Doing the Pins

You would all be so impressed.  I have been doing my pins on Pinterest.  I have done several this week but will just post one right now, in case I slow done and need some posting material later.  :)

I was planning on making meatloaf one night but then I saw that someone had made mini meatloafs in a muffin tin (takes so much less time to cook, which is awesome!) and then topped them with mashed potatoes in an icing pipe tube.  My icing pipe tube broke, but I had 2 cups of instant potato flakes I wanted to get rid of and with an ice cream scooper, they turned out pretty cute. 

You can follow me on Pinterest to get the pin yourself.

My Fish Sticks loved them and thought they were cupcakes at first.  They were a big hit and will definitely need to be repeated.

Gearing Up for Real Foods

I went grocery shopping Monday for my "Month of Real Food."  Her goal for a family of 4 was $150-$175 a week.  My family is twice that size, but I knew that I couldn't double her budget.  Looking over her menus, I saw that many of the grains and legumes she mentioned, we have in bulk already.  I didn't go completely organic but bought my 39 cent can of tomato paste at Aldi instead of the over $1 can she got organic.  I also realized that her menu would starve my family so I added some veggies here and there and got extra fruit to keep for snacks.  I tried to shop for the first 2 weeks so I don't have to grocery shop every week - I tend to spend more if I do that.  I spent $235 and got everything I could at Aldi and the rest at Kroger.  I also added a few things in there like a bag of baby pumpkins for the kids to paint, a few pre-real foods month treats like caramel dip and caramel apples, but other than that, I stuck right to the plan.

It starts Thursday and my kids seem to be on board except when I told them that all Halloween candy would be put up.  OUCH!  (That goes for their mama as well - so hold me to that!)

Funny how empty my pantry looks after I just spent $235!  No crackers.  No cereal.  No chips or pretzels.  Nothing but potatoes, onions, brown rice and beans.

I'm excited!  I hope some of you are in with me.  I'll be checking back with you to let you know how we're holding up and if we are shaking from sugar withdrawals.  :)

Tea for the Yuckies

So we seem to be passing the Yuckies around.  Last night at our last football game, 3rd Fish Stick had stomach cramps, aches and chills.  By the time we got home, Mama had the same and worse.  This morning, school called and firstborn Fish Stick needed to come home.  Same song, 3rd verse.

So what do you do with some undiagnosed yuckiness that invades your home?  It's hard when symptoms are many yet not exclusive enough to find the right OTC meds.

I just brew up a cup of Cold & Flu Tea.  Many of these items you are prone to have on hand already.

In your coffee pot, put in the filter:

** 2 heaping TB sage leaves (less if using ground sage)
** pinch of cayenne
** pinch of shredded ginger OR slice of fresh ginger OR tsp. of ground ginger

Squeeze the juice of one fresh lemon into the coffee pot and then brew your 12 cup pot.  If you don't have fresh lemon (like me today), pour 2 TB. into pot.

To your mug, add a heaping TB of raw honey to sweeten and sip.

SAGE:  antiseptic, antibacterial, tonic, expectorant
CAYENNE: high in vitamin C, best stimulant, improves circulation, regulates blood flow, normalizes blood pressure
GINGER: relieves pain, expectorant, immune boosting, reduces inflammation, stimulates sweating, anti-coughing, anti-cramping, reduces diarrhea, anti-nausea, prevents chills
LEMON:  soothes stomach, rich in vitamin C, effective in fighting colds and flu
RAW HONEY:  antibiotic, expectorant, immune stimulator, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, cell regenerator

Homemade Cough & Cold Syrup

 Here's another recipe for a herbal remedy with things you probably keep on hand.

Cold season is fast upon us and if you or your family members have not gotten the crud yet, you probably will.

We've had a few runny noses and coughs making its rounds in the Fish House, so I have been busy brewing up some herbal remedies to help with symptoms and boost immune systems.

Chop or slice 4 cups of onions.

Add to crockpot with 4 cups of water and 2 cups of raw honey.

Set on low for 24 hours and warm for another 24 hours.

 Strain off the onions from the syrup.

Store the syrup in a jar in a cool, dry place.  

It lasts 1 month in the cabinet or 3 months in the fridge.

Note:

I've never had any complaints from my Fish Sticks about the taste.

Great Deal

 I just love a good deal.  When I find a good deal, I want to tell everyone.

What I need to learn is that not everyone loves a good deal.

When I was a newly married woman, trying to keep a modest budget, I found a great clearance on clothing and jewelry at Paul Harris.  I was so excited that I called my new friend to share the news, even offering to head back to Paul Harris to shop with her.  Instead of squeals of excitement in return, I heard a hesitant, "Uh...o.k....sounds good....I'll have to check my schedule and get back with you."  She never did.

After contemplating this conversation, I realized that my Paul Harris clearance didn't appeal to my full-price-Talbot's-style friend.  Ever since then, I try to be more careful in selecting the recipients of my deal finds.

But since you all know I'm all about deals, here's what I found yesterday (with the help of my deal-loving friend who was 2 minutes ahead of me in finding it.  She called me as I entered the store to tell me, not knowing I was at the same store too!)

At Kroger yesterday they had a huge bin of trail mix snacks for 10 cents.  They are not close to expiration, just overstocked.  I just spent $11 for almost a gallon of banana chips so I was elated to find these.  Tropical Mix, Santa Fe Mix, Energy Mix and Banana Chips.  Needless to say I went bonkers.  I got both of these photos (some to pour into buckets, some to keep individually wrapped to grab on the go) and all for $8.80.  Yes, that equals 88 packs.

The bagger was a teenage boy and he asked me, after wowing at my cart, "What if your kids don't like this stuff?"

My reply was, "Then they will go hungry because they have to eat it."  :)

Thankfully the Fish Sticks and My Man were just as happy as I was.

We'll see if they still are after they consume 88 packs of this stuff!

Challenge Anyone?

I have been thinking for a long, long time to try to take bigger steps away from eating any processed, man-made foods and only offer real foods to my family.  What has scared me away from doing this is not only money, but time and convenience.  What would I put in their lunch boxes?  What would they eat for snack?  Would they really be filled up and satisfied?  Would they revolt against me for not having the things they are used to?

As I have shared with you my steps toward better nutrition, my pantry still stays stocked with boxed cereals, pretzels, crackers, regular peanut butter, processed lunch meats and sometimes cookies and ice cream.  What if I challenged my family (and myself as well) to go "real foods" for 1 month?  What would that look like for me as the cook of the house and for the family as the eaters of the house?

When mentioning this to a friend yesterday, she mentioned a website called 100 Days of Real Food.  I checked it out and liked it.  I like better her budget friendly menus.  Although she does base her budget on a family of 4 eating with $150 a week for all foods consumed, I might have to double that for our crew of 8.  After printing off her menu plans and grocery lists, I think it might be something to try.  Many of the foods she mentioned, we do already.  It would just be a matter of knocking out the convenient, snack foods that we keep on hand.

So I'm just throwing this out there.  Check out this web site and see if you'd like to join me in a 1 month challenge to eat real foods starting in November.  I am curious if we would feel better, sleep better, have more energy, focus better and feel full with less food.  Who's in? 

Don't Just Pin It

Well I'm just as guilty as the next girl for loading up my Pinterest boards with wonderful, cute ideas that I will never try.  I love Pinterest and honestly try not to go there too much because I could waste spend hours scrolling through the DIY crafting section.  Back in my early years of marriage, pre-Fish Sticks, I would spend countless hours flipping through my Michael's Arts and Crafts magazine and trying new things.  I think Hobby Lobby and Michael's employees knew me on a first name basis.  Those days are long gone as is my scrapbooking all-nighters.

I was just thinking, "What if I tried to actually 'do a pin' instead of just 'pin a pin' on Pinterest every couple weeks or so?"  I'm not making any promises, just making a personal goal.  They will probably be EASY pins like a quick recipe and not a room make-over or build-your-own-bunk-bed-out-of-old-dressers kind of pins.

So today I am going to tell you that I tried homemade fabric softener from Hillbilly Housewife on laundry day this week.  It smelled good and I poured it into my Downy ball because I have no clue when my final rinse cycle cuts on and I don't have a fabric softener dispenser.  All was going well on the first 5 loads or so, until I threw in some towels and sweaters.  They came out full of static.  I tried pouring a couple of tablespoons onto a wash rag, tossing that back in the dryer to eliminate the static.  It improved my situation but didn't cure it.  My review would be that it works well except for fabrics that seem to be staticy (is that a word?).

So have any of you tried homemade fabric softener and did it work?

Weekly Deals

I had a super visit to CVS yesterday.  At the check out, my total was $58.49.  Then I handed her my coupons and $9 of ECBs from last week and my total was $16.72.  Then she printed off $7 more ECBs for next time.

I went in to get:
Soft Scrub cleaner for $2.50 with a $1 off coupon (RP 10/7) for $1.50 (Got 2 of them)
Trident Vitality for BIGI with a $1/3 coupon.  I had 3 coupons and got 10 packs of gum.  My total was 45 cents per pack.
Dentek Floss picks were $2.99 with $2 ECB making them 99 cents each.
Axe products were $4.50 a piece and I had a BIGI coupon making my 2 products 75 cents each.  (My son requests Axe because apparently that is the craze of middle school boys.  I'm not always the fad follower but I hate to deter my 13 year old from pursuing smelling good - especially when he plays football!)
Pantene shampoo and conditioner were $4 each with $1 ECB when you buy 2.  I had BIGI coupon making them $1 each.

When I go into the store, my Fish Sticks love to scan my customer card at the coupon kiosk.  I usually don't use those coupons but this day I racked up.  There was a coupon for $2 off Wet-N-Wild make up and it happened to be BIG1 this week.  I got eye shadow and nail polish for $1.50 total.  I also got $3 off CVS lotion.  I found hand lotion for $1.50 each and they were B1G1 50% off.  That made them free with a money maker of 75 cents.

Walgreens was not as busy this week.  You can get Advil Congestion relief for a $1 money maker.  In Sunday's paper is an offer for $6 MIR plus a $1 off coupon.  Walgreens had it this week for $6.  I tried to get 2 bottles of Colgate mouthwash for 99 cents each but they were out of the right size bottle.  They have Hershey's candy bars for 59 cents each, earning 500 points when you buy 3.  That makes them 42 cents each.  Great for stocking stuffers, if you don't eat them yourself before Christmas...not that I would ever do that.  :)

Oatmeal Bar

Add caption

 Need a good breakfast idea??  How about an oatmeal bar?  Not like a granola bar, but like an oatmeal buffet. 

Just recently Grandma made us oatmeal the way that her mom used to make oatmeal.  The Fish Sticks loved it and I loved how healthy and filling it was, not to mention yummy!!

First make oatmeal - rolled oats - the good ole fashioned way.  I like to soak mine overnight with equal parts of oats and water.  Then add the same amount of water in the a.m. to make the ratio 1 part oatmeal to 2 parts water.  If you add 1 Tb. of an acid like vinegar or lemon juice when you soak it, it increases the nutritional value greatly.

As you cook it over a medium stove, stir frequently until you get a good consistency.  It doesn't take long.  You can add a bit of salt and/or butter at this time.  Stir well.

Lay out an array of toppings for your family.  I have brown sugar, apple chunks, walnuts, coconut, raisins and bananas above.  Some other ideas might be dried cranberries, other nuts like almonds or pecans, berries, peaches, or chocolate chips.

They will definitely want seconds!

Final Deals of the Week

Just wanted to tell you really quick that I did head back over to Kroger and got 6 toothbrushes (Oral B) for 25 cents a piece.  Ran back into CVS across the street and got a deal that started on Tuesday for Crest mouthwash.  I made almost a dollar on that deal matched with coupons and got 2 of them.  Last I went to Walgreens and got Herbal Essences Shampoo (2) and a tube of toothpaste.  I matched both with coupons and was so excited that I had earned 9,000 points so I was able to redeem 5,000 for $5 off my total.  My next visit I should be able to get another $5 off.  Sorry I don't have the details about the coupons and exact prices.  I threw my list away already.  :)  OOPS!

Google Calendars

I am always looking for things to make life easier.

I was a huge Daytimer fan back in the early 90's.  Loved all the colored dividers, fancy pens, cute rulers that act as a bookmark and papers for lists and schedules.

In 2000 I remember moving up to my first Palm.  I was hooked.  The stylus pen was high tech and once I learned the Palm letters, I was hooked.

With all the advanced technology, just when I think that I have got the perfect system, something new and better comes out.  I'm not one to camp out at Best Buy the night before the new Microsoft comes out.  On the contrary, I'm usually the last one to switch from my old and good system to the new and better system.  But it does seem that once I try the latest, it's not long before I get hooked.

I was so upset when My Man bought me a Blackberry a few years ago.  It just meant I had to read an instruction manual and that is one of my least favorite things to do.  So he gave me a bullet point lesson and I learned to love my Blackberry.  Last January he switched my Blackberry for an iPhone and even though I whined and cried about it at first, I wonder now how I ever got along without it.

So I just thought I would chat a bit in several posts about technology things that I love, that help my home run smoothly and make life easier.  I would love to hear from you what works, so please comment.  I just might try out your suggestion sometime next year.  HA!

About 9 years ago we opened up our first gmail account.  I ignored the bar at the top of my gmail screen for many years before actually figuring out what all google had to offer me. I think that a few years ago, my sister (who is major high tech) mentioned google calendars.  Well, I was happy with my Microsoft Outlook calendar so I just disregarded what she had to say.  Then my Microsoft started messing up and when that happened, I missed a few appointments, forgot a few birthdays and pretty much lost my brain for a time.  I called her up and she introduced me to google calendars.  Because I am sometimes unwilling to change overnight, I just stuck with one calendar.  Then my kids started to go outside of our home to school, adding multiple things on my calendar each week. 

I called my sis.

Did you know that you can create multiple calendars, naming them all different things and even share specific calendars with other people?  It's wonderful!!!  Now I'm hooked on google calendars and I have stunted my short term memory so badly by using google calendars that if one day I am without them, I would quickly be put into the Stupid Club.  It's become my brain.

Here are some of my calendars that I have:  Cassie (just anything on there without a specific category), School, Church, Sports, and Celebrations.  When I get the Fish Sticks' game schedules or practice schedules, they go on the Sports calendar and I share the calendar with the grandparents in case they want to come cheer the Fish Sticks on.  I have put all family birthdays and anniversaries into my Celebrations calendar with reminders scheduled to give me time to buy gifts and send cards.  I have made them repeat themselves yearly so I never have to put them in again.  The school events from the school newsletter quickly go into the School calendar and any social outings of my own, play dates, doctor appointments, etc. go on my personal calendar.  I can hide any or all of the calendars and only show the ones I want to see.  I even remind myself to give the dogs and cat their heartworm meds at the beginning of each month.

I have this synced to my iPhone so it's with me and I can add on the go.  Our doctors don't even need to call to remind me of our visit.  My alarm let's me know.

If you don't have a gmail account but want to try google calendars, it's easy to sign up for one.  Make it your junk email account if you want and give the calendars a try.  Don't be as slow as I was to catch on to a good thing.

Weekly Deals

 I headed to CVS today and got a few deals they had going on.  Several of these deals were only 3 day deals.  They had Pepsi products on sale again for 99 cents.  This time I tried using a Pepsi Next coupon for $1 off 2 and it worked so I got 8 2-liters for 50 cents each.  Progresso Soup (great for occasions in Fish Sticks' lunches) was on sale for 94 cents each.  I had a coupon for $1 off 4 making them 62 cents each.  Gillette razor was $9.99 with $5 in ECB and I had a $4 off coupon making it 99 cents.  Tomorrow begins a sale on Crest Pro-Health Rinse and with my coupon I should get 2 for free, so heading back.

Kroger had a couple of good deals too.  Crest was $1 and I had a 50 cent coupon that doubled.  I had 5 of the same coupon so I got 5 tubes of toothpaste FREE!!  They had Nature Valley and Fiber One bars for $2.50 a box and I had a coupon for 50 cents that doubled so they were $1.50 a box.  I tried to get Oral B toothbrushes for 50 cents each after coupons (which I had 5 of) but they were out.  I might drop by again to another Kroger this week.  Those would be great to pack on our trip to Africa to leave at the orphanage!

Tomorrow I hit Walgreens.

And When She Went There, Her Cuboard Was Bare...

We use an envelope system for our monthly budget.  At the first of each month, I get out my money in cash for the month.  I separate it into a coupon organizer that I have labeled (from Dollar Tree) and use it according to my categories.  Sometimes at the end of the month, I'm pleased to see a few bucks still in my wallet.  On most months, no matter how careful I have been to monitor my spending, I have nothing but change and my pantry and fridge is bare.  This past weekend, I had to get really creative because we had NOTHING to eat in this house.  Yes, I was fully stocked on my couponing items but who wants to eat BBQ sauce, ketchup and Tobasco for a meal??  Now understand we had plenty of canned goods, frozen veggies and meats in the freezer from our garden and farm.  Supper wasn't a problem.  It was the breakfast items and snacks that required much creativity.

With Monday morning fast approaching, I was planning on spending the day shopping.  It would be October 1 and my wallet would be full.  Monday morning breakfast would be a bit tricky.  We'd already had 18 eggs for supper on Saturday night, so the eggs were sparse.  There was NO cereal.  I grabbed my favorite "Sanity-Saving Breakfast Ideas" booklet from TEACH magazine and flipped through it.  Sunday night I threw together "Overnight Coffee Cake" using ingredients I always keep on hand.  Yummy and quick and the perfect fix for an empty pantry at the end of the month.

Overnight Coffee Cake

1 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2/3 c. shortening
2 eggs
1 c. buttermilk (pour 1 TB. lemon juice or vinegar into your 1 c. measuring cup.  Top with milk and let sit while you combine other ingredients.  It's instant buttermilk!)

Mix all ingredients thoroughly and pour into greased 9x13.  Stir together an additional 1/2 c. brown sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon and sprinkle over top of batter.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

PERFECT!

My 2 Weekly Stores

(My photo is missing 3 packs of Butterball Turkey Bacon.  

I forgot and put them in freezer before my photo shoot.)

I got some good deals this week that I wanted to share with you.

Walgreens:

*Turkey Bacon was $1.29 and I used a 55 cent off coupon and got them for 74 cents each. I had 3.

*Old El Pason taco sauce or shells were 3 for $4 and I had a coupon for 60 cents off 3.  I earned 1000 points for buying 4 of them so my final price was 50 cents each after buying 4 items.  Good thing I had chicken tacos on the menu this month too.

*Robitussin was earn 2000 points when you buy 2 and I had 2 coupons for $3 off so they were 66 cents each.

*Cepacol Lozenges were $1 with $1 back in RR so it was FREE!!!

I'm still trying to figure out the Walgreens situation.  From what I understand every 1,000 points is $1 but you can't cash the points in for money until you get 5000 points.  They do build up though and when you have enough to redeem them, the cashier will ask you if you would like to redeem them for money off your total.  I haven't earned enough to redeem them, but I'll keep you posted on how that works.

CVS:

*Pepsi products were $1 for 2-liters so I had a coupon for $1 off 3 Sierra Mists (Mt. Dew was o.k. too - they only had 2 Sierra Mists) so my total was $2 for 3 of them.  My Man likes them every here and there.

*Softsoap Body wash was $3.50 each with $4 ECB when you buy 2 and I had 50 cent off coupons for both so they were $1 each.

*Robitussin was $3 back in ECB when you buy 2 and I had 2 more coupons for $3 off making them 49 cents each.

While in my CVS I saw a collection jar for the previous manager's son that I told you about who was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer this past June.  He's 13 and my son's age.  They said he had started chemo and things were rough.  I checked Caringbridge but they don't update it often.  I think they use Facebook instead.  So pray for Brayden Byrd more if you think about it.

Meals for October

Right now our weeks have quite a schedule. 

Cross Country meets and football practice on Mondays.

Sports practices on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Football games and cross country practice on Thursdays.

Speech and football practice on Fridays.

With a schedule like this, careful planning is important for meals.  Our first football game sent me in a panic to plan better after paying $20 admission for our large family and then putting down almost another $20 for hotdogs and a bag of chips for everyone.  Not very filling or cheap! 

I'm geared up and ready with a plan now.

This month I'm doing Mom Advice's meal plan for Crock Pot for a Month.  We might not get to every meal for the month, but I'm happy to have those meals easy and ready.  For the first 2 weeks we will have:

Week 1:
1.  Roasted chicken with vegetables
2.  Sloppy Joes with raw veggies and pretzels (great one to take to a game!)
3.  Italian veggie and pasta soup (My Man has asked me to try to fix soup in a homemade bread bowl - hmm - maybe I'll post results later) with bread and salad
4.  Pork Chops with homemade rice-a-roni and broccoli
5.  Beef Stew with biscuits and salad
6.  Sticky Chicken with baked potatoes and corn

Week 2:
1.  Italian Sausage Spaghetti with rosemary cheese breadsticks
2.  Sloppy Giuseppes with chips and apple slices
3.  Tacos with corn chips, salsa and refried beans
4.  Chicken Italiano with broccoli and angel hair pasta
5.  Finger Lickin' Pork Chops with mashed potatoes and peas
6.  Sour Cream Salsa Chicken and rice

Check out her meal plans if you haven't already.  I'm a big fan.  Easy, healthy (for the most part) and what can be better than crock potting every day????