It seems like I've had more than one post about gas prices lately (which makes me feel a little bit like my dad), but I have to say that I am so very thankful that the gas prices are low right now. I know it means our economy is in pretty bad shape, but even still...it was been such a blessing to us. And especially since we'll be making a trip out of state next week! Our lowest price in town today is $1.31/gallon! WOO HOO!
I'm also very thankful that I get to go up to WI next week to visit with my family and friends. I also have the privilege of co-shooting my friend's wedding next weekend and I just KNOW it's going to be amazing. I'm so excited. I just love trips. :)
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Don't Miss Out!
If you haven't already done so, head on over to MoneySavingMom to register for the $500 Home Depot gift card giveaway! But you have to be fast - the giveaway ends at 6pm tomorrow (Thursday, December 11), so get going!
Click here to go directly to the giveaway!
Click here to go directly to the giveaway!
Monday, December 8, 2008
Tasty Tuesday - Preparing A Menu
Some people create their meal plans a month in advance. Some people do it when they see the sales ads. Some people don't do it at all. I have tried all of these and have yet to find my nitch (although I'm pretty sure the last one doesn't work AT ALL).
Something that I've done is to create a list of meals that we can make with different kinds of meat. We eat a lot of meat in this house, but I absolutely despise pork, so we mainly just eat ground beef and chicken. Occassionally, I'll purchase a roast or a turkey or something special, but in general our freezer is stocked with those two meats. Since it does happen on occasion that we have NO meat in our home (it's a sad sad day), I also like to have a list of things we can eat that DON'T include meat.
I'm going to share my lists with you, but I want to warn you....I'm learning how to cook. And I'm learning how to eat new things. I tend to stick to what I know, even at restaurants, so experimenting with new foods in not my favorite thing in the world. It's unknown territory. It's change. And change is bad. HOWEVER...for my husband, I do try. So here goes:
Ground Beef:
I'm sure if you have lists like this, yours are MUCH longer, but again....I'm trying. It helps for me to keep these lists around so when I take a look at the sales ads or when I suddenly realize at 4pm that I forgot to plan dinner, I can grab these, look over them, and find something to make.
What things have you found helpful in your menu-planning? Do you plan by the day, week, month, or not at all? Please share your menu-planning tips! (I obviously need them!)
Something that I've done is to create a list of meals that we can make with different kinds of meat. We eat a lot of meat in this house, but I absolutely despise pork, so we mainly just eat ground beef and chicken. Occassionally, I'll purchase a roast or a turkey or something special, but in general our freezer is stocked with those two meats. Since it does happen on occasion that we have NO meat in our home (it's a sad sad day), I also like to have a list of things we can eat that DON'T include meat.
I'm going to share my lists with you, but I want to warn you....I'm learning how to cook. And I'm learning how to eat new things. I tend to stick to what I know, even at restaurants, so experimenting with new foods in not my favorite thing in the world. It's unknown territory. It's change. And change is bad. HOWEVER...for my husband, I do try. So here goes:
Ground Beef:
- meatloaf/meatballs
- tacos
- sloppy jo
- spaghetti w/ meat sauce or meatballs
- cheeseburgers
- chili
- lasagna
- chicken pot pie
- oven-fried chicken
- chicken stir fry
- chicken casserole
- grilled chicken
- battered chicken fingers
- chicken tacos
- chicken sandwiches
- chicken noodle/dumpling soup
- chicken and rice bake
- chicken and stuffing
- roast beef dinner
- pulled beef sandwiches
- beef stew
- beef vegetable soup
- sausage potato soup
- Really Easy Breakfast Casserole
- omelets
- pasta w/ red sauce or alfredo sauce
- grilled cheese sandwiches w/ soup
- breakfast (toast, eggs, fruit)
- veggie stir fry
- PB&J
- cheese pizza
I'm sure if you have lists like this, yours are MUCH longer, but again....I'm trying. It helps for me to keep these lists around so when I take a look at the sales ads or when I suddenly realize at 4pm that I forgot to plan dinner, I can grab these, look over them, and find something to make.
What things have you found helpful in your menu-planning? Do you plan by the day, week, month, or not at all? Please share your menu-planning tips! (I obviously need them!)
I Know It's Not Thursday, BUT.....
I'M BURSTING AT THE SEAMS!!!!
Today I am SO thankful. Some of you know that our mortgage company (along with the state of Indiana) completely messed up our taxes and we received a notice this past fall that our payment was skyrocketing from $700/month to $1200. We were stunned and confused. We could afford the payment, but just barely. And we knew it wasn't right, so I have been on the phone with them on and off for MONTHS, trying to make adjustments. We've been waiting and waiting for our tax statement (which normally comes in May) and last week it FINALLY arrived.
When I called today to see if our mortgage company was going to adjust our payment, the woman took one look at our loan and said "Wow, that makes a huge difference!"
Our payment dropped to $947! What a blessing! And if you don't think that's a big deal, let me just tell you....YOU'RE WRONG.
Oh, and one more thing....my husband just called to tell me that he's getting gas for $1.36/gallon. Whoop whoop!
I am so SO thankful! I praise you, Lord for your everlasting goodness to us!
Today I am SO thankful. Some of you know that our mortgage company (along with the state of Indiana) completely messed up our taxes and we received a notice this past fall that our payment was skyrocketing from $700/month to $1200. We were stunned and confused. We could afford the payment, but just barely. And we knew it wasn't right, so I have been on the phone with them on and off for MONTHS, trying to make adjustments. We've been waiting and waiting for our tax statement (which normally comes in May) and last week it FINALLY arrived.
When I called today to see if our mortgage company was going to adjust our payment, the woman took one look at our loan and said "Wow, that makes a huge difference!"
Our payment dropped to $947! What a blessing! And if you don't think that's a big deal, let me just tell you....YOU'RE WRONG.
Oh, and one more thing....my husband just called to tell me that he's getting gas for $1.36/gallon. Whoop whoop!
I am so SO thankful! I praise you, Lord for your everlasting goodness to us!
Money Monday . . . Setting Goals
I probably should not be the one to write about this. I definitely set goals, but I don't always write them down as is the cardinal rule for setting goals. If you have read this blog or have not been under a rock you have probably heard of Dave Ramsey. He always encourages you to write down your budget and spend all of your money on paper before your month begins. Writing things down makes them more concrete and also easier to follow.
Since we are so close to the New Year - I want to challenge myself and all of you to write down your goals for 2009 and discuss them with your family and really make them doable. First write down your yearly goals and then break them down month by month so you can really see what you need to do every month. Since this is Money Monday I will just stick with the financial goals. If you are having a hard time knowing where to start, let me encourage you to take a look at Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps:
In goal setting you want to be as specific as possible. Don't just say, "I want to save more money in 2009." Make those goals attainable. Start by saying I will look at my budget and see what I can cut back on to make money available for savings.
If you don't mind sharing, let us know some of the goals you plan to set for the New Year. Maybe we can all hold each other accountable.
Since we are so close to the New Year - I want to challenge myself and all of you to write down your goals for 2009 and discuss them with your family and really make them doable. First write down your yearly goals and then break them down month by month so you can really see what you need to do every month. Since this is Money Monday I will just stick with the financial goals. If you are having a hard time knowing where to start, let me encourage you to take a look at Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps:
 | $1,000 to start an Emergency Fund | |
 | Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball | |
 | 3 to 6 months of expenses in savings | |
 | Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement | |
 | College funding for children | |
 | Pay off home early | |
 | Build wealth and give! Invest in mutual funds and real estate |
If you don't mind sharing, let us know some of the goals you plan to set for the New Year. Maybe we can all hold each other accountable.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Foto Friday!
I was just looking through some posts from the last week and discovered that I completely missed Foto Friday last week. That works out well for me too, considering I have hardly had time to touch my camera in the past 7 days. It also means that you haven't seen any pictures from my latest family session (unless you stalk my other blog too), so I'll just share one of those with you. :)
This family was super fun! Alright, so it helps that we're friends outside of this business, but shhh. We walked down the canal and around the circle here in Indy in the FREEZING COLD a few weeks ago. We had a short (but very tiring) break inside when we climbed the observatory tower at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. It's 365+ stairs - and even the toddler made it! Anyway, they were such troopers and I think we got some great shots despite the bitter cold weather.
Wait....why am I writing you a novel? I must think I'm blogging on my photography blog. I'll get on with it. One of my favs:
This family was super fun! Alright, so it helps that we're friends outside of this business, but shhh. We walked down the canal and around the circle here in Indy in the FREEZING COLD a few weeks ago. We had a short (but very tiring) break inside when we climbed the observatory tower at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. It's 365+ stairs - and even the toddler made it! Anyway, they were such troopers and I think we got some great shots despite the bitter cold weather.
Wait....why am I writing you a novel? I must think I'm blogging on my photography blog. I'll get on with it. One of my favs:
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Thankful Thursday
During this time of year, it's easy to get caught up in all the craziness of the holiday season. People are always bustling around, running errands, and trying to get everything done in time. Oftentimes we fail to stop and consider what we are thankful for - specifically what Christmas is really all about.
Today I received a short-but-sweet email from my husband at work that made me smile. I love the little things in life. And I'm so thankful for my husband.
Consider the small things in your life today. What are you thankful for?
Today I received a short-but-sweet email from my husband at work that made me smile. I love the little things in life. And I'm so thankful for my husband.
Consider the small things in your life today. What are you thankful for?
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
A Little Out of Blog Character
I'm usually pretty emotionally subdued on this blog. I tend to put my personal thoughts on my other blog and leave this one well enough alone with all the informative stuff. But today I'm going to take a step out into the somewhat unknown and share with you a few things that are on my mind today.
1. JOY
I have a joy that I cannot explain over the thrill of someday seeing my Saviour. I've been attending a Bible study at church for the past several weeks. We're going through the Beth Moore book "Stepping Up" and I just have to tell you that it is FAN-TASTIC. Today we discussed the joy of the celebration that the Israelites experienced and pursued every year at the Feast of Tabernacles. Just the idea of a having ANY week long feast is completely foreign to us here in America, but the Israelites had several feasts each year. These feasts were solely designed to glorify God as a nation. Can you imagine if we had a national feast for an entire week JUST to obey and bring glory to our God? Incredible.
Anyway, today we talked about the word "Hosannah". Whenever the Israelites cried out "Hosannah!", they were crying out "Send now! Send the Messiah now!" What if we lived in such anticipation of our Lord's return? What if our entire life was focused on that? How differently would we live? How differently would we treat out family and friends? How much more time would we spend with those we love? Of course, the Messiah has already come, died in our place, and was raised to heaven, but HE WILL RETURN. And when He does, what a glorious day it will be! We will be united with those in heaven and united with the Lord! I mean....it just does not get any better than that! There is a certain beauty in knowing the end of the story, and I am so excited so see it play itself out!
2. LOVE
There is something absolutely spectacular about the love of Christ! I have never in my life seen any family that loves each other as much as the family of God. In case you're not a Christian and you don't understand that terminology, the family of God is every believer - every child of God - every person who has repented of their sin and accepted Christ's gift of salvation for them.
I John 4.19 says that "we love because God first loved us" and I absolutely KNOW that this is true. It is impossible for us to love others without knowing the Lord. Impossible. (See I John 4.7) Sure, you can love your spouse or your kids or your parents in an earthly manner, but you simply CANNOT love the way God intends for you without first having a relationship with Christ.
I am continually blown away by the support of our local church body. When our friends Andy and Cari lost their baby girl this fall, the church rallied around them, brought them meals, prayed for them, encouraged them, and offered help in any way possible. What would they have done without the church? When I was pregnant and sick (with all of my pregnancies), I had friends come to my house to clean for me, cook for me, and watch my other kids so I could rest. What would I have done without the church? When a friend of mine who doesn't even belong to our church was suddenly put on bedrest halfway through her pregnancy, many people willingly brought meals to their family. What would they have done without the church? When we only had one vehicle and my husband was driving it to work everyday, I had several good friends who never failed to offer me a ride to activities so I would not be stuck at home. What would we have done without the church?
The list could go on and on, but I think you get the idea. I am SO grateful for the members of our church and I know these sorts of things are happening worldwide in evangelical churches. All of these things show the love of God - a love which can be attained in no other way than to have a relationship with Him - a love with can only attest to His power to change our evil human hearts.
3. CADEN
I've mentioned Caden a few times in the past couple of months, but to sum up, our friends lost their 8-month old baby girl in September. We were not really that close with Andy and Cari before that, but we did know each other and spoke regularly at church. The kids and I had even gotten together a few times to hang out with Cari and Caden. When Caden died suddenly, it hit home so very much because my youngest daughter is very close in age to Caden and, of course, simply being a mother causes one to understand things like the love you have your children and causes one to imagine the horror of losing one.
I've told Cari that whenever I see her now, I never know what to say. I usually just give her a hug as my eyes well with tears. I always feel a little out of place telling Cari that I miss Caden. I mean, who am I to say that I miss her? I have absolutely NO idea what she and Andy (and their families) are going through. Nevertheless, I do miss Caden. It's like she was a part of me....even though I hardly knew her.
Some days I visit Cari's blog just to go back and look at pictures and videos from when Caden was here on earth with us. I don't really know why I do it. It seems a bit self-torturous, really. But sometimes I just want to see her shining face, her huge smile, and her ridiculous amount of baby hair. I like to imagine that I'm not the only one who does this somewhat regularly, but perhaps I am. I just don't want to forget her. She was such a blessing to Andy and Cari and they never once treated her as anything BUT a blessing from the Lord. Even after she died. I remember Cari saying more than once, "We were so blessed to have her for the 8 months that we did."
Never is my life have I seen faith exercised in such a way. I know there are other Christians with a lot of faith, but I have never personally met one who could graciously allow God to do His thing without even a "But, God....that's not fair!" to be heard. And if you tell Andy or Cari that they are an amazing example, they will give all the credit to the Lord. As they should, I might add. It is truly a miracle that God is working in their lives to produce such incredible faith.
4. YOU
I want you to know that I am always open to questions, comments, and queries about my relationship with Christ. You are more than welcome to email me or leave me a comment if you are interested in hearing more about my relationship with Christ or learning about how you too can have a personal relationship with the God of the universe.
1. JOY
I have a joy that I cannot explain over the thrill of someday seeing my Saviour. I've been attending a Bible study at church for the past several weeks. We're going through the Beth Moore book "Stepping Up" and I just have to tell you that it is FAN-TASTIC. Today we discussed the joy of the celebration that the Israelites experienced and pursued every year at the Feast of Tabernacles. Just the idea of a having ANY week long feast is completely foreign to us here in America, but the Israelites had several feasts each year. These feasts were solely designed to glorify God as a nation. Can you imagine if we had a national feast for an entire week JUST to obey and bring glory to our God? Incredible.
Anyway, today we talked about the word "Hosannah". Whenever the Israelites cried out "Hosannah!", they were crying out "Send now! Send the Messiah now!" What if we lived in such anticipation of our Lord's return? What if our entire life was focused on that? How differently would we live? How differently would we treat out family and friends? How much more time would we spend with those we love? Of course, the Messiah has already come, died in our place, and was raised to heaven, but HE WILL RETURN. And when He does, what a glorious day it will be! We will be united with those in heaven and united with the Lord! I mean....it just does not get any better than that! There is a certain beauty in knowing the end of the story, and I am so excited so see it play itself out!
2. LOVE
There is something absolutely spectacular about the love of Christ! I have never in my life seen any family that loves each other as much as the family of God. In case you're not a Christian and you don't understand that terminology, the family of God is every believer - every child of God - every person who has repented of their sin and accepted Christ's gift of salvation for them.
I John 4.19 says that "we love because God first loved us" and I absolutely KNOW that this is true. It is impossible for us to love others without knowing the Lord. Impossible. (See I John 4.7) Sure, you can love your spouse or your kids or your parents in an earthly manner, but you simply CANNOT love the way God intends for you without first having a relationship with Christ.
I am continually blown away by the support of our local church body. When our friends Andy and Cari lost their baby girl this fall, the church rallied around them, brought them meals, prayed for them, encouraged them, and offered help in any way possible. What would they have done without the church? When I was pregnant and sick (with all of my pregnancies), I had friends come to my house to clean for me, cook for me, and watch my other kids so I could rest. What would I have done without the church? When a friend of mine who doesn't even belong to our church was suddenly put on bedrest halfway through her pregnancy, many people willingly brought meals to their family. What would they have done without the church? When we only had one vehicle and my husband was driving it to work everyday, I had several good friends who never failed to offer me a ride to activities so I would not be stuck at home. What would we have done without the church?
The list could go on and on, but I think you get the idea. I am SO grateful for the members of our church and I know these sorts of things are happening worldwide in evangelical churches. All of these things show the love of God - a love which can be attained in no other way than to have a relationship with Him - a love with can only attest to His power to change our evil human hearts.
3. CADEN
I've mentioned Caden a few times in the past couple of months, but to sum up, our friends lost their 8-month old baby girl in September. We were not really that close with Andy and Cari before that, but we did know each other and spoke regularly at church. The kids and I had even gotten together a few times to hang out with Cari and Caden. When Caden died suddenly, it hit home so very much because my youngest daughter is very close in age to Caden and, of course, simply being a mother causes one to understand things like the love you have your children and causes one to imagine the horror of losing one.
I've told Cari that whenever I see her now, I never know what to say. I usually just give her a hug as my eyes well with tears. I always feel a little out of place telling Cari that I miss Caden. I mean, who am I to say that I miss her? I have absolutely NO idea what she and Andy (and their families) are going through. Nevertheless, I do miss Caden. It's like she was a part of me....even though I hardly knew her.
Some days I visit Cari's blog just to go back and look at pictures and videos from when Caden was here on earth with us. I don't really know why I do it. It seems a bit self-torturous, really. But sometimes I just want to see her shining face, her huge smile, and her ridiculous amount of baby hair. I like to imagine that I'm not the only one who does this somewhat regularly, but perhaps I am. I just don't want to forget her. She was such a blessing to Andy and Cari and they never once treated her as anything BUT a blessing from the Lord. Even after she died. I remember Cari saying more than once, "We were so blessed to have her for the 8 months that we did."
Never is my life have I seen faith exercised in such a way. I know there are other Christians with a lot of faith, but I have never personally met one who could graciously allow God to do His thing without even a "But, God....that's not fair!" to be heard. And if you tell Andy or Cari that they are an amazing example, they will give all the credit to the Lord. As they should, I might add. It is truly a miracle that God is working in their lives to produce such incredible faith.
4. YOU
I want you to know that I am always open to questions, comments, and queries about my relationship with Christ. You are more than welcome to email me or leave me a comment if you are interested in hearing more about my relationship with Christ or learning about how you too can have a personal relationship with the God of the universe.
Tasty Tuesday - Using Leftovers
There seem to be an excessive amount of leftovers at this time of the year and I'm always curious how other people use all that extra food. Considering our most recent holiday was Thanksgiving, we had LOTS of turkey leftover. Besides just eating it for 5 days straight with mashed potatoes and gravy, I also made some turkey soup and threw in what vegetables I had in the house. (Conveniently I actually had carrots, celery, and onion, but that's so rare it normally would have been canned veggies or other leftovers from the fridge.) I had considered making a turkey pot pie but never got around to it.
What dishes have you found to be a great use for your leftovers? Not just turkey - anything! Do you make casserole dishes? Stews? Breakfast items? I tend to do a lot of soups because they're just so easy, but I would love to hear what all of you do!
What dishes have you found to be a great use for your leftovers? Not just turkey - anything! Do you make casserole dishes? Stews? Breakfast items? I tend to do a lot of soups because they're just so easy, but I would love to hear what all of you do!
Monday, December 1, 2008
Money Monday - Can you believe it's December already??
Alright, with last Friday being Black Friday and today being Cyber Monday (what in the world did we ever do before the internet??), I'm anxious to hear how many of you participated in the chaos. As I mentioned on Saturday, I went out and purchased a laptop on Friday. Yes, I waited in line. And yes, it was cold. But it was worth it. :)
I also managed to make a trip to CVS during their 3-day sale last week and got some SWEET deals there. I have a picture on my camera, but it's downstairs and I'm far too exhausted to go get it and upload pictures right now. You'll just have to believe me.
Did any of you get anything fun/cool/neat/exciting this weekend? And speaking of *things*, I'm curious to know - especially with the continually declining economy (did you hear the stock market plunged yet again?), - how many of you have finished your Christmas shopping. I heard on the news tonight that there is a large sum of people who have already finished their shopping for the year, which of course means bad things for retailers. But, seeing as I'm not a retailer and also seeing that I hate shopping in general, it doesn't bother me all that much.
HOWEVER....
I do understand that all of this means our economy is in bad shape. Anyway, I got off track. I've put up a poll on the righthand side of the screen. Please vote so I can feel special that you read my blog. Thank you.
I also managed to make a trip to CVS during their 3-day sale last week and got some SWEET deals there. I have a picture on my camera, but it's downstairs and I'm far too exhausted to go get it and upload pictures right now. You'll just have to believe me.
Did any of you get anything fun/cool/neat/exciting this weekend? And speaking of *things*, I'm curious to know - especially with the continually declining economy (did you hear the stock market plunged yet again?), - how many of you have finished your Christmas shopping. I heard on the news tonight that there is a large sum of people who have already finished their shopping for the year, which of course means bad things for retailers. But, seeing as I'm not a retailer and also seeing that I hate shopping in general, it doesn't bother me all that much.
HOWEVER....
I do understand that all of this means our economy is in bad shape. Anyway, I got off track. I've put up a poll on the righthand side of the screen. Please vote so I can feel special that you read my blog. Thank you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)