Hail Attacks!

Hubby and baby and I came home last night to find our yard decimated by hail.

While we had been in Nebraska enjoying time with family for our niece’s graduation, a hail storm came through at 5 a.m. Saturday and ripped through our garden, siding, window well covers and anything else that got in its way.

If you look closely, you can see the pitted ground where the hail hit so hard it left imprints.

This was a beautiful tomato plant that began its life in a greenhouse. It was unprepared for Kansas.

As you can see, our window well cover was shredded, leaving chunks of plastic for yards all around it.

Not a fun way to come back from a trip, to say the least. And, we don’t look forward to shelling out more of our emergency fund to pay our insurance deductible.

But, as we sat down to eat dinner last night, we flipped on the TV. It happened to be on the Weather Channel where the newscasters were discussing the recent tornado that hit Oklahoma, killing at least ten people. It’s hard not to be grateful about hail when it could have been a tornado. Though the side of our house resembles Swiss cheese, at least we have a house to come back to.

Store Report — May 20th

Here’s what I bought this week with my favorite deals in bold. I bought a lot of meat and cheese at the commissary last week, so our grocery budget is a little tight for the rest of the month…good thing I have a stockpile!

I ran into a nice older lady at the store who gave me a whole book of baby coupons Dillons had sent her. She doesn’t have any babies so she brought the book to the store to give to someone with a baby–like me! Sometimes, people are just so nice around here.

Pantene shampoo and conditioner — $1.89 ea on manager’s special less $2/2 coupon = $.89 ea

Hamburger buns — $1.00 on sale (stocking up on these for my niece’s graduation)

Comforts diapers — $6.99 (regular price) less $1.00 automatic coupon less $1.50 coupon = $4.50

Comforts baby wash — $1.89 less $1.00 coupon (found in store) = $.89

Carrots — $.99

Ella’s baby food pouch — $1.39 on sale less $.40 coupon (doubles to $.80) = $.59

Total Value (not including manager’s special): $23.62

Spent: $15.94 plus tax

Saved: $7.68 (33%)

Menus for the Week of May 20th

Here’s what my family will be eating next week:

Tuesday: BBQ chicken, stuffing, veggies

Wednesday: cheeseburger macaroni, veggies

Thursday: wild rice casserole, veggies, chocolate chip cookies

Friday: pizza

Saturday: (B) pancakes, bacon; (L) dirty rice, veggies; (D) smoked venison roast, veggies, cupcakes

Sunday: (B) sausage, eggs, fruit; (L) leftovers; (D) grilled hamburgers, oven fries, veggies

My menus are linked up at www.orgjunkie.com.

Do you have menu plans for the week? Post them in the comments…

Spend It Wisely: Clotheslines

That’s my new clothesline up there. Isn’t it lovely?

There’s just something wonderfully old-fashioned about a line full of clothes drying in the summer sunshine, and I’m so pleased to have one here at our new house.

Drying our laundry on a line saves us the cost of electricity to run our dryer and the expense of cooling our house while a dryer is heating up the laundry room. Plus, the less we run our dryer, the longer it should last.

Unlike most of my money-saving posts, I don’t have any hard numbers to show how much we save each year by line-drying clothes. Unfortunately, I don’t own the equipment to actually test how much electricity my dryer uses. However, it just makes sense to me that this saves electricity, gets me and the baby outside to enjoy the sunshine and gives our clothes a chance to breathe. (Sometimes, his cloth diapers need to breathe!)

And the best part about line-drying clothes? The smell! It’s like bringing a bit of summer into your closet, and it smells good longer than any dryer sheets I’ve ever found.

If you’ve never tried drying clothes on an outside line, give it a chance. Make sure to smell your clothes when you bring them back inside!

League of Kansas Municipalities Conference

Over the weekend, I had the privilege to attend the League of Kansas Municipalities’ Governing Bodies Institute, a training session for new city officials from cities across Kansas. I had a great time soaking up new information about how city government works in my new state.

I know, I’m a nerd.

But, I enjoy learning, and one thing the Air Force taught me was to recognize and appreciate the different ways of life in different places. This conference helped me understand the struggles that little cities (like mine) all around Kansas deal with on a regular basis.

For example, officials I met from one city in south-central Kansas told me about the struggles they were having keeping their pool open since it consistently loses money from year-to-year. Where I used to live in South Dakota, this likely would not have been a problem since the bathing suit season was rather short. Here, it can be a hot topic. They asked me if my little town has a swimming pool and I laughed.

There were presentations from various lawyers and league directors about everything from open meetings rules to random drug testing of employees. I told my husband during the conference that I felt like my mind was expanding with my new knowledge–where it sometimes feels like it is atrophying from so much time spent out of my former challenging workplace.

This conference was an encouragement to me to keep consistently challenging myself with new experiences and opportunities to learn. I have a new state to discover and new roles to fill as a councilmember, mother, writer and homemaker! Yes, some days those roles are overwhelming and the idea of a new challenge just sounds ridiculous, but a little kick in the pants like this conference helps get me back into the right frame of mind.

I want my son to challenge himself and learn as much as his mind can hold, so why not make sure I do it myself?

Store Report — May 13th

Here’s what I bought this week with my favorite deals in bold. Dillons’ current sale goes through Tuesday, so hurry to the store if you want to get any of these deals!

Pantene shampoo and conditioner — $2.09 ea when you buy 4 participating items less $2/2 coupon or $3/2 coupon = $.59-$1.09 ea

Frozen edamame — $1.49 ea on Manager’s Special

Bananas — $.54/lb (regular price)

French’s mustard — $1.25 on sale less $.50 coupon (doubles to $1.00) = $.25 ea

Hamburger buns — $1.00 on sale

Sargento shredded cheese — $1.60 on closeout

Kroger shredded cheese — $1.04 on closeout

Frosting flavoring packet — $.99 (regular price) less free coupon = FREE

Pineapple — $.99 on sale

Muller yogurt — $.80 ea less $1.00 off 2 coupon = $.30 ea

Mini bagels — $1.29 on Manager’s Special

Total Value (not including manager’s special, clearance and closeout discounts): $46.70

Spent: $21.88 plus tax

Saved: $24.82 (53%)

My favorite thing I bought this week: pineapple! Seriously, is there anything yummier than a fresh slice of ripe pineapple?

Menus for the Week of May 13th

Here’s what my family will be eating next week:

Monday: steak stir fry, rice

Tuesday: crock pot buffalo ranch chicken, boxed potatoes or stuffing, veggie

Wednesday: broccoli chicken skillet

Thursday: grilled bratwurst, spaetzle and cheese, veggies

Friday-Sunday: Graduation weekend for our niece

My menus are linked up at www.orgjunkie.com.

Do you have menu plans for the week? Post them in the comments…