rory's stokin' up the fire outside in the brazier.
We're going to eat out there
snuggle under the stars
and enjoy the night.



Here's to a fabulous weekend to you and yours !

PS ... do you shop on line for your groceries ?
what are your thoughts ? did you like it ? why ? why not ?
i'll let you know what I think on Monday after my first delivery arrives !!

Sharing Peaches and Plums

~

Would you like a piece of fruit ?

I've had a peach AND a plum today. They are so sweet and juicy ... really, you should have one !

Last week's budget was a blowout. A bit of a bummer after doing so well the week before but there were a lot of factors contributing to the blowout and so I am ok with it overall ! We had two extra adults who stayed for four days/three nights of the week, we had friends over another night of the week and we celebrated our family Christmas to which we contributed food ! All of these things meant we spent two weeks worth in one week ! Rory and I have had a chat about it though and we think we've figured out how to avoid blowing it out in future weeks like that. We're not going to feed anyone. Ha Ha ! Just kidding.

This week, I'm back on track !! I did the shopping on Monday, did the budget yesterday and guess what ? I've got $3.19 left in the grocery budget !! That was even with buying Rory an ice break for each day to take to work ... he loves those things and it's so much cheaper to buy at the grocery store than for him to buy one at the little convenie on his lunch break.

It also included baking. I'm trying to bake one thing each week to have available for lunches. This week ... poppy seed muffins. My friend Toni and her boys were here yesterday. While the kids swam in the backyard pool, she and I whipped up a batch of these. It's a huge batch. She took plenty home and we had plenty left here. The recipe is on The Beans Blog.

Did I tell you that I've started working out ? Yep ... had my assessment, got a program and I'm working out IN A GYM (!) twice a week ! It's hard work but I know it is going to pay off .

Also got back on our bikes today. Last year we were riding most days to and from school. This year ... well, I didn't want to start the first week back since I didn't know how Alia was going to go. Then it started raining. So ... here we are half way through week two and finally riding. Not too bad, I guess.

I've got a couple of questions for you regular bloggers out there ...

Between posting and visiting other blogs ... reading and commenting ... how much time do you spend each day in blog land?

Also ... how do you decide which blogs you subscribe to ?

Sharing Excitement

~

It's Thursday and I managed shop for the week's meals and then to stay out of the grocery store all week long !!

This is an accomplishment, believe me.

We ran out of milk two days ago. And we have zero laundry detergent.
But there's only .19 cents left in the grocery budget this week so I didn't buy either.

Tomorrow is a new week.

I'll be buying a bigger milk.

One of my goals for groceries this year is to . STICK . TO . OUR . BUDGET . !!!
I'm on track !
One week down ... 40 some to go !

Our biggest goal where food is concerned is to not waste.
I hate throwing away food.
There are too many people who don't have any for us to be throwing any away.

We've been doing well.
We've been eating all of the leftovers and so far have only had to toss a rotten lemon
and some noodle salad that went yucky ...

I'm interested what you all do ...
Do you have an allocated amount for groceries each week ?
What do you do when you run out of something but there's no money left ?
Do you go buy it or do you wait ?

Sharing Menu Plans

One thing that really helps me in keeping my life simple is menu planning. I plan for a week at a time. I try to shop for a week at a time as well, but that doesn't always work. This week, I'm determined that it will ! I even got a can of fruit salad so that we can eat that at the end of the week when we run out of fresh fruit !

I have been planning menus for many years now. I can tell such a difference in the weeks that I do plan to the weeks that I don't. Our budget, nutrition and my sanity all suffer when I don't plan our menus !

Planning once a week means I am in the grocery store less. I love to grocery shop but I tend to spend more than I need to each time I go in. The fewer times I go in, the less I spend ! It's true !

Planning once a week means I am not stressed about what to eat each night. It means we eat out less because there is always something yummy on the menu ... I am the one planning it, after all !

Planning once a week means I can plan ahead for days that I know are going to be busy. Those days usually have a meal in the crock pot cooking away and ready when we all get home !

Planning once a week means I am able to plan nutritious meals for my family. I don't get stuck in a rut of cooking the same old un-healthy fall back meals night after night !! It also means that I don't need to feel guilty cooking homemade pizza most Friday nights for our family 'pizza and a movie' tradition because I know we've eaten healthy all week long !

Planning once a week means I can plan inexpensive meals as necessary to help keep the budget under control.

In January, I started posting my weekly menu plans to my cooking blog ~ The Beans Blog. You can pop over and check out what we're eating this week by clicking HERE. Keeping my menus online has been very helpful as I can go back and look at what we've had previously. I participate in Menu Plan Monday as well. A great resource for planning menus. Bloggers world wide link in each Monday at a website called "I'm an Organizing Junkie". There are over 300 posts each week. I probably visit 10 or 12 each week just to see what's cooking ! I have found some great blogs that way ! And some great meal ideas.

Planning menu's takes a little bit of time each week, but the peace of mind, the savings in both money, sanity and time make it well worth the effort !

"You do not like it. So you say. Try it ! Try it ! And you may. Try it and you may, I say."
~ Sam I Am, Green Eggs and Ham ... Loosely Quoted !!