ugh ugh ugh

So I have decided that I might try to keep up this blog again. I miss being able to search for the great sites that I find to recall them back again. I just hated how much time blogging took away from my family. But I am realizing how blogging helped my family. It helped me organize my ideas and thoughts. It encouraged me to follow through with things I shared on here about what I wanted to do. And it was a great collection to look back on of how my family was growing and changing.

So we will try it. I felt pressured before to post every day, and I am not going to do that this time. This time, I am going to post as I feel the need. That could be several times a day, or it could be once a month.

And again, as always, prayerfully what I share will be of use to someone.

Blessings, Paula

bits & pieces: july 26, 2010

Lavander Lemonade
This picture is SO beautiful, it is worth visiting the blog alone. :D

Inflation
OK, so this is a bit depressing, but inflation is coming and we do need to be prepared.

A Practical Guide to Owning Fewer Clothes HT: The One in Pink

The One in Pink
I came across this blog through her husband's blog after discovering his videos - which my kids LOVE - watch the earlier videos, the later videos have a dark side (guns and suicide and shootings and just are not kid friendly), but his earlier stuff is hilarious and had my kids laughing for hours ... sorry for the rabbit trail. ANYWAYS, this blog is so pretty and feel good! She is on the same food/health journey I am, we have some of the same taste in clothes, and the pictures on her blog are so pretty!! :D :D :D

"You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body."— C.S. Lewis

Using What You Have Meals: Tomato Vegetable Soup and Taco Casserole

Recently, we have taken to using what we have when cooking. Last night and tonight's meals are two examples.

Taco Casserole (pictured above)
1 lb Meat
1/2 an onion
Frozen Corn
Can of Black Bean Soup (about to expire)
Can of Tomato Paste
Water
Seasonings (chili seasoning, garlic powder)
Corn chips
Cheddar Cheese

Brown onion and meat. And frozen corn (to stretch meat). Add can of black bean soup. Add 1/2 can of tomato paste (and stir in as much water as needed to thin). Add seasonings.

Crush corn chips on top. Spread shredded cheese on top and cover till cheese melts. We only added a little cheese because of the girls and their intolerance. (Pictured is the meal in my cast iron - LOVE my cast iron. It is uncovered for the picture and because the cheese has melted). Serve with rice and refried beans.

Tomato Vegetable Soup
Bottle of Organic V-8 I had bought months ago
Frozen veggies
Butter

Use V-8 as base for the soup. Add frozen veggies. Cook till veggies cooked. Add pats of butter in individual servings if desired. This was REALLY good and had my daughters asking for thirds!

Abundance of Your Heart

So in continuing to think about what I want to accomplish in my life, being the ultimate craft mom is NOT it. And yet, how much time do I spend surfing the net finding cute and fun things to make with/for the children? The Bible says that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.

But I also think that out of the abundance of your heart is where you spend most of your time. Do I spend more time with my kids, or on the computer? Do I spend more time searching for crafts, or learning about things that are really important to me? I am so lazy. I learn about things that are easy and fun rather than difficult and necessary.

Now please do not get me wrong. Remember this blog is really just my ramblings for me and for my children (when they grow up). I am not saying that I cannot spend my time on something I enjoy, like crafts. But if my ultimate goal is to be self-sufficient and live simply, spending 90% of my time on the computer searching for crafts and 10% on learning about how to live simply and frugally... I am not accomplishing the goal I have set for myself.

SO, I have decided to cut back even more on the blogs I read. I am going to create a folder in my feed reader for "blogs to read when I have time." The rest of the blogs that will be left in the main part of the reader will be the few that really help and encourage me in things that I really want to learn and pass on to my children. Along with those will be a few web pages/forums that have helped me and I know will continue to help me.

If I spend less time searching through fluff to find stuff that is not helping me to accomplish my goals, then I will have more time to read and search out the things that are important to me. Things like:
*reducing our utility bill (water, wastewater, electricity, gas)
*gardening
*relying more on herbs and less on the doctor
*spending less money all around and actually building up a savings for when beloved retires/loses his job
*living frugally
*being more self-sufficent
*selling stuff on ebay and make more money than selling it in a garage sale

All that being said, this past weekend I had a wonderful time teaching EE to crochet (she can now do ch and sc, YEAH!!!!) and how to finger knit. She is so loving it, and it has been fun. I also created a dishcloth pattern that I have been using and LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!! So, see, there IS a balance. :)

-=-=-=-
Three things I am thankful for:
*EE enjoying crafts - it is good for her to learn to MAKE things rather than buy them, and to get joy in what you create
*Balance - I love spending time with my kids. I enjoy enjoying them. :) It is good to learn, and have them learn with me, but it is equally important to ENJOY each other. :)
*God's hand upon our family

Why...

I am so horribly ashamed. My house is just that ... a house. There is nothing special about it. There is no beauty to it, and the only beauty in it are my four darling children and wonderful husband).

Whenever I read about the life of a woman I admire and it is penned by someone who was a close friends of hers, I find it highly convicting when the author writes about the woman's house. She goes on and on about the beauty and comfort that abounded within.

I think back to when we were packing to move. It took no time at all to decide what would be packed into boxes for who knows how many months. And we lived well with almost 2/3 of our belongs packed away into storage for over 3 months.

And the house stayed clean! The kids were happy and content with what they had (2/3 less than they did previously). The house felt like a home...a haven.

And now, with everything unpacked, and knowing I have an over abundance of stuff...I freeze at knowing what to get rid of. Piles of laundry and stuff here and there because nothing has a place (a place for everything and everything in it's place). But I must keep it because I cannot do without it. Or can I? If we lived for over 3 months just fine on 1/3 of what we own, why do I struggle to get rid of the 2/3??

Is it security? That I *MIGHT* need it, and what to do if I don't have it? Is it some sort of hidden struggle I have to "always be prepared" or somehow I am trying to keep up with the Jonses? How can you organize and beautify stuff you are keeping ...just to keep it?

-=-=-=-=-
Three things I am thankful for:
a house full of stuff
the knowledge that it is too much stuff
baby tushes in the air as they sleep tight

Too Much STUFF!

I was reading on Rhonda's Blog about how part of living a simple lifestyle is caring for the things you have. You aren't going to just run out and buy something new to replace it. SO you take better care of it in the first place.

I look around my house and get so depressed. I see so many things that I have not cared for as I should have, that are now broken and needing fixed. Sadly, most of the items cannot be fixed easily, so I will have to use some creativity. But if I had only taken better care of what I have.

And it hit me, that a BIG part of why I do not care for what I have is that I have an abundance of STUFF! I have so much STUFF that is mediocre that I do not have time to care for EVERYTHING!

I have so many clothes that the laundry piles and piles up and the really nice cedar laundry sorter breaks under the weight of it all. :( I have so many towels and sheet sets that it becomes cumbersome trying to fold them all and fit them into the linen closet. So they just pile up as dirty and then there sits a clean pile of towels, grab from the top if you need to "clean" one.

I have so many tablecloths to protect the table and so many fabric placemats, that they have no real place to be stored and so become cumbersome and not used, and therefore the nice table that God blessed us with starts to become damaged. :( And worst of all, they just get piled up in the laundry room so I can barley get in there to even do the laundry in the first place!

And I had to think about why the girls don't like to clean and care for their stuff. I know that part of it is from Momma's lack of desire to clean and care for stuff. But I know another part, the same part that overwhelms me, is that it is very overwhelming to have too much stuff.

A free toy at a garage sale is fine, but multiply that by three children and 4 times a month and it adds up!!

Shopping at Goodwill is fun and fine if you know what you need. But buying things just because you can get them on the cheap is just another way to fill your house with junk.

Ok, so BABY STEPS!

I have started with clothes. My girls have way too many. I had finally pared all mine down, but something inside me just snapped or something and I bought a ton of new skirts (all from Goodwill, but I did NOT need 20 skirts! WHAT WAS I THINKING!).

I have started only buying brand names from Goodwill. That will at least help me to get GOOD quality clothes (not Walmart reselling at Goodwill for what they paid for it new at Walmat). And it can be pretty difficult to find brand names at Goodwill because by the time I get there, things have been pretty well picked over. :)

We have also started already with garage sale season coming up. I will not be buying any more toys for the children. Well, I might buy things for Christmas and the occasional "I Love You" gifts. But I think that by making the children spend THEIR money on toys, they will learn to be selective about what they spend their money on, and they might be more included to take care of it. AND they will have to get rid of something they already have in order to get the new toy.

And it will also encourage them to get rid of more stuff because they will get money for it AND be able to spend it on things they want (like the souvenir from vacation or
the toy they really want).

And this will NOT be a double standard. I too will have to get rid of something before bringing something new into the house. If I want a new skirt, which one am I willing to part with? If I am buying yarn or fabric for a project, I need to make sure I finish the project. If it is something to sell, then I sell it and if it is for personal use, we use it. Having a small stockpile is OK, but nothing like what I currently have. Again, too much is overwhelming. I look at all the fabric that I have and all the projects I intended them for, and get overwhelmed and do nothing.

Time for a change. Actually PAST DUE time for a change!
-=-=-=-
Three things I am thankful for:
laughing with my children
EE's bright eyes when she smiles
a loving husband

THAT's TOO MUCH! (Updated)

Over at Sense to Save, there is a THAT'S TOO MUCH challenge

Ok, so we are trying to lower our utility bill (gas, electric and water is billed as one). WE have lowered the thermostat from 68 to 65. Recently we have been turning it down to 60 from 7pm (right after dinner) to 7am (when we start getting up and going). But do keep on SOME heat so you don't end up dead, like this woman who did not use her heater when she could have.

I have no idea how to do the savings with water. We have a front loading washer and I always run it full. I run the dishwasher full. We turn off the water while brushing our teeth. But I am sure there is SOMEWAY to reduce our water. I need to do some research on this. I did call and ask about "peak hours" as mentioned in the comments. Our utility company only does that for electrical. Our water is billed in "blocks." Which means if you use a small amount of water you pay less. You pay more the more water you use.

As far as the cell phone, even though we are paying $10 more a month, we have 50 extra minutes a month, roll-over minutes (which will save us money should we ever had to be in the hospital again) and my hubby has unlimited web access (which is beneficial as we use the internet to map out where to go as well as check and compare prices - this has saved us a LOT of money) and we have a second line for me. All for $10 more a month. WOOHOO!!

But the land line. We are paying $42! I am going to call and see about lowering it. SO right now, we have the basic BUNDLE (key word being bundle) where caller ID, call waiting and call waiting caller ID are "free." So when I asked what the BASIC BASIC no bundle line is, he said it was $14.88!!! (Of course there is still the taxes equating to about $12 here.) Our total bill would be $26! ALMOST HALF of what we were paying and THOUGHT we were getting basic basic and all this FREE stuff!

We don't need call waiting because they can always call the cell phone if the land line is busy. And without call waiting, you don't need call waiting caller ID. If we still wanted caller ID (to avoid those middle of dinner sales calls) it is an additional $7.50 a month. That would still be $10 savings a month. My mom just said for her basic basic it is $9.99 and that blocks them from making long distance calls. I asked about how much it would be for us if we had no long distance ability and they said it would still be the $14.88. But maybe somewhere near you it would be different.

They were also going to charge me $9.18 to do this. NO WAY! I contested it and the extra charge was removed (because she was able to re-process the order in a different way). So now, we are saving $120 A YEAR on our phone line! The only things we will miss are that special ringy-dingy when the call was long distance and call waiting (but isn't that what CELL PHONES are for?). :)

We do not have cable (woohoo!) and the newspaper we get Sundays only for $1 which is 25 cents less than it is supposed to cost AND it is delivered. :) And the magazines we are subscribed to, beloved gets through a special site and doesn't pay more than $1 per issue.

We have quite a good deal on our insurance and are pleased with it. We might be able to lower it.

Checking and Savings Accounts
We have switched to a local credit union (DON'T flush money down the toilet by keeping it in a bank, find a credit union - they WANT you and will most likely be able to find a way to make you a customer and if not, you can find one that will). But with the drop in rates, we are switching to a DIFFERENT local credit union which has rates 1 point HIGHER than the military credit union we are currently using.

It was mentioned about gym memberships. We do not have, nor are we likely to get one anytime ever. Right now where we live, there is SO MUCH TO DO to enjoy the outdoors here in Colorado! The children like hiking. And during garage sale season, there was a treadmill (something we have wanted) that was $200 marked down to $100. I gave her my number and said if she didn't sell it would she mind selling it to me (someone who would use it rather than try to resell it at the flea market) for $30. That treadmill is now a GREAT part of my winter workout! :)

Well, I *THINK* that is all. :) If nothing else, I am saving us an addition $120 a year! :)

-=-=-=-=-
Three things I am thankful for:
How the girls just dote on their brother JJ
How JJ comforts his sisters when he knows they are sad
How the girls allow JJ to ride on their backs like a horse, and the smile he has when he falls off

Retrain Your Brian

When we no longer have a use for something, we usually think of only two options, both include getting rid of the item. Either give it away or sell it. Well, sadly for me, there is also the third option of throw it away. But I am starting to learn the value of another option.

REPURPOSING! The old adage of "use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without" really has much more meaning to me now. I already shared about how I finally made croutons from dry bread that I normally would have just thrown out.

Meredith shares about how she keeps from accumulating too much (love it!) as well as about how she repurposes.

And Rebecca talks about how she made over a dress. MY goodness girlfriend that is so beautiful!! I need to learn how to do that! Do share!!! How do you train your mind to think of these things?

And Monica shares how she repurposes too. Here too!

Why is is so hard to repurpose things? Why do we get into this mentality of an object has one and only one use? I loved Meredith's idea of using an old cloth napkin as a basket liner. I NEVER WOULD HAVE THOUGHT OF THAT! So simple, yet a great way to make it do. :)

This brain of mine needs to be re-trained to see these things differently. I have always known you could reuse old sheets for fabric. Cut them up for matching napkins and placemats. Make a dress out of it. But I need help retraining for all the OTHER things!!! I need to get in the mentality of:
Am I able to sell this and make some god money?
Or do I know someone who is in need of this item?
If not,
Am I able to barter this item for something else I need/want more?
Or can I find another way to re-use this item?

I wonder if there is a board out there where you share items you have that you are thinking of getting rid of, and everyone tells you all the great things you can do with it. Maybe they have even done something similar themselves and have a picture or a tutorial or a pattern. :) Heck, you might even be able to barter the new item you made from the old item that nobody wanted. :) Wouldn't THAT be cool???

Saving Money on Heating

I had been keeping the thermostat at 65. Beloved turned it back up to 68 (where the utility company suggests you keep it no higher than) last month. Our electric bill went up near $70!!! Now true, two of those days we had no windows (windows were being replaced), and we did have a space heater going in the garage for a few days while the dog was sleeping out there. But WOW, an increase of $70 is quite a bit!!!

After getting the bill, beloved turned the thermostat back down to 65. :) I try to get him (and the girls) to dress WARMLY. Wear those stockings and bloomers. Wear sweatpants on top of your bloomers. Hubby wears sweatpants under his jeans (skinny man!!!). We will see how much it helps cutting back those extra three degrees.

But still, sometimes we get cold. I am wondering about lowering the thermostat even more at night and then up during the day while we are here and moving around. I have been doing some research and came across a great article on how to make a cherry stone bed warmer. I must admit that I am pretty excited about this!!! :)

Cherry pits are supposed to retain heat longer and release it more slowly than grains usually used in heating packs. A dear friend of mine, Brenda mentioned that she is not sure if they are or are not a moist heat (which grains are) which is really good for penetrating. But what she has read so far it seems like they are. So cherry pits might be a good way to keep warm and to help a hurting back. I have not been able to find information on the moist heat of cherry pits. Might check on her blog in the future to see if she does. She is a whiz with this kind of stuff. :D

Oh check this out! There is a great little post on Crunchy Chicken about it. I have read this article, but if you decide to wander from this page, read with a discerning heart, as I would hope you do with all blogs (even mine). :)

As to where to buy cherry pits, you can buy them from The Cherry Pit Store. You can also do it yourself, but one article said it takes 30-40 pounds of cherries to make one pillow. THAT'S SOME SERIOUS CHERRY PICKIN and eatin!!! LOL!!! You might also see if there is a cannery nearby that you might be able to get them really cheap or possibly even free (Dave Ramsey says bargain EVERYTHING!) :) SO who knows! :) Keep me updated if you do this or if you have experience with making one yourself. :)

I know I am thinking of making some cute small ones for boo-boo's to keep in the fridge. They are supposed to stay cold longer than grains too. :)

You May Prove The Will Of God

I have had to really think about what I REALLY want to accomplish in my life. While my ultimate goal is to glorify God in all I do and say, I fall terribly short. Sometimes I think I should put duct tape over my mouth to avoid saying things in anger. And sometimes I think I should toss out every TV and computer so I am not tempted to waste time on them rather then investing in my children.

But I am reminded of a story of little boy who was being very horrible to his mother. She finally told him to sit in the corner. The little boy replied "I may be sitting on the outside, but I am still standing on the inside!" I am reminded that it doesn't matter what kind of obedience (even that forced upon me by duct tape) I show God, it is the obedient heart that matters to God.

So I need to change my heart.
"Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a steadfast spirit within me."
I need to change my conduct.
If you have indeed heard Him, and the truth is in you, put off...your former conduct..."
I need to put on a NEW man.
"...put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge..."
I need to renew my mind.
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

That is POWERFUL!!! I may prove God's will. I find it interesting that the word MAY is used instead of the word CAN. Being a home school mom, it was important to me to teach my children from an early age, the difference between those two words.

Oh Where Oh Where Has All My Money Gone, Oh Where Oh Where Can It Be?

Finances are tight. Not just for me, it seems for everyone. Every blog is talking about it.

OK, so that is an exaggeration, and I have told my kids NOT to exaggerate, so I should not either. Not EVERY blog is talking about it. But nonetheless, finances are tight for us, and we are not alone. And that is not an exaggeration.

It is easy to look back and see what we should have been doing. And it is easy, when finances are tight to look ahead at what you need to do. But we were never in either situation. And yet, because we were not prepared, we are in the financial tight spot we are in now.

There is no way to know the future. And we always looked toward a happy future. While we were not rich, we were not poor either. So we spent money we had, not thinking to really save for a future emergency. Soon, we were spending money we did not have, only to pay it off as soon as the paycheck came in. NOT a good habit to get into.

There are so many blessings that have come about as a result of JJ being in the hospital. And one of them being that finances are now tight.

Of course, looking back, if we had saved better, finances would not be so tight right now. But the blessing of this is that NOW, while my beloved is still employed, and while the children are still young to not have developed bad habits based on our bad financial habits.... this has been a wake up call to get our finances in order. And we are able to do so while we have finances coming in, and while they children are able to learn.

SO we are FINALLY watching Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University (can you believe we have had a copy for TWO YEARS and have not watched it until now?!?!). And one thing that we really knew, but weren't really applying, was to SAVE UP for the things you want to purchase. So even with all these AMAZING after Christmas sales, we will just have to save up and buy it NEXT year during the after Christmas sales. It is really hard. Especially when you find something that had been stashed away and now is brought out at the time everything is 75% off, and you know it is a good item that everyone grabbed up at 50% off.

DISCIPLINE!

How can I expect my kids to be disciplined in the area of money in the future if they are not seeing their mom and dad disciplined in the area of money? How can I expect them to have delayed gratification, if we as parents are buying everything at our heart's desire?

Journey Towards Simplicity

I want to live more simply. It seems the closer I draw to the Lord, the more simply I want to live. Key word here being WANT. But the actual DOING seems so difficult. I start, with the BEST of intentions, and yet, fall short in one thing and then give up completely. What kind of example is that to my children? When you fail in the smallest thing, just give it all up?!?!

I have really bad habits. I am addicted to books and buy WAY too many. I collect fabric. LOTS of fabric, and yet do nothing with it (though that is changing, SLOWLY). And I admit that I sometimes get on the computer to do one quick thing and end up spending an hour wondering where the time went.

So I figure there are two things I really need to focus on. Then all the rest SHOULD fall into place.

Time and money.

For the money part I need to STOP SPENDING. Spending 50 cents on something I don't need adds up to a lot of clutter and truly a lot of money. I walk out of Goodwill having spent close to $75 on a few good deals and a bunch of clutter for my home. Now that is not to say that I cannot indulge in the cute little tea cup and saucer for our collection. But I think if I were to go into Goodwill with a goal. This is the item I need and if I want to buy anything else, even if I THINK I need it, I need to call my husband and have at least three good reasons why I need it, a place to put it AND something that I can get rid of that it can take the place of.

I think I am also going to start wrapping up my credit card. It is so easy once the cash is gone to just whip out the card. I tend to waste the cash on frivolous items at Goodwill and then don't have the money for groceries. If the credit card is wrapped up, it will be a better reminder NOT to use it. BUT I will still have it in case of an emergency. Out running errands past lunch time is NOT an emergency. LOL!

I am also going to watch Dave Ramsey's FPU. And then I am going to apply what I have learned.

Time.

I am always complaining that I do not have enough time. Yet, if I were to cut down on the amount of TV I watch (even rented movies are watching TV), the blogs I read, and the surfing and collecting of ideas I do, I would have the time to garden. I would have time to spend with the Lord. I would have time to sew all the things I want to sew.

And part of the whole time thing is being organized with SOME sort of schedule. I know I have one around here somewhere. But being the perfectionist that I am, I keep working on it and wanting it to be perfect before I implement it. I keep worrying that if I have to change it, the girls will no longer follow it. Isn't that silly?

SO things to work on:
-STAY HOME! If I stay home, I do not know what I am missing, and don't end up buying things I don't need.
-Try to do a month of buying only needs.
-Find the schedule and just start it! If it needs tweaking, we can tweak it. Thankfully the kids are young enough that they won't really think of anything if I have to change it.
-Find something CONSTRUCTIVE to do rather than mindlessly surf the net or watch TV.
-Make a list of projects I want to do (check out my list of 101 things in 1001 days) and START! :)
-Do more things WITH the kids (other than homeschool)

There is a blog that has really helped encourage me in this. It is called Down To Earth and it should be in everyone's feed reader so you do not miss a post. The posts are short enough to read in just a minute or two, but the content is thought provoking enough to leave you thinking all day. :)

NOTE: No one has signed up for the Pay It Forward yet! There are three spots open! :)

Old Time Window Quilts - How to UPDATED

I was reading on biblicalwomanhood the need to lower the gas bill. It reminded me of this little gem I had hiding in my drafts to post for such a time as this! :)

I just LOVE old time things. One of the catalogs that I just love to look through (and admittedly drool over) is the Lehman's catalog. They have a monthly newsletter that has some great articles. This month had one I thought I would share with you.

Old Time Window Quilts: Instant Insulation Under $20.
(UPDATED, PLEASE NOTE: OLD LINK NOT WORKING, new link does not have the GREAT picture tutorial that used to be there. Sorry guys!)

This is so quick and easy to do, and it even has pictures for people like me, who learn better by seeing than reading. :)

Ahhhhh, the good old days! :)

Just had to add a quick note for an idea I had! If you don't want to make QUILTS, why not make it a temporary thing so you have light curtains in summer but heavy curtains in winter?

Add buttons to the top, sides, and bottom of your curtain (they should be pretty big buttons). Then make a quilt backing (backing attached to batting). Sew button holes at the same intervals of that which you sewed to the curtain. Then you can attach the extra warmth for the winter months and remove it for the summer months! :)