"My time is worth more than that."

So, I was reading a blog the other day by a gentleman who, among other things, says that it's all right that he spends at least $3 per serving per meal on his family, because his time is worth more than what it would require to cook from scratch.

I've come across that statement before, even in supposedly frugal books/articles. And I think, honestly, people aren't quite looking at it the right way. Yes, I get the concept they're putting forth. For instance, let's say it takes me 5 hours to make a scarf and hat for a gift and the yarn cost me 50 cents from a garage sale. Now, I could go to Target and buy a hat and scarf for $15 and the total trip time is 1 hour. The argument goes that my remaining time is worth more than whatever I saved in making it myself, because I only saved the equivalent of $3.63 an hour. This seems to be used especially by people who explain, "because I make $12 (or whatever) an hour at work" as why something less than minimum wage is beneath their dignity.

The problems I see with this thinking are twofold. First, the assumption is you are actually working instead of making the scarf and hat. Or, conversely, that you are somehow missing work in order to do it. Otherwise, this doesn't exactly stand up. After all, unless you have some really cool, unusual job, it's very unlikely that anyone is actually paying you to do whatever you did on your off hours instead of make the gift - watch TV, go to a mall, see a movie... and so on. The $3.63 saved is actually more than the $0 earned in this case. (More in full post.)

The second half of this problem is well, even more problematic. Please bear with me while I build a totally hypothetical story to make my point.

Bob and Joe are both single and 30 years old. They have the same salary, work the same hours, live in identical houses with the same mortgage note, and drive the same automobiles. Bob lives very frugally. He shops sales, makes his meals from scratch, gets his entertainment for free or as cheaply as possible. Joe, on the other hand, tends to eat out a lot and likes to "party" on the weekends. Neither man lives beyond his means. However, while Bob is banking a full $800 a month of his paycheck by living simply, Joe only saves $300. Joe doesn't like to bargain hunt, wouldn't dream of "wasting" his time on garage sales and figures it's okay to treat himself to nice meals because, after all, he can afford it. It is "not worth his time" to live like Bob does and save a penny here or a dollar there.

Flash-forward 30 years. Both men are now 60 and they've just paid off their mortgages. Bob looks at his savings and realizes that the interest alone will pay him more than he needs to continue living as he has, since he no longer has a house note to contend with. He can retire, re-invest some of his interest earnings to put away for his later years, and relax and enjoy himself. Joe, on the other hand, hasn't saved near the amount Bob did and needs more money month-to-month to maintain the lifestyle he's told himself he's worth these past 30 years. Joe looks at his savings and realizes he'll either need to sell his home, move somewhere smaller, and scale way back, something he's not accustomed to doing at all, or, he's going to have to keep on working, probably for many years.

And this is the big trap of the "my time is worth more than that" thinking when it comes to measuring how to do something. That attitude might carry someone through years of his working life, but it has the very real potential to hurt him in his golden years if it frequently leads to spending more for something than necessary, just because the frugal version would've required more work.

THIS ARTICLE FROM FRONTLINE talks about the rising costs of retirement and how many of us aren't prepared for it. In particular:

"According to the 401(k) plan records analyzed by the Employee Benefits Research Institute (EBRI), Americans approaching retirement have, on average, three times their annual salaries in their accounts. Without any other form of savings, these retirees will burn through their 401(k)s in just seven or eight years, leaving them facing 10 or 11 years, based on life expectancy, with nothing but Social Security."

The article then goes on to say people should have 10 - 15 times their annual salary saved. Now, granted, for people like Bob, the amount needed is likely lower, maybe even much lower, considering he already knows how to live on a smaller amount of money than other people in his income bracket. However, for all the (*ahem*) average Joes out there, they're in danger of finding themselves in this very situation, and it could've been prevented by not being so sure that it wasn't even worth their time to save $3.63 an hour on a gift. Or $2 per serving on a meal. Or $16 by not going to the first-run movie and buying a $5 bag of popcorn and $4 cola on top of the $7 ticket, instead of waiting to borrow it from the library when it comes out on DVD.

A penny saved really is penny earned. Being frugal is more than just a way to live within your means. It's also a ticket to how the rest of your life pans out. I know I'd rather save that money now, while I can, then be looking at needing supervised care when I'm 85 and not having the money to cover it, all because I was "worth more" when I was young. My future is worth more than that.

Read the full post and comments.

Friday Five for Free (7)

I mentioned somewhere that I have an enormous collection of cookbooks I inherited. This week was "super clean the kitchen" week and that included dusting/wiping down the books. (They're on a shelf in the breakfast nook.) So, in honor of that, here are 5 free 50s recipes - all from cookbooks from the 50s, but with minor adaptations for today's cooking. :) (More in full post.)


Chocolate Fudge:

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
1/4 cup butter (margarine doesn't work so well here, sadly)
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
3 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

1. Mix sugar and cocoa together in a saucepan. Add in butter, milk and corn syrup. Bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes stirring constantly. You might need to reduce the heat a little - as long as the mixture keeps boiling for the 3 minutes.

2. Remove from heat and set in a pan of cold water. The recipe says, "When you can hold your hand on the bottom of the pan, the syrup is cool enough." This usually only takes a few minutes, but don't burn yourself!

3. Stir in the remaining ingredients and spread in a lightly greased 8-inch square pan. Chill and cut into squares.

My kids like to make this one and we've given it as part of gifts before. It's very sweet, so I always cut the squares pretty small.



Potato Pancakes:

(requires a blender)
3 eggs
5 or 6 medium sized potatoes, pared
3 slices onion (I often just put in 3/4 cup of my pre-chopped and frozen onion)
1 tablespoon parsley
1/3 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt. (Original recipe says 1 1/2 teaspoon.)

1. Put eggs in blender. Cut potatoes in wedges and add a handful at a time, pulsing to shred. Add onion. Blend until all vegetables are cut fine.

2. Add parsley, flour, baking powder, and salt. Blend just to mix.

3. Fry in a hot skillet. I put a scant tablespoon of oil in the pan. The original recipe called for bacon drippings.

These are really good with a traditional side of applesauce. Makes about 10 - 12 pancakes.



Oven Stewed Corn:

4 cups corn (cut from cob, or thawed from frozen)
1 cup milk
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter

1. Cut the corn from cob and put into lightly buttered baking dish. Add the milk and salt and pepper.

2. Cover and bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes. Remove from oven and add the butter.

Note: If you have any left-over bell pepper to use up, you can chop it and add to the corn before baking.

Makes about 6 servings.



Baked Macaroni and Cheese:

8 oz elbow macaroni
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk (I've used powdered and results are fine)
1/2 lb. grated American cheese
1 cup bread crumbs (1 to 2 slices of bread whirled in the blender)
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook macaroni in boiling water until just tender. Don't overcook. Drain and pour into greased baking dish.

2. While the pasta cooks, make a white sauce of butter, flour, milk and seasonings by cooking over medium heat until smooth and just starting to bubble. Add 2/3 of the cheese and stir until melted.

3. Pour cheese sauce over noodles and sprinkle with remaining grated cheese. Dust with bread crumbs.

4. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.

Note: 1 1/2 cups canned, diced tomatoes can be added if desired. Makes about 6 servings.



Hawaiian Ham:

1 large fully cooked ham steak, 1 inch thick
4 pineapple rings, from can, reserve juice
2 cooked or canned sweet potatoes, sliced
1/8 cup brown sugar
Prepared mustard

1. Cut ham into 4 servings. Spread each piece with a scant amount of mustard and place in a greased baking dish.

2. Top each piece with a pineapple slice and 1/4 of the sweet potatoes. Pour pineapple juice over all and sprinkle with brown sugar.

3. Bake uncovered at 325 degrees for 30- 35 minutes, or until heated through.

Read the full post and comments.

Why I'll never be a "fashionista".

Here's one for the "Yuh, huh???" pile. DESIGNER BAG HYSTERIA AT WHOLE FOODS.

Okay, so the concept - use canvas bags instead of plastic while shopping - good idea. I'm on board with that.

But this bag? Is horribly ugly. I mean really, really, really ugly. Yet apparently crowds of people couldn't wait to get one. Some even stood in line in the rain for 'em. I guess my fashion taste is just as sadly plebeian as I always figured it was, because - meh. Ugly!

And as far as I'm concerned, this bag sure as heck is not worth the $15 asking price much less: "As of 1 pm ET, the U.S. and U.K. versions of the bags were being bid up into the mid-$200 range on eBay. On Craigslist the bag was being offered for $250."

Whoa.

If you have $250 to blow on one ugly bag, you could just as easily go to ORIENTAL TRADING COMPANY and purchase 12 large canvas bags for about $20. It's not like that bottle of expensive salad dressing cares what it rides home in and then you could take that $230 you just saved, buy a whole lot of food, and donate it to a food bank. Now THAT would be making a difference not just for the environment, but for people less fortunate as well.

Hee. How much now do I want to go over to Cafe Press and design a similar tote bag that says, "I paid way too much for this bag to show-off how environmentally conscious I am!" Betcha I could find a similar font for free.... ;)

(Eek. Is that too mean? Sometimes my snarky side really gets rolling. But honestly, if the idea is to spread awareness - plain bags at an affordable price would do just as well. The more people see other people bringing their own canvas bags to the store, the more people will consider doing it themselves. It doesn't require a bag that actually says, "I'm not a plastic bag." Er... and I hope that's just some sad attempt at some kind of cosmopolitan ironic chic thing there, because otherwise - duh!)

Read the full post and comments.

Some more free crochet patterns.

If you have a daughter who likes head scarves (or know a little girl who does) THIS PATTERN is simple enough that you could whip one up yourself or teach her how to make her own.

And here's a SIMPLE BELT PATTERN - your daughter could make a head scarf and matching belt, or you could make a set as a gift for a special little lady. :)

This one's interesting not so much in what it is, but for the explanation on how to determine the size of a project: CROCHET CURTAINS

Finally, here's a pattern for EASY SLIPPERS FOR BEGINNERS - something else that might make a nice gift.

Read the full post and comments.

Wednesday Quick Tip (5)

Make a cookbook for your kids and teach them to cook from it. First, assemble recipes you know your children like. Type or write them out and put them into an inexpensive binder - one for each child. Once a week or a few times a month, have your children in the kitchen with you actively participating in the cooking of one of these recipes. You may cook the same recipe with them on more than one occasion, until you reach the point where your children can make each dish completely on their own without your assistance. (This might literally take years, depending on how young your children are when you start.) You can keep adding to the cookbook as you and your kids find new favorites or make changes/adjustments to recipes you already have.

Try to cover a wide spectrum here - main dishes, vegetables and sides, soups, baking, and so on. By the time your children are ready to leave the nest, they should not only be comfortable in the kitchen, but also have a "custom" cookbook of all their favorite dishes to take along with them so that as young people just starting out, they don't fall into a trap of eating too much fast-food or canned soup only because they don't know how to prepare the good meals you've always been cooking for them.

PS - Along these same lines: This past Spring we decided to make the "Hope Chest" concept part of our garage sale and thrift store shopping. My husband put some shelves up in one of our closets as storage and we've been every so often buying things we know our kids will need/use when they're on their own for the first time. So far we have one set of pots/pans, a set of plain white dishes, two sets of casserole dishes, plus some odds and ends like a cutting board and toaster. Our goal is to have as many kitchen items as possible for them so that they don't face that initial expense.

Read the full post and comments.

Super (Expensive) Suppers.

Have places like SUPER SUPPERS made it to your area yet? I was utterly dumbfounded when a fellow homeschool mom raved to me about it then said she got 12 meals for just under $220. She invited me to try it with her sometime and as I was still trying desperately to wrap my mind around the concept, I only managed to stammer a reply along the lines of, "We usually don't spend that much on food." (And I'm hoping my mouth wasn't hanging open in stupefied shock for too long before I answered.)

In a nutshell, these places take the concept behind ONCE A MONTH COOKING and have "work stations" set up for you where all the food is prepped and you just need to assemble it. You make up your various dishes based on their menu and bring it home for freezing.

I have to give credit to whomever came up with this idea and sold people on it, because - wow. I never would've guessed anyone would go for it, yet it seems to be doing well. I should say seems to be doing well in certain areas. Someone tried to open one very near my neighborhood and it was only there for a few months before closing. I think the owners didn't do enough demographic research first. Upper-class suburbia may be embracing the idea, but working class neighborhoods? Not so much.

All that said... you can do the same thing at home, for a fraction of the cost. As I listened to my friend talk about it, I realized, in many ways, I already do, since we do all our baking at once and frequently cook our meat all on the same day. In other words, just because it's often called "once-a-month-cooking" doesn't mean you have to cook for a full month. You can cook for an entire week or just a few nights. Set up your kitchen in the same way Super Suppers does, by assembling all the ingredients first,(If your kids are past the toddler stage, they can help.) and then start your cooking.

Here are some links you might like, if the cooking-several-meals-at-once idea appeals to you:

SHEKNOWS.COM

ORGANIZED HOME -FREEZER COOKING - (Also, this site has tons of printable forms for building a "home organizer" notebook. Honestly, for a lot of the things - like the price book page - I just use plain notebook paper because it's cheaper than printing, but you still might find some forms here you like.)

MOMSBUDGET.COM

Read the full post and comments.

Spybot mal-ware program.

Since I'm having computer woes, I thought this might be a good time to point you in the direction of this: SPYBOT SEARCH AND DESTROY. I downloaded this software several years ago and it still works great. It's free, because the creator believes it should be, but he does ask for a donation if you can afford it. If you decide to use the program, please consider making a donation if you can. He and his team of volunteers work hard on this program, constantly having to upgrade it to tackle the latest spyware/malware creations. (But that doesn't mean you have to constantly download upgraded versions. The program is built so that when you run it, it connectes with their database to find everything it needs to know what to search out and destroy.)

The first time I used the software, I was stunned by the number of things that had been installed on my computer without my knowledge or permission. I'm not just talking about malicious programs, either. I'm refering to all the cookies and records that were there. Very scary.

Read the full post and comments.

Computer update.

So, I'm on day - what is it? 5? of Groundhog Day. Each morning, my computer acts as if it's never been turned on before. My husband hasn't been able to fix it, but we have determined this isn't a virus-related problem as far as we can tell. It just seems to be a corrupted file of some sort. This weekend a friend of ours who's *really* into computers is coming over to check on it for me.

Meanwhile, I've given up on accessing my e-mails until then. I keep re-loading them and losing them. *RME* Feel free to leave a comment here about anything until then.

Read the full post and comments.

Test Prep.

If you have an older student who will soon be facing college entrance exams, there are some free sources he/she can utilize for practice.

SparkNotes - the site I linked to in the High School Lit posts - offers more than just classic literature guides. THIS PAGE has links to free online copies of test prep books for the SAT & ACT.

CliffsNotes also offers a PREP SECTION.

The STUDY GUIDE ZONE has test prep help for many different standardized exams. (Note to Florida parents: THIS PAGE covers FCAT test prep. As homeschoolers, taking the FCAT is a legitimate, legal way to meet accountability standards; however, our children are not allowed access to the FCAT Explorer on-line test prep program made available to public school children. I have contacted the state & DOE about this several times and will continue to do so. Perhaps someday this could be changed. Meanwhile, you might want to keep the Study Guide Zone in mind, though their guide is specifically targeted toward the high-school level FCAT.)

TEST PREP PREVIEW has a series of free practice tests - including graduate and vocational exams.

MAJOR TESTS offers free SAT, GRE and GMAT practice exams and help.

Finally, 4 TESTS has a wide range of free pratice tests for educational, professional, and computer exams.

Read the full post and comments.

Free budgeting worksheets.

Better Budgeting offers THESE FREE BUDGETING WORKSHEETS to help you get your personal finances organized. (Also included is a link to some frugal recipes.)

Read the full post and comments.

Great FREE cookbooks and more.

First, just so y'all know: My computer lost its mind yesterday morning and decided my profile no longer existed. While I was able to pull up many of my files from back-up, I was not able to restore certain things that had been "customized" like my FTP information, my e-mail accounts (Though I was able to recall saved e-mails that had been backed-up. I only lost a few weeks worth.), and any and all program settings. I spent several hours fixing it, only to have the exact same thing happen to me today. My husband is laughingly calling it "Groundhog Day." He can say that. He's not the one re-installing everything again! Heh. Anyway, it is possible that if you e-mailed me at some point before about noon yesterday and didn't hear back, that your e-mail is gone, for which I truly apologize. Please feel free to write me again.

And to return to our regularly scheduled program - reader Hope pointed me in the direction of THE UNIVERSITY OF MAINE'S CO-OP EXTENSION SITE, which is definitely one of the best extension sites I've seen. In particular, you might be interested in the following free publications:

RECIPE IDEAS FOR THRIFTY FAMILIES
SAVING MONEY WITH HOMEMADE CONVENIENCE MIXES
SODIUM CONTENT OF YOUR FOOD

WINNING WAYS TO GROCERY SHOP WITH YOUNG CHILDREN
MAKING YOUR OWN BABY FOOD

And - erm - I'm including this one, but if you've read my "How I Shop" posts, one thing you'll know, I do NOT plan my meals before shopping because it would actually cost me *more* money. Still, FYI: CUTTING FOOD COSTS


Also, though I'm not sure anyone who doesn't have kids would actually bother much with coming here to Life. On a Budget., just in case there are any readers who are single or living with a roommate/spouse/significant other - there's a short series of books just for cooking for two. (And I suppose anyone who was interested could double or triple these recipes.)

THRIFTY RECIPES: MAIN DISHES
THRIFTY RECIPES: SALADS AND SOUPS, BREADS AND DESSERTS
BUYING FOOD FOR SMALL THRIFTY FAMILIES
IDEAS FOR PLANNING THRIFTY MEALS

I encourage you to explore the site further. In the "Eating Well" category under "Food & Health" you'll find an entire section of PDFs on specific fruits and vegetables that include nutritional information and recipes. There's also a "personal finance" section, which includes: MANAGING YOUR MONEY: PLANNED AND UNPLANNED SPENDING. Not all of the files are available as free PDFs or HTML, but the majority are. Definitely worth the look.

Hope doesn't have a blog I can point you to, so if you find any of this info useful, please take a second to post a comment here to thank her for her help!


PS - Hope, thanks again from me! :)

Read the full post and comments.

Random Recipe 2 - Crock Pot Lasagna

This is recipe I frequently serve when we have guests. It's always well-received and it makes a complete meal just by serving a salad and breadsticks along with it. Since I do try to also offer dessert when we have visitors, I will generally serve a chocolate cake or ice cream as well. If you make your breadsticks (and dessert, if serving) ahead of time, it's a simple matter to toss the salad just before serving dinner and have everything to the table with minimal effort, allowing you to actually enjoy your company, rather than leaving you stuck in the kitchen right up until meal time.

Lasagna

1 container ground beef starter mix* OR
   1 lb. ground beef
   1 medium onion
   2 cloves garlic, minced
29 0z. can tomato sauce
1 cup water
6 oz. can tomato paste
1/2 tsp. salt**
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil
8 oz. uncooked lasagna noodles
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

1. Thaw beef starter mix overnight or in microwave and place in large saucepan, OR: brown beef, onion, and garlic in saucepan, drain well, return to pan.
2. Stir in tomato sauce, paste, salt, oregano, and basil; heat just until bubbly.
3. Combine cheeses in a separate bowl or container.
4. Spread 1/4 of the meat sauce in bottom of slow cooker. Top with 1/3 of uncooked noodles. (May have to be broken to fit.)
5. Spoon 1/3 of cheese over noodles.
6. Repeat layers twice, then top with remaining meat sauce.
7. Cover and cook on low for 4 - 5 hours.

* I make a master mix of ground beef when I buy it in bulk - EXPLAINED HERE. Also, when I find ground turkey on sale for cheaper than the beef, I will use it in my master mix instead and no one has ever noticed the difference.

** original recipe called for a full teaspoon of salt, so use at your own discretion.

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Friday Five for Free (6)

This one's a little different. These free websites I'm about to list may not be free or even exist much longer.

First, you should read: THIS ARTICLE ABOUT THE STATE OF INTERNET RADIO.

Just today it was ANNOUNCED THERE'S BEEN A SMALL REPRIEVE but nothing is settled for sure. If this interests you, you can keep up-to-date by visiting: SAVENETRADIO.ORG In particular, READ THESE RESPONSES TO THE SITUATION from musicians who explain exactly why this is a horrible turn of events.

Finally, here are 5 free internet radio sites. I imagine the big guys - aol, yahoo, vh1 - will hang around, though it wouldn't surprise me terribly if they started charging subscription fees. And the "little" guys? They'll probably go out of business, which is a huge shame, as you can see from the musicians' pleas for help.

YAHOO RADIO
AOL RADIO
LIVE 365
VH-1 RADIO
RADIO TOWER

Just to note - I listen to free internet radio frequently, as does my daughter. We very often will let contemporary Christian stations play while we work, including one we really like called LifeTalkKids, which has Christian and Inspirational music and dramatic Bible readings. LifeTalkKids is definitely one on the endangered list.

I do understand that people in the music industry have a right to compensation; however, IMHO, this attempt to jack up royalties is nothing short of base greed and will in the end only hurt the majority of people involved in music/audio production while fattening the wallets of a few folks at the top. If you agree with this sentiment, please consider following the links at savenetradio.org to contact your congressmen and ask for help.

Thanks!

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101 Books college-bound students should read.

The College Board offers THIS LIST of recommended reading for the college-bound student. Interesting choices; many of them the same books I read & listed in my High School Lit posts. I would be curious to see if any one student could read *all* of them, though. I'm sure it's entirely doable for a voracious reader, but I think it could potentially burn-out your average student.

I also firmly believe the Bible should be on this list. It's not about me "shoving my religion" on people or whatever it is that secularists are constantly crying foul over. The Bible has had a marked, direct influence on our culture, history, society, and literature. All students should be aware of this.

In addition to that list, they offer this follow-up: POETRY AND CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL TEXTS

Read the full post and comments.

Well, phooey!

I just realized that if you search under a label - like "recipe chatter" - you don't get all the posts, only the more recent ones. *grumble* I guess I'll go ahead and try to fix that, but as of right now, that still leaves me where I was a month ago when I was considering building a links page. There's nothing *wrong* with that per se, except that it would mean I'd need to manually update it and the whole point to blogging is supposed to be the ease of "push-button publishing." Still, I guess it couldn't hurt to organize everything better here, since my posts are generally as random as they could get.

Read the full post and comments.

Just FYI - Binders on Sale

We went to the bread thrift store yesterday, because Wednesday is their big sale day. We usually go on the first Wednesday of the month when we go, but last week we were in the middle of Science Camp, so we put it off. On the way home, we stopped in at Staples because we knew they were having a school supply sale.

If you happen to live near one, you may want to check it out. They have binders marked down. They are the flexible kind - not the hard ones - but they're only 33 cents each. If you use notebooking as part of your homeschooling, you might want to consider it. There's a limit of 6 per household, but don't be afraid to ask if homeschoolers are allowed to buy more. While standing in line yesterday, I noticed a woman ahead of me holding many items that were supposed to be limited. When she got to the counter, she showed a teacher ID and they let her buy everything at the sale price. So, when I got up there, I showed my teacher ID - I have one because we homeschool under an umbrella school - and explained that I'm a homeschooling mom working through a private school. That was good enough for the clerk, so I was able to buy 10 binders at the sale price. I also got several 8 packs of pencils for a penny per pack, four bottles of 9 cent glue, and 20 brad/pocket folders for a penny each.

Unfortunately, from what I can tell on-line, the penny sales are already over as of yesterday. The binders, though, ACCORDING TO THIS will be on sale until the 14th.

Read the full post and comments.

Random Recipe 1 - Crock Pot Potato Soup

I thought I'd go ahead and start posting some of my family's favorite recipes, beginning specifically with Crock Pot ones, as was mentioned in a comment.

Potato Soup

(I cook this one in my 6 qt cooker. The left-overs do fine in the fridge for a few days. When you reheat it, you might need to add a little milk - reconstituted powdered milk works fine.)

6 cups peeled, diced potatoes
5 cups water
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/4 cup margarine (or butter)
4 teaspoons low-salt chicken bouillon granules
1/4 teaspoon pepper
12 oz can evaporated milk
8 oz. shredded cheese (cheddar, Colby, Colby-Jack, whatever you might have on hand)

1. Combine all the ingredients except the milk and cheese in slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on High until vegetables are tender. Older Crock Pots might take as much as 7 - 8 hours. Mine takes about 5.
3. Turn to low, stir in milk and cheese, until cheese is melted.

If you prefer a creamier rather than chunkier soup, you can easily mash it down with a potato masher before serving.

My children like this served with more grated cheese on top and crumbled bacon. We eat it with a side of cornbread. You may want to add salt to this recipe. Originally it called for 2 teaspoons (to be added with the other ingredients in the beginning) and did not specify low-salt bouillon.

This is a good recipe to make with left-over bits of carrots and celery - the amounts, obviously, don't have to be exact. When I find bags of potatoes on sale, this is one of the recipes I'll frequently make.

Read the full post and comments.

High School Lit, part 4 - Senior Guide

And finally, here's the senior list. (More in full post.)


1) The Canterbury Tales:
STUDY GUIDE
SPARK NOTES
CLIFF NOTES
GRADE SAVER

2) The Tragedy of Julius Caesar:
STUDY GUIDE
SPARK NOTES
CLIFF NOTES
GRADE SAVER

3) The Crucible:
STUDY GUIDE
SPARK NOTES
CLIFF NOTES
GRADE SAVER

4) A Streetcar Named Desire:
STUDY GUIDE
SPARK NOTES
CLIFF NOTES
GRADE SAVER

5) The Odyssey:
STUDY GUIDE
SPARK NOTES
CLIFF NOTES
GRADE SAVER

6) 1984:
STUDY GUIDE
SPARK NOTES
CLIFF NOTES
GRADE SAVER

Read the full post and comments.

High School Lit, part 3 - Junior Guide

And now, here's the list and links for the 11th grade level. (More in full post.)


1) Animal Farm:
STUDY GUIDE
SPARK NOTES
CLIFF NOTES
GRADE SAVER

2) Hamlet:
STUDY GUIDE
SPARK NOTES
CLIFF NOTES
GRADE SAVER

3) The Scarlet Letter:
STUDY GUIDE
SPARK NOTES
CLIFF NOTES
GRADE SAVER

4) Ethan Frome:
STUDY GUIDE
SPARK NOTES
CLIFF NOTES
GRADE SAVER

5) The Jungle:
STUDY GUIDE
SPARK NOTES
CLIFF NOTES

6) Silas Marner:
STUDY GUIDE
SPARK NOTES
CLIFF NOTES
GRADE SAVER

Read the full post and comments.

Wednesday Quick Tip (4)

Are you an OPEN OFFICE (a lot like MicroSoft Works) user? My computer came with "pre-installed" software from MS, but it turned out to be some sort of trial-only version and if I really wanted to use it, I was supposed to go to the website and pay for a download.

Er. Well. Thanks anyway. I'll take the free open source version. :)

If you use Open Office, you might be interested in the following links. They have templates for everything from CD covers to labels to resumes and so on.

From the Open Office site itself:
TEMPLATES 1
TEMPLATES 2

From off site, user created templates:
LABELS
VARIOUS TEMPLATES
ANOTHER VARIETY SOURCE

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High School Lit, part 2 - Sophomore Guide

Continuing on, here's the sophomore list and study guides. (More in full post.)


1) A Separate Peace:
STUDY GUIDE
SPARK NOTES
CLIFF NOTES
GRADE SAVER

2) Great Expectations:
STUDY GUIDE
SPARK NOTES
CLIFF NOTES
GRADE SAVER

3) Wuthering Heights:
STUDY GUIDE
SPARK NOTES
CLIFF NOTES
GRADE SAVER

4) Much Ado About Nothing:
STUDY GUIDE
SPARK NOTES
GRADE SAVER

5) Of Mice and Men:
STUDY GUIDE
SPARK NOTES
CLIFF NOTES
GRADE SAVER

6) Death of a Salesman:
STUDY GUIDE
SPARK NOTES
CLIFF NOTES
GRADE SAVER

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Saving up for a new "Wants" purchase.

So, this weekend, I bought something I've wanted for a long while. It was definitely not a need, but it was something I know I'm going to use, and in fact already did, yesterday.

What I wanted was a 4 quart Crock Pot. Now, I do believe every frugal home should have at least one Crock Pot, and I already had a 6 quart one. I also, until very recently, had a small 2 1/2 quart one, but I accidentally knocked it off the top of the fridge (where I kept it) while trying to wipe down those totally useless cabinets above the fridge. It hit the floor and dented so badly the sides partially separated from the bottom, and I figured that made it potentially not safe, so I ditched it. It was over twelve years old and I didn't use it that often anyway. It had been great when my husband and I were still sans children because I could cook a few chicken thighs and some veggies in it, and I did occasionally use it to melt some cheese for dip, and make smaller batches of apple butter, but, really, the death of the 2 quart slow cooker wasn't too great of a tragedy.

The problem with my 6 quart cooker is that I *have* to cook a large batch of whatever I'm cooking, or I run the risk of scorching or overcooking something. It's great for soups and whole chickens and such, but not so great for other things, so I wanted a smaller one.

I've seen Crock Pots for sale at Goodwill for as little as $3. But this was one of those very, very few places where I felt going new would be better. In recent years slow cookers have been "upgraded" for safety concerns and there's no telling how old the used ones really are. On those times when I'm going to purposely purchase something new, I have a special way of saving up for it.

I found a 4 quart Crock Pot at Wal-Mart for a little over $15 with tax. Making note of it, I began saving for it. What I did was keep my change, as long as it was from a shopping day where we hadn't gone over budget. Every Saturday, after shopping, I put whatever coins I had left in a jar on my bathroom counter. This never amounted to more than $1 or so, but it slowly and steadily added up. I also tossed in a few pennies and dimes I'd found in parking lots. (Yes, I really do pick up coins off the ground!) Finally, this past weekend, I had enough to buy my Crock Pot. Woo!

There are two really great things about saving up for a purchase this way. First, If you've budgeted $45 for the shopping week, but you only spent $44.20, then that .80 cents won't really be missed in the grand scheme of things. But more important, by making yourself save up this way, which can take weeks or months, you will give yourself time to *really* consider if you want to even make that purchase after all. This takes all the danger of "impulse buy" right out of it.

There are some downsides, admittedly, such as possibly missing a sale on the item because you haven't saved enough yet, having the item sell out or go up in price, or simply wanting the item by a specific time. However, as I am specifically talking about "wants" here, not "needs," I have found this to be the most effective way for me to squeeze that want out of our budget without digging too much into money that should be spent elsewhere, and this far out-weighs the downsides.

And as everybody loved the BBQ beef and beans we had yesterday, I guess my family is happy enough with my latest acquisition. :)

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High School Lit, part 1 - Freshman Guide

This post, to be followed up with posts for sophomore, junior, and senior years, is a list based on the oh-so-scientific-method of "This is what I read in high school." so I by no means am trying to say all students should read all these books by each of these grades. I'm posting the list here, along with all the study guides, as a suggestion, to give parents more ideas as they look toward homeschooling in the high school years.

Many of these books are public domain and can be found at WOWIO or PROJECT GUTENBERG. Others could be found at used book stores or the library.

FYI - The Spark Notes, Cliff Notes, and Grade Saver sites are all very similar, offering analysis and summary by chapter, author notes, essay questions, and quizzes. The majority of the books I'm listing here have a guide from all three sites, but a few did not. You can read all three of these sites free on-line.

(More in full post.)

Each year includes one play by Shakespeare. THIS PDF FILE offers some general tips for teaching Shakespeare to high school students.

Freshman:

1) The Red Badge of Courage:
STUDY GUIDE
SPARK NOTES
CLIFF NOTES
GRADE SAVER

2) A Tale of Two Cities:
STUDY GUIDE
SPARK NOTES
CLIFF NOTES
GRADE SAVER

3) To Kill a Mockingbird:
STUDY GUIDE
SPARK NOTES
CLIFF NOTES
GRADE SAVER

4) Romeo and Juliet:
STUDY GUIDE
SPARK NOTES
CLIFF NOTES
GRADE SAVER

5) The Grapes of Wrath:
STUDY GUIDE
SPARK NOTES
CLIFF NOTES
GRADE SAVER

6) The Time Machine:
STUDY GUIDE
SPARK NOTES
GRADE SAVER

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There IS something wrong with Snow White!

Okay, so I don't know exactly what kind of mental psychosis poor Snow White was suffering from, but any woman who happily cleaned up after 7 sloppy men - and whistled while she did it? Now there's someone just not right in the head! ;)

For those of us who aren't so cheerful about the chores, there are other things we can do to help keep our homes clean. First and foremost, decluttering is essential. The more stuff you have, the more stuff you have to clean. And a lot of it - you probably don't use enough to miss it if you got rid of it. I'm not saying you need to live a Spartan existence, but if you own anything that serves its main purpose as "Dust Collector", then it's probably time to ditch it. When you've gotten rid of a lot of the extra junk, cleaning what's left becomes all the more easier. And that's the important thing, because while if you really push yourself and your family, you can get your house sparkling clean from top to bottom, the problem becomes maintaining that cleanliness on a day to day basis.

THIS EBOOK has some hints and tips at getting and keeping your home clean and organized. It was written for people who need real help getting their homes in order, and the author maintains a non-judgmental tone through-out, but it can also help get anyone motivated when needed, even those Snow Whites among us.

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Making tortillas.

I mentioned in a previous post that I'd come across a 5 lb. bag of tortilla mix for 50 cents and decided to buy it, figuring if it turned out to be a disaster, at least it wouldn't be an expensive disaster. (I also figured we could always use the mix to dust the counter for kneading purposes when making biscuits, if nothing else.)

Turns out, it really is incredibly easy. I don't have a tortilla press or an electric griddle, either. The instructions said to heat the griddle to 400 degrees. We cooked the tortillas in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat and they came out perfect. Also, I tried to roll out the tortillas with a rolling pin, but it ended up being quicker and easier to just pat them out by hand.

Yesterday, while shopping, I cruised by that same shelf and found the mix had been marked down again - to only ten cents a bag! So, I bought 2 more. I'm already thinking I should've picked up three or four.

We do our baking on Sunday afternoons. Today we've already made our waffles, pancakes, and tortillas, and right now the muffins are in the oven. (I'll be making some dinner rolls in a little bit, as well.) I found I could add making tortillas to the schedule quite easily. My children already love being the pancake turners, so now one gets to monitor the pancakes and the other takes the tortillas. We made 16 of them today. This week we'll be having enchiladas, sandwich wraps, and I'm going to take a stab at turning 4 of the torillas into taco salad bowls by basically FOLLOWING THE INSTRUCTIONS I FOUND HERE.

Since eventually I will run out of mix, and I sure can't count on stumbling across ten cent bags of the stuff, I went looking and found a WHOLE WHEAT TORTILLA RECIPE. It will be interesting to try this someday. :)

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Some more money talk in the media.

THE BEST FINANCIAL ADVICE EVER - I don't necessarily agree with all of this, but there are many good points here.

SCRAPING BY ON $150,000 A YEAR - despite the title, this one is mostly about learning how to scale back and live within your means while working to build up a savings.

LIVING POOR AND LOVING IT - Good attitude about living with less. (She also wrote this: SURVIVING AND THRIVING ON 12,000 A YEAR and has a FORUM BOARD TO DISCUSS BUDGET LIVING.)

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There's nothing wrong with you!

There's a very good reason we have such a problem with spending in our culture. We're not just being bombarded with commercials and advertisements designed to convince us we Just. Can't. Live. Without. such and such gadget, but we're also subjected constantly to an attitude that money equals success and therefore a lack of a large bank account must mean failure.

And who wants to feel like a failure?

This starts very young. It's not just the entertainment industry and retail businesses feeding us this horrific lie, either. Starting all the way back in grade school we are told that we must perform well in our classes, not to become better people, not to acquire knowledge to help us someday make a difference in the world; no, we're told this because it will be important that we "get into a good college" when we graduate high school. And why is that so important? Because, of course, we have to "get a good job." That's it. In the end, public schools are teaching us that it's all about the money. (More in full post.)

With that kind of pressure on us, is it any wonder so many of us wind up in the big houses we can't afford, driving the expensive cars and wearing the designer clothes, so we can at least appear like we aren't failures, even if it means being way over our heads in debt? And the pressure only grows when we have children, as others tell us we're depriving our kids and damaging them for life - even abusing them (!) - if we don't let them live like we're quite well off, even if we aren't. And if we aren't affluent enough to afford all the latest this-es and thats? Well, there comes that failure label again, only now, we aren't just personal failures, now we've failed our children, too.

It's all a bunch of horse hooey.

Children need to be fed. (Nutritious meals - NOT Burger King!) They need a clean, safe home, whether it's an apartment or a condo or a house or a manufactured home or a trailer. They need clothing - no over-paid designer's name stamped on the pocket necessary. They need an education, which doesn't have to cost thousands of dollars to be good. And mostly, they need the love, care, and time of their parents/guardians. The things beyond these basics are treats and should be handled as such. No child *needs* to watch television. This is a treat. No child *needs* to have an ice cream cone with mint chocolate chip ice cream and chocolate sprinkles. Again, it's just a treat.

Give them too many treats to often and you wind up with spoiled children who have no concept of money nor of self-restraint. And self-restraint is not a bad thing! It prevents you from buying every little thing that catches your temporary fancy, which will only drive you straight to financial ruin.

So right now what I want to say is this: There is nothing wrong with you! (Or your spouse.) You are not a failure just because you don't have a six figure income. Your house does not need to be a palace. Your car doesn't have to be a Mercedes. If you've been struggling with this lie, if you've been feeling ashamed or guilty or anything else because our society gives off an attitude like nothing less than a McMansion is acceptable, take a moment to step back and re-evaluate.

Whether you are just beginning to get control of your own finances, or if you've been living within your means for a long time, real success is not the amount of money you have, but rather how well you are living your life regardless of how many dollars you can call your own. Ignore the critics and focus on what's really important. So what if your own home is only 1100 square feet in a working class neighborhood while Family X lives on some million dollar estate? They are no better than you are and you are not a failure because of it. Don't compare what you have to what anyone else has. It doesn't even matter in the end.

Remember, it's a cliche, but it's true. You really can't take it with you. And when you come to the end of your life, you will not be looking back at your bank account. You will be looking at your friends, your family, your loved ones, at the memories and milestones.

And should someone ever imply you're a failure for not having some smashing career with an outrageous salary, just remind yourself that you are doing what's right, and doing what's necessary to live by the means you have for you and your family. Yes, sometimes you might slip or maybe you're currently facing a mountain of debt you're trying to climb out of, but if you keep working at it, one baby step at a time, then you are a true success, not just the flimsy image of one.

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Car care tips.

MOTOR TREND offers these simple suggestions for making sure your vehicle is running at its most fuel-efficient and possibly lower your gasoline expenses.

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Free Jane Austen unit.

Some free Jane Austen novels and study guides:

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (Through Wowio. Free, but you must register.)
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE STUDY GUIDE
SPARKNOTES PRIDE AND PREJUDICE STUDY GUIDE

PERSUASION
PERSUASION STUDY GUIDE
SPARKNOTES PERSUASION STUDY GUIDE

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Family traditions, part 2.

To follow up from my FIRST TRADITIONS POST, I wanted to talk about some other traditions we have in our family. (More in full post.)

One thing I didn't mention in my last post but we also do every November, along with our Thanksgiving traditions - we participate in NaNoWriMo's YOUNG WRITERS PROGRAM. If you are familiar with the original NANOWRIMO - National Novel Writing Month, then you know every November thousands of people try to write a novel, or at least 50,000 words, in one month. The young writers program is a little different, in that you can set a word goal ahead of time, not necessarily 50,000. (In fact, we follow the rule of thumb for 1,000 per age year. For instance, a 9-year-old would write 9,000 words, except both my children work together on the same book.) Once the official writing frenzy is over, we take the work we've done, clean it up and "publish" it by printing it, designing a cover, and comb-binding it. Several years ago the children made up an imaginary kingdom with a name that's made out of parts of their first names combined and each story they write is set there. I consider these books family heirlooms now.

BTW - If you're interested in participating in the Young Writers Program, they do allow homeschoolers to join. In fact, there's a special homeschoolers section on the forum.

It wasn't until I got married that I learned people actually eat certain things for "good luck" on New Year's Day. Since I really don't put any stock in luck, I told my husband he was welcome to keep eating black-eyed peas and cornbread on January 1st, but I wasn't going to make a big deal out of it. (Especially because we eat black-eyed peas and cornbread several times a year!) We also don't write out resolutions. What we *do* do is on December 31st get out our New Year's Notebook and write down our most exciting or favorite memory/event/activity from the past year, and why we chose it. It's fun to look back over the years and see what we all chose in the past. There's a definite trend in events always seeming to be something that happened in the latter part of the year - which doesn't say much for our memory skills! :)

Our Valentine's celebrations always consist of a "everyone makes his/her own cake" afternoon. What that really means is I bake a few small round cakes and a few small square cakes and we cut them up and use them to make heart shapes, which the kids and I then frost and decorate with a choice of toppings. We also all make homemade Valentine's hearts (from construction paper) for each other and then they are displayed by hanging them by thread from the ceiling over the dining table. Each heart has a message written to the recipient that starts with "I love you because...". After Valentine's Day, these are put away in a shoe box like our Thanksgiving tree leaves, so that we can take them out and look at them while we're making our new hearts each year.

A few years ago, we started a new Easter tradition, aside from the food and goodies we serve. Good Friday and Easter Sunday are devoted to church and family time, but the Thursday before Easter my kids have a "school-work hunt", because we don't have Easter egg hunts. (They're a little old for that now.) All right, I know what you're thinking - who'd want to look for school work? If you've looked at my lesson plans, you know we rely heavily on the internet. The week before Easter, I pick certain websites with activities and games that pertain to what we are currently studying. I build a web page with some sort of outdoor/forest image as the "setting" and I hide the links to the websites on the page. The children have to mouse around the page and find these links. For instance, a bird in the sky might be a link, or a certain flower, or a rock on the ground. Once they find a link, they click on it, play the game or do the activity, then go back to the webpage to find another link, until they've found them all. Once they've completed the tasks, they click on a link that says, "I'm done!" and that takes them to the beginning of a story I've written about the scene/setting they've just explored. It's really just some sort of long-ish writing prompt. They take my story starter, and it's their job to finish it. They LOVE doing this. So much so, in fact, that they keep asking if I'll make a school-work hunt for them in the fall, too.

We end our school year with a Make-Your-Own Pizza and Banana Split party. This is basically a family celebration where the kids get to build their own pizzas using dough I've made and a variety of toppings and then make their own desserts. Afterwards, we watch a movie (checked out from the library) together. We also present the kids with promotion certificates I've printed from a free site.

So, these are our family traditions. Feel free to post more of yours and share ideas. I love to read about what other families do. :)

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Friday Five for Free (5)

If you're around my age, you may recall those old television commercials that ran when we were children where people were encouraged to send away for free information booklets from the government, and the address to mail our requests was in Pueblo, Colorado.

What you might not know, is you can still do that, only now, you can find the information on-line. No really. They even use "pueblo" in the URL. :)

Here are five booklets worth ordering, downloading, or reading on-line. (More in full post.)

1) 2007 CONSUMER ACTION HANDBOOK - "This everyday guide to being a smart shopper is chocked full of helpful tips about buying a car or home, preventing identity theft, understanding credit, resolving problems after a purchase, and much more. In the 2007 edition, you'll find new information about filing for bankruptcy, finding a lawyer, and planning a funeral, along with many other useful topics."

2) HANDS ON BANKING - "Money skills you need for life. Customized instruction in English and Spanish for four age groups, from 4th grade through adult. Adults curriculum is a valuable resource for success in personal money management, includes special sections on buying a home, investing, and starting and managing a small business. Curriculum for school-age students meets or exceeds national education standards for math, literacy, and economics. Available free to the public on CD-ROM, the Internet, and printed curriculum."

3) START SMART: MONEY MANAGEMENT FOR TEENS - discusses saving, spending, borrowing, and more.

4) TAKING THE MYSTERY OUT OF RETIREMENT PLANNING - Even though this is "designed for people who are about 10 years away for retirement" - don't let that stop you if you are younger than the target age group. Learning as much as you can about retirement planning now, no matter how far off it may actually be, can only help you in the long run.

5) SIMPLE STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING YOUR MONEY - "Be Prepared, Be Informed, Be in Charge"

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8 Things About Me

CHARITY tagged me. (*Waves* to Charity. :) No worries about going "off topic"!)

The Rules:

The rules are simple. Each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

Thing One: I'm such a geek, I had to fight the urge to correct the rules to say "Each player lists 8 facts/habits about himself/herself.", and then continue on through the rest of the rules to fix that error each time it shows up.

Thing Two: I don't lie about my age or have any problem telling people how old I am (37). Wrinkles are a badge of honor in my book.

Thing Three: I really, really don't like spiders. I grew up in an area with FIDDLEBACKS and so spiders were always considered the enemy. I never really got over that.

Thing Four: I read The Lord of the Rings when I was in 7th grade - all three books in just four days, while school was in session. I read every spare minute I had, in class, at lunch, after school and late, late into the night until I fell asleep.

Thing Five: Any time someone says, "Life doesn't come with an instruction manual." I promptly reply, "Sure it does. It's called the Bible."

Thing Six: I married my high school sweetheart one year after we graduated. Our 18th anniversary is in 10 days.

Thing Seven: I believe in going to the source of things. If I suspect an article or story is bogus, I will investigate. I have called the FBI, the CIA, and various other law enforcement agencies (to find out about crimes supposedly committed), university professors (to confirm studies done on various foods or products), and tracked down countless footnotes in things I have read. There is a highly disturbing amount of information out there that is total bunk when you start really looking in to it.

Thing Eight: My current "just for me/not a gift" project that I'm working on is a filet crochet table cloth for a round table. I hope to have it done by late October.


And... my apologies to anyone being retagged if I missed it.

1) 5 KIDS AND A DOG
2) HOMESCHOOL IN THE LITTLE HOUSE
3) WALKING ALONG THE ROAD
4) MY TWENTY CENTS KEEPS MOVING!
5) WING AND PRAYERS
6) THE RANDOM ACCOUNT OF QUASIMODO
7) PEAKMORE ACADEMY
8) THE ROAD TO TOTAL GROWTH MIND BODY AND SPIRIT

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Money talk in the news.

First, ACCORDING TO THIS REPORT I am now worth $138,095 a year. Heh. Guess what. To my family, I'm priceless. It's highly unlikely I will ever earn that much money in one year, but I know you can't really put a salary on the work mothers do, so it's always amusing to see what someone tries to say our work is worth.

And then there's THIS STORY that will make your head spin. For instance, there's this:

In wealthy Westchester, N.Y., a couple earning $200,000 a year could barely afford the $2,500 fee that Kathy Boyle, a New York certified financial planner, charged for creating a plan.

"If you drive by their house in Westchester, their life seems like nirvana. They live in a $1.1 million home on a gorgeous road, with two luxury cars in the driveway," Boyle says. "But walking inside their financial house, it's in shambles."

Today, their 19-year-old son's college bills are paid by a generous family friend because they cannot afford them. Yet the mother stays at home with the 13-year-old daughter.

Boyle advised the mother to consider going back to work, but she declined, saying her daughter "needs her." The extra income could have helped the couple tackle their $20,000 credit card debt and maybe start a college-savings fund for their daughter.

Wow. Let me just get past the making $200,000 a year and can't even pay the bills thing for a moment and focus on something else here. I sure hope Ms. Boyle did a lot more for her $2500 than tell this mother to get a job! And if this family honestly needed to pay someone to tell them something plainly obvious - then it's no wonder they're in such financial trouble! The tone of this article is astounding. "... because they cannot afford them. Yet the mother stays at home...." This is posed as if everything is out of whack solely because mom's not working outside the home. This family has a real problem and quite frankly, Ms. Boyle's advice is actually pretty bad. If mom goes back to work, based on their current spending habits, it is only very likely that they will simply start spending and buying more with whatever money she brings in. More money is not going to be an overall solution here. This family needs to rethink their spending habits on a grand scale and learn to live with less. Until that happens, they will always be in trouble. Hopefully Ms. Boyle will actually explain this to them, or someone else will do it, because only then will they be able to achieve some sort of financial stability.

But you know the real question here?

Just what is it dad does that he's worth $61,905 more than I am? ;)

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Wednesday Quick Tip (3)

So, do you have a bacon lover in the family? I do! While my entire family likes it, one member - my son - LOVES the stuff. Since it's not exactly the healthiest thing out there, I do limit the intake. Still, occasionally I'll pick some up and here's something I've found very helpful.

Have you seen those packages of microwavable "pre-cooked" bacon that cost way too much for 15 or 16 slices? You can make your own pre-cooked slices easily enough, buying the inexpensive store brands of regular bacon. Fry or microwave the entire package at the same time. Er... I mean, fry a few pieces at once, but cook the whole pack while you're at it. :) Cook it until just slightly underdone for your preferences.

Blot off the excess grease, then refrigerate it. (I keep it in a plastic container, with layers separated by some parchment paper.) When you want to serve some bacon, just take out the number of slices you want and crisp them up in the microwave. We have a small 700 watt microwave and it usually takes 20 seconds to warm up 4 slices.

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Well, golly. I rock! Hee.

So, *blush* MOMMA KNOWS - nominated (designated?) me for



- which? Aw. Thanks. And I totally think you rock, too. :) And my husband will be so amused by this, because I'm such a nerd, no one would ever usually associate me with something, you know, cool. LOL!

Now I get to choose 5 ladies who also rock and wow! That's hard! Not because there aren't any - I assure you - but because there are so many! I just love the internet and how we can all connect this way.

So, here's what I thought I'd do. Rather than just linking to a blog itself, I'm pointing you to my nominees by way of posts they've made that I found particularly awesome. I'm assuming that's okay, because I did manage to track down the creator of the award, HERE and I'm not seeing any definite rules.

Go see Kathy at BROKEN HOMESCHOOL - and read "8 Things Everybody Knows You Need To Homeschool (But You Don’t)" - I couldn't agree more with her - she nailed it.

Have some COFFEE WITH MRS. DANI - and explore whether Mom can even afford to work. She breaks it all down very well and I hope plenty of moms considering staying at home run into someone who can offer them this same sage advice.

This next one might seem like an odd choice. Tersie at THE ROAD TO TOTAL GROWTH MIND BODY AND SPIRIT has an amazing blog that shows a determined, gutsy lady I really admire, and if you aren't a regular reader already, you should be. But I chose this post not for those reasons. I chose it because it made me laugh out loud when I read it. So loud, in fact, that my children demanded to know what was so funny and when I told them, they laughed, too. (Tersie - we weren't laughing at you like, "What a moron!" or anything. We were laughing because on more than one occasion I have tried to open the doors to vans that don't belong to me. Fortunately for me, I haven't actually succeeded yet!)

Quasimodo, might call her blog a RANDOM ACCOUNT, but her posts on paying attention to home are very thoughtful and thought-provoking. I'm linking to part one, but make sure to also read her newly posted part 2.

And last (but of course not least!) Drop in at THE HOMESCHOOL IN THE LITTLE HOUSE - for a beautifully written post reminding us that we are who God made us and meant for us to be - whether we are oak trees or sunflowers.

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Fascinating article about price tags.

THIS ARTICLE has some interesting theories about the adverse (for consumers) effects of the "price tag only on the shelf" system that has become the norm for most of the country. The story ends with words of hope, about a possible solution, but, in the meantime, we should all be very aware of the points brought up here.

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Are you tracking your spending?

Back at the beginning of June, I encouraged you to RECORD EVERY PENNY YOU SPENT. Now that we're in July, how did June look for you? Did you have some entries in the "Money I Never Should Have Spent" column? Whatever reason you had for spending that money then, what do you think about it now? No, I'm not trying to brow-beat you here! This isn't about "Bad Mom! Off to bed without supper for you!" This is about changing your buying habits if you need to, even if it's just a little bit at a time. (More in full post.)

We are all products of our society and we are bombarded by advertising on a daily basis. It's on TV, the radio, bill boards, mail-outs, the internet - it is pretty much inescapable. Not only that, but we even have people *urging* us to spend every dime we have and then some, because, if we don't, we're not supporting our country. Huh. With that philosophy firmly entrenched, we're creating a population that, as we age, winds up needing the country to support us! If you aren't already, start thinking very carefully about every purchase you make. Watch those pennies! You're probably already tired of hearing me say this, but remember, this is all about being responsible and living within your means. It is also about planning for your own future, outside of what the government might hand you in retirement. It can be done and you can do it, even if you're currently in debt and starting from less than zero. Take it step by step and day by day and you will get there.

And keep on keeping on with your budget book and recording those purchases so you know precisely what areas you need to work on more. :)

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Gift giving for single friends.

If you have any family or friends who live by themselves, or if you yourself have ever lived alone, you're probably aware of the challenges that face a single guy or gal when it comes to eating at home. Shopping for smaller portions is difficult, (and often more costly because bulk-buying can be less appealing to someone who knows he'll have to eat the entire "family pack" of chicken drumsticks himself.) There are items like celery or lettuce that can go bad before being consumed. There are other considerations, as well, like a lack of scaled down recipes and even the general feeling of "I don't even like bothering with cooking when it's just for me."

This situation presents you with a wonderful gift you can present your friend either for a birthday or Christmas or any other event - even just as an "I appreciate you." surprise. (More in full post.)

What you will need: Freezer containers, enough for several meals, in sizes of individual portions. (Note: I do freeze many things in plastic bags, because they can lay flat in the freezer, but it is up to you whether you want to do this, or would rather use something studier as this is for a gift.)

Several weeks before you are giving the gift, pick one or two meals you are cooking for your own family and increase the portions enough to include one more serving. If you do this far enough in advance, to where you are only picking one meal a week, you can squeeze this into your regular food budget with very little adjustment.

Freeze the extra portions, making sure to label and date them. Do this each week until you have as many meals as you want to give. I personally like to give 7, as a "Week of Dinners Just for You". Also, if you bake your own breads, you can add a loaf, a dozen biscuits, dinner rolls or mix of different breads to the gift. Write or type up a page with a list of each meal and any heating instructions the recipient will need to know. (For instance, if I give a bowl of chili, I also grate some cheese and freeze this in a small bag, so my instructions will include the note that the cheese is to be thawed and sprinkled on the chili.)

I deliver this gift in a regular brown paper bag, which, sadly, nowadays I can only seem to find at Target. I will occasionally go to Target and cruise their "Dollar Spot" section and then, if I purchase anything, I always request a paper sack to carry it. They do have nice, sturdy bags, with handles, which is particularly helpful. I put the instructions in with a nice handmade card, and I always try to add a few pieces of fresh fruit, such as an apple or two, or a banana.

This is a great gift for young folks just out on their own, all the way to older retirees. Before my father - a widower, he'd lost my step-mother to cancer - passed away some years ago, I quite frequently brought him a bag of meals and it was not only something nice for him, but peace-of-mind for me, knowing he was eating a good, home-cooked meal and not running out to some local junk-food place again.

Everyone I have ever done this for has always expressed a great appreciation for it, especially the gentlemen. As my BIL once said, "This is even better than winning a free meal at a local restaurant. It's a whole week of food and no one's trying to sell me anything!" :)

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Sign the Declaration of Independence.

Blogging fly-by from Summer Science Camp: THIS SITE (THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES) has an awesome feature where you can sign and then print a copy of the Declaration of Independence. Too cool.

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Host a summer day camp.

Looking for something fun (and not budget-busting) to do this summer? How about having a week-long or once-a-week day camp? You could pick any one theme, such as art, or have a different theme each day like History Day and Music Day.

Borrowing from the idea of weekly science camps held at the Orlando Science Center, this week we're having a Summer Science Camp at our house. We have two other homeschool families involved for 8 kids total. The experiments are all conducted using common household items and the kids are filling out FREE SCIENCE EXPERIMENT NOTEBOOKING FORMS for each experiment. (More in full post.)

Our camp is meeting daily from 10:00 until 3:00 and we're sharing lunch costs by each family contributing different food items for each lunch. Today was Chemistry day. We followed several experiments found online and let the kids begin their Summer Science Camp notebooks. Tomorrow we'll be having a Physical Science day. Wednesday is "Backyard Science", which will combine some fun outdoor science experiments and a 4th of July party. (For instance, instead of traditional fireworks - we'll be making an exploding volcano.) Thursday, we'll be studying Earth Science, and on Friday we'll be having a general science fun day to wrap up all the experiments that took more than one day, due to necessary observations of results, followed by a movie and a presentation of CERTIFICATES OF PARTICIPATION.

Summer day camps hosted by companies like the YMCA can run hundreds of dollars or more per child, but if that's out of the question for your budget, as it is for ours, you can recreate the same concept right at home. Find some friends to join in and though it's a learning experience, keep the focus on the fun. Be sure to take plenty of photos, too, so that the kids can have some to paste in notebooks if they're making them, or in a homemade photo album. (I use a digital camera and print pictures right off my color printer on regular paper - not the expensive photo paper.) You can host every day at your house, as we're doing, or have each family host a day or two at their own homes.

We're making our notebooks in plain green folders I bought last summer for 10 cents each. I printed THE PERIODIC TABLE and glued them to the fronts for covers.

At the end of the week the kids will have their notebooks, their certificates, and a few "souvenirs" like spongy eggs - made from soaking eggs in vinegar - and the crystals we're growing.

We had a lot of fun today, but wow! I think I might need a nap now! :)

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