Free

So we had a morning free of T.V. and Internet and this is some of what we did:


We made really free Christmas lights.
The paper was a discard from Becka's and they use no power.
It was good practice for all 4 kids using scissors... they cut them all.




Cookies. Not free but almost except the sticks.



We were so busy crafting, cleaning, cooking and learning that we were mostly free of complaining and fighting.

Trick of Treat

A night elf
A pirate
A snow fairy
And a Barbie musketeer






Too bad I never figured out the trick to taking good pictures.

Oh wait Jesse took these.
I pass the blame :)

Little Miss Know it All

A conversation with Karist last night:

Me: How did you get so beautiful?

Silence
Karist: grins big

Me: God made you so beautiful.

Karist: Uh huh. (said with a tone that says I am not telling her anything new)

Me: And he made you smart

Karist: Uh huh

Me: And kind

Karist: Uh huh

Me: And helpful (can you tell I am buying that self fulfilling prophecy bit)

Karist: Uh huh

Me: *gives her another big hug*

Karist: And Proud


I died laughing.

So yes I have a proud little girl, and she is proud of being proud.

Karist and Water Play

Still checking to see if I posted?

Well I am still alive.

Not sure that I really did that much while I was gone.
Or it was so boring and routine I blocked it from memory.

Here is my short term memory kicking in...
What I did today:

Cleaned a place in the garage for my new freezer that arrives on Monday.
Note that I cleaned a place not the garage. I would still be trapped in there working if that was the case.

Fed people.

Got the kids ready for soccer pictures.

Coupon research.

Tried to get ready to teach my new 4 year old Sunday School class tomorrow.

Glad they are young and will forgive me if I mess it up.

So that is a quick update seconds before my laptop battery dies.

Happy frugal Birthday splurge

So its my birthday.
If I had a choice of restaurants available nearby I would probably choose Ruby Tuesday.

But we are cutting back on our expenses so I went for the frugal splurge.
Also easy because it is my birthday ya know.

Birthday menu:

Make ahead rolls. Already had them ready so just removed from the freezer to bake.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Make-Ahead-Butterhorns/Detail.aspx

To die for Green beans.
3 slices of bacon 1 TB butter 1 pkg frozen green beans 2 tsp soy sauce
Pepper to taste 3 TB brown sugar.

Fry bacon to crisp. toss in Butter, thawed green beans, and all other ingredients cook about 5 minutes.

All measurements are approximate. But they are so good I eat them for dessert sometimes.

Grilled steak.
Cheap cut marinated in free marinade thanks to coupons. Cooked by Jesse of course, it is my birthday you know.

Whipped red potatoes.
easy. toss them in a pan. toss in mixer with milk, salt, pepper, cream cheese and butter and walla easy, yummy side dish.

Birthday Cake
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Orange-Cake/Detail.aspx

Yummy orange cake made from free stuff I had on hand from sales.
You didn't think we were gonna put a candle on those green beans did you?

So I probably spent about 8 dollars on all this yummy food that would have been very close to my Ruby Tuesday's order.

Investing in precious metals

After some research into the current state of the economy Jesse decided some of our savings would be safer converted to platinum.

I agreed.

I tried to sell him on a smaller investment of a similar kind...Metal cans of food.

He did not agree so readily.

I had to back up my investment proposal with research showing that the responsible household should have a 3 day emergency preparedness kit.
He agreed.

Plus the concern that in an emergency we might not have the eggs to make his brownies sold him on having the powdered eggs on hand.




So here is what my "gold" investment looks like.
A few of the cans are for my Mom and Aunt Denise.

With this "flu pandemic" in the news it looks like my investment may be paying dividends sooner than expected.

I also have some "tin" investments too....tuna, pineapple, soup, rotel, etc...

My medical supplies shopping spree during the wedding has also payed off in peace of mind.

No worries about sold out face masks, I already have them on hand along with thermometers, blood pressure cuff, pain relievers, 5 first aid kits, stethoscope, lots of cold and flu meds, boxes of tissues.

Preparedness really does pay dividends in peace of mind.