ALL THIS FOR THE LOW COST OF JUST $30

I’ve been reading some really great posts about how to save money on groceries and am personally still in the process of learning myself, but I was introduced to a fantastic ministry called Angel Food Ministiries. I buy a $30 box once a month and this helps me stretch our grocery bill just a little bit farther. You get a ton of food in each box and you are free to order any number of the “special” boxes that you minght need after the first intial main box. Their website describes this ministry like this:

Angel Food Ministries, a non-profit, non-denominational organization, began in 1994 as a small outreach ministry serving a rural community in Georgia. The goal was to help neighbors who needed a hand up in a tough economic time. Today, Angel Food Ministries can be found in over 3,200 communities in 35 states and helps feed over 500,000 families a month.

Angel Food partners with churches and community organizations throughout the country to help distribute food to those in need. For $30.00* you can receive a box of food containing both fresh and frozen items. Our food items are top quality – we buy our food from major food producers throughout the country to ensure the best food comes to your table.

The food we have recieved has been grocery store quality for a fraction of the price. I was able to cut my grocery bill by nearly $200 a month just by taking advatage of the many deals I get in this box. Here is a list of the food included in the upcoming April box.

2 lb. Fully Cooked Meatloaf 1 lb. Beef Fajita Strips 3 lb. Breaded Frying Chicken 2 lb. St. Louis Style Ribs 2 lb. Lasagna Dinner Entree 1 lb. Gourmet Sausage 1 lb. Fully Cooked Meatballs 16 oz. Broccoli 15 oz. Refried Beans

12 ct. Tortillas 26 oz. Pasta Sauce 16 oz. Pasta 6 oz. Pancake Mix 16 oz. Fresh Carrots 3 lb. Golden Yukon Potatoes 4 oz. Chicken Noodle Soup (Makes 64 oz.) 4 lb. California Oranges Dessert Item

This is just another GREAT way to supplement your grocery bill. For more information on the fanatistic ministry of Angel Food, click here. For more information about upcoming menus, click here.

For more great Works For Me Wednesday ideas check out Shannon’s blog.

For more great Wordless Wednesday check out these great sites: here, here and here.

I don’t know about you, but here in our home time is a very precious commodity. Hubby is only home 2 hours with the girls everyday and in that time I have to get him ready and get anything that I need done but can’t do when the girls are awake. In light of all of this, scheduling has become ever more important. I am not going to pretend that we stay on any kind of set schedule or that we are even able to always keep our loose one. But MOST days we are able to stay inline with our basic schedule. Here is a glimpse of what an average day would look like in our house.

6:45-Mommy gets up, makes a cup of tea and does some internet work. Work=blog reading, signing up for samples, updating personal blog, surveys, daily Girlfriends devotional, and any mystery shopping work that needs to be done.

8:30-Start waking hubby up. Usually the girls get up at this point and watch “Handy Manny” in Kat’s crib until 9am.

9:30-Breakfast for girls. Hubby is usally trying to finish getting ready.

10am-Daddy leaves for work. Seaseme Street for the girls and laundry for me.

10:30-Reading with the girls. Playtime.

11am-Naptime for Kat. Book, song, prayer, sleep. KG normally uses this time for PlayDoh or markers, since she can’t use them while Kat is up. I use this time for blogging and reading.

12:30-Kat gets up and we get dressed/ready to go for a walk…weather permitting.

2-Lunchtime

3-Naptime. Here is where scheduling really comes in handy. We have a strict routine we keep here. Bible story, song, prayer, sleep. This works great for us. Naptime is set in stone, nothing changes about this time. Ever.

4:30-Girls get up and I get dinner started. Dishes get done now, as I’m doing dinner. Laundry.

6:30-Bathtime

8-Bedtime for Kat. Book, song, prayer, sleep…see a pattern?
KG gets the time after Kat is in bed for just Mommy and KG time. We play board games, card games, color, read…just about anything she wants except watch TV.

9: Bedtime for KG. Book, song, prayer, sleep. Daddy should be getting home about this time to give KG kisses and say goodnight.

11-Bedtime for Mommy. Hubby normally stays up until 1am or later.

Now this isn’t an all inclusive schedule..but it allows my girls to have a good idea of what is going to happen during the day. The gaps you may have noticed in the time are usually filled with chores, such as cleaning the bedrooms, bathroom and the ever messy kitchen. I swear it doesn’t seem to matter how often I clean it always needs it.

I would love to hear about how YOU schedule your day or how you manage time more efficiently…please share you ideas and for more tips check out Tipster Tuesday on BeCentsable’s blog.

Today is my birthday!! I’m twenty-six today…I know I shouldn’t be drawing attention to my own birthday day…but I can’t help it! I LOVE birthdays! My husband gave me an entire day out with my best friend for my birthday!! He stayed home with the kids while I went out and window shopped all day. But today it’s back to norm and back to planning our dinners.

Here is what I’ve come up with for this week!

Monday: Stuffed Whole Wheat Pasta with homemade spaghetti sauce and garlic biscuits, some kind of vegetable.

Tuesday: CrockPot Roast and Potatoes, carrots, green beans, and biscuits

Wednesday: Eating at Mommaw’s house

Thursday: Chicken Fingers, cheesy hashbrowns, corn on the cob

Friday: Cheeseburgers w/no buns, peas, mac and cheese (homemade)

Saturday: Leftovers

Recently I was reading my P31 Woman magazine (for which I pay $12 a year) and was particularly interested in an article by Shari Braedel about how we, as Christian women, should be dressing to represent the Lord, that its OK to “look good, feel good, and spend time on ourselves.” This is something I’ve been struggling with for sometime now. I’m preparing to turn 26 in three days and I’m having a bit of an identity crisis. I’m the mother of two amazing, strong willed, little girls and I am the wife of a fantastic Christian man…but I have no idea who I am right now. Now don’t get me wrong, I KNOW that I am a chosen woman of God and I KNOW that Jesus is my Savior, but outside of that…I don’t know. I am so tired of wearing T-shirts and blue jeans everyday…but I am not familiar with how to dress any other way. I’m not comfortable in anything else, though I would like to be. I hate low cut shirts and short skirts/shorts and I have been struggling with how to dress age appropriately. It was nice to have some one affirm to me that it is OK for me to dress nicely, not that I need to spend a lot of money to do so…I usually only buy clothes for myself on my birthday and Christmas, when I get gift certificates and even then I use coupons…but that it’s good for me to look nice and look like I’m happy. I’m representing Christ and Christians everywhere. I don’t want people to look at me and see a person who doesn’t care what she looks like, or someone who is unhappy. I want people to look at me and see the love of Christ in me. This article came at just the right time for me…with my birthday coming up, God’s gentle voice helped to guide me to a place where I can be content. If you would like to learn more about this magazine click here. To view the Proverbs31 website click here. Amanda

TV turnoff week is April 21-27 this year, so that means it’s time for the second annual Unplug Your Kids TV-Turnoff Week Blog Challenge! Since this is my first year, I don’t have any way to look back and analyze what worked for us last year and what didn’t…so I’m kind of flying by the seat of my pants, though Mom Unplugged has some great suggestions on her blog! This week is all about reducing the amount of “screen time” you family gets. For me this isn’t just television…it’s my computer time. My girls and I don’t watch much television really…at least not compared to what we used to. Now they just watch Seaseme Street in the mornings with the occasional afternoon “Arthur” and “Veggie Tales” on Friday. I would really like to put down here some of my goals for this week…though I hope most carry over for the rest of the year.

1: To keep the Television off everyday for the entire day.

2: I want us to spend at least the majority of the time that would have been spent watching television doing something as a family. Reading more books, doing crafts, practicing our writing, and board games are just a couple of ideas for us.

3: To cut my computer time down to 1 hour a day rather than the 4-5 regularly spent on here.

4: Keep all electronic toys turned off and find ways to amuse ourselves without them.

5: To take this week as an opportunity to work on connecting with the girls and Hubby.

6: For Hubby and I to spend the evenings reading the Bible together (again) and finishing Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover Workbook.

I am really looking forward to joining in on this challenge because I have been slowly decreasing our “screen time” and increasing our “face time”…now this is the perfect chance to cut it out all together. I am hoping that the challenge will keep me accountable, thus motivating me to not give up…even when I run out of ideas!

Tun over to Unplug Your Kids and sign up your family/blog for the 2nd Annual TV Turnoff Week Blog Challenge!!

So this is my first Frugal Friday…and I am really looking forward to checking out some of the others.My first Frugal Friday suggestion deals with saving money when you dine out. In my family we rarely dine out, because for one we have a 4 year and a 13 month old…but also because it’s just not in our budget; I can think of better things to do with that money. But as my birthday is Monday and Hubby has been talking about to taking me out to dinner since I don’t want him to buy me a gift. Now let me first say that although we don’t dine out regularly, there is nothing I like better than eating at a restaurant and trying new foods in a fun environment. So this is one of the best gifts he could give me (he is also giving me tomorrow to spend as a girls day out with some friends).

Being the frugal person that I am and always looking to save a buck we will be visiting Restaurant.com to buy discounted gift certificates to some local restaurants. This is a great way to try some of the local flavor and enjoy the atmosphere of some great local restaurants. It has been my experience that locally owned and operated restaurants normally serve the freshest and best tasting food along with having the best service. You can get $25 gift certificates for just $10 or sign up for the Restaurant of the Month club and save even more! This is a great opportunity to enjoy something I love and spend frugally. By eating at a local restaurant, I get delicious food with great service and an affordable price…not to mention some much needed, well deserved alone time with Hubby. What more can a person ask for?

For more great Frugal Friday ideas, head over to Crystal’s blog!

Have a great Friday and a God-centered weekend!

Hello everyone! I promised yesterday I would post my recipe for my family’s Travel’n Trail Mix, so while I have a moment of quiet before the madness I am going to quickly post this.

2 cups Wheat Chex

1 1/2 cup Pretzels

1/4 cup dry roasted, salt free peanuts

1/4 cup Craisin/Raisin mix

1/4 cup m&m (I used leftover from Easter)

Throw all the ingredients in a large Ziploc bag and shake gently. Serve. Ziploc bag also works well for storage and one the go eating!

This is just my family’s favorite way to eat trail mix. I frequently trade out different ingredients and try out new flavors. I would love to hear all of your favorite recipes for on the go munching.

Well, today we have so much more on our plate than I would like. We have to finish getting ready for our trip which includes baking cookies and bread, making trail mix, and finishing the packing. While I know that doesn’t seem like a lot left to do it would appear that I have come down with the same illness my daughters have. Sore throat, stuffy nose, cough, and achy body…all I do now is hope that it isn’t the flu and that I’m better by tomorrow at 4 am. I felt so bad yesterday all I did was lurk here on the net ready dozens of WFMW posts. All of them are great ideas by the way. This wouldn’t be so bad if Kat weren’t sick also. Kat’s nose is like a never ending river of snot; it’s raw on both the inside and out. She screams with you even come near her with a Kleenex! I know that the over the counter medications weren’t good for baby’s and all, but I need SOMETHING to help her out. The nasal drops that doctors swear by? Not working. I can drop some in, keep her down for two minutes, suck her out and I don’t get anymore that I would have without torturing her with dropping liquid up her nose.

Needless to say I am not looking forward to this upcoming 10 hour car ride with a sick 12 month old and sick mommy. KG is starting to feel better. She has an allergy nasal spray she starts to use every time the seasons change and it is finally starting to work! She still sounds terribly congested, but she is back to acting like her old self today! I feel awful about not spending more time with her this week, it seems like we’ve been rushed all week long. Today won’t be much better because I’m going to be running around this house like a mad woman trying to get everything finished.

Let me just tell you what a great extended family I have! My grandmother, who often babysits for me while I mystery shop, knew I wasn’t feeling well yesterday so she brought dinner over for me and KG. Not only did she bring over dinner (which btw was my favorite dinner of all time) she took home with her some of our clothes that needed pressing before the trip. I mean I would have done it when we got there to keep from wrinkling them in the suitcases, but it will be so nice to have one less thing to worry about. She and my aunt also went to Walmart yesterday and bought us some more snacks for the road, a new outfit for Kat, Zyrtec for me, and a new coloring book for KG. How thoughtful was that?

I suppose I should run along here and get some work done. If I get a chance today I will try to go on and think up a good Frugal Friday tidbit before we head out for the weekend. If I don’t say it before we go: Have a wonderful weekend! Praise Jesus for what you have! and Please pray for me and my family as we travel to my sister’s wedding this weekend!

One last thing, if any of you have a great idea that might make this trip easier on all of us now that we’re sick I would LOVE to hear about it. Thanks!
~Mom Of Faith

Around our house, if it can be reused or repurposed it will be. I’ve decided to write my inaugural Works For Me Wednesday blog about a few of the ways we repurpose what might otherwise be trash into a useful or just plain fun craft.

~ Tomorrow in Mission Friends, we will be making bird feeders out of scraps of yarn, empty toilet paper rolls, peanut butter, and bird seed. I promise to post pictures of the finished products when we get home tomorrow night. This should be a blast! KG and about eight other fantastic 3, 4, and 5 year olds are going to have the best time making these. I’m really looking forward to doing it! We’ve been saving toilet paper rolls for a while now, it’ll be SO nice to get them out of the house!

~Recently, we cleaned a couple empty coffee creamer containers, filled them with varying amounts of rice and taped the lids shut. These made wonderful maracas in our after nap band! So much fun! The green maraca is pictured…I’m not sure where the pink one is.

~Frequently, we cut up used card board boxes (from online bargain shopping) and use them as the backboards of projects through out the year; they also make great gates and barns for Little People. We use the underside of wrapping paper to color pictures to hang on the wall or fold in half and give to Poppaw as a card.

~Before we throw out old magazines, KG and I cut out all the pictures that strike a chord with us and save them for later projects (like her thankfulness board). After we’re done cutting out pictures we talk about why we chose each picture. It’s a great opportunity to talk about a wide range subjects.

~ The girls and I made piggy banks to use for KG’s toy money, the Children’s Church offering, and The Florida Fund not too long ago. We made the piggy banks out of empty coffee ground containers decorated with wrapping paper pictures. KG has her own Lamb Bank for savings, but she wanted a toy bank too so we decided to make one. When we got done we thought of a couple more things that we needed to save for: Children’s church (we encourage her to give a portion of her money here) and Florida (We promised her that we would take the trip when she was seven).

Of course these are just a few ideas…I’m sure you can all come up with tons more! I would love to hear how you repurpose “Trash” into Crafts.

For more great Works For Me Wednesday ideas, please see Rocks In My Dryer for a complete list.