A Stitch of Faith

#BDSI

2011-12-26T08:31:00.000-08:00

I am participating in the Boxing Day Sew-in being sponsored by Sandy of the Quilting for the Rest of Us podcast. There are several podcasters and bloggers who are participating and offering giveaways. Go check it out at Sandy's Blog.

Have Fun Sewing!

Hand Basting a Quilt

2011-02-27T07:29:00.000-08:00

Basting my quilts is the least favorite part of making a quilt for me. I have tried pin basting and spray basting. I really like Sarah's Tutorial on Maching Quilting 101. She shows how to spray baste. I have used this method quilt successfully, however, the spray is expensive and it is difficult to find the floor space to baste a large quilt. It is also pretty hard on the body!

My two most recent quilts ( I will post pictures later today) were pin basted. I was reminded how I don't like pin basting. It is easy to baste the quilt, but difficult to quilt. I broke a couple of needles.

For my next quilt, I am considering trying Sharon Schamber's hand basting method. The links to her tutorials are below. Let me know what you think. Has anyone tried this method?

Sharon Schamber Hand Basting a Quilt Tutorial 1

Sharon Schamber Hand Basting a Quilt Tutorial 2

Happy Quilting!

Giveaway at Stash Resolution

2011-02-13T16:21:00.001-08:00

I have to recommend a blog and Podcast. Sara at Stash Resolution is giving away 6 fat quarter bundle of the new fabric line Delilah. It is beautiful. Go check it out at Sara's Blog and enter to win. If you would like to buy some of this fabric, be sure to visit Sara's Etsy shop--Swell Cloth.

Baby Cardinal Update

2010-06-29T19:16:00.000-07:00

The baby cardinals are growing so quickly these past few days. Eyes open, feathers filling in. The kids are growing up!

The above picture was taken yesterday. They are getting bigger and more alert. We thought that it might be a couple more days, but...

Today, they are gone...

So sad, but also so happy!

My daughter heard a lot of chirping this morning, hoping that it was just mom & dad getting the kids out of the nest and into the cover of the woods.

Hope nothing bad happened.

The nest was still wonderful to observe these past couple of weeks.

We'll miss the babies!

Babies getting bigger!

2010-06-25T07:26:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday!

2010-06-20T16:07:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick picture of the new babies hatched today. They are hungry! My hubby had to take a quick picture because the daddy is in the background wanting to feed these two. We hope to get a better picture soon...

Outside my window...

2010-06-13T13:26:00.000-07:00

A Cardinal nest with two tiny eggs. We had a nest close to another window a couple of years ago, but this one has an even better view. They must really like the protection of being close to the house.

We will put up more photos as things progress...

Garden Update--and playing with my new camera!

2010-06-11T18:07:00.001-07:00

Here are some updated pictures from my Square Foot Garden. It really has grown quite a bit since my last post. The English peas are gone--they were spent and it is now far too hot. I took all of these pictures with my new camera--the Canon Rebel T1i. I still have lots to learn about the camera.

I can't believe how BIG the tomato plants have gotten! We have lots of blooms and have even harvested a few cherry tomatoes and jalapeno peppers. So far, I have only found one green tomato worm, but it is hard to find them since the plants are so large.

I am waiting on the pepper shown below to turn yellow. It is taking its sweet time...

Cherry tomatoes getting ripe!

I really have no idea why I am still getting lettuce. We have had many days near or at 90 degrees. I can only guess that the plentiful rain is helping and this bed gets some afternoon shade.

I need to pick lettuce this weekend!

Now for some pictures of flowers from around my house. Enjoy!

Have a great weekend and get outside in your garden!

Our Square Foot Garden

2010-05-22T04:55:00.000-07:00

This is our second year of having a Square Foot Garden. I have always wanted to have a vegetable garden and have tried many times without much success. We live in Georgia and we have the classic Georgia red clay.

The Square Foot Garden did well last year, so we expanded the garden this year. We just started harvesting the cool weather crops this week.

Here you see part of our crop of English peas. We still have to pick from one of our larger beds (4' x 8'). We will definitely be shelling peas this weekend. We should be able to put quite a bit in the freezer.

The picture below shows some spring onions and lettuce. The lettuce is so tender. Its amazing how much better everything is when it is grown at home. Freshness definitely makes a difference!

We still have potatoes growing and more lettuce and onions. We planted over 30 tomato plants and about 10 pepper plants (a mixture of hot peppers and sweet bell peppers). I also just planted green beans this week, but they are not up yet. Once we finish picking all of the peas, we will take them out and plant more green beans, squash and cucumbers in those beds.

Head over to $5 Dinners and check out more links to Square Foot Gardening!

Macular Degenerates

2010-05-08T19:38:00.000-07:00

Here is a look at what a few of the eye surgeons I work for do in their spare time. Love the name!

Click on the video to see full screen:

This video was shot at a fundraiser for blindness.

Great job guys!

Menu Plan Monday 4/26/10

2010-04-25T13:24:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, my husband and I did an inventory of our pantry and freezer. I found 23 boxes of cereal, 6 cans of tomatoes, 3 bottles of ketchup, 2 bottles of vegetable oil, 6 boxes of oatmeal and lots more. Needless to say, I need to try and use up some of what I have stockpiled. (Let's not even get into the non-food stockpile--11 bottles of laundry soap!)

I got on allrecipes.com and started searching recipes by ingredient and came up with some menus for this week. I really love being able to find recipes by just typing in what I have on hand. Try it some time!

Breakfasts
cereal with milk
granola bars
instant oatmeal
bagels with cream cheese
toaster strudels
raisin toast
fruit

Lunches
Progresso soups
PB and J sandwiches
Egg salad sandwiches
carrot sticks
fruit
yogurt

Dinners

Braised Balsamic Chicken, rice, steamed veggie
Pizza, salad
Apricot Chicken, sugar snap peas, salad, biscuits
Chipped beef with gravy over toast, steamed veggie
Spaghetti sauce, noodles, salad, homemade bread
Pancakes, Canadian bacon, fruit
Tangy chicken fajitas

Get more great menu ideas from I'm an Organizing Junkie--Menu Plan Monday.

Have a great week!

Free Bath Tissue at CVS!

2010-04-11T15:12:00.002-07:00

The Magic Coupon machine at CVS is giving out coupons for $1 off any CVS paper product. I got one last week and another today when I went in to CVS. The single rolls of toilet paper are 2/$1 this week, so I was able to get 4 rolls for FREE.

Gotta love free toilet paper!

Menu Plan Monday 3/22/10

2010-03-21T18:21:00.001-07:00

I am going to try to get back into the habit of menu planning. I have been so busy shopping for all the deals, but end up not having everything to make complete meals. I have about $70 left in the grocery budget, so I have plenty to fill in any gaps. I am going to try to use up what I have on hand as much as possible over the next couple of weeks.

Here is my plan for this week:

Breakfasts: cereal with milk, oatmeal, bagels with cream cheese, granola bars

Lunches: Smart Ones, sandwiches, soup, leftovers

Dinners:

Popcorn chicken over salad
Pancakes, bacon/sausage, fruit
Pizza and salad
Chili and cornbread
Hot dogs, corn on the cob, fruit
Spaghetti , Italian bread, salad
Leftovers

Menu Plan Monday is hosted by I'm An Organizing Junkie. Head over and check out other great menu ideas.

My Next Project

2010-03-19T13:40:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of the beautiful hand-painted yarn I recently got at a great price from Tuesday Morning. I am going to be learning to knit socks. Can't wait!

These will definitely be some Christmas gifts this year. I love to give handmade items for Christmas.

Free Cheese! And other great deals.

2010-03-19T13:25:00.000-07:00

So I went back to Kroger today. I had more of the $2/2 coupons for Kraft cheese and I also realized I had a booklet mailed to me from Kroger with some March Madness coupons.

I was able to get $1 off the cokes and $0.55 off the Powerade. I also won the Maxwell House by playing the March to Savings game at Kroger.com.

After the March Madness sale, coupons and a $4 catalina, I was able to get everything pictured for $7.43!

That's 33 items:

24 bags of cheese (free)
3 2-liter cokes
3 Powerades
1 Maxwell House coffee (free)
1 8-pack of Brawny
1 Rotisserie chicken

Check out these great blogs for all the deals:

Southern Savers--Friday Finals

Money Saving Mom-Super Savings Saturday

Fiddledeedee-Super Savers

The Frugal Freeloader

Kroger Deals $1.65 Out of Pocket!

2010-03-18T14:52:00.000-07:00

On the way home from work, I stopped by a Publix store. I had been to this store last week and picked up a couple of the $2/2 Blinkie coupons that they had for Kraft cheese. I decided that if there were still coupons there I would get a few more. They had two Blinkie machines with Kraft coupons! I got a few more and combined them with some printables I had and headed over to Kroger.

I got 8 2-liter cokes ($0.79 ea on March Madness sale) and 16 Kraft shredded cheese ($0.99 on March Madness sale) and spent a total of $1.65 out of pocket! I was able to get such a great deal by using my coupons, plus I won a free Kraft cheese earlier this week at Kroger.com by playing the March To Savings game. Then I had a $4 Catalina left from last week.

You can learn more about Kroger deals this week by visiting HERE or HERE.

To see how other folks did this week on their grocery shopping, be sure to visit:

Money Saving Mom--Super Savings Saturday

Southern Savers--Friday Finals

Fiddledeedee--Super Savers

The Frugal Freeloader

Financial Peace University-Free Lesson

2010-03-12T14:44:00.000-08:00

If you have been curious about Dave Ramsey and his Financial Peace University, you can sign up HERE to take a free lesson of Financial Peace University. The free lessons will be held the week of April 5th - 12th.

I highly recommend Financial Peace University and Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover.
We have been following Dave's teachings since 2007 and have paid off almost all of our debt and have substantial savings. Go HERE to read more about our story.

Cheap Eight O'clock Coffee at Publix

2010-03-12T14:33:00.000-08:00

Publix has Eight O'Clock coffee B1G1 Free this week. There is a great coupon for $2/2 bags. Just go to the Eight O'Clock Coffee website and click on the coupon link. You just have to enter your name and e-mail address and you can print your coupon! Be sure to hit the back button to get a second coupon. You can print two coupons for each computer in your house.

The coupon gets you 2 bags of coffee for $1.5o each. So stock up enough until the next sale. I usually by enough for 3-4 months and put the bags in the freezer to keep them fresh.

Super Savings Saturday-I went a little nuts with the cereal...

2010-03-06T16:52:00.000-08:00

I went to Publix to take advantage of the 50% off Kellogg's cereal deal. I printed a bunch of high dollar coupons a few weeks back so this was the perfect time to use those coupons.

I bought 19 boxes of cereal! I paid either $1 or $1.25 per box of cereal. I got a total of 46 items and paid $51.45 OOP. I saved $106.66.

Needless to say, we are set for breakfast items for quite a while. Our pantry is actually bursting at the seams, so we are going to only buy fresh produce, milk, and free items for the rest of the month.

To see how other folks did, be sure to visit these great blogs:

Fiddledeedee- Super Savers

Southern Savers- Friday Finals

Money Saving Mom- Super Savings Saturday

Menu Plan Monday-Freezer Cooking Day Edition

2010-02-28T18:38:00.000-08:00

This week I am planning on joining Money Saving Mom's Freezer Cooking Day. I will not be able to cook the amount others might, because I will be working 10-12 hours each day. But, I am planning on cooking several main dishes that will get me through this week and have some for the freezer. Here is the plan:

Spaghetti Sauce

Pioneer Woman Meatloaf- check out her book for recipe

Pioneer Woman Chicken Spaghetti

Homemade Chicken Broth

Pork Fried Rice

Vegetable Beef Soup

White Chili

I am also going to try to fit in cooking some Blueberry Muffins.

Check back later in the week for a wrap-up post on my Freezer Cooking Day.

To see more menu ideas, be sure to visit Menu Plan Monday at I'm and Organizing Junkie.

Freezer Cooking Day-Master Plan

2010-02-26T20:06:00.000-08:00

I have never participated in a Money Saving Mom Freezer Cooking Day, but I am going to try to cook a few things this month. I have been inspired by Ree Drummond of The Pioneer Woman. I have a few of her recipes I want to try. Here is my master plan:

The Pioneer Woman- Chicken Spaghetti

The Pioneer Woman- BBQ Meatballs

White Chili

I may only be able to do these few items as I will be cooking after work both days. If I have extra energy I may try to make lasagna. Additionally, I may actually try to start cooking this weekend while I am off work. I will post my progress.

To see what other folks are cooking during this month's Freezer Cooking Days go to Money Saving Mom.

Fiskars Cutting Mat

2010-02-21T08:10:00.000-08:00

For those of you who are crafters and quilters, I wanted to let you know of a great deal I got yesterday at Tuesday Morning. I purchased this large (24" x 36") cutting mat for $14.99. I have seen these mats for as much as $50 at JoAnns. I love having a large cutting mat on my fabric cutting table. Tuesday Morning also had smaller mats at even lower prices.

Check out the craft section at your local Tuesday Morning shop. They have many different craft supplies such as scrapbooking supplies, knitting supplies, scissors, paper cutters and beadworks. I try to stop by the shop at least twice a month because the inventory changes frequently.

Dream

2010-02-19T15:07:00.000-08:00

I have been shopping it seems non-stop to try and find the last few accessories to complete my daughter's room. After about six stores today, I only found one item. But, it was an important one to my daughter. She specifically wanted a "Dream" sign. The one we found was perfect--burgundy red, on a stand, and rather big. It fits perfectly on the top of her desk. I got this at Ross for $5.99. Sweet!

I also got paint for the antique desk chair and I hope to get that painted tomorrow. Still need a red lamp, throw pillows for bed, a mirror, and a red throw for the end of the bed

Room of Turquoise

2010-02-18T07:59:00.000-08:00

Another vacation spent at home and more home improvement projects. For the last few days we have been working on my daughter's room. She moved into this room about 3 years ago when her brother went to college. She has been living with his old lighthouse theme.

We first had to remove the old wallpaper and lighthouse border. Thank goodness that my husband prepped the walls well 12 years ago when we put the wallpaper up. It was fairly easy to remove by using the wallpaper scorer and diluted liquid fabric softener.

My daughter even helped. Imagine that--a teenager actually working!

Then it was time to start painting!

Then we got to put the furniture back and put out the new bedding.

We found a few pictures. The small one on the wall below came from Target. The accent color for the room is red.

The pictures in below came from Kirkland's.

We still need a few more accessories. I am planning on replacing the curtains and painting an antique desk chair red for the room. I am also looking for a couple of small pillows and a throw for the bed in red. Finally, I am going to get a mirror to put above a chest (not pictured). I hope to find one with a red or white frame.

I will post again with the final results!

If you would like to see where we got our inspiration, go HERE to see other beautiful turquoise and red rooms.

Russian Tea

2010-02-17T17:43:00.001-08:00

I am posting this recipe for a friend who is a bit under the weather. This is a great warm drink when you have a cold or flu.

Russian Tea

8 cups water
8 whole cloves
1 1/2 to 2 cups sugar (to taste)
8 tea bags
23 oz. pineapple juice
23 oz. orange juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice

To make, bring water to almost boiling and reduce heat to simmer.

Add cloves and simmer 5 minutes.

Then add sugar and simmer 5 more minutes.

Add tea bags and let simmer another 5 minutes or until strong enough for your taste.

Then pour in juices and let simmer another 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Menu Plan Monday 1/25/10

2010-01-24T15:49:00.000-08:00

For this week's menu, I am trying to continue the Eating from the Pantry Challenge and, also eat on the Weight Watcher's plan. My husband and I joined last week and we have been doing pretty well. I am incorporating some Weight Watcher's recipes this week. I am considering joining E-mealz and doing the point system plan. I will post on that if I decide to try that plan.

Here is our plan (I hope the links to Weight Watcher's recipes work!):

Breakfasts:
Cereal/milk, bananas,oranges, granola bars, yogurt, oatmeal

Lunches:
Sandwiches, Baked Lay's, pickles, yogurt, oranges, apples, leftovers

Dinners:

Lemon Chicken with Broccoli, fruit

Rotisserie Chicken over salad green, cantaloupe

Cheesy Chili-Mac

Garlic Penne Pasta, roasted vegetables

Baked potato, salad

Cheesy Chicken Carbonara with Fettuccine

Leftovers

To see other great menu ideas, head over to Menu Plan Monday at I'm and Organizing Junkie.

Have a great week!

Super Savings Saturday-Pantry Challenge Version

2010-01-16T05:36:00.000-08:00

Well, this was the second week of our Eating from the Pantry Challenge. Last week we failed the challenge, but it was a difficult week due to a family medical emergency. We ended up having to eat out several times that week.

We did a little better this week. We haven't stuck completely to the meal plan, but we did pretty well. I did to to the grocery store four times. My goal was to only go once-per-week, but I went to Kroger to get the deals once and then went again yesterday because I didn't get my dinner plan together early enough so I grabbed a rotisserie chicken and built a meal around that. I also made a trip to Aldi's for produce and to Wal-mart for mostly non-food items that I had high dolloar coupons for and I didn't want them to expire (Electrosol, Snuggle, All, Heinz ketchup and Healthy Choice).

Overall, we are still doing well with the January grocery budget and I am counting $64 leftover in my grocery envelope for the last two weeks. My budget starts again today and I put another $100 in the envelope for the next two weeks. I hope to have a little more leftover at the end of the month.

Here are my shopping trips from this week:

Kroger:

I spent a total of $10.43 at Kroger. My total before coupons was about $43. My free items were the Healthy Choice entrees, Halls, Gatorade and Greek yogurt. (Sorry for the multiple pictures!)

Aldi's:

My Aldi's trip was for the great deals on their produce. Unfortunately, they were out of the $0.99 pineapples and pears. My favorite deal was the Clancy's Peanut butter filled pretzels for $0.50/bag! I spent a total of $21.66 at Aldi's.

I also spent $12 at Kroger yesterday for a salad mix, Rotisserie chicken, soda and a chocolate bar. Not a good deal--that's what happens when you don't stick to the meal plan!

My Wal-mart trip was $24 out of pocket. Before coupons was $42. I didn't get a picture of that trip.

To see how other folks did this week, head over to these great blogs:

Money Saving Mom--Super Savings Saturday

Southern Savers--Friday Finals

Also, check out all the great Eating From the Pantry Challenge posts HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Have a great week!

Menu Plan Monday 1/11/10

2010-01-10T17:28:00.001-08:00

Due to a family medical emergency, I didn't stick with last week's menu plan very well. We did eat three dinners from the menu, but we were away from home a lot and ended up eating out about 4 times. Needless to say, we also didn't do well on our Eat from the Pantry Challenge.

Thank God our family member who has been gravely ill seems to be improving slightly. I would appreciate every one's prayers for my brother-in-law who is in the hospital with severe pneumonia and on a ventilator. He has improved slightly and we are encouraged.

So here is this week's menu which included meals we didn't get to last week:

Breakfasts: cereal/milk, granola bars, pancakes, bagels, toaster strudel, fruit and OJ

Lunches: leftovers, yogurt/granola, fruit

Dinners:

Hot dogs, home fries

Homemade tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches

Salisbury steak, gravy, rice, peas

Chicken stew, rice, salad w/ homemade dressing

Hamburger stroganoff, noodles, corn, fruit

Eggs, bacon, biscuits, OJ

Chicken Stir-fry (Voila meal)

To see more menu ideas, head over to Menu Plan Monday at I'm and Organizing Junkie.

Have a great week!

Eat From the Pantry Challenge

2010-01-04T15:33:00.001-08:00

If you read my Menu Plan Monday, you know that I am participating in the Eat From the Pantry Challenge. Normally, I usually can't fully participate in these challenges. My 85 year old mom lives with us and going to the grocery store is a recreational activity for her! But the timing worked out for this challenge since she is going to be out-of-town for the next month or so visiting her sister.

After taking a complete inventory of my freezer and pantry, I came up with plans for at least 25 meals. These are my not-so-strict rules for my Eat From the Pantry Challenge:

1. I will purchase produce, milk, bread and a few ingredients to complete my meal plans.

2. I will put $250 into the grocery envelope and try to only spend half of that amount.

3. Any money saved will go into the "sinking fund" for home improvements.

4. I will go to the grocery store a maximum of once per week and get creative to substitute that likely "forgotten" ingredient or item.

5. I will continue to buy items from the store that are free or almost free.

I already had a challenge today. I had planned on having pancakes for dinner tonight. However, the weather here is so cold that we really wanted to have some hot soup. No problem! We still had plenty of veggies in the freezer and pantry. We made a pot of homemade vegetable soup and used beef bullion to flavor the broth. Delicious on a freezing day! We also made corn muffins with the last of my cornmeal.

A change of plans doesn't mean you have to run to the grocery store. Get creative and work with what you have!

Menu Plan Monday 1/4/10

2010-01-03T16:49:00.000-08:00

With the start of the new year, I have made it a goal to get back to menu planning and coupon shopping. I am also participating in Eat From The Pantry Challenge with Crystal at Money Saving Mom. Yesterday, my husband and I did a complete inventory of our pantry and freezers. Last night I made a list of about 30 meals using what I have on hand, with just a few items to purchase through the month. I will just need a few ingredients and some fresh fruits and vegetables.

Here is what I have planned for the first week of the pantry challenge:

Breakfasts: cereal (I have 18 boxes on hand!), milk, granola bars, bagels, toaster strudels, grapefruit, OJ

Lunches: leftovers, PB&J sandwiches, lean cuisines

Dinners:

Pancakes, sausage or bacon, homemade applesauce and juice

Chicken Pasta Primavera, homemade bread, salad

Dirty Rice, biscuits, fruit

Homemade tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches

Hotdogs, home fries, fruit

Salisbury steak, gravy, rice, peas

Leftovers

Be sure to check back later this week when I post my entire freezer/pantry inventory.

Check out other great Menu Plan Monday ideas over at I'm and Organizing Junkie.

Christmas Stockings-Sew &Tell 12/11/09

2009-12-11T11:23:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of what I have been working on this week. I still have five more stockings to make and embroider for a couple of customers!

We love the tradition of stocking stuffers--almost more than the "big" gifts! Personalized stockings really dress up the mantel.

Be sure to head over to Amylouwho and see what other folks are working on at Sew & Tell!

Binding Tutorial: Joining the Binding Tails w/ a Mitered Seam

2009-11-25T12:12:00.001-08:00

Be sure to visit Amylouwho and check out what other folks are up to on Sew&Tell!

Not for the Squeamish

2009-11-16T13:19:00.000-08:00

This blog shows how I spend my time away from work: family, crafting and deal shopping.

The link below shows what I spend most of my days doing. WARNING! Not for those with a weak stomach.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QD_I8i-QtE

I get to help gifted surgeons in sight-restoration surgery.

What do you think? :-)

Gift Basket Giveaway!

2009-11-06T08:23:00.001-08:00

Head over to Barb Sackel's new blog to find out how to win one of these beautiful baskets. A basket contains a 40 piece fat quarter pack from Moda, a ruler, quilting gloves, fancy scissors and more. And of course, chocolate!!!

Wouldn't this be a great gift for yourself or a quilter/sewer you love!

The Fun Theory

2009-11-06T05:19:00.001-08:00

I Got a Treat!

2009-10-30T07:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday a surprise came in the mail. My sweet husband pre-ordered this wonderful cookbook for my birthday. Only, when the book came, he couldn't wait for my birthday (December). So, I got a surprise!

I read through the entire book last night. It is a beautiful book. If you are not familiar with Ree Drummond, you have to immediately go to The Pioneer Woman. Don't read any further--go immediately to her blog!

Ree is a witty writer and lives what looks like an idyllic life. I would love to visit her at the ranch and just hang out. And her recipes! I can't wait to start cooking--this is not going to be good for my diet!

Check out the book here or get it at your local bookstore. It would be an awesome Christmas gift.

Sew and Tell 10/30

2009-10-30T06:57:00.001-07:00

I took a break the past couple of weeks from my Lightning Strikes Quilt. My mother wants to give a quilt to two of her sisters this Christmas. We had lots of scraps and decided to make this quilt from a pattern from Atkinson Designs. It is called Lucky Stars.

This pattern is easy and fun to make. It is also very forgiving! My quilt guild make about 30 of these quilts for a local charity. It looks great scrappy and it is a great way to use up lots of scraps!

I quilted this quilt in just a couple of hours on my regular domestic machine. The binding is also scrappy. I have never made a scrappy binding, but I really like it. We have the other quilt top ready to go and I hope to get it quilted this week. This quilt really could be make in a weekend.

What are you creating this week?

To see what other folks are working on, be sure to visit amylouwho and check out Sew and Tell!

Funny!

2009-10-28T16:39:00.001-07:00

I Got All This for $19.33!

2009-10-23T11:05:00.000-07:00

Can you believe I got all this for $19.33!

Be sure to print your Nature Valley Coupons from my sidebar!

Crystal over at Money Saving Mom wrote about the great Nature Valley Deals going on at Kroger this week. I still had 8 of the great Nature Valley printable coupons for $1.60/1 on Granola Nut Clusters. I also had a bunch of $1 coupons. Kroger is running the nut clusters for 4/$10 and when you buy 4 you get an additional $4 off. That makes each bag of clusters $1.50 so I actually got 8 for free plus overage! I also had several e-coupons loaded on my Kroger card. I got a total of 16 bags! You can read all the details on how to get this deal HERE.

I also got the tuna and mashed potatoes for free with coupons. The Mtn. Dew was on sale for $1.25 and I had coupons that made them $0.75 each. The Tabasco was also free by combining printable coupon with an e-coupon. The Tyson chicken was on sale for $1.99/lb and that is a great price for chicken tenderloins.

I really didn't need to shop, but taking advantage of these kinds of sales is what keeps my overall food budget low.

To see how other folks did this week be sure to visit these great blogs:

Money Saving Mom--Super Savings Saturday

Southern Savers--Friday Finals

Tara Quilt Show

2009-10-18T14:35:00.000-07:00

Friday I went to the Tara Quilt Guild Quilt Show. Below I have a gallery of my favorite quilts. It was a nice show and help to inspire me to continue trying to finish up some of my projects.

This first quilt is by my friend Loreli. She won these block a couple of years ago at a guild meeting. I love the border she put on the quilt. It features pieced hearts and an applique of vine and flowers. I voted for this quilt for the Viewer's Choice Award.

I really like the monochromatic theme in this quilt.

I just helped my mother make two of these quilts for her sisters for Christmas. I have one completed and one I am about to quilt. This quilt is a pattern called Lucky Stars by Atkinson Designs. It is a great pattern that goes together quickly and is very forgiving.

This quilt is by Jeanne Lowery, the owner of Quilts and Fixins in Jonesboro, Ga. This quilt was a row-by-row monthly club quilt last fall.

This quilt is a pattern called Lightning Strikes. I am currently working on my own Lightning Strikes quilt. You can see mine HERE.

I really like the jewel tones in this quilt. Love the look of puzzle pieces.

One day I want to make a house quilt. There is a great pattern I discovered over at Anyone Can Quilt (one of my favorite blogs) when Sara participated in a block exchange. See the pattern HERE at Frieda's Hive.

This quilt is a Halloween quilt by Margaret Shlumper. Margaret teaches a monthly mystery quilt class at Quilts and Fixins.

The back of Margaret's Halloween quilt has a spooky (or sexy) surprise!

Hope these pictures inspire you to create something wonderful!

Publix 10/18/09

2009-10-18T14:01:00.001-07:00

I haven't post any of my shopping trips lately. I have been shopping and I have been using coupons for the most part, but I just haven't been motivated to make a post. I have temporarily raised my grocery budget to a whopping $400/month! I haven't been spending all of that, but it has given me the freedom to buy all the deals I want.

Today I went to Publix and my savings were so great that I had to post a picture. I spent a total OOP of $46 and saved $109! My best deals included peanut butter for $0.23, syrup for $0.75 and toothpaste for free!

To see how other folks did this week, head over and visit these great blogs:

Publix Super Savers at Fiddledeedee

Friday Finals at Southern Savers

Super Savings Saturday at Money Saving Mom

Have a great week!

Menu Plan Monday 10/19/09

2009-10-18T13:34:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I have participated in MPM, but I need to be more organized and use up some of my freezer and pantry stockpile. I actually have planned my menu for the next two weeks.

Breakfasts
cereal/milk
bagels/cream cheese
oatmeal
grits
granola bars
fruit

Lunches
Leftovers
sandwiches
yogurt
fruit
pretzels
Cheez-Its
popcorn

Dinners
Pork Fried Rice
Meatloaf/mashed potatoes/steamed broccoli
Fettuccini Alfredo/salad
Swiss Steak/noodles/steamed veggie
Vegetable Beef Soup
Slow-cooker Beef Stew/rice/steamed veggie
Pancakes/bacon/fruit
Oven-baked chicken/potatoes/steamed veggie
Homemade Pizza
Leftovers about 3 nights
Daughter's Birthday
Emeril's Sausage Pot (such a great fall recipe)
Chips
Baked Beans
Grilled corn-on-the cob
Velveeta cheese dip
Mandarin Orange Cake
Chocolate Cake
Ice cream

To see other great menu ideas, head over to Menu Plan Monday at I'm and Organizing Junkie!

Have a great week!

Sorry I dropped off the face of the earth...

2009-10-16T07:27:00.000-07:00

My apologies to my vast readership for my lack of blogging. Life is good, but it has been very busy. I hope to get back to more regular posting very soon. In the meantime, let me recommend a few really great blogs:

Anna Maria Horner

Heather Bailey

Valori Wells

Hooked on Houses

Hooked on Houses post about Anna Maria Horner's kitchen

Enjoy!

By the way, for the anonymous reader (Nancy) who left a comment on my Lightning Strikes Quilt--the pattern came from Australian Patchwork and Quilting magazine and the pattern is by Chris Timmons. It was an issue from several years ago, but I believe you can purchase the pattern.

Menu Plan Monday 9/28/09

2009-09-27T20:03:00.000-07:00

I've gone without menu plans for the past couple of weeks and have gone off track of the budget. So I'm trying to get back to menu planning.

Here is my "loose" plan for the week:

Breakfasts
cereal/milk
bagels/cream cheese
Toaster Strudels
granola bars
fruit

Lunches
sandwiches
veggie burgers
vegetable soup
fruit
leftovers

Dinners
Bacon, tomato & cheddar frittata

Baked chicken, steamed vegetables, macaroni & cheese

Baked Potatoes, assorted toppings

Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, steamed veggies

Barbecue chicken, Pasta-Roni, Steamed veggie

Bacon, eggs, grits, toast, fruit

Leftovers

Have a great week!

Be sure to visit Menu Plan Monday over at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Lightning Strikes Quilt Update

2009-09-19T13:21:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to post a quick update on my Lightning Strikes quilt. I haven't been able to work on it as much lately because of my busy work schedule. But, this is a rainy weekend and the family went to Japanfest for the day so I was able to have some sewing time.

This first picture is where I left off in July at my last post:

Here is where I stopped today:

I still have about half the rows to get together, but I am getting there. It is really fun to see the pattern emerging!

Here are some more pictures of the fabric swatches, pattern and how I keep the different widths organized.

This is my inspiration fabric:

I hope to get a little more done today and that will probably be it for this weekend. I have a wedding to attend tomorrow!

Go HERE to see my post from July.

To see more great quilts, head over to Park City Girl and check out the Quilt Festival!

Also, check out Sew and Tell over at amylouwho!

Menu Plan Monday 9/7/09

2009-09-06T16:54:00.000-07:00

Here is my "loose" plan for the week:

Breakfasts
cereal/milk
bagels/cream cheese
toast
granola bars
fruit

Lunches
sandwiches
leftovers

Dinners

Hot dogs, slaw, baked beans
Pork chops, baked potato,steamed veggie
Chicken stew, rise, salad
Chicken Caesar wraps
Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, steamed veggie
Veggie burgers, oven Parmesan chips, fruit
Leftovers or Breakfast for dinner

Have a great week!

Be sure to visit Menu Plan Monday over at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Just for Laughs

2009-09-01T18:03:00.001-07:00

I know it is wrong, but I can't help but laugh. And don't you just love how she holds on to her watering pitcher the whole time!

This Week's Shopping Trips

2009-08-28T07:57:00.000-07:00

I found some really good deals this week.

Picture #1 is from my Kroger shopping trip. I did two separate transactions. Transaction #1 was 5 boxes of Nature Valley granola bars and 5 boxes of Betty Crocker fruit snacks. I had paper coupons for all items, and 4 e-coupons came out, then the $5 Mega Event credit. I paid $10.31 OOP including tax and received $7 in catalinas to use on future shopping trip.

Tranactions #2 at Kroger was for 21 items. After coupons, e-coupons, Mega Event credit and my $7 in catalinas, I paid $2.92 OOP including tax! So, at Kroger, I spend a total of $13.23 OOP for 31 items! Yay!

The second picture is my Publix trip. I spent a total of about $8 OOP--can't find my receipt!

I also made a trip to Aldi's for mostly produce and milk/eggs.

I increased by grocery budget to $200 for the last two weeks. I only spent about $150, so that is what I am budgeting for the next two weeks. I have started Weight Watchers, so I am allowing myself to spend more on groceries--extra produce and special low cal snack items.

To see how other folks did this week check out the following posts:

Friday Finals at Southern Savers

Super Savings Saturday at Money Saving Mom

Moda Bake Shop

2009-08-21T07:08:00.000-07:00

I just spent too much time this morning looking at all the great projects at the Moda Bake Shop. I just started working on this great Grocery Bag Dispenser. It looks so cute and it is a really quick project. I think I will be making a few of these for gifts.

Here is a look at my fabrics:

I will post an update when I finish the bag, but, right now, I have to stop run some errands...

Meantime, check out some of the other great projects over at the Moda Bake Shop like these:

Binder Cover
Tote Bag
Drawstring Beach Bag
Christmas Stockings
Fabric Lamp Shade (LOVE this!)

Plus lots more! Have fun!

I love free patterns and free is frugal. To see other frugal ideas head over to Life as Mom and check out Frugal Fridays.

Menu Plan Monday 8/17/09

2009-08-16T14:02:00.000-07:00

I have decided to increase my food budget quite a bit right now. I just don't seem to be able to tolerate too much couponing--need a little break. We are also going to be trying to eat a little healthier. More fruit and veggies. Having said that, I really don't have a grocery trip planned, but I will likely stop at Aldi's at some point to get milk and pick up produce. If you have an Aldi's near you, I highly recommend trying it. Great prices without coupons and the produce always seems to be great. Our Aldi's has milk for $1.49 a gallon right now and large eggs for $0.69!

Here is my "loose" plan for the week:

Breakfasts
cereal/milk
bagels/cream cheese
toast
granola bars
fruit

Lunches
sandwiches
jello with fruit
carrot sticks
watermelon
apples
cantaloupe
leftovers

Dinners
Beef roast in crock pot, veggies, slaw
Chicken Stew, rice, veggie
Fettuccine Alfredo, salad
Vegetable soup (using leftover roast-made in crockpot), cornbread., fruit
Hamburger steak, homemade mac and cheese, steamed veggie
BBQ ribs, mashed potatos, fried okra (free from sister's garden)
Leftovers

Have a great week!

Be sure to visit Menu Plan Monday over at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Also head over to Dining with Debbie and participate in Crock Pot Wednesdays.

One Month to Live

2009-08-09T11:37:00.000-07:00

My church, Harvest Point, is in a series entitled "One Month to Live". What would you do differently if you knew you only had thirty days left. How would you live, love, work, give, sacrifice...

To hear the first two weeks in the series you can download the podcast at iTunes (search for HP Sermons) or HERE. The first week is available now and the second should be downloaded later today or tomorrow

Random Thoughts

2009-08-08T17:46:00.000-07:00

Today my family went to the movies. The big movie this weekend was G. I. Joe. My hubby "has been waiting 40 years" for this movie. Both kids wanted to see it as well. I am usually all in for the action/sci fi/adventure movies, but I am in a mood right now. This mood was not suited for such a fun movie.

We parted ways at the theater and I went, instead, to see Julie & Julia. I had seen the trailers, and I thought it looked cute. And since I have a blog that made it even more interesting. I didn't know that the movie would fit my mood so well. I don't know...I am introspective right now. The movie makes me think more about this blog. I don't have any real direction. I post about my shopping trips, family, craft projects, and pretty much any random subject. I think that this is okay, but it was not the original reason for the blog. I was to post about my stitching and quilting. I still do, on occasion, but work interferes with those projects, so I don't have much to post about...

Work. That is another subject. I recently took a 7 week leave of absence. Did I miss work? No. Do I mind being back at work? No. What does that mean? I feel numb when it comes to my job. I love some of the people I work with. I truly care about the people I work for. But, I don't feel appreciated by them and I am not inspired. Worst of all, I spend a minimum of two hours a day commuting.

At church, we are in a series entitled "One Month to Live". If you knew you only had thirty days to live, what would you do differently? How would you live, love, sacrifice, give, work? Every day we are e-mailed devotionals. These devotionals are how I am spending my quiet time everyday. I know this is the source of my mood.

It is interesting that Julie seems to go along with my mood. She seemed to be looking for a purpose. Looking to be inspired. The devotional today was about the parable of the talents. Matthew 25. Read and studied it many times. But, the perspective from my pastor was different in the devotional that I have thought about before. Basically he said playing it safe is wrong. We need to take some risks--let go and trust God.

Am I playing it safe? At work? In relationships? With this blog?

Or, am I being over dramatic?! ;-)

Tea Time

2009-08-07T04:48:00.000-07:00

Today I am linking up to Julia over at Hooked On Houses for her weekly "Hooked On Fridays" round-up.

A few months back, one of the anesthesiologists I work with brought in a bunch different types of teas to share. He frequently goes to Big Lots and buys any teas he thinks would be interesting. He is a real advocate for drinking tea for its health benefits.

I loved this St. Dalfour Organic Lemon Tea. To sweeten it a little the doctor gave me some Agave nectar. Agave Nectar is very good for you and it a sweetener with a low glycemic index. It has a very light taste and the combination with tea is delicious.

Well, if you have ever shopped at Big Lots you know that if you see something you better buy all you want because the next time you look for the item they will be gone. I traveled around to at least 4 Big Lots in my general area and had no luck finding any more of this tea. Finally, I did an internet search and found that I could buy both the St. Dalfour tea and Agave Nectar on Amazon. I have been "hooked on" having a cup of tea every day--even though it is summer. I fix my tea and have a Bible devotional time. Very relaxing!

Be sure to visit Julia's Blog Hooked on Houses and the Hooked on Friday party.

Also, head over to Life as Mom and check out Frugal Fridays.

A Walk by the Lake

2009-08-03T15:42:00.000-07:00

My husband and I have been trying to get more exercise. We have been walking quite a bit lately in our neighborhood. One recent evening we drove to a nearby church that has a small lake and walking trails. It was quite lovely and a nice change of scenery from our usual walk.

I could get used to this.....

Publix Shopping Trip 8/3/09

2009-08-03T14:54:00.000-07:00

I have not been deal shopping in quite some time. We have been using up a lot of stockpile in our pantry and freezer. I have been to the grocery store, but only to buy exactly what I needed and only for items that you can not get with coupons (milk, flour, bread, produce, etc.). My husband was given a $25 Publix gift card at the end of the school year, and we literally have not been to Publix all summer. But, the deals were good this week and I had some good coupons, so, I stopped today on the way home from work.

I got all of the items pictured above in four transactions for a total OOP of $5.06 (after spending the $25 gift card)!

Here is the tally of items:

12 packages of Mueller's pasta ($0.31 ea)
8 boxes of Cheerios ($1- 1.49 ea)
2 bxs of Nature Valley bars ($1.75 ea)
2 Dole fruit gels ($0.67 ea)
4 large bottles of Kraft BBQ sauce (FREE-coupons on Shells and Cheese)
8 bx Velvetta Shells and Cheese ($0.50-$1 only had coupons for 4)
2 bxs Fruit Snacks ($0.80 ea)
4 bxs Pop Tarts ($0.60 ea)
4 six packs of Publix Spring water ($0.01 ea)
1 can Muir Glen tomato paste ($0.09)

Total retail of over $110.00!

To see other great deals be sure to check out:

Publix Super Savers over at Fiddledeedee

Super Savings Saturday at Money Saving Mom

Friday Finals at Southern Savers

Positive Role Model

2009-07-31T06:06:00.000-07:00

Tim Tebow stunned reporters at a recent press conference when he answered a question about whether or not he is "saving himself" for marriage.

Read article HERE about this inspiring athlete. What a great role model!

Blogging Break

2009-07-30T17:14:00.000-07:00

I have had an unintentional blogging break. The last two weeks have been incredibly busy. Last week I spent time with my daughter shopping for new clothes and taking her to some appointments, and this week is my first week back to work after my 7 week leave of absence . Every day at work has been too long!

But, tomorrow I am off and guess what I will be doing....

Putting up tomatoes in my freezer. I am overrun with tomatoes and I have been giving lots away. I have quite a bit of Romas, so I am going to freeze them. They work great in homemade spaghetti sauce and soups.

Welcome Sew-Stitch-Create Listeners!

2009-07-20T15:58:00.000-07:00

Hello to all of the Sew, Stitch, Create podcast listeners! I hope you will browse through my previous posts to see all the "quilty" projects I am working on and have finished. I will be posting more pictures of current projects. Also, check out some of my favorite coupon-money saving blogs on the sidebar.

If you have no idea what I am talking about, let me explain. Sew, Stitch, Create is a podcast by Brye Lynn. This week Brye featured me and my blog on her show. A podcast is like an internet radio show. I love podcasts and I listen to quite a few. There are podcast of all different subject matters including crafts, new, financial advice. Here are a few of my favorite quilting podcasts:

Sew Stitch Create

The Quilted Cupcake

Quilts n Kids

Patchwork and Pacifiers

The Pioneer Quilter

Within A Quarter Inch

Quilting Stash with Annie Smith

The Quilt Connection with Alex Anderson

You can click on each one of these links and listen to the shows, or you can go to iTunes and subscribe to each podcasts. I love listening to podcasts during my commute to and from work or while I am working around the house.

Check out these great podcasts, and thanks Brye for featuring me this week!

Hometown Hero

2009-07-17T22:55:00.000-07:00

This video is about the first soldier from my hometown to die in the Iraqi/Afagan war. I am proud of my hometown and surrounding counties and grateful to men like SFC John Beale.

Killed in action the week before, the body of Sergeant First Class John C. Beale was returned to Falcon Field in Peachtree City , Georgia , just south of Atlanta , on June 11, 2009 . The Henry County Police Department escorted the procession to the funeral home in McDonough , Georgia . A simple notice in local papers indicated the road route to be taken and the approximate time.

Weekly Shopping Trip 7/17/09

2009-07-17T16:30:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday I started coming down with some kind of "flu". I literally haven't been out of bed very much this week. I tried to get up and do some tasks, but it wasn't very long before I had to go back to bed. Cough, fever, fatigue, body aches, GI upset--the works!

I actually started feeling better yesterday, and, by today, I am almost normal. Needless to say, I have been going a little stir crazy. I hate being non-productive, but I know sometimes you have to slow down. We really didn't have to have anything from the store, but since I had not been able to be out for so long, we decided to go do some deal shopping.

First, we went to get some lunch. We had coupons for free items at two nearby fast food restaurants. Shane's Rib Shack--free BBQ sandwich with the purchase of medium drink, and KFC--the infamous Grilled Chicken Meal Deal. While my hubby got the BBQ, I ran into Kroger to see if they had the Amp deal I read about on Southern Savers and Money Saving Mom. They had very few Amps, but, they had peelie coupons for $1 off each can! I grabbed some coupons and headed back out. (Total spent for lunch for me, hubby and daughter-$1.59)

After eating, we headed to CVS to try and make a photo book--no luck. We kept getting booted off the system. After that, we went to another Kroger and we were able to do three transactions of 10 Amps and ended up with 30 free Amps and $30 in Kroger gift cards! Yay!

We also made a stop at Target. I wasn't able to get all the deals that I read about, but we did get some good items. We did the Kelloggs Fuel for School promotion. I also got cheap Kleenex, Edy's ice cream ($0.19 ea), and I made money on the Electrasol. My Target was out of the special 32 ct. for $3.49 so they substituted the 20 ct for $1.87. I bought 2 and used my $2.50 coupons and got the overage! We spent a total of $16.93 and I will get $10 back from Kellogg.

Overall, a great trip!

Total OOP $18.68

Got back:

Rebate expected from Kellogg-- $10

Kroger gift card for future use-- $30

I actually made money shopping! Can't beat that! When I got home and showed everything to my son, he said "Mom, you're robbing them blind!"

How was your week?

To see how other folk did, be sure to visit:

Southern Savers--Friday Finals

Money Saving Mom--Super Savings Saturday

Oven Parmesan Chips

2009-07-12T19:44:00.000-07:00

This recipe is adapted from a Weight Watchers recipe.

1 baking potato
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese (I use stuff in green container)
3 tablespoons minced chives (optional)
salt to taste
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400.

Clean potato and cut into very thin slices (using mandolin helps). Combine slices with oil in large bowl. Add cheese, chives, and salt and toss to combined.

Place potato slices on single layer on baking sheet that has been coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees for about 18 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Menu Plan Monday 7/13/09

2009-07-12T19:08:00.001-07:00

I only did one shopping trip last week to get some basic items we needed. The majority of ingredients for this week's menu were already in the house. I bought a double paper today for the coupons, but I don't plan on shopping this week. My husband has generously "shared" his chest cold with me, so I am looking for quick fix meals this week.

Breakfasts
cereal/milk
fruit
toast
granola bars
instant oatmeal

Lunches
Sandwiches
chips
salad
carrot sticks
leftovers
mac and cheese

Dinners
French toast, bacon, fruit, juice
Homemade Pizza
Elbows and Ground Beef, salad, bread
Chicken Stew with Rice, steamed veggie
The Pioneer Woman's Most Favorite Burgers, oven potato chips
Pulled pork sandwiches, corn on the cob
Leftover night

Be sure to visit I'm an Organizing Junkie to see more great Menu Plan Monday ideas.

Have a great week!

Enjoy!

2009-07-10T05:11:00.001-07:00

Quilt Block

2009-07-08T15:37:00.001-07:00

I took a break from my Lightning Strikes quilt to put together this quilt block. The name of this block is Contrary Wife. The pattern can be found at Quilter's Cache. It is an easy and fun block to put together. I think you could make an entire quilt with these blocks in just a few days! The blocks make an interesting secondary pattern when they are joined.

Here is how a whole quilt would look:

Contrary Wife is the block my sewing group is considering using for next year's charity/auction quilt. Our quilt from this year raised over $800 for the church youth group!

Check out Quilter's Cache. There are lots of FREE quilt block patterns.

Life As Mom has more savings information at Frugal Fridays.

Quilt Update

2009-07-08T09:17:00.001-07:00

Just a quick update on the progress of my Lightning Strikes quilt since my last post. It really is a fun quilt to make. It is fascinating to watch the pattern emerge as you put more rows on the quilt. I am not quite half way done with adding rows. The picture above is from my last post.

Below is where the quilt is now.

Work in Progress

2009-07-06T17:36:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures of our latest home improvement project. Our kitchen cabinets badly need to be painted. The baked on white enamel finish was beautiful when the cabinets were new, but now they are dingy and the painted is coming off in high use areas. Additionally, I can no longer get them clean with scrubbing. The finish is almost gummy! What is with that? This picture doesn't look bad, but...

up close you can see what I am talking about...

So, we took all the cabinet doors and drawers off and we are sanding and painting them all.
Also, we are replacing the brass pulls with brushed nickel, more contemporary pulls. We also are spray painting the hinges with a brushed nickel paint.

Here is a picture of the new pulls on one drawer. Check back to see the finished project.

Menu Plan Monday 7/6/09

2009-07-06T07:38:00.000-07:00

I only have three more weeks before returning to work and a lot of projects to get done. This week we will be having quick meals, meals in the crock pot and from the freezer. I will also be continuing to use items from my stockpile. I really don't have any plans to go to any grocery store. We will see if I can refrain from having to get the deals!

Here is the plan for the week:

Breakfasts
Cereal/milk
bagels/cream cheese
Homemade Blueberry Muffins

Lunches
Leftovers
Sandwiches

Dinners
Spaghetti/Noodles
Popcorn Chicken Salad
Homemade Pizza
Homemade Pigs in a Blanket
Apricot Pork Chops in Crock pot
Italian Meatballs in crock pot with chili sauce/grape jelly
Leftovers

Visit I'm an Organizing Junkie for more Menu Plan Monday ideas.

Weekly Shopping Total

2009-07-03T18:10:00.001-07:00

Today I went to four different stores. We are hosting a cook-out tomorrow, and I may have gone a little overboard. I always have a fear of not having enough food.

My total OOP for all of the items above was about $105.

The largest amount was spent at Wal-mart where I used only 5 coupons. My total was right at $70. The best deal there was THIS deal on Skippy peanut butter.

At Publix (picture 2), I spent $30. I mostly got the B1G1 items with coupons and I bought fresh corn for the grill at $0.20 an ear. I also got A1 and Jenny O turkey sausages for free.

At Rite-Aid (picture 3), I got all of the items in the picture FREE! Eight packages of Stayfree and two packages of M&Ms. Both the Stayfree and candy were on sale B1G1 free at Rite-Aid and I had 4 B1G1 free Stayfree coupons (6/28 SS) and a coupon for a free small pack of candy. I paid $1.15 OOP for tax.

I also stopped at CVS to use the last of my Hefty $1 coupons to get 9 boxes of FREE quart size one zip bags.

Overall a good week. My July budget is $165, so I have $60 left to spend.

Check out how other folks did this week:

Southern Savers--Friday Finals

Money Saving Mom--Super Savings Saturday

Fiddledeedee--Publix Super Savers

If you would like to check out my current quilt project go HERE.

Happy 4th of July!

Skippy Peanut Butter Deal

2009-07-03T17:59:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to give everyone a heads up on a deal I got at Wal-mart today. On the "Seasonal" aisle in the grocery section of Wal-mart they had these 12 oz. jars of Skippy peanut butter for $1. In the "Family is its own Rewards" coupon booklet from Publix, there are $0.75 coupons for any Skippy peanut butter . So you can get these jars for just $0.25!

Lightning Strikes Quilt

2009-07-02T17:24:00.000-07:00

One of my goals for the summer has been to finish up some of my "Works in Progress" in my sewing room. I love to make purses and quilts. I have about six project that I need to finish. You can see other quilt tops I have completed HERE and HERE.

The quilt I am working on this week is called Lightning Strikes. It is a type of Bargello quilt. I started this quilt a couple of years ago with a group of other quilters. For some reason, I just couldn't wrap my mind around how to put the quilt together. I had all the strips cut out and got together with the group so that our "teacher" could show us how to put the quilt together. I worked with the group for that one Saturday, and I hadn't touched the quilt since that day!

One of the advantages to having time off from work this summer is that I can take the time to quietly work on projects. I really just needed my mind to be free of clutter and stress and to take time to read through the directions. The quilt is really not difficult and lots of fun!

Here in this first picture is the bolt of fabric (yes, I said bolt!) which was my inspiration fabric for the quilt. I pulled all the other fabrics from the colors in this fabric. In each color family, I got fabrics that went from light to dark in value. You can see on my swatch sheet that I have little swatches of each of the TWENTY fabrics in the quilt.

Here is a picture of how the quilt will look when it is done. Of course, in my colors! It looks stunning, complicated and really impressive in person.

A little closer picture of the swatches. The pattern for this quilt appeared in an issue of Australian Patchwork and Quilting.

These are pictures of how I am keeping the different widths of my strips organized.

These pictures are the guide for the order of sewing of the strips. The white pieces of paper on the photo above help me to keep the row I am working on isolated from the rest of the pattern.

These are the strip sets that I cut the different widths of strips from.

Here is the picture of my quilt top in progress. You can already see how great it looks. I can hardly wait to put more rows on to see the pattern developing even better. I have to stop for the day, though--my neck muscles are killing me! I am going to bed early to rest up and start again tomorrow.

Since I am finishing up projects started years ago, I feel like I am being frugal. I bought all of these fabrics before discovering Dave Ramsey and starting our Total Money Makeover. We have now paid off all of our consumer debt and I don't feel guilty having all of this fabric. I just need to continue using it up.

When I am finished, I will have a beautiful, one-of-a-kind quilt for my bed. I think it will be a higher quality than anything I could buy in a store

Now that is being kind of frugal---right?

Be sure to visit Life as Mom and check out Frugal Fridays.

Also, check out Patchwork Times and see what other folks are working on at her post What's on Your Design Wall.

Menu Plan Monday 6/29/09

2009-06-28T18:09:00.000-07:00

Another week of eating from my pantry, since I only have $5 left in the grocery budget for this week. We have plenty on hand and I think we will have some simple meals for the week. Sort of a vacation from too much cooking! We are getting some things from the garden, so I will be incorporating those items into the menu.

Breakfasts
Cereal/milk
Blueberries
Granola bars
Waffles
Fruit
Bagels/cream cheese

Lunches
Sandwiches
chips
carrot sticks
cucumbers
squash
sliced tomatoes
pickles
fruit
Leftovers

Dinners
Tacos
Sandwiches, chips, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers
Hamburger Gravy, broccoli, sliced tomatoes
Pork Roast, mashed potatoes, fresh green beans
Homemade Pizza
Hotdogs, grilled corn, watermelon, cookies (July 4)
Sloppy Joes, home fries, sliced tomatoes

For more Menu Plan Monday ideas, head over to I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Have a great week and a Happy Fourth of July!

Stash Report

2009-06-28T14:55:00.000-07:00

I decided to start participating in the Stash Report over at Patchwork Times. I really haven't bought any fabric this year--until this week. I was watching a video blog of Alex Anderson over at The Quilt Show and she really recommended that everyone should have a collection of neutral fabric. So I started my collection this week!

Here is what I added this week:

The dark fabric is the extra wide backing for my 2009 Block of the Month quilt from Quilts and Fixins. So, that really isn't adding to my stash. The other three fabrics are all 1 yard pieces of neutrals. My favorite is the swirl pattern--it has lots of different neutral tones. Alex recommends not getting to much of the plain tone-on-tone fabrics. It will add much more dimension to your quilts to have different shades of neutrals--even taupe and gray in the fabric.

Stash report:

Total number of yards in stash: unknown--tons! (maybe I can calculate before next report!)

Total yards in this week: 3 (not counting backing)

Total yards out this week: 0 (I am finishing current projects)

Be sure to check out other Stash Reports over at Patchwork Times.

Unplanned Shopping Trip

2009-06-27T09:36:00.000-07:00

My daughter had a good friend move away 2 years ago. This friend happens to be in town visiting her dad for the summer. She and my daughter wanted to see each other, so we have an unexpected visitor for the weekend.

Knowing that I didn't have any quick-fix foods in the house, or any real teenager friendly items, I made a stop at Wal-mart. I ended up spending $43, which now only leaves me with $5 in the grocery budget until next Friday. I also have the $25 Publix gift card my husband received as a thank you gift. I had planned on saving that card to use in July and see how long I can make it last. I really should not need much. We will see how I do!

If you think it is impossible to survive on $5, just go over to My Frugal Adventure and see What $5 gets you.

I don't think my trip was that bad, even without coupons. I didn't manage to get a picture. Too much going on and Popsicle were melting!

Here is what I got:

2 sodas $0.78 ea
1 soda $1.50 (ouch)
1 OJ $2.73
Sour cream $1
1 lb. honey ham $5.76
Lrg. bag Mozzarella cheese $6.38 (for homemade pizza--that will save!)
Tyson Chicken nuggets $4.98
cilantro $0.84
1 Popsicle $2.48
1 Hamburger helper $1.25
2 Velveeta shells and cheese $1.50 ea
Doritos $2
Lay's $2.88
lettuce $0.98
2 Powerades $0.78 ea
all purpose flour $1.74
chili powder $0.50

$42.52 total OOP

No coupons used. Not really great, but not too bad. Planning the trip definitely would have made it better, I think I could have come up with a few coupons.

From the Garden

2009-06-25T14:45:00.000-07:00

Here is what I got from my garden today. Green beans, tomatoes (yellow, red and Cherokee purple), cukes, squash and blueberries.

I think I will make a small pot of beans tomorrow and add some new potatoes from my sister's garden. I will definitely be making a salad, too!

Another Finished Quilt Top

2009-06-24T18:20:00.000-07:00

I finished piecing this quilt top tonight. I think I started this quilt about 2 years ago! The pattern is by Atkinson Designs and is called Cheese and Crackers. I think this will be a Christmas gift for my great niece.

One of the nice things about not working this summer is that I have the energy to sew for at least a few minutes most evenings.

I hope to be able to finish a couple of more quilt tops before I go back to work in a month. Maybe I will even get some of them quilted!

Swimming Makes a Girl Hungry...

2009-06-24T16:20:00.000-07:00

We have been spending a lot of time in our like-new pool. It is funny to me to see my daughter. She normally eats very little. She is a "grazer" and remains thin despite coming from a family prone to weight problems. But, when she has been swimming you can't fill her up!

And, of course, here is the teenager rolling of the eyes because she is tired of having her picture taken. "Really mom, get a life. I am just eating lunch here. Nobody really cares...."

If you zoom in on this picture, you will notice a different look of annoyance from my son at having his picture taken.

Funny!

Aldis 6/23/09

2009-06-24T08:07:00.000-07:00

Even though I am in the middle of a eating from the pantry challenge, I did have a number of staples on my list. I find it hard to make meals without some of these basics on hand. I saved the bulk of my shopping items needed for my trip to Aldi's I find that they have the best prices on produce and milk in my area. I am really pleased with the quality of the products and produce.

The highlight of the trip was milk for $1.89/gallon! Yay! Cheese was also a good deal--$1.29/8 oz. bar.

Total spent for all the items above $18.74.

My total OOP for Tuesdays shopping marathon was $29.39. Really great for all of the items I got. Especially considering one of the items was a $40 patio umbrella! You can see all the other posts HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

I now have a total of $48 left in the grocery budget to last until 7/4.

To see more deals be sure to visit:

Money Saving Mom--Super Savings Saturday

Southern Savers--Friday Finals

Walgreens 6/23/09

2009-06-24T08:02:00.000-07:00

I decided to do two transactions at Walgreens. I first got the Purex 3 in 1 detergent.
$6.99 - $2 MQ = $4.99 plus I got $2 RR back.

I am still low on shampoo so I spent the $2 RR on shampoo and spent $0.14.

Total OOP $$5.50

To see more deals be sure to visit:

Money Saving Mom--Super Savings Saturday

Southern Savers--Friday Finals

The Centsible Sawyer-Drug Store Divas

CVS 6/23/09

2009-06-24T07:59:00.000-07:00

Another quick trip killing time while my mom was at an appointment. DD needed make-up sponges and I had a few more $1 Hefty coupons. My CVS still had the $1 boxes of Hefty bags on an end-cap. So I got 4 free boxes.

Total OOP $1.34

To see more deals be sure to visit:

Money Saving Mom-Super Savings Saturday

Southern Savers--Friday Final

The Centsible Sawyer-CVS Superstars

Wal-mart 6/23/09

2009-06-24T07:57:00.001-07:00

I just went into Wal-mart with my mom. While there I just picked up a few deals.

Total for items above $1.94 OOP.

Check out more deals at:

Money Saving Mom--Super Savings Saturday

Southern Savers--Friday Finals

Rite Aid 6/23/09

2009-06-24T07:48:00.001-07:00

I was out with my mother and DD yesterday running errands and taking my mom to the hearing doctor. While we waited for my mom at the doctor, we made a quick trip to Rite Aid so I could get my hair color.

I spent a total of $4.77 OOP for the items in the picture and one Air Head candy not pictured. The hair color was on sale and I used a Rite-aid Q and manufacturer coupon. The gum was B1G1 and I had two $1/2 coupons.

Later, after seeing a post on Money Saving Mom, I went back to my local Rite-Aid and scored this deal. I didn't really need a new umbrella right now, but how can you pass up free! I actually got the umbrella and two small filler items (B1G1 candy bars) so that I wouldn't have more coupons than items. Total spent $1.87 OOP.

To see more deals for the week, be sure to visit these blogs:

Money Saving Mom--Super Savings Saturday

Southern Savers--Friday Finals

The Centisible Sawyer--Drugstore Divas.

Menu Plan Monday 6/21/09

2009-06-21T19:05:00.000-07:00

I only did two small shopping trips last week, so I am still using items from my Freezer/Pantry Inventory. I didn't get to a couple of meals on last week's plan so I am listing them again.

Breakfasts
Cereal/Milk
Oatmeal
Waffles
Fruit

Lunches
Sandwiches
Leftovers

Dinners

Monday
Spaghetti Sauce
Noodles
Salad

Tuesday
Beef Stroganoff
Rice
Steamed Veggie

Wednesday
Boiled Shrimp
Rice side dish
Steamed Veggie

Thursday
Pork Roast
Mashed Potatoes
Steamed veggie
Stewed Apples

Friday
Pizza

Saturday
Hot dogs
Home fries
Fruit

Sunday
Steak
Potatoes
Salad

More menu ideas on Menu Plan Monday over at I'm and Organizing Junkie.

Have a great week!

Becca's New Quilt

2009-06-20T17:34:00.000-07:00

I finally finished binding my daughters new quilt. The title of this quilt is "A Cat in My Garden". You can see the cat peeking out from some greenery in the right hand corner of the quilt. I love the picket fence border. This was a Block of the Month quilt at my local quilt shop Quilts and Fixins. I am ashamed to say it is the Block of the Month quilt from 2004! Oh well, it is done and beautiful.

Here are the first five block from this year's Block of the Month quilt. It is a brown, tan, and cream quilt. I think it will be a perfect quilt for my son's bed. I will try to finish it in a much shorter time than my daughter's quilt! I have pieced all the blocks for each month so far. I pick up the next block this coming Friday and I plan on piecing it over the weekend.

Click HERE to see a photo of the 2009 BOM quilt completed.

Weekly Shopping Trip

2009-06-19T16:04:00.000-07:00

If you read my earlier post about my Freezer/Pantry Inventory, you know that I was not planning a shopping trip this week. But, I decided to go only for the really good deals or free items each week. So for this week, I made a trip to Walgreens and a quick stop at Publix.

Here is what I got:

Publix

1 Honey Maid graham crackers $2
... - $1 printable Q ($1)

2 Perdue Chicken Nuggets B1G1 $2.19 and $2.20 ea
... - 2 $1 MQ ($1.19 and $1.20 ea)

Total OOP $3.39

Walgreens

1st Transaction

1 Purex 3 in 1 laundry sheets $6.99
...- $2 MQ

Total OOP $4.99 and received $2 in RR

2nd transaction

2 White Rain shampoos $1 ea
..- $2 in RR

Total OOP $0.14

Not too bad for the week. A total OOP of $8.53.

I ended the week with $28+ left in my grocery budget. I will add that to the $50 budgeted from this week's paycheck and I will have $78 to spend until 7/3. This amount doesn't include a $25 gift card my husband got from a coworker as a thank you gift.

I plan on continuing my "Eat What You Have on Hand Challenge" and I will only shop for the freebies and super deals next week.

Be sure to visit these blogs and see how other folks did this week:

Money Saving Mom--Super Savings Saturday

Southern Savers--Friday Finals

Fiddledeedee--Publix Super Savers

The Centsible Sawyer--Drug Store Divas

Have a great week!

New Life to Old Chairs

2009-06-18T16:17:00.000-07:00

Hey, it's the husband again!

Some of our lawn chairs have been looking rough over the past few years. I borrowed a pressure washer to clean off the pool deck during the new pool liner project and I decided to wash off our lawn chairs. Faded and grimy, the pressure washing helped but they still looked quite sun-faded.

A couple days later, we found a can of green Krylon Fusion paint during a garage clean-up that we had bought probably a year ago for the purpose of use on these chairs!

Well, I laid out a big tarp in the yard and painted our four chairs. They turned out wonderfully! They look almost brand new!

Not only was this an inexpensive way to restore faded lawn furniture, it was environmentally friendly. Imagine if I decided not to bother with the "hassle" of cleaning them off and repainting them and decided to trash them, then buy new. What a waste!

Okay, well, I'm not helping too much with the "economic recovery" by buying new, but I am keeping big hunks of plastic out of the local landfill!

For more frugal ideas, be sure to check out Frugal Fridays over at Life as Mom.

Frugal Light Fixture Update

2009-06-18T15:58:00.000-07:00

Guest Post on A Stitch of Faith - the Husband!

Lisa and I decided to work on another home improvement project today and decided to try a frugal alternative!

We've lived in our current house around 12 years and all of the external light fixtures are showing the age. This light fixture is at our back door and looks very rough. It's very faded and even showing some signs of rust.

Here's another view of this sad little light fixture. Some would think, "Throw it away and buy another one!" It was tough just getting it off the back wall due to rusted connections.

Well, not us! We had bought this spray paint for another project (painting the hinges on the kitchen cabinets - stay tuned for that project!) and decided to give it a try. If it didn't work, well, maybe we'll buy a new light fixture.

So here's the fixture disassembled, ready for clean up.

Here I am taking an SOS type pad to the pieces. The poor little thing cleaned up pretty good!

Here we are at the painting stage. Lay the pieces out, spray them, wait patiently, then give them another coat.

Fully assembled, mounted back on the wall and looking good! All for the cost of a can of spray paint!

Be sure to visit Life As Mom to see more money saving ideas on her Frugal Fridays post.

Summer Project

2009-06-15T19:51:00.001-07:00

Mother and daughter getting ready to start our summer scrapbook project. I am home with daughter for the summer to monitor her health as we change a medical regimen. We are going to be working on a scrapbook to commemorate her 8th grade year.

Menu Plan Monday 6/15/09

2009-06-14T15:29:00.000-07:00

Since I just did a Freezer/Pantry Inventory, I have planned this week's menu's around using what I have on hand. I will be going to the store for milk and some produce (my mom really wants the green beans from Kroger--$0.98/lb). I really should not need anything else from the grocery store for several weeks.

I am currently on a leave of absence from work plus my husband and daughter are home since school is out. So, I am actually serving 3 meals/day. It will be interesting to see how long the pantry/freezer supplies last.

Breakfasts:
Cereal/milk
Oatmeal
Eggs
Waffles
Bagels

Lunches:
Leftovers
Sandwiches
Soup

Dinners:

Monday
Pork Roast
Rice/gravy
Green beans w/ new potatoes
sliced tomatoes

Tuesday
Chicken Stew
Rice
Steamed veggie

Wednesday
Meatloaf
Mashed potatoes
peas
cantaloupe

Thursday
Eggs
Canadian bacon
Grits
Toast
Fruit

Friday
Leftovers

Saturday
Spaghetti Sauce
Noodles
Salad

Sunday
Beef Stroganoff
Noodles
Steamed veggie
Jello w/ fruit

Be sure to visit I'm an Organizing Junkie and see more menu ideas at Menu Plan Monday.

Have a great week!

Freezer/Pantry Inventory

2009-06-14T09:17:00.000-07:00

I decided that I needed to do an inventory of my freezer and pantry to see exactly what I have on hand. I have been so busy buying all the great deals that I was afraid I might be forgetting what all I had on hand.

It was quite a shock to write all of these items down. My mother is living with us now and she said I have enough groceries on hand for "the summer, at least"!

My freezer is so full that I didn't realize we still had meat from the whole hog we bought last fall. And, of course, we still have a lot of beef from buying the 1/2 cow late last year.

I am going to list all of the items I have on hand below. This list is a convenient way for me to keep track and, hopefully, I will be more accountable about using up what I have on hand instead of going out and buying more. I absolutely do not need to buy meat!

I will be following this post up with a menu plan based on what I have on hand. I will make as many meal plans as I can.

Freezer Inventory:

Beef roast
Round steak x 4 pkgs
Steaks x 2 pkgs
Ground beef x 29 pkgs!
Beef liver x 2
Frozen hamburger patties x 7
Ham roasts x 2
Pork roasts x 4
Ham hocks x5
Pork Chops
Sausage x 5 lbs.
Bacon x 1 lb.
Bar S Franks x 15 pkgs
Shrimp
Chicken Breasts x 2 pkgs (1.39lbs and 1.32 lbs)
Whole chicken x 1
Whole turkey x 1
Bulk Italian Sausage x 1 lb.
Canadian Bacon x 2 pkgs
Frozen veggies x 12 pkgs
Bagels x1 pkg
Bagel-fuls x 1 box
Eggo waffles x 1 box
Frozen bell peppers from garden
Frozen jalapenos from garden
Frozen blueberries from garden
Frozen corn on cob from farmer's market x 10 bags
Frozen peaches from farmer's market x 2 bags
Pecans from aunt's trees
Walnuts
Strawberries
Frozen biscuits
Hamburger buns x 2 pkgs
Hot dog buns x 2 pkgs
Phyllo dough
Shredded cheese x 6 bags
Corn bread muffins

Pantry inventory:

Lipton Family size tea bags x 5 boxs
Lemon tea x 5 bxs
Agave nectar x 6 bottles
Cereal x 20 bxs
Ritz crackers x 3 bxs
Wheat Thins x 4 bxs
Salad dressing x 7 bottles
Ketchup x 3 bottles
Jello x 18 bxs
Graham crackers x 2 bxs
Cereal bars x 2 bxs
Instant oatmeal x 3 bxs
Plain Flour
Whole wheat flour
Self-rising flour
Cornmeal mix
Grits
Butter Buds
Sugar x 50 lbs
Confectioner's sugar x 2 bxs
Brown sugar
Sugar in the Raw
Splenda
Old fashion oats
Baking soda x 5 bxs
Baking powder
Salt
Cornstarch
Powdered milk
Knox gelatin
Corn syrup
Vanilla x 3 bottles
Funnel cake mix
Chocolate chips x 17 bags
Cake mixes x 2
Frosting x 1 can
Brownie mixes x 2
Chocolate Bark
Chicken Bullion
Microwave popcorn
Nilla wafers
Mayo x 3
Instant rice
Regular rice
Flavored rice mixes x 6
Instant potato mixes x 4
Pasta Roni x 4
Couscous
Instant brown rice
Penne Pasta x 2 bxs
Wacky Mac x 2 bags
Egg noodles x 2 bags
Elbow macaroni
Fettuccine
Lasagna
Mini Farfalle
Spaghetti noodles
Easy Mac cups x 8
Velveeta Shells and Cheese cups x 7
Smoothie mix
Cookie mixes x 2
Taco seasoning
Ranch dip seasoning
McCormick marinade seasoning
Cocoa
Honey Maid graham crackers x 2 bxs
Sandies cookies x 2 pkgs
Chex Mix
Triscuit crackers
Biscotti
Velvetta Shells and Cheese x 1 bx
Syrup
BBQ sauce x 4 bottles
Black olives
A-1 sauce x 3 bottles
Red Hot sauce
Yellow mustard
Dijon mustard
Marinades x 4 bottles
Worcestershire sauce x 3 bottles
Sweet Relish
Bread and Butter Pickles
Cherry Preserves
Apricot Preserves
Orange Marmalade
Saltine crackers
Hot chocolate x lots
Lemon juice
Olive oil x 3 bottles
Sesame oil
Diced tomatoes x 7 cans
White vinegar
Apple cider vinegar
Balsamic vinegar
Red wine vinegar
Rice vinegar
Onion soup mix
Raisins x 2 bxs
Sunflower seeds
Cream of mushroom soup
Chicken noodle soup x 2 cans
French onion soup
Honey
Mandarin oranges x 3 cans
Fruit cocktail x 1 can
Tropical fruit x 1 can
Crushed pineapple x 1 can
Peanut butter
Chili sauce
Chicken broth x 9 cans
Tomato sauce x 14 can
Tomato paste x 3 cans
Tomato soup x 2 can
Green beans x 1 cans
Corn x 5 cans
Peas x 1 can
Green chilies x 1 can
Rotel tomatoes x 4 cans
Mushrooms x 1 can
Chicken breast meat x 1 can
Salmon x 2 cans
Bush's baked beans x 2 cans

Wow! What a list. I now see that taking an inventory of what you have is really important. I think I will start doing this at least twice a year.

What about you? Why not stop and take an inventory of what you have on hand. You might be as surprised as I was. I think now my challenge is to plan meals from my pantry and only buy milk and fresh produce for the rest of the month. Check back and see how I do. Better yet, join me in my "Eat What You Have on Hand Challenge".

If you have any meal ideas, please leave me a comment. Thanks!

Grocery/Household Item Budget Update #2

2009-06-13T07:16:00.000-07:00

After taking my mother to the doctor yesterday, we stopped by Kroger to pick up 2 gallons of milk and a bag of ice (my ice maker is broken on fridge).

We spent a total of $7.18. We now have $36.82 to last until 6/19--next payday. I expect that paycheck to be low, so I have only allotted $50 for groceries/household out of that check.

I think we should be able to do just fine, since I have an overstuffed pantry and freezer. That is, if I can just lay off the deals!

Monthly Financial Check-up

2009-06-12T10:34:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted a Monthly Financial check-up since February. You can see my previous posts HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Here is where we stand now:

We have paid off all non-mortgage debt except for my husband's student loan.
He is working at a low income school as a teacher in a high need subject. He will be eligible for forgiveness of $17,500 after 5 years of service. His 5 years will end in May 2010. One more year.

Building a 3-6 month emergency fund.
We currently have approximately 4 months expenses in a savings account. When we reach 6 months expenses we will slow down just a bit on savings to that account. We will continue to build it, however, and hope to have an extra $17,500 in that account by next May. This will be $17,500 above the $20K in the account for 6 months emergency fund. We want to have the extra cash available to pay off the student loan in case Uncle Sam decides to cancel the teacher loan forgiveness program.

Prepare house to sell.
We have been working on a number of projects to get the house in sell condition. You can see those HERE and HERE. More projects will be happening over the next few weeks. These projects include painting cabinets, scraping ceilings and repainting them, and painting trim. New carpet is another project, but we have to save up for the carpet.

Sell house when market improves.
Market is still terrible, so this is on hold.

Increase charitable giving to full 10%.
We are on track with our giving. We will get a statement from church to verify and make up any amount needed from our savings.

Save 15% of our income in retirement plans.
We will be putting this in place as soon as we get our 6 month emergency fund completed. We expect this to happen by August.

We will continue to look for opportunities to save in our budget. We are also selling a few items on E-bay.

We have just finished our first Financial Peace University class at our church and we were the facilitators of the class. It really helped to keep us on track to go through the class again. It was also inspiring to see how the knowledge of God's way of handling money set class participants free. If you haven't heard of Dave Ramsey or his book, The Total Money Makeover, I can't recommend his program more. We have paid off more that 60K in debt in less than two years!

Click HERE to see a portion of a FPU class.

How are you doing with your Financial Plan? Do you have an emergency fund?

Check out Money Saving Mom to see how others are doing or share your Monthly Financial Check-up.

Grocery/Household Items Budget Update

2009-06-12T08:21:00.000-07:00

I am hoping to keep myself more accountable on how much I am spending at the grocery store, so I am posting every trip I make.

I went to Publix and Walmart yesterday. I was late getting home so I didn't have time to take a picture of my shopping trips. Here is what I got at Publix:

1 loaf Whitewheat bread $2.60

2 pkgs Chex Mix $1.28 ea
... - 2 $0.50 printable Qs doubled
... - 1 $1/2 Target Q (FREE w/overage)

2 pkgs Sandies Cookies $2.00 ea
... - 2 $1/1 printable Qs ($1 ea)

2 Lender's Bagels $0.90 ea

1 Iceberg lettuce $1.49

1 Florida Natural OJ $3.00

3 All Small and Mighty Clear $3.99 ea
... - 3 $1 printable Qs ($2.99 ea) Just in time--I was almost out!

Total OOP at Publix $19.48

We also stopped at Wal-mart to get vanity bulbs for both bathrooms. One of the bathrooms was out of three bulbs, so we couldn't wait any longer!

Total at Wal-mart $14.13.

Total left in grocery/household item budget is approximately $34.00. This will have to last until payday on 6/19.

We really have plenty stockpiled and the garden is about to have green beans and a couple of tomatos are ripening. We should really only have to shop for milk and I may try and get more cheese from Kroger.

Be sure to visit Money Saving Mom and see how other frugal bloggers did this week on Crystal's Super Savings Saturday post.

Also, check out Southern Savers and her post--Friday Finals for more ideas.

Kroger 6/10/09

2009-06-11T08:37:00.000-07:00

I had coupons expiring yesterday so I made three stops: Kroger, Publix and Wal-mart. I wanted to take advantage of the Kraft cheese sale at Kroger. My Kroger was almost out of sharp cheddar, so I will probably be stopping at another store this week. I also managed to find a couple of manager special roasts.

Here is the breakdown of the Kroger trip:

1 pkg Nonni Limone Biscotti (Yum!) $3.49
... - $1 MQ ($2.49)

1 Boston Butt pork roast-Manager's Special $2.66

1 Boston Butt pork roast-Manager's Special $2.45

2 Tombstone Pizzas $2.50 ea
... - $1/2 printable Q ($2 ea)

2 20 oz. bottles Mtn Dew Game Fuel $0.79 ea
... - 2 $0.55/1 peelie MQ ($0.24 ea)

1 20 oz regular Mtn Dew $1.49

1 pkg Cinnamon rolls $2.50

9 pkgs Kraft 2% cheese $1.67 ea
... - 11 tearpad MQ $0.50/1 -doubled ($0.67 ea)

2 pkgs. Kraft singles $1.67 ea
... - $1/2 MQ ($1.17 ea)

Total OOP $25.08

I have a total of $68 left to spend for groceries and household items until 6/19.

I am planning a trip to my local farmers market to buy local produce and to Kroger and to Publix to get the new sale items that start today.

Check out how other folks did this week over at:

Money Saving Mom--Super Savings Saturday

Southern Savers--Friday Finals

Publix 6/10/09

2009-06-11T08:25:00.001-07:00

I had some coupons expiring yesterday and I wanted to get a couple of the good deals at Publix before they went off sale. Here is what I got:

2 Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks $1.30 and $1.29 ea
... - $1/2 printable Q ($0.80 and $0.79 ea)

2 Nestle Refrigerator Cookies $1.44 and $1.45 ea
... - 2 $1/1 printable Qs ($0.44 and $0.45 ea)

2 bottles Hunts Ketchup $0.70 and $0.69 ea
...- 2 $0.20 MQ -doubled ($0.30 and $0.29 ea)

2 bottles Kraft squeezable May0 $2.49 and $2.50 ea
... - 2 $1/1 printable Qs
... - 1 $1 Target Q ($1 ea)

1 pkg. Raisin Bran Crunch $2
... - $1 printable Q ($1)

2 boxes Ritz Crackers $1.74 and $1.75 ea
... - 2 $1/1 printable Qs ($0.74 and $0.75 ea)

2 boxes Nabisco Wheat Thins $3.25 ea
... - 2 MQ for Free Wheat Thins WYB Ritz Crackers (FREE)

1 can Dole Pineapple $0.99
... - $1/1 printable Q ($0.01 overage)

2 pkgs. Smart Balance Spread $1.39 and $1.40 ea
... - $1/2 MQ ($0.89 and $0.90 ea)

1 Lemon $0.34

Total before coupons $31.xx

Total OOP $9.67

I have a total of $68 left to spend on groceries/household items until 6/19.

I am planning a trip to my local farmers market to purchase local produce and one more trip to Kroger for cheese and to Publix to pick up new sale items that start today.

To see how other folks did this week head over to:

Money Saving Mom---Super Savings Saturday

Southern Savers--Friday Finals

Walmart 6/10/09

2009-06-11T07:17:00.000-07:00

I had a lot of coupons that were expiring yesterday so I made a trip to Wal-mart, Publix, and Kroger. Here is what I got at Wal-mart:

2 pkgs. Oscar Meyer deli meat $3.00 ea
... - $1/2 MQ ($2.50 ea)

1 Bagel-fuls $1.88
... -$1 Q ($.088)

2 Kotex panty liners $0.97 ea
-1 $2/2 printable Q ($0.06 overage)

1 Evercare lint roller $0.97
... - $1 printable Q ($0.03 overage)

3 pkgs. Jello gelatin $0.50 ea
- $1/3 printable Q ($0.16 ea)

2 pkgs. Wacky Mac $1.26 ea
... - 2 $0.75 MQ ($0.51 ea)

12 pkgs Bar S Franks $0.88 ea
...- 6 $1/2 MQ and printable Qs ($0.38 ea)

2 Velveeta Shells/Cheese cups $0.98 ea
- 1 B1G1 printable Q ($0.49 ea)

4 Easy Mac Cups $0.82 ea
... - 2 B1G1 printable Qs ($0.41 ea)

6 Velveeta Shells/Cheese cups $0.98 ea
... - 6 $1/2 printable Qs ($0.48 ea)

1 pkg Velveeta Shells and Cheese $1.50
... -$1/1 printable Q

Total before coupons $45.xx

Total OOP $20.81

I have a total of $68 left to spend on groceries/household items until 6/19.

I am planning on a trip to my local farmers market for local produce and one more trip to Kroger and to Publix for the new sales starting today.

To see how others did on their shopping trips be sure to visit:

Money Saving Mom--Super Savings Saturday

Southern Savers--Friday Finals

One of my garden's worst enemies

2009-06-10T13:01:00.001-07:00

I hate these things.
It is a constant battle against these horrid beasts as they attack my tomato plants.

New Pool Liner!

2009-06-10T12:37:00.000-07:00

We've had our pool around nine years and the time has finally come to replace the pool liner. Two of the corners started tearing about two years ago and my husband valiantly tried to patch them up, but by the end of last year, patching was no longer an option. We needed the new liner!

So we saved up over the winter, made plans with Georgia Pool Supply and patiently waited for Spring.

Here is the pool with the old liner and the water nearly completely drained out.

No liner, workers are here smoothing out rough spots on the bottom and replacing the foam insulation on the sides.

The new liner is installed and the pool is ready to be filled!

The pool is almost filled and nearly ready to go. We should be swimming by the weekend!

New Babies on the Farm

2009-06-08T18:14:00.000-07:00

My family visited my sister and her family on their farm in Dublin, GA this weekend. We got to see the new babies on the farm. One of these donkeys is only two days old in this picture , the other is about a week old. They are so cute! All ears and legs....

Farm Cat doesn't understand all the fuss.

Squash Casserole

2009-06-07T17:33:00.000-07:00

I tried this recipe for the first time today. It turned out good and was a hit at our final Financial Peace University class.

Squash Casserole

3 cups of cooked squash with onion
1/2 stick butter
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
salt
pepper
3/4 roll crushed Ritz crackers
1/2 stick butter

Mix the first 8 ingredients together. Put in greased baking dish. Mix crushed crackers and melted butter together. Spread over squash mixture. Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly--approximately 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Menu Plan Monday 6/8/09

2009-06-07T11:10:00.000-07:00

Last week I didn't get to a couple of my planned menus. I ended up being chosen to be on a jury and the case lasted all week! I hope I don't ever have to do that again!

Anyway, I am re-listing a couple of menus from last week. I don't think I will be doing much shopping. I went to my sister's farm this weekend and came back with lots of squash, corn, onions, potatoes, melons, and eggs!

Here is my tentative plan:

Monday
Sesame Beef
Rice
Cantaloupe

Tuesday
Hamburger Quiche
Squash Casserole

Wednesday
Eggs
Canadian Bacon
Toast
Melon

Thursday
Swiss Steak
Rice
Melon

Friday
Leftovers

Saturday
Hotdogs
Baked Beans
Home Fries
Melon

Sunday
Grilled Chicken Breast
Grilled Corn-on-the-Cob
Grilled Zucchini Squash
Fruit

To see more Menu Plan Monday ideas head over to I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Have a great week!