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The Prudent Homemaker has a post up on how to eat beans every night. While you probably don’t want to serve beans every single night, there are some great ideas in her post that would be great for keeping your grocery budget low.
What other ideas do you have for budget-friendly bean recipes?
For more ideas, check out my post on How to Live on Beans and Rice for a Week.
I’m not even sure where I first saw Love Does mentioned. I think it may have been one that Amazon recommended I’d be interested in, based upon other books I’d purchased from them in the past.
Wherever it was, the first time I saw the book, the title and description immediately drew me in. And so, in an uncharacteristic move, I bought the book.
I’m so glad I did.
Bob Goff is a unique, one-of-a-kind man. You’ll pick up on that just by reading the introduction.
He loves life, he loves people, and he’s not afraid of outlandishness or extravagance when it comes to showing love to others. His big heart is contagious.
I often plow through books at a very rapid pace. But I slowly worked my way through Love Does, often reading just a few pages or less at a time. I was touched, inspired, challenged, convicted, and blessed.
Loving others isn’t just words we say; it’s the life we live. It’s giving of ourselves, it’s bringing joy to others, it’s being available to others, it’s dropping everything to be involved in others’ lives. It’s caring, it’s giving, and it’s sometimes doing crazy stuff, all because we love someone else.
If you have a chance to read Love Does, I’d highly recommend it. You might not agree with all of the finer points of Bob’s theology and you might think he’s a bit over-the-top, but I can almost guarantee you can’t help but be challenged to examine how you love others.
See more book recommendations I’ve posted this year here. You can also see all books I’ve read so far in 2012 here.
Have you read any good books recently?
Exercise is often one of the thing that tends to get pushed to the back burner when schedules are busy, but starting the day with a little exercise is one of the best ways to wake you up and make you feel energized for the rest of the day. If you’re dragging along and feeling like you’re lacking energy and enthusiasm for life, exercise just might be the best antidote.
I know it’s not the most exciting things to get up and do in the morning, but exercise is one of those things that you never regret doing. Instead of making excuses as to why you can’t find time to exercise, start thinking of ways to you can fit some exercise into your morning.
Your health is worth the sacrifice of a little time, sweat, and effort. And I promise you’ll feel better the rest of the day!
If you struggle to regularly exercise, here are some suggestions to consider:
If you can’t afford to pay for a gym membership or a trainer, check out the workout DVDs at your local library. Typically, they have quite a large selection to choose from. Some of my favorites are by Jillian Michaels (more intense workouts) and Leslie Sansone (these are great for beginners or those looking for low impact exercise).
I’ve found exercise DVDs are a great way to mix things up — especially if my current routine seems like it’s becoming a bit mundane. And it’s a lot less inhibiting to work out in your basement or living room, rather than in a group of people at a class at the gym!
Can’t make it to the library? The internet is goldmine of exercising videos and resources. YouTube is a great place to start if you’re looking workout videos. Also, some of my readers left other online resources on my Facebook post here this morning.
If you don’t enjoy exercising, it’s probably just because you’ve not yet tried enough different kinds of exercise options. There’s pretty much something out there for everyone, so keep trying things until you land upon something you love.
Teaming up with someone else can be a great way to be more successful when it comes to fitness. Either find someone to meet you for a morning jog, to come over and do that exercise DVD with you multiple times per week, or find someone who will text or email you and see if you followed through with the goals you set for exercise each day. There are also many different online accountability forums and Facebook groups (or you could start your own!).
Jesse and I have been doing P90X together and we’re finding that it makes it much more fun than doing on your own. Plus, we’re both helping to inspire each other through the difficult parts — we have fun teasing each other when we mess up or have trouble pulling off some of the workout sequences! 🙂
A lot of people want to lose weight or run a marathon, but wanting to do something won’t get you anywhere. You have to actually set a goal and break it down into bite-sized, realistic pieces if you want to be successful.
So set some fitness goals and then figure out what tiny steps you can take this week to help you get where you want to be in six months from now. It’s amazing how motivating the act of putting your goals on paper and breaking them down into small pieces can be. You can do this — one step at a time!
If you’re not Type A like me this probably seems crazy, but I find that if I’m doubling up my exercise with something else (listening to an audiobook, praying, working on my Scripture memory, mapping out articles in my head, reading a good book I’m reading during my warm-up walk on the treadmill, etc.), I enjoy it a lot more and it feels like I’m killing two birds with one stone.
If you’ve never exercised before, don’t expect that you’ll be running five miles in a few weeks. Start slowly, set small goals, and focus on the progress you’re making (even if it seems tiny) instead of being discouraged by the fact that you’re not where you want to be.
You’d rather slowly build up your endurance and stamina then to try to do much more than you’re capable of and end up burning yourself out before the first week of exercise is over with.
Each week, keeping a log of the workouts you do, how much time you worked out for, or how many miles you ran. This will inspire you to keep going, will encourage you as you see yourself growing stronger and building endurance.
Try using online trackers such as MyFitnessPal, SparkPeople, or Nike+. All of these have cool features that make logging your exercise time more rewarding.
What motivates you? Set some goals and plan some rewards along the way. Maybe you decide to put a quarter in a jar every time you exercise for 25 minutes and then you can use this money on a little special treat (coffee at the coffee shop, a used book from Amazon, etc.) every few weeks.
If you only have five minutes in the morning to exercise, then exercise for five minutes. Sure, you’re probably not going to get the benefits of a 45-minute workout in five minutes, but you can definitely work up a little sweat and get your heart pumping with a short and intense workout.
Do what you can do with the time you have. Something is always better than nothing when it comes to exercise.
My Day 5 Project Update
Bedtime: Made it to bed by 9:36 p.m. Woot — I’m slowly making progress in the right direction!
My Top 5 Evening Must Do’s: Done!
Wake Up Time: Got up at 4:55 a.m. this morning!
Day 6 Project
1. Did you determine your bedtime and 5 Evening Must-Do’s? If so, leave a comment telling us how you did on them last night.
2. Did you determine what time you’re going to commit to waking up every morning for the next three weeks? If so, leave a comment telling us how you did this morning!
3. If you already have an exercise plan that you follow each morning, leave a comment telling us about it. If you aren’t currently exercising in the morning, consider if you have a 5 to 15 minute slot you could devote to exercise. Leave a comment telling us if you’re committing to exercise every morning (or evening, if that works better for you).
Blooms n’ Bugs shows you how to make a summer cardigan out of a t-shirt.
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.
Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packets
Breakfasts
Homemade Instant Oatmeal, Cereal, Toast, Eggs, and/or Fruit
Lunches
Lunch at church function
Snack-y lunch
Cheese quesdillas, carrot sticks, apple slices
Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches from the freezer, veggies, apple slices
Mini Deep Dish Barbecue Chicken Pizza Muffins, raw veggies, peaches
Leftovers x 2Snacks
Fruit/Veggies
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Baked Oatmeal
No Bake Energy BitesFreezer Cooking in An Hour (I’ll post details and photos on how this goes on Thursday.)
Knock Off Betty Crocker Brownie Mixes
Mini Deep Dish Barbecue Chicken Pizza Muffins
No Bake Energy Bites
Homemade Breadsticks in the Bread Machine
Dinners
Dinner with extended family
Pizza, tossed salad
Barbecued Meatballs, Bread Machine Bread Sticks, steamed broccoli, fruit
Marinated Pork, Fruit Salad, Bread Machine Bread Sticks, Molten Chocolate Lava Crockpot Cake
Chicken Noodle Soup, Whole Wheat Pumpkin Scones
Breakfast for Dinner: Harvest Apple Spice Pancakes, scrambled eggs, homemade fried potatoes
Dinner with extended family
What’s on your menu this week? Share details and/or your link to your menu plan in the comments.
Last week’s goals:
Family/Marriage/Mothering Goals
1. Finish reading Stuart Little aloud to the children. Start a new read-aloud book.
2. Begin our Fall homeschool schedule.
3. Write a love note to Jesse.4. Have a date night on Thursday.
Personal Goals
5. Start and finish reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
, Satisfy My Thirsty Soul, Running For My Life, Eats, Shoots, and Leaves, and
Love Does.
6. Exercise at least five times.Homemaking Goals
7. Try at least two new recipes. {Only tried one.}
8. Start a new handwork project.(I started a new knitted scarf. I’ll show you pictures next week if it turns out!)Business Goals
9. Write at least two articles for other blogs/sites. {Only got one completely finished}
10. Do the final edits to my new ebook on self-discipline (more details coming soon!)
Here are my 10 goals for this week:
Family/Marriage/Mothering Goals
1. Finish reading Missionary Stories From Around the World. Start reading The Borrowers aloud to the children.
2. Write a love note to Jesse.
3. Read together with Jesse at least four nights.
Personal Goals
4. Start and finish reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
5. Listen to two chapters of Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard.
6. Exercise goals: Follow P90X workout schedule (I’m starting this with my husband this week! Day 1 down and it was a lot of fun to do together!)
Homemaking Goals
7. Try at least two new recipes.
8. Finish knitting the scarf I’m working on.
Business Goals
9. Write at least two articles for other blogs/sites.
10. Do the final edits to my new ebook on self-discipline (more details coming soon!)
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.
Last week, we talked about the importance of creating a to-do list that was based upon your yearly, monthly, and weekly goals. If you’ve not read that post (or you’ve not set down and mapped out some specific goals), can I encourage you to do that today? It just might rock your world! Now, onto today’s post…
We all have a lot we need to do each day. And, if you’re anything like me, you probably have a whole lot more that you want to do in each day, too.
I was just telling my husband yesterday that I have so much that I want to do that it’s a problem. I have a laundry list of new skills I want to learn, things I want to teach my children, place I’d love to visit, subjects I want to research in-depth, projects I want to attempt, people I’d like to reach out to and befriend, ministries I want to support, books I hope to read, character I want to work on… there are so many, many good things in life to choose from that putting together a daily to-do list can seem daunting.
But here’s the truth we all have to accept: none of us can do it all. Collectively, we can do a lot with our lives and make a huge impact in this world. Personally, we can make a big difference over the course of our lifetime. But we all only have 24 hours in each day.
Our time is limited and our energy is finite. Thus, we have to pick and choose the best from among the good. And we have to realize that what might be the best for others will not necessarily be the best for us.
Determining what to put on our daily to-do list begins with deciding upon our own personal priorities for the season of life we’re currently in. I recommend choosing no more than five to six priorities. These are the things you will wrap your life around and what will be the basis for the majority of everything on your to-do list and all of the yearly, monthly, and weekly goals you set for yourself.
Before you try to save the world, you need to focus on making sure you (and your family, if you have one) have clean clothes, food to eat, and proper hygiene and rest. You’ll be a lot more effective at your efforts in other spheres of life if you make sure that you take care of the basics first.
So, think through what must be done in the course of your day. This is not what would be nice to have done, but those things that are actually necessities. For the record, the list of necessary things that must be done in a day is usually fairly short for most of us.
If you’re caring for someone who has life-threatening illness, have a special needs child, or have a lot of little ones, then most of your day is likely going to be made up of basic things. While they might mostly seem menial and mundane, remember that taking care of the basic needs of others is a very important thing to be investing your life in — even though it’s exhausting work. Remind yourself of what would happen if you weren’t doing it and you’ll realize just how important your tasks are!
Once you have the basics on your to-do list for the day, if you still have a little wiggle room in your schedule, pick a few bite-sized pieces of your goals to tackle. These will typically be things you can accomplish in 15 or 30 minute slots, so keep this in mind when breaking goals down into bite-sized pieces. If you can’t accomplish the bite-sized piece in 30 minutes or less, it probably needs to be broken down further.
I’ve found it helpful to prioritize my to-do list by marking each item with numbers in the order of priority I need to accomplish each task. I don’t always follow it to a tee, since sometimes a block of time will open up during the day and it will be perfect for tackling a specific item on my list — even though it’s out of order. When that happens, I just go with the flow and am happy to have another item crossed off the list, regardless of the fact that it’s out of order.
That said, as much as possible, I encourage you to focus on getting the hard tasks done first. “Eat your frogs” early in the day and you’ll have a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment to carry with you the rest of the day!
As I’ve talked about before, if you want to set yourself up for success, you need to keep your to-do list short. If you put 56 items on your to-do list at the beginning of the day, you’ll probably give up before you even start because you’ll feel overwhelmed at defeated.
It’s better to plan to complete a few things and actually follow through with those things, then to set out to accomplish 102 things and just run around in circles all day trying to start a bunch of different things and finishing nothing at all.
Looking for some helpful printable daily dockets or to-do lists? Here are a few free printables to check out:
We have a number of free household customizable management planners available to download, including a customizable daily docket.
Ann Voskamp has a free Daily Planner available for download.
Download and print a free Weekly Household Planner and Goal Sheet from Only a Breath.
Download a Daily Plan of Attack Worksheet.
Print free Home Management Binder pages from Amy Bayliss.
My Day 5 Project Update
Bedtime: Made it to bed by 9:38 p.m. Woot — I’m slowly making progress in the right direction!
My Top 5 Evening Must Do’s: Done!
Wake Up Time: Got up at 5:04 a.m. this morning!
Day 6 Project
1. Did you determine your bedtime and 5 Evening Must-Do’s? If so, leave a comment telling us how you did on them last night.
2. Did you determine what time you’re going to commit to waking up every morning for the next three weeks? If so, leave a comment telling us how you did this morning!
3. If you haven’t done so already, pick 1-5 goals that you’d like to accomplish in the next year and break them down into monthly and weekly pieces, if possible. Start looking for opportunities to add in bite-sized pieces to your daily to-do lists, as you’re able. Let us know what these goals are in the comments section.
Guest post from Jody of Plastic Back Books.
Is it cheaper to rent a car or drive your own?
Our Honda has nearly 300,000 miles and no air conditioning. Taking a road trip when the temperature is 103ºF is not just unpleasant… it is risky!
Even if I don’t have a heat stroke, the Honda might. The cost of a tow truck and being stranded in an unknown town is probably more expensive than renting a car.
Gulp. But I hate spending money.
If you share my concerns, I’ve got 12 tips to help you save money on car rentals.
Prices change drastically even within hours. Ask about making a reservation to lock in a price — even if you aren’t ready to make a commitment.
Prices vary between agencies. Use sites like Costco.com and Priceline.com to compare multiple rentals at a glance.
I saved $80 just by renting six miles farther away. The location closest to me would have picked me up for free, but saving $80 was worth getting a ride from a friend.
These are listed in half-hour increments. Tweak your time to find “sweet spots” during the day when rentals are the cheapest. You may even get a lower rate by renting the car longer than you need it. I wanted a car Friday morning, but it was considerably cheaper to rent Thursday night.
The mantra “Never Pay Retail” holds true with rental cars too. Costco.com factors coupon codes into the price. Priceline.com allows you to name your own price. Retailmenot.com offers various coupon codes.
Check with your insurance provider to see if extra insurance is even necessary.
You may be thrilled when the rental agency offers a free upgrade from economy to a fancy SUV, but can you afford the gas? Considering this cost is an important factor in staying within your trip budget.
Make sure you have unlimited mileage and are allowed to take the car where you want to go.
If the rental company has a rewards program, join it (know the rules to maximize rewards).
This is the most important tip: When you slide into that shiny new car it’s tempting to fiddle with the “bells and whistles”. Do this before pulling onto the road.
Adjust your seat, mirrors, radio, a/c – whatever you need to do to get comfortable. Take a moment to find the hazard lights, headlights, defroster, and windshield wipers. Do this while you are still parked. It could save you a deductible and the humiliation of pulling out and causing an accident right in front of the rental agency.
Before signing on the dotted line, do a thorough inspection of the car, and write down any damage you see. Don’t be held liable for what a previous driver did.
Check the gas tank before you sign the rental agreement. If the previous driver left you with an empty tank, get it in writing that you aren’t responsible to return it full. If you did receive the car with a full tank, return it that way, or you may be charged.
This depends on the situation — usually you can get a discounted rate for longer rentals, but sometimes renting per day will be cheaper.
Weekends are often more expensive, so you’ll likely save a bit of money if you rent them Monday – Thursday.
A good price (in 2023) is considered to be around $10 per day or $100 per week. You can likely find it even cheaper than that with the tips above though… so just keep looking! As mentioned above, contact various rental agencies in your area — one might have a special and you’ll get an extra good deal!
Jody is creating PlasticBackBooks; a marketplace for helpful, wholesome, and entertaining eBooks.
Waking up with your alarm clock and having a cheerful attitude in the morning are both important things, but they are not enough to make your morning productive.
Without charting a course of action for the day, you’ll likely waste time, wander aimlessly, and run around in circles. You may even get to the end of the day and wonder what on earth you did with your day.
When you know where you want to go, it’s much easier to make traction in the right direction. When you know exactly what you’re aiming to accomplish in a day, it’s much easier to actually get things done. A plan also helps you track your progress and be encouraged that you’re getting somewhere!
When I make a plan for my day, I think about not only the things that must be done (laundry, dishes, homeschooling, appointments, phone calls, etc.), but I also think about the big picture. What small steps can I take today to help me move toward where I want to be in a year from now?
In order to take small steps toward where you want to be in a year from now, you need to actually have a good idea of where you want to be in a year from now. This is why I recommend setting yearly goals and then breaking those goals down into monthly and weekly goals.
When you look at your yearly goals as a whole, they can seem daunting and overwhelming. When you break them down into monthly and then weekly goals, they are much more doable.
If you take it one step farther and break those weekly goals down into tiny daily goals, your huge goals have become completely manageable. Plus, knowing that you’re doing a little bit each day to inch you closer to where you hope to be in a year from now gives you a lot more purpose and enthusiasm for tackling your to-do list.
No longer is your to-do list just a list of things that must be done in order to survive; it’s an action plan of tiny babysteps that are going to give you traction toward greater success in your life as a whole. Sure, there are still going to be a lot of things that aren’t too glamorous — like taking out the trash, washing the car, and giving the dog a bath — but I bet you’ll do those menial tasks with more purpose when you know that each day you’re making microscopic progress in the right direction with your big goals.
Come back on Monday when we’ll be talking more about how to plan your day and set yourself up for success…
My Day 4 Project Update
Bedtime: Made it to bed by 9:45 p.m. just barely since Jesse and I went on a date and got back later than usual. It wasn’t my goal time of 9:30, but at least it was only 15 minutes late!
My Top 5 Evening Must Do’s: Done
Wake Up Time: My alarm went off at 6:20 a.m. this morning and I’m sorry to report that I got back into bed for 10 minutes. Yes, I know, I need to work on practicing what I preach. But hey, at least I didn’t hit the snooze button. 😉
Day 5 Project
1. Did you determine your bedtime and 5 Evening Must-Do’s? If so, leave a comment telling us how you did on them last night.
2. Did you determine what time you’re going to commit to waking up every morning for the next three weeks? If so, leave a comment telling us how you did this morning!
3. If you haven’t done so already, pick 1-5 goals that you’d like to accomplish in the next year. Take some time this weekend to break those goals down into monthly and weekly goals. Then, come back on Monday where we’ll be talking more about making a daily to-do list, how to incorporate your bite-sized goals into it, and how to not overload your to-do list. I’ll also be sharing some helpful tips, printables, and resources to help you create and follow through with your daily to-do list.
Here are the freebies that have arrived in my mailbox recently:
U By Kotex samples
Nescafe Memento samples
Perfectly Simple Bar
Garnier Fructis samples
Green Mountain Coffee K-Cup samples
What freebies have arrived in your mailbox this week?
By the way, if you want to start getting great freebies in your mailbox, just start signing up for the freebies I post every day that interest you. Within 4-6 weeks, your mailbox will start filling up with great freebies!
Keep the heat out of your kitchen with this EASY recipe for slow cooker BBQ sandwiches.
Guest post from Brigette Shevy
A couple of summers ago, I made an important discovery: my neglected slow cooker.
Sure, I knew it was great for cooking all those “winter-y” foods (stews, soups, roasts, etc.), but somehow it always got pushed to the back of my cabinet and forgotten during the long, hot months — the very months that I should be using it to keep my kitchen cool.
Here is a most decidedly summer recipe that makes use of this not-just-for-winter appliance. It goes together in a matter of minutes, serves our family for several meals, and freezes well.
I love main dishes that don’t require a lot of last minute preparation, and this one definitely fits the bill.
You can use pork or beef for this recipe – whatever your family likes best, or whatever happens to be on sale.
1. Trim fat from roast, cut into several large pieces, and place in slow cooker (For best cooking, your slow cooker shouldn’t be more than 2/3 full).
2. In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients and pour over the top of meat.
3. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.
4. Uncover the last hour to help sauce thicken, if needed.
5. Remove meat from cooker and shred with two forks in a separate bowl, discarding any bones and fat.
6. Skim fat from remaining liquid in the slow cooker.
7. Return shredded meat to cooker and heat until bubbly (it should be about the right amount of liquid to meat ratio, but drain some liquid if necessary).
8. Serve on hamburger buns or sandwich rolls.
Make sure to share and save it on your favorite platform below!
Brigette is a full-time wife and mother who is blessed with three amazing bundles of energy (ages 5, 3, and 1). She enjoys music, experimenting in the kitchen, homeschooling her children, finding great deals, long-distance running, and anything chocolate.
Done-For-You Dinner Recipes With Simple Ingredients and a Grocery Shopping List!
Looking for a quick, easy, and frugal breakfast for busy mornings or on-the-go days? These easy homemade oatmeal packets are a huge hit with our family and I know you’ll love them too!
This is an extremely easy recipe for homemade instant oatmeal packets, and kids always have fun helping out with this one!
The best part? You can mix it up and use a variety of different add-ins, depending on what your family loves.
You can even make different bags for each family member if everyone likes different types of oatmeal!
1. Dump oats, brown sugar, and optional add-ins into a snack-size zip-top bag.
2. Repeat with as many baggies as you’d like to make.
3. Store baggies in an airtight container or freeze them for up to three months.
1. Pour the contents of one bag into a cereal bowl or very large mug.
2. Add 3/4 cup water or milk.
3. Microwave on high for 1-2 minutes, until cooked.
4. Stir and add additional milk if necessary.
5. Eat and enjoy!
NOTE: You can also cook in a saucepan on the stove if you prefer — but then it’s not “instant oatmeal”!
Make sure to share and save it on your favorite platform below!
Mornings just got so much easier with this FREE list of 50+ Easy & Cheap Breakfast Ideas for Busy Weekday Mornings!
Attitude is key to having a successful morning.
When you wake up feeling grumpy, grouchy, and out-of-sorts, it’s going to spill over into everything you do. You’ll probably feel unmotivated and apathetic, and frustrated.
If, on the other hand, you begin your day feeling cheerful, upbeat, and energetic, you’ll probably find that you’re more efficient, productive, and you just plain enjoy life a lot more.
Now, there are times in life when it’s hard to have a good attitude. For instance, if you’re struggling in your marriage, having financial issues, recovering from some sort of traumatic experience, experiencing hurt or loss, or dealing with difficult physical issues or depression, you’re probably waking up with a very heavy heart (if you even slept at all!).
Slapping a bandage on your pain and putting on a pretend happy face is not what I’m suggesting you do. Get help; don’t hide your struggles. The best way to find hope and healing is in reaching out for help from those who care and can provide you with the support you need during a dark time.
However, no matter what you’re going through, it’s never an excuse to mope, pout, and have a bad attitude. A bad attitude is only going to make matters worse.
Here are some practical ideas of ways to help you start your day off with a good attitude:
1) Listen to Music
Music can lift my mood like just about nothing else. If I’m feeling discouraged, putting on my headphones and turning on some of my favorite upbeat songs is one of the best ways to cheer me up.
Find some music that you love and that lifts your spirits and put together a playlist of it to have ready whenever you need a pick-me-up.
2) Smile
Even when you don’t feel like it, if you make yourself smile at others, it’s almost impossible to stay grumpy for long. Try it sometime and see if I’m right!
3) Count Your Blessings
As I shared recently, beginning my morning by making a gratitude list has helped to transform my attitude. I’d encourage everyone to designate some time during the day (in the morning, before lunch, when you go to bed at night), to recount your blessings.
Focusing on what we do have instead of fretting over what we don’t have is a surefire way to give you a more cheerful outlook on life. And even if you feel like you have very little to be thankful for, when you start looking for blessings, you’ll begin to find many more than you ever realized existed!
4) Hug Someone
When you’re down in the dumps, you might not feel like talking to someone, but make yourself go hug someone and you’re almost guaranteed to feel better. And you’ll probably boost the spirits of the person you hug, too!
5) Express Appreciation
There’s something about telling someone how much you appreciate them that always makes you feel more cheerful yourself. Make a habit of starting the day by telling someone thank you for something — whether it’s your spouse or child, a co-worker, a neighbor, or sending someone a text, email, or card to brighten their day.
Take time to notice and appreciate the little things. It will make your world brighter — and just may mean the world to someone else, too.
I’ve also found that beginning my day by sipping a good cup of coffee, praying, journaling, reading God’s Word, and reading a good devotional is one of the best ways for me to start the day in the right frame of mind. My heart is quieted and I’m refreshed and encouraged for the day ahead. Truly, this first 30 minutes of my day is one of my very favorite parts of the day.
My Day 3 Project Update
Bedtime: Made it to bed by 9:45 p.m. — 5 minutes earlier than yesterday and only 15 minutes past my goal time. Progress!
My Top 5 Evening Must Do’s: Done
Wake Up Time: I decided to make a goal to be up by 6:30 a.m. every morning. I’d really like to be up by 5:30 a.m., but I don’t know that I can realistically pull that off on the weekends. So I’m sticking with 6:30 a.m. This morning, I got up at 6:20 a.m. — right when the alarm went off. Yay!
Day 4 Project
1. Did you determine your bedtime and 5 Evening Must-Do’s? If so, leave a comment telling us how you did on them last night.
2. Did you determine what time you’re going to commit to waking up every morning for the next three weeks? If so, leave a comment telling us how you did this morning!
3. Choose one simple thing that you will do every morning to help you begin your day with a good attitude. Leave a comment letting us know what you chose.
Guest post from Mandi at Life Your Way
This week I’m excited to release my brand new ebook, Easy Homemade: Homemade Pantry Staples for the Busy Modern Family, which is on sale for just $0.99!
If you’re regularly using coupons and building your stockpile for pennies on the dollar, or free, the idea of making homemade pantry staples may seem silly to you. But while you may find coupons on taco seasoning and ketchup, you may not find them as often on pesto and sour cream.
In those cases, not only does homemade give you more control over the ingredients, but it can also save you a pretty significant amount on your grocery budget as well.
And chances are you can make more things from scratch than you knew!
For example, did you know that you can “expand” your buttermilk by mixing it with milk, which costs a lot less?
Simply mix one part buttermilk to four parts milk and let it culture for 24 hours on the counter. When it’s done, you’ll have five times as much buttermilk for a fraction of the cost!
You can then mix one part buttermilk to four parts heavy cream and let that culture overnight at room temperature, and in the morning you’ll have sour cream!
Or use a gallon of milk to make homemade yogurt for pennies per ounce, a savings of one-fourth to one-tenth of the cost of yogurt, depending on what brands you’re buying and whether you’re using coupons on your yogurt.
For a long time, I thought that the trade off for these savings was the time I would spend, actually making kitchen staples from scratch. What I’ve discovered, though, is that many of these recipes are a lot easier than you’d expect, and since it doesn’t take much more effort to make something in bulk, I can make a few things every week and keep my kitchen well stocked, saving money without investing a whole lot of time.
Katie at Kitchen Stewardship estimates that when she makes yogurt, she’s earning about $35 an hour based on the time she invests in the process and the cost savings she “earns” for her family. Not too bad!
Discover more than 60 recipes for homemade kitchen staples like these in Easy Homemade, which is available for your Kindle, Nook or a full-color PDF to read on your computer for just $0.99 this week only!
Click here to get your copy today.
You’ll also find me sharing more about the what, why and how of homemade pantry staples at these great blogs:
Mandi Ehman lives in wild, wonderful West Virginia with her husband of ten years and four beautiful, spunky little girls. As a full-time work-at-home, homeschooling mom, she runs Life Your Way, a site that blends intentional and creative living, and Jungle Deals & Steals, where it’s all Amazon, all the time.
Have a last-minute summer vacation planned or preparing ahead for a road trip later this year? I shared 5 Inexpensive Ways to Keep Kids Occupied While on a Road Trip on Roo Mag last week:
Planning a road trip before school starts up again? Here are some simple and inexpensive ideas for keeping your youngsters occupied while traveling:
1. Printable Travel Activities
The internet is bursting with free printable travel activities. From Travel Bingo, to the License Plate game downloads, to Road Trip Scavenger Hunts. There’s something for just about every age and interest!
You can also print activities that aren’t necessarily designed just for road trips, but can be lots of fun nonetheless. Things like printable coloring pages, dot-to-dot worksheets, crossword puzzles, mazes, and more can keep children occupied for hours on end.
We like to make a special binder for each child with age-appropriate travel activities that they can do. Add in a zippered pouch with crayons, markers, pens, and/or pencils and you’re all set!
Read the full post here.
photo from Big Stock
