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Saving Money on Gas

December 30, 2010 by Laura 5 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

Raise your hand if you make a point to drive an extra few blocks out of your way so that you can save 4¢ per gallon when you fill up your car with gas. (You can put your hands down, I can’t really see you…but thank you for your enthusiasm.)

I usually kick myself (okay, not literally, because kicking while driving would be dangerous) if I’ve filled my tank with gas, then right down the road as I drive on my way, I see a station with a less expensive gas price. Read the rest of this article over at Deal Moon…

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Becoming a Better Help Meet

December 29, 2010 by Laura 17 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

helpmeet

Remember this series? The one about marriage that I started almost a year ago? Did ya think I forgot to finish it? 

I promise I really didn’t forget…I just have so many topics I love writing about and somehow this series kinda got off track back in October. 

And yikes…I promised that while writing a series on being a better help meet to our husbands that I would write about THAT subject. You know, that one important subject that is quite important to address when we talk about a healthy marriage? It’s not that I am afraid to talk about THAT, but wow, I’ve sure done a good job of avoiding the topic for almost a year, haven’t I?

I plan to pick this series back up in January and finish it off sometime before 2012. Hopefully. I even plan to talk about THAT. So stay tuned and in the meantime, I wanted to share all the links for the posts I’ve written on the subject up to now:

  • Why Am I Writing This?
  • Being a Help Meet…What Does it Mean?
  • Let’s Get Real
  • Make Him or Break Him
  • The Most Important Thing
  • Pray For Your Husband
  • Expectations
  • He Can’t Read Your Mind
  • GET HELP!
  • Lead Me – A Prayer for Your Marriage
  • Remind Yourself
  • Chatting with Lisa Whelchel about Marriage
  • What My Husband Needs (I mean your husband…well you know what I mean)
  • Living Out My Vows (In Sickness and in Health)

Any particular marriage topics you’re interested in me writing about? I mean, besides THAT?

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2020 Vision

December 28, 2010 by Laura 12 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

What will you be doing 10 years from now? 

That was the question Matt and I posed to a group of young married couples who had been meeting in our home for a few weeks before Christmas. By the end of the year 2020, what do you want to be doing? Where do you want to be? What are your long range goals?

You know what happens don’t you, when you ask a thought provoking question of someone else? You have to answer it yourself.  But before I could reflect on my life and set some long range goals for the next ten years, I first had to choke a little bit and work to steady my breathing. In the year 2020 our baby will be getting his drivers license. We’re likely to have three kids with college bills. Our oldest son will be 23. Good grief, he could be married by then and (gasp) I could be a grandmother!

In ten years. 

It’s kind of exciting to think about. And maybe just a little bit scary. And don’t even talk to me about car insurance costs for four teenage/early twenties male drivers. 

(breathe…breathe…)

Of course none of us knows exactly what God has in mind for each of us in the future. We can only dream and pray and try to listen to God’s calling the best that we can.

But here’s the deal:  If we don’t dream; If we don’t seek God’s plan for our lives; If we don’t search within ourselves and find the gifts God has given us so that we can put them to good use; If we don’t humbly seek God’s direction for our future and intentionally plan to carry out His vision for our families…we’ll just all float along not accomplishing much for God’s kingdom.

Then we’ll look back on our lives ten years from now and wonder why we never got much done. We’ll wonder what happened to the last decade. We’ll wonder why life happened around us and we’re still doing the same ol’ thing we’ve always been doing without really getting anywhere.

There’s something very empowering about looking ahead and picturing yourself doing and being exactly what you aspire to do and to be. I don’t care if you’re in your twenties or eighties…we can all continue to improve our walk with God and set goals for ourselves so that we can do His will on earth as it is being done in Heaven.

That’s what we’re here to do right? 

So here’s what I recommend that you do. Take some time to reflect on who God wants you to be and how He can get you to that point during the next ten years. For yourself, for your family, for your church. Write it down. Dream big. But be realistic. 

Pray.

Then, break the goals down a little bit. If you want to be at X in 10 years, you’ll need to do a…b… c… in order to get there. Break down each of those objectives into workable time frames between now and 2020. Then, break those steps down into months and weeks and well…start working tomorrow to make something happen.

2020 Vision. What do you see in your future?

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Gratituesday: Family Time

December 27, 2010 by Laura 15 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

We are so blessed right now to be able to spend lots of time with our extended family. 

There are kids everywhere. There are toys everywhere. There are aunts and uncles and grandparents and cousins and friends and joy of joys…there are babies. I have taken it upon myself to hold babies whenever “necessary”. Ooh, and I got to brush my six year old niece’s hair for like…ten minutes!! It was so pretty and so fun and she was sweet enough to let me brush and brush and brush. I truly don’t miss having daughters…but it sure is fun to have nieces!

Tonight, we were taken out to The Cheesecake Factory as a Christmas gift. It was wonderful to visit and yeah, the cheesecake wasn’t too bad at all. :)

I hope you’ve been able to spend lots of time with those you love. I’m very thankful to have family to love and spend time with!

What are you thankful for this Gratituesday? Write about it on your blog, then come link up with us here. If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for!

If you are linking up a blog post for Gratituesday,
please copy and paste the following sentence into your post! Thanks!


Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

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Painful Periods (and Question Marks)

December 26, 2010 by Laura 91 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

I posted this about a year and a half ago…but many of you are new here, so I decided to update it a bit and repost, because I think it is that  important! 
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I’ve been wanting to have this discussion for a while. About  punctuation. Periods to be exact. 

I kind of thought I was the crazy one. The only one. Until I had a discussion with some girlfriends of mine several months ago about…punctuation. They were encountering the SAME issues I was.

I never really thought that the brand of “punctuation products” I used mattered very much so I would just use coupons and get regular ol’ Kotex at the store for a pretty good deal. (Yeah, we’re talking about that kind of period…and here you thought we were having a grammar lesson.)

Then I started developing a minor irritation which month after month turned into an incredibly horrible itchy miserable rash. And it wasn’t on my elbow if you know what I mean.

Not only that, but my uh…punctuation was lasting forever. Too long. Seemed to be longer each month.

I thought it was just me. Not so…according to some of the friends I talked to. Many of my friends had dealt with similar problems…UNTIL they switched to different and healthier punctuation products. Their periods were suddenly much less miserable. Well, slap me with a great big exclamation mark. 

I quickly ordered the Natracare brand to test it out for myself. They are chemical and additive free. They are biodegradable and contain organic materials.

I noticed a difference immediately.

First, the miserable rash went away. Hallelujah!

Second, the very first month I switched over, my punctuation was several days shorter and quite a bit lighter. The second month…same thing. Third month…same thing.

Uh-huh. Amazing. If at all possible I will NEVER use regular punctuation products from the store again. The Natracare products have made a huge difference for me each month and I love it. (Well, as much as you can love monthly punctuation that is.)

I don’t even care that they cost a little bit more. Actually…I bought a whole case at once and considering that I go through less of them each month…I’m actually not spending more. Hah!

Here’s what I got:

  • Natracare Natural Ultra Pads with Wings, Long, 12-Count Boxes (Pack Of 12)
  • Natracare Pads Ultra With Wings 14 ct ( Six Pack)
  • Natracare Natural Pads, Slender, Case of 12- 20 Count Boxes (240 Pads)

There are tons of other varieties…those just happen to be the ones that work best for me. (Wow, do you know way too much about me or what?)

Now, eventually I’d like to look into cloth cotton pads (Sckoon Organic Plus Cloth Menstrual Pads with Leak Resitant Sheet Mini Daisey) in order to save money in the long run and prevent waste. I’ve also heard great things about the Diva Cup. Anyone have any experience with these that they can share? 

I realize this sounds like an infomercial. Really it’s not. Natracare is not paying me to tell you these things. It’s just that they made a big difference for me and well…I like all of you an awful lot and wanted to tell you about it just in case they can help you too. 

Because it is not fun to have question marks about your periods.

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Here’s a post I wrote following this post entitled:  A Little Bit of Punctuation Follow-Up.  I recommend you clicking over for some more resources and ideas!

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Menu Plan for the Week

December 26, 2010 by Laura 8 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas! I’m looking forward to a little “down time” this week hopefully. Maybe a little bit of after Christmas shopping, a little bit of visiting with family, a little bit of taking it easy. Aaahhh Christmas break…how I love you.

Here’s our meal plan for the week:

Sunday, December 26
Oatmeal, apples
Christmas day leftovers
Grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup

Monday, December 27
Whole wheat waffles, blueberries
Homemade corndogs, green beans
Out to dinner with family

Tuesday, December 28
Giant breakfast cookies, applesauce
Chicken tortilla soup, fruit salad
BBQ chicken sandwiches, potato salad, raw veggies

Wednesday, December 29
Pancake and sausage muffins, oranges
Snowflake quesadillas, tossed salad
Chicken noodle soup, carrots

Thursday, December 30
Scrambled eggs, clementines
Cheddar ranch burgers, potato wedges, asparagus
Italian pasta bake, tossed salad

Friday, December 31
Orange Muffins, bananas
Sloppy cornbread muffins, peas
Finger food buffet…maybe some food from the Holiday Buffet list?

Saturday, January 1
Whole wheat donuts, apples
Creamy mac and cheese, steamed broccoli and carrots
Leftovers

Are you all looking forward to a restful week ahead like I am? Do you take a Christmas Break…or do you get to “hit it hard” again tomorrow?

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If you’re looking for some menu planning help, I highly recommend checking out Say Mmm! 
It’s a wonderful free resource to help you get organized and on your way to great menu planning!

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Holiday Buffet

December 24, 2010 by Laura 114 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

Here are some fun and yummy treats you can make to enjoy this Christmas season. I know Christmas is about much more than food…but don’t we all love a great buffet at Christmas time?

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Applesauce Bread

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Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce

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Warm Vanilla Soother

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Warm Chocolate Soother

cinnamonswirlbreadsm

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

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Sweet Potato Streusel Muffins

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Christmas Graham Crackers

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Christmas Pizzas

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Christmas Donuts

Cream Cheese Salsa Dip

Ranch Cheese Ball

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Black Bean Salsa

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Peanut Butter Honey Fudge

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Coconut Macaroons

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Snickerdoodles

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Orange Cream Cheese Cut Out Cookies

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Christmas Spice Cookies

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Chocolate Snowballs

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Reindeer Cuties

Last but not least, here are a few of my tips for cooking a delicious holiday meal:

  • The Easiest Way to Make a Turkey
  • How to Make Turkey Gravy
  • What to Do with Leftover Mashed Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

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Homemade Gifts

December 23, 2010 by Laura 103 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

While you finish eating your  Easy Breakfast Casserole, Vanilla Muffins with Cinnamon Crumb Topping and Gingerbread Men, I thought I’d give you a few links to look through. I love that making Christmas gifts and treats does not have to be expensive or time consuming! Here are a few free or inexpensive ideas for you:

  • Craig has put together a wonderful list of 50 personalized gifts ideas. I LOVE the creativity of ideas and most of them don’t cost a thing!
  • You can download a FREE Craft Idea Christmas Gift Guide here.
  • Here is Santa’s Guide to Easy Christmas Crafts for Kids – also FREE!
  • You can make a FREE Photo Calendar at Vista Print – great way to start the new year! (While the calendar is free, you do have to pay shipping and processing.)
  • Jessica shares a fun Fudge Filled Cookie Cutter gift idea. I love me some fudge. :)

  • Frugal Granola shares that using her Herbal Nurturing ebook will give you great ideas for making soothing remedies, balms and teas for gifts. I would LOVE to receive any of these items for gifts. Make up a batch or two, keep some for yourself and share with others. Unique and practical gift giving at it’s best! You can read my review of Herbal Nurturing here.

  • Kate put together a FREE Cookies for Christmas (or any time) Ebook, which you can print off and put together as a nice gift for someone (or keep for yourself!).

Make a sweet Christmas Angel Ornament…easy and inexpensive!

angel4sm

  • For a few pennies, you can make Homemade Bubble Bath!
  • eliasbubblebathsm.JPG

What gifts have you been making this year??!

 

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Whole Wheat Gingerbread Men

December 23, 2010 by Laura 123 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

Whole Wheat Gingerbread Men
It may be that I’ve gone a little loopy with all of the recent Christmas preparations, but for some reason I got really hung up on what I should call these cookies. Are they Gingerbread Men? Or are they Gingerbread Boys? But then, I didn’t want to leave out the girls…so maybe some of them should be called Gingerbread Girls. Or maybe I just go with the politically correct name and call them Gingerbread People?

When did Christmas baking become so complicated? :)

Gingerbread Men/Boys/Girls/People/CookiesYum

1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup sucanat
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
Sucanat Powdered Sugar Frosting

Cream butter, sucanat and molasses together. Add eggs, vinegar, baking powder, ginger, baking soda and spices. Stir in flour and mix well. Cover and chill dough in the refrigerator for 2 hours (more is fine).

Roll out dough on a well floured surface to about 1/8 inch thickness. Use a cookie cutter to cut into desired shape. Bake cookies about 1 inch apart on a cookie sheet in a 375° oven for 5-8 minutes.

If you don’t put your cookies 1 inch apart on the pan, you’ll end up with one cookie kicking another cookie in the head. I tell ya, I can’t even get my cookies to behave sometimes. A mother’s work is never done…

I recommend spreading Sucanat Powdered Sugar Frosting on the cookies. I had a little bit of Chocolate Fudge Frosting leftover in the fridge and used that for faces and buttons.

I figured they wouldn’t mind if I put chocolate on their faces. I know I would never mind if someone wanted to put chocolate on my face. ;)

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Vanilla Muffins with Cinnamon Crumb Topping

December 21, 2010 by Laura 227 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

I wanted something cinnamony for our Christmas Brunch (the invented word is pronounced:  sin-uh-money;  not to worry, cinnamony has nothing to do with sin or money, it’s all about the smell and taste of Christmas). I also wanted to use my homemade vanilla. So I played just a little bit and came up with Vanilla Muffins with Cinnamon Crumb Topping. I made mine with a mini muffin tin, but you can use a regular sized muffin tin instead if you prefer.

These muffins are very simple to throw together and will make your house smell just like Christmas while they’re baking. That’s because they’re cinnamony. :)

Vanilla Muffins Yum

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sucanat (you can use brown sugar if you want)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup melted butter or coconut oil
3/4 cup milk

Cinnamon Crumb Topping

6 T. sucanat/rapadura (dehydrated cane sugar juice) or brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 T. butter, softened

Stir together flour, sucanat, baking powder and sea salt. Add egg, vanilla, butter and milk. Mix until ingredients are combined. Scoop into paper lined muffin tins. (24 mini muffins or 12 regular sized muffins)  Mix together Cinnamon Crumb Topping ingredients and sprinkle on top of each muffin. Bake in a 400° oven for 15 minutes (mini muffins) or 20 minutes (regular sized muffins).

Vanilla Muffins with Cinnamon Crumb Topping

These Vanilla Muffins with Cinnamon Crumb Topping go perfectly with Easy Breakfast Casserole. I also think the cinnamony-ness would taste great with Warm Vanilla Soother.

Up next during our Christmas Brunch:  a great giveaway from Tropical Traditions. Then, to add to our cinnamony pleasure…Gingerbread Cookies. Not only are they cinnamony…they’re gingerlicious. And full of molassessness.

You never knew our Christmas Brunch would be so full of new vocabulary words did you?

(Be sure to leave a comment again on this post for another chance to win one of our great Christmas Brunch Presents!)

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