When it comes to making goals to be more healthy, I can be my own worst enemy. Let me share a couple of examples of how I set myself up for failure: Example 1: The last time that I went grocery shopping, I made a very conscious effort to only buy healthy foods (aka.. no...
Monthly Archives: March 2011March 31, 2011 - 8:11 am
I will do my best to prevent you from eating too much crisp today… by eating way more than my share. It’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make. March 31, 2011 - 1:17 pm
Thanks for you help with the crisp, and luckily, there were enough people so no one was forced to eat more than their share March 31, 2011 - 7:55 pm
I totally know what you’re talking about – I have no self control either, and I ALWAYS eat food off my kids plates! One of my bad habits, I clean the kitchen cupboards out, meaning, I eat the last two oreos, the last graham cracker…the last of every little thing in the cupboard just so it can be gone and clean – however, it’s the only part of the kitchen I actually somewhat enjoy cleaning because I get rewarded in the process. March 31, 2011 - 9:00 pm
My dear friend Kara. I was just wondering if you looked inside my life before you blogged your bad habits. It was like I was reading about myself, sigh. Please know I am guilty of all of the above. Love your old friend, Angie March 31, 2011 - 9:40 pm
Kelsey, April 1, 2011 - 11:02 am
Kara you are awesome. I love this blog! Trust me I do not look like those pictures right now!! I have a lot of weight to lose (again), it’s hard not to get discouraged but I know I’ve done it before so I can do it again. I was working out A TON when those pics were taken. I was very diligent about my diet and hit the gym about 2 hours a day and 5-6 days a week, which let’s face it, is not realistic these days. You my dear, look amazing. I am so inspired by you. I only wish I could live closer to you so I could hear you say these hilarious things instead of reading them. Oh well, I’ll be thankful for what I can get April 3, 2011 - 2:41 pm
Angie, April 13, 2011 - 9:02 pm
Hilarious, I totally have the bag of Whopper eggs hiding in my bedroom! It never fails that I pop one in my mouth and then one of the kids need to talk to me, right close to my face and I pray they can’t smell the candy… Since I have had Miriam, I have had several people tell me that I never answer my phone and that I am hard to get a hold of. Okay, if I am honest, people told me this before I had her, but I hear it more often now. In case you were wondering, here are... 6 comments March 31, 2011 - 4:49 am
I hear the same complaints about not answering my phone and most of my reasons are the same as yours. We don’t have a home phone and I lost my cell phone somewhere in the house 2 days ago, and besides missing my Tetris game that is on it, I am doing just fine without it. March 31, 2011 - 12:57 pm
I could literally copy and paste this into an email and send it to my family and most of my friends who wonder why I don’t answer the phone. Glad to see I’m not alone. March 31, 2011 - 1:18 pm
Glad to hear there are people like me. The only problem is when two non phone people are friends… then it can be complicated to get a hold of each other. Actually Missy, it is funny, because we usually just email each other. I like that, because I can answer really quick when I have a free minute. April 2, 2011 - 9:38 pm
My husband was a PK and when you are a pastor, the church basically thinks they can call or drop by 24/7 and you should drop everything and attend to them. Needless to say, my husband grew up VERY resentful of phone calls and drop ins that interrupted family activities. The worst was when we would go out to dinner as an extended family and people would just walk up to the table and carry on extended conversations about whever they felt like sharing–totally not concerned they were interrupting family time. SO, in our house, we don’t answer the phone, and sometimes not even the door, unless we are literally doing NOTHING. I would never dream of answering the phone during dinner or even play time with Seamus. That is what voicemail is for…. On another topic, whenever I see a member of the clergy out with his family, I politely say hi and then move on. I don’t ever try to have a conversation with them because I feel for children who just want time with their parents. Okay, off my soapbox. April 2, 2011 - 9:41 pm
One more thing… April 4, 2011 - 10:17 pm
Rachel,  We sure love our little chubby baby around here. She just had her two month appointment, and she weighed in at almost 16 pounds and almost 25 inches long. In case you don’t know how big babies usually are, she is about the size of a 6 month old. Yes, she is huge, but I... 2 comments April 3, 2011 - 7:34 pm
This is precious, I love reading your blog Kara! Your children are incredible; just like their mother. April 3, 2011 - 9:14 pm
I can’t wait for you to have beautiful babes someday for me to love on So even though I tried pretty hard, I failed pretty bad with my food budget this month. I have been asking almost everyone I visit with how much there families spend on food each month. It seems like most people with a family of 4 spend at least $450 as a very minimum. Help me... 17 comments March 29, 2011 - 8:44 pm
I budget $600, but that’s for all household items, prescriptions, etc. And even at that, I’m not sure I stick to it every month. I mostly go to walmart, but also frequent Macey’s…which I realize you don’t have. SAMs club also sucks up a lot of my money… March 29, 2011 - 8:45 pm
We spend around $75 per week on food. Of course, we live in a different state. We eat lots of produce and very little processed food. Coupons have saved us so much money! March 29, 2011 - 9:02 pm
I think I spend about $100 per week. I use only cash, and lump everything together with gas, along with household items as well as any entertainment for the week. So, I get $200 in cash every Wednesday, and buy gas (for 2 cars), and what I have left goes towards groceries, diapers, and anything else. Helps me to do it that way because sometimes I need more than $100, but sometimes I can get away with less and I can kind of plan around the weeks I’m going to need a monster pack of diapers or whatever. Or, if we go out to eat, I have to buy more frugally. March 29, 2011 - 9:27 pm
Okay now I feel crazy. We spend $300 a week on food. That does include household goods such as toiletries, etc. But it doesn’t include diapers and wipes. March 29, 2011 - 9:58 pm
I haven’t been tracking this year, but last year I entered every single food receipt into a spreadsheet so that I could track what we were spending. When I included our summer CSA box (~$20/wk; Gathering Together Farm), the cost of a quarter cow (local, happy cow!), and alcohol (not much), we spent about $500/wk on food. We eat mostly organic and local as much as we can, so our cost was inflated by shopping at First-Alt and perhaps somewhat by the farmer’s market (although I tend to weight that by lower medical costs we will have in the long run). Our costs now are only inflated by the extra calories that I am eating while nursing, which isn’t much. $500 sounds like a lot, but when I posted about it on Facebook last year, I got a lot of comments from friends in CA that they were spending way more on food that wasn’t as fresh or as good. If you are spending $450 for your family, you are doing really well and not overspending (IMHO). As far as I am concerned, spending money on good quality food is one of the best investments that you can make. March 29, 2011 - 10:42 pm
Wow, I am seriously amazed at how much all of the budgets vary!! March 30, 2011 - 7:51 am
My budget does include eating out. I do all my shopping at the Coop but I get a 15% discount because I am a support-owner worker and work 2 hours a week there. Otherwise, we would not be able to stay in our budget. This does not include my payments to a CSA which will hopefully bring down the budget (I will probably make it up with tasties at the Farmers Market, like Zia’s burritos and expensive lemonade). Anyway, it is interesting to see what other people make happen. I probably should try harder. I mean I really didn’t need chocolate covered pecans and ice cream March 30, 2011 - 9:23 am
The real question is why Jasmin hasn’t accepted me as a facebook friend. March 30, 2011 - 9:23 am
Oh, Kara! Food budgeting has been a long-term goal of mine ever since I got into a fight with my sister. You see, we were college roomates and shared a food budget. On March 27th or so in 200-something we were in the store picking up a few last things we needed. I picked up two gallons of milk and she protested saying we were over-budget. Really? I said, as I muscled the milk into the cart. Milk? You are going to make me put milk back? Yes, she said, wait until April 1st. I proved stronger than she, however, to this day she has a food budget and I have never stuck to one. She has probably saved $10,000′s more than I. What would I do with that money today if I had it? Hmm. So.. I have seen my monthly spending range wildly from ~350 even up to 1200 (only once or twice) depending on the season. Summer is always more expensive as we are eating fresher food, more farmers markets, more canning and more entertaining. Winters are easier with a steady supply of soups, breads, pantry items and fresh oranges/apples for fruit. Now that we are in NYC – ah! Every item at the grocery store costs $5. Every condiment, every bag of whatever. I have not figured it out yet but would REALLY like to stay under $600 (including costco, diapers, etc. but without eating out/entertainment). I am planning on joining a CSA for the summer but am afraid they are much more expensive than in Corvallis – I mean, come on – not everybody in Manhattan can pay those prices. I promise. Really missing this part of Oregon…actually, missing the people first – then the farms and dirt. March 30, 2011 - 10:42 am
We’re at $700-$800 per month, not including eating out. This probably includes a some household stuff. I shop at Safeway, Market of Choice, Trader Joe’s and the Farmer’s Market. We do eat organic when we can. We also eat a lot of meat. I know I need to cut back on the bill (and the meat) but it’s tough to haggle over food – especially when it’s good food. March 30, 2011 - 1:06 pm
The only way we’ve managed to spend less than $100/week is to focus more on the cheap staples like grains and beans. So if we are doing that, we can do $50/week, but the more fresh produce, the higher it goes. When we eat all raw it’s probably $130/week (4 people) March 30, 2011 - 3:52 pm
Laurie, March 30, 2011 - 9:49 pm
This is so interesting because I always wonder the same thing. I’ve talked to my friends about this before and we vary so much. I have one friend that spends $850 a month on food and one that is around $200. Anyway, Austin and I get our produce delivered every week through a CSA that runs year-round. So then I usually aim to keep it at $75 a week for everything else. But it is hard because Austin and I have made the decision to spend more on better quality food which means cutting out expenses somewhere else. But I set a yearly goal every year to add something to our diet. Last year it was local produce. This year I’m working on eating only local meet and local dairy. So that will change my budget. We will see how it goes. March 31, 2011 - 11:23 am
You should coupon! I use like 35$ in coupons each time! March 31, 2011 - 1:20 pm
What are the best websites to find coupons on? I imagine that I would mainly use couponing for cereal, because there usually aren’t coupons for milk and fresh foods are there. Point me in the right direction to get started! April 16, 2011 - 4:54 pm
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Trying loose weight can be a challenge, especially if you have many pounds to shed. weight loss pills, learn how to lose weight fast and weight loss pills at,  Isn’t this little guy sweet? I feel like I need to explain that there are sometimes a shortage of Gabe pictures, because Gabe hides every time we try to take his picture. We always end up with way more pictures of the girls right now, because he seriously is not into having his picture... 4 comments March 29, 2011 - 10:17 am
Oh I can’t wait to see those kids, Gabe is getting so big! I don’t know any other rappers names, but I will remember Gabes when he makes his debut March 29, 2011 - 4:58 pm
Niki, March 30, 2011 - 9:37 pm
I know another rapper…that would be you dear Kara. “You’ve got a naughty body…(you’ve got a naughty body, i think your body’s naughty) Remember? March 30, 2011 - 10:03 pm
Oh my gosh Margaret, how I adore you. I am silly around most people, but you bring out my hard core silly. I didn’t even think to give myself credit for passing on my own rapping genes |
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One of my goals for this year was to cook with more basic ingredients and less processed food, which should be cheaper and better for us. My success so far is mixed, but I am having fun and remain optimistic…
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