Listen to your Body!

A good portion of July I was feeling sick, tired or just plain BLAH (for lack of a better word). I kept putting off any kind of Doctor visit, because I thought I was fine, or felt better after a little while. Then it would come back. Then last weekend, my health went into a downward spiral and my husband rushed me to the ER.
To make a long story short I spent 3 days in the hospital and had 5 blood transfusions. It was awful and I still have a lot of follow up to do. I wasn't expecting to be seriously ill.
As woman we usually think what ever is wrong with us is something to do with our womanly parts, or when it goes away we don't think about it. NOW I know better and will not ignore how I am feeling ever again. Word of advise from me- LISTEN TO YOUR BODY!

I didn't make any goals for August- YET- but I am working on them tonight.

Happy Birthday Nana!

This is a very old picture of my Nana (Madeline).
She passed around 10 years ago, but she was someone very important to me. She was the woman who ran this family and I think she still does from the grave. My mom and grandma will often look up and say in a joking tone "Nana,. you see this!" She had 8 children and many grandchildren. I loved spending time with her, and got to spend a lot of it while my mom (a single mother) would work. One of my fondest memories would be when I would sleep over she would have breakfast ready for me in the morning. She would fill a bowl with cereal and cut an orange in half. She would wrap them in saran wrap and leave a note with my name on it. Then in the fridge would be a glass of milk with saran wrap for the cereal. I wouldn't wake her up for breakfast that way and it was always ready.. she did this all the way until she was committed to a nursing home. It was special to me, even though it was something so simple.
Today she would have been 102 years old. I Miss you, Nana! Thanks for always looking out for our family! If I could be half the Mother and Wife she was I would be great full.

July Goals - Recap

1. Read 3 Books
I finished- The Great Gatsby, Promises to Keep. You can read about it here http://kimsbookblog614.blogspot.com/ I am in the middle of reading a third.

2. Make and Stick to budget and spending plan!
Did this and was happy with paying down what I could this month.

3. Cook from Pantry / Freezer
CHECK! Wahoo what a way to clean up the closet and fridge!

4. Donate (time/money/knowledge)
Can not say I did this at all this month- FAIL

5. Be more healthy
I apparently I could have done a lot better

6. Print new pics for living room frames
I made some choices... but did not complete.

7. Make a recipe binder for magazine articles and print outs
Done!! I love it!! I am so happy I took on this task!

It's all Gravy Baby!

I had a great weekend. What made it great was spending some quality time with my Mom in the Kitchen on Sunday. I learned to make her Gravy. Now I am not talking about the brown stuff you put on your beef, I mean Italian Sauce.
My Mom has always made great meals but I love her Gravy and love when she would send me home with a Tupperware full of it with sausage and meatballs. I felt like it was my turn to learn and asked her to show me next time she was making it. There is NO recipe for it, I think it is more of a process or art form. It calls for "about this much chopped onion and garlic", "a handful of...." "a little bit of...." (You get the idea).
I managed to immediately cut myself opening a can of crushed tomatoes. Which then Mom said "Watch the sauce!" LOL. We made sausages and also meatballs during that time to add to the pot.
All in all I spent 5 hours at the house making it and letting it simmer on the stove. The commute home with my HUGE pot of Gravy was rough! Now Greg and I have so much sauce that we are freezing it and planning meals around it. Here was Sunday nights dinner: Fresh ravioli's from the Farmers Market with sausage and meatballs.

Great Buys!

I love a great deal at the supermarket! Who doesn't? I managed to get a few great deals today from in store coupons from the meat department. At my local Stop & Shop they put stickers on the meats that are close to the "sell by" dates. Today I found 4 different meats with $2.00 off each package! what a bargain!

I picked up Meatloaf Mix. The picture is Paula Deen's recipe from Food Network. I haven't tried her recipe only my mom's boring one- (Sshhhhh don't tell her I said that).

Also after being inspired by an article in Food Network Magazine, I purchased Ground Lamb. I really would like to make a Greek burger like the one below.

Also purchased today was Chicken Wings (which I have never made at home before) and Ground Turkey.

Summer Fun

It is almost the middle of July and I have had a great month so far. I wanted to share some pictures from my weekend(s).
4th of July weekend, my Hubby and I were both off on Friday so we took a drive all the way to Montauk and back. We stopped at the Lobster Roll. It is also known as "Lunch" for some seafood. We took our time driving through and walking around Southampton, East Hampton and doing a wine tasting at Duck Walk. We left there with 2bottles of wine. Saturday we went to a backyard party for our friend engagement. It was a HOT day. But it was fantastic seeing their excitement and hanging out with all of our friends. Sunday I was able to spend lazy by the pool with my friend Kathy. Greg had to work but was in time to watch fireworks that night.

This past weekend we went to Tara's in Port Jefferson for Happy Hour Friday night. They have almost like a lotto pull tab where you pick a number to see if your drink will be whole price, half price, or 10 cents! I was able to get all of my drinks at half price (SCORE!). Saturday we went to Croxleys in Farmingdale for 20 cent wings and then some relaxing from the rainy day we had here.

July's Goals

1. Read 3 books
2. Make and Stick to budget and spending plan!
3. Cook from Pantry / Freezer
4. Donate (time/money/knowledge)
5. Be more healthy
6. Print new pics for living room frames
7. Make a recipe binder for magazine articles and print outs

Decided that for July I would make some simple goals and make them count!