Moose's Amazing Photography...

My children love to get my camera. Sometimes I don't love it so much. The other morning Moose brought me these pictures to see, and he was quite pleased with himself...

I actually found them very pretty because they were so colorful.

So, do you know? Do you know what it is that makes such a fury of colors?

It's just the Christmas tree lights. That's how they look when you shake the camera back and forth as fast as you can while clicking the picture ;)

Yuletide...

like this little fella?

find more like him right here

I have a confession to make. I had to look up "yuletide" in the dictionary to see what it meant. Just in case you may be in the same boat I was in, it means "Christmas season". So yes, that title fits this post. And YES I know we've not even had Thanksgiving yet. But I like to put up the tree some time during Thanksgiving week, and seeing that we've taken a break from home schooling this week for the holiday, we put it up today. I have to say, I am like Ebenezer Scrooge when I put up the tree. Up to the attic to get down a gazillion heavy boxes. Down an attic ladder with a gazillion heavy boxes. Children rushing to see what goodies are in those boxes. Paper flying everywhere. Tangled lights. And then this...

A floor that I cannot even walk across. It's enough to make a neat and tidy person crazy. It took about 2 -3 hours to do everything, and I had to apologize two times to my children within that short time period (shamelessly hanging head low). And why? Why do I get so grumpy about it? I love it when it's finished. And I hate being this way...I wish I savored this time with my children. I think I need a professional Christmas decorator to come and do it for me. I vowed to the children today that I will not do it without the help of The Bob again. That's what his manly muscles are for...taking heavy boxes from the attic.

And when it's finished...


all is well. Even Dixie was glad to find a spot on the floor again ;)

Five Days to Frugal / Day 5...Deny yourself.

Use it up,

Wear it out,

Make it do,

Do without

Denying myself is something I'm working through. I have to really consider what I'm doing these days, and I don't always enjoy it either. Is it a want or a need? I want a new comforter for my bed...I don't need a new comforter. I want some new tennis shoes...I don't need new tennis shoes. And I have to say here, I have had my tennis shoes for over two years, and they were never shoes I just loved when I bought them. I kind of just settled. And those tennis shoes will. not. wear. out. They are like the Energizer Bunny tennis shoes. I think I may even be buried in them. And right now, even though I've worn them, and worn them, and worn them, I cannot justify buying new shoes that aren't needed. Anyway, I could go on and on about my wants verses needs, but I think you get the picture.

I really think this whole denying yourself is so foreign to our culture today, too. I hear all the time in the media and I've even heard friends say it, "You deserve it!" Okay. Let me tell you what I really deserve.

I end my frugal post here. Consider your giving, consider your habits, consider your food and clothing. And deny yourself and learn to be content. That's worth repeating...Be content. Remember Paul...he new what it was to live in plenty and to live in want, yet he was content. Let the Lord be the source of your joy and your blessings. When He gives, you will overflow.

Five Days to Frugal / Day 4...Consider what you wear...

I really should have ironed that shirt before I took the picture. Oh well. That is Moose's shirt, and the only reason he has a Ralph Lauren Polo is that it came from...Goodwill. When ironed it looks brand new. I also snagged another one up the same day I bought this one. Goodwill, in my area anyway, is very hit and miss. But when you hit, it's usually like striking gold as with this shirt and the other things I've bought there.

One of my favorite movies is Love Comes Softly. There is a scene in which Missy asks Marty why she has so many dresses because you can only wear one at a time. The Bob commented recently that we all really have conservative wardrobes...as in our closets don't overflow. So much so in fact that when we go somewhere for several days, I'm usually really scraping to pull stuff together for us to wear. But the other 99% of the time, we are good so it's really okay. Moose only has one pair of nice pants. One. That's all he really needs. The only place he needs them for is church or another function in which you'd dress nice (funeral, wedding, etc.) So, that one pair of pants gets worn every single Sunday. Do you think people notice that he wears the same pair of pants every Sunday? I dare say they don't. He has two or three shirts to wear with them, so change the shirt and you've changed the whole outfit. In order to get the most out of what I buy for the children to wear, I try to buy a smidgen on the large side. That way they worn for more than one year, hopefully....unless someone has a growing spurt or something. That's another reason not to have too many pieces for your children...they outgrow them so fast!

My final frugal clothing thought is that not only do we have a conservative number of items in our closet, but they are also conservative in style. Trendy is for the moment, conservative wears well after the moment has passed =)

Five to Days to Frugal / Day 3...Consider What you Eat

I was at Jessica's blog today, and she made the comment that sometimes being frugal isn't necessarily being cheap. Sometimes it's getting the best quality for the least amount of money. I thought that was a good point to make. You can see that post here. It's her ideas for a frugal Thanksgiving. And on the subject of Thanksgiving and food, since the pay cut, I do consider what we eat. So, once a week we have a bean meal. Does my family love it? No. Does my budget? Yes.

The Bob and the kids just tolerate my bean meals, but I actually like a good bean meal. My bean meals are not fancy: northern beans and corn dodgers (found in a Little House on the Prairie cookbook), pintos and corn dodgers, or black beans and rice with you guessed it....corn dodgers. I like saying corn dodgers. Doesn't it sound like fun food? Anyway, you can see the black bean and rice meal if you click on recipe under labels in the right side bar.

In addition to beans, we've taken away some junk food which is not only good for the budget, but good for your health. We went from drinking Cokes almost daily to mostly on the weekends. I buy about 2 2-liters a week, and when they are gone that's it. We also quit buying cookies and such. If we have a sweet treat, usually it's something that I have to make.

As I mentioned in my previous post, we've also started eating more left overs and trying to not waste so much. Frugality is not only considering cost, but about being a wise steward with what the Lord has given us.

Five Days to Frugal / Day 2...Consider your habits

I'm a creature of habit, and change for me does not come easy. My friend Lisa and I joke all the time about how ingrained some of my habits and characteristics are. For example, when I go to Sam's, Walmart, or Target, I always park in the same area or row. That's just one example. I won't bore you with others. Even though I am such a creature of habit, it seems new habits are hard for me to establish. However, since the big pay cut, it was good motivation to start some new habits =) Here's some of the new frugal habits we've taken on:

-Live like a mole. Do you really need that light on? I was on our utility company website the other day and their rule of thumb for exiting and entering rooms is the following:

For standard light bulbs, if you will be out of the room for more than 5 seconds, cut it off. For the new fancy fandangled energy saving light bulbs, if you will be out of the room for more than 15 minutes, cut it off.

-Use cash. Let me repeat that. Use cash. Use cash. Use cash. I fought this. I fought it hard. My reasons for fighting it...we've always lived on a budget. I track our expenses. I know what I'm using my debit card for, keeping good track of our checking account and balancing it. I know where those debit card purchases are made and why I made them. Yeah...well, the small little problem with that is the debit card allowed me to stray from the budget. A smidgen more than I intended on groceries here. A trip through Sonic there. It adds up. More than you think it will add up. I now take out cash once a week, and there is no straying with cash. When it's gone, it's gone...and painful. The cash is used for groceries, household and cleaning items, dog food/pet food, if anyone needs something like a haircut, if there is a gift I have to buy (birthday, baby, wedding), any needed miscellaneous thing, etc., etc., etc., and also for eating out...which brings me to point #3...

-We stopped eating out so much. Before the pay cut, we were eating out a lot. More than we realized. On average we were eating at a sit down restaurant once a week in addition to fast food once or maybe even twice a week. Now, we still hit the fast food once a week. And a lot of times we hit fast food due to lack of planning on my part. I need to work on that some more. But we've not been to a sit down restaurant in forever. And ever. And ever. Not really, but it has been so long that I can't remember the last time we went to a restaurant where they brought your food and drink to you and that you had to tip. {{Sigh}} I can't wait to return to my favorite Mexican Restaurant. When we do, it will be a real treat. I may dream of Shrimp Quesidillas tonight after this post.

-And finally, consider what you use and what you waste. Living on a Dime has some really good statistics on how much food that is purchased in the US gets thrown in the garbage because we don't eat it. We are working on that. We eat left overs more than ever before, but there is still room for improvement there.

So that's just four ideas. If I were to pick one out of the four for you to implement, I'd say it would be to use cash. You will just be so much more thoughtful about your purchases. You'll be using what the Lord gave you to manage wisely =)

Five Days to Frugal / Day 1...Consider what you give

As goes with many people these days, we enter the ranks of those feeling the tight economy of the past year. "They" say were coming out of it. I gotta tell ya, not sure that we're seeing that yet. The Bob runs our very own little plumbing business. He works very hard. Very. About 3 months ago, we had to cut our pay. The cut was deeper than we originally intended...or wanted. But we decided it would be more wise to live on less now before things just snowballed and got really ugly. And hopefully, to prevent things from getting really ugly. I'm happy to say, we've not entered ugly yet. So, here we are living on less, and I am reminded of how easy it is to feel the pull of stuff. The pull of luxuries. The pull of comforts. I feel it almost daily. However, I am seeing the frugal side of me really work. Most of the time I'm just a frugal wannabe, but the next five posts will be how I'm working me some frugal.

So, we cut our pay. However, last time I checked we didn't have to worry about where our grocery money was coming from or if we were going to be able to pay our light bill or mortgage. Really. Don't feel sorry for me. Because so far, we've just had to give up comforts. Comforts, I like saying that word. It just sounds so fuzzy, cozy, and warm. But there are those, who do worry about those things...the mortgage, the light bill. They are worried about their next meal. They are worried if they will make their next mortgage payment. Or maybe with Christmas fast approaching, they are sad that they can't get their children just a little something. Maybe sometimes being frugal is giving? Usually when money is tight, giving is the first thing slashed. Deny yourself some comforts so that you can give something to someone who has nothing.

The child that receives this box will probably fall into the nothing category. I found it interesting that the list suggestions Samaritan's Purse (run by Franklin Graham) gave with the boxes included basic things like toothpaste, toothbrush, and soap. To be honest, if I gave my children toothpaste for Christmas, they would look at me like I had grown two heads. But that in part would be that they've never had to do without toothpaste, I suppose....

All this to say...if you, too, are finding yourself plunged deep into the difficult financial downturn these days...if you are feeling the pinch and the pinch is painful, but you are not worried about your mortgage or food on the table.... if at all possible, don't stop giving....don't stop giving unto the LORD. Don't deny Him what's rightfully His.

"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

Veterans Day '09

I mentioned recently that I don't like Toby Keith's music. And I don't. Except for this one song. This one. And this post is not about Toby Keith. It's about our Veterans. Remembering those who have served...those who are serving...those who will serve...

The Sickies

The last several days in our home was spent battling the sickies. Fep came down with the flu on Wednesday and Moose and myself on Friday. Swine Flu or H1N1, take your pick, is running rampant in our part of the country and it found our way into our home. We were blessed in that it was very mild and very short lived. By Saturday, Fep was back in full swing, and that was my "sick day" which had me in the recliner watching Little House on the Prairie on The Hallmark Channel aaaaaaall daaaaaaaay looooooong. It was a long day, full of Pa, Ma, Laura and Mary. At the end of the day, after Fep and The Bob made dinner, Fep brought me this....


And this is what it said inside:

Dear Mom,

Thank you so much for caring for me while I was sick. I'll do the same for you. Just tell me what you want and I'll do it. You really mean a lot to me, Mom, and I want you to know that. Thank you for always being there for me. Thank you for your support. I love you =) I will always be there for you, too, Mom.

Fep =)

She really put those smiley faces in there. There were other treasures found over our sick weekend. Illness forces you to slow down. And we did slow down. In that we found time together, good family time. And I found even in the midst of the Swine Flu that I had treasures to unwrap.

Little Hands...

I know my posts have been sporadic and sparse. I have a lot on my plate, a lot of stress and difficulties, and I think if left to myself, I'd be depressed. But thankfully, the Lord has not left me to myself, so I carry on. And despite my gloom and doom circumstances, there are those who always have it worse, you know? Like our good friends. Our good friends who lost their youngest son at the age of 24. He died suddenly of a heart attack. The doctors told them that two arteries leading to his heart were 100% blocked, one was 90% blocked, and one was 80% blocked. The Bob and I became friends with them before we got married. Back then, these new friends were a young family with 3 children. The youngest was 8 years old. Notice that age 8. Their youngest son who died was the age Moose is now when we first met. Perspective. That's what it gave me is perspective.

Even though he was 24, a child is always his Momma's baby. Always. At the visitation and the funeral, they had pictures of this young man when he was just a baby, a toddler sitting on his Momma's lap as she read to him. The joy on her face. The look of love on her face in those pictures. They needed no words, and they tugged and tore at this Momma's heart. The "Little Slugger" baby jacket sitting in front of one of his baby pictures just about did me in. And there were more than just baby memories there. He had been in the Navy and served our country honorably. Although not a pilot, he served on a team with The Blue Angels. He served in Iraq. Yes, he served our country well.

At the funeral, I cried and cried and cried. And my little 8 year old Moose reached over and grabbed my hand. And it was then that I thought about how he doesn't have baby smooth skin anymore. He's developing his "man" hands. Tough. Rugged. Hands that work. And I held on to that that little Moose hand while just one pew up and one pew over, my friend had to let her little man's hand go....