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Shared May 21, 2012 comment

10 Goals for This Week

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 21, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

So, I kinda bombed last week… I had this lingering sinus infection most of the week and I was highly unmotivated as a result. I’m trying to dose up on a lot of Vitamin C and other things to boost my immune system — and trying not to get too discouraged that it is hanging on for so long.

The good news is that I did chip away at almost all the goals on the list, but I only completely accomplished three of them. By the way, I really, really tried to get 7.5 hour of sleep every night, but all the congestion made sleeping difficult and uncomfortable. Which, of course, doesn’t exactly lend itself to helping me get better — it’s kind of a vicious cycle!

Here’s to hoping this week is a better week — and that maybe I can find some relief from the sinus infection. {I’m *this* close to breaking down and trying a neti-pot. But it just weirds me out so much that I’ve not worked up the nerve yet! Yes, you can tell me I’m crazy! :)}

Last week’s goals:

Family/Mothering Goals

1. Finish reading Quest for Truth:Taken and Spy for the Night Riders aloud to the children.

~~2. Start our summer schedule.~~

~~3. Write a love note to Jesse.~~

Personal Goals

4. Finish reading Escape from Saddam. Start The Referral Engine.

5. Run at least five times.

6. Listen to 2 hours of The Little Big Things.

7. Sleep for at least 7.5 hours every night.

Home Management

~~8. Follow my Freezer Cooking plan and blog about it.~~

9. Make Homemade English Muffins.

Business Goals

10. Write one article for another site.

This week’s goals {pretty much a repeat!}:

Family/Mothering Goals

1. Finish reading Quest for Truth:Taken and Spy for the Night Riders aloud to the children.

2. Go to a baseball game and musical production as a family.

3. Write a love note to Jesse.

Personal Goals

4. Finish reading Escape from Saddam. Start The Referral Engine.

5. Run at least five times.

6. Listen to 2 hours of The Little Big Things.

7. Sleep for at least 7.5 hours every night.

Home Management

8. Follow my Freezer Cooking plan and blog about it.

9. Make Homemade English Muffins.

Business Goals

10. Write one article for another site.

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 May 21, 2012 comment

This week’s menu

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 21, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Easy Italian Breadsticks (made in the bread machine!)

Breakfasts

Granola bars
Cereal
Baked Oatmeal (from the freezer)
Scrambled eggs, Cinnamon Roll Biscuits, fruit salad
Banana Split Pancakes
Omelets in a Muffin Tin, Fruit
Homemade English Muffins, scrambled eggs, fruit

Lunches

Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches from the freezer
Lunch with friends
Leftovers x 2
Cheese Quesadillas, carrots, fruit
Salad, Hard-boiled eggs, toast, fruit
Snack-y lunch

Snacks

Fruit/veggies
Popcorn
Chocolate Waffle Ice Cream Sandwiches
Better for You Banana Bread

Dinners

Dinner with extended family
Italian Chicken, Bread Machine Buttery Rolls, steamed veggies, fruit
Southwest Rollups from the freezer, steamed veggies, sliced oranges & apples
Homemade Pizza, tossed salad, fruit salad
Dinner out
Ham & Cheese Pockets from the freezer, fruit salad, steamed veggies
Lasagna Casserole, Easy Italian Breadsticks, steamed broccoli, fruit

What’s on your menu this week? Share details and/or your link to your menu plan in the comments.

Shared May 21, 2012 comment

How to Plan a Frugal Camping Trip

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 21, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Guest post from Jackie of Mom on a Mission

Our family loves the great outdoors! Three years ago we bought a pop-up camper through Craigslist to make lasting family memories. My husband bought it off season and got it way below book value.

A year later we began to look for a camper with a bathroom, knowing we were having a little one on the way. Our friend found a used hybrid Jay Feather during the winter — we got a great price and begin to look for ways to save at the campground before the Spring.

Here are just a few of the ways we came up with:

Use membership discounts.

Good Sam RV Club and Passport America both offer discounts through a reasonable membership fee. Passport offers a whopping 50% off nationwide participating campgrounds. KOA offers discounts on special weekends. We camp at KOA when they run buy one get one free nights.

Some campgrounds offer free nights. For instance, Adventure Bound in Gatlinburg, TN offers all military, police, fire, nurses, EMT and teachers free camping for two nights on a designated weekend of the year. KOA offers buy one night, get one free on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day weekends.

Google “free camping”, “discount camping” and “complimentary camping” to see if there are any local campground deals in your area.

Dovetail your camping with local attractions.

We bought season passes at Dollywood in Tennessee this year so we will coincide our camping trips with our trips to Dollywood and Spash Country, use our Passport America discount, and save money on food by eating in our camper.

We live in a gorgeous area where there are plenty of hiking trails, natural water falls, slides, fishing, kayaking, and natural beauty. Different areas offer museums, parks, playgrounds, and more.

Research your camping area and look for discounts to those places as well. Groupon and Living Social sometimes offer half price tickets to different attractions.

Pack your freezer food and plan a menu.

You would think in the great outdoors, you could easily scrounge up something tasty. This is true when you only have one meal to plan, but most mommas would agree a healthy weekend requires some planning ahead to avoid last-minute purchases from the overpriced camp store.

This momma plans a camping menu just like our home menu — complete with breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner. I like to write it down and make as much as possible ahead of time. Salads, snacks, and fresh veggies can easily be stored in ziptop bags to fit inside a compact camper fridge or cooler.

I use a plastic shoe box to store items such as marinated chicken and homemade flatbreads for grilled pizza and/or gyros.

I like to make a healthy homemade trail mix with nuts as a protein snack. I often make freezer breakfast burritos or breakfast bagel bites for easier clean up in the camper. A fresh fruit basket on the table is a perfect way to implement grab-and-go for the kids.

Just like Crystal, I’m an avid freezer cook and I pack a cooler of freezer goodies right before we head out.

Many times camping can be just as costly as a motel visit. However, when you take these money saving ideas into consideration, you may find camping a frugal, family fun adventure like we do!

Jackie Brown is a Mom on a Mission, freezer cooking for her family while serving the poor and needy in her community.

Shared May 19, 2012 comment

4 Ways to Save Money on Moving

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 19, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Guest post by Meg from Saving On The Essentials

Moving can be a stressful time. Between packing your current house, coordinating schedules with those helping you move, and unpacking, things can quickly get stressful.

As if that isn’t enough to take care of, you also have to keep in mind the cost of moving: renting versus borrowing trucks, the cost of boxes, tape, and packaging material for fragile items, and much more.

Here are a few tips I have put into action during our last two moves to help keep our moving costs minimum:

1. Research Prices on Moving Trucks

My husband and I moved twice in a six month period. The first time was only a few blocks so we were able to use my brother in law’s truck and as well as our our vehicles to move our entire house.

However, during our second move, we moved out of state. We knew that we would need to rent a truck in order to move our house in one trip. As we began to research prices, we found a wide range and were shocked at how much it costs to rent a moving truck!

Make sure to compare prices in order to get the best bang for your buck. Read all the fine print to see who charges the most for miles traveled over the set limit, late fees, and any other hidden fees.

We were surprised to be charged a $5 Environmental Fee from our truck rental because the company uses an environmentally friendly soap when washing their vehicles.

2. Find a Great Deal on Moving Boxes

When we reserved our moving van, we had the option of purchasing moving supplies. These came to a whopping total of $100! Needless to say, we opted for a more affordable (free) option.

We were blessed to receive a lot of our moving boxes from my husbands workplace, but we also were able to get them from our local grocery stores, Craigslist, family, friends, and neighbors.

3. Use Items on Hand to Protect Breakables

Use your wash clothes, towels, newspapers, expired coupons, and other items you have on hand to protect your breakable items. Clothes and towels are going to take up space when you box them to move anyway so make sure to put them to good use during your move!

4. Plan Your Moving Day Meal in Advance

When our moving day arrived I was ill prepared to feed those who so generously offered to help us move. Due to the fact that we were moving and all of our pots, pans, plates, silverware, and glasses were loaded into the moving van, we opted to splurge for a pizza lunch as a way to thank our family and friends for their help during our move. Easy prep and clean up is a must!

Using these simple money-saving tips, we were able to keep our moving expenses to a minimum.

What are your best tips for saving money on moving?

Meg Kavanaugh is an Arkansas native married to her best friend, Andrew. When she isn’t bargain hunting she spends her spare time with family, reading, or photographing God’s beautiful creation! She shares her love for frugal living and money saving tips over at Saving On The Essentials.

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Shared May 18, 2012 comment

We Paid Cash: A New-to-Us Car

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 18, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

We paid cash! A testimony by Kate from San Diego Deals and Steals

In 2011, we completed our second adoption process – this time completely debt free! One of the ways we did this was by praying my husband’s 99 Camry (with over 250,000 miles and a cracked radiator) would last just a bit longer.

Since we were fundraising for our adoption, we didn’t want to spend any extra on anything unless we absolutely had to. However, as soon as we completed our adoption, our next financial move was to save for a slight upgrade to his car.

We put the money we had been putting in our “adoption fund” into the “newish car fund”. Here are some of the ways we saved:

working odd jobs
continuing to cut back our grocery budget and cooking at home from scratch
enjoying free entertainment – playing at the park, renting free movies, street fairs, etc.
the little bit of money I made from my blog
random, unexpected commission checks (hubby is a freelance artist and writer – his commission check was more than we anticipated this year so we got to our goal six months early!)

It all added up and we saved just over $6,000 without touching our emergency fund!

Our goal was to spend less than $6000 and not include the money we would make from our old car sale. We found a 2004 VW Passat with a little over 100,000 miles (that may seem like an old car to some – but it was dreamy for us!) and purchased it for just under $5,500.

Thank goodness he holds none of his self-worth in what he drives! We have lots of friends with much nicer cars, but he doesn’t care. He says, “Ours is paid for!” (Love him for that).

His new car also gets better gas mileage so he will save about $1 each day on his 40+ mile commute. That is going to help as we continue to work on our Baby Steps. We also sold our car (with full disclosure) for $1,700 the very low blue book value – but we wanted to be honest with our sale.

I know many people would have thought nothing of financing a $20,000 car with that $6,000 down. Instead, we just bought a less expensive car and put the money leftover (the extra $500 from our car savings and the $1,700 from the sale of his old car) into our Emergency Fund savings in the bank.

Kate lives in San Diego CA with her husband Harry, and kids, Josie (homemade), Silas (handpicked from Russia), and Charlotte (handpicked domestically). She is passionate about adoption and having fun in San Diego frugally. You can see more at San Diego Deals and Steals where she blogs about both.

Have you saved up and paid cash for something — large or small? Submit your story for possible publication here.

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Shared May 18, 2012 comment

Best Frozen Pizza Dough

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 18, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Homemade pizza is such a family-friendly meal… and extra delicious with a homemade crust. This recipe is super easy (and freezer-friendly!)

You Will Love this Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe

This pizza crust recipe has been my go-to recipe for years. It’s so easy to make — and it’s really hard to ruin. In fact, I’ve made it dozens upon dozens of times and I don’t think I’ve ever messed it up.

That’s saying a lot coming from someone like me, who can even ruin simple recipes like Reese’s Peanut Butter Bars.

Can you freeze pizza dough?

Last year, I experimented with freezing the pizza dough — to make it even quicker to pull off Homemade Pizza for dinner.

While I still think fresh is best, the frozen dough is almost as good — and it’s much less expensive than ordering pizza for dinner! 🙂

Ingredients for Homemade Pizza Dough

2 cups warm water (105º to 115º F)
2 Tablespoons active dry yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
4 Tablespoons oil (vegetable, Canola, or olive oil)
5 cups flour (can use all whole-wheat, half white/half whole-wheat, or all white)

How to Make The Best Pizza Dough

1. Pour warm water into a large bowl and sprinkle the yeast over it. Stir to dissolve.

2. Add the remaining ingredients and mix.

3. Dump onto a floured surface and knead dough for 3-5 minutes, or until smooth and no longer sticky.

4. Cut the lump of dough in half and roll out onto 2 greased pizza pans OR, put each half of dough into an airtight freezer bag and freeze for 4-6 weeks.

5. To Bake with Fresh dough: Add pizza toppings of your choice. Bake at 500ºF for around 10 minutes (until the crust looks crispy and lightly browned).

6. To Bake from Frozen dough: Place frozen dough in a greased bowl, cover with a damp towel, and thaw at room temperature for at least 3-4 hours. Roll out and shape onto a greased pizza pan. Add pizza toppings of your choice. Bake at 500ºF for around 10 minutes (until the crust looks crispy and lightly browned).

How to freeze Homemade Pizza Dough

The best way to freeze this homemade pizza dough is to divide the dough ball into 2 portions and place each into a gallon-size zip top freezer bag. Squeeze the air out, label, and freeze for 4-6 weeks.

I’ve found it often works best to let the dough cool in the refrigerator (in the zip top bags) before freezing it. The dough will continue to rise in the fridge, so you may need to squeeze the air out of the bag a couple of times.

How to thaw this Frozen Pizza Dough Recipe

You’ll want to plan ahead about 5 hours when using frozen pizza dough — as that’s about how long it takes to defrost, top, and bake.

1. Place frozen dough in a greased bowl and thaw at room temperature for at least 3-4 hours.

2. Roll out defrosted dough and shape onto a greased pizza pan.

3. Add pizza toppings of your choice.

4. Bake at 500ºF for around 10 minutes (until the crust looks crispy and lightly browned).

Does Frozen Pizza Dough need to rise after thawing?

Nope! Simply defrosted the dough enough so you can roll it out, then top and bake!

Fun recipes to try with the Best Homemade Pizza Dough

Olympic Rings Pizza
Homemade Hawaiian Pizza
Grilled Pizza
Pepperoni Rolls
Stromboli (add the filling to half the dough, fold the other half over the filling)

Recipe

Homemade Frozen Pizza

Author Crystal Paine

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Ingredients

2 cups warm water 105º to 115º F
2 tbsp active dry yeast
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
4 tbsp oil vegetable, Canola, or olive oil
5 cups flour

Instructions

Pour warm water into a large bowl and sprinkle the yeast over it. Stir to dissolve.
Add the remaining ingredients and mix.
Dump onto a floured surface and knead dough for 3-5 minutes, or until smooth and no longer sticky.
Cut the lump of dough in half and roll out onto 2 greased pizza pans OR, put each half of dough into an airtight freezer bag and freeze for 4-6 weeks.
To Bake from Fresh: Add pizza toppings of your choice. Bake at 500ºF for around 10 minutes (until the crust looks crispy and lightly browned).

To Bake from Frozen:

Place frozen dough in a greased bowl and cover with a damp towel.
Thaw at room temperature for at least 3-4 hours.
Roll out and shape onto a greased pizza pan.
Add pizza toppings of your choice and bake at 500ºF for around 10 minutes (until the crust looks crispy and lightly browned).

Love this recipe?

Make sure to share and save it on your favorite platform below!

Pin Recipe

Shared May 18, 2012 comment

Reader testimonial: We made 112 lunches in 7 hours!

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 18, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Need some freezer cooking inspiration? Head on over to Finding Hope to read about how Kayse and Bethany made 112 lunches in 7 hours!

Shared May 17, 2012 comment

How to Overcome Burnout and Get Back on a Routine (Part 4)

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 17, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

If you missed Parts 1-3, be sure to read them here.

6. Make Time For Things That Energize You

If you are feeling burned out, step back and evaluate your life. How much of the time are you spending doing things that drain you and how often are you doing things that energize you?

If your answer to this question is that you’re doing little that energizes you, you may have just found the solution to overcoming burnout.

Make a List of Things You Love to Do

Instead of thinking of all the things you have to do or the things you should do, clear your mind for 10 or 15 minutes and just make a list of things you love to do. What excites you, makes you feel alive, refreshes you, and recharges your batteries?

Maybe it’s gardening, having lunch with a friend, going to garage sales, painting, scrapbooking, swimming, writing, or browsing books at a bookstore. Whatever comes to your mind as something you love to do, write it down.

Be Intentional About Scheduling In Time for Things You Love

Take your list and schedule in at least one or two things every week that you love to do. Not only does this give you something to look forward to every week, but it prevents you from becoming too worn down. If every few days — or at least once a week — you’re doing something that recharges you, you’re going to be less apt to ever feel completely burnt out because you’re regularly replenishing your energy stores.

When I did this exercise, it was so helpful for me. I realized that, while I love spending time with other people, I’m most refreshed with quiet. Going and doing and being with people exhausts me after awhile.

So, in order to recharge my batteries, I need time away — going to a coffeeshop and writing for a few hours, curling up with a good book for an hour, or going grocery shopping by myself.

Because I know this about myself, I intentionally carve out at least an hour or two of quiet each week, if at all possible. The stillness — without people and projects and pressing to-do’s — re-energizes me and makes me much more productive and passionate about life.

What If You Can’t Think of Anything You Love To Do?

When I was deep in the midst of postpartum depression, someone encouraged me to try and do something fun every single day. The problem was, I couldn’t come up with a single thing I wanted to do. Nothing sounded fun, interesting, exciting, or even appealing to me. And that was a warning sign that I needed to get help — and to get it quickly.

If you’re feeling this way, please don’t take it lightly. Like me, you may be suffering from something more than just physical exhaustion or fatigue.

Shared May 16, 2012 comment

A Beginner’s Guide to Freezer Cooking

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 16, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Think you might be interested in trying your hand at freezer cooking? Here are some suggestions for starting off successfully:

1) Start Small

If you’ve never done any freezer cooking before, I’d recommend starting with no more than two recipes at first. You’re probably capable of much more, but start small and gradually work up from there.

2) Pick Recipes You Already Know You Love

If you want to love the recipes you stick in the freezer, make sure you pick recipes you already know your family loves. There will be time for experimenting later, but wait until you feel really confident with freezer cooking before you branch out and try a bunch of new recipes.

Not sure your favorite recipe will freeze well? Check my list of what freezes well in my free Freezer Cooking ebook.

3) Set Aside at Least an Hour for Cooking

Set aside sometime during the week or on the weekend when you have a free hour and plan to do your cooking then. Make sure that you have a solid hour or more set aside for the cooking so that you’re not in a rush. Rushing around trying to get things done before you have to go somewhere only sets you up for failure.

4) Have a Plan for Your Children

If you have young children, make sure you have a plan for what they’ll be doing while you’re cooking, too. The last thing you need is to have your first freezer cooking experience be an exercise in frustration due to constant interruptions from needy little people.

Afternoon naptime might be the best time to do your freezer cooking. Or, you could do it on the weekends when daddy or grandma can watch the children. If neither one of those are an option, consider putting together some Busy Bags or Day of the Week tubs to be brought out only during freezer cooking times.

Freezer-Friendly Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

5) Wrap Things Well

Want to ruin your yummy food? Don’t let it cool, don’t wrap it well, and don’t package it up in an airtight manner. All three of these things almost guarantee that your foods will develop freezer burn.

6) Make Sure to Use What You Cook in a Timely Manner

It’s wonderful to have food at-the-ready in the freezer, but it does you no good if you don’t actually use it. Make sure to eat it within 2-3 months, if not before.

I always consult my freezer when planning our weekly menu and incorporating some of the meals — especially those that need to be used up soon — into our weekly menu.

Need some tried and true freezer recipes for your first freezer cooking experiment? Here are a few of our most-loved freezer cooking recipes:

::Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
::Banana Bread
::Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
::Brown Bag Burritos
::Ham & Cheese Pockets
::World’s Easiest Marinated Chicken
::And don’t forget to check out all of my posts so far in the 4 Weeks to Fill Your Freezer series.

What advice and tips do you have for someone who is brand-new to freezer cooking?

Shared May 16, 2012 comment

Reader Tip: Another Way to Save on Medical Bills

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 16, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Rhonda emailed in the following tip:

I read your post about Saving on Medical Necessities and I have one more tip to add to that list… I recently had an outpatient procedure and my husband had a scope on his stomach. Our insurance only pays 80% after our $1000 per person deductable. So, since my bill alone was nearly $1000, I immediately called the hospital to set up a payment plan.

The person I talked to informed me I could get a 35% discount if I paid cash all at once; and since we just received our tax refund, I immediately paid the bill in full! I contacted the other providers, and out of the 7 bills we had, 5 gave us a discount ranging from 10% to 35%. We saved $516.32!

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Shared May 16, 2012 comment

5 Ways a Cash Budgeting System Will Change Your Life

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 16, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

I’m honored to have an article up on AllYou.com today titled 5 Ways a Cash Budgeting System Will Change Your Life.

Whether you’re struggling to stay afloat financially, or just trying to save money and make smarter spending choices, you should consider a cash budgeting system.

In our family, we use cash-only for most expenses, including groceries, gifts, clothing, miscellaneous items and eating out. This means we allot a set amount to each category monthly, then place that exact amount of cash in individual envelopes labeled for each expense at the beginning of every month.

Here are five reasons I’d encourage you to consider setting up your own cash budgeting system:

1. A Cash Budget Gives You Freedom

For many, just the word “budget” has negative connotations. However, a budget doesn’t have to be restrictive. In fact, for my husband and me, it has had the opposite effect — the boundaries of a budget have given us a freedom we didn’t have before. For example, we don’t have to worry that if we buy groceries, we won’t be able to pay our electric bill.

Head on over to AllYou.com to read the full article.

PSST! Want to chat with other frugal folks about ways to spend less this summer? I’ll be hosting a live chat on the All You Facebook Page next Wednesday at 2 p.m. EST and we’ll be talking about how to save money on summer activities and family road trips!

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Shared May 16, 2012 comment

Ask the Readers: Frugal summer activities for older kids?

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 16, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

In response to last week’s question about frugal summer activities for toddlers, today’s question is from Heather:

I seem to see lots of free and discounted activities for younger kids (parks, zoos, kids eat free nights, etc) but I would love to know about any creative and frugal ideas for OLDER kids — ages 8-13.

We try to take advantage of BOGO food coupons and discounted movies, but we’re past the swinging-in-the-park days. I can only afford 1 week of camp for each kid so any suggestions would be awesome!

Do you have a question you’d like to ask Money Saving Mom® readers? Read the submission guidelines and submit it here.

Shared May 16, 2012 comment

Save Money By Skipping the Grocery Stores

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 16, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Guest post from Laura.

One of the easiest ways to save money on groceries is to avoid the grocery store! Historically, grocery stores didn’t exist until the 1940s. Families raised much of their own food, bought it locally, or even traded with friends and neighbors.

Although I appreciate the convenience the grocery store offers, I’ve discovered the financial and health benefits of stocking my pantry from either my yard or local farmers.

Knowing where our food comes from can help reduce sickness, as food that is heavily processed or travels long distances is often void of essential nutrients. In addition, buying locally what you can’t grow or raise at home stimulates local economies. For example, The Virginia Department of Agriculture states that if every household spent $10 per week on local food, 1.65 billion dollars would be generated annually into the local economy!

I often hear many excuses as to why people can’t raise some of their own food, but there are solutions to almost all of those excuses!

Not Enough Space:

Container gardening, square foot gardening, and community gardening are all possibilities for those with limited space.

Not Enough Sun:

Is your lot wooded, or partially wooded? Consider planting edibles in your front yard, replacing ornamentals with fruit-bearing trees or bushes, or looking into shade-tolerant edibles. EdibleLandscaping.com is a great resource, or you can find many edible plants at your local nursery.

I have one friend who plants her garden along her driveway because it’s the only place that gets sun. Again, Square Foot Gardening gives some great suggestions for working with small spaces.

Not Enough Time:

Start small! Were you turned off by the mealy tomato at the grocery store? Try growing tomatoes this year. Next year, add in something else. Gardens are great projects for kids, too; they will learn much and take some of the responsibility off your hands.

Not Enough Money:

Prices of local meats and eggs are often more than their conventionally-raised counterparts at the store, though still often less than organics. Personally, we live on a teacher’s salary, so this hits close to home for us. Consider getting egg-laying hens (female chickens). This was a common backyard animal up until the 1940s. Chickens are easy to care for and relatively quiet.

In addition, buy in bulk. We got an extra freezer on Craigslist that can easily hold a quarter of a cow and several whole chickens.

Not in the Country:

Got an HOA, or a city that restrains how you can use your yard? Could you help change that? Our local city has a petition circulating right now to allow hens and honey bees within city limits!

Not a Good Cook:

Eating in season and simple recipes can make this task less daunting. Simply in Season is a wonderful cookbook to help you get started!

Laura is a wife and homeschooling mom to two children. She enjoys writing, reading, art, photography, gardening, and farming.

Shared May 15, 2012 comment

How to Overcome Burnout and Get Back on a Routine (Part 3)

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 15, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

If you missed Part 1 and Part 2 be sure to read them here before you read Part 3 below.

5) Recognize That You Can’t Do It All

No woman, no matter how put together she might seem, is superwoman. Every woman has her flaws, shortcomings, and struggles.

Stop comparing yourself to others.

The sooner you stop comparing yourself to others, the sooner you’ll start to find more peace and contentment in life.

You can spend all of your life trying to measure up to someone else. You can fritter away hours of time wishing you had her hair or her figure or her energy or her gifts. But you are not her, you are you.

You have unique gifts, talents, and abilities. You can improve upon what God has given you, you can wisely steward what He has given you, but you cannot change who He has created you to be.

So instead of living life wishing you were someone else, embrace your own uniqueness. Don’t feel guilty if you can’t get up when she gets up, or decorate your home like she decorates hers, or fit into the size of jeans she does, or juggle all the activities and responsibilities she does.

Your life and goals are going to look different from others — and that is completely okay. In fact, if everyone were a carbon copy of each other, wouldn’t life be dull and colorless?

Do the best you can with the energy, gifts, talents, and resources you have in the season of life you are in. And then be free from guilt!

Pick a few priorities and let the other stuff go.

People ask me all the time, “How do you do it all?” And the simple truth is: I only have a few priorities — and I seek to do a good job at those priorities. Then, I let a bunch of other stuff go.

And by a bunch, I mean a bunch of other stuff.

I don’t cook gourmet meals, I don’t host elaborate parties, and I’m the farthest thing from a fashionista.

I don’t sew. I don’t really garden. I don’t head up any organizations or run any committees.

My children are only involved in one extracurricular sport/activity right now (they are all taking ice-skating lessons) and we stay home all day at least two or three days most weeks.

I have a fantastic team of people who help with all the behind-the-scenes stuff for MoneySavingMom.com, I have a full-time assistant, and I have a mother’s helper who comes in one day each week.

So while I might do a good job of reading aloud to my children most weeks, I might accomplish a number of my weekly goals, I might read quite a few books, and I might update this blog frequently, the only reason I have time to do those things is because I’ve chosen to say “no” to a lot of other things that I’ve deemed aren’t priorities in my life right now.

Give yourself grace.

You are never going to be where you want to be. There will always be something undone or left to do. And as soon as you complete one project, there’s another project (or five) that needs to be completed.

Don’t beat yourself up that you’re not as far as you’d like to be. Instead, give yourself grace, and focus on the progress you have made and are making.

Rather than becoming discouraged that you have 12 things left on your to-do list to do and it’s 10:30 p.m., be encouraged that you accomplished three of the things you set out to do today.

When you have a day when it seems like nothing gets done and you just go around and around in circles, remind yourself that tomorrow is a new day.

And remember: Life is meant to be enjoyed and savored not run through at breakneck speed. Take time to stop and smell the roses, even if it means fewer things get crossed off the to-do list!

…to be continued tomorrow

Shared May 15, 2012 comment

Barbecue Meatballs Recipe (Freezer-Friendly!)

Published: by Crystal Paine on May 15, 2012 | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

My great-grandmother passed along a love of barbecue meatballs to our family — and it’s a recipe we’ve made over and over again. We love to serve these with twice-baked potatoes, homemade rolls, and a tossed salad.

Freezing Homemade Meatballs is so easy!

Even if you’re not a fan of most freezer meals, I bet this one would work for your family since you freeze it uncooked.

No one will likely know that you pulled this out of the freezer to serve for dinner. 🙂

It’s SO easy and delicious!

BBQ Meatballs Recipe Ingredients

For the Meatballs:

2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups milk
2 cups oats (quick-cooking or old-fashioned — can also substitute bread crumbs)
1 onion, chopped
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 pounds raw ground beef (since you’ll be freezing this recipe uncooked, you’ll want to make sure the meat is fresh, not frozen)

For the Sauce:

2 cups ketchup
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped onion (optional)
1 teaspoon Liquid Smoke (optional)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

How to make BBQ Meatballs

1. In a large bowl, combine all meatball ingredients and mix well.

2. Shape into one-inch balls and place in a greased baking dish to bake immediately or on a cookie sheet to freeze for later.

Directions for Freezing Homemade Meatballs

1. Shape into one-inch balls and place on a cookie sheet.

2. Freeze uncooked meatballs on a cookie sheet for one hour.

3. Remove from cookie sheet and transfer to airtight ziptop freezer bags.

4. Label and freeze for up to 3 months.

How to Defrost Freezer Meatballs

1. Remove meatballs from the freezer and defrost overnight (or for 8 hours) in the refrigerator.

2. When you’re ready to bake the meatballs, place them in a greased baking dish.

How to cook BBQ Meatballs

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.

2. Place defrosted meatballs in a greased baking dish.

3. Bake for 18-20 minutes.

4. Drain the grease.

5. While meatballs are baking, combine sauce ingredients in a saucepan on the stove.

6. Bring ingredients to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

7. Pour BBQ sauce over meatballs and bake for 10-20 minutes longer, or until done.

Storing BBQ Meatballs

Refrigerate any leftover cooked meatballs in a food storage container (with any extra sauce).

Uncooked meatballs can be frozen in zip-top freezer bags for up to 3 months.

What to serve with this Barbecue Meatballs Recipe

Meatballs pair well with almost any type of potato, vegetable, salad, fruit, and/or bread — so pick your favorite and enjoy a delicious meal!

Baked potato / twice baked potatoes
Mashed potatoes
Cheesy hashbrowns potatoes
Roasted vegetables
Any type of salad
Homemade Rolls
Fresh fruit or fruit salad
Applesauce

Recipe