The Professional Domestic

Grocery Shopping and Meal Planning 2024 Weeks 6-7 of 52

Weeks 5 and 6 were a complete free-for-all after my mother-in-law passed away. I did have something strange happen the day before she died though. On Tuesday, (She died on Wednesday), I made two complete dinners when I got home from work. I NEVER do that. Who has time to make two complete dinners at 5:00 on a Tuesday, right? My thought process at the time was I don’t want to have to cook on Wednesday so I am just going to make two dinners and get it over with. Thank God I had the presence of mind to do that because I definitely did not feel like making dinner the rest of the week and we ate from those leftovers thankfully, through our tears.

On that Tuesday I made a stir-fry with homemade teriyaki sauce and rice and fried chicken breast cutlets with steamed broccoli and baked potatoes.

Have you ever looked back after a loved one passed away and noticed little signs the Good Lord gave you to ease your grief? Remember I said in my last grocery update we celebrated a 90th birthday. That birthday was for my mom-in-law’s older sister and that was the last party we enjoyed with her with us. I normally do not go with my husband to see his parents weekly because of responsibilities at home but that day I went and many others that had not been to a party in a while for the family went. It was a blessing that we got to see her that day. 🙂 See, little things God gives us as comfort without us realizing it.

I shopped the Sunday after and didn’t feel like buying much but did spend $78.11. Thank goodness for hot dogs because that’s one thing we ate multiple times last week in between and I am not apologizing for it. I also made a batch of goulash and ate that multiple times, one night was salmon and one night we ate ribs in the crock-pot, one night was steak salad and for Superbowl the boy and I had hamburgers. With the ground beef and steak and Superbowl snacks we totaled about $50 more mid week.

Yesterday, I spent a whopping $132.67 but we needed a pantry restock badly and hopefully this week I can get a bunch of stuff prepped and meals pre-made for us. I desperately need to clean and organize the fridge today. I also spent $20.07 mid week on a special order of bulk meatloaf mix. I have big plans for that!

Total spent on groceries so far in 2024 – $692.94

How have you been doing the past few weeks on meals? I would love to hear. Until next week!- MM

2024 Goals Week 6 of 52

This was another tough week. If you have never experienced a loved one with dementia then thank your lucky stars because it is one of the most heartbreaking things to watch. I feel selfish even writing about my goals when someone else is suffering so much, but there are some things I accomplished this week that just naturally happened due to time and my own personal habits.

Home repairs professionally done – New kitchen countertops, rip out over-the-oven microwave and replace with new exhaust hood, trim all fruit trees and cut down all sumac in the hedgerow.

Nothing on this one.

Nothing done on this goal this week.

Nothing done

Read 30 books (It’s my goal every year)

This week I finished reading “Witch Is When I Said Goodbye” by Adele Abbott. This is the 10th book I have read by Ms. Abbott and her books are light and funny and easy to read.

Take at least 2 mini vacations and see my step-daughter’s new house in NC.

This is a goal for warmer months.

Garden goals – raise 500 lbs of produce, new kitchen garden in front and new fruit garden in back, compost all dug and reset, raised bed garden re-imagined.

Nothing worked on this week.

Exercise somehow every single day concentrating most on core and pelvic floor and mobility.

I managed 3x this past week! Yay!

Get all of my Etsy listings listed by March 31st so I can enjoy my garden in the Spring and summer months.

I got zero listings up this week.

Explore the Western NY Antique Trail (Yes, there is such a thing).

Nothing yet, but soon.

Explore at least 3 local walking/biking trails.

Warmer weather for this goal.

Sell 300 listings on Etsy this year.

I sold 1 listing this past week 285 to go 🙂

I haven’t even been on Instagram much the past couple of weeks. I haven’t wanted many orders under the circumstances.

Church goals – Six thrift sales this year, Work on baptism records and historical info, work on getting our church info out there for weddings, one historical themed event/fundraiser this year.

Every minute of my extra time went into this sale this past week and we did it! It was a huge success, packed with shoppers the entire 8 am to 3 pm and we made $661.

I am totally exhausted though so I will be glad for the time away from it for a bit. Next sale is in April.

Pay off one of the two credit cards.

No more progress on the credit cards this month but read the full post here: https://marymargaretripley.com/2024/01/19/not-impressed-with-our-debt-january-2024/

That’s it this time! How are you doing with your goals? – MM

P.s. if you would like to check out my Etsy shop here is the link https://redmillvintageandnew.etsy.com

2024 Goals Week 5 of 52

My sweet mom-in-law passed away this week, and with any unexpected event, life gets put on the back burner to take care of more immediate needs. I did get a few things accomplished though so let’s see what they are.

Home repairs professionally done – New kitchen countertops, rip out over-the-oven microwave and replace with new exhaust hood, trim all fruit trees and cut down all sumac in the hedgerow.

Nothing on this one.

Nothing done on this goal this week.

These last two buds are just about finished!

Read 30 books (It’s my goal every year)

This week I finished reading “Home for Christmas” by Lloyd C. Douglas. It’s an out- of-print book from the 30s that was donated to our church thrift sale, and it was quite delightful! Just think this book is almost 100 years old!

Take at least 2 mini vacations and see my step-daughter’s new house in NC.

This is a goal for warmer months.

Garden goals – raise 500 lbs of produce, new kitchen garden in front and new fruit garden in back, compost all dug and reset, raised bed garden re-imagined.

Nothing worked on this week.

Exercise somehow every single day concentrating most on core and pelvic floor and mobility.

I managed 2x this past week.

Get all of my Etsy listings listed by March 31st so I can enjoy my garden in the Spring and summer months.

I got zero listings up this week.

Explore the Western NY Antique Trail (Yes, there is such a thing).

Nothing yet, but soon.

Explore at least 3 local walking/biking trails.

Warmer weather for this goal.

Sell 300 listings on Etsy this year.

I sold 2 more listings this past week 285 to go 🙂

Church goals – Six thrift sales this year, Work on baptism records and historical info, work on getting our church info out there for weddings, one historical themed event/fundraiser this year.

I spent most of my extra time on this category this week. Our sale is the 10th and there is so much to do!

Pay off one of the two credit cards.

No more progress on the credit cards this month but read the full post here: https://marymargaretripley.com/2024/01/19/not-impressed-with-our-debt-january-2024/

That’s it this time! How are you doing with your goals? – MM

P.s. if you would like to check out my Etsy shop here is the link https://redmillvintageandnew.etsy.com

SAL-Project Joyce’s Rose #23

What a three weeks it has been. This project’s namesake, my mother-in-law, Joyce Ripley, passed away Wednesday. Although I have spoken about her in the past with regard to her struggle with dementia we were caught off guard when we got the call.

This fuels me even more to finish this project in her memory now.

Here is where I left off last update:

And here is where I am now.

Please pop over to the other ladies’ blog to see the projects they are working on.

See you in three weeks!

Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Megan,

Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, Cathie, Linda, Helen, MaryMargaret, Cindy

2024 Goals Week 4 of 52

I can’t say I got a lot accomplished with my goals this week but maybe I’ll surprise myself.

Home repairs professionally done – New kitchen countertops, rip out over-the-oven microwave and replace with new exhaust hood, trim all fruit trees and cut down all sumac in the hedgerow.

Already booked the tree guy for Spring clean-up!

Nothing done on this goal this week.

I got quite a bit more stitched this week on Joyce’s Rose and we have an update this Sunday.

Read 30 books (It’s my goal every year)

No books finished this week.

Take at least 2 mini vacations and see my step-daughter’s new house in NC.

This is a goal for warmer months.

Garden goals – raise 500 lbs of produce, new kitchen garden in front and new fruit garden in back, compost all dug and reset, raised bed garden re-imagined.

Nothing worked on this week.

Exercise somehow every single day concentrating most on core and pelvic floor and mobility.

Only one time again this past week.

Get all of my Etsy listings listed by March 31st so I can enjoy my garden in the Spring and summer months.

Six listings up this past week!

Explore the Western NY Antique Trail (Yes, there is such a thing).

Not this weekend!

Explore at least 3 local walking/biking trails.

Warmer weather for this goal.

Sell 300 listings on Etsy this year.

I sold 2 listings this past week 287 to go 🙂

Church goals – Six thrift sales this year, Work on baptism records and historical info, work on getting our church info out there for weddings, one historical themed event/fundraiser this year.

I started to get my butt moving on organizing everything for the Thrift Sale on the 10th. I spent an hour working there last night and two hours after I got home untangling a box of necklaces. Fun!

Pay off one of the two credit cards.

No more progress on the credit cards this month but read the full post here: https://marymargaretripley.com/2024/01/19/not-impressed-with-our-debt-january-2024/

That’s it this time! See I didn’t think I got much accomplished. How are you doing with your goals? – MM

P.s. if you would like to check out my Etsy shop here is the link https://redmillvintageandnew.etsy.com

Grocery Shopping and Meal Planning 2024 Week 5 of 52

Week 4 was another good week. Sunday and Monday we ate chili, Tuesday was hot dog night, Wednesday were pork chops finally, Thursday was leftovers, Friday we went out for dinner and Saturday we had a family 90th birthday party to attend so we were gone all day.

The only thing we bought mid-week was creamer for $7.49 so I will add that to this week’s total.

Groceries this week, cost us $129.92 which includes the mid week run. I stocked up on meat this week taking advantage of the 5 for $25 deal at Caledonia Marketplace.

I should have made my husband stay in the car while I grocery shopped because he’s the one that wanted the Chucky soup for work lunches, then again I bought the Ramen soup for the kid so I guess that’s a wash right? Lol!

I didn’t get a thing prepped this week. I was exhausted after last week and didn’t have any energy on Sunday to do so. Every night after work this week I plan on working at our church parsonage on organizing for the thrift sale coming up the 10th so meals will be quick or crockpot. I really want to make 2 meals out of the chicken legs, we already ate the ground beef in tacos last night and I mistakenly bought another 5-lbs of potatoes so we need to eat a lot of potatoes this week. I will probably have the boy make another potato salad today.

Total spent on groceries so far in 2024 – $412.09

Until next week!- MM

2024 Goals Week 3 of 52

You know the thing about yearly goals? You have the entire year to get those goals accomplished! So, let’s see what I got done last week.

Home repairs professionally done – New kitchen countertops, rip out over-the-oven microwave and replace with new exhaust hood, trim all fruit trees and cut down all sumac in the hedgerow.

Working on this!

We got the mantle painted and hung in the bedroom!

We purchased this antique mantle on our trip to New Hampshire this fall for $100. I instantly fell in love with it’s beauty and my hubby is so sweet and willing to go with my ideas. We had our truck packed with furniture and, of course, dishes (for my Etsy shop) by the end of the trip.

I still have a lot to do in our bedroom. More to come on this.

Nada this week!

Read 30 books (It’s my goal every year)

I finished “Perfectly Charming” by Liz Talley. It’s book two in the Morning Glory series about three friends who’s longtime friend passes away from cancer. She leaves each of them a sum of money to go experience something amazing in life and bring back a charm to represent their journey. So far, I really like this trilogy, and there are even half numbered books in this series. I am currently reading book 2.5.

Four books done 26 to go!

Take at least 2 mini vacations and see my step-daughter’s new house in NC.

This is a goal for warmer months.

Garden goals – raise 500 lbs of produce, new kitchen garden in front and new fruit garden in back, compost all dug and reset, raised bed garden re-imagined.

I harvested my first crop of the year!

I grew broccoli microgreens for the first time. They grew in exactly a week under the grow lights in my growing dresser. I plan on growing more and will be sprinkling them on everything. And I mean everything 😊.

Exercise somehow every single day concentrating most on core and pelvic floor and mobility.

Yep, only once last week. Can you tell this is my toughest goal?

Get all of my Etsy listings listed by March 31st so I can enjoy my garden in the Spring and summer months.

10 listings up this last week! Yay!

Explore the Western NY Antique Trail (Yes, there is such a thing).

The weather didn’t make it possible to go exploring this past weekend. Snowy, snowy week!

Explore at least 3 local walking/biking trails.

Warmer weather for this goal!

Sell 300 listings on Etsy this year.

I sold 5 listings this past week 289 to go 🙂

Church goals – Six thrift sales this year, Work on baptism records and historical info, work on getting our church info out there for weddings, one historical themed event/fundraiser this year.

I am working on church stuff this week. The sale is the 10th. Why don’t we talk about our churches more? I might have to do a blog series on this topic too.

Pay off one of the two credit cards.

We paid off almost $900 worth of credit card debt in January. Read the full post here: https://marymargaretripley.com/2024/01/19/not-impressed-with-our-debt-january-2024/

That’s it this time! How are you doing with your goals? – MM

P.s. if you would like to check out my Etsy shop here is the link https://redmillvintageandnew.etsy.com

Grocery Shopping and Meal Planning 2024 Week 4 of 52

Week 3 was a good week. I made a double batch of chocolate chip, coconut, banana bread, a pumpkin pie, and an apple pie for us. Spaghetti leftovers on Monday, I made the French onion soup recipe from the cookbook my cousin sent me. One night we had pepper steak in the crockpot and one night I ate rice and frozen peas because the boys were both gone. We only ordered out once, pizza on Friday, and ate it two nights.

I went to the grocery store just once mid week to get cheese and onions and bread (kind of hard to make onion soup without those three things). I’ll add that to this week’s total.

Groceries yesterday cost us $71.38 which includes the mid week run.

I meal prepped a ton of stuff today for lunches for the week.

I also made chili today so we can have lots of leftovers with that, too.

On the docket this week, besides the chili, is cauliflower sausage soup, hotdogs (had a hankering) those pork chops I have talked about for two weeks (maybe lol), goulash, and whatever else I can do with what I have in the pantry.

Item I want to use in my pantry this week: these gnocchi I got in a gift basket for Christmas. Let’s see what I do with them.

Total spent on groceries so far in 2024 – $282.17

I have gotten a few comments from readers asking how I spend so little on groceries. Many say they are spending $250+ a week! That’s a lot of food in my world. I feed two guys and me with my grocery budget. Honestly, I would love to see another person’s grocery receipt just to see what they are buying. Anyone willing to send me a snapshot of their receipt? Just for informational purposes, only of course! 😉

Until next week- MM

Not Impressed With Our Debt January 2024

In my December update a full year had gone by since I last checked in and after a lot of thinking, researching and delving into our credit card statements (and a few tears I might say), I have a much better understanding of how and why our debt soared again this year. The ironic thing? We didn’t struggle to pay our bills monthly for the first time in probably a decade! One reason is that we didn’t have gigantic medical bills because I have a better, almost fully funded insurance package now at my job as opposed to my husband’s high deductible plan and weekly amount taken out of his paycheck. AND the fact the deductible I do have ($3,000 as opposed to $6,000), is fully funded by my employer in the form of an HSA account. What an amazing benefit to us. I also paid off a home equity in 2022 so we had a full year without that payment.

I wanted to get down on myself, however, looking back we truly did some amazing things and accomplished ALOT! So, no more looking back only looking forward in 2024. Alrighty?

Ok let’s see how we did on the one credit card debt in January.

Last update the ending balance for December was $9,971.14. After the period ended, the interest added on for the month was $136.01. So I started January at $10,107.15. I made two payments to this credit card totally $890.68 this month. Right now the balance is $9,216.47. I could pay more but we have property taxes to pay at the end of the month so I am going to give this card a rest. We will see what the interest is after the billing period ends the 29th.

I think we did good! In the $9,000s again and that makes me feel a bit better.

Goal for February: Definitely getting the balance into the $8,000s.

Question for you now, do you have more than one credit card?

Until next time -MM

2024 Goals Week 2 of 52

This week was not a fun week. Emotionally it was a roller coaster and stress has been through the roof. I did get some things accomplished though to take my mind off the bad and relieve some stress. Below is what I managed to accomplish with my goals.

Home repairs professionally done – New kitchen countertops, rip out over-the-oven microwave and replace with new exhaust hood, trim all fruit trees and cut down all sumac in the hedgerow. Nothing yet on this goal but I have an estimate coming for the new counters. Yay! Below is a pic of just one of my stresses. This is the old counter we desperately need replaced and the reason we need the microwave ripped out and a new exhaust fan installed. This leaked from the improperly installed exhaust fan. Yuck huh?

This is the old counter we desperately need replaced and the reason we need the microwave ripped out and a new exhaust fan installed. This leaked from the improperly installed exhaust fan. Yuck huh?

Home projects done by us – Paint all trim in kitchen, re-paint upper kitchen cabinets, paint ceiling and walls in hallway, finish painting and put up picket pallet fencing, finish painting master bedroom and hang mantle over bed, front porch stained or painted, new brick patio in the backyard. I finished painting the base trim in the hallway and also finished painting the mantle. I hope to get it hung over our bed this afternoon!

We had this new flooring installed this fall. Still needed to paint the trim

Sewing projects – Finish Joyce’s Rose, New curtains for kitchen window, new seat cover for kitchen chair, new curtain over cat’s window seat, Christmas tree skirt, finish winter and summer season x-stitch projects. I got my behind moving on this goal on Friday and have gotten quite a bit more stitched on Joyce’s Rose. Full update here: https://marymargaretripley.com/2024/01/14/sal-project-joyces-rose-22/

Read 30 books (It’s my goal every year) I finished “Searching for Sandra” by Jane Harvey. (Third book in this series) and “Christmas at Hummingbird House” book 4, which was a novella. Three books read out of my 30 goal.

Take at least 2 mini vacations and see my step-daughter’s new house in NC. This is a goal for warmer months.

Garden goals – raise 500 lbs of produce, new kitchen garden in front and new fruit garden in back, compost all dug and reset, raised bed garden re-imagined. I need to start planning.

Exercise somehow every single day concentrating most on core and pelvic floor and mobility. I exercised once, ugh…

Get all of my Etsy listings listed by March 31st so I can enjoy my garden in the Spring and summer months. I didn’t get a thing listed. Too much drama this week.

Explore the Western NY Antique Trail (Yes, there is such a thing). Hopefully in the next few weeks we can explore this trail.

Explore at least 3 local walking/biking trails. Warm weather for this goal.

Sell 300 listings on Etsy this year. I only sold 1 listing last week, only 294 more to go!

Church goals – Six thrift sales this year, Work on baptism records and historical info, work on getting our church info out there for weddings, one historical themed event/fundraiser this year. Our next thrift sale is Feb 10th!

Pay off one of the two credit cards. I’ll update after this week.

That’s it this time! How are you doing with your goals? – MM

P.s. if you would like to check out my Etsy shop here is the link https://redmillvintageandnew.etsy.com