Homemaking - It is a Job! Part 2

Sometimes I re-read my posts and I think "what strange person wrote that?" Hello, that would be me. Don't believe me? Read this post that is titled "Homemaking - It is a Job"...doesn't have much to do with my job as a homemaker.

In my opinion one of the BIGGEST things I do to help our family is to try to save money. Whether it's hanging up the laundry, making my own yogurt, walking to the store instead of driving, choosing to drink water instead of coffee or tea, etc.

Here's my question for you today.

What can you do TODAY to save $0.16?

Who cares about $0.16? I DO!!! Well, now I wouldn't spend HOURS trying to save $.16, but a couple of minutes out of my day? Why not?

$0.16 * 365 days per year = $58.40 per year. If you don't care about that amount of money, then by all means send me the money!!!

Homemaking - It is a JOB!!!

CSN Stores Review

Back in September I told you that CSN Stores had given me the opportunity to write a review on one of their products. I decided to buy a roaster of sorts - see the picture? My husband chose this happy color and I absolutely love it! Anyway, if you go over to CSN Stores website you can see my full review of the awesome Rachel Ray Stoneware Baker.

Just a side note, I baked two whole chickens in it one night and poured out the drippings through the handle of the roaster - my family thought this was very cool. What a strange family I have.

Anyway, it took me forever and a day to try and figure out what I wanted to get because they sell so many items! I hope you will consider shopping at CSN Stores - after you've checked your local thrift store of course.

Just a Minute

 My kids will never understand time as long as they live with me. You wouldn't believe how often I have said:
           "I'll be with you in a minute." or
           "We're leaving in a minute."

Then ten minutes go by....and possibly another five or ten minutes.

TIME
Last week I realized just how often I say to myself, I'll just check this "BLAH" real quick.

• email
• blog
• mail
• text
• etc.

What do I do all day? I do a lot of different activities "real quick." Before I know it, the kids are getting out of school. Think about it...say you do 6 "real quick" things, things that take ten minutes each, you have spent one hour out of your life. Is that the way you wanted to spend that hour?

My day is filled with work...I cook more than I want, I clean more than I need to, I check emails and blogs more than I need to, I research things to death.

While homemaking for me is a full time job, I have discovered that I should have about ten hours every week that I could dedicate to something different. It seems to me that I tend to fill the hours in with more of the same things that I've always done. I do NOT need to cook more, clean more, or spend more time researching/reading on the computer.

I believe a new chapter is starting in my life - not sure how I'll spend those ten hours, but I'm determined NOT to do the same things I've always done!

Journal
I would encourage each and every person to keep a journal of where you spend your time. Maybe you'll find the time to exercise, write a book, encourage someone else, start a new business, sit by the creek, read a book, etc.

Homemaking
If you find that you are spending a lot of time cleaning, yet your house is always a disaster, won't you give FLYLADY a try?

These things have worked for me, I hope they work for you!!! Check out We are THAT Family for more tips!

Frugal Grocery Shopping

Today I spent about $90 on groceries between Walmart ($25) and my Azure Standard ($65) order. We have 20 pounds of apples again...we ran out last week and I couldn't figure out what to do! Eventually I figured out that I needed to buy some at the store. FYI - 20 pounds of apples (less about 10 apples) fit into one drawer in my refrigerator.

Walmart is not my favorite place to shop, but it's the only place I can get heavy whipping cream (without junky ingredients in it) for our berry/spinach smoothies. I only needed a few things so I decided to buy everything there.

We now have bananas, frozen blueberries and cream for smoothies...that will make my family very very happy. I have some spinach from last week to throw in there as well so that makes ME happy. Believe me, you cannot taste it!

Click on over to see my menu plan.

WANTS VS. NEEDS
Are you still working on wants vs. needs for groceries? Because I've been evaluating our wants vs. needs, my $400 grocery money went much further this month than it did in September. I still managed to get quite a few of my wants too.

Even though I love stocking up on things at Azure Standard and Sam's Club, I managed my grocery money a lot better when I shopped once a week for items I needed only for that week. Gayle over at Grocery Cart Challenge spends $60 a week for her family of 6. Check out her blog for inspiration.

Even though my grocery budget has continually gone down over the last ten years, I'm still learning and remember what it was like as a newbie. What do you mean I shouldn't walk up and down every isle to buy groceries? List? Menu? Look at my pantry items before I shop? Who has time or energy for THAT?!? Freezer? Pantry?

DON'T USE COUPONS
If you are a newbie, then I would suggest that you take small baby steps. I strongly suggest that at first you shouldn't even try to use coupons. I believe that you can lower your budget a significant amount without coupons. Focus on protein, vegetables, fruits, and good fats first and then add other stuff to your list. You will eat a lot healthier this way too. After you figure out how to lower your grocery budget, then worry about coupons if you want to/need to.

WHAT ARE YOU EATING TONIGHT?
If you have no idea what you are going to eat tonight, make out a quick and simple menu and grocery list for the next few days. Take cash and only buy what's on your list. Make it a goal to spend less than 30 minutes in the store. Remember, protein, vegetables, fruits...You might decide to make:

1. taco salad
2. chili with green peppers and carrots
3. baked chicken and sweet potatoes

Fry enough burger for the tacos and chili on one night so the following evening dinner prep will be easy. Bake enough chicken for one meal PLUS leftovers for lunch the next day (chicken salad sandwiches are great!). So remember:

NEWBIE TIPS

• look in your pantry (freezer, fridge, cupboards)
• make a menu for the next few days
• bring cash only
• focus on protein, vegetables, fruits
• go by yourself in off peak hours
• make a goal to spend 30 minutes or less in the store

This post has been linked to:
Life as Mom
Grocery Cart Challenge
Money Saving Mom

Menu Plan - Sorta Primal

I'll be following "week D" for my recipe plan this week. Click on over there for more information!

I will also be making my very complicated, time consuming roast beef! Okay, truly it's a piece of cake, well, no it's not because I'm not eating wheat so that would be bad. Easy as pie, wait, that has wheat too. Whatever - you get my drift right?

Find other menu plans over at orgjunkie.com!

Recipe - Fried Rice

I've made fried rice for years without a recipe. My trick is to cook the rice the day before. Cold rice is the key to making non-gooey fried rice! I found this recipe and kinda/sorta follow it. Click on over to her site because she has some wonderful pictures!

Stoney's Crew Fried Rice
2-3 cups of cooked rice
5 eggs beaten (this looks "eggy" when done, but it's delicious!)
Lots o' meat cut into small pieces (leftover roast beef, ham, chicken)
Chopped onion and garlic (she suggestions green onion, but I don't ever have these on hand)
Shredded carrots
Peas that have been thawed
Soy Sauce

1. Saute onions in bacon grease, coconut oil, olive oil, butter until they are done (we like them a bit crispy).
2. Scramble eggs - Use a whisk to make them fluffy while cooking.  This tip makes the eggs so much better in the fried rice!
3. Mix in the meat when the eggs are done.
4. Move to one side of skillet.
5. In the other half of skillet add grease/oil and the rice. Fry this a bit.
6. Mix everything together now.
7. Add soy sauce to taste.
8. Mix in peas and take the pan off of the stove. You don't want shriveled up peas!

As I get better about adding veggies to our foods, I see that I could add bok choy, celery (for the crunch), cabbage, etc.

This recipe review is being submitted to the Grocery Cart Challenge.

Recipe - Meatza

Known in our family as:

A Man's Pizza

Said is a really deep voice...honestly I was just playing around with my kids trying to find a way to explain that our pizza didn't have a traditional pizza crust. I like meatza a lot more than traditional pizza. Is that because pizza gave me a stomach ache or because it always seemed to be soggy?!?!

Anyway, here's the recipe:

• 1 pound burger
• 2 eggs
• 3 slices bacon - cooked and chopped into small pieces
• Pizza sauce
• Pizza toppings

Mix burger, eggs and bacon together. Spread out on a greased cookie sheet (make sure to leave an edge like you would for traditional pizza) and bake for 10 minutes at 450. This crust will shrink and look strange! Pour off grease if you have any. Smear pizza sauce on it, add your toppings and cook until cheese is golden and bubbly.

You can buy pizza sauce or you can make it homemade:

• 1 can tomatoes
• garlic (we use 3 cloves)
• Italian seasoning
• 1tsp. salt
• 2 Tbs olive oil or so - this flavor is the KEY ingredient!

mix all ingredients in a blender for a quick homemade sauce

We added pepperoni and mushrooms. I just read that a lady added sun dried tomatoes and cream cheese. Yummy!!! This week I bought some Canadian bacon (note: we like pepperoni a LOT better) so we're trying that with peppers and onions.

My son asks for this all.the.time.

This serves my family of four (three big eaters) and then we have leftovers for lunch!
This recipe is linked to:
Grocery Cart Challenge
The Nourishing Gourmet

Frugal Grocery Shopping

Check the price per ounce!!!

Last week when I was at the store, I bought chopped black olives. I was surprised to see that the price per ounce was less for this "convenience item" than it was to buy whole olives that you would need to chop at home.

After eating the chopped olives I think they must be cheaper because they are the rejects of whole black olives. Chopped olives in a can, do NOT taste like whole olives chopped up at home!

Note to self: Do NOT buy chopped olives even though they are cheaper and more convenient.

This morning when I was grocery shopping, I paid $0.129 per ounce for cold cereal instead of buying the bigger bag for $0.12 per ounce.

Why did I decide to pay a bit more?
My husband loves cold cereal and eats it for breakfast a few times a week. If I have something homemade available, he'll choose homemade foods every time. I think cold cereal is one of the worst breakfast foods you can eat so I try to have something around for him. In a perfect world I'd do a bunch of once a month cooking (OAMC) for breakfast foods, but I don't live in that world - yet. If there is a big ole bag of cereal around I don't work very hard at having homemade breakfasts around for him to eat.

Bag of 18oz cereal was $2.32
Bag of 40 oz cereal was $4.80
Extra money spent per ounce $0.16

Money I saved by NOT buying the bigger bag $2.48; which will buy 1 dozen farm fresh eggs that are filled with nutrients.

Frugal Grocery Shopping Note:
Sometimes it's worth it to pay just a bit more per ounce, in order to get something that tastes good or to remove the temptation of a bigger bag of junk food!

Here's what I picked up at the store today:

• 2 lbs baby carrots $3.00 - guess what I ate when I got home!
• 1 lb regular carrots $.74
• organic spinach $2.98
• 5 lbs potatoes $1.97
• garlic $.50
• peppers $2.00
• bananas $1.86
• 1 gallon whole milk to make yogurt $.2.48
• ham $4.56
• coconut milk $1.44
• water for kefir $1.18
• Canadian bacon for meatza - my son keeps asking when we are having this again!
• Total was $32.99

I cannot wait for my Azure Standard order to come in!!! We are out of frozen blueberries and strawberries as well as apples too! I had to stop at the store yesterday to pick up some pesticide apples. I ordered pears and cucumbers this time as well. I strongly recommend calling Azure to see if they deliver to your area.

This post is linked to:
Money Saving Mom
Grocery Cart Challenge
Life as Mom

Hot Spots!

Hot Spots

Flylady has a wonderful definition of a hot spot over at her website.

In my home I had to do a few things before I could manage the hot spots that kept re-igniting.

1. Locate the hot spot or spots.
2. Find homes for the things that always ended up in my hot spots.
3. Make my hot spot area pretty and uncluttered - this was the key for me. I now have plants on my buffet and a small binder and pretty pen holder on my island. 
4. Make an effort every morning, afternoon and evening to keep the hot spot clean.

Months later, this is finally a habit!
I don't have to work very hard to maintain my hot spots any more. Habits are an amazing thing!!! My buffet and island are not perfect, but they are under control and that is my goal.

Take five minutes and go clean off a hot spot!!!

** please note that I do not get paid for advertising for flylady. I love her system and it has changed my life so much that I think everyone should know about it.

Check out We are THAT Family for a lot more Works for me Wednesday tips!

What's the Temperature?

What's the temperature at your home today?

What was it like this morning as your were getting your kids off to school?

What was the temperature in your vehicle as you went to the store today?

Mama's set the temperature of the home.
It took forever for me to grasp this concept. You have to look at how people respond to you to determine the answer to these questions.

Is your house too HOT?

1. Yelling
2. Short fuses
3. Tears

Is your house too COLD?

1. No laughing
2. No hugs
3. No smiling
4. Indifference to each other

Today, I would encourage you to check your "mama thermometer." If you find that your house is not "JUST RIGHT" ask yourself what the problem is.

• Are you getting enough time for yourself?
• Are you eating right?
• Are you exercising?
• Getting enough sleep?

What small change can you make today to change the temperature at your house?

You have to be the one who wants to change the temperature!

From Veggie Failure to Veggie Success

Okay, I admit it, I'm a veggie failure. A while back I posted a veggie update where I posted the following tip:

Focus on the VEGETABLE first and then the rest of your meal.

I really thought that I was brilliant. I'm so humble aren't I? Anyway, last night I spent an hour...YES AN HOUR...preparing dinner. Along with dinner, I was going to serve cut carrots. Unfortunately I ran out of energy to cut the carrots - I'm almost embarrassed to type that, but not really...I'm sure most of you can relate. It's just one more thing to wash, one more thing to cut, one more thing I just couldn't do. Why oh why didn't I just buy the baby carrots?

I have to remember that I have come a LONG LONG LONG way. Here's what dinner looked like last year at this time:

1. Spend an hour fixing dinner. Most of the time I would serve one vegetable. However, if it was spaghetti, I would serve homemade bread "to fill everyone up." I figured there were enough veggies in the sauce - onions, garlic, shredded carrots, tomatoes.
2. An hour before dinner, I would HAVE to give my kids a snack because they were falling over from hunger...this would have been a homemade goodie...cookie or granola bars. If I was thinking, I'd give them a scoop of peanut butter for the protein. You know the peanut butter with a lot of added sugar. Yes, that kind.
3. Right before bed the kids would have a treat, thus making bedtime take a long time. A really long time.

Today, our lives look much different. Hopefully in another year I'll look back and be able to see how far I've come. While I didn't serve a side vegetable like I had planned to last night, there were green beans, onions and cauliflower in our meal so we weren't completely vegetable-less.

Shhhhhhh....don't tell anyone that I threw most of the bok choy away and I still have not used the turnips in anything.

I think I'll stick to fixing the vegetable first and focusing on one veggie until I can use it all up without throwing it out. Spinach comes to mind. Yes, I douse it in ranch because I really don't like it, but I'm hoping that over time I'll find a better salad dressing to put on it. We put it in our smoothies all of the time and nobody can tell. Well, technically if you look really really really really really really really hard (I got really really really tired of typing really) you can see teeny tiny green bits of spinach.

So these tips come to mind:

1. Focus on the VEGETABLE first and then the rest of your meal.
2. Buy baby carrots/pre-washed and cut vegetables until you do #1. It's better than NOT having a vegetable.

This post has been linked to:
Works for me Wednesday at We are THAT Family
Pennywise Platter at The Nourishing Gourmet

Recipe - Salsa!

Question: Does making homemade salsa actually save you money? Maybe, maybe not. Have you looked at the ingredients in your salsa? If you go through it as fast we do, then you don't need all of those preservatives.

Also, if you buy it "pre-made" that's one more thing you have to buy. If you stock your pantry/fridge/freezer with things you always use, you'll have the ingredients on hand to make it whenver you want... so you don't have to buy one.more.thing. Or if you are me, forget.one.more.thing.

Salsa - not fancy, easy and good

• 1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 t sea salt
• jalapeno (adjust to your taste...I add about 1 inch of a pepper without the seeds and it turns out mild/medium)
• 2 cloves garlic
• cilantro...ummmmmm if you like it put a lot, if you don't...say your sister made you dinner with WAY TOO MUCH CILANTRO and you can't stand it, then put just a little in (you really do need a little though). I actually like it now, but man oh man did that dinner cure me of liking cilantro for a long long time! Sometimes I'll use dried cilantro, but I really like fresh better.
• sprinkle cumin on top
• splash of lime (which I always forget!)

Pour juice of tomatoes and half of the can into a blender. Add remaining ingredients and blend at high speed.

Add remaining tomatoes and blend at low speed for 5-10 seconds or until tomatoes are combined, but not soupy (unless you don't like any chunks in your salsa). Taste. Adjust seasonings. Taste. One more taste just to be sure. Taste. Adjust seasonings....Taste...

Dip lettuce leaves to your heart's content. Or try to eat with just a few tortilla chips (good luck with that one!)

This post is linked to:
Grocery Cart Challenge
Life as Mom

Frugal Grocery Shopping

Want Vs. Need Part 2
What determines if you are a wise grocery shopper? I've decided that I could consider myself wise if I spent X% of my grocery budget on needs. I haven't determined what X% is yet. I might break it down like this:

• Spend 70% of my budget on needs/basic nutrients needed to survive or items your husband wants to have :-) Darn, I guess I better move coffee to a want. ($280)
• Spend 20% of my budget on wants ($80)
• Spend 10% of my budget on luxury items ($40)

Hmmmm....this could get interesting...those wants and luxury item amounts seem way too high for where we are in our Dave Ramsey Kinda Sorta Plan. I could even break this down further by vegetables/fruit, protein, fat, junk AKA carbs.

Anyway, last week when I reviewed my grocery receipts to determine if each item was a want or a need, I realized that I needed to do this a few more times to see if I can figure out exactly why I'm running low on my $400 grocery budget. Perhaps it's because I kept buying coffee beans?!? That would be a luxury item at this point in my life.

Here's my list for this week:

• Bananas need
• yams need
• cucumbers need
• avocados *need (decided this is a need - awesome nutrients and good fat)
• cheese need (1 for the "pantry" as well)
• chicken thighs (this might be enough for two weeks worth of meat - let's hope so!)
• garlic need
• butter need YIKES! $3.29 that's expensive! My "good" butter from Azure (pastured cows) is $3.30.
• buttermilk want - want to make the family pancakes....don''t "need" those nutrients though.
• pears need

Store 2:

• organic spinach *need. Last week I noticed the price was $.50 higher than the previous week. This week suddenly the price has been rolled back $.50. Funny how marketing works!
• Bananas need
• celery need
• snow peas want
• romaine hearts need
• cilantro need
• carrots need
• tuna need
• relish want
• coconut milk want
• sour cream need for a recipe
• whipping cream *need for a recipe. Last week I decided that one would be a "want" and one would be a luxury. I believe I'm allergic to it so I won't be buy it as often anyway. 
• clam juice and minced clam need for a recipe
• olives want

So all in all I spent $53.00. $7.00 (13% of food budget) was spent on "wants". $46 (87%) was spent on "needs".

Let me know if you post your wants vs. needs, I'd love to check out your blog!

This post is linked to:
Money Saving Mom
Grocery Cart Challenge

Menu Plan Monday

Using my general plan for week "B" (click on that link for more recipes and my plan), Here's what's cooking:

1. Spare rib soup (didn't make it last week)
2. Taco Salads
3. Josie's Shepherd Pie
4. Clam Chowder
5. Jambalaya
6. Chicken and Beans
7. Not sure yet!

Flax Seed Gel... for your Hair?!?



I love this picture! Do you ever feel like your hair looks like this?


Note: I am updating this post from last year. Sometimes I post something and quit doing it for whatever reason, but this is something I still love!!!

I make my own gel for my hair. It's not because it's cheap, it's because nothing else works as well! A few years ago I spent $45 (GULP!!!) on shampoo, conditioner, gel etc. Although I nearly died when I spent the money I was so tired of my hair I was willing to try anything. After trying out the $45 hair "stuff", I asked my friends if they noticed anything different....nope, not at all!!!

After reading the forums over at Naturally Curly I found the recipe for this gel and I'm hooked!

• 2 cups water (I've tried distilled and tap water, but I don't see a difference)
• 1/2 flax seeds (supposedly golden flax seeds work better, but again, I didn't see the difference)
• Combine the flax seeds and water. Then bring to a boil over medium high heat stirring constantly with a whisk until frothy (this is about 4-6 minutes for me). Immediately pour into a strainer with teeny holes. As the gel cools it will thicken up a bit. If it stinks and looks like snot you've done a good job :-)
• I add a drop of grapeseed oil and a few drops of lime essential oil (I think this is to preserve it, but the lime EO makes it smell a LOT better)

There are a bunch of different things you can add to your gel, but this is the basic recipe. In the shower, when my hair is soaking wet I add gel and comb it through with my fingers. When it's half way dry I add just a bit more to help with the frizzies.

Have you found any homemade concoctions that work for you?

Check out other tips:
Frugal Fridays at Life as Mom.
Works for me Wednesday at We are THAT Family.

Disclaimer: I have no idea if this works on straight hair!

Want Vs. Need

I'm going through my grocery receipt right now. I don't WANT to, but I NEED to. It's kind of like that journaling thing I mentioned before.

I actually enjoy part of the process.

1. Write down the item
2. Write down the amount

But I don't like step #3. Is it a want or a need? I guess it could be a luxury too. Some items are harder to figure out than others. If you have my personality you could obsess about it. I try not to, but seriously, take coffee. It's definitely not a NEED. We can get those nutrients elsewhere (well, really are there any "nutrients" in coffee anyway).  However, I want to have coffee in the morning so I need to have it on hand.

Look at the fruits you are buying. Bananas - cheap and a lot of nutrients. Oranges - not so cheap right now, but a lot of nutrients. Can you get those nutrients elsewhere? Why are you spending $3.00 per pound for grapes when you could buy bananas for $.59 per pound? Not sure how much the peel of the banana is, but even if the cost is $1.00 per pound you would save money buying bananas. Now, if you don't like bananas and won't eat them, how about apples? I can get organic apples at Azure Standard for $1.00/pound right now. Very little waste and they taste incredible!

I buy frozen blueberries from Azure Standard every month. I pay $7.18 for 4 pounds (I share the box with a friend). Are they worth $1.79/pound? Yes! Those nutrients I haven't been able to find anywhere else for such a low price.

One way to lower your grocery budget is to look at the nutrients in the item to see if it's worthwhile to buy. For example, I pay $3.00 for organic spinach. Definitely worth it when you find out how good spinach is for you. Not so good if you end up throwing half of it away though (oops!)

Back to my receipt - here it goes....by the way we are all different. What is a need for someone might be a want for someone else. Some of my "needs" aren't my needs, rather my husband's need which makes it a need for me to buy. Could I say need one more time in that run on sentence? Remember if my writing drives you crazy, stop reading my blog. It's NOT ever going to be perfect. Hopefully better over time, but don't hold your breath.

Store 1:

• sunflower seeds $2.29 not sure I want to have them on hand so I needed to buy them - they are my "oh no" I need to leave and forgot to eat something food!
• grapes $.98/pound $2.24 need
• white flour $1.29/5 pounds need (not really a need, but need to have it on hand for those in the family who still eat grains)
• cucumbers $.50 need (not many nutrients, but kids love them in their lunch)
• 10 pounds onions $3.00 need
• canned mushrooms $1.00 need (husband loves these, must have on hand at all times)
• 3 cream cheese $1.00 each need (well, 1 was a need 2 are for my "pantry" I want to buy a different brand next time without so much junk in it, but I'm not sure it's worth the price)
• milk $1.99 need (mental note - when you pay for something make sure you leave the store with it!!!)

 Store 2:

• 1 gallon whole milk $2.48 need (yogurt and YEAH, I left the store with my milk this time!)
• 1/2 gallon 1% milk $1.67 need (for my husband...we usually throw away a few cups of this milk, but they don't sell 1% milk in quart sizes)
• water for making kefir $1.18 need (that will be another post)
• cheese $1.98 need
• organic spinach $3.00 need
• white sugar $3.12 need - uggg I hate this, but I'm still buying it. Trying to tell myself that it's better than buying convenience items. I haven't bought sugar for a while, but used most of mine when I made homemade maple flavored syrup. I need to buy a bunch of sucanat, but haven't bit the bullet on the price yet. My attitude is that sugar in any form is not good for you so why spend a bunch of money on the "better, but not good for you substitute." My attitude may change one day.
• jasmine rice $2.28 need (I'm not going to buy brown rice anymore. I'm no longer convinced that it's "healthy" because of the way our bodies digest it or don't digest it. I send rice with black beans for the kids school lunch usually once a week.
• cheerios $2.24 need (husband loves cereal)
• tuna fish in olive oil - yeah, olive oil! $1.12 need for kids' lunch
• 2 avocados $1.96. I want to say need, but I'm not sure yet. I am the only one who eats these and I could probably get the nutrients elsewhere.
• bok choy $1.89 need - healthy stuff, now if I can just figure out what to do with it. Suggestions appreciated.
• green leaf lettuce $.94 need
• turnips $1.54 need  (see bok choy - what do I do with it?)
• whipping cream $2.48 for the cream without any extra added junk. Ingredient is ummmm CREAM! Again, I want to say need. Truly this week it is because I didn't have it last week and I want to know if I'm allergic to it so I'm drinking a ton this week to see how my body reacts. Did I "need" 2 of them? I'm thinking this is probably a want bordering on luxury, but I don't want to admit it :-)
• Sweet potatoes $1.30 need
• bananas $.54 need
• Total spent at both stores $54.00

You can click over to my post that shows what we are eating. We have a freezer full of veggies and meat as well as farm fresh eggs (YIPPEE SKIPPEE DIPPEE the chickens are done molting!) and pantry items. I do need to stop at the gas station to pick up 4 packs of sausage for the month of October. Gas station? what?!? It's a small gas station that has local sausage links for sale. They are sooooo sooooo soooo good!

So I may have spent $10 that I didn't really "need" to between the avocados, seeds and cream. Something to ponder anyway....

I hope this post encourages you to look at your receipts and add up how much extra you are spending a week. If it's "only" $2, that's still $104 per year that you didn't have before!!! If you take that $2.00 and put it into your bank, your waistline AND savings account would be much better off!!!
This post is linked to:
Money Saving Mom
Grocery Cart Challenge

Ready for the Weekend?



Sylvan Lake in SD where National Treasure 2 was filmed.

 It's Wednesday, are you preparing for the weekend?

As a homemaker it is CRITICAL that you make weekdays and weekends DIFFERENT from each other.

When I worked for a company outside of my home, I used to think that being able to work at home would be ideal. Then I worked at home. It's NOT ideal. It's hard. The work was always there staring me in the face.

Then I became a homemaker. Guess what? The work is ALWAYS here staring me in the face.

My kids are away at school most of the day so it's a bit easier now, but believe me, I could work all the time. I can spend so much time cooking and cleaning (AKA "doing") that the most important job (being a wife and mom) are neglected.

I make Saturday and Sunday different than the rest of the week. I generally don't clean or go to the grocery store. When I plan food, I usually try to make enough during the week that I don't have to cook much on the weekend. When I do cook, the kids help out. I change the sheets on Sunday because it feels more like a blessing to me than a job. Actually, come to think of it, flylady doesn't "clean" her home, she blesses it.

You have GOT to get away from your job as a homemaker. The only way you can do that is to make it a priority in your life. Make small changes to make it happen. The first change I made was to stop going to the grocery store on Sundays. It meant I had to be prepared, but it was definitely worth it. Small changes over time add up! Last week during the football game the kids and I played Uno. If I was busy cooking and cleaning that wouldn't have happened.

These changes works for me and my family!

Find other tips over at We Are THAT Family.

Recipe - Stupid Easy Sausage and Potaotes

I use the concept more than anything....for this recipe.

1. Bake some potatoes. (400 degrees for 1 hour)
2. Bake some sausage at the same time. (400 degrees for 30-40 minutes until done)
3. Mix 8oz cream cheese (room temp) with some cream or milk to thin. Add desired seasonings (garlic powder, pepper, salt, paprika
4. Slice the potatoes and sausage.
5. Add to cream cheese mixture.
6. Add veggies if wanted (I add broccoli, onions and garlic)

I usually make this recipe during the morning and then throw it in the crock pot on low when I have to leave for a ball game. I love having dinner all ready to go when we get home...Serve with carrots!

Check out other recipes at:
Grocery Cart Challenge
Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
The Nourishing Gourmet

Menu Plan Monday October 4, 2010

Remember how I complicated my life to simplify it? Well, so far it seems to be working. Last week, instead of using my new plan though, I cleaned out my fridge and freezer. Always a good time to do that when you spent all of your money when you shouldn't have!

I'm using my menu plan for "Week A", but tweaking it to fit our schedules/freezer/fridge.

1. Last week when I made meatza (this was amazing so I'll be posting that recipe soon) I made up an extra pound of burger for meatloaf and froze it because I knew I had a couple of games to go to this week.
2. We recently had chicken ala king so instead we're having spare rib and veggie soup.
3. The only other change is that the sticky chicken will actually be sticky pork chops because I wasn't able to get our free range chicken from the Hutterites last week (sniff, sniff, pout, pout)
4. We were out of town yesterday so my husband is grilling steaks tonight. Not sure what the other night will be yet.

Check out orgjunkie for menu planning inspiration!!!