Monthly Meal Planning

Editable Monthly Menu Planner from "No Ordinary Moments Blog" here: 

It's been a few years since I've had to plan a menu for more then myself. With Jason moving back home, I decided it was time to get back into the groove of menu planning on a budget.

I had to go to the grocery store and stock up on staples yesterday (I was almost out of flour). Before I made my list and went to the store, I made a menu for the month. I did the majority of shopping for everything on this list and hope I don't have to do another major shopping for another month. We will have to pick up milk and perishables like fruit and vegetables, but that should only be small purchases.

I really hate shopping! I find I spend less if I do a major purchase once a month and try to go as long as I can before I have to step foot into a store again. It saves me money. 

I've planned the basic things we usually cook. I need to start checking my Pinterest Recipes and change up our menu next month. 

I loved the printable and EDITABLE menu above from No Ordinary Moments. 

I loved planning for the whole month.

I didn't add breakfast, lunch or snacks to the menu because that doesn't need much thought. 

Breakfast Choices:

Cereal

Eggs, Bacon, Toast

Pancakes

Waffles

Biscuits and Gravy

Oatmeal with fruit

Lunch:

Leftovers

Sandwiches

Soup

Salad

Snacks

Homemade Cookies

Chips

Fruit

Popcorn

Ice Cream

It's nice to cook for more then one person. Plus, this let's Jason know what we are eating. I really want him to quit eating fast food, out to eat or going to the store multiple times a week. 

It's better to be frugal and help him get back on his feet. The goal is to get him into a place of his own  again by keeping to a budget and planning for the future. 

Brady's Zelda Navi Oreo Pops - Nerdy Nummies

Brady is making Nerdy Nummies again!!! I sure love his creativity!

Legend of Zelda Navi Oreos Pops!

Brady said: Can I just say that I hate working with melted chocolate. 
The wings kept breaking and making me sad, but we learn.

Some Facebook Comments:

Connor S: Next thing you know you'll be on one of those TV shows on food network where they make chocolate art competitively.

Brady: I'd rather die than being filmed on national television working with liquid chocolate.

Taylor S: Ahh I saw those on Rosanna Pansino YouTube site and they are so cute!!

Brady: Yup! I didn't do mine out of vanilla wafers though, I did the Baymax oreo idea combined with the Navi one.

Do You Wanna Build a Fire?

My order of 2 cords of firewood was delivered yesterday. I ordered it from someone off of Craig's List. I requested that it needed to be delivered on a Saturday so that I could get it stacked and put away on my day off. 

 After they put off the delivery week after week I was a little afraid it was a scam and I would end up without any firewood. I was understanding and nice on the phone each time he called to cancel the delivery. 

When he called on Sunday letting me know my order would be delivered Monday I scrambled to arrange my work schedule. There was no way I was going to refuse the delivery after worrying about it being a scam and not getting firewood for the winter. 

I didn't get any firewood last year and used up all the remaining firewood I had. I really needed this delivery.

He arrived at 6:45 am Monday morning. I requested that he dump the firewood in the alley behind my house where my garage is located and where I park my cars. Usually I have had it dumped in the front of my house so that it didn't block the alley.

The last time I had a delivery of firewood in the front of my house, the truck broke my curbing along my flower bed. I wasn't going to risk that again and decided I would just block the alley.

Paul, the firewood delivery man was kind enough to unload the firewood out of his truck and trailer by throwing it into the driveway and didn't block the alley. That was really kind of him and it made me relax about blocking the alley.

I loved having the firewood right by the garage. It was a lot easier and less labor intensive to have it delivered there!

 It was nice that Jason was here to help me stack the firewood. I ordered a hardwood instead of pine - which is suppose to burn and last longer. 

Here is the first row of firewood in my garage getting started.

The second row and starting on the 3 row. In order to fit the wood in my garage, it needed to be stacked to the ceiling. 

I ended up with about 20 stumps of big wood that will need to be chopped into smaller usable pieces. Because it is hardwood, it doesn't chop easily. You can see Jason outside the garage chopping some down. We didn't get very many chopped down to size because it is really really hard to split this hardwood. I may just have to throw those big pieces away.

Over all the firewood is beautiful! We were able to get it stacked and put away before it started to rain Monday. 

Now, I'm ready to build a nice cozy fire!

Royce Family - A Circle of an Eternal Bond

 Maze was born and returned to heaven on September 13, 2015

My sweet niece Robyn into her pregnancy with this sweet little boy. However, he will not survive a life here on earth.

On August 14, 2015 Robyn posted this on facebook:

Jason and I are expecting baby #6. On June 17th we had our ultrasound and found out 2 things:

Our baby is a BOY but he also has a long list of complications.

8 weeks ago today we met with a specialist and they confirmed our biggest fear - our little guy will not be able to survive on his own. 

We were told that because of his condition he could pass away anytime. 

Right now I'm over 29 weeks and our little guy is still hanging on. We are completely heartbroken by htis tragic situation. It is often times more than I can handle but, we draw strength from our faith and from the many prayers being offered on our behalf. We appreciate all of your love and prayers.

Vikki Marie Wiessner did a photo shoot of the family - A Circle of an Eternal Bond

Vikki is a photographer at CTR Image Photography

Robyn's mom Cindy said: These pictures are absolutely beautiful. How blessed you are to have someone so in tune with heaven to capture such a sacred bond. I love you and pray for you every day. 

  "Heaven will never leave you unattended during a time when your own power isn't enough.
 Angels will attend you, surround you, uplift and carry you.
You won't be the same when you look back ... you weren't meant to."
Vikki Marie

 "There is a sacredness in tears.

They are not the mark of weakness, but of power.

They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues.

They are messengers of overwhelming grief.... 

..... and unspeakable love."

Washington Irving

 "The bonds of families are not only for this life,
for we are made of the stuff of eternity.

He will be your guiding star,
your focus to make all choices by.

You and your family are in our prayers."

 Family ... truly beautiful and captured so eloquently in this shot. Prayers for that unborn baby .. no matter what lies ahead, that baby has so much support even before it comes into this world as evidence in this picture. 

Robyn and Jason, Halle, Jayden, Colt, Bristol and Kaylor .. words can't say the dept of my sorrow for your family on having to return your sweet angel, Maze back home to Heavenly Father until you can be reunited again. I understand that Maze lived for 10 minutes while Jason blessed him and gave him his name. What a blessing to have that time with him. I love all the pictures Vikki Marie Wiessner captured of this moment of your eternity and a way to always remember him. 4 lbs 2 oz. I'm also terribly sorry for the difficult labor and c-section you had to endure to bring him into the world. May your family be comforted and know that you are loved. Aunt Sondra

This picture of Jason holding Maze moved me like nothing else.

 Colt and Maze. He is the big brother.

 Our lives are the only

meaningful expression 

of what we believe

and in Whom we believe.

And the only real wealth, for any of us, lies in our faith.

...Gordon B Hinckley 

 He belongs with them.

Even though he will be working and living across the veil while they sojourn here on earth, we have the belief that families can be together forever.

The reunion will be nothing short of remarkable.

Love binds us forever....

...and a day.

Baby Maze Jason Royce

Sept. 13, 2015 - Sept. 13, 2015

Baby Maze Jason Royce was born on Sunday, September 13th.  He passed away peacefully in the arms of his mom and dad soon after.  Maze is survived by his parents, Jason and Robyn Royce; his 5 older siblings: Hallee (11), Jadyn (9), Colt (7),  Bristol (4), and Kaylor (2); his grandparents: Kelly and Cindy Jensen (Pocatello), Randall and Dawn Robertson, and Virgil Royce; aunts and uncles: Shane and Kim Royce, Travis and Mindy Royce, Chad Royce, Dan and Chandi Wilde (St. George), Sylvan and Shannon Spence, Brent and Natalie Leavitt, Marc and Kelsey Bybee, Devin and Cortney Limb, Jordan and Allyson Robertson (Provo), Brandon and Zoey Jolley (Pocatello), Brian and Tracy Atkinson (Pocatello),  Jason and Laura Peterson (Provo); and many, many cousins who love him.  

Maze will be remembered at a service for family and friends on Saturday, September 19th at 1:00 pm at the LDS chapel located at 18463 Northside Blvd in Nampa.  He will be buried at Hillcrest Cemetery immediately following.  We love you Maze and find comfort in knowing that Families are Forever.

Never Forget 9-11

It seems like only a few years ago when terrorists in airplanes started a war with United States of America. But, it's been 14 years - which means children graduating from high school don't remember this huge event.

It is something I will never forget. I will never forget the images of devastation. I will never forget watching those buildings fall to the ground.  

The attacks of September 11, 2001, marked it the worst terrorist attack in world history and the deadliest foreign act of destruction to life and property on American soil since the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941

At 8:46 a.m., five hijackers crashed American Airlines Flight 11 into the northern facade of the World Trade Center's North Tower (1 WTC), and at 9:03 a.m., another five hijackers crashed United Airlines Flight 175 into the southern facade of the South Tower (2 WTC). 

Five hijackers flew American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m.

A fourth flight, United Airlines Flight 93, under the control of four hijackers, crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh, at 10:03 a.m. after the passengers fought the hijackers. Flight 93's target is believed to have been either the Capitol or the White House. Flight 93's cockpit voice recorder revealed crew and passengers tried to seize control of the plane from the hijackers after learning through phone calls that Flights 11, 77, and 175 had been crashed into buildings that morning. Once it became evident to the hijackers that the passengers might regain control of the plane, the hijackers rolled the plane and intentionally crashed it.

Three buildings in the World Trade Center collapsed due to fire-induced structural failure. The South Tower collapsed at 9:59 a.m. after burning for 56 minutes in a fire caused by the impact of United Airlines Flight 175 and the explosion of its fuel. The North Tower collapsed at 10:28 a.m. after burning for 102 minutes. When the North Tower collapsed, debris fell on the nearby 7 World Trade Center building (7 WTC), damaging it and starting fires. These fires burned for hours, compromising the building's structural integrity, and 7 WTC collapsed at 5:21 p.m. The west side of the Pentagon sustained significant damage.

Casualties

The attacks resulted in the deaths of 2,996 people, including the 19 hijackers.

In Arlington County, 125 Pentagon workers lost their lives when Flight 77 crashed into the western side of the building.

Weeks after the attack, the death toll was estimated to be over 6,000, more than twice the number of deaths eventually confirmed. The city was only able to identify remains for about 1,600 of the World Trade Center victims. The medical examiner's office collected "about 10,000 unidentified bone and tissue fragments that cannot be matched to the list of the dead".

I WILL NEVER FORGET

Koopa Shell Chocolate Cake Pops! - Nerdy Nummies

Brady made Mario Kart 8 Koopa Shell Cake Pops. He really enjoys making nerdy themed goodies and decorating them. 

He made them for a date, but unfortunately got stood up. So very sad. But he was able to share them with his friends who were able to enjoy them instead. 

His motto is: "Chocolate is medicine and YouTube is Life!"

He has such a great attitude - instead of being depressed about getting stood up!

I'm always impressed that he is brave enough to try out these fun and creative food treats. He gets these ideas from Rosanna Pansino's Nerdy Nummies show. I've included her YouTube video below on how to make these cake pops. 

He made a chocolate cake. added a tub of frosting and made cake rounds. Then added a Popsicle stick and covered with white fondant.

Melted colored chocolate and dipped them. 

Then he piped on some chocolate and made them look like turtle shells. 

Well, not turtle shells but "Mario Kart 8 Koopa Shell Cake Pops"!!

I'm impressed! They turned out super cute. 

I love Brady's passion for life and doing all these fun things!!

Here is the YouTube video from Rosanna Pansino's Nerdy Nummies:

You can see Brady's other creations here: 

 Mario Piranha Cookies

"Nerdy Nummies Smart Cookies"

August Financial Wins!

You would think that becoming debt free last month, I would NOT be having financial woes in August. This month has brought on a lot of financial challenges. 

But first my August wins:

Blog Ad check was: $109.64

I added a new customer to my business and had 1 clean in August - extra income $100.

Swagbuck Money: 

Last month I cashed in $175 in Amazon gift card money. 

This month I also cashed in an additional: $78

Bringing my Amazon credit to: $253

I LOVE HAVING FREE MONEY!

My current balance is only 1513 which equals $15.13 in swagbuck money to start off September. 

A lot of my friends don't see the point of doing all this swagbuck work for pennies. For me, it's equivalent to someone addicted to a game on-line. However, this addiction to swagbucks is making me some money. You don't earn a lot of money daily, but it does add up, as you can see by my Amazon credit balance. 

I'd rather waste my time on-line doing something that makes pennies then making no money at all. It's easy, and I do it while I read books, while I check out facebook, while I blog, while I watch TV - I have something running on my laptop, iPod or computer that is earning me money.

Some of the ways I earn money is on Swagbucks is: 

Mobile videos 36 points per day

Games 10 points per day

Daily task: 4 points per day 

Stream newsy videos on my computer - 10 videos equals 3 points. I try to get around 100 points running this. 

nGage, I run while running videos and you get 2 or 3 points per segment. 

I do surveys sometimes, but I hardly ever get qualified to finish them - so I rarely spend any time doing that. 

Anyway, Swagbucks is usually running while I am home after work until I go to bed. It is a slow process, but it adds up. I fee like $78 from last months earning is totally worth the time I put in to running swagbucks. 

Now, on to the financial woes I had in August. 

Brady's tuition was an additional $1000 to the money I had budgeted. I did not expect the rise in tuition and the additional expense. That was a total bummer. We could have applied for a loan, but I really would like him to graduation without much debt. He is starting his senior year and his total debt so far on student loans is $2000. The sad part is that he won't graduate this year because he transferred from BYU to UofU his sophomore year and all of his Freshmen credits didn't transfer. 

Jason also cost me some money to get him out of trouble and help him out. The joys of being a parent *wink.

The really sad news is that Jason and Sharon's marriage is breaking apart. Jason has moved back home. With the trouble and helping him get new tires for his car so he could commute from my home to his work - I ended up helping him out with about $550. 

I'm glad that I didn't have debt going into this month so that I could help out my children. 

I did budget to get new front tires for my car $255 before all these other expenses came about. 

I also have an order for firewood which cost $500 for 2 cords which has been budgeted for and I have set that money aside.

But, without budgeting for the additional tuition cost and helping Jason - my financial reserve is really low right now. Lower then I've allowed it to dip for several years. It causes me some anxiety when I get that low. 

Hopefully September will be better for me financially as I am trying to save for a new roof. 

The good news is that I was NOT tempted to charge anything to my credit card and did not allow Brady to get a student loan. NO DEBT was accrued - so that makes me happy. This is why emergency funds are so important - Murphy's Law always pays a visit. 

I was able to meet all the financial surprises in August. Now I just move forward being frugal and building up my savings.

Being debt free was suppose to alleviate any financial pressure - but life happens. 

As long as I don't go into debt again, life is good!