Day Three & Feeling It

This is Day Three of the #livebelowtheline challenge. My biggest challenge right now is that I've been up since 1am. It's hard not to think about food when you sit up and worry about the petty little realities of life. But I have managed to behave. Looking at the PC clock, I see that I have made it to 4:30am without cheating.

To catch you up on what's been happening: I have gotten a bunch of donations. I am going to get to the bank today or tomorrow to get them deposited so that I can credit them to the site. The funny thing about this is, I have not minded the challenge, but I never want to deal with people and money again. I cannot believe (still) how paranoid people are about using their cards online. SMH. Whatev.

Anyway - I did NOT stick to my menu plan. I have not had a chance to get to the store. I can't drive some days & we have a whole bunch going on at the house - with people in for the graduation and other people getting ready to leave out for Stateside Granny visits. We are a mess laundry, suitcases and baby bottles. It's like a madhouse right now.

What I have done for food is kept it simple. Boiled eggs have been my friend. No one else was thrilled because boiled eggs tend to smell like - boiled eggs. My sister hates the smell & will usually only eat boiled eggs at Easter! LOL. So... I have eaten cereal and soymilk, tuna and a salmon croquette (yesterday). Not crazy about croquettes, but I realized it was only about .10 cents. We caught the fish & it's cooked with very few ingredients. (Of course, this made me realize that not every hungry child has access to fish or the means to cook it in certain ways... ~sigh~)

I have had enough tea to float a boat. Not done so much water... Another thing I lucked out with is that I had some nice wheat rolls that I got on sale at Walmart last week. There were 7 in the $1.00 bag. Score. (Wonder if that is how excited a hungry person is when a good bargain comes along? Bet I will think twice when I see day-old or discount breads at the store.)

By the way - I don't know if it helps anywhere but in my town to mention this, but there is a local bakery here that sends out email alerts about specials. When I get the next email from them, I will do a mention here. Can't think of it for the life of me right now, but you can sign up to receive an email when they are giving away free loaves of bread or having other specials. I have used my coupon for the free bread.

Another random thought that crossed my mind today was that, at the $1.50 cap in this challenge, it's hard not to be tempted to make the wrong food choices. For instance, I prefer Burger King burgers over McD's (though Ronald's fries are the best!), but here in Alaska, you can eat off the $1.00 menu - which is, really, the $1.50 menu. If you have a $1.50 and the choice to go and try to buy single eggs or just grab a burger - it's easier to get the burger. Especially if you have no way to cook the freaking egg, right?

I know that I am all over the place in this post, but this whole "babies not eating" has me bugging. Plus, I'm sure those damn eggs aren't the best brain fuel. (Yeah, yeah - I've heard how great eggs are supposed to be, but I think that only works if you get some toast and bacon with them).

One last thing: When I was reading about the mayor in Nevada doing the food stamp menu for a week, I remember her saying that her mind didn't work as well on such a diet. Well, all joking aside - my mind only fires on half its cylinders as is. I do notice that I feel just a bit more tired and a lot more befuddled since eating less. I don't think it's the "less" part so much as it is the "what" part. I need to eat healthier (or at least as healthy as able) while doing the challenge. Think I am going to find some cheap sardines or kippers in oil for tomorrow. Wonder if that will help?

Oh well, I ramble again. I will cut this short and try to post when I have my thoughts better organized. Til then,

Peace
--Free