Friday, July 24, 2009

My first video post



I LOVE this so much!! I think it is beautiful, makes me smile from ear to ear. I was just telling Kent a week ago or so that I long to have some kind of magic moment like the end of Slumdog Millionaire, or an old Drew Carey episode- where the crowd of people around me burst into a spontaneous, choreographed dance. Ahhhhhhh... if my life were a musical. A childhood dream of mine- along with a purple VW Beetle...

Thursday, July 23, 2009

A little more on frugality...

So, as I have been blogging about, I am still learning much about coupons and saving money on household expenses. Melissa asked a good question on my previous post about non-food items such as toiletries and detergents. Apparently, by combining store coupons, manufacturer's coupons and store sales one can get many of these items for free. Particularly from the drugstores like RiteAid, Walgreens and CV. I am still trying to figure out how this works exactly. But, I would like to throw out there 3 good blogs that I follow that are resources:
-The Frugal Girl is a really helpful blog that I follow regularly and have mentioned before in past posts.
-The Frugal Girl refers to Money Saving Mom here for more info on coupons and getting things for free.
-And Frugal Chic Living is local for those of you living in my community.
These sites can really help you on the makeup and toiletries.
As for detergents and cleaning products I have really enjoyed making my own laundry soap and cleaning products- for health and cost reasons, and I just like them better.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Groceries...

I was greatly distressed about budgeting my grocery shopping a couple of months back, as some of you may recall. I was trying to find the perfect system between couponing and making everything from scratch. Thank you for your suggestions and thoughts on the matter. I truly believe that every woman needs to come to a place where she is confident in her household decision making- especially regarding cooking/menus/shopping. It certainly will not look the same for every family. But, every wife/mother needs to feel as if she is succeeding in her role as mistress of the home and kitchen. I think I am arriving in that place, and it feels good.
That being said- I am not going to say that I have found the perfect system and you all should start doing things my way. NOT AT ALL! But, I have found what works best for my household for now, and that could be very different in a couple years, or maybe this will work for us for the next decade. I just want you all to know that I have found some peace about this- which is good! I'm spending less time stressing about whether or not I am spending our resources wisely, and I am instead spending more time loving on my kiddos and encouraging my husband (OH, and going to births!).
;-)
For those of you still reading this, and curious about where/how I shop now- here it is:
I am buying my produce at local stands- I love the quality and the price- and there is a good one near our house (Wheelers- on Trent). This is great for buying fresh and local.
I am still trying to make several things from scratch rather than buying packaged convenience foods: pizza, pancakes, potatoes au gratin, cheese sauces, white sauces and marinaras, desserts, soups, stews, etc. This makes me feel good about saving money, and not feeding my family lots of preservatives and chemical additives.
I am getting raw cow's milk from a local farmer!! Yes, it's expensive ($5 per gallon), but we LOVE the taste, and the cream on top to SO good on fresh fruit, or in coffee. We believe it is healthy too. I am getting a gallon and a half per week, and been making yogurt in my crock pot (!) with one of the half gallons.
At Costco I am still buying pasta, canned goods (diced tomatoes, beans, applesauce), peanut butter, pretzels, Seattle Mountain coffee, hummus and occasionally I splurge on a log of goat cheese, a dress for Lindy, or some other such pleasure. (Gotta earn my membership back, right? Ha. I may go without next year. We'll see.)
WINCO has come to Spokane, and I love it!! This is where I am buying meat, cheese, salsa, and cereal. And it is so cheap! I really appreciate the fact that I can avoid Walmart (I hate the crowds there!), and the stress of couponing by shopping at WINCO. I have no problems with bagging my own groceries. In fact, I prefer it. The baggers usually do it wrong. ;-)
OH- and, I am still trying to bake my own bread. BUT- when I don't, I am buying the $.50 loafs at WINCO or Fred Meyer. Then, I don't feel guilty!
And I am still printing off occasional coupons and following frugal blogs for tips that I may want to try. And when I feel like I can handle the pressure, I get the Wednesday (sale ads) and Sunday (coupons) newspapers, clip my coupons and plan my menus. But this is not my normal system, because I often fall behind and get unorganized. And I can't feel like I am failing if I miss the sale ads.
So, there's my system. No guilt and no stress about coupons and sales. This works really well for me, and I feel like I am really providing my family with healthy, wholesome, quality food, yet I am still sticking to my budget of $90 per week. Cool, huh.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Some Summer Pics...





These are from a week or so ago with the kids out on the "ski bob" being pulled by the boat. And also a couple of pics from Kent's birthday hiking adventure. Kent and the kids ARE at the top of the rocks- squint real hard, they're there.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Another dance recital-






Aw, so cute. Anybody notice Kent's shirt?