Get Your Finances In Line In 2009: May Recap

My husband and I are currently on our PAID FOR IN CASH vacation!!! Not that we've ever gone on vacation with a credit card before (or gone on vacation at all for that matter), but I just know this is so much nicer than getting a giant bill next month for all our vacation expenditures. :)

Somehow, by the grace of God, we were able to stash away another $1000 into our savings last month. I honestly have no idea how, because we have nowhere near that amount of extra income every month but....somehow, the Lord made it happen for us. It is so refreshing to finally be debt-free and significantly building our savings so that, in the event of an emergency, job loss, or other financial catastrophe...we would not be feeling hopeless and wondering what to do next.

I also (FINALLY) canceled our credit card last month. I've been meaning to do that for, like....ohh, at least 2 years, and I just finally got around to it. But it feels nice to know that I don't have to keep track of where that card is in our filing cabinet anymore. :) I admit I was kind of disappointed when the woman didn't argue with me to try to keep the card for an emergency. I was really looking forward to explaining to her how we've learned that an EMERGENCY is the absolute WORST time to use a credit card - the one time I can be certain I can't pay it off the next month. But she didn't even press me one bit about it. She simply complied and canceled the card.

....But I guess I'll be okay.

Alright, so on to the good stuff. (The good stuff being: the stuff you don't care about but I that I like to type up anyway because it encourages me to keep on keeping on; keeps me accountable to, um...myself; and gives me another blog post.)

;)

So here's a quick update for the month of May:

Goal #1: Save up and pay CASH for our 5-day vacation to Mackinac Island in June! :) ---- 100% completed ----

Goal #2: Fully fund our 6 month emergency fund and put into a money market account to be left UNTOUCHED unless there is an actual emergency. ---- 40.5% completed ----

Goal #3: Save for my husband to get a "new" (that means used) car.

Goal #4: Raise retirement contributions to 12% (with a 4% match).

Goal #5: Open a money market account for each of our children.

Goal #6: Begin paying extra principal on our mortgage.

Goal #7: Establish a will and testament. ---- Still thinking about working on this... ----

Goal #8: Get disability insurance for both my husband and me. ---- We're in the process of finalizing this for my husband. Who would have thought they don't even offer disability for SAHMs? ----

How are you all doing with your finances, budgeting, etc.? I know nobody will answer this question because it's just FAR too personal, but it seems polite of me to ask. :)

"Not Me!" Monday!

Well, it's time again for another "Not Me!" Monday! post! (I bet ya didn't know I could use 3 exclamation points right in a row like that, did ya?) I'm actually on vacation right now and really wrote this post last week, so there will be no linking to MckMama's specific post, but you can visit her blog to find her "Not Me" Monday Mr. Linky collection if you'd like to read more.
__________________________________________________

Last week, my husband and I (well, mostly my husband) built a shelf and installed it into our laundry "room" (aka closet). While doing said task, we certainly did not put our 3 toddlers to bed at approximately 9.30pm, 10.20pm, and 11pm just so we wouldn't awaken them with the sound of the electric screwdriver. Our children are always in bed before 8pm, (Well, that's actually pretty true. They are almost always in bed before 8pm.) so we would never do something like that.

I definitely did not spend a good portion of the day Tuesday thinking that it was Monday. P.S. Thank you, veterans and current military persons, for all your service!

I did not spend an entire van ride home from the store thinking that I might actually crap my pants. Because I had not been so lenient as to not pay attention to what I was eating at Panera Bread and ate WAAYY too much cheese in one sitting. And while driving home, I certainly did not become so desperate as to call a friend of mine to see if I could borrow her toilet to, ya know....borrow, so I wouldn't have to clean out my pants 10 minutes later. I was also not in the least bit somewhat ecstatic to know that she wasn't home and therefore didn't answer the phone to hear me panting my desperate pleas. (I did make it home by the way, and - pun intended - by the seat of my pants!)

There is no way I encouraged my children to watch way too many movies last week while I packed for our vacation (and blogged ahead for this week) instead of standing nearby and coaching them as they diligently practiced their letters and numbers and did a host of other highly educational activities in order to further their little minds.
________________________________________________

Please let me know what you think of these "Not Me!" Monday! posts. Not that it matters. I think they may have taken the place of my previously favorite day of the week (Foto Friday!) in terms of blogging, so I'm likely going to keep them up regardless of what you think. But I do want to know how you feel about them. Really, I do. :)

Foto Friday!

On Monday, I had the privilege of photographing two of my nephews. I totally couldn't pick a favorite, because that would be like...favoritism. So how about a picture of each? Yes? I thought you'd appreciate that.

I admit that I really like this one mainly because I love the yellow. :)

Happy Friday! Have a great weekend, everyone!

Thankful Thursday!

We're out of town! I love traveling!

I'm shooting a wedding in Iowa this weekend and then my hubby and I are headed up to Mackinac Island for a few days while my parents watch the kiddos!

Don't worry. I've scheduled some posts for several of the day we'll be gone, so you won't be lonely without me here. :)

WFMW: DIY Shelving

It's another edition of Works-For-Me-Wednesday! A day when I can brag about my accomplishments in life! I mean, umm...a day when I hope to give you some ideas for your life. It's all about you. Really, it is.

Last year I saw a great shelving system on the Better Homes and Gardens website. Last month I designed a similar shelving system for our laundry room. And last night we finally got it built and put up!

Considering how quickly our family keeps growing, I am always in search of new storage spaces and solutions. When I realized last year that our laundry room was just FULL of empty wall space, I set it on my heart to transform that empty space into storage space. I decided to design the system myself rather than purchasing a pre-made one for two reasons:

1. It would give me exactly what I wanted, and
2. I thought it would be cheaper.

I never did really do much pricing for shelving systems, so I don't know if we saved any money, but I don't think we spent any more than if we had bought one. The whole thing cost us around $65.

When I started designing, the first thing I did was measure EVERYTHING. I measured the wall space. I measured the folded towels. I measured the laundry detergents. I measured the trash can. You get the idea. After everything was measured, I drew up the plans with exact inches. Since I'm not the math genius in the family, I had my husband figure out exactly how to divide up the boards to get the best use of them.

We purchased 8 pieces of 6ft 1" x 12"s, measured them out, cut them, and pieced them together. (Okay, so most of that was my husband. But whatever. I totally helped.)

When we finally got it upstairs and installed, I was so pleased! But I was also wishing I had painted it. Oh well. I can always paint it later.

Here is the before, middle, and after of our brand spanking new USEFUL storage space in our laundry room:

BEFORE:

See how pitiful? I know. And to think that our builder didn't put any shelving up. We had to do that sad job ourselves.

MIDDLE:





Much better! Oh, and see my new ironing board?

AFTER:





Oh how I love thee, beautiful storage space! And yes, all those bags at the top are diapers. (We have always liked to stock up before our little ones arrived.)

Can someone help me....?

I'm terrible with stain-treating. I mean, my kids (my girls, especially) have a tendency to get their clothing completely covered in....whatever....every time we're out. They just have a natural talent for this, I guess. If it would happen while we were at home, I'd have no problems. I'd simply whisk off their shirt/dress/pants and rinse it with water and some shampoo or detergent until the stain came out.

But when we're not home, and the stains have hours to set in....I don't know what to do with them. Normally, they just sit in a separate pile while I think about how I might treat them until finally I decide that I'm just going to throw them in with the wash and, of course, that doesn't work at all.

I have a few friends who swear by Oxi-Clean for their clothes. I see it in the stores all the time. I've even taken it off the shelf a few of those times but only to put it back a minute later after considering the price tag.

I know other friends who say Shout works wonders for them. But I must not be a very adept Shout user, because Shout has never done anything for me except...well...make me shout. At the lack of stain removal, that is.

I have tried baking soda, shampoo, regular liquid detergents, sprays, etc. and have found nothing to be very effective.

Aside from immediately stripping my children of their clothing and washing their clothes at that very moment, could some of you puh-lease offer me some advice on this one??? Our clothes would appreciate it!

"Not Me!" Monday! (Sshh, I know it's really Tuesday.)

A few months ago, I started reading MckMama's blog, My Charming Kids. You probably noticed the "Praying for Stellan" button go up on the side of the blog as I followed along on her journey through weeks and weeks in the hospital with her precious baby. (You can visit her blog to catch up on all that.)

MckMama and Stellan are now home and she is back to her regular blogging. Each Monday she hosts "Not Me" Monday, which is basically a really sarcastic version of explaining all the things that you would never want to admit you do each week.

Since sarcasm is right up my alley, I thought I might try my hand at participating! There are about a million and one links from her blog to others' "Not Me" Monday posts, so if you enjoy mine and want to read more...well, you're out of luck today. I was going to suggest that you head on over to MckMama's "Not Me!" Monday post and click on some Mr. Linky links, buuutt....I'm guessing because of the holiday, she did not post one this week. Or at least, she thinks that today is actually Monday, just like I keep thinking, and so it's going up today.

Either way, get used to the "Not Me" Monday posts because I have a really good time writing them! :)

Ok, so here goes....

Last week, I certainly did not allow my children to watch 2 straight hours of PBS while I napped on the floor among them, completely -- I mean, um....somewhat -- unaware of what was going on in the house.

I definitely did not make and eat almost an entire one of these, nor did I substitute that for several meals throughout the course of the week. I also most certainly did not eat way too many Oreos one afternoon rather than eating a complete lunch.

I did not feed my children ONLY grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch one day - no veggies, no fruit, no nothing else. I would never do something like that! I always offer well-balanced meals 3 times a day. No exceptions.

There is no way I left the kitchen a complete disaster one evening and instead spent a whopping 3 hours surfing the net. Because you know, that would just be irresponsible.

I did not drop 3 different items in approximately 1 minute when at church on Sunday. Pregnant women never drop things. You should know this already.

And speaking of church, I definitely did not totally start crying on the way to church just because a song on the radio reminded me of a sweet friend and her darling little girl who is now spending all her days with Jesus. I am not that emotional. And because I didn't start crying on the way to church, I also didn't have to wonder how in the world to make my mascara look remotely like it had been "uncried" with just moments before walking into the church. I also didn't wonder if said friend carries around mascara for these very moments and didn't ponder if, perhaps, I should consider doing the same thing. Since, you know, I'm not that emotional.

Alright, that's all I've got for you on this, my very FIRST, "Not Me" Monday (even though it's actually Tuesday). Hope you enjoyed it! :)

Foto Friday! (Errrrr....Saturday)

I just love the colors in this picture!

Thankful Thursday

I was just sitting here with my laptop, pondering what I might like to blog about today when I felt the wee one kicking inside me. I do love that feeling, at least at this stage in the game, so I naturally looked down and saw FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS PREGNANCY my little one's kicks from the outside. I know they've been felt on the outside for weeks, but this is the first time I've actually seen it.

It's just so beautiful to know that there is a tiny miracle growing inside me.

I'm also very thankful for the BEAUTIFUL weather we've been having this week. It's a little hot for my personal taste (mid-80s), but it sure is nice to have a week without rain, rain, and more rain.

On another note, I've been thinking about starting to write some photography tips. I know of a few other bloggers who write photography tips on their non-photography blog and I was wondering if that is something you all would be interested in, so....let me know. Or if you think I should leave all things photography on my photography blog, you can let me know your feelings on that too. :)

And as a final note today, I'd like to give the VERY LAST WARNING that this blog will soon be found only at www.todaysdailydose.blogspot.com and NOT at www.todaysdailydose.com. I know that several of you come from bookmarked pages or linked pages from your own (or someone else's) blogroll, so please check to make sure you have the blogspot address down so you can find me later. :)

I hope you're having sunny weather wherever you are! Happy Thursday!

Money Monday . . . Freebies and links

According to Money Saving Mom, you can get a free treatment at a participating salon on Wednesday, May 20th. You must go here to print the invite.

The Indiana Salons that are participating are:

Indiana

SPLASH 4659 3 82ND STREET INDIANAPOLIS, IN 46250 317.576.9200	SPLASH 4659 EAST 82ND STREET INDIANAPOLIS, IN 46250 317.576.9200	DL LOWRY HAIR SPA BOUTIQUE 1300 E 86TH STREET INDIANAPOLIS, IN 46240 317.843.2611
BOBBY COOPER SALON 725 EAST 65TH STREET INDIANAPOLIS, IN 46220 317.251.5000	SALON ROUGE 620 WEST EDISON, SUITE 128 MISHAWAKA, IN 46545 574.258.5080	THE NINES HAIRSPA 900 PARKER PLACE, SUITE F SCHERERVILLE, IN 46375 219.865.9000

And don't forget that Meijer is still having amazing deals this week until Wednesday. Go here to see coupon and deal match ups.

And if you have never heard of House Party.com, you should visit their website and check them out. Right now they are accepting applications for a Domino's pizza party where you get a $75.00 gift card to throw a pizza party. I have blogged about my previous parties on my other blog - you can hear about my Fisher Price party and Saturn party here.

Know of anymore fun deals going on? Leave a comment and let us know!

Foto Friday!

My favorite day is here again! This picture came from a session yesterday and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it to death. It reminds me of a Gap ad or something. The laughter, the tickling...the tickling, the laughter. It's just so cute.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Way Behind

Yesterday I was absolutely going to post a picture of our kids' bathtub for a WFMW post.

But I didn't because, well....I was cleaning and planning dinner and balancing the checkbook and paying bills and having friends over in an attempt to talk about cameras (but really, with 6 kids between us, why would we even bother?) and trying to process pictures for an order that needs to go out this week and grocery shopping and picking up pizza for "date night".

Today I was definitely going to put up a Thankful Thursday post (although I honestly had no idea what exactly it was going to say).

But I didn't because, well....I was still cleaning and working on pictures and trying to recover from my lack of sleep last night due to the CRAZY wind/rainstorm we had for several hours early this morning and babysitting and doing a photo shoot and trying to get my daughter to nap and placing a picture order online and organizing my kitchen cupboards and pantry and processing more pictures and trying to come up with clever clues to give my husband about our upcoming vacation.

Tomorrow - even though I have a doctor's appointment and my two oldest kids have a play date and I have to figure out what to give for a birthday present on Saturday and start getting ready for our "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?" guests on Saturday evening and try a loaf of french bread in the breadmaker and pay a few more bills and balance the checkbook again - will be easy.

Fridays are always easy. I just pull up my Flickr account, grab one of my favorite pictures from the past week and post it here for all the world to see! Ahh, how I love Fridays.

Anyway...my apologies for seriously slacking this week. I swear the month of May gets busier and busier every year. (As if that were even possible.)

Since I promised you a picture of our wee one in the oven (that's figurative - calm down), here is the best picture we got from our ultrasound last week:

I know. It's not even that great. I was pretty disappointed with the few pictures we received, but...oh well. We'll see our little one when he/she arrives in September!

I hope you all are enjoying this week! Is May as crazy for you as it is for me??

Tasty Tuesday - The BEST Cinnamon Rolls On Earth

It was really funny that Gretchen just posted this exact recipe on her other blog just a few days ago when I was already planning to post it here today, but...oh well.

Plus, I have a picture. So there. =P

Seriously though, these cinnamon rolls are AHH-mazing. And I'm not just saying that because I'm pregnant! I know some non-pregnant people who happen to think they are amazing as well! :)

The recipe is entitled "Clone of a Cinnabon", but I wouldn't let that fool you. Personally, I don't think these taste much like a Cinnabon at all. But I digress.

This recipe is for a breadmaker, but there are easy alterations (can I even use that word when referring to cooking?) to be had for non-breadmaker-ers.

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

• 1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1/3 cup margarine, melted
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup butter, softened

• 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
  
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start.
2. After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
3. Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
4. Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

Now, I don't really care for cream cheese in my icing, so I just skipped the cream cheese and added enough milk to make the consistency I was looking for. But if you like cream cheese icing, please...be my guest.

If you don't believe me when I say that these are the best things on earth, you can click here to go to the recipe link where you can read reader reviews! :)

Mmmmm! I might just have to go eat one now!

Money Monday - Garage Sales

Well, I posted on Thursday about our Financial Recap for the month of April. I probably should have saved that for today, but...ehhh....oh well.

Today I'm going to talk about garage sale-ing. And yes - for today - "sale-ing" is a word.

I LOVE garage sales. Like, it's an addiction. Well, no...that's not true. But I do love them. I think I love them for a few reasons:

1. My mom and I used to go garage sale-ing when I was a kid.

2. Garage sales have perfectly good things for perfectly cheap prices. A frugal woman's favorite!

3. Garage sales have things that are no longer in print, being made, or that are widely available to the public. Like those darling metal Tonka trucks.

4. Garage sale-ing is a great, fun way to get some exercise! (Read: neighborhood sales.)

5. Garage sale-ing is an inexpensive activity that can occupy your whole family. (Well, maybe not your husband...but most of your family.) :)

Now, there is one major danger to garage sale-ing.

Some people just buy things because, well, they want to and - IT'S SUCH A GREAT PRICE! But if it's not something you need, don't buy it. It will likely just sit in your house/garage/shed until you decide to try to sell it in your own garage sale....ineffectively. Unless you're one of those master Ebay sellers, skip the stuff you don't need.

I have found that keeping a running list of things I'm going to look for at a garage sale has been so helpful. For example, when I went out a few weekends ago, my list looked something like this:

photo props
girls shoes, size 7-9
boys shoes, size 9-11
lawnmower
girls clothes, size 3T and up

It was really great because it allowed me to keep my priorities in mind. If I saw something that wasn't on my list and didn't think it needed to be added to my list, I didn't get it. (At least...for the most part.) :)

Are you a garage sale-er?
Do you find garage sales an efficient use of your time and money?
What are your garage sale-ing techniques?

Also, as a preview for tomorrow, stay tuned for the BEST cinnamon roll recipe on earth!

Foto Friday!

I really wanted to post a picture from my ultrasound yesterday, but as the day draws to an end and I have not the energy to go upstairs just to scan in the pictures, you will be left with a bit of something else.....

Two of my dear sweet children:

But please, it would make me ever so happy if you would go to my photography blog and view my brand spanking new studio which my husband lovingly made for me! Just scroll down a few posts to see the actual studio or stay near the top to see new photos I took in it. :)

Get Your Finances In Line In 2009: April Recap

April was a decent month for us, but not spectacular. Especially when I view it in light of March, which was a FANTASTIC month financially. Nevertheless, we're still making headway.

We completed our vacation fund (which is good, because that's only 3 weeks away!) and raised the level of our FFEF a bit. The way the checks lined up this month was not ideal for our savings account, so this month will probably be better than April. Also, now that we're done saving for our vacation, we can put that extra into our FFEF or the savings for my hubby's car!

My husband's review is also coming up and it would be great if he got a raise, but in this economy I'm not really expecting one.

We are still running behind on #7 and #8. I don't know why I feel like it will take SO much time to set those things up as I'm sure it really won't, but....anyway, it's on the list, so we WILL get to it. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

Ok, here are the updates for the month of April - not necessarily in order:

Goal #1: Save up and pay CASH for our 5-day vacation to *SURPRISE* in June! :) ---- 100% completed ----

Goal #2: Fully fund our 6 month emergency fund and put into a money market account to be left UNTOUCHED unless there is an actual emergency. ---- 32.3% completed ----

Goal #3: Save for my husband to get a new (that means "used") car.

Goal #4: Raise retirement contributions to 12% (with a 4% match).

Goal #5: Open a money market account for each of our children.

Goal #6: Begin paying extra principal on our mortgage.

Goal #7: Establish a will and testament. (I know - shame on us for not having one yet!)

Goal #8: Get disability insurance for both my husband and me.

I'd also like to share - and I may have done this before - how we "do" savings, so in case any of you are struggling here perhaps this will help you out....

My husband works two jobs. His FedEx paycheck is direct-deposited every Friday (after about 40% of it goes directly toward health insurance). The other 60% goes into our checking and is a nice buffer in between the times his other check arrives - which is every other Tuesday. That check is also direct-deposited, but a set amount goes into our savings account automatically so we never even see it. (Until, of course, I write this monthly post!) The rest goes into our checking.

At the end of each month, if we have extra money left over in our checking account, most of that also goes into our savings. (I keep a small buffer zone there for the small just-in-case incidents.)

If you're just starting out with this concept of saving, I'd encourage you to try automatic directing of your money. Ten percent is the standard of what most people will tell you to save regularly. But if that sounds like too much, start with 5%. If you can't do 5%, start with 2%.

JUST. SAVE. SOMETHING.

And when you or your spouse gets a raise, consider adding whatever the difference is in your paycheck to what's automatically rerouted to your savings account. It's a great way to never even notice a difference!


How do you operate your savings account(s)?

What ways have you found to be effective for your family and your budget?

Thankful Thursday

Today is a random mixture of all areas of my life. And if you look back to my last post, you'll find that Tuesday was an extremely exhausting day for me.

My thankfuls:

1. My studio is complete! A BIG "Thank You" goes out to my husband who never reads this blog but has already been thanked several times over. (You can check out my photography blog to see pictures of the completed studio and some shots I've taken in it this week.)

2. I have my ultrasound today! No, we're not finding out the gender but I love ultrasounds just the same. :) And yes, I'll share pictures of our wee one.

3. Our vacation is coming up soon! In just 3 short weeks, we'll be headed out of town for a wedding and then onto our vacation - just me and the hubster! Ahhh, I can't wait.....

4. It's spring! The weather has been warm enough to keep the heat off and cool enough to keep the air off! Well, okay...it gets a little chilly in the early morning, but that's what blankets are for, right? :)

5. My dishwasher has been emptied and filled. The pots and pans have been washed. I got a shower. The laundry has been washed and folded. The checkbook has been balanced. :)

6. Our little baby is over halfway grown! Today marks 21 weeks for me and, not that I've ever had pregnancy problems before but, it's still refreshing to be in the home stretch. For the little one's sake, I mean. :)


Anything you're extra thankful for this week?

Blah!

My dishwasher needs emptied. My dishwasher needs filled. The pots and pans need washed. I need a shower. The laundry needs folded. The bathrooms need cleaned. The shelves need built. The checkbook needs balanced. The other checkbook needs balanced. The dinners need planned.

....and I'm going to bed. :)

Tasty Tuesday . . . Some Favorite Bread Machine Reicpes

Heidi talked about getting a new-to-her bread maker last week. I have had my new-to-me bread maker for almost a year now and I love it and I use it multiple times a week. I thought I might list some of my favorite recipes that I have used and do use quite a bit in case you might like to try some of them.

English Muffins - well worth the time and MUCH better than store bought!

Buttery Bread Machine Rolls - the BEST rolls ever, seriously my family requests that I bring them to every gathering (sorry no picture)

Pizza Dough - my new favorite recipe - actually titled "Kittencal's Best Garlic Pizza Dough for the bread machine"


Whole Wheat Hamburger and Hot Dog buns (I used them with my sloppy joes)


Bread Machine Donuts - all I have to say is YUMMY!


Pita Bread - easy and very good!


So there you go, some fun things to try in your bread maker besides bread. Can you tell I like my bread maker? How about you? What are some of your favorite bread machine recipes?

For more kitchen tips and recipes please check out Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace and I am Blissfully Domestic at Blissfully Domestic and Tasty Tuesday.

Happy Baking,
Gretchen

Money Monday . . . K-mart deals again!

According to the current sales flyer, K-mart is tripling coupons up to $0.75 and doubling coupons $0.76 to $2.00 for this week.

For some deal ideas, please visit Common Sense with Money.

Did anyone make it there the last time they had this deal going?

Foto Friday!

It's here again!

I know I normally post people pictures, but I made this collage of the red buds and I think they are one of the most beautiful trees (trees? bushes?) on earth, so....you're gettin' some nature this week!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Thankful Thursday

I meant to put up a Wacky Wednesday post yesterday. Really, I did. But then, as it sometimes happens, time somehow just slipped away from me. Nevertheless, I have some good news to report!

My studio (which my husband has so generously devoted every waking moment - except those moments that he's working, of course - to for the past 5 days) is almost complete! The spackling is FINALLY finished and he started texturing last night. Unfortunately, the "estimated coverage area" on the texture bottle was....well....FAR from accurate, and what he thought would cover two sides of a wall actually only covered about 2/3 of the first side.

Lo and behold, things are moving right along and I am so thankful for my husband doing this for me. I'd love to do it myself but with being pregnant and all, manual labor isn't really "my thing" right now.

I wasn't able to make it to the hardware store yesterday as I had planned, so I'll have to make that trip tonight....probably while my husband finishes texturing our walls and possibly gets a start on the painting part of it too.

______________________________________________________

I am thankful for numerous things involved in this process:

1. I have a VERY devoted, generous husband who has hardly slept for the past week just so I can have my studio completed by Saturday. (I actually am planning to use it on Saturday. I didn't just pick a random day and demand it finished by then.) :)

2. God has truly blessed my business endeavors over the past year and therefore we've been able to build this wall with only business funds. We will not need to donate any of our personal money to the cause.

3. Our children have been going right to sleep at night (a miracle for ANY week!) so we've been able to get lots of things done during that after-bedtime time.

4. (This one has nothing to do with my studio....) I am officially halfway through my pregnancy today! So far, everything looks great. I have my ultrasound next week, but we will not be finding out what the gender of our little one is. Of course, unless we change our minds. :) But we probably won't.

_________________________________________________________

By the way, if you'd like to see the studio, you can visit my photography blog. There are a few entries, so you can just scroll down and get the latest info. :)

Sometime Soon....

I know I mentioned this a few weeks ago, but I wanted to remind you again.....

This domain address will soon disappear. It has officially expired now but will remain active until GoDaddy gets around to terminating it completely.

You will now need to type in: TodaysDailyDose.blogspot.com to reach this blog.

Now, can anyone please tell me how to keep this post at the top? I know it's possible because I've seen it done several times, but......this pregnant brain is fried! Help!

Tasty Tuesday - Chicken and Stuffing, Round 2

Several months ago, I posted a crockpot recipe for chicken and stuffing. While it was pretty delicious, it had a few flaws.

1. The recipe called for stuffing crumbs, which didn't exactly turn into stuffing - more like a really thick gravy. Once the recipe had become leftovers the next day, THEN there was stuffing. But you know, I like my recipes to turn out the way they're supposed to before a 24-hr period has passed.

2. (And this isn't really a flaw to most people, but...) it's a crockpot recipe. And while I love crockpot recipes....sometimes, I'm kinda bad at planning ahead. I typically prepare dinner during the afternoon hours when my kids are napping and, well, crockpot recipes don't really work if they aren't started until 2pm.

So last week I tried an oven version of this dinner, using my head knowledge of cooking (which is pretty little) and whatever ingredients I had on hand. I like my recipes to be flexible, so using what I have on hand rather than running to the store all the time is really helpful when it comes to saving money.

Over the past few months, I have become a stalker of two cooking blogs that I absolutely LOVE. One thing that their readers often express appreciation for is their PILE of pictures in each blog post. I admit, it does help to be able to see what the cook is doing. Plus, I really like taking pictures. (I guess that goes with the photographer territory?) So, in an attempt to be as cool as this blog and this blog, I have several pictures for you today!

I know you're jumping for joy on the other side of that screen. Don't even try to deny it.

___________________________________________________

Modified Chicken and Stuffing

6 chicken breast halves
4-ish cups bread cubes
2 cans cream of chicken
1 cup chicken broth
thyme, parsley, salt, and pepper (sorry, I don't measure)
4 T. melted butter or margerine

1. Grease 9x13 inch pan.

2. Chop bread into cubes. I used hot dog buns because the "best by" date had already come and gone and I had no hot dogs in the fridge.

3. Spread bread cubes into greased pan.

4. Mix chicken broth, cream of chicken, and seasonings.

5. Melt butter and pour over bread crumbs. (And let me just tell you...taking a picture while pouring is...um....a lot harder than it might appear.)

6. Pour 3/4 of the creamy chicken mixture over bread cubes.

7. Wash and dry chicken. Cut each breast in half. (This is not actually necessary, but since it probably cooks a little faster, I generally do it this way.)

8. Place chicken pieces on top of bread crumbs in pan. Add remaining creamy chicken mixture to the tops of the chicken pieces.

9. Cover and bake in 400 degree oven for 1 hr or until done.

10. Eat. This time around, I wound up with quite a bit of soggy goodness at the bottom and then more "gravy". I'm not sure what it is about this recipe, but apparently it still needs tweaked. I just cut up some more bread cubes and put the gravy on top w/ the chicken. It worked out okay, but I will keep perfecting it. My husband suggested trying it with dried bread cubes and I think that might work better.

Yay! A Bread Machine!

I am so excited! I bought a bread machine WITH MANUAL (a must for this woman) at a garage sale this weekend for $5. It is currently running its first loaf in my kitchen.

I can't wait and will definitely post the recipe if this loaf turns out!

Yummm.......

Foto Friday!

Oh, how I LOVE waking up to a temperature of 69 degrees! I'm sure I'll regret saying that later today when it reaches the mid-80s, but...oh well. :)

This week, I posted a lot on my photography blog, so you can head over there for a bunch of random things if you're bored. Early in the week I posted about Reagan FINALLY learning how to walk by herself! Even though there are pictures of her walking, I really think this one is cuter. :)

Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy your weekend!

Oh, and one more thing: Can anyone tell me why my font is changing before and after my pictures? This has been happening all week and I can't figure it out.

Town Hall For Hope!

Tired of hearing all the fear, doom and gloom that's filling the airwaves? Join Dave Ramsey for a nationwide town hall meeting and discover what's happening with the economy, how we got here, and where we're going. Plus Dave will answer your questions live throughout the event!

Join the masses for this free event TONIGHT, April 23rd at 8:00 EDT in one of the thousands of venues across the country as we stand together to reignite the fire of HOPE!

To find a venue near you, click here.

"I am an American and I am not participating in this recession."

And Then The Car Died - Thankful Thursday Edition

Yesterday around 4:25p, my cell phone rang the sweet notes it belts out WAY too loudly whenever my dear husband calls. Him calling at this time usually means he is running late and just realized what time it was. But yesterday, he called for a different reason.

"Hi. Um....my car died."

It was no big surprise, really. We bought his car at the county auction late last winter for $500 and have recently been commenting to each other on how surprised we are that it's still around. I figured it was about time for another trip to the auction. (Yes, this is how we always do his work cars.)

"Alright, well let me get the girls up from their naps and we'll be on our way."

Sienna, cute as she is, is quite the whiner. Actually, it's ridiculous. So let's skip over the part where she screamed from the time I got her up to the time when we got to Daniel's car.

*Fast forward noises*

He was parked on the left side of the interstate right next to the median. Not my ideal location for sitting during rush hour, but what can ya do? Since he was 99% sure the car was completely unusable from this point forward, he went ahead and loaded all the stuff from his car and trunk into the back of the van. All the while I watched in my rear view mirror, just waiting for us to be run over.

It's funny how you don't think much about slowing down or moving over when there is a car on the side of the road......until it's YOU.

When all his stuff was loaded up, we backed up and managed to make it out of there alive.

*Whew*

At home, Daniel went to work on the computer searching for one of those we'll-tow-away-your-vehicle-and-pay-you-a-few-bucks-for-the-parts people. In the process, he must have decided to also search for what had gone wrong with the car and why.

A few minutes later, he reported to me that it was possible that he could switch out a fuse and change the car to front-wheel drive instead of 4-wheel drive, since the back wheels seemed to be what "broke".

So after dinner, out we went once again to risk our lives on the left side of the interstate. He quickly switched the fuse and I was confident we weren't going to die. But then he came back to the van and stated, "The battery's dead."

Well now, here's a dilemma if I've ever heard of one. But really, we had no other choice. So we backed up, waited and waited and waited for traffic to clear, and pulled a sweet circle. In two parts.

Aaaand, let's skip again over the next part of the story where Daniel connected the cars to charge the battery and I sat biting my nails, facing traffic, feeling the van rock in the "breeze" of oncoming traffic, but being unable to see it due to the hood of both vehicles being up in front of me. Oh dear.

Thankfully, the car did work after that shenanigan we pulled and Daniel was able to drive it home and has so far today had no major problems with it.

I've drawn out the whole scenario for you in basketball-like play moves so if you're completely confused (Katy), maybe this will help:

I know. You stand in awe of my mad drawing skills. What can I say? I'm just amazing like that.

We know this car won't last forever, but really, why replace it until we have to? I realize this line of thinking doesn't fall into everyone's head as logical. But we like our illogical, debt-free lives. :)

This week's "thankfuls":

We didn't die on the interstate the first time we visited the car.
We didn't die on the interstate the second time we visited the car.
We didn't die on the interstate as we did a huge circle to charge the battery of the car.
We didn't die on the interstate as we pulled another semi-circle after the battery of the car had been sufficiently charged.

Ok, maybe that sounds shallow to you, but I happen to know I'm not the only one who's terrified of sitting on the side of the interstate. Especially the FAST side.

Works For Me Wednesday - The Laundry Table

In light on our recent decision to turn our dining room into a small studio space for me, we've been reorganizing and moving around all sorts of things in our home. One of the things we moved what a 6-ft long table from our kitchen to our loft.

My husband made the table a few years ago to match the design of our real kitchen table. It's beautiful, really. But I guess I should explain that it's more of a bar than a table. It's only 2 feet wide, but it's perfect for large group seating. Anyway, we moved it upstairs into our absolutely empty loft.

Why is our loft empty, you ask? Well, because. We have 3 small toddlers in our home and, with an open loft, you really can't put any furniture there without fear that they will climb over the edge and...well....you know. But since there are NO portable chairs upstairs, we thought it would be safe to put this rather tall table in the loft.

It's been there for 2 days and let me just say - it's been a HUGE blessing when it comes to folding laundry!

Previously (and by that, I mean, for the past 4 years), I've always just thrown the laundry on the floor of the loft until I was ready to fold it. And since it was soooo easy to just push it off to the side, we oftentimes wound up with 4 or 5 loads of laundry there on the floor, making folding time about 45 minutes long. (Eek.)

The fact that we are capable of having 4 or 5 loads of laundry in one place without folding it for a day or two is surely a sign that we all have waaayy too many clothes. But I digress.

In the past 2 days, I've folded 4 loads of laundry as they came out of the dryer on the table. No bending down. No reaching across the loft for the matching sock. And my husband's personal favorite, no falling asleep in the loft after folding clothes for nearly an hour straight. :) I'm sure my success has something to do with the fact that I'm beginning to FINALLY come out of my sick pregnant stage and feel energetic again, but I think some of it probably has to do with the ease of the table too. :)

So now I'm wondering...is having a laundry table a common thing for most Americans? Or am I the only one? If you have the space and don't have one already, I highly recommend giving it a try! It's been wonderful!

K-mart Double Coupons

***And don't forget that if you are in the Indy area there is free breakfast at Chick-fil-A this week. Click here to learn more!***

K-mart has advertised that they are doubling coupons up to $2.00 for this week. If you want to go to the blog Common Sense with Money, she has put together several coupon match ups on different items. Below is a small sample from her website (there are a lot more if you click on the link):

Baby

Huggies Wipes 46ct $1.99
Use $1/1 coupon from 4/19 inserts
FREE after doubled coupon

Huggies Wipes 64ct $2.50
Use $1/1 coupon from 4/19 inserts
Pay $0.50/1 after doubled coupon

J&J Safety Swabs $1.69
Use $1/1 coupon from 3/8 RP insert
FREE after doubled coupon

J&J Baby soap Bars
Use $1/1 coupon from 3/8 RP insert
Pay $0.79 each after doubled coupon

Aveeno baby Products $4.49
Use $2/1 printable coupon
Pay $0.49 each after doubled coupon

Huggies Diapers $9.99
Use $1.50/1 printable coupon or from 4/19 inserts
Pay $6.99 per pack after doubled coupon

Huggies Pull Ups $9.99
Use $2/1 printable coupon or from 4/19 SS inserts
Pay $6.99 per pack after doubled coupon

Food

Vitamin Water $1
Use 41/1 coupon from 4/5 SS insert
FREE after coupon

Hormel Completes $2
Use $1/1 from 4/5 SS insert
FREE after doubled coupon

Kelloggs cereal Buy 4/$10 and get $5 Kmart GC by mail
Use $1/1 coupon from 4/5 RP insert
FREE after doubled coupon and overage of $3 after GC wyb 4

Post Trail Mix Crunch Cereal 2 for $6
Use $2/1 printable coupon
FREE after doubled coupon

Kraft Salad dressing $2.66
Use $1.50/1 coupon from 3/29 SS insert
FREE after doubled coupon

Quaker mini Rice cakes $2.50
Use $1/1 coupon from 3/29 R insert
Pay $0.50/1 after doubled coupon

Trident Xtra care Gum $1.49
Use $0.75/1 coupon from 3/8 SS insert
FREE after doubled coupon

Sucrets $3.79
Use $1.50/1 coupon from 2/1 SS insert
FREE after doubled coupon

Sugar free Demets Turtles $1.79
Use $1/1 from 4/5 SS insert
FREE after doubled coupon

V8 V Fusion $3.99
Use $2/1 printable coupon
FREE after doubled coupon

Coffee Mate 16oz liquid $2.29
Use $1/1 printable coupon
Pay $0.29/1 after doubled coupon

Daisy Sour Cream 8oz $1.39
Use $0.50/1 from 4/5 SS insert
Pay $0.39 each after doubled coupon

Foto Friday!

Last weekend when I was home visiting my parents, I did a fun shoot with a friend of mine. I don't think I could really choose a favorite, so I'm posting one of my favorites. You'll have to go check out the full post to see the rest of them.

Free Breakfast at Chick Fil A next week in Indy

According to this post, Chick-fil-A will be serving free breakfast entrees next week. Here is an excerpt:

During the week of April 20th stop by any participating Indianapolis area Chick-fil-A for a FREE breakfast entree. Available until 10:30am. One free featured menu item per person.

Monday - Sausage Biscuit

Tuesday - the New Yogurt Parfait

Wednesday- Chicken biscuit

Thursday- the New Yogurt Parfait

Friday - 3-count Chick-n-Mini

Thankful Thursday

On Tuesday evening, we arrived home from our long 12-hour trek from Wisconsin around 6.30p. My husband and I had already decided we would do a home date (usually consisting of take-out and a movie) after we put the kids to bed. So we fed the kids and took them upstairs for baths.

The girls were in and out of the tub first. In went Keaton. Meanwhile, Sienna was getting dressed for bed and I was getting ready to brush through her wet hair. She was running through the upstairs like a madwoman. As usual.

And then I heard screaming.

It was hard to tell at first which child it was. Keaton could be screaming in the tub because he hates having his hair rinsed. Reagan could be screaming because Sienna just ran over her in her mad dash through the hallway. I could think of no reason for Sienna to be screaming. But alas, it was her.

I walked into her room where she was holding her head, her hand completely covered in blood. Oh boy, this can't be good. I whisked her up in my arms and held her against my chest to get a closer look in the light of the bathroom. As we got closer, I pulled her hand away from her head and saw - eeek - a huge gash.

Considering I've had three children, you'd think I'd be absolutely immune to the look of blood gushing from....well, anywhere. But I'm totally not. Blood makes me queasy. And that much blood reminds me of the time my dad almost cut off his thumb in the snowblower. *Gulp*

By this time, it was hair-rinsing time for Keaton so he too was screaming. Reagan was squeeling because I was trying to keep her out of the bathroom while holding Sienna - the only person in the house who had a legit reason to be screaming.

I asked - errr, yelled above the screaming - to my husband for a wet washcloth. I held it to her face as the screaming continued. After a few seconds of that, I checked again. *Double gulp*

"I might need you to come evaluate this!" I yelled to my husband. "But first, can you please put Reagan to bed?" Sure, I felt bad about rushing her off to bed w/o hugs and kisses, but you know....sometimes other things are just more important.

He returned from Reagan's room and we switched kids. I proceeded to the bathroom where I promptly DUMPED water all of my son's head and rushed him off to bed as well.

Sienna was finally starting to calm down to a whimper by the time the other two were in bed and I decided to call the doctor's answering service to see what standard procedure is for such a deep cut as this. Do we put pressure on it and see if the bleeding stops? Should we take her in for stitches? How do we know how deep is too deep?

The doctor asked me some silly questions like, "Are you sure it's a deep cut and not just a surface scratch?" Umm, HELLO. I've lived 24 years on this planet. I'm pretty sure I know how to differentiate between a surface scratch and a GASH.

"Yes, it's a deep cut," I told her. She suggested we take her to the hospital for stitches. My husband suggested Immediate Care. I honestly hadn't even thought of that since, in most cases from our experience, they are absolutely worthless and simply send you over to the ER thereby causing you to pay out of pocket TWICE.

I called over and asked if they did stitches. "Yep, we do," was the woman's reply. Wonderful.

Thankfully, we had a neighbor who was able to come over and watch the other two while we took her the Immediate Care Center. I know, you're probably thinking that just one of us could have done that. But bad things kept running through my head. Things like....What if she starts touching it while I'm driving? Or what if it starts to gush blood again? I won't be able to reach her or help the situation. Hence, both of us went.

When the treatment room finally opened, I was waiting for the needle. But when the doctor entered, she cleaned it out and announced that Derma-bond should do the trick. PRAISE. THE. LORD.

So she and a nurse glued my daughter's head back together. I love the way that phrase sounds. :)

So my "thankfuls" for this week include:

Fun trip to WI
Safe travels both directions
NO STITCHES necessary for Sienna's head

Whew!

Just A Note To Let You Know....

It's been about a year since I started this blog and at the start, I began blogging to see if I could make a few bucks here and there with some advertising. Well, shortly after I started this blog, I decided a photography business would be fun and so that took the primary position of "buck-making".

In the first several months of this blog, I did manage to make about $100, but then Adsense had to go and change their ad policy, taking away my main moneymaker. And my money-making capacity went way downhill without my searching out and learning how to use an entirely new ad company.

I know websites are only a measly $10-ish per month, but alas, it's $10 I don't feel the need to spend this time around.

So mark your calendar, change your bookmark, and whatever else you need to do. In a few weeks, this blog will be going back to its original address:

www.TodaysDailyDose.blogspot.com

We'll still be here, but the domain name won't be as "official". :)

Thanks to all my lovely readers for encouraging me to keep blogging!

Tasty Tuesday - Strawberry Shortcake Parfait

For the past few days, I've been visiting with my family in WI. Yesterday we enjoyed Easter dinner complete with this new dessert recipe that I threw together. Since I firmly believe that "secret recipes" are totally lame and, in all honesty, a pretty arrogant way of raising yourself to a level you don't deserve, I will share it with you, because...well....this dessert was pretty darn good. And of course, I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't share it.

The idea for the Strawberry Shortcake Parfait came from this super easy and DELICIOUS recipe that I made last summer. Ok, so the rough measurements for your ingredients are:

1 angel food cake, baked and cooled
2-4 lbs stawberries, each strawberry cut into fourths
1-2 tubs of cool whip
2 small packages of vanilla instant pudding

I realize those measurements are absolutely non-standard, but that's because I have no idea what size bowl, dish, cups, etc. you will be putting this in. I personally LOVE to make little individual desserts in glasses, but wasn't able to do that yesterday, so mine was made in this "vase":

When you make this dessert depends on how soggy you mind your angel food cake being. I made it a day in advance and it was, ehhh, pretty soggy. But delicious. I think I would have liked it better if I had made it JUST before eating time, but oh well.

Tip #1: If you want juicier strawberries, cut them up, put them in a bowl, and throw about 1/2 cup of sugar on top. Let sit for 30 minutes or more before layering.

Tip #2: Make sure you're READY to layer once you starting mixing the pudding. You'll have to whisk it for 2 minutes and as soon as you're done, it starts to set. So be sure you're ready when you get to that step.

Alright, so break your angel food cake into 1-inchish size pieces. Then layer your food in the following order:

1. Angel food pieces
2. Pudding
3. Strawberries
4. Cool whip

I layered this twice in the "vase" I was using, but again, how you do it will depend on what you're using. Obviously you'd probably not layer those things more than once for individual cups.

Garnish the top with a few leftover strawberries and you're set! Yummmm!

(The relatively ugly, half eaten-version of Strawberry Shortcake Parfait is below.)

(Sorry.)

Easter!

I am not all that good with words, and there's really no sense in reinventing the wheel, so please go here to read what I think may be the best Easter post I've ever read. And also, if you wish to keep reading in her blog, you will find a very interesting, touching, miraculous story about her baby boy who still needs much prayer.

Foto Friday!

Spring is here and I am happy. :)

Specifics on Andy

If you know Andy and Cari or have been praying for them about this week's recent news, please visit their blog to find out details about the surgery and specific prayer requests. The surgery is scheduled for 9am tomorrow morning.

Thank you all for your prayers for them. It's encouraging for them to know how many people are praying, so if you are one of them, please leave them a comment on their blog and let them know!

It Appears We Can't Win Anymore

While I am vehemently pro-life, I'm not sure that this bill is the answer. In fact, I'm not certain that ANY bill is the answer. At least we know that God is in control, no matter what our government does or tries to do to take away our rights. If you have a few minutes (about 5), please watch this video and leave your thoughts and comments. I'd be curious to hear what all of you have to say about it.

Regardless of which side of the abortion debate you are on, I'll bet this law is not going to please you....

He Works ALL Things Together For Good

For those of you who have been following my blog for several months now, do you remember Cari and Andy? They lost their sweet precious 8 month old baby girl last September and shortly afterward found out they were newly pregnant with a baby boy! I have cried for them and rejoiced for them, prayed over them and blogged about them, requesting others to do the same. And now it's time again for me to ask you, God's people, to pray on their behalf.

I don't think they would mind me sharing this information since they are coveting prayers right now....

Andy had a seizure this morning and an MRI found that he has a large brain tumor. He is scheduled for surgery on Friday morning. Please be in prayer for their family during this time. We do not always understand the ways of the Lord, but we know that He works all things together for good.

"And we know that God causes ALL THINGS to work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8.28)

If you wish to leave Andy and Cari words of encouragement or if you want to let them know you are praying for them, please visit their blog.

Tasty Tuesday . . . Twice Baked Potatoes

I was searching for a side dish that would freeze well to do for my cooking club. I came across this recipe. It is so good! I made it tonight and I had some filling leftover so I just put that in a casserole dish and baked it to go along with our meatloaf and green beans! I thought I would post the recipe for you with my changes (because I always have some). This recipe calls for 10 lbs. of baking potatoes which are on sale at Aldi for $1.99. If you don't want to do this many than just cut the recipe in half. If you practice the pantry principle (always have your pantry stocked or try to) then you should have most of this on hand. I always try to have cream cheese on hand in case I want to make my Alfredo sauce or something else yummy.

Kell's Twice Baked Potatoes

• 
  
10 lbs baking potatoes
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sour cream, divided
2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2-1 cup milk
garlic powder parsley or chives
salt

1. Scrub the best sized 12 potatoes in the bag. Poke each with a fork and bake in oven at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes.
2. While those bake, peel the rest of the potatoes and boil until soft. Drain.
3. Cut baked potatoes lengthwise and scoop insides into a bowl. You should end up with 24 shells. Place these on cookie sheets.
4. In mixer with wire whisk, combine one package cream cheese, one stick butter, and 1/2 cup sour cream until blended.
5. Add scooped insides of baked potatoes and a little less than half of the boiled potatoes and mix on low speed.
6. Add some milk and mix until it is the consistency you like.
7. Add garlic powder, parsley or chives, and salt. I just add it until it tastes good. I think about 1 1/2 teaspoons of each.
8. Fold in half of the shredded cheddar. You can use more or less, whatever you like.
9. Fill shells heaping and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until tops start to brown.
10. While those bake, repeat the recipe with the rest of the boiled potatoes. Place mixture in two baking dishes (foil bread pans work well) and freeze for later. ***To bake, thaw completely and bake in oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until top starts to brown.
11. I freeze 8 of the baked filled shells individually for lunches, 8 more get frozen in a foil pan for later, and 8 end up being a side dish to dinner!

***My changes - I omitted the chives and/or parsley and I added bacon. It just seemed like the right thing to do.

For more kitchen tips and recipes please check out Kitchen Tip Tuesday at Tammy’s recipes and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace.

Crazy, Wonderful, Busy, Beautiful Chaos

Happy Monday! It's almost Easter and I love ham! Ok, I know that Easter isn't about eating ham. I know it's all about Christ coming to die for me to cleanse me of my sins, and for that I cannot even really think of how to express my gratitude. So for the time being...I will express my gratitude for ham. :)

This weekend proved to be a little crazy. But really, when is it not? I honestly don't remember Saturday. At all. Yesterday, we spent the day toting the family around to church, a birthday party, and a relative's home. We usually do ONE thing per day. Not three. One. Hence, the craziness.

This week is exciting as we are drawing near to a trip to visit my family, but it's also completely yuck because my husband is working some sort of crazy training shift on top of his regular workload, allowing him to be home at totally abnormal times of the day and leaving the kids and me to...well....find things to do when he's not here. I have a list of things we're going to make, create, shop for, purchase, and pack. So we have no shortage of things to do. It's just how and when to get them done that should be exciting.

I will try to post regularly, but I may resort to pulling up old archives (for my newer readers) to fill in the gaps for a few days. Have a great week, everyone!

Foto Friday!

My little Sienna turned 3 this week and got her first haircut:

Thankful Thursday . . . Silence

It is almost complete silence in my house tonight. The only thing I hear is the sound of the washer going. It is barely 8 o'clock and both of my children are in bed sleeping. The TV is not on. On this wonderful night I am thankful for the silence. I am thankful for my two sweet children who went to bed without a fuss (this is not always the case). God is good.

What are you thankful for?

Get Your Finances In Line In 2009: March Recap

March was a really great month for us financially! We got our federal tax refund check and my husband worked a ton of overtime (not by choice), so we REALLY made some headway on our emergency fund savings account. We also raised the level of our vacation savings and are now just a few hundred dollars short of having it all saved up! I also went ahead and pulled out our trip money for when we got to visit my parents in a few weeks, so that won't have to come out of next month's budget.

We could have done even better this month, but with my husband working overtime for a few weeks (which means I'm also working overtime at home), we did a bit more eating out and ordering in than we typically do. Nevertheless, I am so happy with the results! If only we could get a refund check and an OT check every month! Of course, I don't wish all that work on my husband. I'm just saying that the money is nice. :)

Ok, so here are the updates. And again, these are not necessarily in order:

Goal #1: Save up and pay CASH for our 5-day vacation to *SURPRISE* in June! :) ---- 75% completed ----

Goal #2: Fully fund our 6 month emergency fund and put into a money market account to be left UNTOUCHED unless there is an actual emergency. ---- 30.4% completed ----

Goal #3: Save for my husband to get a new (that means "used") car.

Goal #4: Raise retirement contributions to 12% (with a 4% match).

Goal #5: Open a money market account for each of our children.

Goal #6: Begin paying extra principal on our mortgage.

Goal #7: Establish a will and testament. (I know - shame on us for not having one yet!)

Goal #8: Get disability insurance for both my husband and me.

I don't know if anyone really enjoys following our financial journey, but I enjoy posting it, so I guess you're stuck with monthly updates for now. :) It keeps me motivated and somewhat accountable - if to nobody else, at least to the computer screen - to get it all down in writing. Errr, typing. :)

Foto Friday!

Well, I didn't get much time to take pictures this week, but I did snag a few flower (or were those weeds?) pictures from my women's retreat last weekend. I have been trying to decide which is my favorite, but so far have not been able to come to a conclusion. So here is one of my favorites:

Feel free to head on over to my photography blog to see what else I've been up to this week. :)

Thankful Thursday

This week has been rough on our family. My husband has been working about 15 hours a day - not by choice. He's exhausted. I'm exhausted. We've both been short with the kids. They haven't been sleeping. (I'm talking like, being up 3-4 hours after they've been put to bed at night). It's been a pretty long week.

BUT....I have to say that, in this economy, I am very thankful that my husband has a job - TWO jobs, at that - and that's he's being offered (eh hem, forced to work) overtime. Since my husband is not salaried, the extra money is always nice....especially when we just had 2 ER visits in the past month and are planning a trip to visit my parents in a few weeks.

That being said, I will also be very thankful when this week is over........

Please pray...

There is a sweet, darling little baby boy who is experiencing some very major heart problems right now. To read his story, you can click on the "Praying for Stellan" picture on the right side of this page or click here to visit his mommy's blog.

Tasty Tuesday . . . Creamy Chicken Casserole

There are several versions of this, but this one is my version. I may have *mentioned* before that I try to use regular ingredients so instead of cream of chicken soup that some recipes call for I make my own. Also, again I am not very good about measuring so . . . By the way my husband loves this.

2 cups of cooked chicken
1 cream of chicken soup substitute (recipe follows)
1 cup of sour cream
Salt and Pepper to taste (and of course I add garlic salt or powder to everything too)
Bread crumbs
2 T of butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray casserole dish with non-stick spray and then put chicken in the bottom. Stir soup substitute and sour cream and seasonings together and pour over the chicken. Melt 2 T. of butter and stir with the bread crumbs and top the casserole with the breadcrumbs. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Cream of chicken soup substitute

*There are many of these recipes floating around too.

2 T. of butter
3 T. of flour
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 cup of chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in saucepan and then add flour (like you are making a roux). Lower heat to medium-low and slowly add the broth whisking the whole time. Then remove from heat and add the milk and whisk that mixture until there are no lumps. I put mine back on to heat if it isn't thick enough once everything is together. That is it or at least that is what I do.

For more kitchen tips and recipes please check out Kitchen Tip Tuesday at Tammy’s recipes and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace.

Money Monday

Instead of me speaking on this issue, please listen to this radio broadcast regarding "Trusting God for your Security".

Go here and click on Window's Media icon to listen to this show. It is well worth your while!

Don't forget to go back tomorrow and Wednesday to hear the other parts of this discussion!

Here is a summary from their website:

Americans are facing tough financial times. Where can you turn? Christians can respond in faith - not fear - despite the current economic crisis. Certified financial planner Jerry Foster talks today about trusting God in the midst of uncertainty.