Saturday, January 31, 2009
Life at our house
This morning after breakfast I headed west of town to the dairy where I get our milk. I was wanting to do it as efficiently as possible as there was a work day going on at the church building and I was hoping to get there in fairly good time. I got to the farm and got my milk and everything went smoothly. After leaving I was driving down the dirt road that the farm was on at around 45- 50 mph. There was a crossroads coming up and a vehicle was coming on it but they had to stop and I had the right of way and so I didn't think much about it. As I got up to it I realized "They are not stopping" and now it was to late for me to stop on a snowy road. It looked like she was surely going to run into the side of my car. I swerved out of the way and into the ditch but my car had enough momentum that I was able to hit the side of the ditch and then bounce back up on the road and keep going and then the other vehicle plowed into the ditch where I had just been. When I stopped I was just shaking but thought I had better check on the other person. The lady got out and said she was fine and that she was sorry but her brakes had gone out. Lesson for the future: Slow down when you see a vehicle coming to make sure that it is stopping! It also helped me to remember that I don't know what is going to happen in life, we never know when it will be our time to die. Either one of us could easily have died today had timing been a second different. We need to be ready whenever the time might be.
We had a fun time working at the church building today. There were quite a few that came and quite a lot was accomplished. God has blessed us a lot with the new building and we really want to use it for Him. It is starting to feel so very "homey" and comfortable there now. The kids love playing in the new nursery with the pretty thick carpet and bunches of new toys that a lady from church bought. The kitchen is also so cheery and nice to work in.
While we were at the church building one of our friends that is black was there with her little boy, Aaron was talking to them and he asked Tomisha, "Does David (her son) drink a lot of pop, is that why he is like you?" Tomisha and I puzzled a moment over that question and then with some discussion figured out that he thought they were dark because they drank pop! We had a good laugh over that and then explained that pop drinking did not cause dark skin it was from who your parents were. It made me remember when Mara was little (around 4) and I heard her discussing with herself why a friend of ours was black and she was peach. She thought that God and Jesus had a conversation about each person to decide what color they would make them.
Aaron made me laugh again a bit later when he discovered a new broom that Ken had bought for us. He asked about it and when I said Daddy had got it, he very seriously said "Daddy is a GOOD man!" The new broom he got ended up being quite fancy with a handle that you can twist and then the bottom of the broom opens up and the sweeping part gets twice as wide. Jonathan was quite fascinated with it and was quite eager to sweep when I asked him to. (That isn't a job he enjoys very much normally.)
This evening Ken took us out for supper at Applebees. He had been given a gift certificate so we ended up spending less than $15 including the tip. One thing we do to save money often is that we don't buy kids meals. We buy an adult meal (or today we bought an appetizer trio platter which had cheeseburgers, chicken, celery and quesadillas for $12) and then split it between the kids. We also often just drink water (as we did tonight). All the food was quite good and while we were waiting for it a man came by our table and offered to show us some magic tricks. He did a very good job and had the kids (and Ken and I for the most part) pretty stumped. Mara's tried very hard to figure things out but just couldn't get it. Aaron is quite sure that 2 sponge balls turned into a number 1 in his (Aaron's ) hand completely by magic.
We had beautifully warm weather today! It was around 40 degrees. The kids played outside some and we thought it would be fun to make snowmen but we ended up having to much other stuff going on. Hopefully we will have another day we can do that in soon. We thought maybe tomorrow but when we were out this evening it turned very windy and cold and snowy, so I am doubting that tomorrow will be a good snowman day.
Well that was our day. I hope yours went well and that you have a great weekend!
Super Saving Saturday
The above items cost $10.61.
The 3 packages of cheese were $2 each (on sale, not a great deal but we needed them) = $6
The yogurt was .67 each but I had a target coupon for $1 off 8 and 2 manufactures coupons for $1 off 4. The total was $2.36 for 8 = .29 cents each. (This is not a normal buy for us as usually I make our own or get big containers but everybody thought it was a pretty fun treat.)
Money saving mom shows has links for yogurt and Kashi coupons.
The Kashi granola bars were on sale for $2.75. I had coupons for $2 off each box. total for granola bars: $2.25
The creamer was on sale 2/$3. I had 2 coupons for $1.50 off. Total: FREE
(I can't find where I got the $1.50 coupon - perhaps they don't have it anymore- but here is a $1 one. ) By the way we don't drink Coffee in our house but I have found that this creamer is very yummy (and probably not very healthy) in my Chai tea.
For more stories of savings visit MoneySavingMom.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Fresh flowers frugally
- Choose flowers that last a long time such as Carnations, Chrysanthemums (daises), Orchids and Alstroemeria.
- Change the water often! (Dirty water makes they stems rot and will make everything stink too! Its yucky!)
- Make sure to cut the stems when you change the water.
- Pull out the dead flowers and make a smaller arrangement with the ones that still look okay.
- When you have only a few blooms try floating them in water for a very pretty look.
- Make sure there are no leaves in the water as they rot quickly too.
By following those tips I can usually keep flowers around for a couple of weeks. After wards you can always try drying them too.
For more Frugal tips visit Biblical Womanhood.
A Giveaway!!
So...
I am giving away this homemade vintage look set of hot pads and a bag holder. The hot pads have the floral print on one side and red fabric on the other side.
To enter in the giveaway please leave a comment with contact information (If there isn't either a blog address or an e-mail address it will be deleted.)
For a 2nd entry become a follower of my blog (or if you are one already) and then leave another comment stating that you are a follower.
This is open to only US residents. (But come back later for at least one more giveaway that is for everybody!)
I will randomly chose one person to win on Sunday, February 1st.
Be sure to check out all the other giveaways at Bloggy Giveaways!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
A well rounded education
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
WFMW ~A Schedule of our own choosing
I can dress myself!
Monday, January 26, 2009
A frugal Forum
Since this Forum just started, it is starting with a contest. The first 50 people to have 25 posts in the forum will be entered in a drawing to win $100. I am halfway there and am planning on still working at it.
You should check it out!!
Saturday, January 24, 2009
"Can I want this?"
When asking God for things maybe I should be asking a little more often "Can I want that?". Sometimes I am so sure that what I want is the right thing that I forget to say "Is it Your will God?". He is the One who knows what I truly need and what it best for me. It is His will I want not mine because I don't see everything and I don't have all the answers. I am so thankful that He does!!
Friday, January 23, 2009
Frugal Networking
- We give and receive hand-me-down clothes. This helps our clothing expenses out immensely! This networking happens with family, church family, friends and those in our homeschool group.
- We share berry (mushroom, etc.) picking spots and when they are ripe.
- Years ago friends clued us in on a place we could glean potatoes. We now go every year and get enough for the year (Free!) and we have been spreading the word along to others.
- A friend and I enjoy comparing notes on bargains found and also blogs that have helped us in our frugal journeys.
- Mom and I alert each other to sales we know the other wouldn't want to miss. Another lady at church also makes sure we know about really good sales.
- I have lots of frugal friends (including sisters and such) whom I enjoy visiting with, sharing ideas and learning from each other about how to make our money stretch farther.
- Just this week a friend at church gave us some homeschooling stuff that she no longer used and it just so happened we had also discussed a sewing project she was working on and I was able to share with her something that she needed for the project.
- Another friend at church when shopping with me once and found out I liked coupons, since then she has been clipping out lots of coupons for me. We have her over fairly regularly and often send home food with her.
- We have family and friends that are very sharing with their garden produce (as we also try to be, when we have abundance). Case in point: today I have have spent hours working up a bunch of squash from my parents that I am putting in the freezer.
- I have a friend who loves to garage sale and will tell me about a sale that she thinks I might want something from and that has good deals.
That is just a drop in the bucket of the many ways I have been blessed through frugal giving friends.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
A skirt from old jeans
My original idea was to have it a little fuller and also all the same color but when going through the old jeans I had I realized that I didn't have enough big pieces for me to do that. So I decided to make a two tone skirt that is fairly straight.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
WFMW ~ Reading with kids
- Almost no TV time for the kids.
- Examples of us and others around reading.
- We have read aloud to them a lot (as do their grandparents). I read to them every naptime and Ken reads to them at night and sometimes I will throw in other reading times too.
- We have a lot of books available and go to the Library regularly.
- Having the courage to always tell the truth. (Even when you think the penalty might be going to jail or worse.)
- Fighting is not the right way to solve your problems.
- Learning to be a man.
- Always giving your employer a good days work.
- Thinking things through before acting.
- Measure twice, cut once.
- Learning how to make do with what you have.
One word of warning! The language in the book is not at all perfect. I have been reading these books aloud and I edit a lot as I go. To keep the record straight, I am VERY picky about language. I do not like any type of swearing including Euphemisms. In the books neither Ralph or his family use bad language and in fact there are some lessons that teach against it but he quotes many of the cowboys and people he was around verbatim so bad language is included. It is my plan to go through all our books with a permanent marker so that I don't even have to see the other.
So if you are looking for some neat historical books for Boys and Girls, try these out. I think you will like them!
"So much better than TV!"
What books have you really enjoyed reading aloud to your kids?
For more works for me Wednesday tips visit Rocks in my Dryer.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Freezer meals
- Soups (some cream soups don't do so well but pretty much everything else does fine.)
- Cookies.
- Quick breads and muffins.
- Spanish Rice.
- Lasagna
What things do you find freezes well? I encourage you to go check out all the different ideas at Passionate Homemaking.
Monday, January 19, 2009
lovely little moments of life
This past week I have been privileged to do a lot of work with flowers. I am so amazed by the creativity and beauty that God put in to making flowers. It tells me that He loves beauty too and also I think He did it to make us smile and enjoy life. The bouquet above is one of my new favorite color combinations (though it doesn't look as pretty in the photo as it does in real life.)
Out shopping lately I have really enjoyed observing some old men. One that I have met before at Republican events saw me looking at grapes and took the time to tell me his trick for making them last longer. (The tip is: stick a paper towel in the bag with them and shake them a bit. Then rotate them every day so any moisture can drain onto the paper towel.)
This week I found a good deal on shoes at Target. (They are both leather and were under $5 each.) Jonathan and Aaron were both very excited and happy about the shoes. What cracks me up is that after they get ready for bed (wearing just boxers and a t-shirt) they put their shoes back on until the actually get in bed.
More on enjoying flowers.... I tried something new for me with immersing orchids in a vase. It looks so pretty! Since the show is over we now have it on our dining room table. Some people might like a fancy car when they are rich or who knows what else. When I am "rich", I'll take fresh flowers on my table every day. :-)
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Busy weekend
I was going to post more tonight, I have a bunch of pictures I want to share and things that I would like to write about but my photos wouldn't upload and so I decided that might be just as well... I think I will take a shower and head to bed!
Talk to you again soon!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Homeschool co-op classes
- Learning about our body.
- Colonial Living (class 1 and class 2)
- Making pottery.
- Pioneer living.
Find more frugal tips at Biblical Womanhood.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
A skirt from shirts
Ken had these two shirts but they both developed holes in them and weren't easily mended and didn't work for him anymore. I thought had neat colors and fabric and thought it would be fun to do something with them so I...
WFMW ~ Personal cookbooks
At one of my bridal showers (over 10 years ago) I received this cookbook. It is actually a photo album but each lady that came to the shower provided a recipe to go in it and then as I collected recipes I could put them in their as well. The friend that put it together put tabs on to divide it into categories.
This cookbook has definitely been the most used one that I have.(As you can probably tell from the picture!!) When I was newly married I remember getting from mom her cornbread, biscuit, doughnut and various other recipes.When living by my Grandma I added quite a few recipes from her. I also got quite a few recipes from my friend Tina who is a great cook as well as many other friends. In later years I have started adding ones that I found on the Internet and we tried and liked. But lately this cookbook has been less useful since it was falling apart. It was time to do something about it.
I got one of the many 3 ring binders we have around our house, bought some page protectors to go in it and then decided to use some colored paper that we had a bunch of (it was given to us in 3 colors: pink, orange and green and it was 15 inches long but I just cut it to fit.) and then I just started securing the recipes to the page. Originally I had thought that I would type all the recipes out put decided it would be easier and also more interesting to put in the recipes the way I had them as many of them are written by the person they came from and they all bring back memories. I divided them into categories the way that I liked best and had a certain color of paper for the categories (rotating the colors throughout the book), I also made a title page and tab for each category.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
learning from life
Q: How does a homeschooler change a light bulb?
A: First, mom checks three books on electricity out of the library, then the kids make models of light bulbs, read a biography of Thomas Edison and do a skit based on his life. Next, everyone studies the history of lighting methods, wrapping up with dipping their own candles. Next, everyone takes a trip to the store where they compare types of light bulbs as well as prices and figure out how much change they'll get if they buy two bulbs for $1.99 and pay with a five dollar bill. On the way home, a discussion develops over the history of money and also Abraham Lincoln, as his picture is on the five dollar bill. Finally, after building a homemade ladder out of branches dragged from the woods, the light bulb is installed. And there is light. ~Author Unknown
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Little lovely parts of life
Aaron and Megan having lots of fun playing house together. I really enjoy watching my kids interact, for the most part they play so nicely and the boys are especially tender around Megan.
Mary sent over a musical candle for her cake which was rather fun. The cake, which Keren made, was a very yummy chocolate with peanut butter frosting and Reeses chunks on top. Oh I am wanting some now!
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Enjoying the style of my dress-up girl. Don't you love the hat? It is supposed to be a sleeve for a princess outfit but she is sure it is for your head.
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Having fun decoding a sweet e-mail message from my husband, then shooting one back in code as well.
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Taking the time to read 2 chapters in our very fun naptime book several days to the delight of my oldest 3.
How has your week been? Are you enjoying the simple little moments?