Hello Friday

Jeff called last evening and said he may not get to come home this weekend. My heart dropped to the floor. I then thought ok we'll go there. That idea was vetoed by the girls. Hannah wanted a friend to spend the night. Mollie has some plans as well. I then thought, I can get through this, it will be ok. Its very hard for me to be here and Jeff there, but I know other families have harder things to work through so I buck up. I decided it would be ok and called Jeff and told him so. He then decided that he would still come home it will just be a few hours later than he normally would. So right now he is coming home this weekend. I know this isn't such a terrible thing but it really is hard not to be with your husband.

I guess I need to pray for all those gals whose husbands are fighting in Iraq or other places.

our new family blog is up

Here is the address to our new family blog. Not much yet, but we will get it going.
http://familygenerationsoflove.blogspot.com/

Quote

"Republicans believe every day is 4th of July, but Democrats believe every day is April 15."
Ronald Reagan

Lazy lazagna

This is super easy and super good.
Cook as much spaghetti as you need for your family. Drain.
Place in a correct sized baking pan for your needs, add a bit of butter and stir. Stir in 1 or 2 beaten eggs. This is your crust. Next add a layer of pepperoni. Then cheese. Top with Spaghetti sauce and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese if you have it.
Bake until eggs are done, about 20-30 min.

Pepsi

Pepsi is now using its TV spots to promote the gay lifestyle. AFA asked Pepsi to remain neutral in the culture war. Pepsi refused. The company said it will continue major financial support of homosexual organizations seeking to legalize homosexual marriage.
Pepsi gave $500,000 to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the largest and most powerful gay lobbying group in America. The company also gave $500,000 to Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). The total gift of $1,000,000 to the two homosexual activist groups was to help promote the gay lifestyle in the workplace.
After Pepsi gave their money to HRC, HRC gave $2.3 million to oppose California's Prop 8, an initiative which defined marriage as being between one man and one woman.
Pepsi also forces its employees to attend sexual orientation and gender identity diversity training, where they are taught to accept homosexuality.

Good grief What Now?

Did you know that Pepsi supports gays? It even makes its employees attend attend sexual orientation and gender identity diversity training, where they are taught to accept homosexuality. http://www.boycottpepsico.com/default.aspx
Now its Campbell's soup labels?http://www.afa.net/campbells011209.htm
Obama is running fast with his gay and abortion agenda.http://www.afa.net/obamaagenda.asp
Act quickly, send your letter directly to President Obama and let him know you do not agree with his policies. http://www.afa.net/Petitions/Issuedetail.asp?id=341
As Christians we have been nice too long. We let prayer be taken out of schools. We let people murder their babies legally. We must stand up for honor. We must stand up for what is right. We must stand up for what God's word represents and keep our freedom of religion and right to bear arms and everything else America stands for.
FREEDOM ISN'T FREE

Food for thought

Here are some eye opening numbers for you.
Since Jan. 22, 1973 the Roe vs Wade decision 28 million babies have been killed,
6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust
1,000 troops have been killed since the start of the Iraq war. I could not find an updated number for this.
I want to point out that there is outrage over the Holocaust victims and the troops who die in war, but little is heard for the victims of abortion. One third of our population has been destroyed. Look around your church, workplace, the grocery store. Fully one third of the people you see represent those who are not there because they were murdered in abortion. They are your friends, coworkers, neighbors, teachers, doctors, lawyers, etc.
The other day a man killed his wife, 5 children and then himself. If he hadn't killed his wife and then himself, there would be no difference in this killing and an abortion. A life is a life. He would surly have stood trial for the murders yet everyday abortion clinics kill thousands of babies and they never stand trial.

My beautiful great niece

J'tiaya Moore. Isnt she a doll?

Cute photo

I got this picture in an email from Dee Dee. I thought it was cute. I hope you enjoy it too.

Sledding

I took the girls sledding today. They had fun. They hooked the sled up to the pick up with a chain and I suggested putting the wagon on behind the sled so more could go at a time. They didn't think that would be any fun but they did it anyway. They said it was a blast. I'm glad we went when we did because the snow is melting already. Misty and Destiny came along too. Misty, Sammy and I were in the truck and the girls were all on the sled or the wagon. There is one place on our land where there is a tiny drainage ditch and its a blast to go over that with them, they laugh and scream. Do it again. LOL When we were done we came inside for cocoa. Here in western Oklahoma we don't get all that much snow so we took advantage when we had it.

Kitchen tip tuesday-Healthier Homemade bread

For today's kitchen tip Tuesday I want to share how I make our home made bread healthier.

When I grind my wheat I like to also grind several types of beans, peas, and lentils, rice, corn, barley, etc. I use about 1/4 c of each. All in dried form of course. I keep this dried bean flour in a quart jar in the freezer. When I am making bread I add 1/4 to 1/2 cup to the flour when I am measuring it. It helps the wheat to be a complete protein. It is also my version of Ezekiel bread.

Its snowing

Its snowing today.
I think this is our second snowfall this season. Hannah is hopeful of a lot of snow so she can go sledding. We don't have hills here so they hook the sled up behind the van and I pull them around the yard. The big yard out front, not the yard yard.
I just hope the gas keeps coming and doesn't freeze up. So far, so good.
Kaleena's school let out early because of ice. They are expecting 2 inches so that will close the school for a while. I hope they don't lose power.
Jeff's factory closed down, they wanted everyone to be able to get home safely, again because of ice. I can't imagine Seaboard sending everyone home or caring if they made it.
It very nice for Jeff to be working at a place where they respect the employees are appreciate their talents. After all, that's why they hired them, because of their talents.
I am getting ready to organize my pantry. I will be posting before and after pictures. I have a pretty large pantry, but I do like to stock up so it seems so crowded.

groceries

I went to Liberal to pick up Hannah and I decided to use my rain check while it was still good.
10 fast fixen chicken 2.19 got em for 10.00 saved 12.90
3 # organic apples 3.00
total spent 13.00
total saved 12.90


total spent this year 352.52
total saved this year 119.18

I know I wasn't going to shop any more this month but then I remembered the rain check. Also Joy reminded me we are in charge of snacks at church this evening. I will be bringing the organic apples, some bananas, some cheese and pretzel packets and making some air popped pop corn. We will also have Kool-aid, tea, or water to drink.

A family blog

I came across a blog that is written by a mom, a grandma and several daughters.
Bingo, a light went off, how about we start a family blog?
Kaleena, Brooke, Mom, Roberta, Carol, Laura, Nicki, whoever else, Jazz, what fun we could have.
We could all contribute and upload pictures and we could all see what is going on with each other.
What do you girls think?
I am voting YES
Let me know.
Joy, Mollie, Hannah, Nathaniel or Pam, hey who ever in the family wants to could be a part of it.
Opal, Cherie, Stephanie, etc. we could have an awesome blog girls. Lets do it.

groceries

3.35 # bananas 1.94
kashi granola bar 2.94 -2.00 mq=.94 each
2 # ham 8.12
2 # turkey 7.58
4 Johnson bath buddies soap @ .97 each - 4.00 mq=free
total spent 19.52
total saved 8.00

total spent this year 339.52
total saved this year106.28

This should do us for the rest of this month, at least that is what I am hoping.

Menu Plan

I am only planning one meal a day because I think that one decent meal along with one of soup, sandwiches or salad will work for us.


Saturday
left overs

Sunday
veggie burgers
salad

Monday
salmon patties
broccoli or salad

Tuesday
chicken & noodles over mashed potatoes
veggie

Wednesday
Baked potatoes with toppings

Thursday
lazy lazagna
salad

Friday
tacos

Saturday (hopefully Jeff will be here)
steak
baked potatoes
veggie

Breakfasts:
yogurt
cereal
oatmeal
eggs
carrot juice


Lunches:
sandwiches-lunch meat or pb&j
soup
salad
frozen burritos
frozen corn dogs
fruit

I thought about what I have on hand and planned the menu's from there. The only thing I need to buy is lunch meat and bananas. I think we have everything else we need.

How much should we spend on groceries?

Since I have begun keeping track of what I am spending on groceries, I have been looking around at other blogs to see what other ladies spend.

The government says that for a family of 4 a low cost meal plan would cost 167.00 per week. The welfare folks get 21.00 per week per person or about 3.00 per day. The low cost plan would allow 668.00 per month for 4 people. The welfare allotment would allow 336.00 for 4 people for a month. The low cost plan seems plenty high to me and the low cost welfare plan seems just a bit tight. I will continue to keep track of what I am spending so I can see what for our family of 5 would be the right amount. Right now its kind of like a family of 4 because Jeff is in Tulsa and I am not keeping track of what he is spending for food.

Many of the ladies spend 400.00 per month for a family of 4, but their kids seem to be very young. So I guess the trade off in more food is balanced out with the purchase of diapers and wipes.
Some ladies spend 400.00 to 500.00 per week. That seems excessive. I am wondering what they are buying? Maybe its all processed and pre-packaged meals.

I am trying very hard to cook almost all from scratch. That seems to be a huge money saver. So does making a menu plan and following it. I have had fits and starts doing that. I want to really bad. But it seems like when I do, then when its time to fix a meal I am hungry for something else. Maybe that is a sign of no self control. Always giving in to what I want. I will think of it as a discipline and try again. I will post a menu plan later and we will see how it goes.

One lady said that she starts planning her menu's by thinking of what she already has on hand and then goes from there. I think I will try it that way. Wish me luck.

funny

Fat people are harder to kidnap.

grocery shopping

2 64oz. cranberry/ pomagranite & white cranberry strawberry juice 5.50 .99 each with store coupon 1.98
2 fritos 5.00 .99 each with store coupon 1.98
2 sandwich cream cookies 5.00 .99 each with store coupon 1.98
red leaf lettuce sale .99 regular 1.49
9 oz spicach sale 1.99 regular 2.99
total spent 8.92
total saved 11.06

2nd store
2 pkg ice cream 3 day sale 2/4.00 reg. 2/6.00
4 loaves wheat bread 3 day sale 2/1.00 =2.00 reg. 1.29 each =5.16
apples 3.00 reg. 6.00
4 pkg. carrots 2.00 reg. 4.00
2 gallons milk 5.00 reg.. 3.29 ea. 6.58
total spent 16.00
total saved 11.74

total spent this year 320.00
total saved this year 98.28

I'm back

We spent several days with Jeff in the 5th wheel. It wasn't too bad. It was a lot nicer than the other camper. We got a chance to look around for homes, but no luck yet.
Our house is still on the market. Someone is coming to look tomorrow, so pray it sells.
Here I can use the Internet and look for houses but then I am too far away to go look at them. When we are there I do not have access to the Internet unless I go to burger king or something. It makes it harder. I know it will all work out though.

Chicken tortilla soup

1 ½ t. olive oil
¾ to 1 c. chopped onion
Cook onion in oil until translucent
Add 1-2 c. chopped chicken
1 ½ c. chicken broth
¾ c. apple juice
12 oz. tomato sauce
¾ t. cumin
¾ t. chili powder
Cilantro
Garlic to taste
2 cans black beans
¾ c. salsa
1 ½ t. lime juice
Cook 5-10 min. Serve in bowls topped with tortilla chips.

just so you know * greenhouse

I have had a reader request about how to build a greenhouse. I will be working on a post to show how to do that. Coming soon.

Shopping

Wal Mart
4 Totes @ 5.00 =20.00
bananas 1.66
2 chickpeas @ 1.22 = 2.44
shoe laces for Hannah 1.50
2 frozen chimi's @ 2.98 = 5.96
2 gallons 2 % milk @ 2.99= 5.98
total 37.54

Dillons
10 for 10.00 sale
3 brown sugar
2 fast fixen chicken
3 toaster pastry
2 loaves bread
10 frozen orange juice
10 frozen vegetables
4 Cottenelle tp @ .99 Mq for .50 doubles so free
2 suave conditioner @ .77 = 1.54 -.50 Mq doubled = .54
1 movie Amazing Grace 7.99
total 38.53 saved 23.29

Walgreens
5 vitamins @ 2.00 =10.00
4 18oz. Quaker oats @ 3.19 =12.76 7 day q 2/2.79 - 2.00 mq = 3.58
1 Halls cough drops 1.99-1.00 7 day q - .50 mq = .49
1 pkg. sipper cups @ 2.99
3 pkg. Planters snack mix @ 2.69- 1.70 7 day q= 2.98
2 hormel corned beef @ 1.99 = 3.98
1 colgate toothpaste @ 2.69 7 day q -1.40 = 1.29 -1.00 mq = .29
2 scott tp @ 3.99 = 7.98 -7 day q 2.98 = 5.00
5 12pk pepsi @ 3.00 = 15.00 - 5.00 RR =10.00
total spent 39.31- 13.00 on gift card = 26.31
saved 52.19

total spent this year 295.44
saved this week 75.48
I may start keeping track of how much I save as well as how much I spend. I would have to start from here but the year is young.

Grapefruit Curd

I saw this recipe on another blog and it sounds really good. I make lemon curd occasionally for scones. This would be another good taste. I will try it sometime, but I wanted to record it before I lost it. The blog I got this from is called honey and jam.

Ingredients:

8 large eggs yolks

1/2 cup freshly squeezed ruby red grapefruit juice

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

finely grated zest of 1 ruby red grapefruit

1 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, cold, cut into piecesDirections:Combine yolks, grapefruit juice, lemon juice, half of the zest, and the sugar in a saucepan; whisk to combine. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon (be sure to scrape the sides of the pan), until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, 8 to 10 minutes.Remove saucepan from heat. Add salt and butter, one piece at a time, stirring until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve unto a medium bowl. Stir in the remaining zest. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled and set.

Learn something new

When was the last time you learned a new skill?
Do you have things you want to learn to do?
Why not make it a goal for the new year to learn that skill?
I was reflecting on things I have learned since moving to western Oklahoma four years ago.
Here is my list of what I have learned.
Large scale gardening.
Built a greenhouse with cattle panels.
Raised a meat steer.
Raised goats.
Milked goats.
Raised chickens.
Built a chicken coop
The chickens laid eggs (yum)
Butchered chickens (yuck)
Learned to can meat.
Learned to make soap.
Learned to grind my own wheat flour.
Learned to make laundry soap.
Learned to make dish soap.
Learned to make dish washer soap.
Learned to make cough syrup.
Learned to make tinctures.
The list is pretty long. Also just because I learned to make dish soap and dish washer soap doesn't mean I like home made. Candy was asking what the other ladies want to learn to do this year. I am thinking what I want to learn to do.
What about you? What are some things you want to learn to do this year?

Treadmill-Jeff's new home for now

We received our treadmill yesterday. The girls spent a couple of hours putting the uprights and such together. When they were done they were unable to use it because the roller had slipped off side during shipment. I called the factory today and they emailed me a sheet for repairing it. The girls and I were unable to get it fixed so Bill came over and between all of us we were able to get it fixed. Now we just have to figure out how to use all the computer parts of it. I guess I didn't realize how noisy those things are. Well, we will begin using it tomorrow.

Jeff will be home this weekend. He will be bringing my sisters camper home so we can clean it up and return it to her. He is happy to be in his own place now. I am including a few pictures of our new to us 5th wheel.

Lets make soap

I am wanting to do a class for my friends on soap making before I move.
Dee Dee, Kay, Christina, are you listening? When would be a good time to do this? Would an evening or weekend be better? Let me know please.

Yummy veggie burgers

I use my rice cooker for this.

Rinse 3 1/2 c. lentils

and 1/2 c. rice

Place in rice cooker with 7 cups of water (I find that brown rice and lentils take more water or they end up hard)

When the lentils and rice are done, place them into a very large bowl.

With a stick blender blend and moosh the lentils. This doesn't have to be completely mashed.

Add 1 c. chopped walnuts

4 eggs

2 t. oregano

2 t. cumin

12 -15 chopped cloves of garlic

2 onions (diced)

2 c. wheat germ (I use freshly ground wheat flour)

4 T. olive oil

salt

pepper

Mix well. Form into burgers and fry in olive oil for 3-4 min on each side. This makes about 30-32 burgers. I fry what I need for the meal and make the rest into burgers. Layer on a cookie sheet covered with parchment or wax paper. Place in freezer for a few hours. When frozen, place into a freezer zip lock bag. Then you can take out how many you need when you need them. My kids love these. Me too.

A frugal meal.

Click for the breast cancer cause

Don't forget, every time you come here to see what we've been up to, take just a minute and go to the right sidebar and click on the link, a pink button will appear, click on that and a new window will pop up saying your click has been counted. You can click once a day. It is to help the sponsors give a free mammogram to a needing woman. Its easy, free and takes less than 30 sec. How could it be any easier? Click once a day, everyday, even on Sunday. God bless you for giving your click.

Diet

Once again I am starting a diet. I was going to go raw, but I do like cooked food too. I want to lose weight but I don't want to suffer. I think that's not possible.
Tomorrow my new treadmill will be delivered. Yippee. It will take a while to work up to a good work out because I am so out of shape. The girls need more exercise too.
I think we will try to eat as much raw as possible, and once in a while some meat. It will be a process to give up meat.
When you live and were raised in cattle country its hard to imagine no meat. Everyone looks at the vegetarians like they are nuts. We will see how this works. The one thing I know for sure it will include lots of veggies and fruits.
We made veggie burgers for lunch and they were yummy. Recipe will be posted on tuesday for kitchen tip tuesday.

I'm back

I have spent the last six days in Tulsa with Jeff. I looked and looked for a place to live for him, or for all of us or what ever. My eyes were rolling in my head. It was crazy. My head was spinning. Finally we bought a very nice 5th wheel.

One day I was driving through a neighborhood, it was looking less and less appealing. I spotted two cop cars so I waved them down and asked for a certain address. The cop said "What's your business mam? I said I was looking at houses. He said sorry to be blunt but there is a homicide in this neighborhood nearly every day, he had just worked one the night before. And Mam if you keep driving that pickup in this neighborhood you are guaranteed to get car jacked." I high tailed it out of there and my heart was beating ninety to nothing. It took forever to calm down. I felt like "whats a person to do?"

I think the two cops had a good laugh on the silly country gal in the slums or something.

We found a new place to park the RV. Its in a small town, not so far for Jeff to drive to work. I think he will be very comfortable now. He may not want to come home. LOL
At least we can relax our search and spend more time looking and not feel we have to get something right away.

United Shopping

I stopped at United and bought a 10# box of corn dogs for 17.90
6 Peter Pan peanut butter @ 1.69 each.
total spent 28.04

total spent this year 167.18

Wal Mart Shopping

4 boxes 22 shells @ 14.47 each
2 GV vegetable oil 1 gal. each @ 7.58 ea.
2 gal 2 % milk 3.42 ea.
4 pkgs. noodles @ 1.08 ea.
2 4 # bags tortilla mix @ 2.78 ea.
2 frozen burritos @ 2.98 ea.
5 # sliced cheese @ 15.47
12 cans spaghetti sauce @ .98 ea.
2 pkgs plain bagels @ 1.28 ea.
1 sour cream @ 1.67
2.31 lb. bananas 1.34
4 pkgs. vermacelli @ .28 ea.
2 loaves bread @ 1.34 ea.
1 air freshner @ .97
total spent 133.29
I am not going to count the shells for groceries so I will subtract 57.88 from the total leaving 75.41
total spent this year 139.14

Coupons

Tomorrow the Sunday paper is suppose to have a lot of coupons in it so plan to buy an extra copy or two. Its suppose to have 4 or 5 inserts of coupons depending on where you live. I will be going to Wal Mart today to pick up a few things and I will pick up the new All You magazine for the coupons in it.

Boo Hoo big mess

We finished the canning last evening. Yeah. This morning we washed the last of the filled jars, labeled them and toted them to the basement. A few minutes later we heard a crash and breaking noises. We were in the middle of cleaning out the fridge, but we high tailed it to the basement where we were met with a mess.

One of the shelves fell and at least four cases of canned meat crashed to the ground. Of course there were open totes of things sitting in front of the shelves so the broken jars landed all around. In the totes, on the floor on each other. Talk about a mess. Thankfully I have a pitch in kind of family and everyone got busy and had it cleaned up in no time.

I at first thought that at least a dozen jars broke, but Jeff did a lot of the cleaning up and he said only 6 or 8 jars broke. That's better though still disappointing. Needless to say we rearranged the shelves and placed the filled jars on more sturdy shelving. It about makes you sick to see so many hours of work broken in pieces at your feet.

It smelled good though. One bonus I guess. A few jars that didn't break came unsealed so had to be taken care of. The jars had to be brought back upstairs, washed, seals checked and taken back downstairs. You can bet we will be more careful from now on.

Groceries

I am going to attempt to keep a running total of the money I spend on groceries this year, along with a list of what I buy.
2 cases green beans @ 6.99
2 cases corn @ 6.99
1 case peas @ 6.99
1 case tomato sauce @ 8.99
2 -10# pkgs of legs and thighs @ 2.99
2 -25# sacks of flour @ 5.99
dish soap 1.83
total 63.73

Cake wrecks

I visit this site every day or so. It is hilarious. http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/

Satisfaction of a job well done

It is so satisfying when something is done and done well. We are almost done with the meat canning. It is so satisfying to see the jars lined up on the shelves and know your family will be fed even if times get tough. With Jeff changing jobs and moving I feel confident we will have money for food, but what if the trucking industry closed down for a week, say a strike or something? The grocery stores would be empty in one or two days. It is just nice to know that we have this hedge against hard times.
Our Dave Ramsey course was very helpful. We have paid off lots of debt, have our emergency fund, funded. We keep working towards being debt free. Its funny, when we started the course we didn't think we would ever be debt free. By the end of the course we figured seven to ten years. Now it looks like it could happen in as little as three or four years. When you pay off one debt and then use that payment to add to another it snowballs and things get paid off real fast. Its exciting to think there is actually a light at the end of the tunnel.
Kay and Kirby were the folks who brought the Dave Ramsey course to our church. They taught it along with another couple, Reese and Dee Dee. Thanks folks for bringing this to us to help us. We learned a lot. We appreciate how you have been an example to us and friends as well.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone. Today we are canning beef. It has aged approximately two weeks since we got it. It is cryo-vaced so we can age it in the fridge. It looks like we will get about 56 quarts of beef chunks total. This will keep us in meat for quite a while. I don't know if I want to can ground beef or just keep it frozen. I will think about it.

Correction: I misjudged the beef, it will make about 41 to 42 quarts not 56 as stated earlier.


We had fun last night playing dominoes with the preachers family, us and my folks. We actually stayed up until midnight but we were in bed at 12:01. We are such party animals.
My folks stayed over night and left today. I joked to my mom that I wondered when she was going to leave because she had been here since last year. LOL
I pray blessings over all my friends and family, good health and peace. Last evening as we toasted in the new year at 11:00 pm with sparkling grape juice, the pastor offered a very nice prayer for the new year.