Saturday, October 4, 2008

Sunday Dinner, October 5, 2008

Somehow another week has passed without a post from me since last Sunday's entry. This week has been extra busy for me and I wasn't feeling my best, but hopefully that's changing for the better.

The feeling better, not the busy part.

Anyway, on to my Sunday Dinner for this week.

My nephew Danny and his wife, Mikki, have invited me, Lamar, Jessica and her family, my sister Ducky (Danny's Mom) and my sister Cecil to eat Sunday Dinner with them.

For long time readers, you may recall that Danny and Mikki have a 20-month old son, Seth. Emmy and Seth will have a grand ol' time, and so will the rest of us as we play with them.

There was some mention of homemade rotisserie chicken and potatoes cooked on the grill. That's all I know about the menu, and that's enough for me right there. I'm sure Mikki will prepare some other sides to go with the meal and possibly dessert, and I've offered to pick up something else to go with the meal if needed.

What are your plans or your menu for Sunday Dinner this week? Expound in the comments if you'd like to participate this week.On the health front, I have some cautious good news.

I'm feeling better most of the time now, though I'm still experiencing a bad day here and there. Mostly now if I do have a bad spell it only lasts for a few hours rather than days or weeks. My sugar is coming down slowly, though it has been higher than it should be several times over the last week. I doubled my dosage yesterday, so I'm now taking 500 mg of metformin twice a day.

The reason for the caution is that I've started having some of those digestive issues associated with the metformin. So far nothing too severe, so hopefully I'll adjust to it and the side effects will resolve themselves soon.

Overall, I'm feeling much better, praise the Lord!I did my monthly shopping for household supplies on Wednesday and my monthly grocery shopping on Friday. Jessica and Emmy chauffeured me and Lamar for both trips, so we sprang for lunch both days.

Wednesday we went to my favorite catfish buffet in Jonesboro for lunch and it did not disappoint. It was great, as usual. I don't care how the rest of the food is, as long as the catfish and the breaded fried shrimp is good, Diane is a happy camper.

Emmy loves catfish and chicken, but she was on a dill pickle kick Wednesday. She ate some fish, but pickles were her main course.

Friday we went to Ta*Molly's for Mexican food. It was delicious, and satisfied a craving I've had for Mexican. I always get a combination platter that has a beef burrito, a cheese enchilada, chicken enchilada with sour cream sauce, and a tacquito, plus refried beans, Mexican rice and a guacamole salad. I have them give me all beans and no rice.

I do like rice, but it tends to raise my sugar a lot more than the beans, plus the beans do have the redeeming factor of having a lot of fiber, which I can subtract from my carb grams.

Maybe not the healthiest meal, but I only eat there once every couple of months, and I didn't eat any supper that night, only a few slices of cheese and a slice of light wheat bread. Again, I can subtract the fiber grams from the carbs for the bread. On a related but different subject, I was aghast (did you like how I worked that important word in there?) at how much prices have gone up in just a month. On groceries, especially, although the 12-roll package of the brand of toilet tissue that I use went up over $2 just since I did my September shopping.

Prices have gone up across the board. I bought 54 items (I shopped at Wal*mart and the item count is listed at the bottom of the receipt) and the total was just over $200 before taxes. I didn't buy anything extravagant. No steak, no seafood, not even any pork chops.

I bought one beef chuck roast to serve for a Sunday Dinner and it was $11.94. I got a couple of whole chickens and they were both over $6 each. I always buy whole chickens because they're usually cheaper than the pre-cut and packaged chicken parts, and also because I often bake a whole chicken for Sunday Dinner or when we have company.

I got a couple of packages of baked ham lunch meat, a family pack of ground beef ($11.98) and some chili seasoning mix. That was all the meat I bought.

The rest of the ticket consists of flour, cornmeal, oil, sugar, canned goods, raw potatoes, onions, ground coffee, a half gallon of buttermilk and a half gallon of soy milk for me. I also got some sugar free Jel*lo and some sugar free light yogurt for me.

And it all totalled up to over $200. I knew since I needed a lot of staples this month that my grocery bill would be a little more than usual, but I was a little shocked that it was that much more than I had anticipated. (And I just realized that I forgot to buy cornstarch. Eh.)

I usually spend an average of about $125 a month for groceries, sometimes a little more, often less, depending on what I need to restock and what deals I can take advantage of to stock up.

I know I'm not the only one feeling the pinch. I've already cut back in a lot of areas, and it looks like I'll be examining other areas where I can be more thrifty and cut more corners. I'm sure glad I have some garden stuff I tucked away in the freezer. Every little bit of free food helps.It's nearly 10 pm and I want to put clean sheets on my bed. I've already had a haircut (Thanks, Jessica!) and my second shower of the day. Now I want to get my bed changed so I can lie down on fresh, smooth, clean sheets tonight. It doesn't get much better than to be freshly showered and then climb into a freshly made bed.

May God bless you by meeting all your needs, and may you have enough to share.

Y'all have a great Sunday!

34 comments:

Jess said...

Had a great time all week with all our festivities.....

Love you and see you tomorrow...

thanks...for everything!

Our Home Schooler and Jen said...

bet you had a nice time at Danny and Mikkis

glad your feeling mostly better now

Ive always said that if i were rich, famous and had a maid or two I would have new sheets every day :)

have a nice week ahead
Jen xoxox

Lucy Stern said...

It is always nice to eat at somebody else's house for dinner here and there. Tomorrow, I am going to cook some steaks, steamed brocklie, a salad and whatever else I can come up with for dinner.....I made brownies the other day and we have a few left for desert...That's dinner for tomorrow.

Food prices are going up and I don't see and ending in sight......I was pricing walnuts at Sams, last week, and they are up about $3.00 a bag over last year. I buy my meat from the day old bin or when it goes on sale.

Since the hurricane, we have found a place where I can grow a garden next spring. We had to cut down a tree behind the garage and I couldn't believe how much more light was suddenly available for a garden. I am already imagining what I will grow....

Miss Emily on a pickle kick, how cute. I hope the doctors find a reason for her current digestive problems soon.

Good luck with your blood sugar, I know it is a pain to deal with. Have a great week Diane.

MightyMom said...

fresh sheets! yumm

kkryno said...

I've noticed a huge difference up here as well! I'm afraid that you're right in saying it's only beginning. We all will have to make some changes. The Wal-Mart near us is converting to a super store and it's within walking distance. I draw the line at walking in deep snow and 20% temps. That is; if I have that choice.

Linds said...

Clean sheets are wonderful - especially if they have been dried in the sun!
Food prices here are rocketting too. It would be interesting to take a list of staples and compare them, wouldn't it. I rarely buy red meat any more. Pasta and veg from the garden will be the staples I think. Still - I am delighted I have my own veg!
It is wet and chilly here today, and I should be at the shared lunch with my church friends, but am givign it a miss. Homemade soup I think......
Enjoy your meal out!

Lib said...

Hi Diane,
So glad you're feeling better!
Your outings sounds fun! We don't have a Ta*Molly's ,an Ok. friend tells me about going there and how good the food is.
I know what you mean about cutting corners and everything but pay checks going UP UP UP! It will kill us when we have to grocery shop again, we stock piled before DH was laid off and I canned, froze, and dried food all summer. I'm like you waste not ,want not person, and I just can't seem to find anymore corners to cut!
Wouldn't it be nice if the Gov. would bail us out like they did wall st.? I've not had any calls or knocks at my door from them!lol
Hope you have a great wk.
Glad you're going to go eat with your Family:o)
L, H,B,Lib

Anonymous said...

Hi Diane. I hope you enjoy the day at your nephew's with the rest of the family. It is dark and gloomy this morning here in the Idaho panhandle. I think it is a good day for some comfort food....roast beef and mashed potatoes. (I wish dh liked cornbread because your cornbread sounds so good to me on this dreary fall day.) Off to church...Blessings v from Idaho

Lisa Sherrill Roach said...

We have a TaMolly's down here and it is my favorite place to eat. My son has inherited my love for mexican food so he loves to eat there as well. Maybe it is because I craved it so much when I was pregnant with him and we ate there at least twice a week. Hope you have a wonderful Sunday with your family and continue to feel better everyday. God bless!

Lisa

Barb said...

I hear you about the price of groceries. I only do one big shopping trip a month too, since Rob gets paid once a month now, and the rising cost of food really hits you when you shop month-to-month.

At first I attributed it to the rising cost of gas. But I don't see Wal-Mart lowering its prices when the cost of gas goes down. Not fair.

I'm glad you're feeling better. It's a pain in the neck, constantly counting carbs and keeping track of every single thing you eat (or in my case, every single thing Cameron eats), but if you can get that blood glucose level under control, it's so worth it - makes all the difference in how you (or Cameron) feel.

Hope you have a nice restful week ahead. As always, that's what I'm hoping to have here. LOL

Kelli said...

Hi, Diane!

Great to hear from you again! I'm glad you're feeling better, I know that diabetes can be a really hard thing to get used to, and it's a long process, too!

I was sorry I couldn't pop in and say Hi when we were in Trumann over the week for my aunt's funeral, but there just wasn't time to do much but eat and sleep! (SIGH) the funeral was very nice, and my cousins were there from Michigan and I just didn't even get to see them long enough! The older boys really could only miss 1 day of school, and they both missed tests anyway! It was such a quick trip!

I have noticed that grocery prices are going up and I'm not a bit happy about it. I buy ground turkey in 1 pound packages and it's gone up more then $1 a package since this time last year, and everything seems to be going up 30-50 cents at a time instead of in small increments. Feeding 6 of us has really gotten expensive, I can tell you, and I usually only buy chicken when it's on sale so I buy and cook up a ton to use in different things, and the same with the ground turkey. I guess we still have to eat, so we will have to figure out other ways to conserve $$$.

Take care of yourself and have a great week!

Betty said...

Hi Diane,

First of all, I want to say how glad I am that you are feeling better. That's great news.

Also, I am glad that for a change you didn't have to cook Sunday dinner. I've often wondered why you are the one who always does the cooking for the family on Sundays.

Yes, prices are out of sight. Just like gasoline prices, but then the high price of gas is probably what is making the groceries so much higher.

Hope you have a good week.

violetlady said...

Thanks, Diane, for sharing all the news. Hope your Sunday dinner out was good. I always love to hear your menus -- whether you are eating out or in. I agree - food prices are unbelievable. It is just the two of us and three animals, but we spend a fortune. Glad to hear you are feeling better - I know you struggle with it. Take care.

Anonymous said...

Sweetums and I were given DQ as a treat from my Mom. MMM.

Hope that you're soon leveled out. I take 1,000 mg of Metformin twice a day, and also take Glipitrol. When I remember. *Blush*

Gigi said...

So glad you're beginning to feel better! Rotisserie chicken and potatoes on the grill - YUM! May God bless you will a week of health and happiness!

Dawn said...

That is an amazing increase in grocery prices - when you go monthly rather than weekly as I do, it is dramatic! I know that potatoes are out of this world high - ridiculously so.

We had a big celebration today at church - it was the 100th anniversary of our denomination all over the world - I was in charge of the dinner. It was a great service and a nice time together - but I'm glad it's over, because you can never be sure how many are coming, no matter how much you ask people to buy a ticket ahead of time!

So glad you're feeling better!

Brenda said...

I know, the pinch is hitting everyone. I just have to keep remembering the Lord is my provider, and He really has. And, oddly, one of the ways He's provided is by teaching me how to be more frugal(not to be mistaken with cheap!).
Glad you're beginning to feel a little better while you're getting used to your new regimen.
God bless your week Diane.
Brenda :)

Mountain Mama said...

I know it can take time to get the blood sugar straightened out and I pray that it happens soon so you will feel better. You sure seem to be doing all you can to make that happen.
Your dinner's out sure sound good. I haven't had supper yet and my tummy is complaining a little. I don't have a clue what my supper will be but something easy for sure. Maybe some soup from the freezer.
I have certainly noticed the hike in grocery prices too. I am thankful that I don't have a family to feed. I really don't know how people with large families keep food in the house. I have been encouraging my girls to start planning next years gardens right now.Raising and preserving our own veggies makes a big difference in the grocery bill.
God bless you Diane

Cheryl said...

I noticed the increase in TP just last week, however, I am not ready to go to corn cobs.

Glad you are doing better...blessings

kansasrose said...

HI hon!

Praise Jesus you are starting to feel better now! You will continue to be in my daily prayer devotions dear friend.

Your dinners out sounded wonderfully delicous! I'm not a big catfish fan...but breaded shrimp is some mighty good eating. The Mexican buffet sounds excellent. Once and a while Mexican food cravings really hit! Our church is having an authentic Mexican foods fundraiser this month, and the homemade enchilladas by local Catholic community Hispanic women are fabulous. We can either dine at the parish hall, or preorder for takeout. Very reasonably priced for an authentic Mexican meal and all the trimmings.

I had a good chuckle when I read of little Emmy's pickle cravin'. My German ancestored momma used to call pickles "German popsickles". I ate dills from the jar as a little kid! She has good taste! :)

We are feelin' the pain of high food prices here too hon...it is really scarey. I thank God we have some meat on the hoof...we did run out of hamburger last month. I've been hand grinding meat for burger for soups and casseroles and freezing. It's almost too dry it's so lean.

I'm going to borrow my grandma's Searchlight cookbooks my Mom has kept and copy some 1930's depression era recipes. I'm baking my own breads now, canned some veggies. One has to be creative to make the food dollar stretch. Gas is going down in price...but not food. I'm buying generic brands, printing online coupons. It's still very expensive. Going to have to plant a truck garden next year, get some chickens too for eggs and meat...it's now an economic life necessity. Livin' like our depression era grannies did... We will do what we have to do and make it through thiese hard times. We are a tough lot hon.( Lovin' those fresh smooth sheets too. :) Makes for great sleeping!)

Take care hon, God Bless You and Yours. Love, Jen

Carole Burant said...

Hello dear Diane:-)

I'm sure you all had a great Sunday dinner over at Danny & Mikki's place! It so makes me wish my family all lived nearby so that we could get together like that for Sunday dinners!! Last night for dinner I had leftover pizza! lol

Good to hear that you've been feeling much better. As you say, it takes a while for the body to get adjusted to a new medication so I'm sure in the next couple of weeks you'll feel even more of a difference.

I remember when my youngest son Corey discovered pickles...he used to dip them in his mashed potatoes and eat them like that. lol I can just picture Emmy eating them:-)

I think the price of food went up everywhere...pretty soon we'll have to do like in the old days and grow all our own foods because no one will be able to afford buying it from the stores! Sheesh! At least the gas prices are going down right now! lol

Take care of YOU! xoxo

Cecil said...

Will call you in the am and we'll see what we can get into... unless it's storming... and then I'll be hiding! lol Love ya more.. Cecil

Cecil said...

Will call you in the am and we'll see what we can get into... unless it's storming... and then I'll be hiding! lol Love ya more.. Cecil

Hootin Anni said...

I had a very, very busy weekend, and then I was gone from the computer all day yesterday, but while I was driving up to San Antonio, I was thinking of what you had for dinner Sunday. LOL [see how you've become part of my bloggin' life? Cool, huh?]

Anyway...going over to have someone else's cooking is always a treat. And your mexican platter sounds delish!!!! I love refried beans. And burritos. In fact a bean burrito would be my preferred dish.

You say: "Expound in the comments if you'd like to participate this week." I'm sorry, but I had a good guffaw on that section. It just made me laugh...sorry...I'm in an odd mood I guess, but expounding something in comments sounds like we may need clothespins for our noses right now...just hope my comment doesn't 'stink' for you!!

Have a terrific week. Glad to hear that you're feeling better each day...and yep, starchy foods will bring up sugar levels.

Anonymous said...

Hey My Sweet Sister Friend,

I miss you , seems I can never catch up ,wow the world goes so fast somedays I'm barely hanging on!
I am glad to hear your feeling somewhat better , once your meds accumulate and balance out your sugars ,you should have a lot more energy and feel much better , I see your counting your carbs etc too , (AINT WE A COUPLE LUCKY ONES" hhaaha I hope your tummy has settled ,and it gets easier everyday for you.
I can picture Emmy eating pickles , pucker up pickle puss! I want some sugar !!please love on her for me ,and sprinkle her with lots of sugar!!
I know what you mean about everything going up in price , it is suppose to do a great deal with the cost of transport/fuel costs but sometimes I think they just use it to hike up prices!


This weekend is Thanksgiving weekend for us over and up this way ;-) I will be preparing a feast ,I wish you could be here to break bread with me , well even if it is low fat ,light whole wheat etc bread!!LOL I bet you would like the salt beef or salt riblets(pork ribs) , we boil our veggies with ,anyway I will thinking of things I am thankful for and you will surely come to mind .
Love you sister friend
BSH with SPLENDA ;)

HUGS
Greeneyes

Nancy said...

Glad you are feeling better! It's awful when one doesn't feel up to par.

Cat food and litter have sure gone up in price, too! I can't believe what I am paying now for cases of cat food! Also, the dry food has increased a lot, too! One week alone, I spent $193 just on the cats!!! I don't buy much groceries as I don't cook very often just for myself. A sandwich usually suffices! LOL You all have me thinking about a little garden next year now! But I have not much of a backyard in which to even plant one. We shall see! LOL

I hope to get around to visit everyone this week....it's been a rough couple of days, losing Scooter and dealing with our emotions....

I miss blogging but have been just so busy with work...doesn't seem fair that blogging has to take a backseat to my jobs, does it? LOL

Love ya, Diane! I am really glad you are getting control of your diabetes now. XOXOXO for little Emmy!

(((((( HUGS ))))))

Susie said...

Hi Diane,
Sorry I'm so late to visit, but life has been hectic. I wanted to thank you for your prayers for C. She is getting better every day!
So glad you're also feeling better. That's wonderful news.
The prices at the grocery store have truly skyrocketed here too. I've been feeding several extra hungry mouths and really noticing the difference in my food bill.
Hope your week is going great.
xo

Mary said...

Diane,

I hope you enjoyed your Sunday dinner. Though I'm a bit late posting, we had roast eye of round. It was a great price. The discount grocery store here had a sale and had all kinds of meat for $2.00 a pound. I made that roast and put in lots of veggies. It was 10 pounds and then I froze some and left some for Dwight to have while I was away. It went a long ways. He didn't have to cook (well, just warm things up) the entire 3 days I was gone.

Be careful of that Metformin now that your dose has doubled. It made my brother deathly ill the first day he took it but I took it for 3 months. It certainly did have bad side effects on the digestive system. Just use caution.

Two months ago I could buy tuna for 79 cents a can. Now the same brand is $1.59. Everything is going up and it is probably going to get worse before it gets better. I'm hoping when our election and yours are over that things will begin to rectify themselves.

Enjoyed visiting with you. Hope you are feeling better. If you have time to drop over, I posted day two of our mini vacation pics.

Have a great weekend.
Blessings,
Mary

Unknown said...

Hey Diane! I do hope you begin feeling better soon! You're a sweetheart! :)

Nashe^ said...

YOu got me a bit jealous there with the clean sheets and freshly made bed bit!

Sam said...

Hi Diane,

I feel like I've been away from blogging for so long. I'm only just now getting a chance to catch up with you.

I'm SO glad to hear you're feeling better. What wonderful news. I'm definitely hoping the digestive issues don't get worse for you though. But I'm sure everything feels better with your blood sugar more regulated.

It really sounds like you're taking great care of yourself and monitoring your carb intake. I'm sure it's a drag, but good for you!

Yes, prices are through the roof these days. I don't know anyone who isn't feeling a bit stressed financially. We certainly are. Ugh.

I put fresh sheets on my bed today and it made me think of you and how much you appreciate a freshly made bed! I really do too and can't wait to get into bed tonight! :-)

Have a great weekend, my friend.

Sammy

Jeanette said...

Hi Dianne. I hope you had a lovely Dinner with Mikki and the rest of the family.
Ive put fresh sheets on my bed today also..

Have a great weekend,..

Anonymous said...

Glad you feel better and hope the dinner was great.

Hoping you'll have a wonderful, relaxing and great end to this week as well :-)

Cheryl said...

Howdy doody. I'll come back next week and visit.