Thankful

Each year we have so much to be thankful for....my number #1 this year is this guy:

What a mess he is...and I love him to death for it!

I love Thanksgiving. I really do. But I'm one of those people who have a bad tendency to skip over it and head straight for Christmas. My tree might or might not already be up :). I found this little Q & A at Blue Eyed Bride's blog, so here goes!
1. Do you eat stuffing or dressing? Dressing. And my parent's dressing is Oh.So.Yummy.
2. Did you ever dress up as a pilgrim at school? I think so
3. What is your favorite dish at Thanksgiving? Definitely the dressing. I also love the mashed potatoes and squash casserole. Carb overload!
4. Are you all about the turkey or all about the sides? Definitely the sides!
5. Do you have pumpkin pie at your house? Do you eat it? No, we don't have pumpkin pie. Maybe I should make one??? My grandmother actually always made sweet potato pie and told me it was pumpkin pie...she knew I wouldn't eat it if I knew it was sweet potato! I think I was like 15 before she told me the truth :)
6. Do you watch the Macy's Thanksgiving parade while cooking? We love to get up and watch it! I'm excited to see if Will is into it this year.
7. What other traditions do you associate with Thanksgiving? We travel each year, so it's never a laid back holiday. Even more stressful when adding a kid to the mix. We alternate between Nashville (the hub's family) and Georgia (my sister's family). Maybe one day we will actually be home for the holidays!

Feel free to add these questions to your blog! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

Meal Planning

I've tried to do better at meal planning...one look at my monthly Target bill and it's overwhelming. So I'm coming up with new ways to save money, other than just using coupons. Which leads to meal planning. I'm going to try super duper hard not to go to the store more than once a week. So on this week's menu:

Monday - Chili (yummy and we have leftovers for lunch!)
Tuesday - Chicken Tettrazini (chicken is already in the crock pot and should have leftovers for lunch tomorrow!)
Wednesday - Meatloaf wtih roasted potatoes and green beans
Thursday - Rotel Chicken Burritos

I make an attempt to cook throughout the week. I try to cook enough for us to take leftovers for lunch. Weekends usually consist of a visit to the local mexican restaurant on Friday, some sort of cooking out/hanging out with friends on Saturday, and Sunday is casual...talking about soup, sandwiches, leftovers, etc.

Another thing I've tried really hard to focus on is using coupons. My favorite site is The Krazy Coupon Lady. She has tons of coupons listed, all you do is print them out. I make a grocery list in Excel, pair up with what's on sale (I do most of my shopping at Target. Publix is wayyyyy too expensive compared to Target), then list what coupons I have. A lot of times Market Pantry or Archer Farms products are cheaper than name brands, even with a coupon, and Target's brand products are really good!!!! This week I saved $25 in coupons alone!

So please share your secret to meal planning/couponing, etc. with me....I'm always looking for ways to save some extra $$$$$ !