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Shared Feb 4, 2014 comment

Chat About: Earn rewards for participating in online discussions

Published: by Crystal Paine on February 4, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Have you checked out Chat About? It’s a site that rewards you for participating in online discussions. There are topical discussions, new discussions, questions and answers.

Each time you leave a comment, answer a questions, refer your friends, or participate in their community, you are awarded points! Simply visit your profile page to cash those points for a range of great prizes shipped to you absolutely free!

You can cash in your points for Amazon gift cards, Paypal credit, kid’s items, jewelry, accessories, and more! Here’s how their points system works:

Points System

2 – Leave a comment anywhere on Topics
3 – Reply to a comment anywhere on Topics
2 – Ask a question (Q&A section)
2 – Answer another member’s question (Q&A section)
2 – Reply to a news article (News Section)
10 – Write a review
20 – Write an article

Bonus Area – Added daily!

You can also refer your friends and earn 20% off what your friends earn for as long as they are active members.

Have you tried Chat About? If so, I’d love to hear what you think of it!

(Note: This post was underwritten by Chat About. Read my disclosure policy here.)

Shared Feb 4, 2014 comment

Sponsor Spotlight: Marie-Madeline Studio

Published: by MSM Team on February 4, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

We’re excited to have Marie-Madeline Studio as one of our sponsors. We had the opportunity to interview them and get to know their company a little more recently:

Can you tell us a little more about how your company got started?

Marie-Madeline Studio is run by a mother and her four daughters. Started in the winter of 2008, a couple of girls decided to make a few handbags to sell.

It gradually led to designing our own bag patterns. A friend encouraged us to try to sell the patterns, and before we knew it several girls’ patterns had been designed!

At first, we were just selling the patterns, then found we had lots of excess fabric around so we thought we should sell that too. Now, we try to stock about 500+ bolts of beautiful, fun fabrics and a growing collection of our patterns.

What kinds of products do you offer?

Marie-Madeline Studio offers a line of boutique style sewing patterns for girls size 2/3 – 14/16. We also have some ladies skirts, aprons, and bag patterns. We also sell quilting weight designer cotton fabric that is suitable for garment sewing.

We love to help people save money here. Do you offer any money-saving specials?

Our patterns are printed with all sizes in one envelope so you can just trace off the size you need and continue to use the same pattern for years. This is also handy if you have more than one daughter in different sizes.

We offer sales regularly so our customers can purchase high quality fabric at a lesser price. Plus, all US orders over $100 receive free shipping when purchasing through our site.

What would you most like us to know about your business?

Here at Marie-Madeline Studio we like to design boutique patterns that aren’t excessive. Because fabric can be so expensive, we want you to get the most bang for your buck. Therefore our patterns are designed to be girl-pleasing in the details and parent-pleasing in the pocketbook.

How can our readers find out more about you?

Sign up for our newsletter so you can receive news on all our latest designs, plus a heads up on sales. Keep an eye on our blog for free tutorials, recipes, special blog-only sales, fashion posts, and other fun stuff.

Interested in becoming a monthly sponsor or advertising with us? Find more details here.

Shared Feb 4, 2014 comment

Do It Yourself: Homemade Play Dough Valentine

Published: by Crystal Paine on February 4, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

BuggyandBuddy.com shows you how to make a homemade play dough and cookie cutter Valentine.

Do you have a fun and frugal DIY idea to share? I’d love to hear about it! Read the submission guidelines and submit it here.

Shared Feb 3, 2014 comment

Homemade All Purpose Cleaner

Published: by Crystal Paine on February 3, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

This Homemade All Purpose Cleaner was so easy to whip up! It literally took me maybe three minutes total, including getting out and putting away all the supplies!

I was really happy with the end result. It’s a little strong on the vinegar side — but that may also be because I used Apple Cider vinegar instead of white vinegar (that’s what I happened to have on hand).

If you wanted to make it a little less vinegar-y, I think you could cut back on the vinegar and add more water instead. Or, you could add more essential oil.

The spray seems to work very effectively and this is definitely a homemade cleaner recipe I’d make again.

>>Download the Homemade All Purpose Cleaner recipe instructions.<<

More Homemade Cleaner Recipes I’ve Tried:

Homemade Window Cleaner — This one works really well.

Homemade Scrubbing Bubbles — I found out after I made this that the two ingredients cancel each other out so it wasn’t really effective at all.

Homemade Dishwashing Detergent — This was was okay. Not stellar. Just okay.

Homemade Laundry Soap — This one worked decently, though I found that I had to wash my clothes in hot water for them to get clean and, even then, some of the stains didn’t come out.

Homemade Foaming Hand Soap — This is the easiest recipe ever and works SO well!

Homemade Oxiclean — This one worked alright but didn’t work quite as well as Shout.

Shared Feb 3, 2014 comment

This Week’s Menu + One-Hour Freezer Cooking Plan

Published: by Crystal Paine on February 3, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Breakfasts

Oatmeal, Cereal, Eggs, and/or Fruit

Lunches

Mac & cheese, fruit
Snack-y lunch {veggies, cheese, yogurt, fruit, crackers, etc.}
Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches from the freezer, carrot sticks, apples
Cheese quesadillas, carrot sticks
Leftovers x 3

Snacks

Fruit/veggies
Popcorn
Boiled eggs
Banana Bars with Brown Butter Frosting

Freezer Cooking in an Hour Plan

Butterscotch Brownies
Giant Cinnamon Roll Cake
Baked Chicken
Taco Meat

Dinners

Homemade Chicken Salsa Pizza, veggies, fruit
Slow Cooker Southwest Soup, Homemade Soft Pretzels, fruit
Upside Down Pizza, fruit salad, steamed veggies
Breakfast for Dinner: Pancakes from the Freezer, scrambled eggs, fruit
Olympic-Ringed Pizza, fruit, steamed veggies
Dinner out
Dinner with extended family x 2

What’s on your menu this week? Tell us in the comments or leave a link to your menu plan post.

WANT TO SAVE $100 FAST?!Join the FREE 14-Day Savings Challenge!

Click here to sign up!

Shared Feb 3, 2014 comment

10 Goals for This Week

Published: by Crystal Paine on February 3, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

10 Goals For This Week

Last Week’s Goals:

Marriage/Mothering/Homemaking Goals

~~1. Finish reading Loony Coon aloud to the girls. Read a few picture books with Silas.~~

~~2. Write a love note to Jesse.~~

~~3. Make Non-Toxic All Purpose Cleaner.~~

~~4. Family Night Out bowling to celebrate Kathrynne’s birthday.~~

Personal Goals

~~5. Work on memorizing & reviewing Romans 1:1-26.~~

~~6. Complete five days of the P90X Program.~~

7. Read Sarah’s Key, Eat Move Sleep, Samson, and On Every Side.

8. Finish embroidery quilt square project. {This is almost done!}

Blog/Business Goals

~~9. Write one guest post for my book launch.~~

~~10. Write three content pieces for my blog.~~

This Week’s Goals:

Marriage/Mothering/Homemaking Goals

1. Read 4 chapters of Missionary Adventures of Bob & Arty aloud to the girls. Read 4 chapters of A Big Year for Lily to Kaitlynn. Read a few picture books with Silas.

2. Write a love note to Jesse.

3. Clean out 4 drawers in our bedroom/bathroom.

4. Make Little House Inspired Molasses Candy with the kids (if we get the big snow that’s predicted to hit us!)

Personal Goals

5. Work on memorizing & reviewing Romans 1:1-27.

6. Complete five days of the P90X Program.

7. Read Sarah’s Key, Eat Move Sleep, Samson, Undaunted, and On Every Side.

8. Finish embroidery quilt square project. Make this Knit Headband.

Blog/Business Goals

9. Record the audiobook version of Say Goodbye to Survival Mode.

10. Write three content pieces for my blog.

How did you do on last week’s goals? What are your goals for this week? I’d love to have you share your progress on last week’s goals and your goals for this coming week in the comments. Of, if you’ve blogged about it, leave your direct link below. Let’s cheer each other on to live purposeful and productive lives! You can download a free customizable weekly goal-planning sheet here.

Shared Feb 3, 2014 comment

Time doesn’t expand limitlessly…

Published: by MSM Team on February 3, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Have you purchased your copy of Say Goodbye to Survival Mode yet? Get the book here!

Shared Feb 3, 2014 comment

How We Increased Our Savings by $136 a Month

Published: by Crystal Paine on February 3, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Guest post by Anita of Traveling Along

2013 was a rough year financially.

Just the year before we were out of debt, put 20% down on a house and had finished paying off the last of our student loans. Then 2013 met us with a change of job, a lower salary, various expensive car repairs, remodeling, and a costly hospital stay for our sweet girl with Kawasakis disease.

At the end of the year we were worse off than when we started, with just over $3000 in debt and no remaining emergency fund, let alone savings. Blast!

So this year, we are switching things around and prioritizing savings.

The breakdown of the budget was a little bleak, the amount of waste was already super low… but, somehow we have managed to cut back. Every line item that we cut back is an actual dollar amount that we are putting into our savings account.

Here is how we went from saving $0 to $136 a month.

We started by deleting our Christmas savings of $40 per month. Christmas 2014 will include homemade gifts of wood, pottery, food, photography, and fun! I will also set out to earn at least one $5 gift card from Swagbucks every month. I do this primarily by using them as my search engine and watching cooking videos while I’m in the kitchen or folding laundry. Any Ebates cash back checks will also go in this fund.

We don’t have cable, but we did have Netflix for $7.99 per month. Not anymore!

I am making our own dog food. Having a large breed livestock guardian dog means at least $25 per month in dog food. We are now making it with leftover vegetable peelings, free organ meats, and rice. This costs only about $5-7 a month.

My husband got a very modest raise for 2014 and $40 of that will go directly into savings.

One goal for 2013 was to teach our kids how to manage their money. We will still continue on this route in 2014, but instead of allowances, we will allow them to do extra jobs for money if they desire. This means a savings of $20 per month.

Cut back on milk by half… or right around $10 per month. This needed to happen for some health issues, but it represents a savings so I am including it on our list.

Our next goal = POTTY TRAIN THE TWO-YEAR-OLD! This will save another $20-40 a month!

I’ve always “wished” I had a smoking or soda-drinking habit… then I could quit and save money! Well, I don’t. So, I’ll do what I can and find cash where I can.

Here’s a quick summary:

$40 = no Christmas fund
$8 = no Netflix
$18 = homemade dog food
$20 = no allowances
$40 = small raise
$10 = milk reduction

———————————————————-

$136 monthly to restart an emergency fund!

One more thing — take your small amounts, add them up, and put your savings on automatic monthly transfer for that amount. Money that isn’t allocated in a budget can be easily lost or used for other things!

Where can you cut back? How many little things can you add up to make something BIG?

Anita lives in Virginia with her husband and kids on a hopeful micro farm in the city. When she is not fine-tuning the budget, she can be found canning, cooking with spare parts, helping with math, praying the garden will grow, attending to a sick chicken or covered in mud at the potters wheel. She blogs at Traveling Along.

photo source

Shared Feb 1, 2014 comment

12 Books I Plan to Read in February

Published: by Crystal Paine on February 1, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

As I shared in January, I’m changing the way I’m approaching my reading goals in 2014. Instead of picking books for the whole year, I’m just choosing books a month at a time.

Here’s my list for February:

12 Books I Plan to Read in February

Undaunted

The 21-Day Financial Fast

The Surprising Secrets of Highly Happy Marriages

Restless: Because You Were Made for More

Hands Free Mama

Women Living Well

I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn’t)

Eat Move Sleep

Fire By Night

Samson

On Every Side

Sarah’s Key

I also am reading through the Bible using the plan in my Blessing Journal and reading one devotional from Jesus Today every day.

5 Books I Plan to Read Aloud to My Kids

Devotional: Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing

Loony Coon

Missionary Adventures of Bob & Arty: In Search of the Lost Missionary

Jungle Doctor’s Fables

A Big Year for Lily

What books are you planning to read in February? Leave a comment and let us know — and then you can come back at the end of February to tell us what you ended up reading and what you thought of the books you read!

Shared Feb 1, 2014 comment

A peek at my recent handwork projects: Cup Cozy, Fingerless Gloves, & Embroidery

Published: by Crystal Paine on February 1, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

I’ve been enjoying finding little bits of time here and there to work on my handwork projects — mostly when we’re together with friends and family or in the evenings when we have our family Bible time.

I finished another Knitted Cup Cozy. I like how this one turned out better than the first one I made.

I also worked on my embroidered quilt square for my sister’s baby quilt. You can see my progress on this from a few weeks ago here. I’m hoping to finish it tomorrow. We’ll see!

My favorite recent project was definitely these Simple Knitted Fingerless Gloves. I’m incredibly happy with how they turned out!

Did you complete any handwork projects this week? If so, I’d love to hear about your projects. And if you blogged about them, leave your links in the comments.

OVER-SPENDING EVERY SINGLE MONTH?Grab these FREE Budgeting Sheets!

Click here to download!

Shared Feb 1, 2014 comment

12 Goals for 2014: January’s Update

Published: by Crystal Paine on February 1, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Jesse and I spent time really discussing what my focuses should be for 2014 and we nailed down four areas that are my priorities for this year:

Marriage: to continue to invest time and energy to strengthen and nurture our marriage and make it one of the greatest priorities
Mothering: to continue to invest in our children with the goal of teaching them character, life skills, and raising them to be responsible adults
Myself: to make my health a priority and to invest in my personal growth as a Christian, business owner, writer, speaker, and leader
MoneySavingMom.com: to invest time into blogging — not just overseeing the business and my team, but making writing content pieces one of my top blogging priorities

Having these specific areas determined at the beginning of the year is really helping me to prioritize and giving me much clearer direction on when, where, and what to say no to this year.

Here’s my progress for my 12 goals for 2014:

Marriage Goals

1. Read 6 marriage books.
2. Write 50 love notes to Jesse. (I’ve written 4 love notes so far.)

Mothering Goals

3. Read 40 books aloud to the kids. (We’ve finished one book so far and are almost finished with another.)
4. Finish memorizing Romans 1 together. (We’ve been working on this!)
5. Go through a cooking course with the kids.

Personal Goals

6. Read through the Bible. (I’m on track with this.)
7. Memorize Romans 2.
8. Run a 5K race and go through P90X again. (I’m working through P90X right now.)
9. Read 150 books/ebooks. (I’ve read 13 books so far this year.)

Blogging Goals

10. Write 150 substantive content pieces for the blog. (I wrote 18 substantive content pieces in January.)
11. Write 50 DIY/Recipe posts for the blog. (I’ve written two DIY/Recipe post so far.)
12. Blog about/participate in the 12 Months to a Healthier You Challenge (I finished January’s challenge.)

Did you set goals for 2014 yet?

If you’ve posted an update on how you’re doing on your goals for 2014, I’d love for you to share your link in the comments. Or, if you don’t have a blog, feel free to just leave a comment with an update on how you’re doing on your goals. Let’s encourage one another to live lives of intention and purpose!

If you’re brand-new to goal-setting, be sure to read my post on How to Change Your Life By Setting Goals.

Shared Feb 1, 2014 comment

12 Months to a Healthier You: February’s Challenge

Published: by Crystal Paine on February 1, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

One of my goals for 2014 is to focus on my health. It’s easy to let our health take a back burner to everything else on our to-do list. But as I share in my new book, Say Goodbye to Survival Mode, I’ve experienced what happens when you put your health last… and it’s not pretty!

With this in mind, I’m committed to making my health even more of a priority this year. And I’d love to have you join me for the 12 Months to a Healthier You Challenge.

We’re be focusing on one challenge area each month — all with the goal of being in a healthier place as a person by the end of next year. My hope is that as we work on instilling one new healthy habit each month, they won’t just be month-long challenges, but lifelong changes.

12 Months to a Healthier You Focus Areas for 2014

Here are the focus areas I’ve planned out for 2014:

January: Exercise Regularly
February: Eat More Fresh Fruits & Veggies
March: Drink More Water
April: Cut Back on Sugar
May: Get More Rest
June: Create a Morning Routine
July: Read More
August: Go to Bed Earlier
September: Declutter Your Home
October: Cut Back on Caffeine
November: Keep a Gratitude Journal
December: Simplify & Say No

How This Challenge Works:

At the beginning of the month, I’ll introduce the focus area and encourage you to set a small goal for that specific area and I’ll share my goals.

Then, every Friday, I’ll have a check-in post where I’ll encourage you to share your progress & struggles and I’ll share mine, as well. If you want to blog about your progress, I’ll include a link-up at the end of the post so you can share your blog posts on this challenge.

In addition to the Friday check-ins, I’ll also probably share a few posts and guest posts on the monthly topics each month, along with sharing about related books, resources, or websites that I’ve found helpful.

Are you on social media? You can also share your progress on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter by using hashtag #12MonthstoaHealthierYou.

My Fruits/Veggie Intake Goal for February

My goal for February is to eat at least six big salads every week. I’m also hoping to keep up with January’s habit of doing P90X at least 4-5 times every week.

Will you be joining me for this February Challenge? If so, leave a comment letting us know you’re planning to join and what your fruit/veggie intake goals are for February. Remember to keep them simple and doable!

Shared Feb 1, 2014 comment

13 Books I Read in January

Published: by Crystal Paine on February 1, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

So I didn’t get to all 12 books I’d hoped to read in January, but I did read 13 books, so that counts for something, right? Even if a number of those were shorter ebooks. 🙂

Here’s the list of what I read in January:

His Word in my Heart

You Were Made for a God-Sized Dream

Life After Art

Fit For Faith

Sell Your Book Like Wildfire

Perfect Fit

The How and Wow of Habits

Fred 2.0

Beyond the To Do List

The Unexpected Joys of a Tight Grocery Budget

Live for Him: A Grace-Filled Look at Planning

The Busy Mom’s Make Ahead Breakfast Cookbook

A Work-At-Home Mom’s Ultimate Guide

My Three Favorites:

Fred 2.0 — I was very inspired through the pages of this book to look for ways to go the extra mile, do the unexpected, and go out of my way to bless others. While this book does talk a lot about the the book is a sequel to (The Fred Factor) and is written mostly from the perspective of how to live with excellence in your career, I felt there was some great value in it for anyone who wants to live an extraordinary life.

His Word in my Heart — This book really inspired me to make Scripture memory a higher priority. It didn’t just give reasons why you should memorize and meditate on Scripture, it gave very specific ideas on how busy moms and women can find more time to memorize Scripture.

Sell Your Book Like Wildfire — If you are planning to release a book or ebook (or are thinking of doing so someday), I highly recommend this book. It’s packed with helpful advice and ideas for marketing your book, creating conversation around your message, how to get more speaking engagements, and so much more.

What did you read in January? What were your favorite reads?

Shared Feb 1, 2014 comment

Freezer Cooking in an Hour: Crockpot Granola, Banana Bars, and PB&J

Published: by Crystal Paine on February 1, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Silas helped me do some freezer cooking last night.

Can you tell he LOVES cooking with me?! His enthusiasm is contagious! 🙂

I was really excited to try the Crockpot Granola… especially because I always love trying new ideas.

While the Crockpot Granola was baking, I mixed up the Banana Bars with Brown Butter Frosting.

These bars totally lived up what other people had told me about them — they are fabulous! And the icing is especially amazing!

I wasn’t as thrilled with how the granola turned out. I think I’ll stick with my favorite Lazy Granola recipe. It’s so simple and always turns out well.

I also made a bunch of Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches for the freezer. These are so handy to have in the freezer!

Recipes Links:

Banana Bars with Brown Butter Frosting
Crockpot Granola
Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches

Shared Feb 1, 2014 comment

If you want to be more productive…

Published: by MSM Team on February 1, 2014 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Have you purchased your copy of Say Goodbye to Survival Mode yet? Get the book here!

2hr Cleaning Checklist

2hr Cleaning Checklist

FREE DOWNLOAD: 2-Hour Cleaning Checklist!

Have you tried Chat About? If so, I’d love to hear what you think of it!

Can you tell us a little more about how your company got started?

What kinds of products do you offer?

We love to help people save money here. Do you offer any money-saving specials?

What would you most like us to know about your business?

How can our readers find out more about you?

More Homemade Cleaner Recipes I’ve Tried:

Breakfasts

Lunches

Snacks

Freezer Cooking in an Hour Plan

Dinners

WANT TO SAVE $100 FAST?!Join the FREE 14-Day Savings Challenge!

Here is how we went from saving $0 to $136 a month.

Here’s a quick summary:

12 Books I Plan to Read in February

5 Books I Plan to Read Aloud to My Kids

OVER-SPENDING EVERY SINGLE MONTH?Grab these FREE Budgeting Sheets!

Marriage Goals

Mothering Goals

Personal Goals

Blogging Goals

Did you set goals for 2014 yet?

12 Months to a Healthier You Focus Areas for 2014

How This Challenge Works:

My Fruits/Veggie Intake Goal for February

Here’s the list of what I read in January:

My Three Favorites:

What did you read in January? What were your favorite reads?

Recipes Links:

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