what a day

Wow.  Today was quite the day.


The gal who's been training me was out today so, after 4 days of training, I was on my own!  The scariest part was that she and I hadn't been able to go through this entire process from start to finish at ALL last week.  There's a lot of steps, requiring approval/input from others so if they were delayed, we just moved on to something else and never got back to them.  Or she'd grab me one afternoon to say that all input was back, and we'd do the last part.  But never from a to z.  I took copious notes, typed them up, printed them out, and brought them with me each day I trained with her.  I would correct my notes, re-type them, and repeat the process the next day.  So, by Friday, I figured I was pretty OK.


Well, today, everything started off well.  I got to work early, fixed my notes from Friday (because I didn't have time Friday afternoon to do it all).  Got the email that signaled the beginning of it all, and off I went!  All of the stuff that I had to do before waiting on approvals went incredibly smoothly.  (Thus I should have known that the rest of the day would be a mess)  Then after I got the first round of approvals (well, 3 of the 4 I needed), I opened the program that does something to the files and then zips them, and I kept getting an error (part of which said "zippy threw an exception" which just cracked me up!).  So, I asked the computer savvy guy I know and he zipped 2 of the files for me, told me to contact IT to get winzip installed on my computer, and I thought all would be good.  Well, I tried working on the 3rd file (once I had winzip) and zippy was still throwing exceptions AND there were other errors.  Talked to tech guy again, he said he'd look them over for errors and zip them for me too.  Got the first two approved the 2nd time, uploaded and out the door.


To try and spare you the boredom of every step of my day, let's just say that:

• Installing winzip did nothing to help me.  Damn zippy and his exception-throwing.
• One file that I had to upload to a vendor (not one of the ones referenced above) uploaded smoothly, but when they sent a file back to me, someone got to it before me, moved it, and I couldn't find it anywhere on the network drive.  Which  meant that I couldn't finish that part of the task.
• The person who was supposed to approve one of my 4 files referenced aboe took until 4:30 to approve the file, and this was one that needed 2 approvals.  This is when I discovered that zippy wasn't going to stop throwing things, so I had to get tech guy to zip AGAIN. Managed to get it sent out, but by 5:10 I still hadn't heard back about the 2nd approval....so I just went home.

I just hate it, because I feel like even though I did what I was supposed to do, and the glitches weren't my fault, I may have come across as an idiot.  If you know me well, you know that I can't stand to have others view me in a negative light.  I know it's going to happen, I just don't like it to.  So, I just hope that everything can be fixed tomorrow, and it won't be my fault!  Ack!

Prayer

I meant to ask earlier....I need prayer for something that's going on in my life.  I thought this was a good thing, and it might still be, but I am having some negative feelings about it.  I'm not sure if those feelings are just me (or even satan) or if they're from God telling me to change.  So...I need some discernment.  I need to know what direction to go....


Thanks :)

finding a new church...week 9

Well, here we are at week 9!  I must say I was definitely more tired this morning than I have been because my first week at work wore me out!  We had a brief moment of "maybe we should just sleep" but we both sucked it up and got ready.  We decided to go back to the church we posted about on week 4, as it's the other church we like a lot.  We're pretty much trying to choose between this one, and the one we went to the last 2 weeks (week 7 and week 8).  


We apparently got there a little bit late, as the music had already started (even though the clock in my car said we were a minute early :)).  This time, as far as song selection goes....we only knew 2 of the 5 songs.  We all know this is a small pet peeve of mine.  But I do have to say that the two songs we DID know are two of my favorites, so that almost made up for it :)  (get an idea of what songs I love by clicking here and here!!)  Another redeeming factor (and this one might be considered a little shallow) is that the guy who lead worship both on week 4 and today has an AMAZING voice.  Much like my dear Scotty, I could listen to this guy sing allllllll day long.  He's also a great worship leader, knows when to say things between songs, just very very awesome.


We both enjoyed the sermon.  (And the sound guy(s) or gal(s) know how to keep the volume under control, which is one of the things that we have a problem with at the other church....the pastor there has a naturally loud voice, and the sound person keeps him loud the entire time....feels like you're being yelled at the entire time)


So.....basically, we're just as confused about which church is right for us as we have been :)  There are pros and cons to each one.  While week 7/8 church has been more welcoming as far as speaking to us, etc, week 4/9 church has more people in our age group that we could connect with if we decided to stay there. It's just going to be a touch decision.  Good news is, if we are quiet and still, God will let us know where to go!  We'd like to think it'll be one of these churches but, at the same time, know that it could be somewhere else. At least we really feel like we're making progress still.  :)

This week

What a week!  I started my new job this week, on Tuesday, and it has been quite the rollercoaster ride!

I did a practice drive to work on Monday, and made it in 33 minutes.  So, I decided to tack an extra 10 minutes on for my drive on Tuesday so I could get there early.  Sadly, the drive took 55 minutes on Tuesday, and I was 10 minutes late for my first day of work!  I felt HORRIBLE!!  Luckily, they were understanding, and no one seemed to say much of anything.  Needless to say, I've been leaving at 7am each morning.  That has put me at work anywhere from 7:40 to 7:50.  Nice to be early, I just hate that long of a drive!  I've started using some "back roads" (I don't think I can really call any roads in the CLT city limits "back roads") instead of the highways.  It seems to take a few minutes longer, but I'm not on the highways with idiots.  The "back roads" do have their own idiots, but it's usually idiots going 45mph instead of 65mph idiots.  :)

I've been taught a TON of stuff.  Noticed how I used taught instead of learned. I have learned a lot, but I'm not feeling comfortable with all of it.  I get to do my first solo project on Monday, as the girl doing most of my training will be out of the office, so I just hope I don't destroy something.  I think I'll be OK....but, there's always some nerves there!!!

I'll update more when I know for sure how I feel about the job.  I know there are some things that I'll enjoy...I always seem to enjoy the mundane things...editing document templates, mail merging, etc.

In other news, my couponing time has become almost non-existent!  I've been getting home at 6pm or later, which doesn't leave me much time or energy to focus on that when I have cooking, cleaning, and a husband!

When I got home last night, I looked up a few things, and went out to get a couple of items that I didn't have coupons for, and hit one little deal.  Harris Teeter has some Aquafresh toothpaste on BOGO this week...$3.49 for two.  I used two $0.75 off 1 coupons, which were doubled, for a grand total of $0.49, which is slightly less than $0.25 per tube.  These are full-sized tubes, too, not trial.  So, that was exciting.  :)

Trying to enjoy the weekend and relax as much as I can...Monday will be here before I know it!


ETA: my cubicle!  Now I need "decoration" suggestions :)

finding a new church...week 8

So, week 8!  2 months......C-R-A-Z-Y!!  Nothing *terribly* exciting to talk about this week, as we actually went back to last week's church today.  It's definitely the one Jeremy likes the best so far, and I'm a little torn between it and one from a previous week (I can't remember the week right now, there've been a few!).  Not to mention we were both curious about this week's worship leader candidate (we mentioned last week that they were conducting a search for a new worship leader, and we happened to come in during the search process).

So, we got there a little later than last week, so we sorta flew in and found seats.  The congregation was introduced to the candidate(s?) for the position...it was a husband and wife duo, and I'm not sure which would be taking the job should they be chosen.  I'm not going to get too deep into this, because I don't want to be mean, but it was NOT a good worship experience where the music was concerned today.  Not at all.  To the point that, if they chose these folks, I'm not sure that I could continue going to this church.  And that's all I'm going to say about that!

One of the ladies who talked to us last week said hi again today...boy is she PERKY!!  I had forgotten her name, and thought she was someone else, so I'm glad she had a nametag on or I definitely would have called her another name.  :)

Not sure what we'll do this coming Sunday, but it's probably safe to say we'll go back to see the next candidate (I think there's one more week, but today *might* have been the last one, I can't remember).  We'll update you guys next week.  Who knows?  This could be the one!  (Or we might go back to the one I mentioned above!  We shall see......:))

This week's deals...

Yeah, I'm really starting to get into the couponing thing.  Now, I will never be one of the "shelf-clearers", but I'm enjoying saving lots of money :)
Harris Teeter is tripling coupons this week, which is AWESOME and I've gotten some great deals!  For my first trip, I made the mistake of going on Thursday when the triples started on Wednesday.  There were several things that I almost couldn't find, but luckily, since the items I had coupons for were also on sale, there were endcaps with extra product.  Here were my best deals from trip number one:

• Grapes were on sale for $0.99/lb.  No coupon for that, of course, but you can't beat that price with a stick!
• Pop Secret Popcorn for $0.84/box ($0.28/bag)--Normally priced at $3.19/box, on sale for BOGO @ $3.19 (~$1.60/box), I had 3 coupons for $0.50 off 2 boxes which was tripled, resulting in the $0.84/box price!  That's a 73.7% savings per box!
• Krunchers Kettle Cooked Potato Chips for $0.25/bag ($0.026/oz)--Normally priced at $3.79/bag, they were on sale for $2.50/bag.  I had 2 coupons for $0.75 off 1 bag, which were tripled, which resulted in 2 bags for $0.25 each.  That's a 93.4% savings per bag!
• Fiber One Bars for $1.30/box--Normally priced at $3.69/box, on sale for $2.50/box.  I had 2 coupons for $0.40 off 1 box, which tripled, and resulted in the $1.30 per box.  That's a 64.8% savings per box!

Overall, I saved about 54% total on my groceries.  I had to buy some things like milk and butter that I didn't have coupons for, which brought the percentage down, but that's still not bad!

I went again today because there were a few deals I hadn't noticed on Thursday (and I also realized that I had forgotten my Honey Nut Cheerios coupon on Thursday and, thus, bought a box at almost full price---the horror!!!!---so I wanted to get my deal before the price went back up).  Of course, with the Harris Teeter being less than a mile from the apartment, and me not having a job until Tuesday, I still have the time to do this.  Starting next week, though, I'll have to make sure I do my research more thoroughly :)

• Honey Nut Cheerios (17oz box) for $0.75--Normally priced at $4.69, on sale for $3.00.  I had a coupon for $0.75 off 1 box (that I got by requesting a free sample of HN cheerios from General Mills) which was tripled, resulting in the $0.75/box price.  That's a savings of 84%!
• Mitchum deodorant for $0.74/stick--Normally priced at $3.99, on sale for $2.99.  I had 2 coupons for $0.75 off 1 stick, they were tripled, resulting in the $0.74/stick price.  That's a savings of 81.5%!
• Gain dish detergent for $0.49/bottle--Normally priced at $2.39, on sale for $1.99.  I had 2 $0.50 off 1 coupons, tripled, resulting in the $0.49/bottle price.  That's a savings of 79.5%!

All in all today, I saved a total of 79.2%!  Or, to spell it out, I paid about $3.75 for all of that, which is less than one of the sticks of deodorant on a regular day!  Granted, I've never tried Mitchum deodorant or Gain dish detergent, but since I'm not terribly brand-loyal in either of those categories, I figured it's worth a shot!  And if they don't work out, we can donate them.  I don't feel bad at all spending a few quarters to donate something.  :)

The only thing I wasn't able to find today were the toothbrushes I had coupons for.  Either they weren't in stock, or my store doesn't carry them.  But I did see something cute when I was in the toothbrush/toothpaste aisle...apparently the "Coupon Fairy" made a visit, and left a few coupons on the shelves.  They expire today, and I reckon the "fairy" wasn't going to use them, so she left them for others.  I checked them out, and didn't need them, so I left them there.  I hope someone who needs them finds them, cuz that was just sweet :)


ETA @ 12:12 ET--I should also note that I got some good deals on clothing this week, too!  I went shopping on Tuesday evening to get a shirt for my interview on Wednesday, and found 2 shirts that I liked on the sales rack at the store.  One was on sale for $25 and the other ended up only being $10 (even though the sticker said more, score!!) so I got 2 work shirts for less than $40.  (And we're talking about a name-brand store, not Wal-Mart or Target, which would normally be a shopping place for me, but I decided to give this store a shot to see if there were any good deals)


At the end of that transaction, they gave me a coupon for $25 off my next $50 purchase.  What?  Really?  Ok!  Since I got the job, I went back tonight and got 2 long-sleeved dress shirts (Charlotte will have a winter eventually) again for under $40.  The shirts were buy one, get one for $10, which brought the total to around $57, take off the $25 and that leaves us at $34 (after tax, that's why the math is off).  Totally awesome.  I'm a happy girl.  :)

finding a new church...week 7 (for real)

It's *actually* week 7 this week, unlike last week when I accidentally claimed it.  :)

We debated this week over whether we should go to the church we had liked the best up until this point, or try a new one.  After some very scientific methodology--aka writing "new church" and "________ church" on pieces of paper and making Jeremy pick a hand--we decided to try a new church!

I did a little more research, this time specifically for UMC churches, and found 3 or 4 that we hadn't visited (that have contemporary service(s)) and sent an email to Jeremy.  He looked around at them, picked one, and that's where we went!

We both got the impression that this was going to be a medium - large sized church, and were surprised when we got there and found that the sanctuary was probably only set up to hold 100 or so people (there were probably 70-80 at the service we went to, they have two of them).  it was also a little awkward, because they're in the process of searching for a director of music/worship, and one of the candidates was there leading worship today.

Several people came up and said hi to us, which is rare (as I touched on last week).  But, with the size of the congregation, it was easy to see that we stuck out like sore thumbs.  (In fact, at one point when the pastor was talking about how good it was to see old and new faces, I swear he looked right at us, lol)  It was very nice, though, to feel like we might belong instead of feeling like just a couple more faces in the crowd.

The music was pretty good...we recognized every song, though I couldn't tell if the whole congregation knew the songs.  Some of them are songs that I love but hadn't heard sung in church in a while (this and this).  One thing that was most interesting to me was that this week's candidate was female.  That simple fact isn't the interesting part, just that it made me realize that I can't even remember the last time (before today) that I had been in the congregation worshipping with a female worship leader.  Considering I was really the only chick who lead songs at Covenant, I am used to dudes.  :)  And our search has proven to be the same (except for the church on week....2 or 3?  A chick lead one or two songs, but not the whole set).  At any rate, she did a good job overall, but definitely had a moment of completely going "rock star" one one of my favorite songs to sing, which was distracting, but otherwise quite talented.

The sermon was pretty good...they just started a new series (and opened with this video, which almost made me cry).  I was a little distracted by the sound (even during the music) because they really kept the pastor's mic HOT and at some points I felt like I was being yelled at, but overall it was good.


We met the pastor for a few minutes afterwards, and were a little shocked to find out that he grew up in Asheville!  So, we talked about that for a few moments and headed out.  On our way out, one of the ladies who talked to us before the service actually remembered our names, and said goodbye to us by name.  You know, I've known for a LONG time how much people love to hear the sound of their own name, but today was the first time in a long time that it actually had such an impact on me.


Seems like this church really could be a place we could stay.  We're not entirely sure yet, and I think we want to visit one of the other churches again, and of course this one again, but we just might be on to something.  Thanks, God.  :)

More good deals

I'm going to try to not post EVERY time I get good deals, but maybe this will be my "weekly" good deal post, and I'll add to it when I get something.  :)

At any rate, here's what I did today.  With the whole point being to "stock up" for the next 2-3 months, I might try to find another couple coupons (there are some websites that will send you coupons for a small fee, and with some of these deals, it'd be worth paying $1-2 for the amount of savings!)

• 2 Cottonelle toilet paper 12-roll packages for $4.49 each--normally priced at $10.99 each (ouch!), on sale for $5.99 each, used 2 $0.75/1 coupons which were doubled, making the final price $4.49 each
• 2 20-count Finish Powerball tabs for $1.60 each--normally priced at $5.79 each, on sale BOGO (~$2.90 each), used 2 $0.65/1 coupons which were doubled, making the final price $1.60 each
• 1-lb of Land O Frost sandwich meat for $2.89--normally priced at $4.99/lb, on sale for $3.99/lb, used 1 $0.55/1 coupon which was doubled, making the final price $2.89
• We also took advantage of their weekly "Meal Deal", where they'll group together a few items that might constitute a meal, and discount the items when you buy them all together.  This week, for $6.99 we got:
• 6-pack of Johnsonville sausage
• 1 package of hotdog buns
• 1 lb bag of pretzels
• 2 L of coke

All in all, we spent $25.50 on $54.15 worth of groceries, which is a $52% savings overall.  Not quite "extreme" yet, but I'm working on it!  And today is only day one of the new prices at our grocery stores, so there may be a few more small trips, once I figure out what's going on.

(Got all the match-ups from Cheapest Mom and Southern Savers!)


Added 9/7/11 @ 9:30pm 

So, I was double checking information on Money Saving Mom and remembered she had posted about some really cheap printer paper at Staples.  I looked it up on the Staples website, and realized that the deals ended today instead of Saturday like I thought.  So, I quickly googled the closest Staples that was open past 8pm, conned Jeremy into coming with me, and zoomed down there!  We had a little trouble finding it (it's in a fairly large shopping area with lots of side streets), but finally got inside around 8:55!  Found the paper and went about our merry way!  The paper cost $10.70 (including tax) and after we send in the rebate, it will have cost us only $0.02!  (A penny per 500 sheets)  Jeremy kept saying "Penny paper, PENNY PAPER!!!!!" on the way there to motivate me to drive faster (no worries, we didn't drive any faster than any of the other crazies out there :))

Small victories

Had to run to Harris Teeter for a few things today, and since I found my other 2 Playtex coupons that I meant to take the other day with my first coupon experiment, I decided to take them today.  Today's deal ended up being even better :)


They were on sale 2/$5.29.  I again used one $2/1 coupon and one $1/1, but there was also a $1/1 that I could add to my VIC card....so that means I got $4 off, and only paid $1.29 for two, which is just about $0.64/box!  That is an 87.9% savings.  :)  I'm kinda liking this couponing thing.  I *might* be a little addicted.  Maybe.  :)

finding a new church--week 6

Pretty sure it's week 7, at least.  I didn't check before I started writing the post :)  (ETA...it's week 6.  Changed the title to reflect :))

So, today we visited a church that had been recommended to us by some friends.  Another church that has both a traditional service and a contemporary service.  (And of course we opted for contemporary, thank you very much!)  We "accidentally" found the church a few days back because I just KNEW I knew where it was.  We were driving around, it was dark, and I resigned myself to the fact that I had botched directions again, decided to turn around in the next parking lot......which happened to be this church!  So, it's the first time we went to church without having to use a GPS :)

But, I digress.  We get there, and were thankful they had a sign pointing people in the right direction, as the contemporary service is held in what appeared to be a rec hall or something, as opposed to the sanctuary.  (There were some of those basketball nets that will "fold up", for lack of better phrase, towards the ceiling so that they're out of the way when not needed.  Greeters were nice as always, and we walked in and found a seat and hung out until the service started (since we got there a little early).  Then the pastor (or associate pastor? We keep missing the "actual" pastors at these churches since it's still summer) greeted, a video played, and the music started.  It's one of those things where I don't want to be mean....but the music just wasn't good.  I'm definitely a "music snob" in some ways, as I've gotten so accustomed to the AMAZING musicians at Covenant.  (The sound wasn't mixed well, people were having a hard time recovering from mistakes, etc...just distracting...)

The first song was something neither of us had heard before.  I glanced around at the congregation and we weren't the only ones!  Only around 5-10 out of the 150 or so people who were there were actually singing.  So, we made it through that song, and then there was one we knew.  Finally got into the worshipping spirit, and then once that song ended, it was time to greet people.  What?!?  Why would you interrupt a time of worship with that?  It was almost as abrupt as if the pastor had stopped his sermon in the middle and said, "Ok, this is the point in my sermon where i stop mid-sentence and you greet each other".  But, ok.  So, we greeted people, and, as is sadly the norm, no one really said anything to us.  Sang the 3rd song, sat down, and then it was time for the offering while the band sang a mediocre version of "Manic Monday" (it fit with the sermon theme).  

It was then that things changed a bit...the guy next to us actually said hi, and asked us if this was our first time visiting.  This hasn't happened at ANY other church we've visited.  (Well, we've had church staff talk to us at other churches, but this was the first time that an "average church member" bothered to take an interest in us).  (Oh, and not to mention that this fella knows sign language.  During the first song that no one knew, I kept seeing him sign out of the corner of my eye, but couldn't make any of it out because he was sorta turned away from me.  Turns out he has a degree in ASL.  He works with computers.  Go figure :))

Sermon.....eh.  Nothing revolutionary.  Nothing satanic either.  High point (other than the people being nice) was that we finally caught a church doing communion!  Hallelujah!  Though they didn't explain intinction, which we are familiar with, but I can see other visitors being confused.  Then, after all that, some prayer and byebye.  I just wasn't feeling the flow of the service.  So then the nice people next to us were telling us about the church, and different groups, and different ways the church is active in the community, and just in general being super-nice.  It was refreshing.  Then they were going to lead us to the visitors' table, but apparently the church is in a big hurry to take everything down after service on Sunday because the table was gone.  Oh well.

I don't reckon this was our favorite.  Jeremy did express interest in possibly going back to hear their main pastor preach, and hear the rest of the praise team (their normal leader was on vacation this week, apparently along with a few other people).  So, we might re-visit.  We both still have a favorite of the ones we've been to that we want to re-visit as well.  So, not sure if next week will be new or will be a repeat.  I'll let you know, though :)

My first "organized" coupon trip...

...was neither a complete failure nor a complete success.  I fell somewhere in the middle.  I regularly read the Money Saving Mom blog (so what if I'm not a mom yet!), which has TONS of resources for coupons, sales, freebies, etc.  Love that site.  From that site, I found the Cheapest Mom, who takes the time (or hires elves who do) to match grocery store sales to coupons, and highlight which items are at such a good deal that you should stock up.  She even tells you where you can find the coupon--since the ones that come in the Sunday paper sometimes don't expire for months, you may have forgotten that you even HAD that coupon.  She'll also link you to any coupons that you can print, or "save" to your store loyalty card (I had NO CLUE that part existed until about 2 weeks ago!).  Needless to say, it's a wonderful resource!

At any rate, I decided to plan two small-ish trips for today, to see what I could do.  After comparing prices at Harris Teeter and Bi-Lo, which are the two stores closest to us, I planned a very small trip to HT and a medium-sized trip to BL.

The purpose of HT was to get just a couple of things.  I'll break them down along with sale prices/coupons:

• 5lb bag of Domino sugar for $1.49--originally priced at $4.19, on sale for $2.79.  I had a coupon for $0.65 off, which was doubled, for an additional savings of $1.30.
• 8-count Hamburger Buns for $0.99--originally priced at $1.39, on sale for $0.99
• 1lb bag of baby carrots for $1.79--originally priced at $1.99, on sale for $1.79
• 2.59 lb of grapes for $2.56--regularly priced at $1.99/lb, on sale for $0.99/lb
• 2 18-count boxes of Playtex tampons for $2.29 (that's the price for BOTH, my best deal of the day)--regularly priced at $5.29 per box, on BOGO sale.  I used 2 coupons (because HT's coupon policy says that you can use one coupon per item on BOGO sales)--one for $2/1 box and one for $1/1 box.  All of that added together, and I got each box for approximately $1.15! 

So, what should have cost $23.83 cost $9.65, for a savings of almost 60%!  This trip got me exactly what I wanted, and exactly what I expected.


Now, I'm not going to bore you with all the details of my trip to Bi-Lo, as that one was much bigger than 5 items, but I will hit on a few points:

• One lesson I learned the hard way is to make sure that the store I shop at is running the same sales as the one mentioned in the blog.  There were one or two differences, and I hadn't checked to make sure.  Definitely an oversight on my part, as it's something I knew about ahead of time, but just let it slip my mind.
• I also reinforced my theory that I should be buying the Sunday paper every week so that I can get the coupons.  Even if I don't need that item now, I will need it later.  And even if it's something I won't use, if it ends up being almost-free with the coupon and a sale, I can donate it.  (Interestingly enough, I looked into getting a subscription of the Charlotte Observer and for just Sundays, it's still more expensive than buying a paper at a news stand, lol)
• 12 oz boxes of Kellogg's Cornflakes were on sale for $1.88 and certain types and sizes of Cheerios were on sale for $2.00.  Good deals on those cereals!  (Especially considering, for me, Bi-Lo's brand of "cheerios" doesn't taste good...)
• I found some chicken that was on sale and then marked down even more because the sell-by date is tomorrow.  Got 1.81 lbs for $3.16/lb, which was an $0.83/lb savings.  Not drastic, but pretty good and since we were out of chicken, I definitely had to get some!
• I used 3 coupons, and they were all doubled, so that was some savings as well.  (I need more coupons!  lol)
• I found an extra deal or two that I just couldn't pass up, which helped tack on some extra $$ to my total.

All in all, the retail value of what I got was $141.32, and I only paid $91.04, which is a 37% savings, which isn't shabby at all!


I'm trying to learn the sales cycles, and how much of each item we eat/use between those sales.  For example, if chicken breasts go on sale for a really low price every 4 weeks, how much chicken would I need to get to last us a month?  (Granted, I probably can't always do this with meat, dairy and produce since we only have one fridge and a tiny freezer, but you get the point)


For my first try, I'm not disappointed!  And I've learned things to take with me the next time.  :)