Our Family Life

Saturdays on the Porch

by Michelle

Welcome to the porch! Let’s chat!

Saturdays on the porch

*Post contains affiliate links. They are free for you to click on, however, I will be compensated if you make a purchase. This supports my family and I thank you for your support! To learn more, click here.

Thanks for joining me on the porch today!

It’s been a pretty busy week for us.

Last Friday my daughter and I went to the animal shelter. She has been looking at dogs on their website for months now and finally found 2 dogs that were corgi mixes. However, by the time we got there they were both gone.

Stephanie, the very sweet lady that works at the shelter, asked my daughter what she wanted in a dog. She told her she wanted a big dog that was active but not too active. (She is a teenager afterall.)

Stephanie showed us all the dogs that were similar to what my daughter wanted and that were also good with cats. (We have 3!)

When we had seen all the dogs, Stephanie asked my daughter if there was any that stood out to her that she might want to visit in the play yard. My daughter said she couldn’t remember his name, but there was one that she just felt a connection with right away even though he was in a kennel.

My daughter spent some time visiting and playing with Balto (the dog) and the next thing I knew I was filling out an adoption application. Since this wasn’t exactly planned, I didn’t have anything prepared – no dog food, leash, toys, nothing – they held Balto as “pending” until they opened back up Tuesday and we could take him home. Which was super sweet because they normally don’t hold dogs like that.

So Monday we spent the day “dog stuff” shopping and got everything he would need. (And tear up immediately.) Plus, an anonymous person came into the shelter one day and sponsored several dogs. Batlo was one of them, so we only had to pay the adoption fee, not the neuter fee. That saved us $40! So whoever sponsored Balto, thank you!

So here’s how my Tuesday went in photos:

Mrs. CL & Amber
The day started off with Mrs. Cat Litter and Amber hanging out on the stairs looking out the front door.
Amber
After Balto’s arrival, Amber ended up on the kitchen counter trying to hide behind small bowls for the rest of the evening.
Balto
Later that afternoon Balto arrived.
Mrs. CL
And Mrs. Cat Litter ended up climbing the ladder somehow. I still have no idea how she got down.

Needless to say, we didn’t see the cats for the rest of the night. I didn’t get a picture of our other cat, Oatmeal, but we later found her hiding in my daughter’s bathtub.

It took a few days, but they’ve started coming back out and looking around. All three cats hide upstairs all day. I think they are starting to realize he’s an okay dog and he’s not going to bother them. Either that or they think he’s the biggest and ugliest cat they’ve ever seen.

So far Balto’s been the sweetest dog. And other than ripping the head off his stuffed owl, he’s been good. He’s already protective over my daughter as if he knows exactly who rescued him.

Balto

Home Update

Nothing to report on the home this week. We’re still waiting to hear back from the contractors, of course.

My daughter is planning her bathroom remodel and is trying to decide between paint colors right now. There’s not a lot to do in there except paint and add some shelves. I love simple projects like that!

Weekly Menu

What’s on the menu this week:

  • Monday: Chicken sandwhiches; Onion rings
  • Tuesday: Grilled cheeseburger wraps; Oven fries
  • Wednesday: Subway
  • Thursday: Spaghetti; Butter bread
  • Friday: Ravioli; Salad
  • Saturday: out
  • Sunday: Pepperoni Pizza; Salad

No special dessert this week because I made breakfast burritos to freeze for the upcoming weeks.

These are so easy to make! I put green peppers, sausage, egg, and cheese in mine.

All I did was dice the green pepper and put it in a pan with some oil to saute for about 3 or 4 minutes. Then I added 1 pound of sausage to the peppers. While the sausage was cooking, I put a dozen eggs into a large bowl and whisked them up with a little bit of pepper. Once the sausage was cooked and crumbled, I poured in the eggs and let them cook.

While that was cooking, I laid the burritos out on pieces of foil. Once the sausage/egg mixture was done, I put about 1/4 cup on each burrito, then added a little bit of shredded cheddar cheese on top of each one. When they were all cool, my daughter and I wrapped up all the burritos, placed them in freezer bags, and stuck them in the freezer.

Breakfast Burritos

Whenever I want a burrito for breakfast, I just wrap it in a paper towel and stick in the microwave for 1 minute and 15 seconds. It’s so delicious!

We were getting the 12 pack of El Monterey breakfast burritos at Walmat, which are $11.94. That comes to be about $1.00 per burrito.

Making them myself, I got 16 burritos (but you can easily get 20 by spreading the mixture a little thinner on each burrito). I got everything at Kroger and together the ingredients were $8.62, which comes to $0.54 per burrito. Quite the savings! Plus, they have a lot less sodium.

Frugal household tip of the week:

Save money (and the environment) with reusable products

Save money by using reusable paper towels instead of regular paper towels. Reusable paper towels can be washed and reused instead of being thrown in the trash. And if you have a sweeper mop, they will fit on those, too!

Reusable paper towels can be used anywhere you use regular paper towels. But instead of being tossed in the trash, you can just wash and resuse them! Not only are you saving money by reusing them, you’re also helping the environment.

Other great reusable products to save money include:

Positive Story of the Week

This story of a mom looking for a dog for her sons was just so sweet! She went to the local shelter with the idea of adopting a new family pet. At the shelter was her own dog that she has lost over 2 years ago! And he even remembered her! The pictures of her with him just melt my heart.

mom and dog
via Good News Netword

Fun Photo of the Week

While we were sitting in the kitchen one night, my husband happened to notice that we had a visitor peeking through the window at us. My daughter and I found it pretty cool, but my husband hates snakes, so he didn’t think it was too cool.

snake

Deal of the Week:

Old Navy is having an epic clearance event going on right now with clothes up to 75% off. What a great way to save money on back-to-school clothes! Or even if you just need a wardrobe refresh like I do.

Your turn!

What have you been up to this week? I’d love to hear what’s going on in your life!

Thank you for sharing!
1
Share