Grocery Shopping Challenge II

Yesterday's homemade bread was a big hit! The first loaf is already gone. :) This time I made a recipe that came with my Kitchenaid.

For breakfast this morning we had baked oatmeal and I thought I would share the recipe with you.

1/2 Cup honey or sugar
1/2 Cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
3 Cups oatmeal
1 Cup milk
Mix all ingredients together and bake in a greased 9 x 13" pan at 350 degrees for 30
minutes. This is a very versatile recipe and you can change it up by adding raisins, nuts, chocolate chips, coconut... The possibilities are endless!

Lunch will be leftover chicken spaghetti and supper tonight will be homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. I think I'll make cinnamon toast with the last loaf of bread for snacks this afternoon.

The weather's not too great today, so I haven't been to my 3rd grocery stop yet. Total for the week is still holding at $36.28 and here it is Thursday!

Grocery Shopping Challenge

Grocery Cart
I am challenging myself this week to see just how cheaply I can feed my family. I have reduced our grocery budget by at least 20 to 30 dollars a week, but I haven't been super focused on it. So just for fun this week I'm going to make it a game to see how little I can spend while still making filling and nutritious meals. I have an over 6 foot, over 200 pound husband to feed, a teenage son, and 2 girls who are growing like crazy and are big eaters too, plus myself of course. I won't be including my non food purchases (cleaners, hygiene items, etc.). The meals included will be breakfast for everyone, lunch for only me and Mike on school days, and supper for everyone, plus snacks.

I've taken inventory, so I know what's already in my pantry and checked the sales at the local stores. I'll keep you updated on my progress as the week continues.

I actually started this on Monday and here's what I've done so far:

Monday: Shopped the loss leaders at a small chain grocery store. They were having a great sale on milk which is a must in my house. I spent $16.33 and got 10 pounds of potatoes, 12 oranges, onions, celery, carrots, and 3 gallons of milk.

I'm spreading my shopping out this week (which I don't usually do) to hit the stores only when I'm on my way to something else nearby. This particular store happens to be close to the post office. Hopefully this will help save on gas too. My van doesn't get the best gas mileage.

We had oatmeal for breakfast, for lunch Mike took PB&J (the last of the jelly) and I had a Lean Cuisine that I bought last week. We had tuna casserole, rolls, and applesauce for supper. Oh, we also had the drop cookies for a snack.

Tuesday:
I went to Super WalMart which is on the way home from school. I bought cereal, flour, canned tomatoes, sandwich meat, tortilla chips and a few other odds and ends and spent $19.95. I plan to stop by a larger chain grocery tomorrow to shop their loss leaders too. I'll post the total afterward.

We had cereal and milk for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch and pinto beans and cornbread for supper. Our after school snack was popcorn. I baked some chicken and deboned it to put up for meals the rest of the week.

Wednesday:
Today we each had something different for breakfast. Mike had a couple of eggs, Peter had oatmeal, and the girls had cereal. I had toast and I'll have a mid-morning snack too I'm sure. For lunch I will probably have some canned soup. Mike forgot his lunch today (and he's too far away for me to take it to him) so he will be starving by the time he gets home. We are having chicken spaghetti with homemade bread for supper. I'll cut up some carrots and let the kids have that with ranch dressing for a snack.

Total spent so far: $36.28

Homemade Bed Buddy

I am always cold in the winter time and we keep our heat set fairly low to save on those bills. I've been meaning to make a "bed buddy" for quite some time and I finally made one this weekend! I didn't use a pattern or anything and it was so easy. I made a "pillow" out of a scrap of plain white fabric, filled it with white rice (not minute rice) and sewed it shut. I then made a removable case for it that can be washed. I just warm it in the microwave for about 2 minutes, then put it under the covers by my feet. It stays warm for quite a while and keeps my feet so nice and toasty. I love it! My girls both want one now. I wonder if these might make good frugal Christmas gifts for next year?

Easy Drop Cookies

This is such a quick and easy cookie recipe! It's not a big recipe, so if you have a big family they will eat them all up in a hurry. That works best for me because the more cookies left over, the more cookies I will eat! :)

2 eggs
2/3 Cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 Cup sugar
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Beat eggs with fork until well blended. Stir in oil, vanilla, and sugar until mixture thickens. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt; stir into oil mixture. Drop with teaspoon 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheet. Top with sugar or sprinkles. Bake 8 to 10 minutes.

Making Your Home a Haven Monday

Once again it's Making Your Home a Haven Monday hosted by Crystal at Biblical Womanhood. I LOVE her weekly challenges. They always help me start my week on the right foot. I also love to read about everyone else's Monday. This post will be updated as I finish the things on my list. I'll also add pictures as I go along.

1) Refresh Your Spirit
This morning I have been reading in the Old Testament. I did an Old Testament Bible study a few years ago and I was just amazed at everything I learned. I had never really spent a lot of time in the Old Testament other than Genesis, Proverbs, and Psalms.

2) Tackle your Morning Routine
Morning routine is done, yes even the exercise. :)

3) Take Time to Plan
1. Clean Master bathroom - done
2. Get caught up on laundry - still working on this one
3. Wash sheets - done
4. Check sales and plan menu
5. Clean master bedroom - dusted and vacuumed, but didn't get any of the monthly chores done.
6. Clean out fridge - done
My mom brought my grandmother to town for a doctor's appointment today and they called and asked me to lunch. I enjoyed it so much but of course, it threw my "to do list" off for the day. That's OK, I can catch up later.

4) What's For Dinner?
Tuna casserole, rolls and fruit

5) Do Something!
Crystal suggested working in the kitchen today. Mondays are master bed and bath days, but I decided to add cleaning out the fridge to my list. I'm tweaking my weekly schedule to change my grocery shopping day to Tuesday, so today was a perfect time to get the fridge cleaned out.



I also cleaned the outside of the fridge!

Bonus Project: If you have extra time, I encourage you to cook or bake something special for your family today!

I made these easy drop cookies. Mike and the kids love them. I'll share the recipe later.

Pizza Dough Recipe

Here's the recipe for the pizza dough I made this weekend. I actually found it at Biblical Womanhood and it is VERY good! I had been making a whole wheat crust prior to this, but Mike and the kids thought it was too "chewy". This recipe is now their favorite.
1 Tbsp. yeast
1 Cup warm water
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil or olive oil
2 1/2 Cups flour

I just dissolved the yeast in the water in my mixing bowl, added the rest of the ingredients and mixed. Then roll out your dough and press into a greased pan and add toppings. Bake at 450 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes.

My Favorite!

Have I mentioned lately how much I love my Kitchenaid mixer? It makes pizza dough the easiest thing in the world! I've had it for about 6 years and I'm sure I'll still be using it until the kids decide I can't be trusted around a stove. :) It's my very favorite kitchen appliance.

Walgreen's and CVS

I'm really excited about all the free makeup this week! Walgreen's has Jane cosmetics buy one get one free. I had a $2 coupon and found another $2 coupon at Money Saving Mom. I got eyeliner and lip gloss, both priced at$3.99 so with the buy one get one and the coupons, they were both free. I also had Walgreen's register reward coupons for the mascara so they were free too. I think I'm good on mascara for the next year and a half! :) The Benefiber was on sale for $4.99 and I had a $3 Walgreen's coupon from their Easy Saver catalogue and a $2 manufacturer coupon so it was free too. The Excedrin was on clearance for $2.87 and I had a $3 manufacturer's coupon...another freebie. The Walgreen's tissues together with the tissues and hand sanitizer I bought last week will earn a $10 mail in rebate. I'll get it on my Walgreen's gift card to get an extra 10%. The pencils were 6 for $1 and I got them so that I wouldn't have more items than coupons. I spent a total of $2.87 (I think , I know it was less than $3).

I usually shop at the Walgreen's closest to my house, but I decided to stop by the one close to church Wednesday night. A manager checked me out and I was hoping he wouldn't give me a hard time about my coupons. He was VERY nice and said he couldn't believe what good deals I was getting. Maybe it's worth it to schedule my Walgreen's visit on church days.

I've had a few people ask me about how much I keep in my medicine cabinet and wonder if I use everything. Most of the things I buy we DO use. When I have extras I pass them on to my mom or mother-in-law. For example, we don't really use indigestion remedies, but if I can get them for free I'll go ahead and just pass them on. Both my parents and in-laws use Mylanta and Tums. I also was told by our pediatrician that pain relievers and other pill type over the counter medicines are good for at least a year past their expiration date. I've never put this to the test, but it makes me worry less about everything expiring before we can use it. Most of what I've bought this year since I started CVS and Walgreen's shopping doesn't expire until 2009. Plus, when I started this in October I had one bandaid and some Calamine lotion in my medicine cabinet and that's about it. :) I feel so much better knowing that when we need it, it's there.


I did my CVS shopping in 2 transactions. I had $3 in ECBs, so the first thing I bought was the Sambucol. It was $12.99 and I had a $2 off $10 coupon, so after my my ECBs I spent $7.99 and got $10 in ECBs. I then bought the razor and deodorants using a $2 manufacturer's coupon on the razor, a $3 off $15 coupon and my $10 in ECBs. I spent $2.97 and have $14 in ECBs for next time. I'm really glad I got the Sambucol and I've already given it to the kids. Strep throat and the flu are running rampant around town and I'm hoping this will help keep them from getting sick.

See more Super Savings Saturday ideas here.

Menu Notebook

Menu planning has helped me SO much in trying to lower our grocery bills. I can tell you from experience how hard it is to stay within your budget if you don't have a plan!

The notebook in the picture was originally my Home Management Notebook, but now I have two notebooks. This one is devoted to my menus, recipes, and coupons. One section is for menus and grocery lists, one for recipes, and one for the latest Walgreens and CVS sales flyers and lists of "deals". In the recipe section I keep all those handwritten recipes from friends and family and recipes I've printed off the internet. The plastic page protectors keep them from getting wet or stained while I'm cooking.

A great place to get menu planning ideas is Hillbilly Housewife. She has lots of great recipes (many of which are in my notebook), a $45 emergency menu that will feed 4 to 6 people 3 meals a day and a low cost $70 menu that also feeds 4 to 6. I've used both of these menus and they are great.

I also keep 4 weekly menus in my notebook. These are just fairly simple, low cost menus for weeks when I just don't have the time or the "want to" to come up with a new menu. I keep the grocery list for that menu on the computer so all I have to do is print it up, add any extras we might need and head out to the store. This is probably the single thing that has most helped me stick to my grocery budget and avoid those last minute trips to McDonald's.

When I DO have the time, I try to plan my menus around what's on sale. Say there's a good sale on potatoes and chicken, then I'll look those up in my cookbook collection and come up with some menus based on that. There are also tons of recipes available online. If the sale is really good, I will sometimes go over my budget so that I can stock up and then later I can come in under budget.

Another great resource is Money Saving Mom. She has lots of great tips on saving money on groceries and menu planning. I've been menu planning and feeding a big family for years and I am newly inspired by her ebook.

It's also a good idea to look at your calendar when you're planning your menu. If you know one particular day is going to be extra busy, plan to cook something in the crockpot that day. I have 2 meetings tonight so I have soup in the crockpot and homemade bread rising.

Do you have any menu planning tips or notebook ideas? I would love to hear them!

Cotton Dishcloths

I love to knit these little cotton dishcloths. For a novice knitter like me, it's fun to work on a project that can be completed quickly and easily. I like to be able to see "results". These are fun to give away too. My mother and I have made homemade soap together a few times and I've given a bar or two of soap in a little basket with a couple of these dishcloths. I like to use them too. They seem to last a little longer than store bought dishcloths and they have a good texture for scrubbing. Just don't use a red one with any type of bleach cleaner. I know that from personal experience! :)

Making Your Home a Haven Monday

Crystal is taking the week off from hosting the Making Your Home a Haven Challenge because her husband is home today. My husband is home today too. At first I was just thinking about all the things I wouldn't get done because he is home! I'm fighting a sinus headache and I'm a little grumpy (obviously), but that's no excuse. So I'm praying for a softer heart and better attitude and in the meantime I'm going to ACT like I have a great attitude and put a smile on my face. :) Today is a wonderful opportunity to spend some time with my husband. My morning routine is done, and I can play catch-up tomorrow. It won't hurt anybody if the house isn't cleaned exactly on schedule.

On a side note, thank you all so much for your comments on Saturday's post. Your encouragement means so much to me. Have a great Monday!

Target and Lowe's Bargains

I just happened to find some great deals today at Target. I went with my mom because she was shopping for a baby shower gift. Life Water is on sale 10 for $10 and you get a $5 gift card when you buy 10. I noticed that many of the bottles had peelie coupons on them for 50 cents. I picked out 10 that had coupons and got 10 for $5 plus the gift card. I also found some really cute shoes on clearance for Cindy. They are a little big, but I think they'll be perfect next Fall. She LOVES them. I spent less than $9 at Target to get the shoes, 10 bottles of Life Water and a $5 gift card.


I also went to Lowe's today to use my $10 off any houseplant coupon and my $10 off any purchase coupon from when we bought my vacuum cleaner. I got this really pretty plant in a nice ceramic pot, a 4 pack of CFL bulbs (which will hopefully help on the electric bill) and a magazine. My total spent was $1.56.


Be sure to check out this week's Walgreen's deals too!

Walgreen's Deals

This week at Walgreen's the Glade scented oil candles are once again on sale buy one, get one free. I also had a buy 1 get 1 coupon, so they were both free! The cleaners were also buy one get one and I had some manufacturer's coupons. The Walgreen's tissue and hand sanitizer are on sale for $1.50 each and there is a rebate in the Easy Saver catalogue to get $5 back when you buy any 3 participating items.

The total after coupons was a little over $9 (don't have the receipt in front of me) and I paid with the Walgreen's gift card with last month's rebate on it. So, $0 out of pocket with a little over a dollar left on the card and a $5 rebate to send off for.

Oh, and if you use lots of ink printing coupons like I do, Walgreen's will refill your color OR black and white cartridge for $5 this week. Their regular prices are $15 for color and $10 for black and white.

Losing weight the frugal way

Free Bathroom Scale
About 10 months ago I achieved my weight loss goal of 40 pounds. I was thrilled with my all my new energy and so happy to be searching for clothes several sizes smaller.

Since then, I've had surgery which kept me from exercising for quite a while and have eaten my way through Thanksgiving, Christmas and plenty of CVS chocolate. My faithful old bathroom scale has told me that some of the weight has crept back on. Of course, I already knew this by the way my clothes were fitting. As of this past Monday, I am back on the weight loss wagon.

Joining a gym or paying for Weight Watchers is NOT in my budget, so I'll be losing it the frugal way. My goal will be to shoot for low fat, high fiber foods, drink lots of water and to exercise at least 5 days a week with my trusty old VHS tapes. I'm hoping that most weeks I can squeeze in 6 workouts. I'm also writing down everything I eat and measuring out portions. It's so easy for me to nibble here and there without realizing how much it all adds up. I also have a hard time with portion control which is why measuring is helpful for me.

I want to lose 10 pounds in the next 6 weeks. That's easily achievable if I work at it. Hopefully keeping track of my progress and being accountable here on my blog will help keep me focused on my goal.

Today for lunch I am having one my favorite "diet" meals, Progresso Light soup (bought with coupons of course), and a toasted cheese sandwich made with light bread and 2% cheese. That's only 4 Weight Watcher's points for the whole meal counting the entire can of soup!

Hospitality

Mom's Kitchen

Hospitality has always been an important part of the Southern culture, but it seems to be slowly fading away. I see many large, beautiful homes built for entertaining where the family isn't home, much less any guests because both husband and wife are so busy working they don't have time. It's becoming a lost art in the face of long hours at work and fast food eaten in a traffic jam on the way to Karate lessons.

Hospitality does take effort, but it doesn't have to be a burden. I think sometimes we make it harder than it has to be. Our homes don't have to be designer decorated and spotless in order to be welcoming. Perfection is intimidating and uncomfortable. I would rather visit a home where there is a real, loving family. A few toys and books scattered around and sweet tea in a Mason jar are more comforting and welcoming than a home that is museum quality perfect. Hospitality is not about trying to outdo the neighbors.

Whether you have a few friends and neighbors over for pizza on paper plates or you bring out Grandma's china for a formal dinner party you are obeying God's command. You are also creating sweet memories for your children and setting an excellent example. Our children should be encouraged to have other young people over.

We have entertained MANY teenage boys over the years. My sons have all enjoyed having friends over. Many Sundays when Peter still lived at home found us taking 3 or even 4 extra boys to church with us. I would make a huge Sunday dinner after church and they would sit at the table and eat with us. Our home was their home away from home and the only place for most of them where they were around a traditional apron wearing, cookie baking stay at home mom. Some of these boys had church homes of their own, but some didn't. One young man in particular (now in the military like Peter) had never been to church at all until he started going with us. He was later saved and then baptized on the Sunday he graduated from high school at our church. This young man's father has even come to church with us a few times and been over for dinner because of the hospitality shown to his son.

We have also opened our home to exchange students. We had one from Chile and one from New Zealand. I don't know that either became a Christian after their months in our home, but they were at least able to hear the gospel and be part of a family that prayed together.

As a housewife and keeper at home I am able to reach out to a mission field without ever leaving my home. The things we do at home can ripple out and have far reaching effects on the world around us.

"Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels." Hebrews 13:2 (NKJV)

Making Your Home a Haven Monday

It's Monday and time for Making Your Home a Haven Monday from Biblical Womanhood. I always seem to start Mondays behind so I am just loving this weekly challenge.

1) Refresh Your Spirit
This was sort of "on the fly" this morning. My morning started with a bang and didn't let up all day. I don't think I sat down for more than a couple of minutes. I'm planning to go back and re-read today's verses before I go to bed tonight.

2) Tackle your Morning Routine
My morning routine starts at 6:00am when my alarm goes off. I go straight to the family room and put on one of my exercise tapes (yes tapes...they're old). I have Tae Bo, a weight routine, and a 2 mile walking tape. I've found that if I don't do my exercise first thing before I'm even awake good, it won't happen...I'll just put it off. By the time I'm done Mike is up and making coffee. We spend a few minutes chatting and then I take a quick shower before I wake up the girls. Bobby has his own alarm and gets himself up. The kids eat at the breakfast bar in the kitchen. Sometimes it's cereal, sometimes oatmeal or other hot cereal and sometimes I plan ahead and make muffins or pancakes.

After they eat I finish my hair and makeup and send Mike off to work. The carpool picks up Bobby (I do the afternoon pickup), I fix the girls' hair and get them to school. I eat my breakfast and have my quiet time after I get back home.

Then I make myself finish up my routine before I get on the computer. I empty the dishwasher, do breakfast dishes, start a load of laundry, make beds and put away any hairbrushes or other clutter left out from the morning rush. Then I have my morning computer time and daily chat with retrohousewife (sometimes we're already talking as I'm making beds and starting laundry).

3) Take Time to Plan
Today's to do list:
1. Call about heater repair - done
2. Wash sheets - done
3. Get caught up on laundry - still in progress
4. Bank - done
5. Cut out and organize Sunday's coupons - done
6. Master Bedroom and bath - done

4) What's For Dinner?
I had planned to make chicken and rice casserole for dinner tonight, but I found out after I picked Bobby up from school that he had a band function tonight at 5:30. This threw my evening plans out the window. I was not too happy with him for springing this on me at the last minute. He made all-region band (we're so proud of him for that) and it was an awards ceremony that his band director said was mandatory. I wound up making corn dogs with mac and cheese and a Lean Cuisine for myself. Fancy dining at our house!

5) Do Something!
Today Crystal suggested the living room, but I already had the Master bed and bath on my list. I didn't take before pictures because it wouldn't really have shown the dirt and dust.


I also got my new pink sheets washed up and on our bed! I have been searching for a cheap set of king-sized sheets for several months now. We have been using the bottom sheet from our old flannel set and the top sheet from our regular set. They were the only king size sheets I had left until I found this really cute pink set on sale for $14.99 at Target. They're SO soft too! Mike says he doesn't mind that they are pink. :)

Today's CVS Bargains

I hate to even show you what I bought at CVS today because it's a bunch of junk food. :) We really don't drink as many cokes as it seems like we do. Well, being honest here, I do drink plenty of Diet Cokes but my husband and kids don't drink many cokes. (For those of you not in the South, we use "cokes" to refer to any carbonated beverage regardless of brand...maybe I should do a post on southern vocabulary) Bobby is having several friends over to spend the night so he requested some of this. It just so happened that I was able to get a good deal on it.

We are using our last bottle of shampoo and have only 1 extra bottle of conditioner, so I wanted to be sure to get the Garnier. I also needed the bar soap. I'm doing OK on Body Wash for now, but Mike likes bar soap and we only had about 1 or 2 showers worth left. The cookies were on sale for $1 and I had a $1 off coupon so they were free.

I got the Pepsi products first. If you buy $20 of Pepsi products you get $10 in ECBs. I used a $4 off $20 coupon and my $7 in ECBs and paid a little over $9. I bought the soap, shampoo, conditioner, cookies and candy in a 2nd transaction. I used a $2 off $10 coupon and my $10 in ECBs. It was a negative balance and the cashier acted like she couldn't adjust the coupon down, so I just added in a couple more candy bars. I think I paid 28 cents.

I only have $3 in ECBs for next time. I thought I was supposed to get $2 in ECBs for each of the Garnier products and $1 for the candy, but I didn't look at my receipt until I got home. I'll have to get it out and look at it again to see what happened. I was planning to get Sambucol and Soyjoys, but my store was out of both and I had to change plans midstream. I guess it's not too bad to get all this for less than $10.

My Home Management Notebook - Part II

Notebook Sections


1)Calendar: In this section are pages for annual reminders such as birthdays, anniversaries, or anything else that occurs on an annual basis and monthly calendars. This section is also where I keep my cleaning list. It's helpful for me to keep a list of what to clean on what day and what should be done in each room.

Right now my weekly schedule is as follows:
Monday: Master bedroom and bathroom
Tuesday: Girls' room and entryway/front porch
Wednesday: Kitchen, hall bathroom
Thursday: Bobby's room, family room
Friday: Living room, guest room, laundry room
I keep a list of what needs to be done every week and what needs to be done monthly. I try to do at least one "monthly" task in each room every week so that they never build up. This doesn't always happen though.

On weeks that I know are going to be extra busy I will condense everything so that I do all "wet" chores one day (such as mopping, bathrooms, etc), and all "dry" chores on a second day (vacuuming, dusting). No monthly chores get done on these weeks. Sheets are washed on Mondays and laundry is done every day except Sunday. Grocery shopping is usually done on Friday. On grocery shopping day I make homemade pizza or something else quick and easy.

2)Contacts: The first page is for emergency numbers so it's easy to find. There are also pages for neighbors, friends, family, and a "family yellow pages". Any time I look up a number for a plumber, mechanic, the electric company, or anything of that sort I write it down here.

3)Kids: I keep school schedules, activities, car pool info, chore lists, and school project information here. There are also empty page protectors and pockets for things they bring home from school that I need to keep. Right now I have a list of science fair project ideas in one of these pockets.

4) The Good Life: Here I have my Bible reading plan, lists of favorite places to eat out (and what days kids eat free), fun ideas for things to do or see, movies to see and books to read. There's also a pockets for take-out menus and coupons. We rarely eat out, but when we do I want to make sure we get the most bang for our buck.

5) House and Car: This sections contains lists of household and car repairs, homeowners and auto insurance information, painting log, household items bought (like my vacuum cleaner) and warranty info. There is also a page for passwords and user names for websites (I never can remember which password I use for what).

6) Health care: Here we keep names and numbers of our doctors, health insurance info, medications, health history and shot records. It's also a good idea to have names and numbers of your parents doctors and vet numbers if you have pets.

7) Financial: In this section I have our monthly budget planner (FINALLY have a written budget) and bill tracker. There are also pages for life insurance, mortgage lender, and bank account numbers and contact info with pages to store business cards.

Tomorrow I'll go over my recipe/menu planning notebook.

My Home Management Notebook - Part I

I started using a home management notebook a few years ago. I had tried using a business type planner, but it didn't have the right categories and didn't really work for me. My first notebook was just a plain 3 ring binder that my husband had been using for work and no longer needed. I filled it with these free printable forms and added a few of my own. I slid them into sheet protectors and added dividers. It took a while for me to get the hang of using it, but now I couldn't manage without it.

My mother got me a Family Facts Family Life Organizer & Planner (3-year Calendar) for Christmas this year (that I had already picked out). Now I use two. My original notebook has become my recipe/menu planning/coupon notebook along with a Christmas section. It's full of recipes and I also have menu plans and shopping lists. When time is tight or I just don't feel like planning a menu, I can pull out one of these menus along with the list and head to the store.

My 2nd and newest notebook has everything else in it from school calendars to budgets to phone numbers. I'll post more details in Part II tomorrow.

Here are pictures of my two notebooks.



And the shelf where I keep them.

Making Your Home a Haven Monday

I love the Making Your Home a Haven Challenges from Biblical Womanhood! They really help me to focus on making my home restful and special for my family.

We aren't back on our regular schedule today, so I didn't get everything done I had hoped. The kids start back to school tomorrow, so today we're still in "vacation mode".

Today's Challenge:
1. Refresh Your Spirit
Today I'm back to my Bible reading plan that I found some time ago at The Sparrow's Nest. It's been my favorite because I can check off scriptures as I read them and there are no dates. If I miss a day I don't feel like I might as well give up. It's very user friendly. I printed it out to keep in my notebook (more on the notebook later). The only problem is that the link to this plan no longer seems to exist. I'll keep looking and see if I can find it for you.


2. Take Time to Plan
Today's to do list:
1. Exercise - done (I haven't been very good about this over the Christmas break)
2. Wash sheets - done
3. Fill up the van so that I don't run out of gas on the way to school in the morning - done
4. Take donations to Goodwill - not done (hopefully I can get this done tomorrow)
5. Clean out coat closet - done

3. Do Something!
Crystal suggested working on our coat closets today. This is something I have been needing to get done so it was a perfect project for me.

Part of the problem with my coat closet (and for storage in general at our house)is that we still have most of Greg and Peter's stuff. Being in the military, they didn't take much with them. I still have most of their books, lots of their clothes, old trophies, high school yearbooks... I had quite a bit of their stuff in the coat closet so I went through, consolidated and put it in a bedroom closet I have set aside for them. I have a bag to donate full of old coats, an old set of kitchen valances, some outgrown mittens and a few other odds and ends.

Here is the before picture. Looks terrible!!


And here is after. MUCH better!



I'm also including a couple of pictures of my retro faux fur coat that my aunt bought for me at a thrift store a few years back. I love it, but I rarely wear it. It's heavy and SO formal. I can't make up my mind if I should keep it or donate it. What do you think?

The Best Pumpkin Bread Ever

I usually make pumpkin bread several times between Thanksgiving and Christmas, but today is the first time I've made it in quite a while. Now I remember the reason...it's SO good I can't keep my hands off it! It really is the best pumpkin bread you will ever put in your mouth.

The recipe comes from my best friend (who comments here as retrohousewife). She is a GREAT home style cook and many of my best recipes come from her.


Best Pumpkin Bread Ever
1 can pumpkin
2 sticks butter, softened
3 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cloves

I just put all the ingredients in my electric mixer and mix until thoroughly blended (so easy). Pour into greased and floured loaf pans or muffin tins. It makes 2 large loaves, or 24 muffins. Bake muffins for 20 to 30 minutes and loaves for 45 minutes to an hour at 350 degrees.

Years ago (I think I was pregnant with Cindy at the time) I was making this while talking to retrohousewife on the phone. I made sure to set out all the spices so that I didn't forget one. I didn't want to mess up the recipe because I was on the phone. Well, guess what? After I pulled what should have been muffins out of the oven I realized I forgot a crucial ingredient. One of the spices you ask? No...the FLOUR!! I realized that I can NOT follow a recipe and talk on the phone at the same time. Too much for my little brain to handle. :)

Today's Apron

I'm a little late with a Christmas apron, but I thought I would show it anyway. It's another of my grandmother's homemade aprons. It's done with fabric paint. I completely forgot to get it out and use it this year.

Cindy took this picture for me so I didn't have to try to get one in the mirror. I thought she did a pretty good job!

Paper, paper everywhere!

A Woman Works at a Cluttered Desk
When The Chatty Housewife left a comment on my latest post about CVS deals asking if I was a pack rat (the answer is no) ;) I started thinking about clutter and organization. No, not clutter from CVS deals, but PAPER! Paper is a hard thing for me to control. I seem to have tons of it coming into the house every day. What to do with school papers, church bulletins, bills, coupons, ads, receipts...

I'm a LONG way from having it down, but I've been slowly working my way to paper organization. The first step for me was learning to deal with the mail. I've found that the key is not to set it down or it will turn into a pile. I read the mail in the kitchen next to the trash can as soon as I bring it in. If it's a bill, I stash it in my household notebook to deal with on my bill paying day(Mike gets paid once a month and I sit down to pay all bills at the same time). If it's junk mail it goes straight to the trash. If it's something from school, church or an invitation, I mark down any relevant dates on my calendar, RSVP if appropriate and it too goes to the trash. If it's something Mike needs to see or deal with, I put it on his dresser for him to see when he gets home.

My next biggest source of paper is school papers. With 5 kids (3 still at home), there is NO way I can save every cute little thing they make or certificate they bring home. I will put a few things on the fridge which then rotate to the extra fridge in the laundry room, and then finally to the trash (when they're not looking). I do have 2 banker boxes full of certificates and projects, but I am determined that we won't go over. If the boxes start to overflow, I just have to go through and sort something out. I hope to eventually go through these boxes and sort out everything into 5 small individual boxes. I don't think that will happen anytime soon though. Any other school papers get signed and put straight back into the backpacks, put into the kids section of my notebook, or dates marked on my calendar and paper thrown away.

And finally, now that I am coupon shopping, I have had to develop an organization system for those too. When I first started I had one envelope for food coupons and one for non-food. I quickly outgrew that. Now I have a gallon Ziploc bag full of business size envelopes. I have different categories and they are in alphabetical order. Before I go to CVS or Walgreen's I take out the coupons that I plan to use and put them in the "CVS" or "Walgreen's" envelope so that I only need to carry one envelope into the store with me. I usually keep all the coupons in the van though and I can go back and get them if I find some sort of unadvertised deal. When I go grocery shopping, I carry my large purse and just put the bag in it. That way I can compare brand name with coupon price vs. generic/store brand price and the coupons are handy if I need them. I probably don't use more than 4 or 5 coupons in the average grocery shopping trip because there aren't any stores in my area that double coupons and the store brand cheese (or whatever) is usually cheaper than the name brand with the coupon. I go through all the envelopes on the 1st of each month and throw away all the expired coupons. I'm sure there's a better way to organize them, but this is working for now.

What's your biggest organizational challenge and how do you deal with it?

This week at CVS

I think I did pretty well today considering most of what I bought was not the best possible deal like I usually get. The Nature's Bounty vitamins were buy one get one free and I had two $2 off coupons. These weren't the cheapest vitamins available, but I already did the Nature's Bounty deal earlier this week and got 2 Vitamin Cs, an echinacea and a B Complex. This time I got a ginseng complex and a fish/flax/borage oil.

I bought 4 Soy Joy bars and had a $1/4 coupon. The Always were on sale for $2.99 and I had a $1 coupon. The CVS brand items are buy one, get one half off and we really needed the cotton balls. The bath pouf was part of the Christmas clearance of 75% off and it was $1.25. I also bought a 12 pack of Diet Coke which isn't in the picture. It was on sale for $3.33 (or 3 for $10).

I used a $5 off $20 coupon from a previous week's receipt, a $2 off $10 coupon, and my $6 in ECBs from the earlier vitamin purchases. I spent $5.80 out of pocket. I earned $7 in ECBs plus my $3 in ECBs from my Fall spending printed so I have $10 for next time. I used up most of my ECBs for Christmas, so I'm glad to be getting them built back up again.

You can to to the Nature's Bounty Rewards website to register for your $2 off coupon and then when you buy vitamins you can go back and enter the codes from them to get points towards more coupons.

Oh, and in case you happen to be in Dollar General this week, they have a double pack of Excedrin back and body (24 count each) for $3 and you can use the $2 off coupon that came in the paper a few weeks ago.

This week's bargains at Walgreen's

I got quite a bit at Walgreen's today. Their Christmas items are 75% off, so I got 2 Christmas mugs, a Christmas snack tray and some chocolate covered cherries. The Puffs tissues were 89 cents with the Walgreen's 7 day coupon. The Herbal Essences conditioner was on clearance for $1.79 and I had a $1 off coupon, so it cost me 79 cents. I got 2 of the Glade scented oil refills. They were on sale for 2 for $5, I had $1.50 coupon for each of them so they were 2 for $2. I also got two of the Glade scented oil candle holders. They were on sale buy one get one free and I had a buy one get one free coupon, so they were free. I put them up for future gifts. Maybe for next Christmas or Mother's Day for my mom and/or grandmother. They both love candles. The Nature Made vitamins were buy one get one free. I got 2 Rx Essentials and used $5 off 1 coupons for each along with a $2 coupon out of the Easy Saver Catalog. The Dawn was on sale with the 7 day coupon for 79 cents each and I had a $1 off 2 coupon, so they were 29 cents each. The Benefiber was on clearance for $3.29 and there was a $3 coupon in the Easy Saver Catalog so it was 29 cents. The Dimetapp was on sale for $4. I bought 2 with $2 off 1 coupons for each. The Mountain Dew is Bobby's and he gave me some money to pay for it. :)

My total expense was $15 even (including the Mountain Dew). There is a printable Nature Made Rx Essentials full rebate that I plan to send off for to get $14.99 back. There is also a rebate in the easy Saver Catalog for $2 on 2 Glade scented oil refills. I wasn't thinking or I would have bought these in two separate transactions. Both rebates require an original cash register receipt so I can't do both. I also have $4 in register rewards to use next time. Once again I should have done 2 separate transactions and I would have had $8. They register rewards were for the Dimetapp and I didn't even think about them only giving me the RRs for one per transaction. Oh well, lesson learned. I may do the Glade deal again this week to get the candles and the refills so I can send off for that rebate too. Might as well get some more of those free candles.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Children with Snowman
Happy new year to all of you! We had the traditional Southern black-eyed peas with cornbread for lunch today. It's cold here, so the kids have built a fort in the living room with blankets and chairs and we are sitting around watching football. I finished all my Christmas thank you notes and they are stamped, addressed and ready to mail tomorrow. It's been a nice, quiet start to 2008.

Did any of you do some after Christmas clearance shopping? I went to Target yesterday and all their Christmas items were 75% off. I bought some wrapping paper, gift tags, ornaments, and a star tree topper. I have never been good about shopping year 'round for Christmas, but I'm going to try to be better about that this year. It will be so much easier, both on my schedule and my pocketbook to spread it out.

Speaking of schedules, I have a new home keeping notebook and I'll be sharing some of that with you this week. Have a great day!