What I Did This Summer

You remember writing those essays at the beginning of the school year? Well, he is the mom version.

This summer we tried to purposely take it easy, tried not to be too busy, and to enjoy the simple life. I told Keith a few months ago that we spend so much a month on our mortgage, yet spent so little time at home. Such as waste! It just didn't make sense. We also renewed our fervor to save money (after replacing our completely dead A/C unit during a heat wave), so simple inexpensive fun was on our agenda this summer. We enjoyed lots of backyard fun using the swing set, trampoline, slip and slide, and kiddie pool. We also did a few other things, such as fishing, a few trips to the big pool in town, and a few trips to Burger King for their indoor play area when it was just too hot to be outside, and camping at the state park.

 My baby trying out the big-kid swing set

 They LOVE to swing

 Cheap entertainment-pouring water on the back porch

 Riding the "camel" that Tyler made. Very creative!

 A friendly game of chase your brother with the water hose

 Watching Dora on Netflix

 Early morning tickle sessions

 Chilling out with our green friends at BK

It wouldn't be summer without the big shades! =D

New Carpet

On Thursday and Friday we had new carpet installed in the bedrooms, hallway, and downstairs. I usually know what I like and what I want, and am confident in my decisions. Not so with buying carpet. I was a nervous wreck and was extremely indecisive. I got 5 different quotes, got advice from a realtor, and looked at countless pictures and articles online.

I decided on a brown frieze style. It was actually my favorite sample of all the ones I saw, and can you believe it...it was the lowest quote too. But still, I had a knot in my stomach for a whole week before it was installed. I just wasn't sure I would like it.

But now that it's in, I love it! It makes the house look so much different...and smell better too. The previous two owners both had pets, so you can imagine. Yuck!

I am hoping the new carpet will help us sell the house easier when we put it on the market. It sure is a vast improvement over before.

We got the carpet from a local business, Dugan's, which has been in business since 1871! They were awesome!! I love supporting local small businesses. I think it's vital to the economy to shop locally whenever possible. Not only did they have the best price, but the service was unbeatable.

"Professional" Pictures

I decided to bite the bullet Wednesday and take my two grouchy, uncooperative, wonderful children to have their pictures made. The grandparents kinda hassle me about that from time to time. =) Knowing my sweet children as I do, I knew my best bet would be not to spend a lot of $$$ on said pictures. That way when they act like little baboons and take not one single stinkin good picture, I won't be too terribly upset. Good thinking on my part...we went to Wally World. Yeah, you can imagine the quality of customer service we received. Our "photographer" was not exactly good with children, to say the least. I finally got everybody to stop crying (including me, on the inside), and we were able to get a couple of descent pictures out of it.

If you would like to see them, this should be a direct link to the photos. Let me know if it doesn't work for you. http://portraits.pictureme.com/pr3/ViewAlbum.aspx?a=606410


And on a side note, as "frugal" as I am I do believe that with pictures you get what you pay for. If I thought my kids would have cooperated, I definitely would have driven the 50 miles (one way) to a better picture studio.

Our $75, Two Week Menu Plan

A few ladies from the church have started getting together once a week to clip, organize, and trade coupons as well as learn from and encourage each other. I have been clipping coupons for a while and have really learned a lot and also have saved our family A LOT of money. Before I started couponing, we were spending around $100/week on groceries and that was just the two of us!! I now budget $150/month for groceries. It did not happen overnight, but it is possible with practice, patience, planning and time. (Not that I'm saying $150 would work for everybody. It won't! But you can significantly reduce your grocery budget.

As we were discussing our budgets, several people commented that they didn't know how we could eat on that amount each month. My answer is, "We just do." There really is no magic to it. I plan our menu, keep our meals simple using ingredients we have on hand (not things that will only use 1 tsp of and then never use again), shop combining coupons and sales, buy generics when possible, cook from scratch and use natural cleaners.

I am sharing our menu for the next two weeks (starting yesterday) with the costs of each meal calculated as well. Ready?

Sunday
L- pork roast, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, rolls ($5)
D- leftovers, snacks

Monday
L-leftovers
D- Taco Soup, Corn Bread ($3)

Tuesday
L-Sandwiches, chips ($1.25)
D- Mexican Casserole, Tortillas/Chips ($3.75)

Wednesday
L-Hot Pockets ($1.50)
D-Leftovers

Thursday
L-Soup & Sandwich ($1.50)
D-BBQ Beef Shep. Pie ($3.50)

Friday
L- Leftovers
D- Snacks (Sandwiches, fruit, popcorn)

Saturday
L-Pizza ($2)
D- Leftovers/Snacks

Sunday
L-Red Beans and Rice, cornbread ($2.75)
D-Leftovers/Snacks

Monday
L-Hot Pockets ($1.50)
D-Spaghetti, Rolls ($3.75)

Tuesday
L-Leftovers
D-Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Corn on the Cob ($5.25)

Wednesday
L-Macaroni & Cheese, Sandwich ($2)
D- Tomato Soup, Grilled Cheese ($2.25)

Thursday
L-Pantry stock
D-Chili w/rice ($2)

Friday
L-out together
D-Pantry stock/Leftovers



Breakfast/Snacks: ($15)
Granola bars
Yogurt
Cookies
Fruit
Pop Tarts
Muffins
Chex mix


Total $56.00
Budget $75.00

Difference ($19.00) used for:
Chicken
Beef
Drinks
Pantry items (flour, sugar, butter, eggs, milk, oatmeal, onions, coffee, etc)

So, there you have it. Nothing fancy, but the Lord always blesses. =)

$0.25 Customizable Art

I've been in a crafty mood here lately, so I thought I would share one of my ultra-frugal creations with you. I just did this as a trial to see how I liked it. I really like the way it turned out and will probably make another one soon.

All I did was purchase an old picture frame at the thrift store for 25 cents, used some old paint brushes and acrylic paint I had laying around from other projects, and some leftover fabric for the "ribbon".

Here's the very simplified "How To" in case you want to try it for yourself.

1) Play around with the wording and font in Word until you get it the way you like it. I used Paint and then printed it out in a mirror image.

2) Place glass from frame on top of printed wording, centered.

3) Trace (paint) wording using acrylic craft paint. Depending on the quality of paint, you may need 2 coats.

4) Allow to dry and then place in frame.

Voila!

I will probably add some fabric or a nice piece of scrapbook paper to the back if I find some I like. If I do that, the total cost would probably be about $1.00. But it also looks nice the way it is.

This would be a great way to use old picture frames that you aren't currently using.

Modest, Affordable, Frump-Free Clothes?!?! Can It Be???

I recently discovered Bellissima Modesty Boutique thanks to Crystal at Biblical Womanhood. I decided to take a look around their site and see what they had. I was very pleasantly surprised! The clothes are feminine, cute, modest, and very affordable. I find it very difficult these days to find clothes that are more than one of those things, let alone all of them! If you are looking to add a few cute pieces to your wardrobe without breaking the bank, then you should definitely check them out. The skirt in the picture above was $18 (I think) and one of the more expensive items on the site.

So, where are some of your favorite places to shop?

Military Discounts

The following businesses are known for offering discounts,but not all locations may participate:

Apparel
Aeropostale
The Buckle
The Children's Place
Dress Barn
The Finish Line
FootAction
Footlocker
Gadzooks
Goody's
Hot Topic
Jos. A. Bank
Jockey
Kohl's
Lerner
New York & Company
Pac Sun
Rack Room Shoes
Timberland Outlets (active duty only)

Auto
AutoZone
Big 10 Tires
Checker Auto Parts
Kragen Auto Parts
NAPA Auto Parts
O'Reilly Auto Parts

Restaurants
Applebee's
Arby's
A&W
Back Yard Burgers
Barnhill's
Burger King
Captain D's
Carl's Jr.
Chick-Fil-A
Ci-Ci's
Cotton Patch
Denny's
Dunkin' Donuts
Golden Corral
IHOP
Java Cafe
KFC
Long John Silver
Maggie Moo's
McDonald's
The Melting Pot
Pancho's Mexican Buffet
Panda Express
Papa Murphy's
Pat & Oscar's
Pizza Hut
Quizno's
Red Robin
Shoney's
Sizzler
Sonic
Taco Bell
Texas Roadhouse
Wendy's
Whataburger

Travel and Leisure
Amtrak
Beaches Family Resorts
Blockbuster
Camp Jellystone
Greyhound
Movie theaters
Professional Sports teams
Ripley's attractions and museums
Sandals Resorts

Other Products
Apple Computers
Bass Pro Shop
Champs Sports
Copeland's Sports
Dell
Dick's Sporting Goods
The Discovery Channel Store
GNC
Great Party
Happy Harry's
Home Depot
K-mart
Michael's
Play It Again Sports
Pure Beauty
Sally Beauty Supply
Spencer's Gifts
Sportsman's Warehouse
Suncoast
Wilson's Leather

Free Taste of Home Subscription

Right now, Taste of Home is offering a free one-year subscription for only $3.95 to cover shipping and handling. This is a wonderful magazine full of great tips and recipes. This is a great bargain. Click here to sign up. They will even bill you later for the shipping and handling.

Playing With Fire

The next time you need to light several candles at once, try this trick. Light one end of a piece of spaghetti and use that to light your candles. This also works great for lighting jar candles and fires in the fireplace when you don't have one of those lighters with a long tip, and keeps you from getting your fingers singed in the process. I needed to buy a new lighter the other day. One of those fancy candle lighters was $2.67, but I was able to get an 8 pack of regular lighters for $1.85. Yay for saving money!

AAFES Double Coupon Mondays

I saw a sign at the entrance to the BX a few days ago that said Mondays are now "Double Coupon Mondays" at AAFES. They will double coupons up to $1.00. That makes for some potentially good deals. I'm not sure if this is every facility or not, or how long it will last, but it is definitely worth checking out. I'd be interested to know if anybody else's BX/PX is doing this also.

Trash to Treasure: Under $20

I have been looking for a while for something to put the boys' clothes in. Up until now we have used a plastic storage container in the closet for Tyler's things, which has worked really well. But we don't have room for another one in the closet so I decided to be on the lookout for something a little more permanent. I found this little treasure at the thrift store for $15. It was pretty banged up, but in good overall condition. My sweet hubby sanded and painted it for me using leftover paint we had from the previous owners. All I had to do was spray paint the existing hardware black and also we bought 8 new knobs for the bottom drawer for 67 cents each. I think it turned out great.

Before:

After:

Maybe I Should Just Call Dave and Ask Him Myself

Do y'all listen to Dave Ramsey? I do when I happen to catch him on. I think he is right on with his financial advice and have learned a lot from listening to him. Our church is offering the Financial Peace University starting in August. We would really like to participate, but I'm just not sure if it would be best for us right now. Ordinarily I would be signed up already, but the class is 13 weeks long and I would probably only get to go to maybe 5 or 6 of the classes before the little one is born. So, I'm wondering if it would be worth it ($100) to go to probably less than half of the classes. What do you think? Should I just call Dave??

Homemade vs. Prepackaged Oatmeal: A Cost Comparison

My hubby loves to take oatmeal to work for breakfast. I love it too, because it is healthier than pop-tarts and other convenience foods. While it isn't too terribly expensive, I did notice a pretty significant rise in the price here recently. His favorite is Apple Cinnamon which currently sells for around $3.00 for 10 1/4 cup packs. He takes 2 packs per day to work, so one box lasts us a week. I am always looking for ways to save money so I decided to see if I could cut some of the costs by making it myself. Here is what I came up with.



Cost for prepackaged:

$3.15



Cost to make it myself:

Oats---------------------$1.98

Apples (3 lb. bag)--------$2.99

Cinnamon---------------$1.00

Sugar (4 lb. bag)---------$1.65



Total--------------------$7.62



Okay, so obviously it looks like making it yourself is a lot more expensive. But using the ingredients I purchased, I can make almost 8 times more oatmeal than what comes in a prepackaged box. Plus, I still have some ingredients left over. Very, very cost effective and easy too.



Here is the recipe I used to make the Apple Cinnamon. This makes enough for 10- 1/2 cup servings.



4 C Quick Cooking (1 min) oats

3/4 C Sugar (or brown sugar if you prefer)

1/4 C Ground Cinnamon

2 mediums apples (dried and cut into chunks)



Mix together, store in air tight container. I measure out 1/2 C in a microwave safe bowl and hubby adds water and microwaves at work. Easy cheesy!



Here are some other recipes as well.



Cinnamon Raisin:

4 C oats

3/4 C Brown Sugar

1/4 C Ground Cinnamon

1 C Raisins





Strawberries and Cream:

4 C Oats

1/2 C non-dairy coffee creamer

1/2 C sugar

1 C dried strawberries

Finished Product (minus apples-they were still drying)

Jean Transformation

Friday afternoon my friend helped me turn a old pair of jeans into a skirt. She has done several and they always look great. I really needed some maternity skirts, and they are almost impossible to find. I had several pair of maternity pants from my last pregnancy, and I'm so glad I've found a way to revamp them and put them to use again.



Sorry, I don't have any before pictures. You all know what a pair of jeans looks like. Here is the after:

Front

Back

Free Subscription to Woman's Day Magazine-Better Hurry

Woman's Day magazine is currently offering a free subscription here. This will go really fast so hurry and get your subscription while you can. Once the total on your checkout is no longer $0.00, the free offer is expired.

This would make a great gift to send to someone if you know they like this magazine. I don't think I've ever read it, but I did order a subscription since it was free. Just to try it out, you know.

A Pinch of This, A Dash of That

I have a lot of little random things to blog about, but none of them important or substantial enough to warrant its own post. So, I present to you my version of blog slop for your reading enjoyment.

Bye Bye Pistachio Green

We are finally getting our house painted! I cannot tell you how excited I am. It is currently pistachio green with a darker mint green trim, which the previous owner picked out and was very proud of it. It's horrible, y'all. When we bought the house we didn't think that getting it painted would be a big deal. Late last summer we started calling around and getting quotes, and that's when reality set in. The cheapest quote was $3300 and the most expensive was $5500, plus these people were all booked up until the spring. So we held off. Thank goodness. There is a man in our church who is a self-employed general contractor and does painting as well. Keith was casually chatting with him about the house one day and asked if we had anybody to paint it yet. Keith told him no and he asked if he could come look at it. He did. He starts next week (hopefully) and he is doing it for less than the other quotes. I will definitely post before and after pictures.

Baby Lawhon 08 Update

I had a doctors appointment today which went okay. The baby's heart rate was good, my blood pressure was good, but he was not happy with my weight loss. I had lost 6 pounds since my last appointment 4 weeks ago. He told me my body desperately needs fat and calories and suggested pizza, burgers, and milkshakes. Seriously.

Leaving the Country

Well, my part of the country anyway. We weren't expecting Keith to get leave for a while due to some things going on at work, but a window of opportunity opened up and we jumped at the chance to take a little break. We will be leaving this weekend, going to TN and possibly South Carolina, and will be back in about 2 weeks. If my posting is sporadic, that's why.

Spring

It has finally sprung! Today was the first day that it was warm and the sun was shining in what seems like forever. Thank you Lord.


I guess that's about it for now. I hope you all are having a wonderful week.

Great Deal from Lane Bryant

For all of you who have a Lane Bryant store in your area, you must check out this printable coupon for $15 off any $15 or more purchase. It is for use in stores only and only one coupon per order. So essentially you can get $15 worth of free merchandise. Print one out for every person in your shopping party. I love free!!!! If you think they don't have anything for you, think again. Check out all these great things they have to offer for under $15.

Everybody Loves Freebies

I know I sure do!

Click here for a free Gooseberry Patch Cookbook. They even ship to all my APO/FPO friends! No purchase necessary.

For more freebies, check out these great resources:
Wal-Mart Free Samples
Click here for a sample of Maybelline Silky Foundation (also ships to APO/FPO)
Tightwad.com has tons of other freebies from different companies.


Enjoy!!

Frugal Storage/Organization Tips

Greetings my fellow Americans. I trust you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We certainly did! We were invited to eat with a family from church and oh, about 25 other people. I thought there was no way we were going to have enough food, but to my surprise there were mounds of leftovers when it was all said and done. Which is the semi-inspiration for this post. What to do with all those leftovers. Here are some inexpensive storage ideas that I have discovered work just as well or better than the $5 containers you can buy at the store.

-Save any suitable food container that has a lid. I love glass containers, but some plastics work well too. (ex. spaghetti sauce jars, baby food jars, mayo jars, peanut butter jars, jelly jars, butter tubs, frosting containers, etc) When the container is empty, just wash it and you have yourself a handy leftover container for free. I love to spray paint the tops black and tie a little ribbon around them. They look so cute you almost forget what they used to be. I use mine for all kinds of things like leftover soups, storing brown and powdered sugar and flax seed, as well as for keeping small amounts of laundry detergent upstairs for when I need to handwash something. This would also be a great way to organize craft or sewing materials.

-I also save some small plastic containers without lids to use as practice cups for Tyler. He is learning to use a regular cup and these are great to have on hand and much cheaper than store bought cups.

I hope somebody out there finds this helpful. :) I'm off to bed now.

Until next time...

Gonna Save You $$Millions$$

I know. Who among us has millions to save??

Anyway, on to my helpful tip. They next time you get a tough stain on your carpet try this. Pour just enough rubbing alcohol on the stain to cover it. Let it soak for 1-5 minutes and then rub clean with a dry washcloth.

This works really well. I have used it to get up several "baby stains".