Homekeeping

Real Food for the Working Mom

2012-02-11T14:59:00.000-08:00

This week I have been making some major changes to the way I eat. The ibs that I've battled for several years has gotten much worse, at times triggerg fibromyalgia type pain. I am tired of being sick all the time, so I began researching on the internet and quickly found the website www.helpforibs.com which contains the ibs diet. This involves eliminating fried foods, high fat foods, red meat,

52 Week Savings Challenge - Week 6

2012-02-11T11:45:00.000-08:00

I received pay for judging at a solo and ensemble contest for the Indiana State School Music Association this week. Since that was extra income I decided to deposit extra for this week's challenge. Instead of depositing $6 for week 6 I pot $35 in our savings account. It feels good to make a little extra headway.

Two Week Menu Plan #3

2012-02-05T10:24:00.000-08:00

Meal plan for 2/5-2/18. I am starting the ibs diet (found on helpforibs.com) to try to finally get myy irritable bowel syndrome under control. So, for the first week of this plan I'll be eating plain white bread, pasta, noodles, rice, oatmeal, and plain corn or rice cereal. On week 2 I'll begin adding back cooked fruits & vegetables and small amounts of boneless skinless chicken. However, I am

52 Week Savings Challenge - Week 5

2012-02-04T18:46:00.000-08:00

For week 5 I once again saved an amount equal to the week we're on and put $5 in the trip jar. Funds are a little tighter this week and I wasn't sure at first if I could spare the $5 but then I dumped the change from my other change jar in and added $1 from a survey that came in the mail plus two more dollar bills from my purse and realized =sd probably added more than $5 to our total.

101 Things in 1001 Days January 2012 Progress

2012-01-31T19:13:00.000-08:00

One month in to round two of 101 things in 1001 days; here is the progress Isve made so far. #1 Finish reading through the Bible in The Message - Ezra finished. #25 Personal journal entries 2 of 143 complete #27 Homekeeping blog updates - 7 of 286 complete #29 Handwritten cards & letters - 9 of 35 sent #80 Read 50 fiction books - 2 read #81 Read 50 nonfiction books - 1 read #82 New recipes tried

52 Week Savings Challenge - Week 4

2012-01-30T16:49:00.001-08:00

I'm still on track for the 52 week savings challenge where I am saving an amount of money equal to the current week of the year. At the end of week 4 I put $4 in our trip savings jar. It's good to still be on track with at least one New Year's Resolution. :)

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