Living Frugally

Important dietary changes

noreply@blogger.com (MommAli) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 15:09:00 +0000

It has come to my attention in recent months that we as Americans eat a very very poor diet and 99% of us do not realize how poor a diet it really is. We all know little bits and pieces and do everything we can about eating healthy. Recently I have been doing research on cavities, their causes and if there is anything you can do other than dental surgery to fix them. I was also searching how to reduce gas in beans and it if was really necessary to soak them over night and increasing nutritional value in our food. All came back to the same thing: Phytic Acid which is in nuts, seeds, beans and grains. Phytic Acid is a nasty little chemical because it keeps our body from absorbing the vitamins and minerals it needs. See article below http://www.phyticacid.org/.

I know it seems crazy, and like one more thing for us to worry about, but it is a necessary change for the best of our health and one that I believe is completely worth it. Things that I have noticed since I've started soaking my grains, beans, nuts and seeds: they cook much faster, they taste much better, we don't need sweeteners (specifically with breakfast), we eat less and feel fuller longer (meaning less calories, less money on food and snacks), and along the same lines my children are not begging me for 3rds and 4ths (some meals they are content with the amount I put on their plates the first time rather than 2nd breakfast) and all of us don't feel like we need a bedtime snack to make it through the night.

Growing up I could easily eat 2 whole bowls of cereal, but since I have started soaking my grains I'm content to eat the 1/2 cup serving and some fruit for breakfast, I'm content to eat my first serving at dinner and then not eat again until breakfast rather than getting the munchies around 9 and eating until I finally fall asleep. It tells me my body is getting the nutrients it needs, rather than telling me to keep eating because it doesn't have the nutrients required. 8 cups of dry rice or barley used to be 2 meals for my family, now it will last 3-4. Of anybody who is reading this, can you honestly tell me that on any given day you do not eat any grains, beans, nuts or seeds? My guess is no, they are a major part of our diet, and because we have forgotten how to prepare them we are suffering. It is my understanding that in the past wheat and other grains were allow to sprout in the fields before it was harvested, dried and stored. We don't do this anymore, meaning that our foods are filled with phytic acid.

So how am I dealing with this issue: baby steps! I'm taking a little extra planning and starting to soak my grains the day before we need them. I dump the water several times throughout the day, it really doesn't take that much extra time. Even if we aren't home during the day I can drain it in the morning and again when we get home. I would eventually like to phase out all pastas and bread products that I do not make myself, or buy only those who have been made with fermented or sprouted grains, and I would like to switch to eating mainly soak/sprouted grains. I've learned of so many different varieties that I would like to try, including cooking wheat berries like rice and teff, which is suppose to be a really good breakfast grain. I would like to buy my nuts and seeds in bulk, soak and roast them. Eating healthy is always a work in progress and it takes baby steps. Being a mom of 8, there are not many things that I waste my time on, so for me to take the extra time and effort to do this means I find it extremely important to our nutrition.

Over the next couple days, I would urge to take a few extra minutes to read about phytic acid. A quick google search brings up some very good articles.

MSG - Please read

noreply@blogger.com (MommAli) — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 14:57:00 +0000

I wanted to take a few minutes to express my thoughts and concerns with the substance that everybody knows is terrible, but most of us don't really know how truly awful it is. This substance is called MSG. It is for all practical purposes a mind altering poison, also called an excitotoxin.

MSG is a chemical that is added to a majority of our foods without our knowledge. It's hidden in by over 30 different names. Here are just 2 websites that have a list of where you can find msg. Hidden Names for MSG and Hidden Names & Symptoms of MSG Poisoning. Later I will be posting another link on they symptoms of msg. It has a very interesting video that I want everybody to watch also.

I would like to take a minute to share something I wrote the day after I figured out that my life long struggle with my health was related to MSG. I know this post is long, but I honestly believe that it is to everybody's benefit to read my whole post.

The last 24 hours has provided me with the most terrifying revelation in my life. Yesterday I was basically poisoned by a common house hold food. I learned I've been poisoning myself my whole life and that there is, for all practical purposes, nothing I can do about it! I want to tell you my story in hopes that it will help you to make a better informed decision on what goes into your body.

Yesterday I had a severe reaction to a chemical in Chicken Bouillon and I'm 100% sure of this reaction. For a little back ground: I have, for as long as I can remember, suffered from a myriad of aliments, which nobody could figure out. I've suffered from Dysthymia and Cyclothymia (basically depression with rapid and unexplained violent mood swings), Insomnia, severe IBS, upset stomach, and heart burn. In the last several months I've suffered from numbness in my fingers and occasional muscle cramps and tingling on different parts of my body. I've also not been able to lose any weight despite diet and exercise. I also recently have had very sore joints, muscles, migraines and head aches.

Over the last month I have specifically purposed to pray about my health and pray that God would show me the answers to why I have suffered my whole life with the conditions above and had absolutely no answers, even after many medical examinations and tests. I was feeling better, but not 100% better, when I would eat a more natural diet. Over the last week, God has finally revealed the answer to me and it has not been pretty. At first, I got the bright idea that I was suffering from Celiac disease because the closest link I could come up with was wheat and gluten, after having severe reaction 3 times in 2 weeks to eating something that had wheat as an ingredient. After talking with my chiropractor he convinced me that it was most likely a vaccine induced gluten intolerance, as none of my children were showing signs of Celiac.

Fast forward a week, I go into his office and have him test me with rye, whole wheat, oats, barley and straight vital wheat gluten. I had absolutely no reaction to any of them. His solution was that he had desensitized me to the bleached white flour the week before, and so therefore I didn't react to these items. He wanted me to stay off of gluten for another 2 weeks and then slowly start reintroducing it.

The next morning I was feeling sick with a head cold and was very congested. My sister had been living with us and she smokes, I'm allergic to smoke. My mother in law suggested that it sounded crazy, but to try eating chicken bouillon in order to help naturally dry out my body. I had nothing else for breakfast other than chicken bouillon and a little seasoning, Within 15 minutes I started having a sever reaction. I had an upset stomach and bloating followed by sever intestinal cramping and diarrhea. I then developed a head ache, dizziness and lack of being able to think coherently. I couldn't even talk without stuttering and having to search for words. After about 45 minutes I could feel my heart pounding and had an elevated respiration rate. I was still very dizzy and had a head ache much different and worse than the one that I woke up with.

I had no clue what was going on at this point other than I appeared to be reacting to something that I had used most of my adult life to fight the very problems I was having. Chicken Broth (specially chicken bouillon). I called my chiropractor and talked with him, and we went over the ingredients. One of them was a substance called Monosodium Glutimate or MSG. I always knew that MSG wasn't good for you and that you should stay away from it, but I had absolutely no clue how dangerous it really was! I got off the phone with my chiropractor with instructions on what to do for the rest of the day. Basically rest and flood my body with water to help it filter out the toxins.

I spent most of the day in between taking care of my children and running to the bathroom reading about MSG and becoming more and more frightened by what I was learning. MSG is a mind altering substance that can cause every single one of my symptoms listed above, it's hidden in almost everything we eat and it's addicting! I also learned that once you start reacting to it, you will continue to react to it more and more severely each time you get enough in your body to cause a reaction.

By about 5 in the evening yesterday I had lost all feeling in my left pinky and ring finger and within an hour of that I had lost some feeling in the side of my hand and arm. That night I couldn't fall asleep and even though my mind was empty, I did not reach a deep sleep. By morning my arm and leg joints felt like I had a mild case of the flu or arthritis.

I had slowly been getting better over the last year, because I was trying to eat healthier and do most of my cooking on my own. Would still have episodes and I couldn't pick a trigger, the closest thing I could come up with was wheat because everything that seemed to trigger me had wheat in it, specifically nutrient enriched wheat, which actually contains MSG a majority of the time. Yesterday when I only reacted to bouillon, after been off wheat for 10 days the light bulb came on! It wasn't wheat at all, but MSG.

By 4:00pm of today, I was having severe almost uncontrollable mood swings, with extreme anger. And by 9:00pm my brain was to the point where it was shutting down. I will try to explain. I was reading to my daughters and I would read 2-3 pages fluently and the I would come to a point were the words would not come out of my mouth and the ones that I could force out were stuttery or even completely wrong. This would happen for about a minute and then I would have 2-3 minutes of being able to read fluently again. When I was done reading them the story and I would have trouble talking without thinking out the whole sentence before I would speak. This lasted for several days.

I know what you are thinking, poor you, you are one of the unlucky ones who reacts to this substance. But I urge you to deeply think about this. Here is the website that I was talking about earlier. MSG Side Effects. I want you to take a minute and read the list of side effects and the 10 minutes to watch the video. I want you to think about the list of symptoms and and everything that Americans are suffering from. MSG is in almost all processed foods and also in childhood vaccines (if you don't believe me read the package inserts). I'm going to be blunt in saying this, but we are a fat, lazy, crazy, sick, addicted nation! We are over weight, tired and lacking energy, we suffer for all sorts of mental disorders and illnesses and we are easily addicted substances in our lives!

My guess is that 80-90% of people have some sort of reaction to MSG and they don't even realize it. I've been avoiding MSG for about 4 months now and it amazes me, when I can stay 100% off of MSG how wonderful I feel! I'm also amazed at how terrible most foods taste now that I've been eating a 100% from scratch diet. I had store bought ice cream the other day and it was so bland and boring (this is cookies and cream my favorite) I was actually sad!

The reason I've decided to write this now is because last weekend we spent the night at a Drury Hotel (which I highly recommend). They serve breakfast and dinner and it's included in the price. Anyway, they had chili which evidently was laced with MSG and I've been reacting to it for 6 days now and every time I get the slightest amount of MSG or free glutimates I send my nervous system into a frenzy, I feel like I have the flu and a major case of RSL (but all over my body, not just in my legs).

I'm writing this:
1 because it's been on my mind this week.
2 because I want people to understand I'm not making this up and that it's a really terrible epidemic that we have ourselves trapped in.
3 I want people to seriously think about what they are putting in their bodies including food and vaccinations.
4 I want to inspire many of you to share this with others and for people to take a stand, I want to start a revolution. I want to see enough people say NO to MSG that the food industry decides that hiding msg and other substances in our food (HFCS and Aspartame are just a few others that they hide) is not acceptable.
5. I want people to pray for me. When I have a reaction to MSG it is the most terrible and frightening thing in the world to me. I literally cannot control my emotions and it drains me from all energy and motivation to do anything at all! I hurt, my joints ache, I loose feeling my my fingers and my muscles tingle and twitch. It is not fair to my husband and children when I have a reaction to MSG because it basically keeps me from being the wife and mother I should be. I snap a lot easier, I react to things without thinking, little things that my husband and children do drive me to anger. I spend most of my time locked in my room because I'm scare that I will do something to emotionally hurt the ones I love the most. On the bright side it does give me lots of time to spend at my saviors feet, praying that He helps me hold my tongue and control my temper.

If you have made it this far I hope that this has sparked your mind, its wheels are turning. I would like to leave you with a few links on what you can do if you react to MSG
Protect Yourself from MSG and Aspartame Excitotoxicity, Red Clover Blocks Neurological Damage From MSG, and this is an hour very informative video:EXCITOTOXINS: The Taste That Kills.

I hope you can use this information. Please let me know what your thoughts are on the subject.

How to stretch a roaster oven full of chili

noreply@blogger.com (MommAli) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 18:55:00 +0000

Pretend it is left overs!

Yesterday I made a huge batch of chili, it ended up being 54 cups or 3.375 gallons of a very thick chili! I kept trying to figure out how to make it last longer and it dawned on me that my children like chili dogs and chili mac and cheese, so why not treat the whole batch like it was left overs.

I did a quick google search and came across a blog post that had some great ideas. My chili is now bagged up in 1 1/2-2 cup bags to be used as "left overs" for lunches.

Here is my chili recipe:
10lbs cook hamburger. Cooked with 2-4 onions, 3-4T garlic, 6-8 med stalks of celery, salt, pepper and paprika to taste.
1 large can of diced tomatoes
1 large can crushed tomatoes
2-3 cans of tomato paste
3-5 cups of vegetable purees (bell peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, mushrooms) This time I used 1 cup bell peppers, 3 cups of broccoli and then I used 2 cans of sliced mushrooms.
12+ cups dried beans cooked.*
1 jar, ~3oz chili powder
Franks hot sauce to taste

Combine all ingredients in the roaster oven and warm through. Cool and freeze in meal sized portions.

*This is how I make my beans it may seem odd, but it drastically cuts down on the amount of gas the eaters produce. I peal and cut in to 4 large chunks 1 large potato. Place beans, potato in roaster oven and cover with water and let it sit over night. The next day I drain the liquid, and place the beans and potato chunks back in the roaster oven, cover with water, add a sprinkle of nutmeg and ginger and boil beans until soft. Then add 1 T baking soda. Stir, Drain beans, THROW AWAY THE POTATOES, and rinse the beans extremely well. (If you want to see what the potato does try adding the baking soda after cooking beans without a potato. You have your very own volcano!) If necessary cover beans with water again, add another tablespoon of baking soda, stir, drain and rinse the beans well again.

My meal count so far:
35 lunches, 18 dinners

Psalm 139

noreply@blogger.com (MommAli) — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 15:02:00 +0000

My whole entire life I have dealt with low self esteem, to the point of depression. I have recently learned that depression is aggravated by MSG, but it was still no excuse for me to hate myself the way that I did and still do sometimes. In dealing with the sin of low self esteem I have come up with a very effective weapon! That weapon is Psalm 139, every time I start slipping to the mind set of "you are no good", "you are so stupid", etc... I force myself to sit down and read Psalm 139 and I tell Satan that he is a rotten lier, and remind him and myself that my loving Father DOES NOT LIE!

I would like everybody to take a minute and read Psalm 139 with me:

O Lord, You have searched me and know me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.

Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my ded in hell, behold, You are there,
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, "Surely the darkness shall fall on me,"
Even the night shall be light about me;
Indeed, the darkness shalll not hide from you,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.

For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother's womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
My frame was not hidden from You.
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You!

Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God!
Depart from me, therefore you bloodthirsty men.
For they speak against you wickedly;
Your enemies take your name in vain.
Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate you?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.

Search me, O God and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And leave me in the way everlasting!

How wonderful is our Lord! Anybody out there who struggles the same way as I do, I want you to join with me in memorizing Psalm 139, to help you daily remind yourself how precious you are to our Lord and Savior.

As a side note. My 2 oldest daughters are taking a homemaking class and they were asked to pick a name for themselves using homemaker as part of it. My daughters picked the name Wonderfully Made Homemakers, I have decided to take this on as my title too. I am a Wonderfully Made Homemaker, right where God wants me to be!

Pork Loin Meal Plan 1

noreply@blogger.com (MommAli) — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 20:39:00 +0000

I have not tried all of these recipes before, so I cannot vouch for how wonderful they will turn out. All of the recipes have been altered to suit our families tastes. Each meal served over rice or pasta with a veggie side should feed a family of 8-12 depending on appetite. All of these recipes I usually wait to salt and pepper on baking day unless otherwise stated in the recipe.

For those of you who read my facebook status, I have changed my plan because I didn't have all the ingredients that I need.

6 Boneless Pork Loins (I buy a case at Sam's the case was 48lbs, at about $1.99/lb)

Recipe 1 - Harvest Chops

3lb bag tart apples cleaned, cored and chopped divided and put in 3 bags, most recipes say to peel, but I didn't.
Pork loin (minus Rib roast end) chopped into 1/2-1 pieces and divided and put in 3 bags

Per bag -
3T oil
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup flour
2 1/2 cups water
2 T Cinnamon
1 1/2 cups raisins

Mix all ingredients well, and freeze flat.

On serving day thaw, and cook over medium/low to medium heat until pork is cooked through, you want to bring it to a slow boil so that the flour can thicken the sweet broth. Serve over rice or pasta.

Recipe 2 - Hawaiian Chops

Pork loin (minus Rib roast end) chopped into 1/2-1 pieces and divided and put in 3 bags
1 pineapple cleaned and cut into bite sized pieces, divided and put into 3 bags

Per Bag
1/2 cup soy sauce (will be switching to braggs liquid aminos next time, just needed to use up the rest of our soy sauce)
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup honey
1/2 medium - large onion diced
1 large heaping scoop of minced garlic
1-2 T ground ginger

Mix all ingredients well, and freeze flat.

On serving day thaw, and cook over medium/low to medium heat until pork is cooked through. Serve over Rice

Recipe 3 - Margarita Chops

Pork loin (minus Rib roast end) chopped into 1/2-1 pieces and divided and put in 3 bags

4 Table spoons Tequila
4 Table spoons Gran Marnier
4 Table spoons Lemon or lime juice
4 Table spoons Honey
8 oz Turkey broth concentrate (I boil down turkey broth after I'm finished with my turkey meal plan).
Bring total volume to 3 cups, mix well and divide between the 3 bags.

Either 1 bunch of Cilantro chopped and divided between the 3 bags or 1 T dried Cilantro per bag.

Per bag
1/2 medium - large onion diced
1 large heaping scoop of minced garlic

Mix all ingredients well, and freeze flat.

On serving day thaw, and cook over medium/low to medium heat until pork is cooked through. Serve over Rice

Recipe 4 - An's Pork Chops (taken from Fix Fast Freeze, but altered)

Pork loin (minus Rib roast end) chopped into 1/2-1 pieces and divided and put in 3 bags
1/2 medium-large onion/bag

1 1/2 cups soy sauce
1/2 cup honey
2/3 cups apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup sesame oil
3 T minced garlic
3 T minced ginger

Mix well and divide between 3 bags

Mix all ingredients well, and freeze flat.

On Cooking day cook like you would stir fry with stir fry veggies and server rice or pasta.

Recipe 5 Lemon Herbed Chops

Pork loin (minus Rib roast end) chopped into 1/2-1 pieces and divided and put in 3 bags

Per bag
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 heaping spoonfuls of garlic
1/2 medium-large onion
1 T dried of your favorite herb(s) (basil, oregano, rosemary, sage, etc...)

Mix all ingredients well, and freeze flat.

On serving day thaw, and cook over medium/low to medium heat until pork is cooked through. Serve over rice or pasta

Recipe 6 - Honey Pecan Chops

Pork loin (minus Rib roast end) chopped into 1/2-1 pieces and divided and put in 3 bags

Bread pork loin chunks (dip in egg and then in seasoned {salt/pepper to taste} flour).Divide between 3 freezer bags.
Should use about 6 eggs and 3 cups of flour, should be able to easily alter.

In a 3 quart sized freezer bags combine in each:
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup 1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup pecans

Mix all ingredients well, place both bags into a large freezer bag, freeze flat. Make sure on this recipe that you remove as much air as possible to avoid freezer burn on the meat.

On serving day thaw and then cook meat in just enough oil or butter to cover the bottom of the skillet. Lightly brown on each side and cook through. In a separate pot warm the mixture from the small bag. Add enough flour or corn starch to thicken a little. Serve over meat and pasta or rice.

Recipe 7 - BBQ Shredded pork

6 Rib roast end of pork loins

Cook in slow cooker until tender and pulls apart easily

Stir in jar of BBQ sauce (we use the 40oz Gates Bar-B-Q sauce original classic). If anybody has a homemade BBQ recipe that you like please feel free to share as we are trying to make everything from scratch.

Mix well and place meal sized portions into a freezer bag. At this point I'm unsure how many meals this roasts will make. My guess would be anywhere from 5-12.

On serving day thaw and warm. Serve on buns, in tortillas or over rice and pasta.

Long time lots has happened.

noreply@blogger.com (MommAli) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 17:41:00 +0000

It has been a really long time since I've written anything, and I think it's time to give everybody an update on my life. I had a friend tell me that she has just been waiting for me to update, so here I am.

I'm now a mom of 8 children. Our youngest was born last December. I've sent much of the last 2 years of my life sick, which has actually be a blessing from the Lord. He's taught me that I need to be there for my children and the little things like making sure all the chores are done and that the house is spotless all the time, none of that matters! My children and their relationship with Jesus, my precious love, is all that matters!

While I was pregnant with Kyrsten, our youngest, I separated my pelvis and I was absolutely devastated. I hurt all the time and I couldn't do anything without being in pain.

I've spent most of my life feeling sick, but we never could find an answer to why I was feeling sick. About 4 months I started getting sicker and sicker, and it wasn't until I spent a lot of time at the feet of God in tears, and pleading with Him, that he finally over the period of about a month reveled to me why my whole life I've always felt sick and that everything I was eating was actually slowly poisoning my body. Through the Lord's leading and comfort, I was actually taken through a scary time, where I was sicker than I had ever been sick before.

I found out that I was severely allergic to MSG, a "natural" food additive that is in almost everything that we eat. Every single symptom I have struggled with my whole life can be explained by excitotoxin poisoning (This includes aspartame and MSG, which I thought I was doing a good job of avoiding). I also found out that my body is magnesium deficient and that if I don't take a magnesium supplement that my body will start shutting down. I'm still not feeling 100%, but it's because I've learned I will never be able to completely avoid MSG.

I've decided that I'm going to take this blog and write for me, when I need someplace to pour out my thoughts or when I have some information to share. I don't know how often I'll find time to write, but I hope it will be more than every 18 months. I hope to write about my family and our striving to be debt free, our budget and my crazy goal for the next year (having freezer assets for 300 dinners and 200 lunches in the freezer by the end of winter). I want to write about my walk with our Lord and the blessings that he has given us. I guess time will tell, if I can get back into writing.

I will also be adding Nicole has a contributor in hopes that she can share her encouraging walk with you and maybe there will be more here to read than when I can find a few minutes to frantically type a few words.

Busy times

noreply@blogger.com (MommAli) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:10:00 +0000

I am slowly learning that I can't do it all. I'm not sure how most home school mothers do it. I want to write here so bad, but with homeschooling and trying to keep up with the house, there doesn't seem to be enough time to do it all. I'm trying to keep my focus on God and my children and it seems like that is all we have time for sometimes.

To add another kink in things, Jonathan and I have decided that we are going to open our home up to adopting again. We have no clue how long this will take or when the Lord will move on it, but we clearly heard the Lord telling us that we need to get things rolling again. People have told me I'm crazy, but we don't care. We have room for more. There is always love to share, why not!

Thank you, thank you, whoever you are!

noreply@blogger.com (MommAli) — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 03:22:00 +0000

I have a bit of a funny story to tell you about something which I thought was trash. Nicole was cleaning out the mail today and asked me if everything she had was trash. I said yes, as I was flipping though it and then stuck to the bottom of my Ready Made magazine which I was keeping was an envelope from the Home Shopping Network, I thought it was junk and was about to throw it away, when something told me to open it, I'm pretty sure it was God.

I opened it and their was a credit card sized card in it, I handed to Jonathan and said what on Earth is this. He looked it over, it was a $100 gift card with no strings attached.

I decided that I would check out hsn.com and I thought I would maybe be able to get one nice item to spoil or family, but I was truly blessed to find several really nice clearance items which we will use.

Here is what I did:

Hamilton Beach Gelato Ice Cream Maker Price: $45.95
Wolfgang Puck Bistro Panini Duet with Grill Bags Clearance Price: $29.90
Wolfgang Puck Bistro Panini Maker Plate Set (has flat grill surface and waffle iron) Clearance Price: $9.90
Cameron's 17" Cedar Baking Plank Clearance Price: $19.90

Total was $105.65
Shipping was $27.80
For a total of 133.45

Now if you are not totally impressed that I was able to get all of this for $33.45 then you must be a thrifty queen just like me. I got on swagbucks and searched for hsn promotional codes and was able to find $15 off $45 for new customers which I was able to use. So I ended up paying $18.45 for all 4 items. I tried to use a $25 off $100 kitchen item purchase, but for some reason none of the items applied to that code, but hey I am so excited about my new items which will help me around the kitchen. I can't wait to make homemade waffles!

I have no clue who sent the gift card and I'm pretty sure that it wasn't just a promotion for hsn because usually those are $100 of X amount. Thank you, thank you so much if you are reading this, thank you! And thank you Jesus for telling me to open the envelope, this was such a surprise and blessing.

For now I will leave you with what Miss Nicole says: "I'm excited for some ice cream and waffles and maybe even some grill cheese sandwiches"

What I've written lately

noreply@blogger.com (MommAli) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 22:42:00 +0000

I've been busy finishing up some post over at Frugal WAHM's Talk Radio and Mommies With Cents. You can find an awesome recipe for hazel nut scones and tips on organizing your freezer over at Frugal WAHM's Talk Radio. You can find the conclusion to my series on buying in bulk over at Mommies With Cents.

I hope you find something in them that is helpful. I know I'm terrible at updating here and I keep promising that I will update. I'm trying to figure out exactly what I want to do. I don't know what my readers would think, but I toying with the idea of just using this blog for telling stories about our journey to being frugal and living for Christ, and then directing you guys to my actual informational post which I will share on the other two blogs I write for. Do you have any preferences?

A blessing to my heart!

noreply@blogger.com (MommAli) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 04:41:00 +0000

This came from my 2 year old Mercy while she was pretending to have a phone conversation: - "Hello Jesus. How are you Jesus? I love you Jesus. Have a good day Jesus. I love you Jesus. Good-bye Jesus."

I don't even have words to express how happy this makes me feel.

I also walked in on my 3 toddlers the other day (while we where on vacation). I heard Jaquale say - "Angel give me your hand, Angel give Mercy other hand." Then at the same moment all 3 of them started singing, "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus... Jesus, Jesus, Jesus..."

I not sure what else to think, other than we must be doing something right!

Long and enjoyed trip!

noreply@blogger.com (MommAli) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 19:53:00 +0000

After a long trip from Kansas to Ohio I think I am actually ready to start doing some writing again. The trip went well and we didn't have any major problems.... well except for diapers.

I bought a box of diapers from Toys R Us the day after Thanksgiving sale. Evidently, they are not actually good diapers! Every single diaper we used from Toys R Us they either pooped or peed out. I kid you not, I am not exaggerating. I have never had such a problem with diapers before. Our three year old was in a different type of diapers because he is in a larger size and not once did he have issues.

We stopped on the way up in St. Louis and went to the Science Museum and the Magic house, both of which I would highly recommend to anyone who is going though St. Louis. We then made our way to Ohio where we went to cousin Kate's wedding and got to spend time with family.

On the way home we stopped at the St. Louis arch and Westward expansion museum. They are actually in the same place. The children enjoyed them greatly!

We did eat out at Bob Evans and it is a restaurant that I would highly recommend. I had never eaten there before the trip, because the closest one to us is a hour away, but let me tell you a little about our experience. We arrived after visiting the Arch, but before the arch we had been in the car for 6 hours. We came in with 4 fussy little ones with dirty diapers, the first thing after we checked in, we ran to the bath room and changed all the diapers. They had our seats ready before we were even done. The manager came out and greeted us and asked us if we would like some crackers, she could see that the babies were all tired and fussy.

Once our waiter made it to the table, she talked to all the children, took our drink order (which where all waters) and then told us she would be back with rolls and some banana bread. I was totally amazed by this and it was wonderful. She then took our order. While we were waiting for our food we had several other staff members come out and talk with us.

The food was wonderful. I decided at the end of the meal that I would buy a pie, something I don't usually do, but it looked good and for the most part the children had been really well behaved thought out the trip. The total bill including dinner, dessert for 8 and an $11.50 tip was $66. When I check out they asked me how many children I had. I told them 6 plus a 13 year old and they gave me 7 free kids meal tickets and told me I could use them all at once. It looks like we will be making a trip to KC to eat at Bob Evens in the near future.

Just a quick hello

noreply@blogger.com (MommAli) — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 01:59:00 +0000

Now that the holidays are coming to an end I have one more commitment and then it is my hopes that I can start blogging again. I'll be leaving for a wedding later this week and once we get back I'm hoping things will slow down and I'll be able to get back to writing. Behaviors have settled with my daughter which is a good thing.

Christmas was good, but my children got entirely too much stuff thanks to grandmothers who love them so much. I've been working on cleaning the house so that when I get home I'll be coming home to a clean house rather than coming home to a mess.

Make it at home Monday - Christmas decorations.

noreply@blogger.com (MommAli) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 20:18:00 +0000

The first year we had a Christmas tree I went out an bought a bunch of cheap Christmas decorations and they didn't last. This is not the way to be frugal. This year I decided that we are going to start from scratch and make our own and hopefully in a couple years we will have a nice stash of decorations.

This year we started with paper chains and popcorn chains. I had garland and bought 3 boxes of candy canes. This is what we have decorated our Christmas tree with. I honestly believe this is one of the most beautiful Christmas trees we have had.

What are you doing to decorate your house this year for Christmas? Any frugal tips for fun crafts for the children?

I didn't realize...

noreply@blogger.com (MommAli) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:13:00 +0000

...how much time and effort it was going to take for me to homeschool the children. I'm still around and I'm still working on writing some post, but it amazes me on how little time I actually have to sit down and write. For all of you homeschooling bloggers out there you totally have my respect!

Magazine Christmas Tree

noreply@blogger.com (MommAli) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 17:54:00 +0000

I don't usually do posts like this, but I thought this was the coolest idea to make Christmas trees out of old magazines. Make sure you check out this post on Just Like Martha's Blog. It's a really cute idea. When I get it finished I'll make sure to post a picture here. What a fun craft!

My Story Chapter 8.1

noreply@blogger.com (MommAli) — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 12:00:00 +0000

Shortly after our trip to Montana we moved into our current home. We stepped out in faith and moved before my husband had a job and before our current house sold because we found a home in our price range, that we really liked, and it had already been sold once and had fallen through. I know it wasn't the best financial move on our part, but if the children where going to stay with us we need to make some changes. We needed more room. We lived in a 3 bed room house with 6 children and with foster care regulation we would have to put Mercy and Angel upstairs (out of our room at 18 months) for the room to big enough for all of the girls. I don't think I could ever sleep with them being so far away from me at night. With in a month of our move Jonathan received a job offer and our house sold for $15,000 more than we bought it for. This was a huge relief as we where able to pay off a huge chunk of our debt.

The home we moved into was a 5 bedroom 2 story with a unfinished basement which could possibly be finished later. God blessed us with a wonderful home and lots of room to spare.

Most Recent posts elsewhere

noreply@blogger.com (MommAli) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 12:00:00 +0000

I haven't had time to do much writing lately. You can find my latest post on Frugal WAHMs Talk Radio

Frugal Freezer Friday - What to do with Turkey

noreply@blogger.com (MommAli) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 12:00:00 +0000

I cooked up two turkeys the day after Thanksgiving because we celebrated Thanksgiving with family and I didn't have to fix our own turkey. I would have only fixed 1, but the turkeys I picked up were smaller, so they both fit into my roaster oven. So far I have turned our turkey in to 26 meals and I'm not even done.

I've made the filling for 4 pot pies, I've made 6 cream of turkey and spinach soups, which I actually use over rice or pasta. I've also made 6 meals of cream of turkey and broccoli soup and 10 cream of mushroom soup with turkey broth, which I will combine with hamburger to make beef stroganoff, which is one of hubby's favorite dishes. Here is my cream soup recipe.

I have enough meat left that I planning on making some turkey salad for sandwiches, some meat for a few casseroles, and maybe even some turkey enchiladas. Here is a website with lost of fun turkey recipes.

What is your favorite turkey recipe? Could you easily turn it into a freezer meal so that you can treat your family later? It always amazes me how far you can stretch a turkey!

Working out the budget for next year.

noreply@blogger.com (MommAli) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:00:00 +0000

With the end of the year approaching it is time to take a good look at our budget for next year and see how we can better work it to allow us to save money.

This year our monthly budget was $400 for food and $100 for the buying coop that we are in. I've decided that this year our budget is going to be $500 for food, toiletries and buyer coop. This is a little bit of a cut in the budget, but I also get a lot of our toiletries on in our food budget. It just means that I'll have to watch all of my shopping in one budget rather than 2.

They only things that I've decided that wont be included in this budget will be animal food and supplies and diapers. I wish I could fit diapers into that budget, but I don't think I can buy 4 babies worth of diapers and still keep it at $500.

I'm also actually planning to have $6000/year budget rather than actually sticking to $500 per month. The reason I am doing this is because I usually only go shopping 1-2 times per month during the colder months. Last year my budget during the winter was actually around $300 a month, while during the summer months when we could get out more it was closer to $400.

Another reason I'm going to be a little more flexible is because it allows me to stock up on items like turkey around Thanksgiving and corned beef around St. Patrick's Day, without putting too much strain on the budget.

Today sit down for a few minutes and evaluate your budget for next year, what changes can you make to your budget to help you save money?

Make it at home Monday - Turkey leftovers.

noreply@blogger.com (MommAli) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:00:00 +0000

I know some of this information is a little late for Thanksgiving, but make sure to check out this post because it will give you some ideas for how to use up left over turkey.

My Story 7.2

noreply@blogger.com (MommAli) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 12:00:00 +0000

The day that I receive that call from my confidential intermediary I also received a call from my biological mom. For some reason the call didn't go though, but I did receive a message from her. I was so terrified that I wrote her an email saying that I wanted to talk with her, but that I was scared, so we kept it to internet conversations for a little while until we got to know each other a little better. When I say a little better I guess I mean 3-4 emails in a matter of a couple hours, but you would be amazed what you can learn about someone in such a shore amount of time.

After our initial phone conversation we spent many hours talking on the phone while I would go out and walk. We learned a lot about each other, it was amazing how in someways we where very much a like and at the same time very different. We like a lot of the same foods. We have a lot of the same talents: drawing, writing poetry and cooking just to name a few.

In the end of July my biological step grandfather died and so Jonathan took off for a trip down to Montana just 3 short months after the our first phone conversation. It was a very fast trip, but it was nice to get to met my biological family. I came away thankful for them as they are wonderful wonderful people, and thankful for the life they gave me. God worked everything out for good. I now have them and I have may husband and family which I wouldn't have had if my mom wouldn't have given me up for adoption.

We are hoping that come spring we will be able to take a trip to see them again.

A witness and blessing to my soul

noreply@blogger.com (MommAli) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 12:00:00 +0000

This song became a blessing to me the other day. My oldest daughter Nicole likes this song and has taught my little talker to sing this song. So I have 3 running around and dancing everytime they hear it. "I Pray, I Pray".

The other day my youngest daughter was singing "Jeeesus! Jeeesus!" at the top of her lungs the other and I have no clue what song she got it from, but my heart just melted listening to my baby girl sing to Jesus. That has to be such a blessing to Him to hear such a young heart sing out in praise.

The lesson I've learned here is they soak up things that you would never think. I never thought my just two year old daughter would be singing "Jesus, Jesus"! What a blessing.

I hope you guys have a wonderful week. I'll be taking a couple days off for thanks giving.

Miss Nicole and Chistmas pictures

noreply@blogger.com (MommAli) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 12:00:00 +0000

Miss Nicole posted an entry over on 7 growing Up last week. She is my oldest and is very helpful around the house and with her younger siblings. You can read her post here. My next big task is going to be to get Emmanuel to write a post.

Yesterday we decided to get Christmas pictures taken. I'm excited about getting to put together another pictures collage. You can read about my idea here.

Pet question for my frugal readers

noreply@blogger.com (MommAli) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 12:00:00 +0000

I have a question for everyone. Last week my siamese lover boy cat was diagnosed with a urinary infection and the vet put him on a special food. This special food is $14.99 for a 4lb bag. Now I don't know about you, but there is not much that I will pay $3.75/lb for. I wouldn't think too much about the cost of the food, but my blue eyed kitty is only 1 of 4 cats, I can't afford to feed all of them this food.

Do you guys have any suggestion on either a natural preventative or on how to find a good quality, cheaper alternative food source for him?

This is so hard! Any advice?

My Story Chapter 7.1

noreply@blogger.com (MommAli) — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 12:00:00 +0000

Let me take a step back and go on a little rabbit trail elsewhere. When we found out that I was pregnant with Mercy, Jonathan asked me to finish the paper work so that we could find out about my birth parents. I procrastinated and procrastinated until finally one day after Mercy was born, Jonathan filled out the paper work, put his foot down and made me sign the paper work. He even wrote the check, addressed the envelope, and put it in the mail.

Now it would be only a matter of time before the state of Wyoming would assign me a confidential intermediary and only a short time after this that when I would be given the opportunity to find out about my biological family. I was truly terrified about the whole situation. What if my family was dead? Or worse what if they didn't want to have anything to do with me?

April 24th 2007 I receive a call from my confidential intermediary. She told me that she had found my birth mom in Montana. I was given her phone number, address and was told that I had two siblings, a girl (18) and a boy (14). She called my cell phone but some how I had missed her call, so I set up an account on one of the poetry sites which she belonged to and sent put a comment on one of her poems. We talked online for a while and then we decided to call each other.

That day I got online and searched her name on Google. I know, I'm silly, but I wanted to learn as much about her a s possible. I found out that she loves writing poetry, drawing and that she was a Christian (based on some of her poetry).