It controls me

It controls me.

It always has, no matter how nice I am to it.

It's thick, and wavy, (but not in a good way...), frizzy, and flat, big, and out of control.

It's my hair.

Somedays, it's my worst enemy.  Somedays it's not.

I see pictures on Pinterest that I envy.

Pictures where the hair is wavy in a good way, straight in another.

There are some days, I want to scream at the mirror.  You hair defines you, doesn't it.

It does me.

And why is it, when you're hair is giving you the who's who most of the time...and you can't wait to tell your stylist to change it, on the day of your haircut...it acts like the best hair EVER?!

That's what mine did today.  Crazy stuff.

Styled perfectly great, in record time I might add.

But it was time for a trim.  Time to get it thinned (yes, I have to do it it is so thick...), and time for a color.

Looks so much better.

Feels soft too.

Ah.  Thank you stylist!

Trend or not

Is living frugally the newest trend?

Maybe not.

Maybe it's just become the most reasonable way to live these days, in uncertain economic times.

Brent and I have had this discussion many times.

Whether or not to be so strict with the budget...

But how else would we stay reasonably debt free?

I was taught to live frugally growing up.

When I stayed home with the kids while they were small, and we lived on one income, we HAD to live frugally.

I made my own baby food, cut coupons, and lived mostly with cash.

I'm really having to do it again, even though we both have jobs these days.

EVERYTHING keeps going up in price...groceries, gas, property taxes, home insurance, etc.

It's sickening.

We've lived by Dave Ramsey's philosophy, and recently I came across this book at our local library...

She had alot of good ideas, and a lot of good recipes.

She even writes a blog, momadvice.com

Living frugally takes ALOT of time.  Planning a budget TAKES A LOT OF TIME.

But in the long run, I guess it's worth it.  It's keeping us afloat.

Do you live frugally?  Do you live by a budget?  Do you have any new ideas for me?

Share please.

Snippets

Each and every minute of each and every day is important...

insignificant or not.

Like the two different post offices and ATM run I accomplished this morning BEFORE work.

I felt pretty good about it.

If I might say so myself.

Each snippet we get is life.  Good and bad, ordinary and extraordinary.

Like starting the day with coffee and a spelling review for Ev.

While definitely NOT Evan's or my favorite thing to do, it helps him get ready for his test on Friday of each week.  He has to memorize 20 words and their definitions.

We do it EVERYDAY.

My coffee, helps me get through it, in my favorite cup.

All the while dreaming about a place I'd rather snuggle up in instead of going to work...

Only to get groceries after work, and come home to more laundry

while Brent makes breakfast for supper before he takes the kids to church...a job I thought I was going to have to do, but which he graciously decided to do.  (25 minutes each way is NOT thrilling.)

Instead, I tackled a couple loads of laundry, filled the coffee pot for the morning, ironed my work clothes, packed my lunch, folded clothes, and then took time to "take a walk" in the basement with my workout playlist in my ears.

Only to turn the corner in the basement to see my seeds sprouting...such a great sight.

All the while it looks like this outside.

Snippets.

I'll take them all, good and bad.

Menu Diary

So I was at the Library last week (same as every week) and I came across a cookbook of sorts in the NEW BOOK section.

I picked it up because of the cover first.

It had a really cool old fashioned fabric on the spine.

Then I read the title.

Dinner...a Love Story...really.

So, I brought it home with me.  Turns out, I didn't like any of the recipes inside, but I stumbled across something the author had done for years, that I recently started, without really knowing what I was doing.

She kept a "menu" diary.

Each week, she would write down what she was going to make for the week, and notes about it.  Sometimes she would include recipes.  Sometimes, she would make notes, if it were a party, of what was left over, and what was eaten well.

Back in January, I started the same thing...but mine evolved, just because I had gotten a new really cute notebook, and because it's part of my process for planning my meals every week.

I write down, first, what is on sale at the store I normally shop at.

I don't write down everything, just the things I WOULD buy.

Then, I write down the days of the week that I'm planning menus for, and what activities we have going on that week.

It's always easier to plan a meal on a night we have NOTHING going on, because then I have more time, so those night's meals are always a little more involved.

Compiled, it looks a little like this.

Sometimes I even put the amount I've budgeted for the week, cause it all has to come out to that, I do have a grocery budget EVERY WEEK.

Like I said, I didn't start this on purpose, but out of a need to just have it all together to plan my meals.  Based on the week's grocery ad, and what is on sale, and IF I have coupons, that's how I come up with my menu.  It also depends on what kind of time I have that week as well.

It has been kind of interesting to look back at what we've actually eaten over a month.  We have repeats, for sure, but sometimes my kids surprise me with what they'll eat and what they won't.

So, now it's time to go over the computer ad for my grocery store and get ready for the week.

See ya!

An Adventure

So I have a great cousin, who is WAY younger than me, but we have SO MUCH in common.

She moved back home to the family farm after she graduated from college this past spring.

She's been my crafting/thrifting/antiquing partner ever since.

She also came up with a fabulously great idea recently.

You see, we have a local flea/craft market about 45 minutes from here.

She Facebooked me and my aunt and a couple of my other cousins one day and asked if we wanted to join together and get a booth at the flea market and sell our "goods" a couple different weekends this summer.

Um, yes....  I think so.

It was both exciting and terrifying at the same time.

So, needless to say, we're DOIN' IT!  We will be there Memorial Day Weekend, Fourth of July Weekend, and Labor Day Weekend.  (I think those dates are right....)

We're all planning on crafting up a storm until then.

I've been perusing booth ideas and craft ideas on Pinterest like my hair is on fire.

I have to say, I'm a bit smitten with April Kennedy from Funky Vintage Lovely's booth ideas. You can find her here.

Her booth at the Queen Bee Market was fabulous!  And of course for the other shows she's been at.

A great mix of vintage and coolness.

I've been pinning some crafts I want to make, along with some of the things I currently make for my Etsy shop.

I've been thinking of these things...

What do you think?  Would you come see us if you live in the area?  We're all making different things.  I can't wait for this endeavor.

Great idea cuz!

Amazing what a little sun can do!

It's been very gloomy around here lately.

Weather-wise that is.

Today, we had full-on sun for most of the day.

Amazing how much that improved my mood!

Really.

It made the project I had on my to-do list all that more important.

It was time to plant seeds indoors and get them ready to transplant into the garden later this Spring.

I usually buy some of my seeds online, and some of the major ones like peas, corn, and beans at my local greenhouse.

I decided to buy those I start inside at the store this year.  I can't stand paying shipping for seeds.

So, this week, while I was grocery shopping...I got the seeds and seed starting soil that I needed.

From years past, I have keep the black plastic trays that I get flowers in my my local greenhouse.  They make great places to plant seedlings.

Yogurt cups can also be used.  (You gotta use what you've got!)

In the past, I've marked each pot with tongue depressors and the item planted written in sharpie.  They get a little gross from all the watering so this year, I just used my silver sharpie to mark the pots.  Each year, I can turn the pot and mark on a different side.  It won't come off with water, and I can see each one.

As much work as having a garden is, as I was planting these little seedlings, I just couldn't help but get excited that another gardening season is on it's way.  I really do, for all the complaining my family says I do,  love getting my hands into the soil.

The sun pouring in the windows really helped.

I even made some green sun tea, even though it was under 30 degrees outside and there was a little snow left on the ground.  It made me long for summer so badly.

Now, the seedlings are tucked in tight under the fluorescent light in the basement...hopefully they'll grow.

PRAYER

Prayer is a powerful thing.

It is the quickest way to a miracle.

I truly believe that.

My sister is a great and powerful Pray-er.

For years, I've encountered her prayer journal in the strangest spots.  But it's always there.

It was just a little spiral bound notebook that she would write down who to pray for each day.

Some days it was her family, some days her friends, but ALWAYS someone.

For Christmas this year, I made her some fancier prayer journals.

I didn't take a picture of them (hindsight is always 20/20...)

But I found some ideas for some on Pinterest.com

You see, I want to make myself one.

I know you don't need a prayer journal to make yourself a better pray-er, but maybe I'll be more organized in my prayers.

Sometimes, in the midst of praying, God will bring a name to me, and I'll actually think..."God, I'm sorry I forgot so and so, but I want to pray for them now..."

Maybe if I wrote it down everyday, I wouldn't forget so many.

You know, I AM a born list maker.

So, one of my resolutions this year.  Make more of my prayer time.  Don't let it be just the same 'ol, same 'ol prayers.

I won't stop praying until I get my journal done, but I do NEED to get my journal done.

How about you...do you keep a journal?