Thursday, February 26, 2009

LaSt Monthly Spending Challange Post.

This will be my last post on the spending challange. Im proud of myself for keeping track for this long. Thanks Marva for the encouragement to keep going. I appreciate it.
Okay, this is going to be alittle confusing. I put several bills on CC that reward me for doing that. It also makes it much easy since I dont have to worry about late fees and I can pay one bill (the Creditcard) instead of 5 or 6 seperate ones. So I wont actually spend money out of pocket for these charges till next month so Im not going to count them. So here is run down for the Actual out of pocket spending for the month of Feb. So heres goes ... (totals are rounded)




House $1790.00 (includes equityline)


CC $400.00 (health insurance and a little more to help pay it down)


Discover card $586.00 (Only gasloine and food are on this card to keep track)
Phone $ 21.00


Alarm Co. $ 60.00


American Express $ 810.00 (Several bills on this one like Internet service, Directv, Cell phones, propane, horse feed, dog food etc)

Magazine $10.00 ( I LOVE THIS MAGAINZE!!! Simple & Delicious magazine sub. They send me a 1/2 off deal and I couldnt resist. YIppie!)


Tithe $ 45.00


vet supply 10.00 (rat and gecko food)
Elec $91
vet supply $2
Disneyland $40
Grand total $3865

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

$250 Target GC Giveaway from Barking Mad


Over at my friend Elizabeths blog she posted a contest that is going on right now hosted by Barking Mads blog. Their having a giveaway for a $250 Target Giftcard. Man could I use that right now !! Holy smokes! The twins birthday is coming up!! OHHH Pick me Auds, Pick me!! (hand raised waving in the air!!!)






All you have to do is post the button she has on her site and also tell her your favorite blog you've written. Show her your most proud and favorite blog. I havent been posting too long but I have one that stands out to me.

My favorite blog post would be about my Crockpot and the recipes I shared. I know not very glamorous but hey, anything that keeps me sain and helps me spend more time either with the family or doing fun stuff is worth posting :) Everyone should have a crockpot. Im thinking maybe it should be a law.

My entry is: Do you Love Your Crockpot??



Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Free Personal signatures - cool!

Yippie, it only took me over an hour. I wanted a personal signature on my posts but just couldnt figure it out. I went surfing the web and found this link. Thought I would share incase you all want to fancy up your blog posts too :) OH, and best of all its FREE !

Monday, February 23, 2009

The dreaded Spending Accountablity Challange

LOL Okay its not too dreadful but Im really tired of keeping track.

But I tell you, I cant remember from a week ago what I spent so it goes to show you, writing it down and seeing it on paper really does help!
Okay, heres the run down.
Starting total $1151.84
Feb 17 None
Feb 18 None
Feb 19 $19.31 (We drove almost an hour to a field trip so I rewarded the twins with lunch)
$ 150.84 Cell phone bill
Feb 20 $86.09 DH going on a huntin trip.
$62.00 Gasoline
Feb 21 $73.27 Target food
Feb 22 None (yippie)
Feb 23 $24.42 (but getting $26.98 back in rebates SCORE!)
New spending Total for month $1567.77

Coupon DEALS!!




Please forgive the squishy website layout. Im still working on it. :)

I went coupon shopping today!! I love coupon shopping. Its a total game to me and of course I get to spend it with my good friend Linda who I have nicknamed Eagle eyes because the woman can see deals from a mile away. You go girl!

We first went to Walgreens and here is my Loot!

Spend almost nothing out of pocket (OOP) since I used my rechargeable Walgreens REBATE card (you get 10% more back if you do this method instead a rebate checked mailed to you)


Theres 3 bags of gummy bears (hard to see) just waiting for me to open them. Now im drooling! Ahhh, they must wait for disneyland. But the minute I hit the gates watch out! Hey, look at my cute Hershey shirt that Eagle eyes found for me :) Score!



Original Total $68.00
My total with coupons $25.05 (used giftcard)
Had to spent $0.32 cents out of pocket. IM such a big spender :) LOL
And I'll be Getting back $14.00 back in rebates :)
Second store was CVS. gotta love CVS!
Did 3 transactions. This is the combined totals:
Original Total $57.42
I paid out of pocket $11.83
Got some things for Valentines next year :)








Third Store was Riteaid

Original total $37.30

I paid oop $12.27

Getting back $12.98

Made $0.71

SCORE!

This includes another gift for someone :)

Do you see it?

Might not make it though.

Might come up missing.

It wasent me I swear! (As choclote is smeared all over me face)









Fourth and last stop with COSTCO!!

Used my rebate check.

Gotta love free food!!

Got $211 worth of food and stockup items and I have enough left to pay my costco membership $100, money for the twins birthday and alittle left over for Disneyland. We have 2 trips planned within a month :)

So all together we had a pretty good day!


Saturday, February 21, 2009

How I made the sign.

Rebecca,

Theres probably alot easier way to make it but this is how I did it.

I bought the wood from Lowes. My sign is smaller than the Ethan Allen sign. I made it
33" x 27 1/2". I used 5 1/2 x 1" pieces of wood. I used 5 of them cut to 33". Because I didnt want to spend the money on a biscuit joiner machine thingy and I didnt want to jimyrig something, the guy at Lowes suggested just getting some smaller boards and nailing them down the back of the art work. So theres (2) approx 1" x 3" boards running down the back and the 5 boards are nailed onto those boards. (so 10 nails will be needed) I like this because the art looks like its standing off the wall. Very cool. You can also use wood glue if you want to make it more secure but Im too impatient so I didnt use it.

1. Cut the wood to the desired lengths, sand the wood alittle.
2. Paint the wood black (I already had black matte spray paint so I used that)
3. After they have dried, sand the wood alittle, especially around the edges to make it look worn.
4. Nail the pieces together
5.Draw the roundish circle in the center
5.Once you have the circle where you want it, draw your letters and numbers
6. Paint the circle and your numbers. I just used my acrylic art paint. I did two layer. Painted then let it dry then did another
7. I printed the Ethan Allen picture from online, scanned it, and used my photo editor to blow it up as big as I could get it. You probably could take it to an office store and have them blow it up even more but I was on a budget so I did it myself
8. After the paint is dry I used graphite/copier paper to trace on the horse
9. Paint the horse black, two coats also
10. After paint is dry, I used a power sander to sand the top and edges to give it an aged look.
11. I nailed some picture hangers on the back. Ta Da!

If you need me to explain alittle more on certain steps let me know. I'll be happy to explain them.

My new Sign

As you all know money is tight right now. While searching blogs I saw on MySweetSavannahs blog that she had made wall art copied from Ethan Allen. The original is $329. yikes. I thought maybe I can do this too. So this is the result. Of course its not even close to Melanies version. Shes a pro. But Im happy with the results even though my letters are too fat, part of the letters are too close together and the horse is too small. Its unique and I like it. LOL Oh and I spent $12 to make it :)


Friday, February 20, 2009

What makes your house special to you?




About a year or so ago I posted my house on HGTV rate my space and I had people asking me to please post more pictures of my home. I was too embarrassed at the time because I honestly dont feel Im all that great at decorating. A designer I am NOT. There are sooo many more lovely houses that are just so amazing and stunning. My house is alot different than most houses I see, at least I think so, and Ive noticed most people like the lighter colors of white, pink and blues. I on the other hand love dark browns, beige, golds, burgandy, leopard print and African masks . If you put me in an old Victorian home, in the library, walls covered with bookshelves floor to ceiling, tons of wood work everywhere, leather chairs, smell of pipe smoke and antiques everywhere I would never leave that room.






It got me thinking.. What in my house makes it special to ME. . So I thought I would share with you some things that I find are special.



I would love to hear from you and see pictures of your homes too. What makes it special to you. What makes you smile? What are the things in your home that are TOTALLY YOU?


Mine are....



This HUGE mirror was a Mothers Day gift from my sweet DH Its hanging in the dining room.





The leopard rug that greets you when you walk in our front door.



An African mask brought back from Africa by one of our customers.


Another African mask from a different customer. We have the best customers Im telling you !!!



The wall clock my DH bought for me when we moved in the house. He has name it our "Jack the Ripper clock" since it looks like something that would be on a London street.







Heres our kitchen fan. While the "fans" are spining the whole unit also rotates.


The other three fans in our house have leaves for blades. Their all different. Here the one in our family room


I collect old suitcases and I use them in my decorating. I find them mostly at yard sales for $1 each. When I look at them I wonder where they have traveled to.







More suitecases. My DH stuck his great grandfathers walking cane up there so thats what your seeing crossing the front of one of them.









More african masks. The wall looks white in the picture. How funny. Its actually all the same beige color.








I LOVE black and white photography. Heres one of the pairs of large pictures I have hanging in the family room. I bought the frames and pictures at World Market.










More african masks that hang over the one of many archways we have in the house. Found the masks at a yard sale for $1 ea and the picture in the background that says Africa I bought at another yard sale for $5




A New Award





Marty39 has honored me with an Award. The Best Blog Daily Thinker. Im so honored! Thank you Marty for thinking of me :)


The rules are to post it on your blog and pass it on to 10 other deserving bloggers.

Here goes:


















I think you all are great bloggers and deserve an award!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Where I blog

I've been tagged by my friend AnNicole from Our Suburban Cottage .The idea is to show everyone the place where you blog. I also have a laptop so I blog in many places like the kitchen, family room, or bedroom. Here are a few picture of where I blog :)




This is where the twins play games and I blog or research recipes. Oops, I usually dont have the placemat under the laptop. I just sat the laptop there to quickly take picture.

Heres where I snuggle after a long day with my glass of wine. My DH calls these chairs the fatman chairs.



or Im sitting here blogging while the twins are doing their homeschooling :)

Now I'm supposed to tag five others. Once you are tagged, post a picture of where you blog. Feel free to tell us a little about your space, or explain certain items in more detail. Or not. Tag five other bloggers to show them their blogs. Im actually only going to pick four so here they are:

Marva: Another mother of twins and amazing budget dinner maker!

Elizabeth: Extremely in the know of all things. My smart friend!

Sarah: My friend from the Cafe that is extremely talented @ decorating!

Marty39: Check out her living room. The small changes are Beautiful!

Monday, February 16, 2009

Monthly Saving Challange ~ February 15 & 16

No spending these two days.

Monthly spending total still @ $1121.51

(edit: messed up on gasoline total need to add another $30.33 so total is actually $1151.84)

Sunday, February 15, 2009

How Low Can You Go??? Menu Challange SATURDAY

Since Ive worked hard all week long on the "How low can you go Menu Challange" I dont feel so bad about the last two days of spending for dinners. Pizza on Friday and Valentines dinner with DH on Saturday.
Thanks you so much everyone who joined in the challange.
Lets do it again soon :)
Have a Great Sunday everyone :)

Monthly Saving Challange ~ February 14

We had a fun valentines day. My parents took the twins to Calico Ghost Town for the day to see a reinactment of civil war battles and they heard Lincoln give a speech.

My DH took me to lunch at one of our favorite steak houses $48.00

Theres a big storm coming in and Im like a squirrel and have to stock up on my nuts so off to Super Target to load up on some groceries. $158.00 Hopefully this will last us for one and half weeks.

New monthly spending total is $ 1121.51

Saturday, February 14, 2009

HApPY Valentines Day Everyone !!



Hope you all have a LOVELY day ! XOXO




Friday, February 13, 2009

Monthly Saving Challange ~ February 13

Welp, had to pay some bills today and Dh surprised us with pizza and breadsticks for dinner :) Yippie.


Gas for F350 diesel $50 (edit: its $80.33 not $50)
Propane $130
Gas for explorer $10.24
Pizza $26
Elec. $90.63

New Monthy spending total $945.84

Thursday, February 12, 2009

I LOVE MY CROCKPOT!!! Do you love yours?

Im in love with my Crockpot.
Okay, that does sound alittle funny but its true. I call all my electronic devices that help me out my servant girls. My washer, dryer, dishwasher, bread maker and my crockpot! Sometimes I think my crockpot is a gift from Heaven! After a long hard day, your feet are aching, your body hurts, and maybe you have a headache from all the bustle of the day and you come home, walk in the door to the smell of a roast cooking or a soup simmering. Ahhhhhhhh The aroma comes at you and your body starts to relax because you know that dinner is more than 3/4 the way done and its one less thing to think about. Time to switch to relaxation mode, put on your fuzzy slippers, your warm cozy robe, grab a glass of wine, and get ready to spend more time with your family.
I wanted to share with you 5 recipes that are tried and true. I want you to be able to love your crockpot as much as I love mine.
My daddys garlic bread is awesome and compliments any of these recipes. His recipe is near the bottom of this page.
1st recipe:
Italian Sausage and Vegetable stew
(my twins ask for this all the time)
1 lb. Italian sausage (cut into pieces)
1 package (16oz) frozen vegetables of onions, green, red, yellow bell peppers (I use the stirfry vegs. from Costco)
1 can dice Italian style tomatoes undrained (Again I use the Italian stewed tomatoes from Costco)
2 medium zucchini sliced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tbsp Italian-style tomato paste
I usually double/triple this recipe.
Cook sausage till browned, drain
Combine sausage, frozen veggies, tomatoes, zucchini, and garlic to slow cooker. Cover and cook on low 4 to 4 1/2 hrs or until zucchini is tender. Stir in tomato paste. Cover and cook 30 min until juices have thickened.
Recipe 2:
Good N Easy Stew
3 lbs stewing beef
1 can condensed cream mushroom or cream of celery soup
1 can sliced mushrooms drained (I normally dont add this)
1/2 cup beef broth
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
I usually double/tripe this recipe
Combine all ingredients in crockpot. Cover and cook on low 10-12 hrs. If you want you can thicken gravy with flour. But I never do. We like it just as it is.
Recipe 3:
Pizza Soup
1 jar (14 oz) of pizza sauce
3 empty jars full of water
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
2 cooked Italian sausage cut into small pieces
1 cup sliced pepperoni sliced in quarters
1/2 T dried Basil
1 T dried oregano
1/2 cup of dried pasta
shredded mozzarella cheese
Add all ingredients (except pasta & cheese) cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours.
30 min before serving add the pasta and turn the crockpot on high.
When serving you can top the soup with mozzarella cheese! Yummy!
Recipe 4:
Beef Barley Soup
2 lbs ground beef, cooked and drained
1 c. celery, chopped
16 oz. can stewed tomatoes , undrained
2 carrots, chopped
1/2 c. barley
2 tsp. garlic powder (I use jarred minced garlic instead)
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 large potatoes, cut into cubes
7 cups water
salt & pepper to taste
Brown meat, drain.
Add all ingredients to crockpot. simmer on Low for 7-9 hrs.
Serve with garlic bread :)
Recipe 5:
Ground beef Stroganoff
2 lbs ground beef
1-2 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup beef bouillon
3 tbsp tomato sauce
1 cup sour cream mixed with 2 tbsp flour (add this mixture 1 hr before serving)
rice or noodles
I usually double this recipe too.
Brown meat, drain.
Put first 7 ingredients into crockpot. Cook on low for 7-9 hours. (3-4 hrs on high)
Stir in sour cream with flour 1 hour before serving. Serve over hot buttered noodles or rice :)
My Daddys Awesome Garlic Bread Recipe:
1 large loaf of french bread.
1/2 -1 stick of butter, (yeap, I said one whole stick) melted alittle to help it spread easier
minced garlic to taste (I use 1-2 tbsp) No vampires here
Grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (man I love this cheese)
Heat oven to 350. Cut loaf of bread long ways in half. Place pieces on cookie sheet. Mix butter and garlic together and spread onto bread. Sprinkle grated cheese on top. Sprinkle loaves with alittle paprika for color. Cook in heated oven for 10-15 min. This garlic bread is to die for. Yummy!
If you have any question regarding these recipes please dont hesitate to ask. Its been a long day and Ive already ate my crockpot chicken breast with salas tacos (man they were good) and had a glass of wine. Ahhhh. My brain is now in relaxation mode. Life is good!

How Low Can You Go??? Menu Challange THURSDAY

Hows everyone doing on the challange?

No grocery shopping trips today either.

Today was great. I love my crockpot. Im going to post some of my tried and true recipes in the next post. I put chicken breasts in the crockpot topped with salas and cooked on high for 4 hours. Fried some mission yellow tortillas for shells. Topped taco with lettuce, cheese, and sour cream. And used those Famous Del Taco hot sauce packets! YUMMERS!

Chicken tacos

Chicken breasts used 4 large $ 3.92
Salas used 3/4 jar $1.35
Mission tortillas (16) $1.98
oil to fry tortillas $0.50 (gosh I dont know)
lettuce $0.50
cheddar cheese $0.50 (paid $2 for 8oz bag and I used 1/4 of the bag)
sour cream $.0.49

Dinner total $9.24

Monthly Saving Challange ~ February 12

No spending again today!!!
Yee Haw! Okay, confession time. I did try again. To spend some money. Still been looking for those jeans for the twins. Im on a mission to find the right ones at the right price.
Monthly spending total still @ $608.74

How Low Can You Go??? Menu Challange WEDNESDAY

NO Grocery store trips for me today but it was really tempting!!


I didnt plan well yesterday (Wednesday).


I went riding in the morning, then worked on homeschool, then I started making phone calls for Life insurance and an appt to get our taxes done and before I knew it late and I forgot to put something in the crockpot for dinner. Sigh.



Since the twins love soup and can eat it every night I made them homemade vegetable soup. Just used what I had so it was easy.8 cups water, beef stock, tomato sauce, can italian stewed tomatoes, carrots, celery, potatoes, & onion. I added some noodles 10 min before it was done. The twins are eatting machines right now and they ate the entire pot of soup!

Break down:

Noodles .25
Celery .25
carrots .50
beef stock .10
stewed tomatoes .75
jar tomato sauce 1.00
potatoes .20
1/2 onion .15
total $3.20





For the hubby and me , I made mash taters, that I topped with groundbeef, onion and gravy, and for side dish I heated a bag of green giant vegetables with sauce. It was really good :)

8 mash taters 1.60 (theres leftovers)
ground beef 2.00
gravy .25
gg veggies .50 ( theres leftovers)
onion .15
total $4.50
Total for dinner $7.70 :)




I think I did pretty good for just throwing dinner together on the fly! :)

Monthly Saving Challange ~ February 11

Another NO spending day!! Yeah!!!
Still at $608.74

But its not like I didnt try. I was trying really hard to spend some hard earned cash but no can do. hee hee Been looking for some jeans for the twins that they want. Im only willing to pay a certain price. I got these jeans a year and half ago, 2 pair shipped to the house for $10 using free shipping codes and a discount code. Awesome price I know! So now Im spoiled.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Early Valentines Treat

Ive been wanting to make chocolate covered strawberries. I decided to go ahead and make them early this week since company is coming this weekend and I wont have time. I think they turned out pretty good. And their really Yummy!! :)
Served my family these today on this plate because they are special to me :)


Couldnt waste the extra chocolate so I dipped some apples wedges and topped with sprinkles:)



Picture of our Ride today :)

My good friend Linda and I are trying to ride every Wednesday morning. We had a great ride today and the horses got some good exercise.



We rode by the Extreme Makeover house again and got a couple more pictures
Learning center

Sign on corner


House


Crockett and me

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

How Low Can You Go??? Menu Challange TUESDAY

Did really well today on the challange. NO GROCERY TRIPS! Yippie! LOL

We had cereal & toast for breakfast

Turkey sandwiches for lunch

Bean burritos with sour cream, del taco hot sauce, and cheese
and I made spanish rice for Dinner. Yummers


Juice for drinks

Inexpensive meals all day :)


Last night for a snack I popped popcorn on the stove, drizzled it with real butter and sprinkled cinnamon on the top. We were watching "Monk" and they mentioned that so we thought we would try it. Verdict is still out on this one.

Monthly Saving Challange ~ February 10

Today was a good day. :) Been freezing outside but we got alot of school work done. :)



The only spending I did today was a birthday present for one of the twins. I sent a limit and they get to pick what they want. One of them found a game on Amazon so I bought it. Im not going to count it in my spending since Im getting alittle over $400 back from our Costco/american express card this month.




Im taking out money for the twins birthday, stockup items I'll be buying from Costco, and the rest will be for Disneyland trips (we have season tickets) and to help with groceries for the rest of the month :) Gotta love Costco :) Getting paid to pay your bills and items you buy is a wonderful thing :)



Monthly total $608.74

Monday, February 9, 2009

How Low Can You Go??? Menu Challange MONDAY

I went coupon shopping today. (stockup items. I dont count this as grocery shopping:) I did really well, except while out my family wanted me to pick up some drinks. So I ran to Super Target and got frozen juice , my DH some pepsi, and I got some fresh strawberries that I was going to buy later in the week then decided Im just going to buy them now and make them tomorrow. I want to make choc. covered strawberries for Valentines(yummers)
So I spent $15.12 Geesh, the first day and I already fell off the wagon. LOL I knew I would have to go to the store later on in the week for drinks so hopefully this does the trick and we wont have to go till next Sunday :)
Oops forgot to list dinner and the break down:
We had Pepper steak over rice , salad, and lemonade
This is the first time I made this recipe.
It was good but not sure I'll make it again. There wasent enough for 2nds or left overs which we like to eat the next day for lunch and this meal was on more of the expensive side. I broke it down and Im going to say the recipe, salad, and lemonade cost around $11.00= $2.75 a person

Monthly Saving Challange ~ February 9

Mondays are normally my coupon shopping day. I was all excited to go to town get some deals, and go to lowes and get some wood for a project. Looked outside and it was SNOWING!!!! UGHUGH. It slowed down and stopped for alittle bit so my DH said "Hurry and go now". So I jumped in the car and ran to town.



I feel I did really well at CVS. I scanned my card twice at the scanner machine. First time it gave me a free $2 ecb. Yippie, free money!, The second time it gave me a $1.50 coupon for cvs female personal care item and and coupon for free 3 pk. CVS Antacids and $2 off tums.




I did two transactions. I spent out of pocket $20.84. I forgot to use the free $2 ECB. dUH. Oh well, next week. I used a $10 ecb I already had on the first transaction.



Heres what I got for $20.84 includes tax (reg. price would have been & $86.52+tax)



8 pk Bounty papertowels

8 ct. Duracell batteries

120 ct. Bounce dryer sheets

3 bottles Dawn dishsoap

3 heart boxes of chocolates (small ones for valentines)

2 valentines candies for the twins

Gillette power razor

60 ct. tums

2 pk. energy pack

22 ct. cvs pantyliners

cvs brand chewable asprins

3 pk cvs antacids

madagascar 2 movie (valentines present for the twins) !!!! Im so excited about this. They have been wanting this movie. I had a bunch of valentines candy in my cart, and decided to put it all back except for $5 worth and used the money to buy the items that helped me get the movie for $4.99 :)



Went to riteaid and got:



Finesse Conditioner

MortonSalt

Fructis hairspray

Durex lubricant (given to DH for valentines hee hee)



Total came to $11.66 with coupons

Getting back in rebates $10.98

So total was actually $0.68 Yippie!



Went to Walgreens and got:



2 bags 40ct Halls cough drops

1 roll Bounty basics

Zucol cold care 18 lozengers

Fructis shampoo

Revlon Age defying spa foundation

Revlon Creme lip gloss

3 cans of ajax



Total came to $33.18 out of pocket

Getting back in Rebates $32.26

So total was really $0.92 Yahoo!



Went to Lowes for my wood project. $21.33. Used GC so new total out of pocket was $10.31



Went to Target for juice and drinks. I also bought some strawberries. I want to make choc. covered strawberries and Im thinking of making them tomorrow and not wait till Sat. :)

Spent $15.12


Todays spending $91.11

Minus Rebates $43.24

Todays spending $47.87


$560.87 Starting
$47.87 spend today

$608.74 New running Total

Monthly Saving Challange ~ February 8

No money spent this day either. :) (doing backflips)

Still at $560.87 for the month. Not for long though. When the bills start to be due thats when this bliss of no spending will end :(

How Low Can You Go??? Menu Challange Starts Today!!

BANG! (thats the starting gun to start running. So run Forrest run! Oops, couldnt help myself )
We're off to a good start this morning. I have my menu planned for at least 4-5 days. Ive been really busy this weekend so I havent had a chance to dig deep in my deep freeze.
So far the dinners I have come up with are:
1. PepperSteak (crockpot), mashtaters, veg
2. Salsa Chicken burritos (crockpot), homemade spanish rice
3. Strog. over rice (crockpot)
4. Faitas (crockpot)
5. Beef Barley soup (crockpot), garlic bread
6. ? mystery
7 ? mystery
We have a ton of rice, lots of boxed items like hamburger helper and theres stuff in the freezer I cant get to until DH moves the stuff on top so Im confident that I can come up with some concoction.
For Breakfast choice of : cereal, cream of wheat, toast, homemade cinnamon rolls, eggs/bacon
For Lunch choice of : turkey sandwiches, top ramen, soup, leftovers, tuna sand.
Drinks choice of : frozen juice, water, ice tea
For Snacks choice of: homemade popcorn, rice krispytreats, soyjoy bars, fruit
I would love to see your menus and hear from you your tips for this week and how you plan to make this challange work for you :)
How low can you go??
Good luck everyone!

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Monthly saving Challange ~ Feb. 7th

YaHoo! Didnt spend money today!

Menu Planning Challange Starts Monday Feb 9th



Starting February 9th we're starting a Week of Menu planning on a budget.
How much money can you save by using what you already have in the pantry, freezer, & fridge.
How long can you go without going to the grocery store?
Im planning on using the Sale flyer, Sunday insert coupons and what I already have on hand to do this challange.
If I can do it, you can do it. I would love it if you all joined in.
How low can you go??
Sign Mr. Linky below so we can go to your blog and see how your making this challange work for you :)




Monthly Saving Challange ~ February 6

YIPPIE!!!!! No money spent this day!
Stayed home with the rain. I love the rain.
Fire blazing in the wood stove. AAhhhhh Life is good :)
Im working on the Weekly Grocery Saving challange for next week.
I think I'll start on Monday. I'll be using food I already have, using the coupons from the Sunday paper and the Sale ads.

Friday, February 6, 2009

Few money saving tips for the kitchen

Well, since Im doing this money saving challange I thought I would share a few tips Im doing this month to save money.
1. We dont eat out alot but when we do we go to a fast food place called Del Taco. YUMMERS! They always give several napkins so Ive been saving them. Storing them up like a squirrel. I put some of these in the glove box and the rest go into the house in the kitchen drawer. I was buying the cute napkins from the grocery store to put in my cute napkin holder on the counter but this month instead I'll be using up those FREE Del Taco napkins :)
2. And when we make bean burritos (My DH thinks if we dont have refried beans and tortillas in the house the earth will stop spinning and all will perish.!!) we'll use those yummy hot sauce packets Ive gathered up from Del Taco to spice up our burritos :)
3. I bought a bread maker recently with money I got from my parent for Christmas. Ive been baking away. Im learning so its been a trial and error but the twins are my biggest fans :) Every loaf no matter how lopsided, or flat, they always give me the thumbs up :) What sweet hearts. I love the smell of the bread baking on these cold raining days and since the twins are eatting machines right now it sure helps keep them satisfied till dinner :)
4. We do drink some soda but Im slowing not buying as much. Ive been buying frozen lemonade from super target instead. Its only $ .77 a can and makes a huge container. It says add 4 1/3 cans of water but I add 6 and it still tastes great :)
5. I do use those little dishwasher tabs. Only if I get them really cheap using coupons. The reason being is my good friend Lissa explained it to me that when you use those tabs you are using exactly the right amount and when you use the powder or liquid soap you might be pouring too much which is wasting soap and money :)

Save money at Dinner Time

Lord have mercy! I visited a website that I think is going to be just awesome. Its called $5 dinners As I was reading down I was thinking... My family would eat that and my family would eat that!! I just love when I find a website that talks to me and gives such great ideas.
I found this site while visiting Amys blog regarding the Monthly spending Challange.
You all have to check this site out and let me know what you think. Gotta go read more about these awesome cheap meals!

Monthly Savings Challange ~ February

I just realized I accidently deleted the post regarding how much I saved on the electric bill (slap myself) So here it is again. Was $111 now its $90. Been more diligent this month turning off those surge protectors and Dh computer :)

Edit: Marva,I found her blog. I think I kept trying the wrong one. Everyone I tried wouldnt open up :(

Thanks Amy for starting this challange! You go girl!


On Marvas blog she is having a month saving challange where shes listing all her spending everyday for the month. So I thought I would join in and also list some of the ways I save money while Im at it. Gulp, this means Im really going to have to stay accountable.


Im starting 5 days late so heres what I have so far....



Feb 1st Renew DH business website $108.12 Gulp


Renewed AAA $119


Feb 2 Food for geckos $2.16


Internet service $31.00


Disneyland $40


Feb 3 horse feed $114.03


Gasoline for my car $40.16


Feb.4 CANCELLED a SUBSCRIPTION saved $15 Yippie


Feb 5 Super Target $105.41 Weekly grocery shop. (this includes all food only. Im stocked up on all paper products and toiletries)


Total spend so far $560.87


My goal for groceries was $75 for the week. But I went over as you can see. Im really trying. Ive done it before but my family wasent on board. Just yesterday my DH said to me "we should see how cheap we can eat for a week". I almost fell off my chair. Been waiting for this for a long time. So I think I'll try this challange next week :)

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Just got back from our Ride :)

Heres some pictures of the construction site for the extreme makeover. We were able to ride the horses right up to the tents. I decided to ride my DH tenn. Walker "Crocket". I felt he would do better around all the noise of the tractors and trucks and I was right, he did great :) Only thing they didnt really like was the big bad scary water truck!








The learning center their building them.





The house is on the left. Learning center on the right.





Learning center






Linda Scored us some t-shirts :) Go Linda, Go Linda






Extreme Makeover is in my Neighborhood

YIPPIE!! Extreme makeover is in town. Too fun!! There are cops blocking roads, and people driving all over the place.

My friend Linda and I are going to saddle up and ride over this morning to go peek at it. I'll take my camera and take pictures :) Thats if my horse doesnt dump me on the ground from all the cars and trucks. Hes a sweet horse but I havent ridden him alot lately so hes alittle skiddish!

Im off to put my boots on. Yee Haw!

Sunday, February 1, 2009

HAPPY SUPERBOWL SUNDAY!!

Hope everyone has a great Superbowl Sunday. We're heading down to my BIL and SIL friends house from church to watch the game. Its going to be alot of fun. My BIL asked me to face paint on everyone so we're going to be all decked out. Of course my family will all be in "Charger" gear. Go Bolts! But we'll be cheering for my BIL's team the Cardinals.

Have a great "Football Day" everyone!! :)