Monday, July 19, 2010

Devin's 30th and e-mealz???

I truly detest planning out meals. I know it is the best option for saving money and for avoiding the whole "oh dear Lord it's 5:00 and I have nothing for dinner" situation, but I hate it. I hate making decisions, I hate combing through the recipes, and going through the sales flyers. I hate trying to figure out if all of those meals is going to leave us with only $20 of grocery money for the next week. It all stinks. I wish I was Oprah and could just hire a healthy chef like Bob what's his face. No that's not right. Bob's her trainer. That Art guy was her chef. He was on Top Chef and had the cute southern accent...........I digress.....

Have any of you used E-mealz? Dave Ramsey always plays those commercials on his show, and it sounds kind of nice. They give you a list of ingredients and you go buy everything.

Here's my issue with that:
I kind of like to buy healthy stuff, not really kale and flaxseed healthy, but you know...decently healthy.

I don't really like being told what to do, even if I've chosen the person or program myself. Would I just have to deal with that? I am sure the answer is yes!! You'll have to comment and tell me what you think...


Anyway, Devin's 30th birthday was today. I have been trying for weeks to figure out what he'd like. Getting Devin to tell you his opinion on anything is very difficult (google "phlegmatic"), but he did say that he didn't want a party. Addison really couldn't figure that one out. "When's dad's birthday party going to be?" she kept asking me.

My mom and dad watched the girls for us overnight Saturday so we could go out. We started out with coffee and then went over to the plaza, but it was just so miserably hot out that we didn't stay there very long. We looked pretty ridiculous walking around in 100 degree weather holding coffee cups! Had some Houlihans for dinner and rented a movie. Before we went home I convinced Devin to participate in one of my all-time favorite activities: drive around cute neighborhoods and pretend like we can buy houses there! He objected at first because Devin is very practical and isn't much of a visionary, but I promised him that I would not go home and immediately beg him to move out of the Shawnee ghetto just yet. I think he got into it a little bit. He and I talked about what was an absolute must for our next place and what didn't really matter all that much.

Then we went home and watched Invictus, which I was positively dreading. It ended up being much better than I thought. Still would have preferred Valentine's Day but it was his birthday celebration not mine. Our original idea was to go out to the movie theater, but the only movie playing was Inception and neither of us thought we were intelligent enough for that one.

There's not really much money in the ol' budget for birthday gifts right now, but I was so excited when my boss handed me a check from Gap Inc for back pay that I was owed. Yippeee! I decided to use it to buy Dev a K-State cycling Jersey. I was so excited about my big surprise until he told me that he saw a deposit in our checking account and emails from the cycling store and put two and two together. :( At least he didn't know it was a K-State one, and it was really cute to see him take it out of the bag and try it on right away over his work clothes. My mom made him a cookies 'n cream ice cream cake complete with 30 candles. All in all, I think he felt special and that is what matters the most.

Happy Birthday Devin! I love you!

7 comments:

Brown Apples said...

we like ez meals. and they have pretty healthy plans too.
I detest the meal plan- if we didn't do it we would eat the same things over and over- it is good to get some new meals on the table- ecspecially for the kids. and it helps having the list made based on what's on sale that week.
Worth a one month try I'd Say!

amybodde said...

Hi Marie! I just signed up for e-mealz two days ago! I really like it so far- it was nice to not have to plan for the week and already have the grocery list made for me!! I chose the low fat meals for 2 plan. Let me know what you think when you try it!
Can't wait to see you Saturday!

Angela said...

So we are kind of in the same boat on this one. I don't mind the cooking, but I hate the planning. Especially where I am in life at this particular moment (which is very tired).

So I came up with a complete menu for a week. And we just do the same thing at the same meal every week. For example Wednesday night is always pulled pork sandwiches.

I am already starting to think about the Fall menu, when I plan to create at least a two (and possibly a three or four) week cycle. For whatever reason, i am much better at finding things I like to make when it is colder outside. Summer food just isn't my deal...

another thing that might help is having a family pizza night (we just make a Boboli). We enjoy how easy it is and the kids love the pizza. We also at times have a pasta night. I even had a chicken breast night for awhile...

Hope this helps!!!

niKnox said...

i just signed up for ezmeals last week. it is so cheap i thought it was worth a try. i am not sure if I will actually use it or not. from the sample menus - i realize that i don't like all the meals they suggest... so i try to substitute my own in. in a way - it helped spur my own creativity. it laid a foundation that i could edit, etc. I have a really hard time starting from nothing. so maybe it would help your creativity instead of limit it! I'll let you know if it continues to do so with me :)

Alisha said...

Oh Marie! I just love you! I always get so excited to read your new blogs... you're so funny! I'm sure Devin thinks the world of you and had a great birthday just because he got to spend the day with you. In fact, I may request a date with Marie for my next birthday. :)

Megs said...

i love this story. i can picture you both exactly. i miss you. let's play soon. we're seriously neighbors now. ferreal.

nat said...

I resemble that remark about kale! There's actually a ton of beets, kale & swiss chard in my fridge right now from my farm share. I just have to figure out what to do with it! :)