You learn something new everyday. Meal Plans.

You learn something new everyday. Yesterday I learned that you do not go grocery shopping on the 1st of the month. That is when many people in Alaska get their "checks" or deposits or stamps from the state/government and can get food for the month.

Last night after dinner with Mike, I went to the gym and started the C25K again. Hopefully I can finish it this time. I really want to finish it before Thanksgiving.

Then went to the grocery store with my big list. I made a meal plan for the month of September Monday night and decided to go grocery shopping to get most everything for dinner for the month last night, plus lunch stuff for this week. Fred Meyers was a NUT HOUSE! They were out of fresh spinach, so I had to get frozen. (Actually made my green monster yummy and thicker.)

Any who back to the meal plan. I hate not knowing what is for dinner and having to come up with something every night so this month I made a plan for the whole month and got almost everything to make a month of dinners at the store last night. When I got home I assembled 4 dinners. 2 meals worth of a white chicken chili and 2 meal worth of chicken in Raspberry sauce both from the cook book "Don't panic, dinner's in the freezer : great-tasting meals you can make ahead," by Susie Martinez, that I got from the library.

Having a meal plan really helps to combat the going out to dinner. I am determined to only go out to dinner once this month, for our anniversary. Plus spending some money on food when we go to the "big" Alaska State Fair this weekend. It also helps to eat healthier. I have all the meals written on the calendar so I can make sure to take everything out of the freezer a day or 2 before. Some of the things on here twice I will only make once and the freeze 1/2 for the next time.

Here is what I have planned for the month:
1-chicken curry
2- chili
3-tuna casserole
4-hobo packs (camping)
5-fair food
6-marinated chicken (camping)
7-tostada salad
8-raspberry chicken
9-wild rice soup
10-pork chops
11-tater tot hot dish
12-enchiladas
13-manicotti
14-chili
15-salmon
16-hamburger
17-waffles and sausage
18-brats
19-chicken raspberry
20-anniversary
21-enchiladas
22-Manicotti
23- halibut
24-wild rice soup
25-eggs
26-bbq chicken pizza
27- spaghetti

BEAR

We saw a bear today! We decided to drive towards Girdwood today on Grandma R's last day in Alaska. And what would you know she FINALLY saw a bear, a GRIZZLY BEAR at that!! She still has not seen a moose, they have been hiding but we were soooo excited to see the Bear. We also saw the Beluga Whales again! It was a great day in Alaska but we are sad to see Grandma go.

Alaska Botanical Garden

I got of work early today and Mike, Grandma R and I all went to the Alaska Botanical Gardens. The flowers were beautiful, as was the weather. I will let the pictures say the rest.

Carmel Rolls

Mike and Grandma R made a batch of Carmel Rolls today using the family recipe. I went home for lunch to get a fresh one... and boy am I glad I did. They were very good. I told Mike He needs to make a batch every Saturday now... ha! Grandma did the instructions and made Mike do all the manual labor like kneading the dough ect. He still needs a little help with the portion sized some of the rolls came out the size of my head!

We do not have too much more planned to do with Grandma R. We are going out to eat tonight, since Mike goes back to work on Thursday Night. Me and Grandma are going to have girls day Friday when Mike sleeps. Saturday night we (Grandma and I) are going to my monthly scrapbooking get together, maybe I will turn Grandma into a scrapper :) It will be fun. The state fair is going on but we will have to see what the weather is like.

Whittier, AK

Saturday Mike, me and Grandma R loaded into the Versa and drove to Whitter Alaska. On the way we stopped on the side of the road, along with quite a few other cars to take some pictures of Beluga Whales in the Turnagain Arm waters. It was pretty cool. Then we continued to the Whittier Tunnel, a 2.2 mile tunnel that you must go through to get to Whittier. It is a one way tunnel that is shared by both cars/buses/trucks and the train. Really cool, next year Mike and I want to walk the tunnel, which can only be done once a year!

Once we got to Whittier we checked in with the Cruise place which we were going on. Once we got our tickets we still had an hour to walk around. So we went in search of an open store, surprisingly only like 2 stores open. So we went to a coffee hut and got coffee and fresh made mini doughnuts... they were so so yummy! Better then the fair.

Then we went and got on the boat for our 6 hour cruise. It was a little chilly when the boat was moving but we had great weather and saw birds, seals, and otters. Mike says if he had to choose to come back as a animal he would be a otter. The sensory was amazing. The Tidal Glaciers are awesome. We stopped and watched then calf, or break off. All in all it was an amazing day.

So Sad

A blog that I follow called Three Cheers for baby has had a really bad day today. http://threecheersforbabies.blogspot.com/ One of their daughters Annaleigh, will be passing away tonight. The three baby's were born on in the 25th week and 5th day of pregnancy, very very early. Annaleigh was 1 lb 8 oz at birth and will weigh 2 lb 14 oz as she passes today. It is so sad. If you have time look at their blog and say a prayer for them.

Grandma R... T minus 1 day

Mikes Grandma will be here in ONE DAY!! We are so excited for Grandma R to come and see our place. Mike is excited because apparently she told him she would how him how to make Carmel rolls.. my tummy is excited for that! I think Mike might go crazy tomorrow, since she doesn't get in until 10 PM. Tonight we have to set up our 2nd room, clean, and I plan on going to bed early because I am tired.