Congratulations, Barack Obama!

I went to bed last night before the final votes were in, and my husband informed me this morning history had been made.

I cannot even explain the feeling in my heart - I think it might be hope.

Even though I'm only in my early-thirties, I'd consider myself pretty jaded and cynical about the state of our country. I won't launch into those various diatribes here, but suffice it to say, I just felt America the Beautiful...wasn't. I know it's unpatriotic, and people would condemn me for saying it, but I know I'm not the only disillusioned young person (!) out there.

This presidential campaign even further bolstered my belief that the American people, for all their self-proclaimed sophistication, was nothing more than a mob of backward-thinkers. I could hardly bear the juvenile mudslinging and sniping.

Last night, as I watched the electoral map change from gray to red and blue, I became disgusted. It seemed like a racial battle. The solid line of blue abruptly halted at the Appalachian states, and the red waves of grain flowed south to the Gulf of Mexico. I thought to myself, "this is what it's going to be. People are so prejudiced that we can't separate color and quality, and we might be doing this country a huge misjustice, all because we can't get past the stupid, narrow-minded issue of someone's skin color."

In an effort of self-preservation, I even went to bed trying to convince myself I didn't want Obama as president, because the American people would just be horrible to him...like when students misbehave when there's a substitute teacher.

So I woke this morning and received the good news, and a ray of light shot through my little jaded heart. Maybe there's some redeemable qualities still there...maybe we can get out of this funk we're in. Maybe things can change.

Maybe. It's a step from where I had been.

Here I bask, in the glorious righteousness of Green Week #4, like a divine lizard in the sun.

Week 3: Dollars spent - $143.12 ++ Bags filled - Five of five (and they were FULL)

This was the first real "test" of our practice. The cupboards bordered on meager, and the refrig was nearly bare. The menu had been run through, and I fully expected this trip to cost the most to date. I was right, but under $150 is still pretty good for a family of five.

However, by industriously scanning my grocery receipts, I think I will need to make the following changes in my current lifestyle.

a. Invest in a salmon fish hatchery. We love seafood around here, and salmon is good for you. However, Iowa, being a landlocked state, nearly demands the arm and leg of your firstborn for the little omega-3 buggers. I shelled out fourteen dollars for salmon meal products...but it's two meals' worth, and at seven dollars a meal, divided by five Nelsons...that's roughly $1.40 a person. THAT puts a different spin on things. What would $1.40 buy us at Red Lobster? Anyway, my original point is, if I had my own hatchery, I could eat salmon whenever I felt like it, $1.40 be damned.

b. Marinate my own damn chicken breasts. Now, I like the convenient pre-seasoned ones, because I can pop them in the oven and voila! I'm the Rachael Ray of the Hawkeye State. However, at $7.00 dollars a bag (containing four frozen breasts, so I needed two bags), that's another fourteen dollars for ONE meal. Whoa - my per person cost just DOUBLED to two dollars and eighty cents. Those tomato-basil seasoned breasts were good, but they weren't that good. So, yeah, I guess from here on out, I'll go with a package of Tyson and a bottle of Lawry's.

c. Stop buying so many grapes. I've gone off of them a bit now, but there's still some grape-hoarding tendencies lingering. Two bags of red seedless grapes sang me the tune of $6.09. I spent nearly seven dollars on grapes. I should serve them with the seven dollar chicken breasts.

d. Raise my own turkeys. Slaughter my own turkeys. Skin and cook my own turkeys. Smoke my own turkeys. Slice my own turkey deli meat. This, of course, means I'd have to invest in one of those handy-dandy stainless steel mega-slicer things (which I DO NOT have the counter space for). Eight dollars and seventeen cents on a pound and a half of smoked turkey. I sure hope it was an Olympic turkey or something special like that. *Sigh* I'm really not willing to end my relationship with sliced turkey. I s'pose I could just not buy as much.

e. Attempt to nourish my family on the following things: Saltine crackers, celery, alfalfa sprouts, chocolate chip granola bars, various canned vegetables, hummus, prepackaged bags of salad, bananas, tomato sauce, and a box of cornbread stuffing. Oh yeah, and paprika and chili seasoning, too. Because those were the only things under two dollars.

All in all, not bad, really. I contentedly drove my little Kia minivan home with the black cloth bags snug in the trunk space.

Week Four: Dollars spent - $124.10 ++ Bags filled - Five out of five ++ Unbagged items: Four (dog food, ten-pack of paper towels, milk, and a twelve-pack of soda)

Hmmm...mixed review here. First of all, several menu items from the previous week remained on the list. We ate out three times, due to Halloween, a suppertime doctor appointment, and a "I don't feel like eating at home" comment from Brent. Ridiculous, I know, but there it is.

Basically, we spent less than last week. However, we did not purchase nearly as many meat-type items as last week, the only item being a Lloyd's Pork Roast Au Jus thing. Adding this cost ($5.68) to the $3.34 lite hamburger buns, the French Dip sandwich meal averages out to about $1.80 per person. More than the salmon meals but less than the chicken meal. And we're eating the Other White Meat, so that's good.

Other than this purchase, there was also the sort-of-monthly purchases of dog food and paper towels...not regular visitors to the grocery list. Also, I reduced my sliced turkey amount by a half-pound and saved only about 80 cents. Pshaw! I shake my fist at you, sliced turkey! Also, apples must be going out of season, because a paper bag of Jonathans cost $5.03. Maybe that's a normal price...I dunno. If I lived in Washington state, I would know these things.

Nineteen dollars was the difference this week. However, it's still thought-provoking, because while I spent less this time around, I don't feel that I got the complete bang for my buck.

Last night, I had a lovely time. I spent four dollars, and this is what I received.

1. One hour of wonderful classical music courtesy of the high school orchestra.

2. A free piece of pie and cup of coffee.

3. The warm fuzzy feeling of supporting my students in their activity.

4. Culture.

A student asked me about a week ago to attend the orchestra's Dessert Concert. I'd never been asked before, and I'd never gone before. So, you know me, I'm all about new experiences. So I said yes.

It was money well-spent. We took the boys, and Spencer was enthralled with the musicians. I kept reminding him that in a few years' time, with some practice, this could be him (he started violin about a month ago).

Brent and I commented that it's something we should do more. Support the academic fine arts more, that is. Our next stop might be a high school choir concert...who knows? We're on a roll!

Yours truly spent another satisfying weekend immersed in the nerd lifestyle.

First, on Friday night, I spent discussing the second half of the book "Just Do It: How one couple turned off the TV and turned on their sex lives for 101 days (No Excuses)." For those of you dear readers who don't know, I am one-third of a powerful literary organization known as...Universal Khaki. Roughly every two weeks, we meet (in secret) to discuss mind-provoking literature like Eragon, Stardust, et al.

Secrets that were unlocked and mysteries that were unveiled are far too powerful to speak of here.

So, then, Saturday. The crew assembled at noon for a rousing Dungeons and Dragons adventure.

Oh yes, I have now confessed. Complete nerd.

Due to the noctural habits of our junior players (one of them being our DM), we actually did not start the adventure until one-thirtyish.

We fought several enemies, and I leapt upon an Amulet of Fireball, taking negative points of damage (rendering myself unconscious). Don't be fooled, I didn't do it for the heroics. Everyone else but me failed their Reflex save and so I "took one for the team."

Being a monk, though, I can kill enemies pretty much with my bare fists, so I did a lot of that. Brent's character is a bard, so he did a lot of singing. Kerri was a sorceress, so she cast a lot of spells. Kimba's a ranger, so she did a lot of...rangering. I guess. The other guys are fighters and barbarians and did a great amount of hack-and-slash.

It was all good, and culminated in an utter defeat of 100 foot soldiers by us. We had pits and fire rings and piano wire and spiky things that hurt their feet. Yes, complete annihilation.

Our game plan for destroying the soldiers was so brilliant that I actually documented it.

Here we all our posing around the visual of our magnificent strategem, pointing to our character.



And here are two little mini-nerds in the making.

The crusade to be lean and green continues.

Remember our cloth grocery bag experiment and how Brent said the real test would be when we shopped for a "real" week of groceries? (cf. October 12)

So, yeah, it turns out we haven't had one of those yet.

Last Sunday's total came to just under $70 dollars, which sounds so wonderful, but it's really not. Last week was not a "real" week of meals. Because of the community theater play I was in, I wasn't in a meal preparation mood, so we ate in restaurants about three times last week. So, the grocery shopping was pared down last Sunday because we still had meal ideas from the week before. Still, though, it was an excellent exercise in frugality, and hopefully, the trend will continue.

This week has been much better, meal-wise. We've eaten at home every night, and the only exception will be tonight. I do think there will be a package of frozen chicken breasts left in the freezer...other than that, menu ideas will be new this week.

In short, THIS Sunday will be the real test. I mean it this time!