Eating Healthy on a Budget

We've had nearly two weeks living on our own and we've come up with a sort of routine already. Neither of us tend to be home together a lot just due to the circumstances of our jobs, and that seems to work out just fine. We are great when it comes to communicating and letting each other know when the boys are coming over or other friends or the such.

We have also gotten pretty good at grocery shopping, which is interesting cause when I talk to other people about roommates and cooking and food they seem to do things differently. All I can say is that we are splitting the cost of food and that is working very well.

This brings me to a thought that I had concerning this sort of cooking. Maybe it's the personal trainer in me....idk! Is it possible to eat healthy and not break the bank with organic foods? Turns out yes, it is! Here are a few things I've learned through research as well as just from experience.

1. When going grocery shopping, have a list and stick to that list. It helps to plan your meals ahead of time so you know exactly what you will need.

2. Eat seasonally. Produce is cheaper while it is in season, not to mention it is easier to find and tends to taste a lot fresher. This can also be achieved by going to farmers' markets. I know my area does have winter farmers' market, check and see if your area does! I'm hoping to go this month and see how prices look and see what they have in general!

3. Cook large amounts of food and freeze portions for later. This includes rice, beans, meat, veggies, etc. Honestly, this is very useful. If you are planning on keeping your stuff in the freezer for a while, make sure you put the date on the container or bag so you know how old they are!

So, yea. I hope that these are helpful! Yay for healthy eating while not breaking the bank!
How do you eat healthy? I love hearing responses!

Love,
Sara :)

ps. I am working on making some fun magnets, time has just not been on my time lately....

New Apartment and Hopsital Visit

This week has been absolutely crazy! We moved into our new apartment on Saturday and are very pleased with how it looks (there will be a post geared more towards this as we continue to move in and get stuff situated, and when I have a camera that works...) and feels as far as being a 'home'. However, I have not stayed here every night. I had planned on being a bit better with posting since I moved and had less driving time, and that started off great with Monday, but I woke up Tuesday morning covered in hives and went to the walk-in clinic which was not very helpful and found myself in the ER Wednesday morning at 3am, with swollen hands, feet, face, and large hives all over my body. In order to stop the swelling I received a shot of epinephrine, after an IV bag of steroids to try and halt my swelling. I spent Wednesday night at my parents' house once again trying to figure out what it was that had set off this reaction. Turns out it wasn't the new apartment because again around 3am this morning I found myself asking my mother to use her master bedroom tub in order to take an oatmeal bath (those things feel so wonderful on burning skin!) to soothe the rash that had appeared all over my back, arms, and legs. This morning we went to the allergist hoping for some answers. The answers I got were interesting and not what we expected. The theory as of now is that I am actually allergic to a medication that my dermatologist had prescribed for me a month or so ago, when I had developed a cough and this past week had just been when my body and decided it couldn't fight off the infection as well anymore and I kinda exploded in hives. Tonight, I'm back in the apartment (much to my apartment mate's relief) and only have a few markers left of the hives and swollen hands since I stopped taking the medication this morning and went on some pretty heavy steroids to get whatever it is out of my system.
Now, add this to the fact that my boss is gone until Monday and I have picked up a few of her clients and you can probably guess at my current stress level :P. Actually, it's not that bad. I'm not too concerned and I am looking forward to a full day with hopefully a nice run (sadly still inside since Wisconsin weather is being stupid) or at least workout tomorrow.
Anywho, this apartment is really quite awesome and I can't wait to share it with you all! We even have a washer and dryer and dishwasher in the actual room!!! I can't wait to get cooking and decorate this place! Not to mention, there is a Michaels about two blocks down and an Ottos not even 5 minutes away by car, AND a Half-Price Books maybe 10-15 minutes away by car! We picked a nice area! The 15 minute straight shot drive to work is just an added bonus!

How have your weekends been going, dear friendly readers?

Love,
Sara :)

Achievement Unlocked: First Apartment!!

It's official! Morgan and I have gotten our first apartment!! It is all still a bit surreal, we are finalizing a date to move in (probably during March, which is about 3 months earlier than I was originally planning, but I won't complain) but are both super excited. We got quite lucky with where we are ending up, because we will be in a safe area, with both our jobs within 15-25 minutes, which is one of the reasons we decided on moving in the first place. There is also a swimming pool, an exercise room, and tennis courts at this place which are all just an added bonus! I can't wait to get my feet wet and see if I'm still as bad at tennis as I used to be :P (I was not good!).

On the other hand, looking at this change means several other things that make life more interesting. For instance, financially, this is going to be a journey all it's own. I won't be traveling for really much at all for a while because we will be a bit tight on money. We understood that fact when we applied for the apartment and thought about it for a few days before. Also, this means that we are on our own, and other than college, neither of us have done this before. I am farther from Matt for now too, which is simply quite sad because we had gotten used to seeing each other and only having to drive like 15 minutes. But hopefully this will be a step in the right direction for the both of us.

I will let you know when we figure out our move in date, but for now I'm still letting everything sink in. This reminds me that I really need to get a new camera....I'm still not sure what kind I even want...ugh! 

Another mark for this week, we had a day this past week where it was in the 40s!!! Come on guys, Wisconsin is freaking cold like 30% of the year and there's construction 80% (yes, they do overlap).It's been a great week, eventful, and full of information and self-discovery. I've gotta work on this organization stuff...I'm getting better but it's just not good enough yet. But there's always something for everyone to work on and for me it's organization. :)

I'm super excited to start getting things ready for moving! I'm nervous as all hell! But so freaking excited as well!!

Love,

Sara :)