Saving Families Money Since 2007
Did you know that if you cut the roots off of green onions and stick them in a jar the tops will re-grow? Head on over to Creative Family Moments for more details.
Supposedly, you can do this multiple times, saving you having to buy green onions for awhile! We don’t use green onions too often around here, but I’m tempted to buy some and find some uses for them just for the fun of trying out this experiment. 🙂
Has anyone else done this before? I’d love to hear how it worked.
Download a free Christmas Tree Preschool Printable Pack. I downloaded this over the weekend and we had fun doing some of the activities yesterday!
Breakfasts
Granola bars
Toasted bagels, scrambled eggs
Steel cut oats with dried cranberries
Cookie Dough Baked Oatmeal
Waffles, scrambled eggs
Oatmeal
Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls, scrambled eggs, fruit saladLunches
Lunch at Sonic
PB&J, carrot sticks, apple slices
Annie’s macaroni & cheese, peas, pears
Hamburgers, sweet potatoes, fruit salad
Tossed salad with hard-boiled eggs, feta cheese, and dried cranberries
Leftovers x 2Snacks
Homemade Salted Caramel Mocha
Fruit/veggies
Cheese/crackersDinners
Cheesy Chicken and Rice Bake, tossed salad
Baked Tilapia, sweet potatoes, steamed broccoli
Cheesy Vegetable Chowder, Bread Machine Buttery Rolls, apple slices
Broccoli & Cheddar Quiche with Brown Rice Crust, fruit salad, Bread Machine Buttery Rolls
Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos
Chicken and Black Bean Enchilada Casserole, steamed veggies
Dinner with extended familyFreezer Cooking
Broccoli & Cheddar Quiche with Brown Rice Crust
Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos
Slow Cooker Black BeansFreezer Cooking for the Holidays:
Glazed Cinnamon Scone Mix
Biscuit Dough for Brown Sugar Biscuit Twists
Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls
What’s on your menu this week? Share details and/or your link to your menu plan in the comments.
I skipped last week’s goals post as I knew that, with all the Thanksgiving and Black Friday craziness, I’d probably just be doing good to survive, keep everyone dressed and fed, keep the house in pretty organized order, and to get decent sleep at night.
It was a good thing I didn’t set goals because, well, I pretty much lived the whole week in survival mode. We made it through, I kept on top of the laundry, the house stayed pretty clean, I got decent sleep, but mostly all the non-essentials didn’t happen.
And that’s okay. Sometimes, the goal-setting and to-do lists just need to get set aside so we can spend extra time with family and friends–which is exactly what happened last week.
But this week? It’s back to setting goals and tackling to-do lists.
Here are my goals from two weeks ago:
Family/Mothering Goals
1. Finish reading Little Town On the Prairie aloud to the children.
2. Do some Thanksgiving crafts together.
3. Wrap and drop off Operation Christmas Child boxes.Personal Goals
4. Finish reading EntreLeadership,
He Heard Hannah, Kisses from Katie, Getting Things Done, andBecoming a Woman of Influence.(I’m really and truly going to try and finish at least a few of these books this week!)
5. Go to bed early and get up early, as part of my 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life Challenge.
6. Run 6 miles.
Home Management Goals
7. Do at least one load of laundry from start to finish every week day.
8. Plan out all my freezer cooking for the holidays.Business Goals
9. Run a special promotion/freebie offer for my book.
10. Write daily posts for the 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life series.
Family/Mothering Goals
1. Finish reading The Boxcar Children.
2. Do some fun Christmas crafts/activities with the children (I’ll be posting about some of these!)
3. Check out Christmas books from the library, wrap them up, and let the children unwrap them and read them together.
Personal Goals
4. Finish reading EntreLeadership, Kisses from Katie, and Getting Things Done.
5. Go to bed early and get up early, as part of my 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life Challenge.
6. Run 6.5 miles.
Home Management Goals
7. Do at least one load of laundry from start to finish every week day.
8. Make Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day (yes, finally, I’m going to try this recipe and post about how it goes!)
Business Goals
9. Finish three articles for publications/sites (they are all due at the end of this week, but maybe I’ll actually get them finished early?)
10. Finish the 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life series. Start 21 Days to a More Organized Christmas series.
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.
Mamasource is offering a voucher for a Little Tikes Double Duty Engine and Workbench for $50 with free shipping. This workbench is priced at $69.99 on Amazon.com.
Note: After you purchase this voucher, you’ll need to redeem it on LittleTikes.com by December 1, 2011.
(Note: Some of the links in this post are my referral links. Read my disclosure policy here.)
Guess what? Target has my favorite jeans back on a daily deal today! They aren’t quite as inexpensive as what we’ve seen in the past, but it’s a good deal if you need some new jeans.
Add two pairs of Juniors’ Mossimo Supply Jeans to your shopping cart and go to checkout. It should give you both of them for $16 total with free shipping.
(Note: The links in this post are my referral links. Read my disclosure policy here.)
Oh the irony! I’m writing a post after 10 p.m. that was supposed to be finished much earlier today… and the post is on nothing other than getting it done early. As you can see, this is one of those areas of discipline I sorely need to work on. 🙂
I read a post on Simple Mom back in July that rocked my world. It was by one of my favorite people — Mandi Ehman — and it was on The Secret of Success for a Work-At-Home Mom. Here’s a snippet:
So what’s the key to success? Simply put: Get it done early.
This principle applies to your home and family life as well as your business. Whenever possible, get it — whatever it may be — done early and eliminate the stress and frustration of being pulled in a million directions.
Avoid the guilt of shushing your teething baby because of looming deadlines or groaning in frustration when the school nurse calls, or saying no — yet again — to a fun activity with your kids.
Now obviously, since I’m writing this post after 10 p.m., I’ve still got a long way to go in actually practicing this getting-it-done-early principle. But ever since reading this post, I’ve been consciously thinking about how implementing this principle would revolutionize my life–and cut down on a lot of stress!
You see, I’ve always been a late person. I was born 17 days late and it seems I’ve been late ever since. Whether it’s getting to an appointment or getting an article done, I’m almost always running behind–usually either just under the wire or late. Sometimes, really, really late.
In my lifetime, I’ve made a lot of excuses for my tardiness, but most all of them boil down to procrastination, improper prioritization, and a lack of planning ahead:
::Instead of planning to leave 30 minutes before I need to be out the door, I wait until 30 minutes before I need to leave to take my shower, get everyone dressed, gather up all the things we need for the outing, and get everyone out the door.
::Instead of looking at my calendar two or three weeks in advance, planning out articles I need to write, and writing them a week or two in advance, I often wait until the day they are due to even begin outlining them.
…And on and on it goes. No wonder there are many times I run around like a chicken with my head cut off! 🙂
Knowing the problem is good, but that doesn’t fix anything. I actually have to make changes if I want to experience any benefits. So I’m resolving to not just recognize the problem, but actually come up with a solution. Or at least begin working diligently in that direction!
In the next 24 hours, I’m going to sit down and map out a specific plan of action for a few of the areas where I especially struggle with getting things done on time. I’ll let you know my plan of action tomorrow.
Practical Application
1. Read Mandi’s fantastic article, The Secret of Success for a Work-At-Home Mom. Even if you’re not a work-at-home mom or not even a mom, you’ll find some great encouragement in it.
2. Choose one area that you especially struggle with being behind in or running late for.
2. Write down a simple plan for how you are going to stop procrastinating, start planning ahead, and begin getting things done early. Come back and share your plan with us so we can be inspired!
And if you’re one of those amazing people who is always on time or early and always has projects projects done before the deadline, would you do me a favor and share your secrets in the comments? I’d love to learn from you! Seriously. I need all the help I can get in this area!
The Nielsen Home Scan Consumer Panel is accepting new applicants in many locations.
If you are accepted as a panel member with Nielsen Home Scan, you will be sent a small hand-held scanner and will scan all the bar codes of everything you purchase. Once a week, you’ll transmit this information to Nielsen and you’ll earn points that can be redeemed for a variety of items from the Nielsen Gift Catalog.
The Nielsen Home Scan Consumer Panel is a “mini-USA” that represents all types of Americans. Manufacturers and retailers will look at the information you send to them to decide what products to make and sell to consumers all across the country.
Some of you have signed up in the past for this and really enjoyed it. Others of you have tried it and found it was too tedious and time-consuming. If you’re interested in hearing about others’ experiences in this program, check out the comments on this post.
(Note: The links in this post are my referral links. Read my disclosure policy here.)
Missed the first posts in this 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life series? Read them here.
I’ve noticed a number of comments from you all about my resolve to get up by 5 a.m. Monday through Thursday. Many of you have wondered how I’m pulling it off or how I manage. And I’ve gotten vibes from some of you that you’ve felt guilty that you get up later than me.
Please, please, please do not feel guilty if you get up later than me. Seriously.
While I think getting up early can be a fantastic way to get your day off to a great start and I certainly don’t want to encourage you to sleep in out of laziness, I want you to remember that you need to do what is best for you in whatever life season you’re in. I don’t have a baby, I’m not pregnant, and I only have three children who all sleep soundly through the night (most nights, at least!). I also can go to bed early and I have a husband who is supporting and joining me in my early-to-bed, early-to-rise challenge.
There have been many seasons in my life when getting up early was not wise or healthy. Maybe you’re in one of those seasons. Or maybe you just plain weren’t created to rise early. What works for me won’t necessarily work for you. Don’t feel that you need to get up early just because I am or because it’s really making a difference in my life.
Consider what your family’s needs are. Consider your own strengths and weaknesses. And then choose goals that work for your family–even if they are almost the exact opposite of what works well for someone else.
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!
Creative Family Moments shows you how to make Origami Turkeys. You could use these for table decorations, name cards, or just for a fun craft to do with your children this week.
Have you posted about a fun & frugal Thanksgiving idea? Submit your link here for possible publication on my blog this week.
I tend to procrastinate on the things I least enjoy. For me, that’s usually laundry. (No shock there, eh?!)
It’s silly, I know, but I’ll put off folding the pile of clean laundry until I am down to my very last outfit (it’s probably a good thing I only have a few outfits, otherwise I can’t imagine how behind I’d get on laundry!). The laundry pile will hang over my head and burden me down, but I often don’t do anything about it until it becomes a necessity.
Mark Twain wisely said, “If you eat a frog first thing in the morning that will probably be the worst thing you do all day.”
Brian Tracy wrote an entire book based upon this quote called, Eat That Frog: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time. One of his main premises is that if you start the day out by doing the things you like least first, you’ll get them out of the way so you can enjoy your day more and be more productive and fulfilled.
Eat That Frog is an excellent read and it challenged me to go into my day with the goal of doing the hardest things first. When I get the most dreaded things out of the way right off the bat, it gives me so much momentum for the rest of the day!
I’ve been trying to apply this idea to my laundry pile. Instead of letting it sit and grow to an overwhelming size, I’m trying start a load of laundry first thing in the morning, switch it to the dryer before breakfast, and then fold and put it away mid-morning. So far, I’ve not been successful at doing it this way every day, but on the days that I have done this, I’ve been amazed at how well it works.
And honestly, when I just do one load a day, I’m able to stay on top of the laundry, it never gets out of hand, and it really takes no more than 15 minutes a day to keep up with. Why has it taken me almost nine years of running my own home to figure this simple principle out?
Once you’ve accomplished your most dreaded tasks for the day, reward yourself with some of the tasks you enjoy doing. This will give you something to look forward to when you’re in the midst of doing your hard tasks and will probably give you motivation to accomplish them more quickly.
Practical Application
1) Read this great article: Start Your Day By Eating a Frog for some great step-by-step help in prioritizing your day.
2) Determine what you tend to procrastinate on and develop a plan of action for making it a first priority.
3) If you have a chance, check out Eat That Frog: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time from your local library. It’s a quick read and it’s packed with helpful inspiration.
Note: I’m taking the weekend off from posting this daily series, but will be back with the next installment on Monday. Enjoy a little breather–but keep on with your discipline goals and projects!
He Heard Hannah — I received a pre-release copy of this book and enjoyed it. As with pre-release editions, it’s not the final copy, so the layout/typographical errors can get in the way a little bit, but the story line was still quite captivating. The recounting of God’s redemption in the midst of anguish and unimaginable grief was powerfully moving. You cannot help but be touched by this book.
Becoming a Woman of Influence — I’m not quite finished with this book, but so far I’ve been very motivated and inspired in intentionally looking for opportunities to mentor and invest in the lives of women who are younger than me. Thank you so much to a few readers who recommended I read this book!
The Blue Hill Meadows — This book is quite idealistic, but we still really enjoyed following the stories of the Meadows family throughout the four seasons.
Currently reading: EntreLeadership, Kisses from Katie, Getting Things Done and listening to Purple Cow audiobook. You can see all of the books I’ve read in 2011 so far here. Read all of my book reviews here.
Have you read any good books recently?
(Note: The Amazon.com links in this post are affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy here.)
Missed the first posts in this 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life series? Read them here.
I don’t like to let people down. I don’t like to admit I can’t add another thing to my plate. In short, I don’t like saying no.
But in the last few years, I’ve finally come to realize an important truth: superwoman is a myth. If I want to live a productive, efficient, happy, peaceful, and disciplined life, I must learn to say no. And I must say it often.
If you want to stick with your goals, you’re going to have to get good at saying no. It’s hard to do, especially if you’re an over-achiever like me. But you’ll only end up frustrated, exhausted, and depleted if you try to do it all.
The reality is: I can’t do it all. When I say yes to one thing, I must say no to something else. When I choose to make getting up early a priority, I have to say no to habitually staying up late. I also have to say no to most activities and events that would keep me up late.
Slowly but surely, I’m learning to think before committing to anything: what will be the consequences of saying yes? Will saying yes to this late-night thing throw me off-course and mean that I can’t get up before 5 a.m.? Will saying yes to this big commitment mean that my home and family suffers?
Count the cost of each commitment before you make the final decision. Don’t just blindly say yes when someone tries to convince you that you must do X, Y, or Z. Don’t give in to peer pressure or make decisions based upon what people might think of you if you say no.
You can’t say yes to everything. It’s up to you to pick and choose wisely and say yes to only what is best. If you have leftover time and energy, you can always say yes to some good things, too. But start with the best stuff first.
Practical Application
1) Evaluate all the activities and commitments on your plate right now. Choose one that really doesn’t matter or isn’t helping you move closer to your longterm goals and get rid of it. If it’s something that involves other people, make sure you don’t just walk out on them without tying up all the lose ends first. Tell us in the comments what you decided to cut out from your life. I’m anxious to hear! 🙂
2) Make a habit of saying no more often than you say yes. The peace and order you’ll begin to experience in your life will be well worth the initial difficulty of actually saying no.
How are you doing on your current habit? I went to bed early last night and found it was so much easier to get up at 5 a.m. this morning. I need to do that more often! 🙂 I’m very ready for the weekend and getting to sleep in until 7 a.m., but I’m happy to have made it through another Monday through Thursday of getting up by 5 a.m. every day. (Okay, so I know that I initially said I was going to get up before 5 a.m., but I’ve decided to give myself grace adn just stick with by 5 a.m. for now!)
