Frugal Ponderings

I've been walking around for days now with half formed ideas and concepts in my head.

• I've been pondering over how to stretch out the food I have on hand and still keep it interesting. I mostly know what I have in the cupboards, but should I take the time to write it down and double check?
• I've been ruminating on making my own laundry detergent, dish soap, dryer sheets. 
• I'm thinking about what containers I have on hand that would work for making yogurt (see this post.) 
• And in keeping with the frugal theme, I've been mentally running through my coupons and the new grocery ads. 

The whole food planning thing would be so much easier if we knew where Husband was working next week. Right now all we know is that he'll be home Monday night; the rest of the week we have no idea and may not know until Monday. I've learned to do fine with Husband on the road; we've adjusted and it's our normal most of the time. What I struggle with is not knowing ahead of time. When he's working on a house 3 hours away from start to finish, I know he'll be gone for about 2 months. Not only do I know how to plan meals, but I can set doctor's appointments, make commitments visit people or provide snack for Bible Study, etc.. Right now I'm in limbo. MOPS and GAC (Moms of Preschoolers & God's Adventure Club) is Monday night which means I either have to arrange a ride or not go. I'm supposed to go to Bible Study on Wednesday but I don't know if I'll have wheels. I'm sure you get the idea.

Kiddlet came home from school yesterday with a class list in hand, determined to get her Valentines done. When we realized that we didn't have any left from last year, she decided to make them herself and she needed to start right now. I quickly cut up some Ruby Red cardstock for her and she spent the rest of the afternoon and into the evening writing names, signing them and writing Happy Valentine's Day on the front. She carefully picked out stickers from her Tinkerbell sticker page for each one, struggling to find the right stickers for the boys. Tonight she will be gluing on a little Cameo Coral heart to each one. I'll post pictures when they're done.

To wrap things up, tonight we're having turkey and rice soup and homemade breadsticks. I had a turkey frame and some turkey slices in the freezer and some veggies that are about to turn. This seemed like a good way to use them rather than let them go to waste.