i'm trying! lol

i am working on my blog so i have this up temporarily :) be back soon!
(if you are reading this in an email i am working on my blog's look )

For Those Who Use Coupons

new coupons are out .click HERE to head straight to "em!


This post contains affiliate links.

A Sample Menu Plan

 i was asked to create a $50 a week menu for 2 meals a day.  i am not sure this is $50 because it depends on the area you live in and how many are in your family but i do think it's a low price  budget. i did lunches and dinners. hope you can glean some tips ~smile

mon-
pb&j (make the bread and it's even cheaper)
chili (use bagged beans to save $. you get twice as much for the same price as canned.) ( prepare all the beans at once and use half for this meal and save the other half for tomorrow)

tues-
bean burritos using the half of the pinto beans you cooked but didn't use. fry them up in a little oil
beans and rice- using either the red/kidney beans  or the black beans that you used  (or both). you can use white, yellow or brown rice. (brown is healthiest and white is cheapest)

wed-
using the leftover chili have chili topped baked potatoes
from the same bag of potatoes  make potato soup

thur-
-veggie filled omelets (chop all the veggies now  and use some now and some tonight)
add the rest of the chopped veggies to broth and noodles and make noodle veggie soup (my kids love this!)

fri-
leftovers!
spaghetti


linking with

click HERE for more

He Did What?

my husband bought 32 pounds of ground beef.  now what do i do with it?!

1-tacos-4 lbs
2-chili-2 lbs
3-cheeseburgers-4 lbs
4-sloppy joes-4 lbs
5-spaghetti-2 lbs
6-hamburger casserole-2 lbs
7-pizza-2 lbs
8-bean soup -2 lbs
9-bbq burgers-4 lbs
10-pasta frigole (sp?) soup-2 lbs
11-mexican casserole-2 lbs
12-beef and bean burritos-2 lbs

there you have it!

Alternative Light Sources

Have you given any thought to what you would do if there was no electricity for awhile?  What would you do for lighting?
here is my plan for alternative lighting.
i will have 2 or 3 larger sized oil lamps for the main rooms. ( they will only be "on" when my husband or myself are in the room, for safety's sake) and a few smaller oil lamps with handles to carry around as needed.  i will have candles in the bathroom, since we only need one small one to give off a bit of light for that room.

here are the ones i have so far- we have 2 of these . see the handles? :)  these were Christmas gifts from my husband!

one of the larger ones

 this isn't actually mine- i have one exactly like it tho and i found a pic on google :)

 and this one (it's in the pattern i love to collect- an extra bonus for me!)

linking with Homestead Barn Hop. for more click HERE

and Time-Warp Wife

I So Wished I Had A Camera!

......because if i did you could see pics of what i baked this week for Christmas! but i wanted to participate in the  Modest Mom's linky line-up so i am gonna!!  you will just have to trust me- i really baked it!!

1- chocolate chip cookies
2-brownies
3-bread
4-sugar cookies (the kids decorated them in red and green)
5-vanilla heart shaped cakes (learned how from little house on the prairie)
6-peanut butter fudge
7- pumpkin pie will be baked Christmas Eve.
8-apple pie will be baked on Christmas Eve

Christmas Came Early

well just by a few days! but the kids couldn't wait to give Michael and me our gifts any longer so tonite was the night!

I received a glass angel from Rebekah, a gift card to Tractor Supply from Parker, a snowglobe from Hannah, candy from Jamison,and a book from off the shelf in the living room from Andrew lol

Michael received  candy from Andrew (chocolate covered cherries- his fav), a metal hook for his jacket from Rebekah, a coffee mug with a bag of coffee from Parker, a movie from Hannah, and handwarmers from Jamison ( you know, the little squishy gel filled bags that you pop open and wear in your gloves. Michael works outside and it gets cooold here so they are perfect)

They of course insisted on getting a gift each after this lol. so Rebekah and Hannah each got their craft kits, Parker got his headlamp (perfect for those camping trips he is fond of taking in the backyard) while the little boys got a truck each, courtesy of Tractor Supply. The 2 older kids got gift cards to walmart.

All in all not a bad evening :)

edited to say i am not trying to brag about my gifts. it hasn't been often we were able to buy many gifts for the kids or they could get anything for us so i guess i got a bit excited.  i apologize if i sound rude.

Laura's Christmas Blowout

remember how i told you i had learned so much from Laura at Heavenly Homemakers?


well guess what? she is having a sale on everything in her store - except the hand crocheted items- and all you need is a code! that code isCHRISTMAS5. just fill in your order and type the code in and you save  $5.

there are 2 free items listed already and the other prices are low already so you win no matter what you pick!!

just click the blue button in this post and it'll take you where you want to go!

and yes i am an affiliate ~smile

i entered!

and so much more!


yes i have found a Cover Your Hair giveaway!! go HERE to enter.

Enter to Win Country Bob's!!

Chicken! That's all  I could think of  when  I received the Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce! I made my chicken like always and then I added the Country Bob's and whoo hoo! Flavor city!!
The flavor is spicy but not too spicy.
And ya know what- it makes burgers taste great too! Different than traditional bbq sauce but not exactly steak sauce either- sort of a combination of both!

And now 2 of you can taste it for yourself! Yep, 2 winners!!
Here is your mandatory entry- what would you use Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce  for? Hamburgers, chicken, steak? Let me know!
2nd entry- join my blogfrog (listed on the last tab under my header) and comment on one discussion at least.
that's it!!  2 entries each and 2 winners!
giveaway ends Friday the 23rd.

Wrapping Paper on the Cheap

well today is a  nice muddy day! the hens are slippin' and slidin' in their pen lol ( so are we when we gather eggs!)
yesterday i rearranged the kitchen some. this house has a breakfast nook but we don't have a breakfast table so we put our freezer and our shelves in their instead. we need shelves because this place is old and has no cabinet space.(it only has one closet for the whole house and whoever built it did not have 7 children!!)
anyway- i digress- we rearranged everything hoping to gain some counter space i desperately need but to no avail :(

i have all my Christmas gifts and i am ready to wrap! i was thinking  how i could save money on wrapping paper and a few ideas hit me. hubby says i don't need to worry about the little amount of $ wrapping paper costs but i believe every little bit helps!
so with that in mind i have come up :
a-using fabric tied with yarn
b-someone gave me a small tote bag and i plan to put the Lillia Rose hair clip i won , along with a few other hair accessories i bought at Family Dollar , in it for my oldest daughter.
c-i saved the brown "paper bag" paper that came in my Vision Forum box and let the 3 yr old color it.
d-my mom says the comics from her newspaper  to my kids  each week and i have been saving that.
e-i am using an old Easter basket, newly decorated for Christmas.

the point is - think outside the box.! sometimes literally! and save money while you are at it!
by the way- glue sticks work just as well as tape and are lifesavers when you run out of tape at midnight. ask me how i know!!


oh a side note -    STILL MAKES A GREAT GIFT!!!
I have gotten so much inspiration from this ebook and I have been housecleaning for 30 years!

linking with Deep Roots at Home


“This post contains affiliate links.”

4 Lines

I am supposed to do this exercise whereas I write 4 lines on my blog . Here goes!

I love to blog because I am opinionated and I need somewhere to express myself.
I hate the fakeness of blogging and social media, tho I love the friends I do make from it. (Some of it IS real lol )
I really want my blog to encourage women in the God-given role as homemakers.
I hate to see how society has denigrated homemaking to merely cleaning a messy house and watching tv all day.

Christmas Gifts in Our Home

Our family's fondest wish is to live on a farm. We do everything we can to live the countrylife in the house on a busy street as much as possible. We do live in a rural area so that helps but i am not surrounded by 40 acres so I feel "left out".
We garden - that is when the drought doesn't occur!- and I bake and cook from scratch. We have hens - roosters are not allowed- and so we gather fresh eggs daily. We do simple things like line dry our clothes and buy raw milk( when we can find it that is)
.
BUT

we don't live on a farm.

SO

I like to buy toys that reflect the farm life for Christmas.
We buy art supplies for stockings, art kits  to enable personal growth and creativity, and wooden and/or plastic - how i hate that word- PLASTIC- farm sets to let my children live the farm life thru play.
Tractor Supply has been a good place this year to stock up on horses, dogs and barns. They even had semi trucks with their logo on them so little boys can deliver to their farm sets!
They have dolls on horses (Merry Christmas Rebekah), crayon caddies, and  card games.
Then I shopped at Vision Forum !
I bought dvds ands cds to listen to at bedtime.  (and now while VF is having a up to 60% off sale and a free Courageous  dvd thrown in is a great time to shop!)

And that is how we buy gifts for Christmas.

linking to

Women Living Well
and
and Holy Spirit Led Homeschooling

Breakfast Without Cereal?

what can i eat for breakfast if i don't want to serve cold cereal?

1- muffins-blueberry, banana walnut, cranberry, etc
2-oatmeal
3- leftovers from dinner
4- smoothies
5-homemade yogurt
6-waffles- make these ahead of time and freeze them so you can pop them in the toaster just like eggos!
7-eggs- omelets, fried, scrambled, poached, made at home egg mcmuffins
8-peanut butter sandwiches
9- bagels and cream cheese
10-fruit salads
11- quick breads

linking with 

Win A Headcovering!

well here i go again- i found a head covering giveaway and i am sharing it with you!
go HERE to enter
see what i want?

I AM STEAMED

READ THE WHOLE THING FIRST.  THIS WAS ON MY FACEBOOK WALL AND I AM SORRY BUT I AM TIRED OF PEOPLE THINKING THIS WAY.This was in the Waco Tribune Herald, Waco , TX Nov 18, 2010 


Put me in charge . . . 


Put me in charge of food stamps. I'd get rid of Lone Star cards; no cash for Ding Dongs or Ho Ho's,
just money for 50-pound bags of rice and beans, blocks of cheese and all the powdered milk you can
haul away. If you want steak and frozen pizza, then get a job.


Put me in charge of Medicaid. The first thing I'd do is to get women Norplant birth control implants
or tubal ligations. Then, we'll test recipients for drugs, alcohol, and nicotine and document all tattoos
and piercings. If you want to reproduce or use drugs, alcohol, smoke or get tats and piercings, then get a job.


Put me in charge of government housing. Ever live in a military barracks?
You will maintain our property in a clean and good state of repair. Your "home" will be subject to
inspections anytime and possessions will be inventoried. If you want a plasma TV or Xbox 360,
then get a job and your own place.


In addition, you will either present a check stub from a job each week or you will report to a
"government" job. It may be cleaning the roadways of trash, painting and repairing public housing,
whatever we find for you. We will sell your 22 inch rims and low profile tires and your blastingstereo and speakers and put that money toward the “common good..”


Before you write that I've violated someone's rights, realize that all of the above is voluntary.
If you want our money, accept our rules.. Before you say that this would be "demeaning" and ruin
their "self esteem," consider that it wasn't that long ago that taking someone else's money for doing
absolutely nothing was demeaning and lowered self esteem.


If we are expected to pay for other people's mistakes we should at least attempt to make them learn
from their bad choices. The current system rewards them for continuing to make bad choices.


AND While you are on Gov’t subsistence, you no longer can VOTE! Yes that is correct. For you to
vote would be a conflict of interest. You will voluntarily remove yourself from voting while you are
receiving a Gov’t welfare check. If you want to vote, then get a job.





my response
 i;m sorry but this angers me! my husband made $100,000 a year til someone in the company lied to a client and the entire company went down. there was no work in our hurricane hit town. we lost our home to foreclosure even tho we made payments etc. we went to $16,000 a yr for 7 kids. my husband had worked for 30 yrs paying taxes and we took some back in our time of need. WE TOOK FOOD STAMPS AND MEDICAID AND I AM PROUD OF IT!! i deserved to vote and not to live like an animal!!!


DON'T EVER TELL ME HOW I SHOULD LIVE UNTIL YOU WALK IN MY SHOES!!! 
 have a system in place that weeds out those who don't work and don't complain about them eating junk food- it is CHEAPER to eat junk food than real food (ask me how i know!) blame the government for that! my husband worked 2 jobs - from 8 a.m til midnight 6 days a week trying to get us back on our feet so don't call us deadbeats!!!!
and please don't tell me to go against God and use birth control.. trusting in Him gets me a whole lot further than trusting in man!

Christmas Sales At Heavenly Homemakers !

I love Heavenly Homemakers! I have learned so much from Laura. I know more about food storage now so I can make intelligent decisions when  buying in bulk. (plus Laura tips us off to the best deals).
I have learned about cooking , using real foods. Cooking this way so my family eats it lol.
And Laura does it all so kindly and with a sense of humor.  Her stories stick with you!
Anyway- I wanted to let you know about the sales at her site so you can get in on what I get in on! lol

The button takes you to Laura's site.




 50% off the  collection of downloadable recipe cards.   Sets on sale only $3.00 each! 5 terrific sets to choose from!


Learn to Cook and Teaching Your Kids to Cook - both printed and downloadable on sale!


Click the button above  to arrive at Laura's site :)


Sale prices are good through Monday, December 12

I Can't Think of a Title

i have so many thoughts running thru my head- i am never sure if my brain will rest! i haven't slept much in 2 weeks now- insomnia has hit big time- and it's hard getting thru the day!

Christmas isn't far off and praise God i am done shopping and i never left my tiny town once! i bought things at Tractor Supply, one at  Lowes  (oops- i did leave my tiny town for that but we were going there for something else ) and one at Walmart and the rest at Vision Forum.  ( if you wish to order anything from VF I would love it if you ordered thru me!  just click HERE )

Since I am shamelessly plugging my own affiliate status this time I might as well share  another!

Now before you dismiss this as a " oh i know how to clean" type of book , I must say that after keeping a home for 20 odd yrs  I still learned something. Most of what I learned was attitude!   A balance of Mary and Martha.  It;s a great book for you or to give as a gift. And yes homekeeping books or ebooks make terrific gifts since they encourage and help others!

 The proverbs 31 woman had a job of sewing moneybelts/ girdles and dropping them off at the consignment market so i feel like i should do something too!  And I thought about making this blog a bit more of a moneymaker  BUT that makes it very hard for me to write this blog becuz that is not what it is about .Plus I have 7 children , 1000 pets (ok it just seems that way) and I homeschool!  so I don't have the time.  advice? ( I don't sew) hmmmmm i smell a new post coming on!

So come on , help me out! What else can a Proverbs 31 woman do besides sew?  No stuffing envelopes ideas please lol .  Or am I misunderstanding the verses? Do I have to have a "job" or is it optional?
LET'S STUDY! Send in your thoughts!

Modesty

1Ti 2:9 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;

did you know the word "modest" appears only one time in the KJV Bible? It is my opinion that when something is mentioned only once that it applies to that situation only. Otherwise it would be mentioned elsewhere!!

What does modest mean?  

modest means , according to Strong's Concordance, well arranged, and  seemly, of good behavior.  so our apparel is to be  seemly  and well arranged.   But how can our apparel have good behavior?

Well what is apparel?

Again according to Strong, apparel can mean:

clothing, apparel, vestments, raiment, attire

wrapper, mantle, covering garment, garments, clothes, raiment, a cloth

garment, clothing

1) a lowering, letting down

2) a garment let down, dress, attire

all meanings seem to be quite similar. However the word apparel in this verse means  1) a lowering, letting down 2) a garment let down, dress, attire

It is the only time that the word apparel has this particular meaning in the whole Bible. So again I believe this holds some significance.

If you study this out and go back to root words you will note the root word for this particular meaning of apparel means 1) to send or put down, to lower

2) to put or keep down one who is roused or incensed, to repress, restrain, appease, quiet

Well! Our clothing should put down one's arousal! It should repress. 

So we know now that our clothing shouldn't entice men! That is in line with what I always thought modest meant.

If you study the word apparel  out to it's very beginning root word we find a similar meaning to modest

1) to set, place, set in order, arrange

a) to fit out, to prepare, equip

b) to prepare one's self, to fit out for one's self

c) to fit out for one's own use

d) to prepare one's self, to fit out for one's self

e) to fit out for one's own use

Mmmmm. Important enough to use words that mean the same thing but to use them only once and only when describing  what a woman is to wear.

Seems like a good place to stop for today. We will study the other words in the verse as well, a bite at a time. It is my hope that I will encourage you to be the woman God meant for you to be and that these word studies will help you in that endeavor. 


linking with 

A Shameless Plug (with a twist)

ok first things first. i am a Vision Forum affiliate and I get paid when someone purchases something thru my link. (for those who have already done so THANK YOU!!!) but someone else is a Vision Forum affiliate too!!!

NOW ON TO THE PLUG!! WITH A TWIST!
i want you to make some purchases from Vision Forum but not thru me. I want you to go here


Mrs. Q's link to the greatest bookstore in the world is on her right sidebar. so scroll down a little and click. it's that simple! a win win situation :)

i am gonna show you some terrific things that my family and I want ourselves or have already and maybe you want them too. and we do have a gift giving season upon us so......



i actually won this but i was only given an hour to respond and i wasn't online so i lost it :(

boy does my Parker want these!!

i actually won this too!!

i watch these over and over again. so do my girls!


and in case you still haven't gotten it

Gatekeepers

gatekeepers keep the gates right?  well what does a keeper at home do? let's compare.

Ezekiel 33:1-7:  The watchman is to be in his watch-tower day and night (Habakkuk 2:1-3) to blow a clear shofar (trumpet) sound—a trumpet blast—in order to wake up the people if he sees danger coming.

The gatekeeper is in position in order to guard the gate against anyone coming in that will harm the people.

the gatekeepers are intercessors—they stand at the gates between the King’s throne and the outside world—to guard what belongs to the King, to prophesy, declare and proclaim the word of the King, but also in prayer to guard the gates against the enemy in spiritual warfare and intercession. 

This job of gate keeping is a job which includes judgment.  The gatekeeper must be able to judge, otherwise a dangerous person might enter the kingdom.

The watchman sees from a distance.  The gatekeeper sees up close. (are YOU a watchman or a gatekeeper?

The gatekeeper is on the ground to turn back the attacker—not letting them through the gate.  The gate keeper must love His people fervently!

Amos 5:10 “They hated the one who reproves in the gate and they despise the one who speaks the truth”.  (boy ain't that the truth! look how society looks down on stay at mothers)

The watchman must not go to sleep on the job—it is a very strategic position.  The King trusts the watchman to blow the shofar (the trumpet) loud and clear when the enemy is seen approaching.  Then the gate can be closed. 

The gatekeeper stands to defend the Kingdom at the gate—“to turn back the battle at the gate”.  Gate keepers must be strong-willed and fearless.  They must be strong in resolve to do right, uncompromising, faithful, and willing to lay down their life to defend what is under the rule of the King. 

The gatekeeper has a higher authority-level than the watchman--given to him by the King to act on his own—to use his own judgment.  The position has more variety of tasks to perform.  The King trusts the gatekeeper.  There is a relationship between the gatekeeper and the King that others do not have. He represents the King and speaks for the King.  He makes decisions for the King.  He has to know the King’s desires, will, and decrees.  He can’t go against what the King wants, if he is a good gatekeeper. 

The gatekeeper must make instant decisions, at times involving many lives.  Therefore, his first allegiance is to the King and His people.

These two positions work together to guard the Kingdom.  The watchman is also a trusted position.  But, the watchman has one job—to watch and clearly warn so that all hear the warning.  He must do it any way he can.  The watchman can warn the general multitude, and each individual can accept or reject his warning as they will.  But, when the enemy is at the gate, the gatekeeper must station himself with all of his might to hold off the attack.

taken from HERE