This past month has brought some difficult things my way and yet here I am still plugging along!
Two of my kids had the stomach bug and then two of them had really bad colds. My youngest was actually coughing so bad that it sounded like he was barking like a sea lion! He LOVED that description...
As for myself, I have been battling with being nauseas and just not feeling well. I had bloodwork done last week, an endoscopy this morning and have a colonoscopy scheduled in a couple of weeks.
My way of dealing with all of this has been to spend time with my kids, start baking again and reading some books, to get lost into someone elses world. I think these things are actually working! It's amazing how the small stuff works better than the larger things.
One of the big time savers for me was the fact that I had a lot of food stocked up in my freezer and pantry, so I joined in with Jessica over at http://www.lifeasmom.com/ and did a major challenge. My goal was to use up a lot of what we had and do as little shopping as possible. I think I succeeded for the most part. This past week I did go to the store and stock up on quite a bit of meat, since they had some really good sales and markdowns. When I brought the meat home, I split it up into smaller quantities and marinated some chicken breasts and leg quarters and made up some hamburg patties. These are now all in the freezer and will make my dinner prep a little easier in the upcoming weeks.
It doesn't always have to take a lot of time to get some meals made in advance and if you break it down into smaller quantities every couple of weeks, you'll save yourself a ton of time in the long run! (think of all of those sports games, after school activities and all the extra things you do during the week and on the weekends)
Right now, my motto is LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST!!!
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Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Review of the book Unto The Hills A Daily Devotional by Billy Graham
I was sent a copy of the book Unto The Hills A Daily Devotional by Billy Graham fromBooksneeze. This book was one of the best daily devotionals I have seen. Each devotional is a page long and the pages are broken up into monthly segments. It is a very good book to read either all at once or to break in to the individual days. Because I wanted to get the review done, I had to read it all at once, but I look forward to going through the book again and again, day by day.
The message of the book is all positive and can really lift your spirits for the day. Each passage gets you thinking about how you can make sure you are living your life the way you should and how you can keep God in all of your decisions. Each person will get something different out of this book, depending on where you are in your life and what struggles you may be having at the time. And as you continue reading it year after year, the way you look at the passages will continue to change after time. It is definitely a book that will be enjoyed for years to come. This book can also be used as a family reading passage and can be used as a teaching tool for every member of the family.
The message of the book is all positive and can really lift your spirits for the day. Each passage gets you thinking about how you can make sure you are living your life the way you should and how you can keep God in all of your decisions. Each person will get something different out of this book, depending on where you are in your life and what struggles you may be having at the time. And as you continue reading it year after year, the way you look at the passages will continue to change after time. It is definitely a book that will be enjoyed for years to come. This book can also be used as a family reading passage and can be used as a teaching tool for every member of the family.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Savings on food and health and beauty items for 2010
Since we have a snow day today and expecting about 15 inches of snow, I thought it would be a perfect time to post my numbers for 2010. Then after I finish writing this, I will have to get some work done and get the kids outside to play in this wonderful snow! I'll freeze but it will be sooooo worth it to see them happy and throwing snowballs at each other. Who knows, maybe I'll join in and throw some at them!
Anyway, back to last year. My numbers include food, pet stuff, health and beauty products and household cleaners and products. After sales and coupons, I spent $7433.53, which averages out to $619.46 a month. My savings, with the sales and coupons, totaled $3218.35. Not too bad, but I would like to see the spending number go down this year and the savings number, especially the coupon part, go way up. We were still under the national average for how much we spent on groceries last year, but I know we can do way better. I know part of the issue is the fact that I am the only person in my household that is not a picky eater. I will eat just about anything. The rest of my crew however, will not eat a lot of different veggies, fruits, beans of any kind and not too many casserole dishes. This really makes it hard to eat on a strict budget. I can't buy things in season, produce wise, all of the time and I can't plan pasta or rice and beans for meals a couple times of the week. I know these things would significantly decrease our food bill and I'm going to continue working on these things with my family.
I guess you can say that that is another one of my goals for the upcoming year.
How much did you save on coupons and savings last year??
Anyway, back to last year. My numbers include food, pet stuff, health and beauty products and household cleaners and products. After sales and coupons, I spent $7433.53, which averages out to $619.46 a month. My savings, with the sales and coupons, totaled $3218.35. Not too bad, but I would like to see the spending number go down this year and the savings number, especially the coupon part, go way up. We were still under the national average for how much we spent on groceries last year, but I know we can do way better. I know part of the issue is the fact that I am the only person in my household that is not a picky eater. I will eat just about anything. The rest of my crew however, will not eat a lot of different veggies, fruits, beans of any kind and not too many casserole dishes. This really makes it hard to eat on a strict budget. I can't buy things in season, produce wise, all of the time and I can't plan pasta or rice and beans for meals a couple times of the week. I know these things would significantly decrease our food bill and I'm going to continue working on these things with my family.
I guess you can say that that is another one of my goals for the upcoming year.
How much did you save on coupons and savings last year??
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Stress in a mom's life
I have made a startling discovery! Stress is not a good thing for a mom with rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia to have. The bad news of figuring this out is that I really don't have a way to never have any stress in my life. I mean, hey, I'm a MOM!
I'm sure all of us struggle with stress on a daily basis. Between the kids, husband, work, bills, finances, holidays, birthdays, etc, etc.....what are we suppposed to do???? I find that if I'm getting too stressed, it actually makes me even more stressed out, when I realize that I have stress. Last week I had a revelation along with my stress. It is actually wiping me out a whole lot more that it used to. I decided that I really need to find a way to deal with the stress and try to keep it in check at all times (well, most of the time).
My plan is this:
1. Take time everyday to exercise. I think this will be important in many, many ways.
2. Take time everyday to do something that I enjoy. If I crawl into my bed at night with a good book after the kids are in bed, that will definitely work for me. And I might get the huge stacks of books, that need to be read, out of my bedroom.
3. Spend extra time playing with my kids and snuggling with my husband. Nothing cures stress like the closeness of family.
4. Spend time working on my breathing techniques and try to start meditating. I've heard that this works really well....................
5. I'm also not going to worry about whether or not I'm getting everything done that needs to be done, because it will be there tomorrow. I will also try to learn to say "no" on occassion, so that I don't get totally overwhelmed, when I'm trying to juggle a million things at a time.
Hopefully, I will succeed at a few of these and learn to manage my stress once in a while. Rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia are tricky diseases to actually manage, but with a little tweaking here and there, it is possible.
I'm sure all of us struggle with stress on a daily basis. Between the kids, husband, work, bills, finances, holidays, birthdays, etc, etc.....what are we suppposed to do???? I find that if I'm getting too stressed, it actually makes me even more stressed out, when I realize that I have stress. Last week I had a revelation along with my stress. It is actually wiping me out a whole lot more that it used to. I decided that I really need to find a way to deal with the stress and try to keep it in check at all times (well, most of the time).
My plan is this:
1. Take time everyday to exercise. I think this will be important in many, many ways.
2. Take time everyday to do something that I enjoy. If I crawl into my bed at night with a good book after the kids are in bed, that will definitely work for me. And I might get the huge stacks of books, that need to be read, out of my bedroom.
3. Spend extra time playing with my kids and snuggling with my husband. Nothing cures stress like the closeness of family.
4. Spend time working on my breathing techniques and try to start meditating. I've heard that this works really well....................
5. I'm also not going to worry about whether or not I'm getting everything done that needs to be done, because it will be there tomorrow. I will also try to learn to say "no" on occassion, so that I don't get totally overwhelmed, when I'm trying to juggle a million things at a time.
Hopefully, I will succeed at a few of these and learn to manage my stress once in a while. Rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia are tricky diseases to actually manage, but with a little tweaking here and there, it is possible.
Monday, January 3, 2011
A New Year
It is the start of a new year. If you thought that I might be upset with how my 2010 went, you would be very wrong! I learned a lot about myself and my family in that time when everything seemed to be going "wrong". I decided that I could use those experiences and try to turn them into a positive thing! I learned that it wouldn't hurt my husband, if he helped out with the housework, when I was unable to do it. I also learned that if I couldn't do the housework and no one else did it, then it wasn't going anywhere. I learned that I CAN take some time for myself and actually enjoy it! It makes me a better person and I feel much calmer for doing so. All of these things have made some of my decisions for the upcoming year much easier.
For 2011, my outlook will be on the positive side, no matter what comes my way (although, I'm hoping it won't be along the lines of a concussion, broken foot and surgery). I will be trying to at least walk every day, and get some yoga and strength training in a few days a week. I will be making sure that I read and work on my cross stitches regularly, since that always relaxes me and makes me happy. I am going to try to cook healthier foods and make things from scratch more often. I will be trying to eat out less and make sure that we always have quick foods to eat on those busy sports nights. I will be working on organizing the house and making sure that everything has a place and a purpose. If I can't make something work, then I will make sure that I donate it, so someone else can make use of it.
I know that a lot of these things won't be accomplished overnight, but I know with some determination and hard work, I will succeed at my goals! Hopefully, I won't wear myself out too much, by trying to do everything at once. Another goal I have this year is to learn to pace myself and learn the cues that my body is sending me. If I learn to listen to my body, I think I will be more successful all around!
My family is very important to me, so I will be planning on spending quite a bit of time with them and implementing some new ideas in our house. I would like to have family game nights, family movie nights and outdoor activity days. I will be looking for some hiking trails that we can conquer and MANY activities that our community may be holding that are FREE!! :) Our budget is another thing that I would like to conquer this year and working on paying down our debts. My children are going to be helping me with this activity. I think this will be a perfect year to get them started on how to be financially fit.
This blog is another one of my goals and working on getting it off and running. Any ideas that anyone may have, please let me know. I will be working on a game plan of what days we will discuss what topic and I will be making sure that I link this up to other wonderful blogs out there!
I hope that everyone is enjoying this NEW YEAR!
If you are looking to clean out your pantry, freezer, stockpile, before things expire, check out http://www.lifeasmom.com/ or http://www.goodcheapeats.com/ and follow as FishMama (Jessica) helps us accomplish this. She has some basic guidelines and will be offering lots of support.
For 2011, my outlook will be on the positive side, no matter what comes my way (although, I'm hoping it won't be along the lines of a concussion, broken foot and surgery). I will be trying to at least walk every day, and get some yoga and strength training in a few days a week. I will be making sure that I read and work on my cross stitches regularly, since that always relaxes me and makes me happy. I am going to try to cook healthier foods and make things from scratch more often. I will be trying to eat out less and make sure that we always have quick foods to eat on those busy sports nights. I will be working on organizing the house and making sure that everything has a place and a purpose. If I can't make something work, then I will make sure that I donate it, so someone else can make use of it.
I know that a lot of these things won't be accomplished overnight, but I know with some determination and hard work, I will succeed at my goals! Hopefully, I won't wear myself out too much, by trying to do everything at once. Another goal I have this year is to learn to pace myself and learn the cues that my body is sending me. If I learn to listen to my body, I think I will be more successful all around!
My family is very important to me, so I will be planning on spending quite a bit of time with them and implementing some new ideas in our house. I would like to have family game nights, family movie nights and outdoor activity days. I will be looking for some hiking trails that we can conquer and MANY activities that our community may be holding that are FREE!! :) Our budget is another thing that I would like to conquer this year and working on paying down our debts. My children are going to be helping me with this activity. I think this will be a perfect year to get them started on how to be financially fit.
This blog is another one of my goals and working on getting it off and running. Any ideas that anyone may have, please let me know. I will be working on a game plan of what days we will discuss what topic and I will be making sure that I link this up to other wonderful blogs out there!
I hope that everyone is enjoying this NEW YEAR!
If you are looking to clean out your pantry, freezer, stockpile, before things expire, check out http://www.lifeasmom.com/ or http://www.goodcheapeats.com/ and follow as FishMama (Jessica) helps us accomplish this. She has some basic guidelines and will be offering lots of support.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Review of a Great History Book
I was given a complimentary copy of the book The American Patriot's Almanac by William J Bennett and John T.E. Cribb, by booksneeze.com. This book is layed out in a fabulous form. It's chapters go by month and the days in each month. Each day has a few paragraphs on a certain event in history that happened on that day as well as a few other facts in year order at the bottom. Also included in the book are the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights, the Gettysburg Address and the Emancipation Proclamation. It contains facts on all of the states and songs and poems of American Patriotism.
I was able to learn so many new facts that I never would have unless I read quite a few books. The way this is written makes it either a great book to read cover to cover or as a book to use as a reference tool at any time. I can't wait to share all of the facts with my children at different times during the year while we are learning different things about our country.
While I was given this book to review, the opinions expressed here are my own and were not influenced by anyone.
I was able to learn so many new facts that I never would have unless I read quite a few books. The way this is written makes it either a great book to read cover to cover or as a book to use as a reference tool at any time. I can't wait to share all of the facts with my children at different times during the year while we are learning different things about our country.
While I was given this book to review, the opinions expressed here are my own and were not influenced by anyone.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Have Been Thinking........
The last couple of days have had me thinking about how very lucky I am. I have a very loving, kind family and many friends who care about me (us). My oldest son is saying that he doesn't really need anything for Christmas and I'm wondering if it's because he's realizing how much things cost and how much he really has already. He is saving for his own laptop, along with his sister. They put half of their allowance each week into savings and the other half they keep adding to their stash for their laptop. What dedication at he ages of 10 and 8! I wish I had been taught a little more about money when I was younger. I'm definitely going to be paying attention to my kids cues and teaching them as necessary about money and how important saving and working with what you have is. Many things that we own can be repurposed for many things or used in place of other things. In this day and age of being mindful to the environment and our wallets, this is a very good thing to keep in mind.
During this holiday season, I'm going to try my best to keep it about family and friends and not all of the commercialism. Yes, I will still decorate my house and go all out, but if some of it doesn't get done because something more important comes up, I'll be okay with it.....................
During this holiday season, I'm going to try my best to keep it about family and friends and not all of the commercialism. Yes, I will still decorate my house and go all out, but if some of it doesn't get done because something more important comes up, I'll be okay with it.....................
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