Looking for a delicious and easy pumpkin recipe that you can whip up in no time at all? Try these pumpkin pancakes. They have just the right hint of pumpkin and spices without it being too much!
We love pumpkin pancakes!
We made these pancakes as Breakfast for Dinner… and we also enjoy them for snack and for breakfast!
You can slather them with butter and syrup or just eat them warmed with a little butter.
Oh and I tried freezing them and they freeze really well!
Ingredients for Pumpkin Pancakes
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 egg
- 2 Tablespoons oil
- 2 Tablespoons vinegar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
How to Make Pumpkin Pancakes
1. In a large bowl, mix milk, pumpkin, egg, oil, and vinegar.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the rest of the dry ingredients into a separate bowl.
3. Stir dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture just until combined.
4. Cook on a lightly oiled or buttered griddle.
5. Serve warm with butter and real maple syrup!
More Pumpkin Recipes:
- Whole-Wheat Pumpkin Waffles
- Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal
- Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte
- Pumpkin Crescent Rolls
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Freezer-Friendly Pumpkin Bars
- Freezer-Friendly White Chocolate Pumpkin Bread
- Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins
Pumpkin Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 egg
- 2 Tablespoons oil
- 2 Tablespoons vinegar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix milk, pumpkin, egg, oil, and vinegar.
- In a separate bowl, combine the rest of the dry ingredients into a separate bowl.
- Stir dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture just until combined.
- Cook on a lightly oiled or buttered griddle.
- Serve warm with butter and real maple syrup!
Notes
Nutrition
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How to Take Photos This Holiday You Will Treasure (free online class!)
How to Take Photos This Holiday You Will Treasure (free online class!)
Do you dream of photographing the holidays without living behind your camera? Do you wish you could have amazing holiday photos of your kids but you feel like you just aren’t good at taking photos?
If so, keep reading, I’ve got the solution for you.
It can feel like we have to pick up our camera and capture every single moment during these memorable times of year.
Yes, you want to photograph this time but it is more important to be present during this time. And you don’t want to enjoy the holidays by living behind your camera.
Don’t let the stress of the holidays keep you from slowing down, being intentional, and photographing precious memories. I’ve got some help for you — and it’s FREE!
I’ve teamed up with Courtney of Click it Up a Notch for a free online class called How to Take Photos of the Holidays You Will Treasure.
Courtney is the force behind Click it Up a Notch which was named by the Huffington Post as one of the Top 5 Blogs for Momtographers. She helps over 40,000 photographers each week learn how to capture their life, beautifully.
She and I teamed up for another online class in January and you all loved it so much that she asked me if she could teach another class for my readers. I learned so much at her first class that I was thrilled to say yes! I think you are going to love what she shares!
So, join us on Tuesday, October 30th, 2018, at 2 p.m. CT/3 p.m. EST for this class.
In this class, you’ll learn:
- How to photograph your Christmas morning while enjoying every moment of joy
- How to use your images to tell the story of your holiday traditions
- The one photo to take every holiday season
- How to capture Christmas lights beautifully
Click here to save your seat for the online class: How to Take Photos of the Holidays You Will Treasure
Creative Budgeting Tactics You Can Try Now
I was honored to be interviewed for a piece recently on Marcus.com on creative budgeting. Here’s a snippet:
Crystal Paine and her husband, Jesse, were on a tight budget when they got married. They were committed to living debt free, even though Jesse was in law school. To make sure they never spent beyond their modest means, they began using the “cash envelopes” budgeting system.
Here’s how it works:
At the start of every month, after setting aside funds for rent and utilities, Jesse would withdraw all of their spending money for the month. At home, they would use envelopes to sort the pile of cash into categories: groceries, eating out, gas, gifts and so on. Once an envelope was empty, they resolved to not spend any more on that category for the rest of the month. They also reserved a special envelope of cash for themselves to spend as they wished.
Paine credits the envelope system for not only helping them survive the lean years but also teaching them to communicate and cooperate on a budget.
“Working together to spend the money in those shared envelopes — well, it helped us learn to talk about priorities,” she said.
It may seem counterintuitive, but Paine considers the limits imposed by the envelope system liberating.
“We don’t have to worry, ‘If we spend this money on eating out, are we going to be able to buy groceries next week?’” she said. “Because it’s all divvied up at the beginning of the month.”
Go here to read the rest of the article!
Toddler Mom Hack: How To Make Mini Freezer Meals With No Extra Effort
Toddler Mom Hack: How To Make Mini Freezer Meals With No Extra Effort
Guest post from Keri of Families & Finance:
If your kid are anything like my kids, they eat ALL THE TIME!
It’s no secret that young children eat about every two hours. If you are in the throes of motherhood, you have probably wondered how in the world they can fit all of that food into such tiny bodies. I sure have!
I have also wondered how I can get away from spending all of my time in the kitchen slicing apples, doling out PB&J’s, and cleaning up the inevitable mess. I really didn’t want to pay for ready-made snacks and meals as they aren’t healthy or budget-friendly!
There had to be a way to streamline the process without shelling out more money.
My Solution = Mini Freezer Meals
I’m all about practical shortcuts, so I put my thinking cap on. After a bit of trial and error, I figured out a no-stress way to create toddler sized freezer meals! It’s so simple that you might just cry happy tears.
My “secret” is to use silicone muffin liners.
When silicone muffin liners first came out, they were all the rage, weren’t they? I saw them everywhere! People were making homemade chocolate cups, and using them as lunch box dividers. I thought “Well, I’d better get myself a set of those and see if they are all they’re cracked up to be.” It turns out, they are.
The idea came to me after I saw someone freezing soup in muffin tins. I thought it would be pretty difficult to remove the soup without a liner. Suddenly, I realized that although soup might not be a great thing to put into a silicone liner, other leftovers would work great!
That night, I took the few leftovers from our meal and dumped them into a muffin liner. I stuck it into the freezer in a snack-sized Ziploc bag. The next day, I fed my two-year-old his very first homemade freezer meal. It was a miracle!
Homemade Freezer Meals Save Time, Money, and Energy
I have been doing this ever since and it is a complete lifesaver!
Right before I had my third baby, I made a few dishes to turn into muffin cup meals so that I could feed my boys without having to cook. I can’t imagine what I would have done without them!
However, my favorite thing about this is that it can be done without any extra meal prep. My youngest two would be hard pushed to finish two muffin cups each. This doesn’t add up to much food at all!
Whenever we have a little bit of a recipe left after dinner, it goes right into the freezer. If I’m running low on mini freezer meals, I usually steal a couple of muffin liners before everyone eats. Nobody is the wiser, and it saves me a lot of work.
This has relieved me from dishes and cooking so many times!
Homemade Freezer Meal Tips
Make sure to label the snack bags. It won’t take long before you have a variety of meals to choose from. If your toddler is anything like mine, he will want a say in what he eats for lunch, and everything starts looking the same pretty quickly.
When you are ready to feed your kids, just pop a muffin cup into a dish and heat it up in the microwave. The muffin cups take about thirty seconds each to defrost. Then, stir them up and they are the perfect temperature for little ones. If your kiddo is a bit older, zap it for another fifteen seconds or so.
Make Your Own Mini Muffin Meals
This idea is incredibly simple and it can be applied to almost any leftovers. I have frozen mac and cheese, casserole, and breakfast bowls to name a few. The sky is the limit!
It’s amazing how much of a difference this one simple trick has made in our lives. Give this mom-hack a shot if you are looking to save money, time, and energy while feeding your kids!
Keri is a mother of three, Financial Planner, and founder of the blog, Families & Finance. She helps struggling stay-at-home-moms relieve the stress of money through frugal living, personal finance, and entrepreneurship so that they can find fulfillment in their everyday lives.
Gretchen’s $69 Grocery Shopping Trip and Weekly Menu Plan
Aldi
After a week of wedding festivities here in town, our refrigerator and cabinets were pretty bare! So I stocked up on lots of stuff this week!
1 pkg Fruit & Grain Bars – $1.49
1 pkg Raspberries – $1.49
1 pkg Celery – $1.19
1 bag Apples – $1.79
2 pints Grape Tomatoes – $0.99 each
1 loaf Bread – $1.49
1 gallon Milk – $1.88
1 bag Frozen Blueberries – $2.24
2 bags Frozen Broccoli – $1.19 each
2 bags Frozen Peas – $0.79 each
1 pkg Cheese – $1.99
2 Cucumbers – $0.89 each
1 bag Frozen Corn – $0.79
1 lb Butter – $2.55
1 can Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies – $0.49
2 dozen Eggs – $0.58 each
1 Crisp Rice Cereal – $1.49
1 Frosted Flakes Cereal – $1.39
1 box Organic Mac & Cheese – $1.15
1 bag Kettle Chips – $1.39
1 can Pumpkin – $0.79
1 lb Oven Roasted Turkey Breast – $3.99
1 bag Tortilla Chips – $1.49
2 pkg Flour Tortillas – $0.99 each
1 bag Frozen Chicken Breasts – $5.99
1 pkg Applesauce Cups – $1.49
1 Unsweetened Applesauce – $1.89
Earned 25 Fetch Reward Points (like $0.25)
Total: $49.31
Dillons
I have been looking for markdowns at Dillons in the early morning after school drop off and haven’t been finding much, but yesterday I ran into Dillons in the afternoon and hit the jackpot on markdowns!! I was SO excited – especially with all the baby food finds as my 6 month old has just started eating solids! I think my Dillons must mark things down later in the day so I am going to start popping in there in the afternoons from now on.
2 Chobani Flip Yogurts – Marked down to $0.59 each
1 Frosted Cheerios Cereal – Marked down to $1.39, used $0.25/1 Ibotta rebate – $1.14 after rebate
2 boxes Simple Truth Fruit/Veggie Pouches – $2.79 each, used $0.25/1 Ibotta rebate
2.20 lbs Bananas – $1.08
1 bag Jet Puffed Marshmallows – $1.25, used $1/1 e-coupon – $0.25 after coupon
1 Psst Crackers – Marked down to $0.49
1 Green Leaf Lettuce – $1.29
2 boxes Kroger Tube Yogurt – Marked down to $0.89 each
2 boxes Zone Perfect Kidz Bars – $2.99 each, used $2.50/2 printable AND $0.25/1 Ibotta rebate – $1.61 each after coupon (I don’t normally like to pay over $1.50 for a box of granola bars but these are my son’s favorite and it’s a special treat whenever I buy them for him. They are usually super expensive so I couldn’t pass up this deal!)
6 Kroger Yogurts – Marked down to $0.19 each
1 Comforts Strawberry Baby Puffs – Marked down to $0.59
3 Simple Truth Organic Baby Puffs – Marked down to $0.99 each
Used $0.10 Ibotta rebate for receipt
Earned 182 Fetch Reward Point (like $1.82)
Total after coupons and rebates: $20.36
Not pictured: My Mom also brought a bunch of leftover wedding food to my house yesterday including milk, oranges, cucumbers, crackers, chips, cheese, salsa, ice cream and eggs!
Total for both stores: $69.77
Menu Plan for This Week
Breakfasts
Eggs, Cereal, Yogurt, Pumpkin Muffins
Lunches
Turkey Sandwiches, Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches, Turkey/Cheese/Crackers, Cheese Quesadillas, Mac & Cheese, Fruit/Veggies, Chips, Hard Boiled Eggs, Tossed Salad
Dinners
Spaghetti, Steamed Broccoli, Toast
Southwest Rollups (from the freezer), Chips & Dip, Steamed Peas, Orange Slices
Homemade Cheese Pizza, Breadsticks, Tossed Salad
Pancakes, Eggs, Homemade Applesauce
Taco Bar, Steamed Corn
Grilled Chicken, Biscuits, Steamed Broccoli
Leftovers
Shame, the power of story, and a real look at the writing life (with Katie Ganshert)
Shame, the power of story, and a real look at the writing life (with Katie Ganshert)
So, apparently you all are very curious about our courtship rules and our first kiss — because we had almost TWICE as many downloads of last week’s episode than we’ve had of any other episode! Wow!
Thank you for the many emails and comments and messages on Instagram. It was fun to read how some of you had never, ever heard of the concept of courtship and some of you had actually had very similar upbringings.
(By the way, I posted a picture on Instagram of Jesse and me at 20 and 21 that might make you smile!)
Today’s show is very different from last week’s but I think you’re going to love it and find it insightful and helpful. We’ll be talking about a perspective shift I had recently, my favorite money-saving website to get Kroger deals, and I’m going to confess a secret about books I don’t think I’ve ever shared publicly before.
Plus, I’m interviewing Katie Ganshert — the author of some of my favorite fiction books (and I’m taking a risk and tackling a hot button topic with her!) and then I’ll close out the show by answering a question on how I balance my life and still find time to relax (and why I’ve decided I can only do two things well per day).
Powered by RedCircle
In This Episode:
[01:07] – I woke up pretty overwhelmed by my day… until I read this quote on Instagram and it immediately snapped me out of that stressful space.
[03:06] – Want to save money at Kroger? I give you the scoop on my very favorite website that you must be following for all the best Kroger deals (and the deals work at Kroger affiliate stores, too!)
[06:05] – This week’s book pick elicit’s a book confession that I don’t think I’ve ever shared publicly before. I hope we can still be friends after you find this out!
[09:31] – Today’s guest is Katie Ganshert — author of some of my favorite Christian fiction books. I love how she writes with such rawness and realness and you’ll love her answer to my question on what inspires her to be so vulnerable in her writing.
[11:41] – Katie talks about how she stays inspired as a writer, tips for those who want to be a writer, and why she decided to take an entire year off from any book writing.
[17:24] – I ask Katie a hot-button question about her book No One Ever Asked. We talk about race, how I can make a difference as a white woman, and how to approach this topic with grace and without ostracizing others.
[24:56] – I close out the show with a question that was submitted on the topic of balance. I talk about my six areas of priority and how I implement the strategy of only doing two things well per day.
Links and Resources:
- “I get to” quote on Instagram
- KrogerKrazy.com
- I’d Rather Be Reading by Anne Bogel
- Katie Ganshert
- A Broken Kind of Beautiful by Katie Ganshert
- Life After by Katie Ganshert
- No One Ever Asked by Katie Ganshert
- The Art of Losing Yourself by Katie Ganshert
- Lisa-Jo Baker
- 15 Can’t-Miss Books You Should Have on Your Summer Reading List
- The Witness podcast by Tyler Burns, Beau York, and Jemar Tisby
- I’m Still Here by Austin Channing Brown
- Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria by Beverly Daniel Tatum
- Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
- The Opposite of Hate by Sally Kohn
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
- The Gifting series by K.E. Ganshert
- CrystalPaine.com
- MoneySavingMom.com
- YourBloggingMentor.com
- My Instagram account (I’d love for you to follow me there! I usually hop on at least a few times per day and share behind-the-scenes photos and videos, my grocery store hauls, funny stories, or just anything I’m pondering or would like your advice or feedback on!)
- Have feedback on the show or suggestions for future episodes or topics? Send me an email: [email protected]
How to Listen to The Crystal Paine Show
The podcast is available on iTunes, Android, Stitcher, and Spotify. You can listen online through the direct player we’ll include in the show notes of each episode. OR, a much easier way to listen is by subscribing to the podcast through a free podcast app on your phone. (Find instructions for how to subscribe to a podcast here.)
Ready to dive in and listen? Hit the player above or search for “The Crystal Paine Show” on your favorite podcast app.
Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission — at no additional cost to you. Thank you so much for your support!
The one book I read this past week
Welcome to my weekly Book-ish post where I share what I’ve been reading and watching recently. If you missed it, you can see my Reading Goals for 2018 and 44 Books I Plan to Read This Year.
(Note: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, and we will be compensated when you make a purchase by clicking through our links. Read our disclosure policy here.)
Emily P. Freeman — host of one of my favorite podcasts, The Next Right Thing, has a book coming out in April titled (you guessed it!) The Next Right Thing.
I got to read a pre-release copy of her book on my flight to Wichita and back this weekend and I really enjoyed it and underlined many different quotes. If you are a listener of her podcast there is a lot of overlap between the content, but it was so wonderful to read it in book form and to be reminded of so many of the valuable words of truth in it.
The Next Right Thing is a book you can go back to again and again and each time it will hit you in a new and fresh way. Each short chapter is heartfelt, thoughtful, powerful, and impactful… and leaves you with intentional but simple action steps to take and insightful questions to help you gain more clarity for right now and for your future.
If you struggle to make decisions, you’re in the midst of a big life change, you’d just love some quiet guidance to be more intentional with your days, or you love Emily’s writing and podcast, this book is for you!
When I Find Time to Read
People are always asking me how I find time to read. Honestly, it’s because I love to read, because I’ve chosen to prioritize it, because I don’t have a lot of other hobbies, and because I can’t not read. Also, when you love something, you usually can find ways to get creative to find time to fit it in — even if it’s in the little nooks and crannies of life.
I wrote a post on 3 ways to find more time to read — even when life is busy. And here are 7 more ways to find time to read.
What did you read this past week? Any books you really think I need to read or watch?
A Kansas wedding, a bachelorette party, salads, and coffee shops
A Kansas wedding, a bachelorette party, salads, and coffee shops
Welcome to my weekly post I share a peek into our lives, talk about things I’m loving, share links to interesting articles or helpful ideas I’ve collected throughout the past week, and just talk about whatever is on my heart! ?
This post contains affiliate links and we may be compensated when you make a purchase by clicking through our links. Read our disclosure policy here.
I flew to Kansas on Wednesday for my sister’s wedding. (I read a pre-release copy of The Next Right Thing on the plane!)
All of my siblings were in the wedding and we had fun plans for Thursday and Friday that I didn’t want to miss out on! (Jesse stayed back with the kids so they wouldn’t miss school and then they flew out on Friday evening.)
My sister, Gretchen, and our good friend, Susanna, had planned a fun bachelorette party for all the bridesmaids. We started out by getting pedicures and then did a Photo Scavenger Hunt.
(If you couldn’t tell, we were all supposed to wear PJ pants and some sort of pigtails!)
This photo made us laugh so hard. It was supposed to be all of us standing in the street. I thought they were all standing and posing for multiple shots… but apparently I was the only one doing so! Whoops!
Olivia had to pull out a photo idea from a basket and then we’d have to figure out how we were going to make it happen. This one was, “Hug a Teddy Bear” — which we went into a Hallmark store and they graciously let us do! 🙂
(I still had on my pedicure paper thin flip flops because I had forgotten to bring flip flops and didn’t want to put on my regular shoes until I was sure that my toenails were completely dried!)
Susanna and Gretchen made this amazing salad dinner with all of Olivia’s favorite salad toppings. It was cold at the park where we ate, but Susanna had brought blankets for all of us (she’s one of those amazing people that basically always is thinking and planning ten steps ahead!)
After more funny pictures (including one of us all trying to balance on a teeter-totter at the park!), we went back to Gretchen’s house for a yogurt bar and mud mask facials and gifts.
On Friday, we all went to the church to help out with wedding prep. Some of my sister’s friends were there doing an incredible job, so we mostly just hung out and helped as we could.
The church where the wedding was at was in Hesston, KS — where my youngest brother goes to college. So he and I decided to take a break from wedding festivities and he took me around to show me two of the local coffee shops.
The first one was called Lincoln Perk and it was super cute! I got a Kansas Sunset Chai that I had them made like a London Fog (with syrup and steamed milk). It was SO good!
The next place we went to was the Hesston Bakery — it only recently opened and is in an assisted living facility. It was such a great place to hang out and the staff was so nice!
My brother bought me this maple twist which was only $1.50 and was SOOO yummy!
We headed back to the church for the rehearsal. Since there are 7 kids in our family + 13 grandkids and everyone played a part, there were a lot of moving parts and we had to rehearse some sections multiple times — especially the timing of the processional.
The kids patiently waited during the rehearsal!
The next morning, we had to leave around 6:30 a.m. to be at the church in time for all of the things that needed to happen to get ready in time for pictures. There ended up being quite a few hiccups, but it all came together and everyone was ready in time for pictures and the wedding!
My whole family (yes, I’m the shortest!)
The girls with Mom.
All my siblings!
They’re married! Welcome to the family, Michael!
(I’m bummed that I didn’t end up getting almost any pictures of the bride and groom. They didn’t see each other before the wedding and then after the wedding, it was kind of crazy and I didn’t have my phone with me any of the times I could have gotten a good shot. Oh well — at least they had lots of professional shots taken and at least I did get a few like this one!)
2018 Goals Update
Personal Goals
1. Read 100 non-self-help books that will build me up/encourage me/inspire me/recharge me. (Fiction/story driven/biographies /inspirational living books/devotionals.) See the list of 44 books I plan to read this year.
**Progress: 66 books read so far this year
2. Read through the entire Bible.
**Progress: I’m using the Robert Murray M’Cheyne plan and am all caught up— yay!
3. Write one handwritten note to someone every week.
**Progress: 39 notes written so far this year
4. Run 500 miles.
**Progress: 393 miles run so far
Marriage Goal
5. Go on an overnight trip with Jesse without the kids.Jesse and I went to NYC together in January.Family Goals
6. Read 10 books aloud with the kids.
**Progress: We’ve finished three books so far.
7. Take the kids to South Africa.We took this trip in July. What a memorable experience!
8. Go on a family road trip.While we didn’t get to go on as long of a road trip as we wanted to, we made the most of our Fall Break Road Trip to LA, MS, and AL (and checked off a few more states from our States We Haven’t Visited Yet list!)Financial Goals
9. Save up to pay cash to finish off an office for me and workout room for Jesse and me in the basement in our new house.
**Progress: The workout room is DONE and the office is almost done!
10. Replenish our Emergency Fund (we dipped into it to replace my car when it got totaled because of the carpet beetle infestation.)
**Progress: We’re halfway to having this fully funded. We are hoping to finish this out before the end of the year — we’ll see!
Business Goals
11. Increase our gross income from the business by 8%.
12. Launch 5 new courses.**Progress: We launched 4 Weeks to a More Productive Life launched in January, Content Creation 101 in February, 4-Week Blog Coaching Program in March, Email List Setup 101 in March, Make Over Your Mornings LIVE in April, the Facebook Live Masterclass in May, and we launched Build Your List 101 in June!
What We Spent On Groceries (and what we ate)
I’m currently challenging myself to stick with a $70 grocery budget for our family of five. This includes almost all of our breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and dinners + most household products (toiletries, laundry soap, etc.).
For live updates, be sure to follow my Instagram Stories. See all posts on my $70 Grocery Budget here.
Note: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links and we will be compensated if you click through and sign up. Read our disclosure policy here.
Thanks for your patience with me as I was mostly offline Friday and Saturday for my sister’s wedding (see a picture from the wedding here). I had planned to get this up on Friday and then was busy with family stuff and wedding stuff and it didn’t happen. And then I was gone from 6:30 a.m. until 10:30 p.m. on the day of the wedding and only cracked my computer open for a few minutes!
But here I am with our grocery update — even if it’s two days late! 🙂
This was another weird grocery week again because we got home from our road trip on Sunday night and then I left on Wednesday for my sister’s wedding in Kansas and then Jesse and the kids flew down late Friday night (after school was out) to meet me in Kansas for the wedding on Saturday.
So once again, I didn’t do much grocery shopping and we mostly ate from the freezer and pantry when we were home. But I did pick up a few markdowns from Kroger.
We’ll be home for the next two weeks, so I’ll likely be doing quite a bit of stocking up while we’re home so that our pantry and freezer is filled back up again now that we’ve sort of eaten it down because of not doing much shopping the past few weeks.
Here’s what I bought:
Kroger Shopping Trip
- Kroger water — $0.89
- Gallon of milk — $2.59
- 6 bottles of Turkey Hill Tea — marked down to $0.39 each
- Yoplait Oui Petites — marked down to $0.99 each
- 1 loaf of bread — marked down to $1.49 each
- 2 bags of potatoes/sweet potatoes — marked down to $0.99 each
- Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice — free with Free Friday coupon
- Bumblebee Tuna — free with Free Friday coupon
- Simple Truth Eggs — priced at just $0.50 per dozen!! (This was only at one Kroger store — they must have been overstocked. I went to another Kroger store and they were $2.79.)
- 3 family-size packages of Oscar Mayer deli meat — marked down to $2.99 each
- Total with tax: $19.37
By the way, yes I’m that woman who brings pretty much most all of my own food when I fly. Not only does it save a lot of money… it also means that I eat healthier!
What I Spent This Week
Total spent: $19.37
Cashback Earned This Week: 75 points from Fetch Rewards for scanning my receipts
Note: When you see the meals below, please remember this: I buy ahead often. Which means that when I find a great deal on something I know we’ll use, I buy as much as I can afford in our budget to have on hand.
This means that you aren’t going to see all of the groceries my shopping trip that I used to make all of the meals we ate. And it also means we didn’t use all of these groceries up this week — because some of them will be saved for later weeks!
Please also remember that I’m putting this out there and it’s not a perfectly balanced menu. This is just really what we ate — and I hope that it encourages you to see the real-ness and lack of perfection here. ?
What We Ate This Week
Breakfasts:
- Cereal, Oatmeal, Scrambled Eggs, free breakfast at the hotel (Everyone is on their own for breakfast!)
Lunches:
- Hard Boiled Eggs, Best Bran Muffins, Avocados, Salad, Grapefruit, Cottage Cheese, Apples, Pumpkin Pancakes, lunch with my family for the wedding (Jesse & Me)
- Turkey Sandwiches, Fruit, Veggies, Yogurt, Cookies, Capri Sun (For the kids — They are in charge of their own lunches.)
Snacks:
- Best Bran Muffins, Yogurt, Cottage Cheese, Fruit/Veggies, Cookies, Hard Boiled Eggs, Turmeric Milk
Dinners:
- Saturday: Dinner Out on our road trip (we used extra grocery money that we hadn’t spent for this)
- Sunday: Leftovers/Fend For Yourself
- Monday: Sausage/Peppers/Onions in the Crockpot, brown rice
- Tuesday: Lasagna Casserole (from the freezer) Salad
- Wednesday: Meatballs from the freezer, mashed potatoes
- Thursday: French toast
- Friday: Dinner Out (Jesse and the kids were flying out to Wichita for my sister’s wedding; I ate dinner with my family at the rehearsal dinner.
10 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Freeze
Make some room in your freezer because after you read this list of 10 things you didn’t know you could freeze, your life—or at least your refrigerator and your grocery budget—is about to change for the better!
I’ve been freezer cooking for years and I’ve experimented with freezing just about anything I can. Some were major fails, but I’ve discovered that you can actually freeze a wider variety of items than you probably realize!
I decided to put together this list of 10 out-of-the-ordinary things you can freeze. I’ve tried all of these and they have all worked for me! Just follow the links below to find the freezer tutorial for each item.
Here’s my list of 10 things you probably didn’t know you could freeze…
1. Cottage Cheese
Frozen cottage cheese doesn’t taste great plain once it is thawed, due to it being a little watery. But I love freezing cottage cheese to use later in my smoothies. It works perfectly!
I usually like to divide the containers into smaller bags so I can just thaw out a little bit at a time as needed. This also allows me to freeze them flat in plastic bags to save space in my freezer!
2. Taco Meat
Taco meat is one of my favorite things to make during a freezer cooking session. You can whip up a huge batch of taco meat at one time, and it’s SO versatile!
Taco meat can be used in all kinds of different recipes and it thaws really quickly, so it makes for a great last-minute dinner idea if you forgot to pull something out from the freezer earlier in the day.
Go here to see how I like to freeze taco meat, some of the frugal ways I stretch it to feed more people, and some of our family’s favorite recipes!
3. Milk
I’m often able to find organic milk on clearance that’s close to the expiration date. We use what we can until the expiration date and then I freeze the rest. By buying it on clearance, we’re able to buy higher quality milk without spending a fortune to do so.
While I don’t recommended using frozen and then thawed milk for drinking (due to the changes in consistency and flavor), I do freeze milk frequently for all kinds of other uses! For example, it works beautifully in pancakes, waffles, french toast, or other baked goods.
I’ve never had a problem freezing it in a cardboard container. It will expand some when it freezes, so you might want to drink or use a half cup or so before freezing. But otherwise, just stick the milk in the freezer in the paper carton!
When you’re ready to use it, you can thaw it in the refrigerator overnight. Or, you can stick the carton in a sink full of cold water for 15 or 20 minutes.
4. Waffles
While I know that some people like pancakes and waffles fresh, I’ve found it’s so much more convenient to make a big batch of waffles and then freeze them for breakfasts later in the month!
This is one way we make sure we have filling, healthy breakfasts on busy mornings. We love trying different varieties and mix-ins, such as Carrot Cake Waffles, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Waffles, Gluten-Free Waffles, or even Red, White, & Blue Waffles!
5. Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches
I first happened upon the idea of freezing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches when Jesse was in law school and we were eating a LOT of PB&J.
While it doesn’t really take that long to make PB&J, it can still help speed things up a bit when your time is really crunched in the morning. Plus, it’s nice to have sandwiches at the ready if you end up needing to go somewhere unexpectedly and no one has eaten any lunch yet.
6. Pizza, Cookie, and Biscuit Dough
Our family loves homemade breads, and one of the easiest ways to speed up the process of bread-making is to make the dough when you have time and freeze it to bake later!
There are all kinds of different doughs I’ve experimented with freezing, but these 3 recipes are my favorite: Pizza Dough, Cookie Dough, and Biscuit Dough.
This pizza dough recipe has been my go-to recipe for years. Keep it on hand and pizza night will be a breeze.
Even if you’re not a fan of most freezer meals, I encourage you to try making cookie dough and freeze it! I can almost guarantee you won’t be able to tell a difference between frozen cookie dough and fresh cookie dough.
It makes it so easy to make a batch of fresh-baked cookies when you have drop-in guests or need to bring a dessert or snack to some event at the last minute. It’s also very handy for those times when you get a late-night craving for chocolate! 😉
These chocolate chip cookies are SO good and the dough freezes beautifully!
This biscuit recipe is quick, easy, inexpensive, and so practical! Say goodbye forever to canned biscuits with this winner recipe — especially when you freeze the dough ahead of time to make it even easier.
7. Fresh Herbs
This a super simple way to preserve fresh herbs so that they don’t go to waste before you have a chance to use them! Frozen herbs work especially well in sauces, stews, and soups.
8. Avocados
I decided to try freezing avocados when I found clearance bags of avocados for just $0.99 at Kroger. I couldn’t pass up that price, so I bought 6 bags and was determined to not let them go to waste once I got them home!
It was a little hesitant to try freezing avocados… and I honestly didn’t love how they turned out when I thawed them. However, I have heard from many readers who have had great success with freezing avocados. I froze mine with salsa and lime juice since that’s the way I love to eat my avocado. You could experiment with all kinds of different seasonings and flavoring, though. (And if you’ve found a great trick for freezing avocados, let us know!)
9. Onions
I really do not enjoy chopping up onions (does anyone?), but I do love how they taste in recipes, so I often chop them in bulk and freeze them for later use. It’s such a time-saver!
10. Cooked Beans
Dried beans are much more economical than canned beans. Unfortunately, since they need to be soaked and softened, they can be inconvenient to prepare them on the same night you want to use them in a recipe.
Freezing them ahead of time is a huge time-saver — especially if you freeze a bunch of different types in bulk at one time!
Looking for more ideas?
Be sure to check out this post for a list of 15 more surprising things you can freeze!
Enjoy experimenting with some of these freezer-friendly foods on this list, and you’re sure to see a reduction in food waste and an increase in the amount of money you save!
What crazy food items do you like to freeze? I’d love to hear your tips in the comments below!
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Courtship Rules + Our First Kiss (a really vulnerable podcast episode)
Courtship Rules + Our First Kiss (a really vulnerable podcast episode)
I loved your responses to last week’s podcast episode on hospitality! You all inspired me by how you shared various ways you are committing open up your home.
And some of you even told me you were going to get brave and join me in my commitment to open our home up every week! That just made me so happy… and so inspired to continue on opening up our doors.
(That’s us during our courtship, in case you couldn’t figure it out! Jesse with his too big jeans on because he was so skinny that they didn’t really make jeans small enough for his waist and me with my home-sewn jumper and thrift store Birkenstocks and too small sunglasses that looked like goggles. Also, were we supposed to be posing or walking in this picture? I’m not sure! ;))
Speaking of getting brave, I’ll be honest and tell you that this week’s episode is a little vulnerable for me to put out to the world. In fact, after we recorded it, I had to set aside my fears and insecurities of what you might think when you listen to this.
Like I told you in Episode 1, our love story is unconventional… and today’s episode where Jesse and I share more of our story certainly proves that! (And it’s okay if you think it all sounds weird or crazy after you listen!)
But I hope it gives you more of a peek into our history and background… and might help you get to know us a little bit better!
Powered by RedCircle
In This Episode:
[01:02] – Want to know a secret? I was really scared of having older kids, especially teenagers. It hasn’t been at all how I expected!
[03:56] – I’ve fallen in love with the Libby app — and I’m not even much of an app person! I tell you why I love it so much and how I use it (including my tip for listening to books a little faster!)
[07:32] – Chasing Excellence by Ben Bergeron is a book I can’t stop talking about. Even if you don’t care a thing about CrossFit, you should read this book!
[10:12] – In the first episode of my podcast, my husband, Jesse, joined me as my guest. He’s back today to share the story of our unconventional courtship and engagement!
[14:41] – Jesse and I discuss the rules our parents set for our courtship, the pros and cons of a long distance relationship, and how we wished we could have gotten married sooner.
[22:41] – We talk about how weird it was to not have a parent chaperone with us at all times after we got married.
[24:45] – Our first kiss was on our wedding day… but technically not really at our wedding ceremony. You’ll have to listen in to hear the whole story!
[25:52] – I usually answer a question at the end of the podcast by myself, but today, I have Jesse help me answer a question about how we make our marriage a priority with our kids and businesses.
Links and Resources Mentioned in the Podcast:
- Libby (app) — Read: How I Listen to Audiobooks for Free
- Chasing Excellence by Ben Bergeron
- CrossFit Games
- The Crystal Paine Show Episode 1
- CrystalPaine.com
- MoneySavingMom.com
- My Instagram account (I’d love for you to follow me there! I usually hop on at least a few times per day and share behind-the-scenes photos and videos, my grocery store hauls, funny stories, or just anything I’m pondering or would like your advice or feedback on!)
- Have feedback on the show or suggestions for future episodes or topics? Send me an email: [email protected]
How to Listen to The Crystal Paine Show
The podcast is available on iTunes, Android, Stitcher, and Spotify. You can listen online through the direct player we’ll include in the show notes of each episode. OR, a much easier way to listen is by subscribing to the podcast through a free podcast app on your phone. (Find instructions for how to subscribe to a podcast here.)
Ready to dive in and listen? Hit the player above or search for “The Crystal Paine Show” on your favorite podcast app.
Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission — at no additional cost to you. Thank you so much for your support!
My Honest Thoughts on Hillbilly Elegy
Welcome to my weekly Book-ish post where I share what I’ve been reading and watching recently. If you missed it, you can see my Reading Goals for 2018 and 44 Books I Plan to Read This Year.
(Note: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, and we will be compensated when you make a purchase by clicking through our links. Read our disclosure policy here.)
I’ve seen Hillbilly Elegy mentioned over and over again by various different people online and in podcasts. I didn’t plan to read it because the premise didn’t really interest me that much.
But then I saw that it happened to be available on the Libby app, so I went ahead and put a hold on it just because so many people had recommended it.
I started listening to it and almost didn’t continue because there was so much language in it (seriously! Do not listen to this with kids around — there are a LOT of curse words!)
Here’s the part of the premise of the book from the back cover:
From a former marine and Yale Law School graduate, a probing look at the struggles of America’s white working class through the author’s own story of growing up in a poor Rust Belt town.
Hillbilly Elegy is a passionate and personal analysis of a culture in crisis—that of poor, white Americans. The disintegration of this group, a process that has been slowly occurring now for over forty years, has been reported with growing frequency and alarm, but has never before been written about as searingly from the inside. In Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. Vance tells the true story of what a social, regional, and class decline feels like when you were born with it hanging around your neck.
I thought the book was surprising, pretty fair and balanced (I expected the author to lean strongly to one side of the political aisle or the other — and that the book would be more politically charged as a result), and a very insightful look into how our upbringing can affect our life trajectory in such a powerful way.
While I wish there weren’t so much crass language and cussing in the book (though I think it’s likely just the author being truthful and honest to how his family actually talked), I think the book is worth reading — if you can stomach all of the f-bombs in it.
I would be curious to hear from other people who were raised in this same region and social class — to know their perspective on the things he shares. It’s the type of book I’d love to read with a Book Club because I found it caused me to have so many thought and questions and things I wanted to discuss with others who had read it.
Have you read it? If so, I’d love to hear what you thought — whether you liked it or totally disliked it.
When I Find Time to Read
People are always asking me how I find time to read. Honestly, it’s because I love to read, because I’ve chosen to prioritize it, because I don’t have a lot of other hobbies, and because I can’t not read. Also, when you love something, you usually can find ways to get creative to find time to fit it in — even if it’s in the little nooks and crannies of life.
I wrote a post on 3 ways to find more time to read — even when life is busy. And here are 7 more ways to find time to read.
What did you read and watch this past week? Any books or movies or shows you really think I need to read or watch?
Bloggers: I want to critique your blog for you!
Today is the last day to get The Genius Blogger’s Toolkit — an amazing bundle of 77 different high-value blogging resources.
To sweeten this incredible deal even further, I’m offering something I’ve never offered before to every single person who purchases: I will personally critique your blog or website! {More details on that offer at the end of this post!}
Is This Really Worth the Money?
I’ve gotten a number of questions from you about the Toolkit and some of you have asked me whether it’s worth the investment. I love that you are thinking critically and carefully about how you spend your money.
First off, let’s talk about what you get for the price: This Toolkit is a collection of 15 eBooks, 41 eCourses & videos, 9 printables & workbooks, 10 templates & stock photo packages and 2 membership sites — over $5,800 worth of products for just $97.
When you purchase, you’ll get resources with step-by-step instructions to get started, how to grow your email list, the best ways to monetize your blog, and so much more. It’s basically a comprehensive collection of products from some of the most respected voices in the blogging space on all things blogging.
I’m Overwhelmed! Help!
I know that there is a LOT of information in this Toolkit — and it can make you feel like it’s just too much!
Before you start feeling all overwhelmed by the time it might take to try to complete all the courses or read through all the ebooks, STOP! Instead, I want you go through the list of products and choose at least 3-4 eBooks or eCourses that will give you huge benefits right where you are.
Common sense wisdom might tell you that you should go through every single product in a bundle like this. But here’s the thing: I want you to focus more on doing and implementing rather than on just reading about what to do or collecting more information.
So, I want you to just focus on those eCourses or eBooks and decide that are the top priorities for you to dive into right now. You can always go through other courses down the road (you have a YEAR to sign up for them/download them), but start with those that are going to make the most immediate impact in your life and business.
Where Do I Start?
If you need some suggestions on which courses you should focus on, here are some lists of resources I put together that might be pertinent to your individual situation and needs (obviously, these are just suggestions! Feel free to make your own list based upon what resources in the Toolkit jump out to you!):
I want to succeed as a beginner…
If you’re just getting started blogging, consider prioritizing going through:
- Business Plan Perfection Workshop: Complete Your Business Plan in 7 Easy Steps by Lesley Clavijo ($67)
- Plan Your Perfect Website: Expert Advice for Online Success by Carrie Green ($67)
- Blogging Business Club: Online Membership & Community for Ambitious Female Bloggers (6 months) by Allison Lindstrom ($150)
- The Blogging Blueprint: Strategies for growing a successful blog and making money blogging by Tiffany Griffin ($149.00)
I want to increase my traffic…
If you’ve been blogging for awhile and want to increase your traffic, you might prioritize going through:
- SEO Site Audit by bloggersSEO ($37)
- Tailwind: Pinterest Scheduler and Marketing Tool by Anastasia Gutnikova ($37)
- Hashtag PRO: Secret Super Power to attract the RIGHT Customers Right Now by Jennifer Priest ($149)
- Streamline Your Social: How to Make the Most of Your Time on Social Media by Tonia Kendrick ($97)
I want to make more money…
If you want to figure out how to make more money from blogging, you might prioritize going through:
- Holiday Blogger Bootcamp: Maximize Your Earnings for Every Holiday & All Year by Caroline Vencil ($47) — Caroline is such a fantastic teacher and I’ve learned much from her!
- How To Work With Brands (& Make Money) by Jessica Festa ($249)
- Affiliate Marketing For Bloggers: Everything You’re Missing by Carly Campbell ($79)
- The Profitable Genius + Facebook Ads for Email List Growth by Aja McClanahan ($199) — I’ve been going through this one and it’s really comprehensive!
I want to manage my time better…
Perhaps you need help with managing your time as a blogger, so you might prioritize going through:
- Business Brilliance Bootcamp: 30 Days To Simplify & Streamline Your Business by Haylee Galloway ($197)
- The Blogging Binder: Printables to Organize Your Life and Business by Abby Lawson ($27) — I LOVE Abby’s printables!
- Proven Workflow Hacks for Busy Entrepreneurs: Get More Done in Less Time by Brianna Berner ($97)
- Workflows for Bloggers: The No-Nonsense Guide to Getting More Done on Your Blog by Emily McGee ($19)
This is just a small listing of all the courses available in this Toolkit… there is truly something for just about everyone. I’ve been blogging for over 13 years and I downloaded quite a few different courses from it and am so excited to go through them myself!
Would You Like Me to Critique Your Blog?
Because I want you to succeed as a blogger and because I want you to buy this fantastic Toolkit and actually USE it and benefit from it, I am offering something I’ve never done before: I’m offering you the opportunity to get a completely free blog critique from me personally if you purchase the Toolkit and take action on it.
Yes, that means I’ll go to your blog and personally give you pointers on ways you can improve it, ideas I have for ways you can increase your traffic, and suggestions for how to better monetize it.
Here’s how to qualify for a FREE blog critique from me:
- Click here and purchase The Genius Blogger’s Toolkit, if you haven’t already.
- Look through all of the products in the Toolkit and send me an email ([email protected]) and tell me what 3-4 resources you are going to commit to going through in the next two months.
- Go through the 3-4 resources you committed to go through by December 15, 2018.
- Shoot me an email once you’ve gone through them and send me your blog address and I’ll personally go through your blog and give you a customized critique and feedback specifically for ways you can increase your traffic and income (or I’m happy to give you critique/feedback on specific topic if you’d prefer that!
Time is Running Out!
Today is your last chance to get this fantastic Toolkit for just $97 + get a FREE Blog Critique from me. If you wait to take action until tomorrow, this deal will be over with.
Are you in?
>>Yes, I want to buy the Toolkit and get a FREE personalized blog critique from Crystal.<<
Don’t wait to take action! Remember, this offer is only available through tonight (Monday, October 15, 2018) at midnight.
Read about what this amazing toolkit offers—or just buy it now by clicking below!
P.S. If you have any other questions about The Genius Blogger’s Toolkit that I haven’t answered in this post, just leave a comment or email me and ask me! I’ll do my best to answer it or find out the answer for you. I want you to purchase in full confidence!
Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, we will receive a commission — at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!
An amazing deal on eggs, Oreo Cheesecakes, and a road trip to Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana
An amazing deal on eggs, Oreo Cheesecakes, and a road trip to Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana
Welcome to my weekly post I share a peek into our lives, talk about things I’m loving, share links to interesting articles or helpful ideas I’ve collected throughout the past week, and just talk about whatever is on my heart! ?
This post contains affiliate links and we may be compensated when you make a purchase by clicking through our links. Read our disclosure policy here.
I got the best deal on eggs I think I’ve ever gotten this week. Check out the details here.
Speaking of saving, I was also excited this week because I earned 436 points on Fetch Rewards for my second shopping trip! If you haven’t signed up for Fetch Rewards yet, I highly recommend signing up and scanning your receipts. It’s such an easy-peasy way to earn free gift cards!
(Want more details on Fetch Rewards and how it works? Read this post on How I Earned $5 in Free Gift Cards in 3 Weeks — just for scanning my grocery receipts.)
Since Kaitlynn was off school this week, she had fun doing a number of different crafts and also tried her hand at making Oreo Cheesecakes.
She brought the finished cheesecakes down to me while I was working one day.
They were yummy!
On Tuesday night, Silas had a baseball game and got to play pitcher position most of the game!
We had planned to leave on Tuesday and to go to Florida and New Orleans… but then the hurricane hit and Kathrynne had a lot going on at school and didn’t want to miss any days (her Fall Break was only for Friday through Monday whereas Kaitlynn and Silas got this whole past week off), so we moved the road trip to just be Thursday night through Sunday night.
It wasn’t the week-long trip I had hoped for, but I decided to just be grateful for what we could make happen and to try to make the most of it!
As some of you know, we have a big bucket list goal of traveling to all 50 US states and all 7 continents with our kids by the time Kathrynne turns 18, so we got to cross a few more US States We Haven’t Visited Yet off our list with this trip — yay!
BIRMINGHAM, AL: The Birmingham Civil Rights Museum was sobering… and we have had many good discussions as a result of our time there and at 16th Street Baptist Church. (Note: We thought the museum was over-priced, but I think the $$ goes to the Civil Rights Institute.)
Have any of you been to the Jackson, MS or Memphis, TN Civil Rights Museums and this one? I would love to know how they compare.
The Botanical Gardens were incredible — and we still can’t believe that they are free. We took so many fun pictures together and laughed so hard while trying to get good shots. (We enjoyed our time there so much and would highly recommend it… so much so that I’ll likely do a separate post dedicated to more details on it.)
Saw’s Soul Kitchen was a hopping place (thanks to the follower who recommended it!) and the food was unique and yummy!
WEST MONROE, LA: We finally made it to the Duck Commander headquarters — something Jesse and Silas had been hoping to make happen for a few YEARS.
We did the Duck Commander Tour (we got our tickets on Groupon) and it was interesting to get to hear the backstory to the Robertson family. If you are big fans of the Robertson’s and their TV show, Duck Dynasty, you will likely enjoy this tour.
Personally, I thought it was overpriced, but Jesse really enjoyed it! 🙂
We got to make our own Duck Calls.
And then the kids went outside and tried them out with the little duck pool they have (I’m sure these poor ducks have to endure hearing a LOT of duck calls!)
We also stopped by Miss Kay’s… but were sad to discover that it was too late in the day and had already closed.
The Realities of Traveling as a Family…
While you see lots of smiles in these photos above, I want to be honest and tell you that traveling isn’t always roses and rainbows. Take Saturday morning, for instance: We had driven to Jackson, MS, the night before and had gotten in late only to discover that the fully booked hotel we were supposed to stay in had put us in a smoking room that smelled so pungent we couldn’t even walk into it.
(Silas and I have asthma and can’t be around secondhand smoke, so we spent a long time waiting for them to find a new room for us… Three cheers for the incredibly gracious staff at this hotel!)
We were so grateful to finally crash into bed around midnight. But then, my head cold got a lot worse in the night and I spent much of the night awake and completely miserable.
I didn’t want to get up in the morning because of my pounding head… but I also didn’t want to miss out on this family road trip. So I pulled myself out of bed and went to workout — only to come back to the room to discover that two of the kids had woken up with terrible attitudes.
There was arguing and fighting. There was complaining. (“We don’t want to be on this trip! We just wish we could be HOME!”)
And then traffic was really bad because of Homecoming and we couldn’t find any parking (people were parked on the sidewalk and in the turn lanes on the street!!), so we gave up on doing anything in Jackson and drove to West Monroe.
I wondered if we made a mistake in working so hard to make this road trip happen (we had to rearrange a lot of things because our initial road trip plans fell through due to the hurricane and Kathrynne’s school schedule).
But by some miracle, the day ended well. Jesse got me some meds (I felt like a new woman!), the kids’ attitudes turned around, we had a fun time at Duck Commander, and the kids wanted to pose for this photo above and willingly smiled!
Traveling as a family always has its rough patches and sometimes we wonder if it’s really worth it, but then we end the day with practicing ball room dancing in the hotel room, laughing over silly things, and piled together watching Monsters University… and Jesse and I remember why we prioritize this.
From My Heart…
I’m a world class fixer. Give me a problem and I will move heaven and earth to find a solution for you.
While this can be a great skill when it comes to running a business, it’s not a great skill when it comes to friendship.
Because relationships aren’t projects. People want to be seen and heard and loved — not added to your to-do list as something needing to be fixed.
I’m writing this more to myself than anything… because I desperately need the reminder. If you share your struggles with me, I can immediately jump into fix-it mode. I want to give you a website to check out, a book to read, and the next three simple steps you need to take.
In fact, just a few days ago, a friend who is going through a hard time texted me and said, “I don’t want counsel; I just want to share what I’m feeling.”
Ouch. That stepped all over my toes in a powerful way.
People are not problems to be solved; they are human beings to love.
Yes, sometimes loving well looks like helping to tangibly provide solutions. But many times, it means just listening and providing an empathetic ear, a shoulder to cry on, and a safe place to confide in… all without any long-term agenda or plan for anything other than to love generously and well.
Let’s stop fixing and start extravagantly loving. I think it will probably be a lot more effective! Who’s with me? ❤️
Graphic made by my 11-year-old, Kaitlynn. Quote from @jessicahonegger
2018 Goals Update
Personal Goals
1. Read 100 non-self-help books that will build me up/encourage me/inspire me/recharge me. (Fiction/story driven/biographies /inspirational living books/devotionals.) See the list of 44 books I plan to read this year.
**Progress: 65 books read so far this year
2. Read through the entire Bible.
**Progress: I’m using the Robert Murray M’Cheyne plan and am all caught up— yay!
3. Write one handwritten note to someone every week.
**Progress: 39 notes written so far this year
4. Run 500 miles.
**Progress: 385 miles run so far
Marriage Goal
5. Go on an overnight trip with Jesse without the kids.Jesse and I went to NYC together in January.Family Goals
6. Read 10 books aloud with the kids.
**Progress: We’ve finished three books so far.
7. Take the kids to South Africa.We took this trip in July. What a memorable experience!
8. Go on a family road trip.While we didn’t get to go on as long of a road trip as we wanted to, we made the most of our Fall Break Road Trip to LA, MS, and AL (and checked off a few more states from our States We Haven’t Visited Yet list!)Financial Goals
9. Save up to pay cash to finish off an office for me and workout room for Jesse and me in the basement in our new house.
**Progress: The workout room is DONE and the office is almost done!
10. Replenish our Emergency Fund (we dipped into it to replace my car when it got totaled because of the carpet beetle infestation.)
**Progress: We’re halfway to having this fully funded. We are hoping to finish this out before the end of the year — we’ll see!
Business Goals
11. Increase our gross income from the business by 8%.
12. Launch 5 new courses.**Progress: We launched 4 Weeks to a More Productive Life launched in January, Content Creation 101 in February, 4-Week Blog Coaching Program in March, Email List Setup 101 in March, Make Over Your Mornings LIVE in April, the Facebook Live Masterclass in May, and we launched Build Your List 101 in June!
Brigette’s $69 Grocery Shopping Trip and Weekly Menu Plan for 6
Brigette’s $69 Grocery Shopping Trip and Weekly Menu Plan for 6
Aldi
1 12-pk Belle Vie Grapefruit Sparkling Water – $2.39
1 gallon Whole Milk – $1.35
2 64-oz cartons Orange Juice – $3.38
1 box Honey Nut Oats – $1.15
1 large jar Unsweetened Applesauce – $1.89
1 10-lb bag Russet Potatoes – $3.49
1 6-pk Strawberry Applesauce Cups – $1.15
1 pkg Zucchini – $1.45
1 large tub Organic Spring Mix – $3.99
1 pkg Romaine Hearts – $1.79
1 3-pk Multi-Colored Peppers – $2.49
1 16-oz bag Mini Cucumbers – $1.69
1 Cauliflower – $1.79
1 pkg Broccoli Crowns – $1.19
2 pkgs Baby Carrots – $1.58
2 3-lb bags Gala Apples – $3.38
1 3-lb bag Pink Lady – $3.59
1 bag Red Grapes – $0.02 (these were on sale for $0.79/lb – according to my receipt, I bought 0.02lbs of grapes – obviously incorrect! But I didn’t catch this until reading my receipt just now)
4 dozen Eggs – $4.52
1 12-oz pkg Cheese Sticks – $1.99
2 16-oz pkgs Shredded Cheddar Cheese – $4.30
1 16-oz pkg Deli Sliced Ham – $2.99
2 1-lb boxes Butter – $3.98
1 3-lb bag Frozen Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts – $5.39
2 single-serving cups Greek Yogurt – $1.18
1 32-oz carton Plain Nonfat Greek Yogurt – $3.29
1 pkg Plain Rice Cakes – $1.15
1 pkg Hamburger Buns – $0.65
1 pkg Hawaiian Sweet Rolls – $1.79
Grocery Total for the Week: $69.02
Weekly Menu Plan
I’ll be out-of-town with my children for part of the week – in KS for my youngest sister’s wedding!! – so I didn’t plan a full week’s worth of meals. 🙂
Breakfasts
Everyone is responsible for making/cleaning up their own breakfasts. Choices include:
Oatmeal, Cereal, Fruit, Scrambled/Boiled/Fried Eggs, Veggie Omelets, Yogurt, Fruit
Lunches
Grilled Ham/Cheese Sandwiches, Grapes, Carrots x 2
Baked Potatoes with Broccoli and Cheese, Apples x 2
Rice Cakes with Peanut Butter, Applesauce, Cucumbers
Leftovers
Dinners
Out to Dinner – Cracker Barrel with Friends
Pizza Casserole (Recipe from “Trim Healthy Table” Cookbook; This was on the menu for last week, but I didn’t end up making it as we ate leftovers for one more meal than I had planned for)
Hamburgers on the Grill, Grilled Cauliflower, Cheesy Hashbrown Potatoes, Tossed Salad
Lentil Soup, Buttery Cornbread, Apples
Build-Your-Own-Burrito (Seasoned Ground Venison, Shredded Lettuce, Salsa, Plain Greek Yogurt, Shredded Cheese, Homemade Tortillas), Steamed Carrots
Leftovers