Long Awaited Photo of Stinker

This is my new pet - Stinker. Isn't she cute? Actually, she is much cuter in person.

The animal kingdom/survival of the nicest

Woo-hoo!! It's Friday.

For the most part this has been a very good week. Monday afternoon I got to go to a spa (massage and pedicure) and to a very nice Italian dinner courtesy of an attorney firm from Chicago. How cool is that?

Tuesday I was in a seminar in Indy ::yawn:: learning about Michigan mini-tort law and PIP.

Those were the good things. Here are the not-so-good things in a nutshell: Sunday night my rat bit me. I was very unhappy. It hurt like hell. Well, maybe not like hell, but really, really bad. So, I fed him to my snake. I've noticed all the other animals are behaving very well since then. Tuesday night I went to Bible study. I was tired. I wasn't prepared. I was hormonal. Someone disagreed with me on a point and you would have thought she killed my first born the way I reacted. Wanna hear my thoughts? "Man I don't like you. Why do you have to be so stubborn and hateful? I'm never talking to you again. I won't even LOOK at you. You are MEAN. You are SOOO opinionated. I wonder if my snake can eat you?" I learned many things from these two nights. I lash out when I'm hurt and angry and want to punish the thing/person that hurt me. I have the capacity to harm others, and to hold a grudge. I need to get over myself. Anyhow, I'm back to normal now - ie less hormonal. I once again like the person who disagreed with me, and I feel kinda bad for feeding the rat to the snake. That IS what he was purchased for, but still.

Pantry update. Have I gone to the grocery store? Yes, but only for milk, ice cream and french fry type stuff. After 2 weeks is my cupboard significantly more bare? No. Pizza. Pizza. Pizza. Chicken and FF x2. Oh. And ice cream. ;) I'm still living for the goal... more next week.

Pantry Status

Well, it's been almost a week now in the Quest to Not go to the Grocery Store. I went to the grocery store for milk and lettuce, and a can of fruit cocktail for my skunk. I did buy some round steak so I could can some beef, but only because it was a low price.

It hasn't been a huge challenge this week because my friend Debbie gave me some cabbage rolls and mashed potatoes that her mom made, and that was a meal, and I had left over Dirty Rice one day, and left over curry one day. And last night we had a company dinner. Two nights we had cheddar brats & mac & cheese. Sarah at a couple of the pizzas. Successful week one!

NEW IDEA!

OK. I have decided I am going to see how long I can cook from the stuff I already have in my cupboard without going to the store. (Except for fresh veggies & fruits, pop, milk and, of course, ice cream).

Today I made Chicken Curry for lunch, with enough left over for 2-3 lunches.

For supper we are having brats & mac & cheese.

Day One, no store.

cje

New Addition, Answers to Prayer, Food

PET ALERT!!

I have a wonderful new addition to my menagerie. She's a beautiful skunk (yes, skunk). She's black and white and her stripe starts on the top of her head, splits and goes down each side of her back and joins at her tail. I'll try to get a photo posted soon. Right now my computer is "indisposed" and is at the computer spa. Hopefully I'll get it back this week and I'll post a photo of Stinker. She's kind of like a cat - aloof, about her own business, but loves to be petted and held (on her terms, of course). Lest you worry, she's descented, spayed and litter box trained.

At my small group last week, I was bemoaning the fact that my computer internet connection wasn't working AND my PDA died. I'm not sure which is worse. I'm dependent on both of them now. So, we prayed about it in my group, and we all sort of chuckled about it. BUT...God answers even the small prayers. When my sister found out my PDA died, she gave me Mike's unused one. He has a different PDA/Cell phone combo now, and doesn't use his Palm. I got it in the mail yesterday! And it uses the same operating system that my old one did, so I should be able to sync it up to my computer and download all the stuff I have in there already from the old one. Is that COOL or what? Teresa is the best! (Thank you, too, Mike for giving up your old toy...) On the computer front, I called my internet provider again and I think they finially decided I'm not going to go away. They told me to bring the computer in and they'll look at it for free. Woo-hoo! I realize that doesn't mean I won't have to put money into it, but maybe it will be something easy. Finally, I have been praying for a car for Sarah. We found one! The cost was - are you ready? -$250! I have to put about $400 into it for a tune up and some minor repairs. I think Jon is going to help out with that part. THANK YOU GOD for being so faithful and loving, in big AND small matters.

Food. What is it with food? Man. I always feel like I'm going to run out, and I'm always buying stuff I don't need at the moment. So, yesterday when I was playing with my new PDA (see above), I decided to take inventory of my cabinets & freezer to see what I have on hand and see what I may need from the store. I'm amazed at what I have. I have enough food to make meals for an ENTIRE MONTH without going to the grocery store except for milk, butter, pop and fresh veggies. Is that totally unreal or what? I'm going to see if I can do just that. Sarah may not be happy about it but she'll live.

I started allergy shots this week. What a pain. 3 shots at least once a week, and I can go in more often if I want. I think there's 38 rounds of shots before we hit "maintenance" levels and then I go a few more months with maintenance shots and I should have significantly reduced allergies. Then, perhaps, no more allergy medication will be necessary. (Monthly savings, $40.00). I have a new goal. I want to see if I can reduce my meds down to just synthroid. That means I have to lose weight, eat better and learn to relax. It's a GOAL.

Until next time...

cje