I am just trying this out to see if I will be able to post via email from my work as the xanga website is a blocked site for me. I really miss spending my lunch time being able to post. It really is the only time I have to call my own it seems.
EDIT:: Way too cool....it works for me!! Yeah!!! I think you will be able to see an increase in my posting again.
In an effort to save some more money I want to start making my own mixes more regularly. I am going to try to make the instant oatmeal as my first project.
http://www.budget101.com/recipes/id446.htm
I wanted to share a tip with all those busy moms who love instant oatmeal, but can't stand those awful prices. I take regular oatmeal and put it in my blender and just give it a few zaps, to break up the oats. You can add different ingredients to make it taste better.
Here are a few of mine.
All you have to do is bag up the mix. Be sure to only store dry ingredients. I like using dehydrated fruits and instant puddings. they store well and you can put them in single serve bags or bowls and all you need to do is add hot water.
http://www.recipezaar.com/62393
2 cups flour
2 T. packed brown sugar
1 T. baking powder
1 1/4 t. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. salt
1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 large egg
2 T. vegetable oil
Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a bowl. Next, combine the milk, pumpkin, egg and vegetable oil in a medium bowl, mixing well. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir just until moistened; the batter may be lumpy. (If you prefer a thinner batter, add more milk.)
Heat the griddle or skillet over medium heat and brush it lightly with vegetable oil. Pour the batter by quarter cupfuls onto the hot griddle. Cook until bubbles begin to burst, then flip the pancakes and continue cooking until golden brown. Repeat with the remaining batter. Serve with maple syrup. To make pancake sticks, put batter into a zip-lock baggie, snip the corner and squeeze the batter on to the griddle. To re-heat, place pancakes on an ungreased cookie sheet, cover tightly with foil and bake for 5-10min. at 350*. Or, place pancakes in stacks of 3 in the microwave for 1 - 1 1/2min. For your basic round pancakes, you can also warm them in your toaster.
ot this recipe from the Taste of Home Quick Cooking magazine.
Additional Ingredients (for each additional batch)
In a bowl, combine the first seven ingredients; mix well. Store in an airtight container in a cool dry place for up to 6 months. YIELD: 9 batches (about 1 cup total).
To prepare oatmeal: In a bowl, combine oats and 2 tablespoons oatmeal spice mix. Add enough boiling water until oatmeal is desired consistency. Sprinkle with brown sugar if desired. Yield: 1 serving
L.
Freezer Apple Butter http://mjpuzzlemom.blogspot.com/2007/11/amazing-apple-butter-freezer-recipe.html
I find myself being more grateful for the small things of life. I can't tell you how grateful I was to be able to shower myself finally! But today I was reconciling our household account and found I had actually made a math error and had $50 extra dollars. So what to do with the extra money??? Well I have found that it is best to put anything extra towards a bill than keep it as we always find some way of spending it. And it was money I didn't even know we had and wasn't planning on! So I logged onto one of my credit cards and paid it off in full! YEAH!! Another one down! I can't tell you how great of a feeling that is. So now the minimum payment from my paid off card will roll over to our next debt. That will increase our blazer payment until that will be paid off in February or March. YEAH!!
It is such a great feeling to see each one of these debts disappear. Being able to track our progress on debtproofliving.com really keeps me motivated. I am always so excited to find ways to live even more below our means. I wish we had done this years ago, but now we are working hard towards becoming debt free. Granted we don't live all that frugally in many aspects of our lives, but we do cut corners to be able to spend our money on the things we *want to spend it on. I could save alot if I convince my hubby to forego cable TV and a few other luxuries, but those are important to him. He works hard and should have those things so I just find other areas that aren't that important to us. There are alot of things we don't thinkg about that really add up in the long run!
TOP 10 READS OF 2007
The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield - (5/5)
A Thousand Splendid Suns - by Khaled Hosseini - (4.5/5)
Knitting Circle - Ann Hood - (4.5/5)
Blue Water: A Novel - A. Manette Ansay - (4/5)
Family History - Dani Shapiro - (4/5)
When Madeline Was Young - Jane Hamilton (4/5)
The Heart Shaped Box - Joe Hill - (4/5)
What is Mine - Anne Holt - (4/5)
Rise and Shine - Anna Quindlen - (4/5)
Love and Other Impossible Pursuits - Ayelet Waldman (4/5)
This year I read 35 books. I don't recall finishing a single book in October or December for that matter. I read other books this year that I also gave a 4 star rating. For a complete list of books I have read this year, check out my reading website.
PennyAnnPoundwise shared this recipe on her blog.....I can't wait to try it!! I think it will be great for wings as well!!!! I am off to see if I have the ingredients all on hand or not!!
HOMEMADE RANCH DRESSING
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp dill weed
1 tsp. chives
1 tsp. parsley
1/4 tsp. black pepper
Mix well. If it appears too thick for your needs, then add a little milk to thin it somewhat. It all depends on what brand sour cream I have on hand as to how thick/thin the dressing turns out. And if we're using it on salad, I naturally want it thinner than if we're using it to dip carrots and celery.
Morning everyone!! I am taking a break after being up for a bit this morning. The smallest things est make me exhausted! The things I take for granted in being my busy bee life style. A slower pace to life is very difficult for me. But today is my first day of being a BIG GIRL!! I am staying home alone today with only Tommy to help me.
YESTERDAY
Amy came over to help me yesterday. I needed to take out the garbage and vacuum. Amy came over and did those things for me as there was no way I could do them. I was determined I would wash the dishes myself yesterday. I worked on them through out the day, but didn't make it through them. There aren't many to do, but I wasn't able to stand too long at a time. I did manage make Mac and Cheese for lunch.
Still alot of my day is spent in my bedroom propped up in bed with pillows. I have someone bring my computer into my bedroom and I could take care of a few things yesterday. I started working on collecting some information needed for our taxes. I over estimated my flexible spending account for daycare. I called my provider and found out if I would be reimbursed for the money we have paid for having others caring for Erik. The cut off age is normally 13, but since he has PCA services and unable to be home alone would his care meet IRS regulations. They are going to send me some forms to complete and hopefully I can use the left over money to reimbursed for Erik's care. I just started adding up the hours since September that I have documented for his care. We average about 20+ hours a month to cover time we are at work, etc. This is one of those times that it pays off to keep records, etc. I generally pay $5 an hour for his care so that really adds up, usually at least an extra $100 a month.
I also paid bills and worked on our budget. I finally paid off all our out standing medical bills. We hade bills from my crown I needed, Josh's surgery and hospitalization and my MRI. We will be right back in owing as soon as the the bill for my knee surgery and Erik's evaluation come in. Since I have been homebound I am saving money. My weekly $60 gas budget is hardly touched so that could go to medical bills. I also didn't spend any fun money as I haven't left the house in over a week.
In reviewing our year, I will say my hubby was right about my not getting a second job. I had applied for a couple of second jobs, but he felt it was too much for me. So instead I focused my energies on finding ways to cut our monthly expenses, without my hubby or children noticing. The results were good and I have had the healthiest year ever. The more stressed I get, the more susceptible I am to illness. I have stayed within my weekly budget. If I over spend in an area, I just get rid of my fun money for the week. I am able to do that often, or pay my fun money to pay down our debts. We are still on the path to becoming debt free. Of course that is years in the future, but we are staying the course. I read the book Debt Proof Living by Mary Hunt and am using the Rapid Debt Repayment calculator on her site. It is great!!! Check out DebtProofliving.com
I know many people are able to save money by shopping weekly, but for me the key is to be in the stores less! I plan menus and shopping two weeks at a time. I also only allow myself to set foot into Walmart or Target once a week for household items. So most weeks I actually am under my budget for groceries and household items. I allow 160 every two weeks for groceries and 20 dollars a week for household items/cleaners,etc.
TODAY
I am home alone with Tommy. The hardest thing for me to do is to take the dog out. So far this morning I have showered, made the bed and read my bible. I also had Tommy help me get down to the basement. It was like going grocery shopping. I was able to get to the freezer and our pantry shelf in the laundry room. Tommy carried a small box for me that I filled with needed items. He carried up two boxes of food for the day.
I was exhausted after going up and down the stairs so I am resting a bit now. I will again today attempt to get the dishes washed. I think I can get the remaining dishes done today. I hope to read my book some today. I have not been reading at all the last few months. I just get into a mood sometimes and it takes bit to snap out of it. I started reading Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy. I was going to stop reading it but Katiesmom's comment about this being her favorite book got me to pick it up again!
I was hoping to be able to get groceries tomorrow, but I really don't think I am ready to walk that much. So today I will make my menu and shopping list for hubby to get groceries.
TO DO TODAY:
This should take me until bedtime to complete this list, considering the amount of time I rest between each item!
I have really been enjoying getting caught up on reading my xanga subs and discovering new sites this week. Have a great day!
As always I am wanting to get things in order with the holidays over. The New Year always gets me ready to be more organized and on track again. I have been doing terrible with my morning and bedtime routines. I have revamped them a bit and will work on additional tweeks in the upcoming weeks.
Here is my first draft.......
DAILY CHORES
6:00 – Morning Routine
6:45
7:15
7:45
7:50
7:00 – Evening Routine
8:00
8:15
8:30
January 24 Tess of the d’Urberville’s
Thomas Hardy
February 28 The Golden Road: Notes on my Gentrification Deb Caille Millner
March 27 The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox
Maggie O’Farrell
April 24 The Bastard of Instanbul
Elif Shafak
May 22 A Thousand Splendid Suns
Khaled Hosseini
June 26 Love in the Time of Cholera
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
July 24
August 28
September 25
October 23
November ?
December ?
Insomnia??? I am unable to fall asleep and it is already after 4:00am. Just my luck. I think it has to do with the pain medication I was taking. I was taking it at bedtime each night to sleep and I am no longer in much pain so I stopped taking it.....but I can't sleep. ARGH!!! I was tempted to take the meds, but I really need to get my sleeping patterns back to normal. Hubby is still home tomorrow to help out with watching the kids if I must nap. He will return to work on Thursday and I will be home alone with Tommy until I return to work.
hmmm...maybe a warm glass of milk??? Does that really help? We will see!
I guess I should call it a night. Hubby and Josh think I am crazy hopping around in the kitchen making cookies on one leg at eleven o'clock at night. *smirk* Sometimes you just have to! The smell of them cooking even means alot to me! Silly goose that I am.
Thank you God for our wonderful Christmas with our children all under our roof with us. I feel truly blessed. It is good to remember this in light of all the trials we have gone through the last two years. God still is with us and guiding our lives. God Bless!
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