I'm Pretty sure I have ADD, and may be a little manic. . .

So, originally I was going to blog about the disturbance in the force that occurs whenever my ex-husband leaves his garage in Greenbay and starts driving to Oklahoma. Then, I acquired a family of skunks under my house , and thought "Hey, I will blog about that ! " Skunks are way more fun than boring peices about people you have been divorced from for FOREVER. But then something else happened , and I decided that it took the friggin' cake,and MUST be blogged about RIGHT NOW  !  ( I probably have ADD and may actually be in the throes of some sort of manic episode right now, but seriously, quit diagnosing me and just fucking read will you dammit ?)



I know it's barely August. But Bill and I are planners, so we already started planning the holidays last month. We decided it would make more sense to just decide on something we would both enjoy and get use out of and get that ( because really, just how many tacky reindeer sweaters does one person really need anyway ?) since we need to go shopping for each other / ourselves like we need a hole in the head . Having made the decision to start eating less processed food and more whole foods and homemade foods , we felt like whatever it was should in some way work with that goal.  After careful thought and consideration, we decided to do our personal ChristmaHannuKwanzika shopping at Bed, Bath and beyond.

We narrowed it down to a few items that would increase the efficiency of our kitchen , as well as the level of healthy and economic in our kitchen dramatically. We spent hours comparing similar items and prices on their website  , and deciding which one we thought would last the longest , but was still reasonably priced and me being the deranged little special monkey that I am could operate without losing an appendage. Then we decided that we would rather drive to the city and actually get to touch the stuff first instead of ordering it over the internet ( we're weird like that ) . So today, after Wednesday went to her fathers for the week, we decided to go . We know the holidays aren't here yet, but we were also anxious to start using the stuff , lol ! so there !

We came prepared to spend a horrid amount of money ( knowing that eventually it would pay for itself in savings). And we were pleasantly surprised to discover that the "In-Store" prices , were FAR lower than the internet prices ! We got everything on our list (except bread pans and a spatula, we forgot those, lol ! ) and a few extra little goodies , and still came out at LESS than HALF  what we had gone in willing to pay . Afterwards we went to Sam's , for one of our epic " stock up so we can avoid doing this again for another 3-6 months" trips, AND WE STILL HADN'T SPENT THE SURPLUS THAT WAS LEFTOVER IN OUR BUDGET ! Saving money makes me as happy as a friggin lark I tell you ! I was sunshine , lollipops, AND rainbows when we left that parking lot !

So not only did we have everything on our list, ( and a few extras)  at BOTH places, we STILL had enough room in the budget for TWO of the deep freezers we have been wanting to get ! We were both on cloud nine ! Very pleased with the days work ! ( we are still only getting ONE deep freeze though)

Kitchen Aide stand mixer , internet price $599.00, in-store $399.00
Cast iron Enameled dutch oven cassarole dish , internet $179.00, in-store , $99.00
Cast Iron Skillet, internet $89.99, in-store, $19.99
Emerilware 12 quart stainless steel stock-pot , internet $129.99, in-store $51.99
Kitchen Aide Pasta maker attatchments , internet $499.99, in-store, $199.99

That's about $600 in savings right there !

And it just went on and on !

The deep freeze we want is only $150.00 at Lowes.

We are golden .
And honestly , the suckers will have paid for themselves, maybe more than in a year .

Here's the numbers:
our current monthly spending ;
Bread $32.00/month
Pasta $15.00-$20.00/month
Sweets $35.00 a month
convenience foods ( tv dinners etc) $50.00/month
Fast-food/take-out $150.00-$200.00 / month

If I start making things from scratch and freezing them ahead of time , here are some new numbers :
bread ingredients $6.50 = 2+months of bread . Savings $24.50
Pasta ingredients $2.00= 1 month of pasta. Savings $13-$18.00

Are you getting the picture ?

Sweets , I consider everything from pillsbury cinnamon rolls , to cookie dough to cake and brownies etc .  Convenience foods are things like stouffers lasagna .

Wednesday starts Kindergarten next week. I have to stay with Bill, but we need things to fill our days . I see no reason why we shouldn't fill them making healthier AND less expensive meals together . It just makes Cents ! :-)

When we got home today , it was all I could do to wait to un-case that kitchen aide. I made myself put away the groceries and everything else and save it for  last . When it was finally time, I took it out of the box like an archaelolgist who just found the ark of the covenant, and sat it on the counter like a 16 year old parking a new sports car. It was electric blue , WITH SPARKLES !  It friggin sparkles ! I was so elated , I just had to bake something right then ! So I made the best peanut butter cookies EVER ( with hand churned Amish butter ) because that was the first recipe in the kitchen aide book that I had all the ingredients for so I wouldn't have to go to the store !

Once you go homemade, you never go back ! There is no friggin way I can eat any other cookie now . Imust cook ! I must cook all the time ! The mixer compels me to !

I think I may be posessed . . .