Archive for October, 2007
Groceries are getting outrageous! I figure the only way I can stay on budget it to: 1. Stop eating, 2. Get rid of the children, or 3. Find some creative solutions. Since there is not way I’m about to stop eating and my husband says I can’t get rid of the kids unless I can get back all the money we have invested in them so far (and I don’t see that happening).
The only thing left for me to do is to get creative.
1. We are going to plant a garden. It’s already fall, and most people are putting their garden tools away, but we are going to buck the tradition and plant a fall garden. It will also be done in a new way – using a square foot system instead of rows. This means it will be easier for us to extend our growing season even FARTHER and maybe even into a year round program.
2. There will be lots of pasta in our future. Meat is getting more expensive, and unless I stumble on some that is on sale, the odds are that we will be eating meatless much of the week. We may even try making some of our own, fresh pasta to get the kids more involved in the process.
3. Drink more water. It’s amazing how much money we spend on convenience drinks – even the ones that we buy at the grocery store instead of buying at a gas station. I’ll promote drinking from a sports cup each day and trying to fill it up four times with water. If it’s a competition then the kids are much more likely to get excited about it.
4. Waste not, want not. Not only are we going to eat the leftovers, but I’m going to plan meals that will incorporate the leftovers (call them “planned-overs”) so that it won’t be the same meal all week long.
It’s not a lot, but it should help me squeeze a little more distance out of my grocery budget. What are your tips for surviving these amazing prices?
October 8th, 2007
Every writer should write a blog. I’m not talking about the day to day journals that are most common on the internet. The blogs that should be a focus for a writer is one that they are passionate about. It doesn’t have to be a blog that is specifically their own, but writers should be writing at least one blog a day.
1. Writing a blog forces you to cut your words. Most people will tell you that a blog longer than what can be viewed on one page will not be read. Blogs have to be tight and to the point.
2. The title says it all. Not only do you have to write more with fewer words, but your title has to grab the attention of a reader over the other millions of choices out there.
3. Writing every day means you are writing – every day. It doesn’t matter what genre you are focused on writing, you have to be disciplined to write every day. Blogs are a way to get the juices flowing when you have trouble getting started.
4. A short post could lead to a long article. There have been things that I’ve discussed on a blog that received a lot of attention. It told me there was high interest in that subject. I put together a query for a magazine with that in mind and sold it the first time out.
5. There is the rare chance that a blog could lead to bigger and better things. There have been bloggers who were approached by publishers and signed for a book deal. Although this has not YET happened to me but that is one of the things that is keeping me motivated to write. I guess, when you think about it, getting published is one of the motivators for most writers.
Blogging is a great training tool for writers. It can make you focus and keep you motivated on those days when you don’t want to write. Offer to write for blogs that you enjoy (many sites are hungry for guest bloggers) or start your own site. It will benefit your writing to start blogging today.
October 6th, 2007
Men are put on this earth to help women grow. That’s the decision I have finally reached. God put a man with a woman because without him around she would never push herself as far as she could go.
This week has been plagued by the dreaded cold. My head has felt fuzzy and I haven’t had the energy to even thing of cleaning the house. Tonight was my night to go to bed and sleep it off. I had it all planned. So what if I missed church on Sunday. So what if I’m the one that signed us up for this Wednesday night bible study. I needed to rest and recharge.
My husband missed the memo.
Instead, he called to remind me that he was going to a meeting out of town and didn’t know when he would be home. Frustrated, irritated, and severely disappointed, I set about getting the clan fed, bathed, and ready for church.
While I was in my bathroom changing and complaining to God about how things just never work out the way I want them to work out, I realized what was happening. I knew I needed to be at the bible study (I had even commented to my dad the day before about why I thought I was in the bible study) but I was using any excuse not to go. My husband forced me to do what I needed to do.
I have a new respect for why my husband is the way he is. God knew how different we were when he put us together – after all, men and women are as different as you can get when you think about it. My husband isn’t clueless because he is careless, he is how he is because it challenges me to be better, to do more, and to become the person that I know I need to be.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not telling him about my revelation. He still needs to worry when he doesn’t do what I expect or want. It keeps him on his toes and out of trouble. Hey, maybe that’s one of the reasons that God made me the way he made me!
October 4th, 2007
Writing can be tough on good days and nearly impossible on bad days. I can usually manage a few words for a blog or a personal essay, but fiction can stop me in my tracks. Over the years, I have found some tips and tricks to help jump start my writing when the coals are burning low.
1. Make a character folder. If I run into interesting people or see a striking (good or bad) face in a newspaper or magazine then I clip it out or write it down and put it in a folder. A great character can really get the creative juices flowing.
2. Eavesdrop. I’ll still bits and pieces of conversation that I will put in a dialogue folder. Be careful though. I once got caught writing out a story a lady was telling 
. When I get stumped, I refer to real conversations to get me going again.
3. Go on a trip – in your imagination or even online. Look up a place you have never been before and then write a short story about that location.
4. Look up your family history. You might be surprised at the numerous stories your heritage has hidden in it. Make your family history into a book that can be given out at Christmas or just use the colorful characters in your past to get your own story flowing.
5. Write a tall tale for your children (or nieces, nephews, cousins, etc). Take an event from their lives and then add lots of exaggeration and humor.
6. Read. Just the other day I was stuck in the doctor’s office. Instead of being annoyed, I skimmed several magazines and got some inspiration for future articles (which I jotted down in the notebook that I carry in my purse). I also read a few articles to get an idea of the style that magazine was looking for, incase I decide to query in the future.
7. Write a poem – just for fun. It doesn’t have to be publish worthy, but it does have to be from the heart. Unable to get my thoughts going one morning, I wrote a poem about our crazy cat. I still work on it when things aren’t going the way I want. It gives me a break and lets my mind wander.
Writing doesn’t have to be a chore. If you change things up and look for creative outlets, writing can be an adventure every time you pick up a pencil (or sit down in front of the computer).
October 4th, 2007
Growing up, we never bought costumes for Halloween. Either we pulled stuff from the closet and “created” a character or else my mother made us a costume – which was much rarer as the years past and she focused on her career. I don’t know if it is because of my background or because of the lack of money, but I usually can’t bring myself to buy costumes for the kids.
If you want to go all out, but you don’t want to break your bank, here are some ideas for easy and inexpensive costumes.
1. A hobbit. It helps that my son has a head of hair that is curly and full. For the rest of the costume, I tacked up some of his black pants, put him in a white casual shirt with a black vest on top. For the feet, we glued some faux fur from a stuffed lion to the top of his feet. He chose to be Frodo, so we topped off the outfit with a chain necklace holding a gold ring.
2. Medusa. It doesn’t really matter what you wear – I used a long bit of green material that I wrapped like a toga – the magic of this costume is in the hair. First we braided bits of my hair and then we teased it all to stand out and up. Along each of the braids we attached plastic snakes.
3. Zorro. This is a simple one. All you need is a black cape, a black hat, a black material mask, and a sword.
4. If you can sew – at all – then you can really get outside the box. My kids LOVE the Veggie Tales. I found a pattern for a tomato and just added the face to make it “Bob.” With that same basic pattern in mind (all the veggies are really shapeless) I created a “Larryboy” and an “Archibald.”
Making a great costume can be something that you do as a family. There is plenty of time to raid the closets and see what you can throw together. Try to think of creations that can’t be bought in the store. Soon your kids won’t be focused on going out to beg candy from strangers. October will be about creating their own characters – which will stretch their imagination while saving your wallet.
October 3rd, 2007
Last night, before I vanished from the sight of my men, I told them two things that needed to be done. The baby’s clothes were in the dryer and the leftovers needed to be thrown out.
It had been a long day and I just wanted to crawl into a hot bath. Although my day had been somewhat productive, I felt like I was climbing uphill in sand. Head colds will do that to me. I went to bed still fuzzy headed, but clean.
When I got up this morning, there were really only two things that needed to be done – bet you can’t guess what they were. I could have gotten irritated or disappointed. I could have lectured my husband (who was already late for work). I could have pretended that I didn’t notice that the food was still sitting there waiting to be thrown out.
All of those are the easy way.
I got up, got dressed for the day, straightened the kitchen a little and then did my bible study. It reminded me that if I do what God leads me to do then there is always time and then some. So, I began to tackle the chores. Since the dishwasher just got emptied, I decided to dump out the left-overs and load them straight into the dishwasher. When I get back from errands later today, I will empty the dishwasher once again.
There is no reason to get upset or depressed about what the people around us are doing that they aren’t suppose to be doing or aren’t doing what they should be doing. I am the only person that I can change. It took fifteen minutes to do the things that needed to be done. Just think, if I had just done them last night then I wouldn’t have had the dilemma I woke up to this morning.
October 2nd, 2007
Groceries have gotten outrageous. The media is focusing on the rising cost of gasoline, but my milk costs almost twice what my gas costs. I went to the grocery store yesterday, and that one visit cost me half of what I had budgeted for the month. There has to be a better way.
1. Buy bulk with friends. No one person needs twenty pounds of anything, but if you can go together with a couple of friends, you can save a bundle by buying bulk.
2. Try once a month cooking. This would be especially nice if your church has a large kitchen that you and a group of friends could use. Instead of buying prepackaged meals (which can cost a fortune), you and your friends could prepare casseroles and meal ingredients that can be prepared later.
3. Don’t eat out of season. These days you can get just about any fruit any time of the year, but it’ll cost you. Try to stick with fruits that are in season or at least on sale.
4. Waste not, want not. One of the biggest expenses most of us have is letting food go bad. If you aren’t going to get to the ground beef, then go ahead and freeze it. It’s better to have to defrost 2lbs than to have to throw it away.
5. Speaking of freezing, vegetables are good for freezing. I got 3 lbs of carrots yesterday for just $1. I won’t ever use that many fresh carrots, but chopped up and frozen they will store for a long time.
6. Which bring me to my final tip – don’t be afraid to buy the discounted foods. Anything that is close to its “sale by date” is usually discounted by stores. If you can use it or freeze it within a day or two, then go for it.
Groceries are becoming a precious commodity. If the government wants to be concerned about prices, then these are the prices they should be focused on. Everyone has to eat. You may have to tweak your budget some to be able to handle the rising cost of family meals, but with these tips (and the many others available through out the internet) you will be able to survive.
October 2nd, 2007
It is impossible to please God without faith.
That’s a scary statement. To know that nothing I do, think, or say is of value if I don’t start with faith.
It makes since – faith is knowing something is true without having proof. Faith is resting on God even though the evidence is not there – yet. Faith is believing before there is something to believe in.
It doesn’t make it any easier.
There are things in my life that I have felt led to do but have avoided like the plague. Pare of the reason was my own selfishness – I didn’t want to give up doing what I WANTED to do even though I knew the things I was suppose to do would make my day much better. Part of my hesitation comes from my own fear – of what has happened in the past even if the end turned out to be a blessing.
There is no excuse for me not stepping out in faith. God has proven Himself in my life time and time and time again. I know He is faithful. I just have to close my eyes and choose to believe what I don’t see.
Thought for the day: With God, there is nothing that is impossible.
Mark 10:27 “Jesus looked at them and said, ‘with man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”
Suggested Reading: Hebrews 11
Lord, help me remember that there is nothing in my life that You will direct me to do that YOU won’t complete. Grow my faith to step out boldly in obedience to Your will.
October 1st, 2007
It dawned on me this morning just how peculiar I seem to the people around me. It’s not just that I dance to the music in the grocery store or that I let people go in front of me, even on a hectic day. It’s not that I see life through rose colored glasses – although that does make everything a little softer. It all comes back to the fact that I see beyond the moment.
There is a bigger picture than right now. There is more to the story than just this line. Focusing on one point will keep you from seeing the ending.
I’ve always wanted a large family – I mean, like baseball team large – and I was more than willing to pop them all out myself. The problem is that pregnancy and I don’t get along. I produce LOTS of pregnancy hormones – which is good for the baby but makes me vomit for the first several months. It stresses out my husband to no end and puts a strain on all those around me who pitch in to care for the children and the house. Add to those complications additional complications that I have had and it would be selfish of me to put my husband and my children through the anguish.
Would it be fair to say that my hopes had been dashed? It would be, but they aren’t. They’ve just been re-directed. I am blessed beyond words with the children that are in my life and I take the stewardship over them seriously. I may not be having more physically, but the story is far from over.
Maybe it’s not normal to look for the silver lining, but I don’t really care. If being peculiar means I find the positive in what most would call negative, then so be it. I’ll proudly claim the role. There are too many amazing blessings in every single day to be focused on one minor negative.
October 1st, 2007
Today is the first day of the month. We got a raise AND I’m making more money writing. It would be easy to say “why worry about a budget – we have plenty” or to add lots of new items to our budget. Instead, I’m determined that we will stick to our original budget and move the savings into an account all its own.
1. I will write down every penny we spend. I bought a ledger to be able to keep up with all the monthly expenses by category. I have already marked in that ledger what is allotted for things like groceries, gas, etc. Every time a check gets written or a card gets swiped, I will record it in that ledger. You can’t save money if you aren’t aware of what you are spending and where you are spending it.
2. I won’t spend money that isn’t in the budget. That means that if I run out of grocery money then I have to make do with what is in the pantry (it’s not like the pantry is any where close to empty). If I see the perfect shirt on sale, it will have to wait. I don’t have money in the budget this month for mommy clothes. If I don’t feel like cooking – tough. I’ve laid out a menu for the month and there is no excuse for not putting the food on the table.
3. I will put the extra in a savings account. I always SAY I’m going to save, but if I leave it in the general fund then I’m generally going to use it. Today I am going to open an account specifically for this money.
4. I will continue to push my writing so that more money continues to come in. My goal is that I will be earning the same paycheck as my husband. If we continue to set all that money aside then we will be in a position to pay off our mortgage in the blink of an eye.
5. I will set aside certain funds from my writing for my writing. Anyone who works from home knows there are expenses that will come up. I have determined that all money I make from print work will go specifically into my writing account. That way any expenses I incur I can pay.
Our budget doesn’t have to expand just because our income expands. We have been living a good, comfortable life over the last year. Instead of throwing the new money away, I am going to work harder to make sure that money makes its way into savings.
October 1st, 2007
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