Frugal Friday #7

I received a grocery coupon for $5.00 off your next purchase. I used it to purchase a gallon of milk, loaf of bread and a package of bacon. I spent $1.07 out of pocket.

 It made an easy BLT dinner on a hot evening. 

My sister needed a new refrigerator due to a temperature control issue that had already been repaired once. They decided not to put any additional money into a 14 year old frig. That benefited us as we have the same model. 

Chuck picked it up and striped parts off of it. We now have a working ice maker for no money out of pocket! Eventually the frig will be taken to the scrap yard earning a few dollars. 

We were given three free sandwich cards as a thank you for some volunteer work. 

Thanks to the cards and planning carefully we were able to enjoy a frugal dinner. We each used our sandwich card then added a large waffle fry to share, a small shake for Chuck and Megan and I shared an iced tea. We were able to eat a meal out for under $6.

For entertainment we spent many afternoons cooling off in the pool. 

Since the pool is in my parents' backyard the only cost was gas. 

So there you go. I hope this encourages you to do things to save money. The old adage that every penny counts seems to apply more and more as I see prices of just about everything increase. I find it encouraging to hear about other frugal adventures.

May your day be filled with joy and contentment!

Letting Go & Moving On

You know that since we left our previous church I have struggled. Friends, I don't think you know just how much I have struggled. I have been carrying a burden of bitterness and resentment.

This had consumed me and held me hostage for far to long. I was hurt by the treatment of other. Unloving and unkind behavior really hurts.

It had taken me far to long to realize that by holding on to this I was only hurting me. Those that caused me to feel this way are carrying on with life, but I was stuck. I had let the hurt and frustration fester and wasn't handling it the correct way. I finally said "No More!" 

I finally did what I should have done from the beginning. I took it to the Lord. I don't know how many times while teaching Sunday School we talked with the kids about looking to God's Word for answers. 

I began by looking up verses on bitterness. 

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; Hebrews 12:14-15

Then I moved on to verses about forgiveness. 

Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. John 20:23

I was holding on so tight to my bitterness, resentment and hurt that I wasn't able to let go. While I was thinking about things and replaying them I was retaining the hurt and letting bitterness take root. 

No amends or words are needed from others. I need to forgive and let go of the bitterness and move on. For no other reason then I need it and it is the right thing to do. 

I won't say that this has been easy.  I went back to that church recently to take my mother-in-law out for lunch. (she works in the office) I thought it might stir up some old feeling, but it didn't. There were some ladies there that I made a little small talk with and you know what? I can feel that the burden toward many at this church is lifting. Oh, how great it is!

 May your day be filled with joy and contentment!

Winding Down

Summer has felt busy, crazy, joyful, fast, slow and wonderful. All of that and more! To say it has been one of best summers in a long time would be an understatement.

I know that summer is technically still in full swing, but due to a balanced school calendar it is winding down for us. Megan starts school Thursday. *gulp*  Am I ready? Nope. Honestly, I am never ready as I enjoy time with my girl.

School supplies have been purchased and sorted. Some in storage and others in bags ready for the big day.

We had some plans to make the most of our remaining time. Some things happened and other didn't. One of the reasons is because it has been hot! As I type this is the current temperature.

Yup, still 94* and it is now after 7 pm. That has led us to spending a bunch of our time cooling off. 

 We braved the heat at the beginning the heat wave to take in a baseball game.

 Chuck received six tickets from work and we were able to take his dad and a couple of cousins. There have also been an outing on paddle boats and several sleepover.

We have been enjoying lots of fresh foods.

 Some from the produce stand and most from our garden.  The garden is growing like crazy! So much so that I am now giving green beans away.

 I picked over six pounds of cucumbers one day.

 I took them to my moms and we made sweet pickle relish for the first time.

 A project or two is under way. I won't tell you how many years painting the rain barrel cover has been on the list. ;)

 We know that a tighter routine is on the horizon, but for the moment we are choosing to savor our last days.

 May your day be filled with joy and contentment!

Joy in the Ordinary

Look around, really look around and you will find joy... joy in the everyday... joy in the ordinary things.

All 13.5 gallons of beans have been canned. This is day one.

This is the yield from canning day number two. In all there are 36 quarts and 84 pints. 

The boys I use to babysit came to spend the day with us. It was great to see them!

Chuck is working on staining the remainder of our fence. We are hoping for some dry days around the weekends to get this completed. 

A day spent at the zoo with cousins. 

Megan was given a balloon that had an LED light inside. Neat!

I took advantage of a less humid day to spend some time doing chores outside. Some ironing and lots and lots weeding. 

I love that Megan knows how to play by herself without electronics! 

 May your day be filled with joy and contentment!

In the Garden

This girl is tired tonight! I spent the day at my parents in their garden. This is part of the harvest from today.

Pictured is 13.5 gallons of beans ready for the canner. After I snapped this picture another row was picked and we ended up with another 4 gallons. 

Once I was home I went out to tend my garden. This is what I was able to harvest this evening. 

A little over 8 lbs of zucchini. 

There are some cucumbers almost ready and tons of blooms. It is crazy how well things are doing.  Last year I planted 6 cucumber plants and only got a handful and this year I planted 4 plants and they are going wild.  I am hopeful that I will get enough for some pickle relish. 

 If you I don't make it back here this week you will know I am busy in the garden and kitchen. 

 May your day be filled with joy and contentment!

Something to Ponder

 May your day be filled with joy and contentment!

Frugal Friday #6

Made a triple batch of laundry detergent. I now have an almost a full 5 gallon bucket. I put desiccant packets in to prevent moisture. 

The cost of ingredients have increased to make this. I will note when I start using this and how long it last. I need to calculate the cost and see if it would be more cost effective to purchase detergent on sale. 

I saw this trick from Wendy at My Abundant Life. She diluted her hair products with water and then uses a pump to control the amount used. 

I purchased the pump bottles of product when there was a promotion to get a gift card in return for the purchase. I emptied half of the product into an empty bottle and then added water to the remaining. (I marked a line on the bottle for half to take the guess work out.) Gave it a good shake and it was ready to go. 

Here is a tip for those hard to see through bottles. Shine a flashlight through the bottle and you can see how much is in there. 

I haven't noticed any difference in the effectiveness of these. Using the pump does mean I am using less. I keep wanting to give the shampoo another pump. I had gotten use to having a lot of shampoo bubbles. I have resisted and can see no difference in my hair. This is a win, win by stretching the product with water and by the control of the amount used. Yay! 

I am slowly. Very slowly getting my mending/altering done. Almost all of Megan's pants/skirts that don't have an adjustable waist band need to be taken in. A 10 year old with a size 7 waist is hard to buy for!  I can't imagine the cost if I had to take things to an alteration shop. 

Chuck has been working on pressure washing the fence in order to stain it. We had hopes of starting it this weekend, but the rain said otherwise. ;) We had plans to purchase the stain in stages as needed. When we went to purchase the first batch of stain we saw that the store was running a 4th of July promotion that would give us a $40 rebate on each 5 gallons purchased. 

We made the decision to go ahead and purchase 10 gallons. We saved $111.58 by using Chuck's Veterans discount and the rebate.

I added to my pantry. 

Mom gave me a rain check to purchase these beans for $0.33 a can! I added a case (24) for $7.92. Awesome as the best price I had seen was $0.50 a can.  I am not sure how I missed the sale, but I am sure glad that she caught it. 

So there you go. I hope this encourages you to do things to save money. The old adage that every penny counts seems to apply more and more as I see prices of just about everything increase. I find it encouraging to hear about other frugal adventures.

 May your day be filled with joy and contentment!

Joy in the Ordinary

Look around, really look around and you will find joy... joy in the everyday... joy in the ordinary things.

Chuck was took some time off work and ended up being home five days straight! I might have gotten spoiled by the yummy breakfasts we made together. 

I found these straws at Target. Aren't they the cutest?!

Megan hopped up on the counter grabbed the tablet and then proclaimed "yup, it is suppose to be raining!" 

After a blah few day I woke up early so I could have some quiet time. Quiet time with Megan about and quiet time with her asleep are quite different. 

I have been struggling since we left our church. I ended up having a good cry Saturday evening which allowed me to release my bottled up emotions to Chuck. I am in a better place after we had a long chat. 

 We have gone to a small Baptist church. There are just under 50 people which feels different. Originally we thought we wanted a little larger church, but now we aren't so sure.    I like it as the people are friendly and the pastor is expressive while giving his sermon. I think he might be a little too expressive for Chuck. He didn't grow up in a good environment so excitement sometimes takes him back to his dad and his constant yelling. Personally I like a little fire in the delivery of a sermon. So the search continues. 

The garden is doing really well. 

Cherry tomatoes and green beans are now being harvested and it won't be long before other things are ready. 

 May your day be filled with joy and contentment!