This was a wonderful way to start my morning. I wanted to share this free music download with you.
The words showed up on my media player so I was able to worship right along!
Enjoy and start your morning off right!
All I have is Christ
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Worries and Priorities
Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.
And she had a sister called Mary, who also SAT AT JESUS' FEET AND HEARD HIS WORD.
But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me."
And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.
But *ONE THING is NEEDED, and Mary has CHOSEN that good part which will not be taken away from her.
Luke 11:38-42
* My emphasis.
NKJ
And she had a sister called Mary, who also SAT AT JESUS' FEET AND HEARD HIS WORD.
But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me."
And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.
But *ONE THING is NEEDED, and Mary has CHOSEN that good part which will not be taken away from her.
Luke 11:38-42
* My emphasis.
NKJ
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Why I do radical things to save money
I've often wondered what people think when they read some of my money saving ways. I remember posting something quite a few years ago that was very uncommon and had responses as to "why in the world would you do that?"
This is why I sometimes do things that seem radical to others in order to save money:
I have a plan...
and the plan is to eventually (hopefully) live on only my husband's disability check (when Miss Alice no longer needs my help) which is under $2,000 a month.
My current budget is set at this amount and I'm practicing each month how to live on only his check. It's difficult but I'm thankful that I have some time to practice. Groceries are still the hardest since prices continue to rise. I use my part time paycheck for 'extras' and savings. We had a plumbing bill this weekend so my check will pay for things like that.
This is how I look at it... I would rather practice 'radical' money saving ways than work extra hours outside my home. This is my preference. I would rather be cold in the winter and hot in the summer than work outside my home. I would rather cook everything from scratch than work more hours outside my home. I would rather make my own laundry detergent than work outside the home. I see these.. not as inconveniences.. but as a lifestyle choice that will help reach our goal.
Life is more hectic when I work outside the home and it effects my relationships.. even if just a little.. but sometimes it's a lot. I struggle with impatience when I'm torn in too many directions and my husband knows this very well. That is why he asks that I keep my outside commitments to a minimum.
I personally just miss being in my home full-time and especially now since my husband is home full-time. I've been a homemaker the majority of my married life except for these past few years since he became disabled. Most of the previous years I did something from the home to make extra money. I ran a used homeschool book business from my home for 10 years. I've done sewing, ironing, babysitting, surveys and typing.. all in an attempt to make extra money so I could be a full-time homemaker.
Everyone has their reasons why they live frugally. For me, personally, it's a small thing to live radically frugal because the benefits far outweigh the inconvenience.
How about you? Are there some things you do that others think are radical in order to achieve an important goal?
(Permission given to use picture from posters.com)
This is why I sometimes do things that seem radical to others in order to save money:
I have a plan...
and the plan is to eventually (hopefully) live on only my husband's disability check (when Miss Alice no longer needs my help) which is under $2,000 a month.
My current budget is set at this amount and I'm practicing each month how to live on only his check. It's difficult but I'm thankful that I have some time to practice. Groceries are still the hardest since prices continue to rise. I use my part time paycheck for 'extras' and savings. We had a plumbing bill this weekend so my check will pay for things like that.
This is how I look at it... I would rather practice 'radical' money saving ways than work extra hours outside my home. This is my preference. I would rather be cold in the winter and hot in the summer than work outside my home. I would rather cook everything from scratch than work more hours outside my home. I would rather make my own laundry detergent than work outside the home. I see these.. not as inconveniences.. but as a lifestyle choice that will help reach our goal.
Life is more hectic when I work outside the home and it effects my relationships.. even if just a little.. but sometimes it's a lot. I struggle with impatience when I'm torn in too many directions and my husband knows this very well. That is why he asks that I keep my outside commitments to a minimum.
I personally just miss being in my home full-time and especially now since my husband is home full-time. I've been a homemaker the majority of my married life except for these past few years since he became disabled. Most of the previous years I did something from the home to make extra money. I ran a used homeschool book business from my home for 10 years. I've done sewing, ironing, babysitting, surveys and typing.. all in an attempt to make extra money so I could be a full-time homemaker.
Everyone has their reasons why they live frugally. For me, personally, it's a small thing to live radically frugal because the benefits far outweigh the inconvenience.
How about you? Are there some things you do that others think are radical in order to achieve an important goal?
(Permission given to use picture from posters.com)
Friday, November 16, 2012
Frugal Friday: Reducing my water bill
The fight is still on! What fight you may ask? The one between me and my water bill! There is very little wiggle room in my budget and I've only allotted a certain amount for utitilies. Food has gone up so much that I've had to take any extra money and 'beef' up my grocery budget. (pun intended! *Smile)
So, here are the new tasks (and a few old ones already mentioned) I'm doing each day to cut down our water consumption. I will get my bill in a week or so and I can't wait to see how much it has dropped. Any extra money saved will go into my 'summer water bill fund' since we'll have a lot more watering to do in the yard.
1. I saved the water from washing my floors and poured it into my 'shower buckets'. (I mentioned a few weeks ago that I've been keeping a few small buckets in my tub/shower (and also one in my kitchen). Any extra water I save gets dumped into those buckets and is used for flushing.
2. I've been turning off the water while soaping up in the shower then turn it back on when rinsing.
3. I put two dishpans in my kitchen sink for washing dishes. 1 pan is for washing and the other pan for rinsing. I started using a 3 dishpan to soak the dishes and get off any extra food. All of this water is either used to throw on plants outside or if it's clean enough it goes in the 'shower buckets'.
4. I pre-soak some of my wash loads (turning off the washing machine) so that I don't have to use a longer wash cycle.
5. I have a large 2 quart Pryex measuring cup. I started running cold water into the measuring cup and heating it in the microwave for 3 minutes to wash and rinse my dishes. I also do this in a large coffee cup to wash my face in the mornings and evenings. Our water heater is in the garage and it takes a LONG time to get to the kitchen sink. By that time it's hot I've wasted a lot of water.
6. There is one other drastic measure you can take but I won't mention it here. Email me if you're interested.
7. Since it's winter we are only watering the lawn and flowers when it's absolutely necessary. Flowers are getting watered LIGHTLY maybe 1-2 times a week and the lawn maybe once a week.
Do you have any other suggestions you'd add to this list?
Other Frugal Friday posts can be found at Life as Mom
So, here are the new tasks (and a few old ones already mentioned) I'm doing each day to cut down our water consumption. I will get my bill in a week or so and I can't wait to see how much it has dropped. Any extra money saved will go into my 'summer water bill fund' since we'll have a lot more watering to do in the yard.
1. I saved the water from washing my floors and poured it into my 'shower buckets'. (I mentioned a few weeks ago that I've been keeping a few small buckets in my tub/shower (and also one in my kitchen). Any extra water I save gets dumped into those buckets and is used for flushing.
2. I've been turning off the water while soaping up in the shower then turn it back on when rinsing.
3. I put two dishpans in my kitchen sink for washing dishes. 1 pan is for washing and the other pan for rinsing. I started using a 3 dishpan to soak the dishes and get off any extra food. All of this water is either used to throw on plants outside or if it's clean enough it goes in the 'shower buckets'.
4. I pre-soak some of my wash loads (turning off the washing machine) so that I don't have to use a longer wash cycle.
5. I have a large 2 quart Pryex measuring cup. I started running cold water into the measuring cup and heating it in the microwave for 3 minutes to wash and rinse my dishes. I also do this in a large coffee cup to wash my face in the mornings and evenings. Our water heater is in the garage and it takes a LONG time to get to the kitchen sink. By that time it's hot I've wasted a lot of water.
6. There is one other drastic measure you can take but I won't mention it here. Email me if you're interested.
7. Since it's winter we are only watering the lawn and flowers when it's absolutely necessary. Flowers are getting watered LIGHTLY maybe 1-2 times a week and the lawn maybe once a week.
Do you have any other suggestions you'd add to this list?
Other Frugal Friday posts can be found at Life as Mom
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Daily Bread
"Give us this day our daily bread."
Matthew 6:11
God will provide for my needs daily
so I can bring Him glory
by not worrying about tomorrow.
Friday, November 9, 2012
How to make the perfect PIE CRUST
I have such warm memories of my childhood holidays and many of them revolve around time spent at my Grandma's farm. My sister and I and our cousins would romp through the pasture.. down to the back of the berry bushes and look for tadpoles in the small pools of water.
My grandma was a 'down home' cook. She fried her own chicken (which she had raised) and did a lot of canning. But, my favorite memories are her pies. She made every kind of pie you could imagine from mince meat to green tomato along with all the favorites. I made it my goal, as a young wife, to learn how to make pies just like Grandma. Unfortunately, I never learned how to make her pie crust before she died.
Years later a young mother brought a homemade pie to a church Pot Blessing and the crust was so good that I asked for the recipe. I've been making it ever since and shared the recipe with many women over the years.
Perfect Pie Crust (Makes 2 full pie crusts)
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 3/4 c. Crisco shortening (don't use generic brands.. it really does make a difference)
1/2 c. water
1 egg
1 tablespoon vinegar
Mix the flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Add the shortening. Here I am using my Kitchen Aid but you can use any large bowl and a pastry cutter or a large fork to cut in the shortening. When I use my Kitchen Aid I use the whisk until the dough resembles very, very small peas. But don't whisk it too long or the dough will start clumping together too soon.
Next, I run 1/2 cup water into a measuring cup, break the egg straight into the cup and add the tablespoon of vinegar. Mix it together and then add to the flour/shortening mixture. I change attachments on my Kitchen Aide at this point and use the mixing paddle to gentle mix it together just until it starts clumping together and clearing away from the side of the bowl.
I wet my rolling board with a wet wash cloth and place two pieces of Seran wrap next to each other so that it will cover a large surface and then I sprinkle a small amount of flour onto the Seran wrap.. not too much...maybe 3 tbsp. or so.. just enough to dust the seran wrap. I take a handful of dough (the dough will make 2 full pies with top and bottom crust) and place it on the seran wrap and then flip it over so that there is a small amount of flour on both sides of the dough. I put one more piece of Seran wrap on top of the dough. So, now you have Seran wrap (2 pieces) underneath the dough and one piece on top. I then use my rolling pin and roll it out thin.
Next, I take the top layer of Seran wrap off of the dough and place my right hand
My grandma was a 'down home' cook. She fried her own chicken (which she had raised) and did a lot of canning. But, my favorite memories are her pies. She made every kind of pie you could imagine from mince meat to green tomato along with all the favorites. I made it my goal, as a young wife, to learn how to make pies just like Grandma. Unfortunately, I never learned how to make her pie crust before she died.
Years later a young mother brought a homemade pie to a church Pot Blessing and the crust was so good that I asked for the recipe. I've been making it ever since and shared the recipe with many women over the years.
Perfect Pie Crust (Makes 2 full pie crusts)
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 3/4 c. Crisco shortening (don't use generic brands.. it really does make a difference)
1/2 c. water
1 egg
1 tablespoon vinegar
Mix the flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Add the shortening. Here I am using my Kitchen Aid but you can use any large bowl and a pastry cutter or a large fork to cut in the shortening. When I use my Kitchen Aid I use the whisk until the dough resembles very, very small peas. But don't whisk it too long or the dough will start clumping together too soon.
Next, I run 1/2 cup water into a measuring cup, break the egg straight into the cup and add the tablespoon of vinegar. Mix it together and then add to the flour/shortening mixture. I change attachments on my Kitchen Aide at this point and use the mixing paddle to gentle mix it together just until it starts clumping together and clearing away from the side of the bowl.
I wet my rolling board with a wet wash cloth and place two pieces of Seran wrap next to each other so that it will cover a large surface and then I sprinkle a small amount of flour onto the Seran wrap.. not too much...maybe 3 tbsp. or so.. just enough to dust the seran wrap. I take a handful of dough (the dough will make 2 full pies with top and bottom crust) and place it on the seran wrap and then flip it over so that there is a small amount of flour on both sides of the dough. I put one more piece of Seran wrap on top of the dough. So, now you have Seran wrap (2 pieces) underneath the dough and one piece on top. I then use my rolling pin and roll it out thin.
underneath the bottom layers of Seran wrap and lift up the crust so it can be flipped it into the pie pan.
(The Seran wrap is still on both sides of this dough in the picture because I'm not baking pies today. I just wanted to show you how easy it is to roll out a pie crust with this method. )
 | |
| . |
Peel off the last pieces of Searn wrap and gently press the dough into the pan. Cut off any excess dough around the edges and flute your edges and your done.
If you decide to not bake your pie crust right now you can leave all the Seran wrap on when you initially roll out the dough. Fold it in 1/4's and then put the dough into a large gallon freezer bag. You can then either keep it in the fridge for up to a week or freeze it for at least a month.
I made up quite a few batches of dough, rolled them out and then froze them for the holidays. It makes the baking process much easier when the dough is already made.
And there you go!
Friday, November 2, 2012
Frugal Friday: How I saved money this week (Nov. 1)
Lots of saving going on in my home this week! I've been a busy girl!
1. I was given a couple sacks of green tomatoes so I made green tomato salsa and a Green Tomato Pie. I used Stevia in place of the sugar which turned out pretty good.
2. I'm trying new ways to get our water bill down. I came up with a couple more ideas. I purchased two small buckets from the dollar store and put one in the kitchen and one in the bathtub. I'm saving my kitchen rinse water into a dishpan and once I'm finished washing dishes I pour it into the bucket which then gets poured into the bucket in the shower which then can be used for 'flushing'. I also put a small, shallow plastic container in the bathroom sink to catch the water when we wash our hands which then goes into the shower bucket. Lastly, we put a bucket under the tub faucet to catch water when we take a shower. I'm amazed at how much water has been just going down the drain.. along with my money. :-)
3. I love aprons and wear them all the time to protect my clothes when I'm working in the kitchen. I think this is a very frugal practice because it keeps my clothes free from stains (which saves stain remover) and also helps my clothes last longer.
4. I made egg drop soup this week which is super easy and super cheap.
5. The window air conditioners have now been covered with plastic on the outside to keep the cold air from coming into the house. This should help on our heating bill this winter. I'm imagining that since the house was built in 1917 it will be quite drafty. :-)
6. I put my shampoo into a pump style hand soap dispenser. I used a fraction of what I normally do and it did the job just fine.
7. I'm saving the remnants from our meat that we normally don't eat such as the skin, grissle and small leftover pieces. I placed these in a bag in the freezer for a recipe I found to make dog food which I will end up canning. I also saved some leftover rice which will also go in the recipe. This is food that I would normally have just thrown away.
8. A neighbor asked if I'd like her pumpkin. I plan to cook it for pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving and to eat like squash with our meals. I kept putting off buying a pumpkin until after Halloween hoping the prices would drop.
9. I order some foam inserts for the inside of our air conditioner to help with drafts. I did a search online using (SWAGBUCKS) (which helps me earn money) to see if there were any discount codes for free shipping,etc. I did find one and didn't have to pay the shipping.
10. I'm still cleaning out old business files. I kept the paper that only had print on one side. I'll use it for my computer. Most of the things I print from my computer are for personal use so it doesn't matter if there is print on one side or not.
What did you do in your home this week to save money? I love to learn from other women. Oh, and hop over to Life as Mom for more Frugal Friday ideas.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33 ESV
1. I was given a couple sacks of green tomatoes so I made green tomato salsa and a Green Tomato Pie. I used Stevia in place of the sugar which turned out pretty good.
 |
| Green Tomato Salsa |
2. I'm trying new ways to get our water bill down. I came up with a couple more ideas. I purchased two small buckets from the dollar store and put one in the kitchen and one in the bathtub. I'm saving my kitchen rinse water into a dishpan and once I'm finished washing dishes I pour it into the bucket which then gets poured into the bucket in the shower which then can be used for 'flushing'. I also put a small, shallow plastic container in the bathroom sink to catch the water when we wash our hands which then goes into the shower bucket. Lastly, we put a bucket under the tub faucet to catch water when we take a shower. I'm amazed at how much water has been just going down the drain.. along with my money. :-)
3. I love aprons and wear them all the time to protect my clothes when I'm working in the kitchen. I think this is a very frugal practice because it keeps my clothes free from stains (which saves stain remover) and also helps my clothes last longer.
4. I made egg drop soup this week which is super easy and super cheap.
5. The window air conditioners have now been covered with plastic on the outside to keep the cold air from coming into the house. This should help on our heating bill this winter. I'm imagining that since the house was built in 1917 it will be quite drafty. :-)
6. I put my shampoo into a pump style hand soap dispenser. I used a fraction of what I normally do and it did the job just fine.
7. I'm saving the remnants from our meat that we normally don't eat such as the skin, grissle and small leftover pieces. I placed these in a bag in the freezer for a recipe I found to make dog food which I will end up canning. I also saved some leftover rice which will also go in the recipe. This is food that I would normally have just thrown away.
8. A neighbor asked if I'd like her pumpkin. I plan to cook it for pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving and to eat like squash with our meals. I kept putting off buying a pumpkin until after Halloween hoping the prices would drop.
9. I order some foam inserts for the inside of our air conditioner to help with drafts. I did a search online using (SWAGBUCKS) (which helps me earn money) to see if there were any discount codes for free shipping,etc. I did find one and didn't have to pay the shipping.
10. I'm still cleaning out old business files. I kept the paper that only had print on one side. I'll use it for my computer. Most of the things I print from my computer are for personal use so it doesn't matter if there is print on one side or not.
What did you do in your home this week to save money? I love to learn from other women. Oh, and hop over to Life as Mom for more Frugal Friday ideas.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33 ESV
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