Speaking of Frugal

I have been researching. A LOT! In addition to being cheap and easy (twss) I need to be prepped. The student teaching train is just about to leave the station, and I am feeling the pressure of suddenly being a full time working wife and mother. Yikes. Kudos to those of you who have this mastered. Please feel free to pass along your wisdom. By that I mean, since you have it all together, come over and help; don't be like some people who like to simply point out areas of my family or home that are not up to code. I don't need that sort of advice. In fact, I don't need ADVICE at all. Who doesn't know they are doing it wrong? honestly, that is hardly the issue.
Anyway, my challenge to all of you FlyLady fans, organizing nerds, and want to get aheaders:
What can you prep in your freezer for later this month? You may need to back up and make your menu first. Personally, I have been planning mine through May. This will get me through the school year, my student teaching, and almost the rest of my university classes. Once this is complete, I challenge you to take a day and prep. I have chosen tomorrow as my husband will be home, I am going to the grocery, and my kids will be around to help out a little if they want to. Here is what I will be doing:

• dice and saute 1 large pack of chicken breasts, separate, label, and freeze
• brown 2 packs of ground turkey for stroganoff and chili
• cook and shred one whole chicken, separate, label and freeze for soups and enchiladas
• brown 2 packs ground beef for tacos

That's it. That is all the meat I will need for a month because, going along with our frugal living, is many a night of meatless meals. I have scheduled meat 3 times a week. Tis all.

Let's Get it On...

No, I don't mean U&I. I mean it's time for me to get my frugal on. By that, I mean we have been Dave Ramsey followers for a few months now, starting with our own level of baby steps, then jumping in to follow Dave's baby steps. Our friend Mo is the biggest Dave nerd we have met, but his testimony is just as big. We want to be like Mo, only not dorky-or hairy-or with such supple hind parts. Those of you who know our Mo know what I mean. Supple. Anyhoo, Mo and Jo, our favorite friends, have patiently walked us through some of Dave's plan, and since, we have been able to watch God bless us unbelievably, stop using credit cards completely!! when we never thought we could, and we have enough money each month to make our bills. Or rather, we have enough faith to live like we are supposed to and watch God do the whole fishes and loaves thing miraculously each month with our oh so limited funds.
We are falling into a better routine, and though we haven't perfected our budget or even got the budget totally right yet, we have made progress each month. Each month, we have challenged ourselves to cut a little further out of our spending. Last month, we had $100 left in each of our gas fund and grocery fund. Unfortunately for our emergency fund, some unexpected bills showed up, but we can choose to look at this a couple different ways. A) we had money left over. awesome! 2) that sucks, we had money left over and had to spend it on another bill. or D) we had money leftover, and while it sucks that we had to put it toward a bill, we HAD it to put toward a bill! awesome. We are choosing door number three. Or is that D? I don't know, but one day, we are totally going to have the amazing stories to tell about our finances that our friends do. We want to be them when we grow up. For now, we will continue along our path of baby steps.
This month, I am challenging myself to lower my grocery bill. Currently, I am amazed when I get out of the store for less than $180 each week. That includes toiletries, stray school supplies, dog food, extra randomness (none of which I actually purchase at a grocery store). My new goal is to bring it down to $150 each week. That will cut our monthly bill down by $120. That's pretty decent for a family of seven and a dog and a family who rarely eats a meal elsewhere!

Why I Like Mike #26

I asked him out on a breakfast date and he said yes. He likes me...He really likes me!

This picture was taken the last time we went out of town together- just the two of us. Sadly, that was 3 years ago. Before that, 8 years had passed since we went out of town together-with a kid. Not at ALL the same. I love my children so much.

I truly love hanging out with my

children for many hours each day.

BUT I seriously need to go places with my husband, and as much as

I am looking forward to eating

at the local Squeeze In for the first time, I want to go someplace outside

of our usual 20 mile radius. Jayehs.

Homework. Sigh. Schmomework. Yawn.

I have been doing homework since 10am. It is now almost 4pm. I want this shirt. My eyes are closing.
Also my crockpot is cooking teriyaki chicken. Yum. I am going to do some more homework. Thanks for taking a break with me.

Prejudiced After All

Elbert Hubbard:
Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped.

Bill Cosby:
A word to the wise ain't necessary, it's the stupid ones who need the advice.

Muslih-ud-Din Saadi:
A stupid person should keep silent. But if he knew this, he would not be a stupid person.

Mark Twain:
First, God created idiots. That was just for practice. Then He created school boards.

In a recent discussion with family members, I realized I am prejudice after all.

It is a little uncomfortable to say it, but there are just some people that I don't

ever want to be around.

I call them stupid people.

I really cannot handle stupidity.

And for all of you who would say I am someone else's stupid person, they are

welcome not to want to be around me either.

There aren't many of them, but they are out there. The scary part is they have

no idea they are this way. How do I work with that? Sometimes I think God puts

them near me to challenge me. Which is why I say to God, "you knew I was going

to act this way when you made them get near me. Why do you keep doing this?"

sigh. Okay, I know why, but it doesn't make me any happier.

Right now the stupid people God is putting around me to toy with me are a little

group called the city council. Dorks, the lot of them, but I am working on my

rotten attitude. I trust that God is in charge of whether or not my husband gets

laid off, but is it necessary for me to have to hear them speak about it and be

disrespectful about a job my husband has literally risked his life for? Stupids.

This.Is.Me.

Does everyone feel like this at the end of college?
Is it really necessary for the devil to rear his ugliness
right now? Can anyone else see the evil trying to get through
my angels? Suck this satan. You can't get me down.
Though, apparently, you can help me keep
my priorities all sorts of wrong. DARN YOU. ratpoo.
Tomorrow is a new day. And God is forgiving




and patient

I came across a question today that startled me and got me thinking. Here it is:

If we are too busy to intentionally teach our children that absolute truths exist,
what might the consequences be?

Yikes. Then I began thinking, what happens when I look back and I forgot to
intentionally teach them about God in real, practical ways? I have done so
much with Izzy, Eli, and Layla Grace, but I know lately I have not been as frank
about things. Like beans. And what it means to love your neighbor. And what
God has planned for them...

Which one of these faces am I willing not to see in heaven? Stupid question,

I know, but that is basically what I am saying when I let day after day go by

without being in their face about how much God loves them. Tick-Tock. Time

is flying by.

Made Up Words

This morning, Layla Grace came into the kitchen and announced she had a pencil behind her ear. We all stopped what we were doing (insert cricket chirps) to turn to look at her.

Me: What? (while thinking, that's a strange thing to announce)

Layla Grace: That means I am a school-atician.

Me: lol. What's that?

Layla Grace: You know, like a mathematician, but for all of school.

The family: giggle.

I love made up words. Especially when they are used as correctly as a

made up word can possibly be used, AND when they come from my

seven-year-old. I also love that my kids are as weird as I am.

"It's just nice to find someone who shares my affinity for elf-culture."

Resolutions

So, I read a friend's blog today, and he mentioned he doesn't like to set New Year's resolutions. I am the opposite of that guy. This year, I set 14 of them. Dave Ramsey suggested we set and track goals; he also suggested that we add balance to our goals. There are seven areas, hence the 14 goals. It isn't the best system, what he has set up, but because I am smart, I am able to work it to fit my needs.

Normally, I set small, medium, and long term goals, but this time, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't think past this year. Next December, to be exact, was as far as my little brain would carry me. Probably due to the insane amount of things I am attempting even as we speak, but my goals are all significantly short term. Here is a glimpse:

I want to read to my kids at least three times each week,

I want to work out three times each week,

I want to finish my student teaching notebook,

I want to volunteer at least 4 hours each month,

I want to find a new bible study and learn something from it everyday,

I want to eat way less sugar,

I want to sell at least one thing on Craig's List at each month...

They pretty much continue like this, only they are all measurable,

realistic, and in balance with who I am called to be as a wife, mother,

teacher. Good stuff. What are your goals? I will keep you updated

on my goals.