Bend with the wind- Dinner & Trip Packing

Grandma and kids on our trip to the Great Smoky Mountains

I haven't perfected the "go with the flow" thing yet. My in-laws will be here a day sooner than expected which I am actually looking forward to despite everything I think I need to get done.

We spent $18 on Chinese dinner last night which I don't regret at all even though our budget is spent. It was delicious and the company was fantastic. And I'm back on the horse and ready to make our food again. Tonight we're having the tacos we were supposed to be having last night.
And I have leftover rice, a lot of eggs, and leftover peas so we'll have fried rice the next night.
This is why planning more than a day or two in advance does not work for me. I can't foresee what leftovers we will need to use up. Menu planning does help keep me from scratching my head about what's for dinner though.
The Beefaroni was a big hit with Hubby. I ended up using chunky spaghetti sauce instead of adding mushrooms and he really liked it. We topped it with parmesan instead of cheddar because that's what we had.
We are taking my in-laws to CiCi's pizza buffet for dinner this weekend. We have coupons and everyone likes it. Less dishes and stress for me.
Monday morning Hubby and I are flying out to San Francisco for a business trip mixed with pleasure and visiting with old friends. It's also our 12th anniversary and we're taking a tour of Alcatraz. I'm so looking forward to it! My goal is to pack as little as possible. I'm getting good at it and even hand washed my laundry when we stayed in Rome so I could minimize our luggage. I'm thinking I'll be doing that again to save on space. I'm probably going to be packing much of the same clothing. Neither hotel has a washer. And I'm okay with that. Washing your laundry by hand is sort of peaceful and cathartic. I have my make up needs down to an acceptable minimum with just powder, lipstick and mascara. Since I go most days with just lip gloss I feel I need make up less and less. Free samples from sites like WalMart and Start Sampling keep us in mini deodorants and toothpaste so I won't be spending money on 3 oz. bottles. I'll have more room in my luggage for the books I want to read while Hubby is in a meeting.

And now I have to attend to the laundry that needs hanging to dry and folding. Today is a better day!