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.
Summer Bucket List
Classic View
Grid View
This week’s menu
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.
10 goals for this week
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.
Shared Aug 20, 2012
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Make the Most of Your Mornings: Create a Realistic To-Do List (Day 6)
Make the Most of Your Mornings: Create a Realistic To-Do List (Day 6)
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.
1) Decide Your Personal Priorities
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.
2) Start With the Basics
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!
3) Pick a Few Bite-Sized Pieces to Tackle
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.
4) Prioritize Your List
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!
5) Keep it Short & Simple
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.
Free Printable Daily Dockets and To-Do Lists
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.
12 Tips on How to Get Rental Car Discounts
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.
Tips for Renting Cars for Cheap: When you book
1. Book Early
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.
2. Compare Rental Companies
Prices vary between agencies. Use sites like Costco.com and Priceline.com to compare multiple rentals at a glance.
3. Be Aware: The Same Company May Have Different Rates at Different Locations
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.
4. Adjust Pick-Up and Drop-Off Times
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.
5. Find Coupon Codes
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.
6. Factor In Insurance Costs
Check with your insurance provider to see if extra insurance is even necessary.
7. Don’t Forget Fuel
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.
8. Read the Fine Print
Make sure you have unlimited mileage and are allowed to take the car where you want to go.
9. Get Rewarded
If the rental company has a rewards program, join it (know the rules to maximize rewards).
How to Get Rental Car Discounts: Before you drive off the lot
10. Don’t Get Distracted
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.
11. Don’t Take the Blame
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.
Tips for Cheap Rental Car Deals: When you return
12. Leave Things Better Than You Found Them – Except This
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.
How to Get Car Rental Discounts FAQs
Is it cheaper to rent a car for a week or per day?
This depends on the situation — usually you can get a discounted rate for longer rentals, but sometimes renting per day will be cheaper.
What day of the week is best to rent a car?
Weekends are often more expensive, so you’ll likely save a bit of money if you rent them Monday – Thursday.
Who has the cheapest rental vehicles?
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!
Have you found any other great ways to save on car rentals?
Jody is creating PlasticBackBooks; a marketplace for helpful, wholesome, and entertaining eBooks.
Shared Aug 17, 2012
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Make the Most of Your Mornings: Have a Plan for the Day (Day 5)
Make the Most of Your Mornings: Have a Plan for the Day (Day 5)
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.
You need a plan.
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.
A plan gives you purpose, motivation, and direction.
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!
Small steps in the right direction can result in big change over time.
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?
Change your life by setting big goals and breaking them down into bite-sized pieces.
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.
Transform your to-do list from the mundane to the meaningful through goal-setting.
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.
Freebies in my mailbox
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!
Slow-Cooker Barbecue Sandwiches
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.
This Slow Cooker BBQ is Amazing!
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.
Ingredients for Slow Cooker BBQ Sandwiches
- 3 to 4-pound chuck or bottom round roast OR pork shoulder roast
- 2 carrots, finely shredded, optional (you can’t tell they are in there once it cooks, I promise!)
- 1 small onion, diced or ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup brown sugar (can use raw sugar or sucanat)
- ¼ cup wine vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
How to Make BBQ Sandwiches
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.
Recipe
Slow Cooker BBQ Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 4 pound chuck or bottom round roast OR pork shoulder roast
- 2 carrots finely shredded
- 1 small onion diced or ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 2 garlic cloves crushed or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup wine vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- 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).
- In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients and pour over the top of meat.
- Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.
- Uncover the last hour to help sauce thicken, if needed.
- Remove meat from cooker and shred with two forks in a separate bowl, discarding any bones and fat.
- Skim fat from remaining liquid in the slow cooker.
- 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).
- Serve on hamburger buns or sandwich rolls.
Nutrition
Serving: 0.5cup | Calories: 381kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 125mg | Sodium: 495mg | Potassium: 741mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 2188IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 4mg
Love this recipe?
Make sure to share and save it on your favorite platform below!
What are your favorite summer slow-cooker recipes?
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.
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Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packets
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!
We love these easy, make-ahead instant oatmeal packets!
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!
Ingredients for Instant Oatmeal Packets
- 1/2 cup oats
- 1 Tbsp. brown sugar (or raw sugar)
- 1/8 tsp. cinnamon (optional)
- 1 Tbsp. chocolate chips, raisins, or other mix-ins (optional)
How to Assemble These Easy Oatmeal Packets
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.
How to Prepare Instant Oatmeal
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”!
Recipe
Easy Instant Oatmeal Packets
Equipment
- Snack-size zip-top bags
Ingredients
- ½ cup oats
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- ⅛ tsp cinnamon optional
- 1 tbsp raisins or chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- Dump oats, brown sugar, and optional add-ins into a snack-size zip-top bag.
- Repeat with as many baggies as you’d like to make.
- Store baggies in an airtight container or freeze them for up to three months.
To Cook Oatmeal:
- Pour the contents of one bag into a cereal bowl or very large mug.
- Add 3/4 cup water or milk.
- Microwave on high for 1-2 minutes, until cooked.
- Stir and add additional milk if necessary.
- Eat and enjoy!
Love this recipe?
Make sure to share and save it on your favorite platform below!
FREE 50+ Easy and Cheap Breakfast Ideas!!
Mornings just got so much easier with this FREE list of 50+ Easy & Cheap Breakfast Ideas for Busy Weekday Mornings!
Shared Aug 16, 2012
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Make the Most of Your Mornings: Begin Your Day With a Good Attitude (Day 4)
Make the Most of Your Mornings: Begin Your Day With a Good Attitude (Day 4)
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.
5 Ways Start Your Day Off With a Good Attitude
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.
The First 30 Minutes of My Day = One of the Best Parts of My Day
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.
What practical ideas do you have for ways to help you start the day off with a good attitude?
OVER-SPENDING EVERY SINGLE MONTH?Grab these FREE Budgeting Sheets!
Click here to download!
Get the Easy. Homemade. eBook for just $0.99 today!
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:
- Real Food Baby Step: Homemade Pantry Staples | Keeper of the Home
- How Cooking from Scratch Has Changed My Pantry | Kitchen Stewardship
- Popcorn (Ultimate Recipe Swap: Afternoon Snacks) | Life as Mom
- Homemade Does Not Have to Mean Gourmet | Simple Organized Living
- Strategies for “Easy” Homemade | The Happy Housewife {8/16 @ 2pm ET}
- Homemade Taco Seasoning | For the Mommas {8/16 @ 8pm ET}
- Baby Steps to Cooking from Scratch | Simple Mom {8/17 @ 2am ET}
- How to Store Bulk Homemade Pantry Staples | I’m an Organizing Junkie {8/17 @ 8am ET}
- Fresh-Squeezed Lemonade | Deal Seeking Mom {8/16 @ 12pm ET}
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.
5 Inexpensive Ideas for Keeping Kids Occupied on a Road Trip
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
Do-It-Yourself: Whole Wheat Pita Bread
Life Blessons shows you how to make homemade whole wheat pita bread.
Shared Aug 15, 2012
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Q&A: How did you stay determined & stick with it during your lean law school years?
Q&A: How did you stay determined & stick with it during your lean law school years?
I read your post on “If You Want Something Badly Enough” and wondered if you could share about your lean years when your husband was in law school. You were obviously highly motivated. Was there a catalyst for that? Something that moved you to sacrifice so much for so long without yielding?
All of us want to be debt-free, but wanting it isn’t always enough to carry us through the lean times because deprivation hurts! And doing it for an extended period of time requires a tremendous determination. Can you share your source for that determination? Did you have anything that pushed you through when you wanted to give up? -Lori
Thanks for a thought-provoking question, Lori! I don’t hold myself up as someone who has it altogether or has arrived, by any means. I have many struggles and short-comings and there are definitely times when self-discipline is the last thing I feel like practicing!
In thinking this through recently, here are some of the things that I believe were instrumental in keeping us motivated and determined to keep going during those lean law school years:
1) The Grace of God
As Christians, God is our hope, our Sustainer, and our Provider. He has proven Himself faithful time and time again.
Without His grace, I don’t know how we would have made it through law school. It wasn’t easy and there were many, many times when it felt like all we had was each other and God to cling to. Our faith was challenged and strengthened so much during those lean law school years.
2) Our Parents’ Examples
Jesse and I were both blessed to have parents who modeled wise financial stewardship before us. Seeing them make short-term sacrifices in order to achieve long-term benefits was a huge inspiration to us and one of the main reasons why we made the audacious commitment to stay out of debt during law school.
3) Being On the Same Page as a Couple
One of the biggest keys to our financial success has been the fact that Jesse and I are wholeheartedly on the same page when it comes to finances. We are best friends, we talk about everything, we see all of our finances as “ours”, and we set goals together — taking into account both of our needs and wants.
Nagging and dragging your spouse along never works. Believe me, I’ve tried that and it was a miserable failure. Both of you must be willing to communicate and compromise in order to get on the same page and the same team — in finances and in all of life. There is no “I” in team. 🙂
4) Monthly Budget Accountability Meetings
Not only have we set financial goals together since the beginning of our marriage, but we’ve also held a practice of having monthly Budget Accountability Meetings. This is when we both go over our current financial standings — what we spent over the last month, where each of our budget categories are looking like, and where we have a surplus and a deficit.
We talk about areas where we struggled, we discuss possible changes and tweaks to the budget, and we look at our yearly financial goals to see the progress (or lack thereof!). The Monthly Budget Accountability Meetings are not always fun and yes, sometimes there are some hearty discussions (ahem!), but without these regular check-ups, it would be a lot easier to lose touch with where we are financially and it would be a lot easier to get way off course without realizing we were going in a bad direction.
5) Making Room for Microscopic Splurges
We’ve always stuck to a strict written budget and there were many months in the beginning of our marriage when things were tighter than tight (you’ve probably heard me tell the story about the time our fish had to go for two weeks without food because we couldn’t afford to buy the $2 fish food as every penny of that was needed to buy groceries). That said, we made it a point from the get-go to find ways to regularly “splurge” — even if in a microscopic sense.
I worked as a mystery shopper so that we could occasionally get free dinners out at restaurants. I read daily emails from MyPoints in order to rack up enough points to get a few small gift cards each year to Barnes & Noble (too bad Swagbucks wasn’t in existence when Jesse was in law school!). And we saved our change in a jar to use toward $0.50 movie rentals at the movie store or a very occasional meal at a fast food restaurant with coupons.
6) Reminding Ourselves Of How Far We’d Come
It’s easy to focus on how far you have left to go, or how little progress it seems like you’re making. Instead, we tried to focus on how far we’d come.
Sometimes when we were feeling discouraged or overwhelmed, we would sit down and look at our budget and bank account and just be in awe that it had held up for so long and we’d been able to pay all of our bills. That gave us hope to keep holding on and holding out.
7) Visualizing the Rewards at the Finish Line
For us, visualizing ourselves at the finish line having stayed out of debt and survived law school was a huge motivator for us. Sometimes, we’d have fun talking and dreaming about the things we would be able to do when we had a little wiggle room in our budget. And often, we’d remind ourselves how freeing it was going to be to not have to be sending a huge chunk of our pay checks toward school loans.
Remembering why we were making the sacrifices we were making and what our end goal helped us to stay the course even when we were completely ready to give up.
What helps you stay determined to make short-term sacrifices and how do you keep from giving in and giving up?
photo from Big Stock
Shared Aug 15, 2012
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Make the Most of Your Mornings: Getting Out of Bed On the Right Foot (Day 3)
Make the Most of Your Mornings: Getting Out of Bed On the Right Foot (Day 3)
Now that we have our plan in place for the evening and we have a set bedtime in place, it’s time to take about the first thing that has to happen if you want to start your morning off the right foot… getting out of bed.
For some of you, getting out of bed is simple. You wake up energized, refreshed, charged up, and ready to spring out of bed and take on the world. If that’s you, you can just skip this entire post — you’ve got a handle on this already!
For many people, however, getting up in the morning can be a challenge. You wake up feeling groggy and exhausted. You push the snooze button as many times as possible because you dread trying to pull yourself out of bed in the morning. You barely make it out of bed in time to throw on some clothes, hastily put your hair up in a ponytail, and dash out the door feeling unkempt and behind.
If the latter somewhat describes you, here are some advice and ideas for getting out of bed at a decent hour each morning:
1) Go to Bed at a Decent Hour
If you want to get up feeling refreshed in the morning, your first step is to go to bed at a decent hour so that you can actually get a refreshing night’s rest! If you’re tempted to stay up later than you should, remind yourself of how great you’re going to feel in the morning when you get up. And then go to bed.
Commit to sticking with your pre-determined bedtime faithfully for three weeks. Hopefully, at the end of three weeks, it will have become more of a habit.
2) Make Sure You’re Getting Enough Sleep
If you go to bed on time, but you’re still feeling groggy and out-of-sorts every morning when you wake up, it may be because you’re not getting enough sleep. Try going to bed 30 minutes earlier or sleeping in for an extra 30 minutes each morning for a few days and see if that makes a difference.
3) Do NOT Allow Yourself to Use the Snooze Button
For the next three weeks, the snooze button is off limits. Period. If you need more sleep, set your alarm to go off 15 or 30 minutes later rather than using the snooze button.
4) Make Sure You Have Something to Wake Up For
It’s much easier to wake up excited about the day if you have something you love waiting for you when you get up. I love the early morning hour of sipping my coffee, reading my Bible, journaling, praying, planning out my day, reading, and blogging.
This quiet time refreshes me and energizes me for the day ahead. And it’s something I look forward to waking up to each day.
By the way, I’ve also found it’s much more enjoyable to wake up to a clean room and clean kitchen each morning. There’s just something about being greeted by a shining sink that inspires me. But if I know that my house is a mess, it’s less motivating for me to get up in the mornings. That’s why I try to take time each evening to do a quick clean up — it makes the mornings much more enjoyable!
5) Get An Accountability Partner
Need extra help in pulling yourself out of bed? Team up with a friend who also wants to get up on time and make a pact to text, call, or email each other as soon as you get up each morning. If you know you have to “report in” as soon as you wake up, you’re going to be less apt to roll over and go back to sleep.
6) Get Up and Do Something
Instead of lying in bed making excuses as to why it’s okay for you to sleep in, get up and do something. Even if you feel tired at first, if you get up and take a brisk walk, take a shower, or do 25 jumping jacks, you’ll probably soon forget how much you wanted to stay in bed.
Whatever you do, when your alarm clock goes off in the morning, GET OUT OF BED. It’s the first and most important step to making the most of your mornings. 🙂
My Day 2 Project Update
1. I set my bedtime for 9:30 p.m. Jesse and I both agreed that we think this is a realistic time for me to consistently shoot for. However, I didn’t actually get in bed until 9:50 p.m. last night. But hey, that’s progress over what I have been doing the last few weeks!
2. My Top 5 Evening Must Do’s:
::Tidy Up House
::Get Ready For Bed (Contacts Out, Face Washed & Moisturized, PJ’s On, Take Pills)
::Clothes Laid Out For the Next Day
::To Do List Made For the Next Day
::Read In Bed
Day 3 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. If you haven’t decided yet, be sure to take time to do so today and leave a comment on yesterday’s post and let us know!
2. Determine what time you’re going to commit to wake up every morning for the next three weeks. Consider what your pitfalls to consistent waking up are and think about possible ways that you can help yourself be more successful. Leave a comment telling us what time you are committing to get up every morning and also how you’re going to set yourself up for success in this area.