Finding Contentment

Easier said than done

EARLY TO BED...

Wow, this whole going to bed at a decent time thing is going to be harder than I thought. Last night (my first night after I set my goal) I didn't make it to bed by 10 p.m. but I did make it to bed by 11 p.m.

The problem is that my body has apparently gotten used to going to bed late, and I couldn't drift off to sleep until well past midnight. I forced myself to stay in bed and not get up though. I have to retrain my body.

Tonight I help out with the youth group (a motley crew of about 30 teenagers who parents haven't seen the inside of a church since they were kids, if at all). I probably won't even get home until about  9 p.m., so getting the kids and then myself to bed by 10 may not be feasible. But we'll see how it goes!

WHERE'S THE BREAD?...

In the meantime, this never-buying-bread-again thing is also easier said then done. I still like making the bread, but I ran out of flour a couple of days ago and haven't been able to get to the store to buy more. Our family usually just eats sandwiches for lunch, so we go through a lot of bread. I have had to improvise lunch since I ran out of flour.

I wonder if the price of bread flour is really going to make baking bread cheaper than buying bread. Has anyone done the math (I'm still too tired to do math)? If baking is just slightly more than buying, it's still worth it since I know what will be going in the bread. But if it is going to be a lot more, I may have to switch back. I only got two loaves of bread out of a 5 pound bag of bread flour. I may have enough left to bake half a loaf.

I'm going to Sam's Club tomorrow to price the bread flour and yeast there and see if I can come out cheaper.

i feel your pain

04:47 PM, Wednesday, April 4, 2007 .. Posted by amogk

i TOTALLY sympathize with you.....except my "bedtime" is usually much further into the wee hours (3-5am). i have fluctuated back and forth calling myself a night owl or insomniac. once asleep i'm fine....it's the getting to sleep that i have a problem with........i too have been trying to "reset" my clock......let me know if you discover any "tricks" or have any suggestions other than the normal ones....you know, caffeine, exersise, blah blah blah...doing those.....not helping lol. Good Luck.

Bread

04:48 PM, Wednesday, April 4, 2007 .. Posted by Chas

Yes it does! I grind my own grain, and I buy 50lb bags of grain at a time. I think the last time I did some figuring that it is right under a 1.00 a loaf. But you have to consider that the ingredients I put in my bread are all natural, honey, wheat, real salt and so on. No added this or that or processed anything, so it does pay off in more ways than one! It does take planning, I usually bake bread every other day. But if I can, I might try and start making 4 loaves instead of 2 and that will put it to every 3 days. It is SOOOOO much better for you and it is soooo yummy. You can do it!
Blessings,
Chas

Getting to bed earlier?

05:53 PM, Wednesday, April 4, 2007 .. Posted by mulberrylane

My trick is to get up early. Really your body will tire out... and it sure is hard to get up early... but it works the best. And for bread, if you can get yeast at Sam's Club, that will reduce prices alot. I have found their price on flour not to be a bargain, though. And I don't use bread flour. I use unbleached... Sure it is probably a little heavier, but not much. I also buy ww flour for $1.50 a bag for 5 pounds. A 5 pound bag of flour should get you over 10 cups of flour... that should be more than two loaves. I'm trying to switch to grinding my own grain. I have a kitchen aid grain mill, but my first try wasn't so hot. I don't like that the flour is hot when I grind it... that usually means it is losing precious ingredients... so I wonder if I need to just buy a better mill??? Well, didn't say much, enjoyed your post.
Warmly, Melissa

new recipe

06:12 PM, Wednesday, April 4, 2007 .. Posted by findingcontentment

Hmmmm... If I should be able to get more than two loaves out of a 5 pound bag, maybe I need a new recipe.