~T~E~A~

I love tea. Well, let me rephrase that. I love most all black tea. Every now & then I will want green tea, but most always I prefer black & with NO fruit. (With 1 exception, I will drink orange tea when I am sick, but that is not the norm.)
I usually drink hot tea, but I also like iced tea. I prefer my tea with Splenda, tho I can drink it black. I also enjoy Splenda & milk/cream in my tea (I read that's a British thing.)
So I thought I would list the teas that I like. There are a lot. I keep 6 different black teas in my tea box at all times & another 4-6 kinds in the pantry.
So, here we go. My favorite teas in no particular order:

Regular Black Tea
http://www.liptont.com/our_products/black_tea/index.aspx

Decaf Black Tea
http://www.liptont.com/our_products/black_tea/blk_decaf_cup_size.aspx

Orange Black Tea when I am sick
http://www.coffeeam.com/manortea12lb.html

English Breakfast Tea
http://www.twiningsusashop.com/english-breakfast.html

Irish Breakfast Tea
http://www.twiningsusashop.com/irish-breakfast.html

Tazo's Awake Tea
http://www.tazo.com/tazo.asp?init=

Tazo's Joy Tea
http://www.amazon.com/Tazo-Tea-Joy/dp/B001VZ0M38

Oolong Tea
http://www.twiningsusashop.com/china-oolong.html

Earl Grey Tea
http://www.bigelowtea.com/Catalog/Product/36/1/13/Earl+Grey.aspx

Darjeeling Tea
http://www.twiningsusashop.com/darjeeling.html

White Tea
http://theteanation.com/ItemDetails.aspx?ItemID=164

On occassion Green Tea
http://www.bigelowtea.com/Catalog/Product/36/3/246/All+Natural+Organic+Pure+Green+Tea+-+USDA+Organic.aspx

Depending on the spices I also like Chai (I do not say Chai Tea; they are the same words. It's like saying tea tea.)
http://www.twiningsusashop.com/chai-100-percent-organic-and-fair-trade-certified-tea-page.html

I'm sure there are more. I like trying new black tea blends all the time. :)
HTH

My Weekly To-Do List

I know this isn't food related, but got this from a friend & thought it might be helpful...

Monday
Laundry
Windows
Ceilings

Tuesday
Sweep
Dust
Pick a Drawer (any drawer in any room that needs cleaned out)
Bedrooms

Wednesday
Linens
Bathrooms
Guest Room

Thursday
Mopping
Kitchen

Friday
Vacuum
Laundry
Classroom

Saturday & Sunday
Bowling
Yard
Laundry

For the rooms, it's a good wipe down, straighten up, reorganize, or whatever's necessary.
Windows are like once a month.
Linens every week are towels & every other week are towels & bedding.
The living room isn't on here because I pick up that every evening before I go to bed.
Now of course all of this is subject to change & as needed. :)
And Diamond is in charge of her own things - she cleans her bathroom, her bedroom, & puts away her laundry after I fold it. She's also in charge of the dishwasher.
HTH

Frugal List

There are times where we have to be a little bit more frugal with our grocery bill. So I have figured out a list of dinners that doesn't take many expensive ingredients. It's a very monotonous list, but it works.
1. Hot dogs
2. Hot dogs
3. Hot dogs
4. Hamburgers
5. Hamburgers
6. Pasta
7. Pasta
8. Pasta
9. Chicken & macaroni
10. Chicken & macaroni
11. Italian Sausages
12. Italian Sausages
13. Pizza
14. Pizza
15. Pizza

Or I'll take away 2 of the hot dog times & make a big pot of vegetable soup, etc. to last at least 2 days (DH & DD aren't fond of leftoders).
I also make sure I'm not buying any repeats, not stocking up on anything, etc. I make the list as minimal as possible, but have to make sure we won't run out. It helps.

*Note: leftoders is not a typo, it's a quote from a cartoon DD used to watch*

Dinner Ideas

For those of you who have trouble deciding what to fix during the work week, I found this simple list that might help:
Monday: Crock Pot
Tuesday: Beef
Wednesday: Chicken
Thursday: Pasta
Friday: Mexican

You could add pizza & pork & the week would be complete! :)

Master Store List

Our store list is 1 full page long (3 columns). I print out the master store list & then mark off what we have or don't need & add what we need.
I've separated the lists into non perishable food, perishable food, & not food. Our actual shopping list is smaller than the 1 I print after I've marked off the things we don't need that time. By each item, I write how many we need, too. I also add birthday gifts, etc. if we're buying something like that that time.

How We Create Our "Menu"

I've been asked before how we create our menu. It's very simple.
We only grocery shop every 2 weeks. Because of that, I have to make sure we have enough meals for that time.
I started making a list of the dinners we have often (burgers, pasta, pizza, chicken, etc). Then, I listed bologna, bread, etc. for lunches & cereal, oats, eggs, etc. for breakfasts. I add staples, pantry items, snacks, bathroom & cleaning products, etc and end up with a master list. As needed, I can add to & mark off the master list & it's saved to my laptop.
Before shopping day, I make a list of dinners, new recipes, etc for the 2 weeks.

Example:
Pizza
Pizza (listed twice because it's a Monday night favorite)
Beef Noodle Soup & Biscuits (new recipe from a friend)
Chicken Picata, Onions, Potatoes (new recipe from TV)
Chicken Enchiladas (new recipe from Internet)
Bayou Chicken Pasta & Salad
Steak Fajitas
Pulled Pork & Rolls
Pork Chops with gravy & Green Beans with onions
Potato Sausage Casserole & Salad
Veggie Lo Mien
Steak Fried Rice (will be a new "concoction" I'll make)
Southwestern Spaghetti & Salad
Beef Roast & Biscuits/Rolls
Roasted Sausage, Peppers, & Potatoes

Now that's certainly not the order we have them in - that depends on what I feel like fixing/eating that day. But that gives me a jumping off point for the grocery list & ideas for dinner. This is "subject to change" because sometimes we run out of something or forget an ingredient & have to alter the menu, but it helps.
With the new recipes & dinner lists, I add the ingredients we'll need to the store list. I also make sure we don't have that in the refrigerator or pantry. If we do, I mark it off.
Having the master grocery list & the dinner list really helps.