Let me start this post by saying I’m tired. I can’t express in words how tired and sore I am. We’ve been at the task of remodeling our house for a bit over six weeks now and I really didn’t think things would take us this long. We’ve done plumbing with the help of experts like Sharp Plumbing & Heating, electrical wiring, drywall, painting, trim carpentry, yard work and just about everything else associated with starting a new career as a contractor (by the way, I am currently NOT for hire…I gotta finish my own house before I can do anyone else’s!). I’ve spent more time wearing a dust mask and crawling around in the attic than I ever wanted (just a side note: it makes an excellent sauna between the hours of 10 am and 8 pm every day). Along the way, we’ve maintained our status as cheapskates without sacrificing quality and thought it might help those of you who have a few projects around the house of your own if I shared some of the ways we’ve saved money on this “project” we’re finishing up. [Read more…]
Crock Pot Chicken Cordon Bleu
Friday again and another great recipe! Today we welcome Ashley from Spunky Suds with a recipe that will work for company or for a weeknight dinner. Oh, and make sure to check out her soaps – they rock!!
I was searching for a recipe for Chicken Cordon Bleu and much to my disappointment, I found that most recipes called for ingredients such as stove top stuffing and cream of chicken soup. I don’t know about you, but I’m not too keen on feeding my family meals that are full of MSG and ingredients that I can’t even pronounce, (I like to use this rule of thumb—if I can’t pronounce it, I shouldn’t use it—and that goes for food and also for skin care).
I know that I can’t micromanage everything in my life, but there are parts that I can certainly avoid. After much searching, I was finally able to find a recipe that sounded good and used real food for ingredients! I made a few adjustments to mine, and we are happy to add this to one of our special family recipes! [Read more…]
The Easy Money Myth: Rent-to-Own Companies
We live in a culture that tells us we deserve things. We deserve to go on vacation because we work hard. We deserve to eat dessert because we had a salad for lunch. We deserve to live in a really nice house and drive a really nice car because we put in a lot of hours at the office. We deserve a beautiful place to work. The working environment plays an important role in our mental health. It is really stressful to have a long day of work, and a nice place can give us a cozy and peaceful feeling. There is a company offering an office rental for a short time; visit this site at https://www.untethered.space/ for more info. This mindset is what gives us the idea that if we want something we should just go get it. This is also the mindset that allows rent-to-own and title loan places to thrive. This mindset is a load of crap. There, I said it. The mindset of I deserve is a total load of crap fed to us from thousands of different angles and promulgated (yeah, yeah, I know I just used a college word) by every TV commercial and radio ad you’ll find anywhere. So what’s the truth? What do we REALLY deserve? That’s the topic for another post. Today, however, I’m going to discuss the dangers of rent-to-own and share a story that has captured my heart for months now and motivated me to help people get (and stay) out of debt. [Read more…]
Crock Pot Creamy Italian Chicken & Rice Casserole
While we’re remodeling this house, I’m super excited that I’ve been able to find so many of you that are willing to post on Fridays for me. 🙂 Today we have Kim Morefield from A Morefield Life. Thanks Kim!
Being a busy mom of 4 small children, I absolutely love all-in-one-meals. Add the worry-free benefit of a crock pot and you have a recipe for extra time with your family instead of time slaving in the kitchen! Don’t get me wrong, you’ll still have the smiling faces and empty plates because yumminess and wholesome goodness is still an important part of any meal in our family equation – it’ll just take less time, and time is something we all could use more of, right?
I will give the basic recipe I used, but feel free to tweak it according to your schedule, needs, and family preferences. Since I am home for summer break and not teaching, I was able to add rice and veggies later in the process to make it an all-in-one meal. If I were using this recipe on a busy school day when I couldn’t be home to add the variations below (rice, broccoli, etc.), I might alter it by simply boiling some wheat noodles and steaming some veggies to go with the main course. [Read more…]
Mama’s Tomato Soup – With Cloves
For as long as I can remember, my Mama has made this soup. She has spoiled me. I can’t even touch the “tomato soup” in a can. What is that stuff anyway? It tastes like a big bowl of nothingness to me. Yuck! (No offense to my husband and dad who actually like that stuff.)
This recipe is SO easy and SO frugal that I just had to share it. I’m tickled that my mom is letting you in on some of her awesome recipes like this and Sausage Macaroni. Can you tell that I was fed well as a child? Annie loves this soup now too! She gobbles it down and begs for more. So, pull up to the computer with your grilled cheese and let’s make soup! [Read more…]
Poor is a State of Mind…and so is Rich!
Last week’s post on change being all about deciding to do it went over well enough that you guys even shared some really great stories about how you’ve used my ramblings to give you some direction. I’m THRILLED to read those types of comments. Some of you also asked me for some specific things where this mindset could be applied, so I thought I’d take today to tackle that idea through the idea of being “poor” (financially).
I talk to people nearly every day who are struggling to make ends meet. Financially, things are tight and there is often little hope of things getting any better. By their very situation, most would call them poor. I think that’s wrong. You may not have any money, but you are not necessarily poor. Poor is a state of mind. If you are short on cash, that doesn’t mean you’re poor. If you are behind on all your bills, that doesn’t mean you’re poor. If you don’t know where your next meal is coming from, that doesn’t mean you’re poor either. You’re only poor when you admit defeat, sit down and decide you are poor. This is a very serious (and bad) place to be. When you are poor, you stop believing in yourself. When you’re poor, you start looking at others and believing they are evil for having more than you do. When you’re poor, you decide the government (or the church, the community, your neighbor, etc.) owes you something because you’ve been wronged. In other words, poor is the decision to give up on succeeding financially. Rather than make this a political statement, which is something most people want to do because it is an easy out, I will say this: Jesus said the poor will always be around (Matthew 26:11), but it is up to you whether or not you decide to be one of them.
[Read more…]Geocaching – A Frugal Family Activity
I’ve always found geocaching fascinating. I wanted to do a post about how it was a good family activity, but I don’t have the experience. Enter, my friend Amanda from Spinning Yarns and Other Things (and also a friend from high school). She and her family LOVE geocaching together, so I asked her to do a write up for you guys. Thanks Amanda!
What IS Geocaching?
Geocaching. It’s a weird word, I know, but it is so much fun. It even sounds a little bit illegal but it isn’t. Some of you may be thinking, “What in the world is that??” The answer is simple. Geocaching is a modern day treasure hunt that uses coordinates of latitude and longitude to mark the treasure instead of maps. When you find the treasure box you can take something from it, but you must leave something of equal or greater value.
We decided to give geocaching a try this past summer. After our first cache we were hooked! We have now successfully found 71 caches. There is very minimal cost involved and it has turned out to be an awesome family activity with an educational aspect to boot.
[Read more…]
Brownie Pie
It is no coincidence that I first made this pie when Barry was out of town. You see, I have this thing for brownies…and I don’t like to share. I eat them when Annie is asleep and Barry is gone. And then I hide the pie plate under a towel in the kitchen. Survival of the hungriest. If you pair a brownie with vanilla ice cream, you better watch out or I might just bite your hand off. Don’t get between me and my brownie. This is your warning.
This pie is SO easy you’ll make it all the time…but don’t blame me. I’m just sharing the love. Don’t make this for potlucks or for Sunday family dinner. Don’t do it. There will be fights and gnashing of teeth because I do think it is indeed possible to eat this whole pie in one sitting and not share. Not that I would know that type of thing…I’m just guessing. [Read more…]
“But I’ve Always Done It That Way…”: Deciding to Change
Let me take a moment to summarize the main point of thousands of leadership, self-help, dieting, marriage, parenting and tons of other books that span literally millions of pages. Just about all of them can be boiled down to one big thing: changing your mindset from “I’ve always done it that way” to “I’m willing to try something different.” In other words, those books are all about making a positive change.
I know I’m usually pretty pointed when I write articles for you guys, but today I want to do a bit of rambling on the topic of change and the decision of whether or not to change. What prompts me to write about that? In short, Stacy and I are going through so many life changes right now that we’re having a hard time keeping up! I also talk with people nearly every day who struggle to make a change because they are paralyzed by the unknown. More accurately, they are paralyzed by their FEAR of the unknown. They ask questions like, “what happens if I can’t find a job by the end of the month when our savings runs out?” or, “which college should I attend?” and expect me to give them the answer. Those are pretty serious questions and honestly, there are tons of possible answers. Here’s the thing: as Jon Acuff wrote in one of my favorite recent reads, Quitter, “…not doing anything is its own decision, and the odds of failure are horrible.” But people get so caught up in the fear of making a choice that they make no choice at all, or almost as bad, they default back to “I’ve always done it that way” thinking when something has caused that approach to stop working. So what’s the answer? [Read more…]
20 Minute Meals
**I know I normally post a crock pot recipe on Friday, but my scheduled poster and friend, Rachel, had a recent tragedy and was unable to be with us. I would ask that you say a special prayer for her today. Thanks.**
Last year I had the honor of making a new friend – LeighAnn from Intentional by Grace. She has blessed me in thousands of ways. I know without a shadow of a doubt God matched us up as friends – we’re so alike, but so different. She keeps me in check. She tells me when I’m being dumb…and I’m dumb a lot.
She invited my family to come spend the weekend with her family and we had a fabulous time! She’s exactly the same in person as she is online. And then she went and did something crazy. She moved to Colorado. But that’s okay – I still love her…and I also love her new book!
I’m going through a time in life where meal times are crazy. I used to be a meal planning fanatic, but after we sold the townhouse, moved in with mom, and bought a new house to remodel, things haven’t gone very smoothly. Sometimes I freak out at 5pm when I realize I forgot that dinner was coming. Uhhh, oops?
Enter 20 Minute Meals. LeighAnn has created a cookbook for the weary chef…the mother who is busy…the wife who works…the pregnant woman who loses her mind and forgets that she needs to feed her family dinner every night. [Read more…]
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