blue artichoke

All my routines are falling apart!
We didn't have our Wandering Gullet meal last night because I underestimated how long it would take the frozen chicken to thaw and, thus, was unable to marinate it as instructed. We might have it tonight, but more likely tomorrow night when GC doesn't have extracurricular activities that postpone dinner.

Also, I went waaay ($20) over budget this week at the grocery store. Living on $50/week is really difficult. The first two weeks weren't bad, because GC missed dinner 2-3 nights/week because of after-work activities. It also helped that I had a freezer full of leftovers and frozen chicken parts. Shopping has been much less enjoyable because there's just no room for spontaneity. Artichokes look really good? Too bad, they aren't on the list. Blueberries are in season! No room in the budget. Sale on brats? No grilling out this week because I can't add to the meal plan. In addition, I've missed out on some social get-togethers that involve meeting up with friends for lunch or dinner. This sucks.

What sent me over the limit this week, though, was GC's move to summer hours at work. He'll need to take lunch to work and keep snacks there, so I needed to stock up on pretzels, nuts, Lean Pockets and sandwich fixin's in addition to my regular weekly food items. These are necessary items and I cut back on non-necessity fresh produce to compensate, but it just wasn't enough to stay on budget.

It seems that I'm not the only one inspired by the Oregon governor's food stamp budget; Rebecca is trying to eat organic on a food stamp budget. She's not attempting the strict $21/week budget that the governor tried (for one week), rather she's using the USDA's Thrifty Food Plan budget of $74/week. She's having an easier time than we are; an extra $14/week would go pretty far, considering GC and I don't eat only organic foods and aren't opposed to generic or store brands. I'll have to really tighten the purse strings for the next two weeks, to compensate for this week's extravagances.

I'll be glad when this is over.

Getting to Know All about You: What was your last impulse buy?