The Happy Homemaker

I waited until Wednesday to go grocery shopping because I was having post IUD removal bleeding and hormonal changes. Tuesday I threw up because I had a terrible hormonal headache and took Tylenol to relieve it. Of course then I threw up the Tylenol soon after. I had physical therapy Tuesday morning. Because of my condition I primarily had massage and heat therapy, exactly what I needed. I spent about $20 on eating out. It was either that or starve. We ate leftovers for dinner though I did cook some rice in the rice cooker and I made some split pea and ham soup from the bag mix. I am trying to use some of my food storage.

I feel better overall. I don’t wake up in pain and I am able to wake up even at 6AM. Before I could not wake up. I dragged all day no matter how much sleep I had the night before. I feel like I have more energy now. I woke up at 6AM the past couple of days though today I went back to sleep.

I finally felt ready to go to the grocery store. I went to the new Wegman’s in Woodbridge. Wegman’s prices are ok, but they have so many other tempting items like cheese from Europe and Indian food bars. I did buy a couple of gourmet and health food bars. I also bought a small cheesecake for my birthday and a couple of gifts for someone. So I bought a few extra items and still my bill was the average for myself. I spent $145.

I didn’t buy a lot of meat because I stock up on meat once a month at the Army base. I have to buy two kinds of milk and I bought some cleaning products. I splurged on French butter and imported sausage. Still $145 for 5 people isn’t too bad and below the $185 average for a family of four.

I will try the $100 challenge in two weeks when I go grocery shopping next. I still feel like I am cheating since I have built up a food storage that I can use that if I run out of certain items. Keeping a food storage in the long run does lower your food bill. I have a freezer full of meat and frozen vegetables and a shelf full of beans, over 30 pounds of rice, a box of flour, sugar, and honey, and a shelf of canned meat and powdered milk. So when my budget is tight I can eat from my food storage. If I am too ill to make it to a grocery store I have plenty of food to keep us going. I spent $25 this week eating out. I think I will be under budget this week for food. I hope to do better in a couple of weeks.