Homekeeping

52 Week Savings Challenge Week 3

2012-01-21T14:52:00.000-08:00

So far I am on track with the 52 week savings challenge in which I am saving an amount of money equal to the week of the year. For week 3 I put $3 into our trip jar. We are also still throwing change into the jar so more than $3 was actually added to the jar this week, but for this challenge I am only counting the amounts i put back intentionally for the challenge. As the amounts that I am saving

Two Week Menu Plan #2

2012-01-21T14:46:00.000-08:00

I looked over my first menu plan for the year and found that I did follow it for the most part. There were a few changes made to the planned suppers, but it was still much better than having no plan at all. Here is the plan for the next 2 weeks starting on Jan. 23. Breakfasts: oatmeal, cereal, toast, muffins Lunches: sandwiches (peanut butter or lunch meat), pretzels, tortilla chips, some school

52 Week Savings Challenge - Week 2

2012-01-15T19:01:00.000-08:00

For week 2 of the savings challenge I put $2 in our trip fund jar. One of the dollars I found in the bag I take to work where I had stashed it intending to get a soda. I decided the savings challenge was a much better use for it. Savings so far = $3.

Two Week Menu Plan #1

2012-01-09T13:52:00.000-08:00

Here is my two week menu plan for Jan.8-22. Breakfasts:cereal (I have a lot of Chex leftover from makng Chex mixes for the holidays), Cream of Wheat, toast, pancakes, yogurt. Lunches: sandwiches, supper leftovers, yogurt, pudding, carrots, pretzels, peanut butter crackers, some school lunches Suppers: pork roast with potatoes & carrots, biscuits Beef vegetable soup, tangerines, biscuits Pizza

101 Things in 1001 Days Take Two - Part Two

2012-01-07T16:26:00.001-08:00

Here is the rest of my list:g 36. Finish crocheting the purple afghan. 37. Replace van. 38. Put $1000 in savings. 39. Reduce spending for my gas plus groceries and misc. (Clothes, gifts, entertainment, oil, household items, school supplies, etc) to $1200 a month (down from $1600 a month). 40. Once #39 is accomplished, further reduce expenses to $1000 a month. 41. Replace kitchen floor. 42.

101 Things in 1001 Days Take Two

2012-01-07T15:57:00.000-08:00

I had been working on a list of 101 things to accomplish in 1001 days that I started in Feb. 2010. I made it over halfway through the first challenge when I decided to take a break from blogging and a lot of other things this fall. Although I was making good progrss on the first list, I decided to start a new one because some of my original goals were not specific and some of my priorities have

52 Week Savings Challenge - Week 1

2012-01-07T15:28:00.000-08:00

For this first week of the 52 week savings challenge I created a notebook to use to record my progress. (Which means I pulled out a little notebook I already had & wrote the numbers 1-52 in it plus an entry about this week's savings). This week I saved the amount equal to the week of the year we are on, or $1. This I put in our trip jar which is an oatmeal box coverev & decorated by my son. We

52 Week Savings Plan

2012-01-03T19:18:00.001-08:00

I am participating in a 52 week savings challenge on Swap-bot. For this challenge, the goal is to save an amount of money equal to the week of the year, so this week I'd save $1 and the last week of the year I would save $52. Another member of the challenge suggested writing out the numbers 1-52 and then crossing off whatever amount was saved each week (not necessarily doing them in order). This

Jobs Jar

2011-11-16T19:39:00.000-08:00

In an effort to both teach my boys about earning and handling money and get a little help around the house, I have started a jobs jar. I write jobs for the boys to do and the amount that they will be paid if the jobs are done well on slips of paper and put them in a clear glass jar on the kitchen counter. The jobs are things outside their regular chores and include items such as: dust baseboards,

I'm Back (and Counting my Blessings)

2011-11-12T13:06:00.000-08:00

I'm back and in a much better frame of mind than when I wrote my last post. The fog of depression and extreme moodiness that has plagued me for the past year has lifted. While Ism sure there will still be tough days ahead, there have been incidents over the past two months that could have easily caused a downward spiral, but didn't. I'm no longer feeling the need to completely discard all hobbies

Eliminating the Distractions

2011-10-03T16:55:00.000-07:00

I am doing some serious house cleaning these days. I have been increasingly stressed and moody lately and have realized there is just too much trying to crowd into my life and it is time to declutter in a big way. The band directing job Jim took a little over a year ago has him running both the middle school and high school band programs which means in addition to his teaching classes during the

101 Things in 1001 Days September 2011 Progress

2011-09-29T19:12:00.000-07:00

4- Lose 20 pounds. After a temporary gain, I am now down to 138, a total loss so far of 7 pounds. 9- Replace front door. Jim replaced the handle, so now all we need to do is repaint the door and won't need to completely replace it. 13- Preserve more vegetables etc. I made apple butter, pear butter, salsa, green tomato relish, and froze raspberries and peppers. 29- Review 30 books for BookSneeze.

An Uncluttered Heart

2011-09-17T20:48:00.000-07:00

In 1 Chronicles 29 in The Message translation of the Bible David prays for his son Solomon who is about to build the temple; "And give my son Solomon an uncluttered and focused heart so that he can obey what you command, live by your directions and counsel, and carry through with building The Temple...". An uncluttered and focused heart. How often am I unable to obey God because my heart is so

Meal Plan

2011-09-17T17:18:00.000-07:00

I decided it was time to get back to some more serious meal planning to keep from giving in to the temptation of take out on the more tired or busy nights. Here is my plan for the next two weeks: Sunday 9/18 - church picnic - I am taking homemade salsa with chips, bread n butter pickles, watermelon, banana muffins, and maybe green tomato relish with crackers. Monday 9/19 - Slow cooker round steak

101 Things in 1001 Days August Progress

2011-09-15T06:21:00.000-07:00

13 Preserve veggies etc. - I froze herbs and homemade pasta sauce. 14 Reduce soda comsumption to one per day or less - After going back to drinking way too much soda, I have gotten soda drinking back down to one a day or less. 27 Drink 32-64oz of water per day - doing. 42 Update blogs regularly- I deleted my Spumoni Spot blog and added 4 entries to my Homekeeping blog. 58 Incorporate some of the

Freezer Cooking the Easy Way

2011-09-11T21:31:00.000-07:00

With another crazy busy week ahead, I am thankful that I was thinking ahead a few weeks ago and stocked our freezer with meals. I didn't do a marathon cooking session to make this happen, I just cooked more than I needed a few times and froze the leftovers. This resulted in bagel pizzas, spaghetti, black beans with rice, and taco meat all packaged in freezer bags and ready to be reheated in the

Fun With Veggies

2011-08-20T20:21:00.001-07:00

Today my boys and I went to the Farmer's Market that occurs evry Saturday during the growing season. As we walked toward one booth the boys spotted a basket of beautiful eggplant and wondered what they were. We decided to get one and as my guys deliberated over which was the best eggplant, they listened to the growers telling me ways to fix it. On Thursday evening I dug the first sweet potatoes

I Choose Thankful

2011-08-16T14:42:00.000-07:00

We are back to school now which means the days are full. Trying to figure out the best way to keep up with housework and church work and other things while taking care of my guys is a challenge. It would be easy to get overwhelmed and whiny about the lack of downtime or the long hours my husband puts in at work. In addition, we have a potential opportunity that we are praying about that could

Raspberries!

2011-08-03T09:03:00.001-07:00

When I planted raspberry bushes this spring, I wasn't sure if they would survive in my little landscape garden. At least one of the canes I planted has died, but when I went out to pull a few weeds this morning I discovered a few tiny berries hiding behind a stalk of spearmint. Yay! I love fresh raspeberries but rarely buy them because they are so expensive. Now, if I can keep my little bush

101 Things in 1001 Days - July Progress

2011-08-01T20:00:00.000-07:00

#4 Lose 20 pounds - After regaining weight and getting back up to 145, I have lost 5 pounds and am now at 140. Still 15 pounds away from my goal. #13 Preserve more vegetables etc each year. I made pickles for the first time. I also made a small batch of salsa and put several bags of shredded zucchini and blueberries in the freezer. #29 Review 30 books - One more done bringing the total to 17/30

Super Easy Pickles

2011-07-27T19:57:00.000-07:00

I can remember helping my mom make pickles when I was younger. I remember it as a rather time consuming process and so wasn't sure if I really wanted to tackle making pickles by myself. However, after picking several cucumbers from my little garden patch, and remembering that my boys have had homemeade pickles at other peoples' houses and liked them much better than store bought pickles, I

Harvest

2011-07-21T07:10:00.001-07:00

Here is part of this week's harvest from our little garden. Despite intense heat, most of the plants are doing well and are still producing. The pile on the counter will turn into fresh cut veggies for supper (a no-cook side dish!), bags of frozen cut peppers and shredded zucchini for use in future recipes, and maybe even some freezer pickles. It shouldn't be long before I have enough tomatoes

101 Things in 1001 Days June 2011 Update

2011-07-06T15:32:00.001-07:00

Here is a picture of my cucumber plants. In this same spot there is also a strawberry plant, a tomato plant, and a few carrots. Here's my June progress on the 101 things list: #29 Review 30 books - reviewed I Am His - new total = 16/30 #42 Update blogs at least twice a week - Homekeeping - 6 entries added, Uncurable Bookworm - 3 entries added #41 One handmade item per week - 1 done - new total =

Vacation Savings Part 3 -What We Learned

2011-06-30T10:23:00.000-07:00

As we head home from our short little Tennessee vacation, here are a few things we learned that should mean more savings next time. 1. Be sure to pay attention to the coupon racks. There are racks of brochures, coupon books, and flyers all over the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge/ Sevierville area. Many of the coupon books etc are the same everywhere, but it is worth stopping to take a look at the racks

Vacation Savings Part 2 - Food

2011-06-28T16:40:00.000-07:00

Food can be a large expense when on vacation. It is tempting to go try all the wonderful restaurants that one can't find at home, or to stop for extra treats while traveling, or to just go eat when not sure what else to do. For this vacation I packed a lot of snacks, both homemade items such as trail mix and Chex mix, and store bought snacks that we enjoy, but that I have stopped keeping around