Monday, December 31, 2007

Free Movie for NYE

Here is today's Redbox code- good for one free movie from your local Redbox. When you go to make your order press the button that says, "Rent with a Promotion Code" and then enter this code in 2HVM4L.

The code is good through midnight tonight so get your movie for your fun evening. They had tons of family moves and ones just for the grown-ups too! Happy New Year, everyone!!

Side Note: If you want to rent more than one movie for free, bring more than one credit/debit card. You can use the same promotional code, you just will need different accounts to charge to. The charge will be zero as long as you return your movie on time for the next day.

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Sunday, December 30, 2007

New Year's Eve for a Frugal Gal

We are excited that my in-laws have volunteered to keep the kids for us on New Year's. Getting a babysitter for the holiday is tough and a sleepover at Grandma's will insure that we get a full-fledged celebration in as a couple.

Lots of people dine out and spend oodles of money on drinks or cover charges to go to the latest hot spots in town. We spend our New Year's at home and avoid the crowds and the drunk drivers on the road.

A few years ago, I started doing a special dinner for us to celebrate the holiday. This one night out of the year, we don't eat our usual bargain-basement fare. No, we splurge and have delicious foods like a fabulous steak dinner with a bottle of wine. The celebration is completed with cupcakes purchased from the bakery to end our old year in a sweet way.

Maybe that doesn't sound that exciting to others, but when you are constantly crunching numbers for your grocery budget to work, a little vacation from that can be a wonderful way to celebrate the new year. It is a bit of a splurge, but it is a lot less than a splurge would be if we went out to dinner.

If you think about it, a dinner for two with a bottle of wine would cost between $50-60 for a meal. The food might not even be superb for that price and who knows how long we would wait for a table? We certainly wouldn't get to have seconds and service, on days like this, is typically slow and has usually left me with little to be desired. We usually are paying the tab and saying to each other, "The dinner was good, but I really love the A, B, or C that we eat at home."

Sometimes I feel like I am running a factory here because I try to make so many of the foods that people buy. Our desire to keep our grocery budget low has taken some of the fun out of cooking for me. I will admit, that there are times where I feel like cooking is just another chore to complete for the day.

That is why, when it comes to special date nights like these, I love to splurge and purchase fun ingredients that can showcase what I can really cook. This year we will be enjoying marinated steaks with blue cheese butter, baked potatoes, sauteed mushrooms, and crusty bread.

Our evening is spent watching movies (rented from the local library) and playing our favorite board games.

No, it isn't a wild night on the town, but it will be a wildly delicious celebration to ring in the New Year!

Sound Off: How do you keep your NYE fun and frugal?

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Friday, December 28, 2007

Freebie Friday: December 28, 2007


Special thanks to Heather, from Freebies 4 Mom, for aiding us in compiling our freebies this week!


Health & Beauty

Free 8 Week Trial Membership to Bally Fitness
(Good from Jan 5- March 3, 2008)
Ulta free make-up gift from Smashbox (printable coupon good in-store Dec. 28-30)
Dove T-Shirt Iron-On Kit: My Beauty Rocks & Be Unique, Get Real, See Beauty
Nautica My Voyage Perfume for Women

Food

Nutrition for your Kids:A Dietary Approach to Cancer Prevention (great recipe booklet with fun food art photos)
Jiffy Mix Recipe Book

Entertainment



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When Do You Let Your Car Go?

When do you decide to let your vehicle die? At what point does the fork in the road become clear? I was hopeful it would be clear after I finished paying my car off, but now I am not even hopeful that we can even make it that far. This is the closest I have ever been to owning a car, and now I am just hoping that it lasts until my last payment is over.

I have heard some squeaking going on for a long time, and we had decided it was most likely the brakes. But then we had just replaced the front brakes, so this theory wasn't making any sense at all. I was still hopeful it was just the brakes so we figured we would replace these after the holiday season.

Then we started to hear a sound like something was dragging under the car. Ryan assured me it was probably packed ice underneath, from all of our snow, so we decided to go with that theory. After all, it was the cheapest!

My car sat in the garage for three days after the packed ice theory, melting our theory in a puddle on the garage floor. Oh no, these things can't be quite that simple.

Our theory came to a grinding (pardon the pun!) halt that day, as the dragging sound persisted. Ryan and I rarely made eye contact. He would start to talk about it and I would look out the window. "It's Christmas. It's the end of the month. This isn't the right time."

But when are these scenarios ever the right time? When is a good time to hear a dragging sound under you car?

I took it into the shop yesterday and got a twenty minute rundown of everything wrong with the car from their technician, just an hour later. The rear brakes were shot, but worse, the calipers were cracked and broken. The cost- $575. That would have to be done today.

The car is due for its 100K tune-up ($340), the car is leaking oil and requires a new timing belt ($1,200), the front brakes have 20% left on them ($240). All of these scenarios need to be happening within the next six months in order to keep my car running smoothly.

According to my calculations though, I just need the car to run another six years so that we can pay down all of our debts. Six years seems like twenty now that I receive the estimate.

I agree to the rear brakes and then wonder what is the next best step to take. Do I ditch the car (a '99 Subaru Outback) or do I pay up and trudge on with my goals in mind?

Despite the bleakness of this, here is what I was thankful for:

1. It is the end of the month and Ryan is only paid once a month. This is a very lean time for us, and we were able to pay for this repair out of our account without putting it on the credit card. Although I felt sick as I handed my debit card over, I knew that we had that money.

2. Here is why we had the money...I have this site. No, I don't make enough for a full-time income, no I am not rolling in it (by any means- see above for car description for further clarification) but I am a contributer to this household. A little pipe dream paid for my beat-up Subaru to have a little surgery. That made me feel really good. I realize my husband pays for everything else, but when it comes to emergency situations like these, my paycheck is the one that pays the bills.

So we ponied up the money and I have my car back and now we are faced with the decision on how to proceed. We sat down and decided that Ryan could definitely fix the front brakes, but a new timing belt and small oil leak would need to be done by the pros. And a 100K tune-up...well, don't all cars need that?

With ten more payments to go, do I pay up or start hunting for something else? Sound off!

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Thursday, December 27, 2007

A Favorite Handmade Gift

Isn't this tote bag the cutest? My mother-in-law made it and it was my favorite gift of all. She makes the most beautiful things and has such a knack for sewing. I think she should quit her day job as a teacher and start crafting it up full time. Her aprons, baby slings, and bags are always such a hit with her family and friends. Too bad crafting doesn't have health insurance. I tell you, that health insurance stuff really kills a lot of great dreams.


I just love the little button closure on it. I can see this going with me on lots of trips and it will make a great diaper bag as well.

Lucky for me...a gift card to Starbucks was tucked inside. Now I can tote my library books over to the coffee shop and enjoy a free latte. What could be better than that? In my opinion, handmade gifts are the best in the world!

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Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Hundreds of Toys & Clothes for Christmas, But...


Running around in our diaper and playing with a plastic tote is much more fun! Throw in a hanger and tell them it is an oar...instant boat! Just goes to show how great the little things in life are!

Note to self- spend less next year!

**Visit Wordless Wednesday for more great photos!**

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Welcome, CBS Early Show Viewers

It FINALLY aired! I am so relieved and happy with how the piece turned out. I hope you will get a chance to check it out. This is our first national coverage for our site.

I apologize that I didn't get a chance to share it with all of you, but with the holiday craziness I didn't have time to let everyone know. I also was afraid it might get pushed back again so I figured I would wait and share the clip when it was posted.

Here is the segment! Let me know what you think and a warm welcome to our new visitors who have found our website.

Thanks, CBS!!

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Christmas Giving & Getting Recap

I wish I could have shared some of my gift-giving ideas before the holidays, but I didn't want to give away any surprises for family members who might be reading the blog. I tried to really be thoughtful about choosing gifts this year and I hope it showed!

Here are some of the gifts that I chose for giving:


Fashion-Conscious Sis: My sister-in-law loves buying new clothes, but just doesn't have the funds to be buying as often as she would like. She is always so complimentary of the clothes that I have and I have to tell her that nine times out of ten the item was bought on really reduced clearance or I buy my clothes from the thrift store. To help teach her the knack for finding a really good deal, I got her a copy of, "How to Be a Budget Fashionista." Along with the book, we included a gift card to Target. In the memo it said, "To help you be a budget fashionista!" She was excited about both purchases and I hope the book will help her as much as it helped me!

Forward-Thinking Mom: My mother-in-law has been admiring my cloth grocery bags since I bought them and I had always had in the back of my mind that I would need to get her some of these. She is an avid reader, like me, and I know how handy these bags have come in when I just did my library runs. I knew these would be used and loved by her as much as they are by my family. I got her three bags and was able to locate a coupon code for my purchase, which took twenty percent off of my total order.

Music-Loving Dad: Buying gifts for a music lover can be really easy, especially when you can find their musical niche. We got my father-in-law the new Eagles CD and the new John Mayer CD. He was thrilled and already listening to the albums before we even left their house.


Glowing Grandparents: I have to say that the best gift of all seemed to be my grandparent brag books that I created for each set of grandparents. I was so excited to give these out and the reactions were priceless, especially for our family who lived out of town. The photo albums had plenty of room in them at the end, so a big stack of pictures will make great gifts for them to add to their books to show off. Everyone seemed so impressed with how beautiful the album itself was, and the giant bows on the outside were saved and slipped back on carefully, which tickled me to death. One thing I know how to do is make a pretty bow!

Another hit was our first family Christmas photo that we took. I had hoped to buy some frames, but we got the flu and just gave the prints themselves out.

We also received lots of excellent gifts this Christmas, although our families were FAR too generous! I felt guilty with all of our loot making our car sag in the back on our trip home. The kids have completely new wardrobes and loads of really cool toys to keep them busy over the winter.

The biggest hits for our family were:


Despite agreeing to the pact that my husband & I would not exchange gifts this year, my husband did end up buying me one small gift that was a complete unexpected and happy surprise. "The Digital Photography Book" by Scott Kelby was all wrapped up for me and given to me this year. This book is SO excellent and a great book for anyone trying to figure out how to work all of those settings on their camera. I started reading last night and could not stop. I finally passed out after midnight, but not after getting all the tips I could out of it. Ryan is trying to help me accomplish one of my resolutions this year and I thought that was so thoughtful of him!
Emily & Ethan both are loving these pyramid blocks from Janod. They are carrying this toymaker at Target, but only just a few select toys. These pyramid blocks were on my list for Emily and none of us could believe how beautiful and sturdy they were. The kids are having a ball stacking these and filling them with all of their toys and dumping them out. They are just beautiful to look at and they all nest into one another. I don't know how long Target will have them, but I couldn't resist adding them to our list. I think these were a crowd favorite everywhere and I am sure they will be a hit when we have our friends over too!

The kids received a set of these Imaginarium cardboard brick blocks and they have been a huge hit over here. The kids have been making walls out of them and knocking them over. These are such a cool gift and so durable too! I don't know where I am going to keep this 45 piece set, but we will find a home for these so the kids can keep occupied!

Some other great gifts we got was a gift card to the gas station, gift cards to Starbucks (of course!), sewing supplies (to accomplish my other New Years resolution!), Leapster games for Ethan, and two great games for our Wii system.

Sound Off: What are some great gifts you gave or got in your family? I love to make lists of ideas for next year!


**Visit Scribbit's Winter Bazaar for more great ideas for the winter season***

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Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Santa Spotting

We went to a friend's holiday open house and Santa happened to stop by to see the children. As we were too sick to make it over to see our amazing mall Santa (he truly is!), we decided this was a perfect opportunity to get the kid's special visit in with Santa.

Pictured here is how polite our son is... some of the time anyway! He is raising his hand and saying, "Excuse me, Santa! Santa, excuse me! I need to speak with you"

Ethan quickly plops down in Santa's lap and talks his ear off. A last minute change of plans occurrs where his original plan of getting a Monster Truck was now changed and he wanted a Hummer Truck that he could ride in (price tag of $300). He says Santa told him to write it all out and he would see what he could do. Unfortunately, Santa already shopped and Santa did not have $300 in the Santa fund to spend. What can I say? Our Santa is cheap.
Emily is watching Ethan talk with Santa and is really excited to see him. I mean, you can just see it in her face. I know that this is the year that we get that amazing shot of her with Santa. This will not be a repeat of last year. She is going to look so cute on Santa's lap....Oh! We are getting excited now. I hand her over to Santa and all of a sudden...
Santa looks at me and says, "Oh no! There is something wrong with this one" (All pictures can be expanded for real-life detail and trauma we invoked on our child)

Better luck next year, I say! Merry Christmas, everyone!

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Saturday, December 22, 2007

Cheeseburger in Paradise

I couldn't resist? I apologize if the song is now stuck in your head.

Since we have been sick, I have been all about simple cooking and quick dinners. I have had this recipe in my "to be tried" pile for quite some time, and it seemed like the perfect meal for this busy time of year.

Unfortunately, I can't add this one to the Aldi Queen blog. It contains two non-Aldi ingredients- shell pasta (which could be subbed with a rotini or elbow mac from Aldi) and a can of cheese soup (currently not available at our Aldi).

Regardless, this is a quick and easy pantry meal. It is like Hamburger Helper, but definitely has more of a distinct flavor than those flavor pouches that come in a box.

The best part about this dish...only one pan to clean up! That is why skillet dinners get two thumbs up in our house.

Enjoy a stress-free night of cooking!

Cheeseburger Pasta

1 lb ground beef
1 (10 1/2 ounce) can cheddar cheese soup
1 (10 1/2 ounce) can beef broth
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup ketchup
2 cups medium-size pasta shells

Brown the ground beef. Add all other ingredients and heat to a boil. Cook over medium heat 10 to 15 minutes or until done, stirring often. (Amy's Note: This took a little over fifteen minutes for me, uncovered)

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Friday, December 21, 2007

Freebie Friday: December 21, 2007

Thank you again to Heather, from Freebies 4 Mom, for her help with compiling our freebies for the week.

Merry Christmas, everyone!


Health & Beauty


Food


South Beach Living Foods Sample Pack (drink mix, granola clusters, and coupons)

Promise Activ SuperShots (coupon for free product to first 500 each day)

Jolly Cook Cookbook (requires confirmation link by e-mail and subscription to e-newsletter)


Entertainment

Free audio download of, "You are Special" by Max Lucado

Free issue of Bridal Guide

Liz Magazine

Poster from Snowmass, Colorado for signing-up for e-newsletter

Amazon Unbox Free Download of Mary Tyler Moore Show Episode 14: Christmas and the
Hard-Luck Kid II

Small Business Marketing for Dummies book (when registering for MicroSoft's Small Business monthly newsletter)

Free 8x10 from Walgreens (Use code VERYNICE- valid only through 12/21)

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Thursday, December 20, 2007

When Do You Have the Talk?

Wow, I have been reading a sea of blog entries on teenage pregnancy since the whole thing with the Spears family has come out. Ironically, the feel-good movie of the year is, "Juno" which also deals with the issue of teenage pregnancy.

As a parent of children under five, I have not had the big talk yet. I am really curious who out there has had the talk and at what age you discussed this? Was it you and your husband together? Did the conversation stem from a particular circumstance or was it just something you decided to talk about with your child? Did you talk from the heart or did you tackle the discussion with some learning materials?

I guess what I am asking is, what can we as parents do to help prevent our children from being a statistic?

I don't say this to stir up controversy, but only to understand how other parents have dealt with topics such as these!

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Amy's Deluxe Holiday Notebook 12.20.07


There were so many excellent reads this week that I am so excited to share! I hope everyone enjoys all of this reading material with a big cup of cocoa in your hands!

I am so inspired to make S'mores and there were two excellent ideas this week! For visual learners, here is a marshmallow tutorial!

I adore these candy-cane place card holders and the powdered doughnut idea would make a great snack for a school party.

I love this idea for what to do with leftover scraps of holiday paper. Inventive and very green!

I love these holiday decorating ideas. And these snowflake decorating ideas are so great too!

I might need to make some of these winter spice scones this month.

Who could resist one of these Cinnamon Rolls on Christmas morning?

This Peppermint Bark and this Chocolate Cookie Bark recipe looks heavenly!

I really love this idea for a gingerbread mobile, but I think my kids would eat it. Crazy kids!

These holiday photos are most excellent!

We ate off of plates just like these growing up. Great memories and would make a wonderful gift, paired with the placemat purse!

These skate ornaments are so vintage and precious!

I can think of tons of people to give these free gift tags to. So awesome! These eco-friendly tags are also an excellent choice.

These homemade napkins would make a lovely holiday gift for a newlywed.

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Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Clean: The Cooktop

Every Sunday, I make it a ritual to clean a few important items in our kitchen. One of the tasks on my list is to give our stove and sink a deep cleaning. A week of cooking can really make my range look bad, but my deep cleaning gives it a nice clean top for the week. I combine this with a clean sink and I feel like my kitchen has gotten some great refreshing.

I just have a standard gas range so my routine is for this. I can post some directions I found for cleaning other surfaces, but will use my stove for this example.

1. First, I fill a sink with warm soapy water. I place all of the burner pieces gently inside of the sink and let them soak while I clean the the top of our stove. At this point, you can also take the knobs off and let them soak too. Just make sure the knobs are in the off position and pull straight out to remove (Side note: It is also possible to put these items in the dishwasher, but I prefer to hand wash them because I think it is more gentle on the pieces)

2. I then take my spray bottle filled with my homemade all-purpose spray and spray the top of my range. I let this soak in for a couple of minutes while I work on other tasks around the house.

3. Once the cleaner has done its work, I take a soft damp cloth and wipe off the cleaner.

4. If there are persistent spots that won't come up, you can try a couple of things to get them off. I pour a couple spoonfuls of baking soda on the spots and then make a paste out of this with a little water. Using the same soft cloth, gently try and get the stain up. If there is stuck on gunk, I take a different (but still gentle!) approach towards cleaning this. I use a Pampered Chef Scraper (if you don't have one of these, an old credit card is great) for getting this off. The important thing is that you are gentle with your actions, so it doesn't scratch up your appliance. Use the same gentle tactics on your glass oven door. I first try using my homemade glass cleaner. If that doesn't do the trick, you can try and get the gunk off with your handy credit card or plastic scraper. Be very careful though- you want to keep your stove looking nice!

5. Next, I use my stainless steel cleaner on my stove with one of my microfiber cloths. I just spray my cloth directly (very teeny tiny bit) and then gently remove any fingerprints that might have taken up residence on my appliance. Remember to chant, go with the grain, go with the grain, go with the grain as you are cleaning.

6. Lastly, I drain the sink and give my pieces a good rinse with cool water. At this point, you can just let them air dry or you can give them a dry with a soft towel and place them back on the stove.

Cleaning Tips for Other Types of Stoves (thanks Martha!):

Stainless-Steel Cooktop Surface: Wipe with a sponge and a little dishwashing liquid or you can use a product for stainless-steel cleaning. Be sure to dry thoroughly afterward with a clean microfiber cloth; otherwise you will have streaking. To remove stuck on gunk, soak the area with a towel dampened with hot water to loosen the material and then gently scrape with a rubber spatula.

Glass Ceramic Cooktop Surfaces: Wipe with a very lightly dampened cloth. This type of surface scratches extremely easy, in fact, even the gritty stuff that can get pushed around with a dirty sponge can cause damage. You have be really diligent to clean spills as soon as they happen. If spills do harden. You can buy special cleaners for this type of surface (available at your local hardware store). Remember to never slide pans or metal utensils across the cooktop.

Porcelain Enamel Cooktop Surfaces: Clean as directed above, but realize that the porcelain enamel can become chipped very easily. If it does get chipped though, you can camouflage damage with a little appliance touch-up paint.

Sound Off: Do you have any tips for cleaning your cooktops?

(For more great tips, visit Rocks In My Dryer)

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Tuesday, December 18, 2007

WSBT-TV: Is Buying in Bulk a Better Deal?

Today on WSBT, I shared tips for shopping wholesale. Be sure to visit my wholesale club shopping article and print out our free price book sheet for figuring out all of those prices.

Don't have price book? Check our Price Book 101 article for tips on getting started.

Hope you guys enjoy the segments!

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Good News for Wii Shoppers

Although I admit the Wii is not necessarily the most frugal purchase, people are definitely on the lookout for them this holiday season. Unfortunately, people are forking over hundreds and hundreds of dollars for their game systems and it makes an expensive system even more expensive than it should be.

GameStop & Nintendo are teaming up to make sure shoppers get their Wii game system and are now offering rain checks on the systems. This means, instead of you standing in line for hours on end only to find out the store has run out of systems, you can take your raincheck and go home to be with your family.

The rain check program—available only through GameStop stores—will "guarantee" that consumers can get a Wii after Christmas. On December 20 and 21, consumers can purchase a Wii rain check ("while supplies last") for the full $249 price. The Wii systems must be picked up by January 29.

Of course, these will not be ready for the holidays, but a promise of a Wii could be all wrapped and tucked under the tree. How great is that?

**Special thanks to my hubby for the tip**

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Frugal Hacks: Entertaining Instead of Grocery Shopping

Today on Frugal Hacks, I share a few ways that you can bypass time at the grocery store and spend it getting ready for all of those holiday guests.

Now if only I could find a way to bypass all of the cleaning that needs to be done too!

PS- Our last family member, my dear husband, has been struck with the stomach flu. Now that we have all had it, hopefully we can enjoy the rest of the holidays without illness. Fingers crossed for quick recoveries!

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More Great Shopping Deals

I am trying to post these as I run across them for holiday shopping! I hope these are helping and let me know if you would like me to continue posting them.

This Webkinz Chihuahua is marked down to only $5.95, originally priced at $19.99. I hear it is the latest craze, although I don't know anything about these since my kids aren't old enough yet.

This retro Radio Flyer Rocket was originally $74.99 and the price is now listed at $35.00. Apparently it dipped just a tiny bit below that, but I didn't catch it when it did that. It is still a great deal though.

I am not sure if the orders will be here by Christmas or not, without paying extra to ship it, but some of us are probably already stockpiling for next Christmas (or birthdays!)

Happy holidays everyone and I hope you are scoring all of the best deals for your holiday shopping!

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Ding Dong- Did Someone Order Groceries?

Grocery deliveries have become very popular as people have become more & more busy. I know when I was working, the last thing that I wanted to do was brave the grocery store after a long day at work. Couple that with a few children in tow, and I don't know if I would ever make it to the store at all!

One of my working friends has had that dilemma and recently ran across a grocery delivery program which has finally become an option in our area. Not being from a big city, we often don't have the luxuries of services like Peapod or other grocery delivery programs. Recently though, IndianaGroceries.com recently was added as a service to our small town and I am hearing the praises of how wonderful this option is.

Today I browsed some of the pricing that was available on the grocery items. Like a grocery flier, the delivery programs do offer sale items. If you can focus your grocery shopping in that direction, you can come away with some surprisingly good deals. Here are some from this week's flier:

Jiff Creamy Peanut Butter- $.99
Eggs- $.99
1 gallon Skim Milk- $1.99
Secret Deodorant- $.99
Colgate Toothpaste- $.99
Broccoli Crowns (1#)- $1.89

Of course, when you browse many of the other items, they are not as good of prices. While some items are offered as a store-brand, other items are brand-name only so the pricing can be higher than making a trip the store yourself.

Here are a few tips for shopping grocery delivery websites:

1. Make sure you understand the fees that are involved with your shopping. Some may offer free grocery delivery, but they might charge something called a "bagging fee." The website for our area states that they charge a $3.99 fee for each delivery. Other sites do charge a service fee of $10 or more so acquaint yourself with all the fees before jumping in with your shopping.

2. When you receive your groceries, tips are appreciated and encouraged. This is another one of those small fees that needs to be considered when factoring in the costs of grocery delivery.

3. When you have totaled up all of your fees for grocery delivery, figure out how much you would actually save by using this. There are many fees that are involved with you going out and getting your own groceries too- time, gas, mileage on your car, and all of the extra browsing you might be suckered into at the superstores. If you are having a hard time being disciplined at the grocery store (or always forget your grocery list!) there might be some savings by using a service like this.

4. Coupon moms would not benefit from a service like this because coupons can't be factored in. Cherry-picking from various stores could not be done either, but grocery delivery services do offer sale items that shoppers can take advantage of.

5. Grocery delivery services are usually only offered with a minimum order. Read the fine print on how much you have to spend. If you are spending money just to get the delivery, it might not be worth the trouble.

6. Some grocery delivery programs offer perks to their loyal customers. The website for our area, for example, offers a $5 credit for every 5 orders (of $50 or more) you place with their site. With 5 orders of $100 or more, you can get a $10 credit.

7. A true advantage to online ordering is the ability to save your grocery lists. If you typically get the same things every single week, your grocery shopping can be done in a matter of minutes!

8. Check on the company's page if there are membership fees involved and the ability to cancel your membership. Some companies do charge a membership fee for their services so factor this into your cost too! Once you have factored in all the costs, see if the $1.99 milk is still $1.99- maybe it is $6, when it is all said and done.

9. Each state is different on this, but check and see if there is an additional fee involved for liquor delivery. One page I visited contained a $7 fee. That $4 wine might be a $20 bottle when the fees are all factored. Ouch!

10. Remember that you need to be home to receive the groceries or be subjected to a hefty fee. While there is flexibility with ordering, there is not flexibility with being home for delivery. Be sure you understand when you need to be home to accept your order.

11. If you want to try online grocery shopping, most sites offer a nice credit to get you started on your first shopping experience with them. They are trying to hook you in with their services, so maybe take advantage of it once and then see if it is worth the money and your experience with it. If it isn't positive or you can't justify the cost, at least you got a smoking deal on your first attempt!

12. Find out about referral programs. Friend referrals are big with companies and they need the business. You can often get a $5 (or more) credit on future orders if you refer your friends. Name dropping is definitely a good thing when it comes to your grocery budget!

Here are a listing of Grocery Delivery Sites:

Peapod (Connecticut, New York, Rhode island, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Massachusetts, the rest of the New England coast, Chicago and Milwaukee)
Safeway
Amazon Grocery (free delivery and savings for repeat ordering)
Sam's Club Click N Pull (not technically a delivery, but they do put together all of your groceries for you for free)
Schwan's (Frozen Food Shopping)
Simon Delivers (Twin Cities Shoppers)
Grocery Run, LLC (Michigan Shoppers)
Food Express (Florida Shoppers)
Roche Brothers (Massachusetts Shoppers)
Small Potatoes Urban Delivery (Seattle Shoppers for organic foods)
Indiana Groceries (Indiana Shoppers)

If you are an online grocer and would like to be added, just leave your web address and the area(s) you are available to in the comment box. I know this would help our readers out greatly.

Sound Off: Have you used a grocery delivery service before? What has been your experience?

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Monday, December 17, 2007

Shopping Deal for Tween Mommies

Barbie Girl MP3 Players were extremely marked down on Amazon.com. Normally priced at $79.99 on their site, these are now $19.99 plus they are eligible for free shipping!

If you are looking for an MP3 player with more holding power, the 1GB version is marked down to $29.99 (versus the original $99.99 price tag).

Apparently, these are running for at least $50 in the stores, so it sounds like a great deal for tween moms everywhere.

I hope this helps someone out there!!

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Redbox Monday Rental Code

Here is the new code I received from Redbox. Good for one free rental today only (expires at midnight on 12/17). Use promotion code: 6K3FS8 when checking out!

If you want to get these codes yourself, sign up for their email or text messaging services. Each Monday they send out a code for a free rental. You can sign up through their homepage.

Looks like they have added some holiday rentals too! Enjoy!

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Christmas With the Clarks (Or the Endless Flu Epidemic)

Well, I thought the virus had left after my deep sterilizing around here, but it appears to have only just begun...

We kept the kids home from church yesterday since Emily was still recuperating, and we didn't want to bring anything else home from any other kids. The snow was thick and heavy on the ground outside. The children were so antsy and we figured...let's just go ahead and open our Christmas gifts.

We have five Christmas functions to go to so we are always running around like crazy people around the holidays. Since we had a day at home, it seemed like a perfect day to open our Christmas gifts.

For the kids this year, I purchased toys from the Mr. Imagorium Wonder Emporium movie. They had re-released vintage Fisher Price toys in their original packaging for the holidays. The toys were such a hit with the kids, especially the circus top. The kids have been fighting over it since we got it.

Unfortunately, in efforts to reduce choking hazards, all of the pull toys only had about six inches of rope on the ends of them. Emily was particularly frustrated with her slinky dog, who refused to follow her as she hunched over to pull him.

The pull toys have been rigged with mommy's ribbon stash since there is no way the kids can pull them around the house. I was disappointed by this, but understand the safety standards.

The kids happily played with their toys all afternoon, which gave us a break from the whining and crying in our house.

Suddenly, Ethan stops playing and says, "I think the water is sloshing in my belly." What happens next begins another round of horror that I won't share. Let's just say that the night was long and the wash has been running all night and day.

The flu prevails- poor Ryan is doomed!

Happy holidays at the Clark house!

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Saturday, December 15, 2007

New Camera- Day One

Love, Love, Love the new camera! Obviously, these are our first pictures from it, but I am having a blast pretending to be a photographer with it. My kids enjoy being my little models too so it makes it even more fun.

In this picture, you can see that our tree is up, but still not decorated. Emily is really into destroying things right now and waiting until the last minute to hang the ornaments just makes my day a little easier. I did wrap and put the tree up, but am daily handed shredded gifts that she has lovingly tore apart for me. Maybe practicing opening gifts with our Christmas countdown wasn't such a good idea? I will get the ornaments up, but our tree might look a little strange with none on the bottom this year. All in good holiday fun though, right?

The second picture is of Emily in her super cute sock monkey pajamas that she got for her birthday. I am sure these will be making an appearance on Christmas day since it has been rumored that Santa will be bringing her a sock monkey this year.

This was the night we gathered the kids up to take them on a tour of the Christmas lights in a nearby neighborhood. Ethan thought it was funny to go in his pajamas...Emily was less impressed since she takes Ethan to school sometimes in these.

This was a fun year to see the lights since Emily really got it this year. She kept saying, "Oh, WOW!" while Ethan was far less enthusiastic ("Are we done yet? Is it almost over?") I can see how this age gap might bring on some new challenges as they get older.


Oh, and have I introduced you to my third child yet? She is a new addition the family and I love her so! My best girlfriend presented me with a brand-new purse (and matching shoes, no less!) for our gift exchange. Only a girlfriend who knows me so well would present it with the price tag still ON so she could show me what a most excellent deal she scored on this purse. And it was a most excellent deal, even better than any deal I had run across this year.

I just love the festive pom-poms and the knitted look on this bag. The brown boots that match are equally rockin' and make me feel like a superstar momma!

Don't we all deserve a little of that once in awhile?

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Operation: Sterilization

Today was spent sterilizing everything in our house, thanks to a bad case of the stomach flu. It used to be that I would get sick and my mom would change my sheets, hold my hair back when I got sick, and get all of that sick food out (Jello, Sprite, hot soup, etc...) Boy, do I miss those days! Nothing makes you miss your mommy more than when you get sick as an adult. Can I get an, "Amen"?

I stripped the beds and washed them in hot water, ran the sterilization program on our dishwasher for all of our dishes, killed the carpet germs with my super UV powers, steam cleaned the hardwood and bathroom floors, and sterilized the bathrooms with some of those homemade cleaners in my closet. If a winter storm wasn't brewing outside, I would be whipping all of these windows open to do a little airing out of the house.

Would one call this obsessive compulsive or just high-maintenance? I am not sure, but I hope that we can prevent another family member from suffering from this plague. Each meal, my husband thinks it is going to be his last. Isn't it amazing how differently you look at food when you think you might get sick from it?

On another note, I completed all of my holiday baking on the day I got sick. I am thinking I am going to be pitching my six 9x13 pans of goodies that I made. This almost makes me sick all over again, but I don't want my gift to be the gift that keeps on giving (If you know what I mean?) I don't think I have the energy or the funds to make a second batch of stuff so I might have to skip the goodies this year...which makes me really sad.

Side Note: I get tons and tons of emails about what I use to clean our hardwood floors. I bought a Bissell Steam Mop and it was BY FAR one of the best investments I have ever made for caring for our house. They had discontinued selling these, but they recently came out with another model of them and it looks to be the same, just a different color. It has replaceable terry mop heads that you can just throw in your washer. I bought extra of them because I use them so often. If you have difficulties carrying for your floors, this makes the job a lot easier. Amazon doesn't have them in stock right now, but a quick Google search should come up with some other stores that sell them.

If anyone else has hardwood floor advice, please share! Who can't use a little help when it comes to this household chore?

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Freebie Friday (on Saturday): December 15, 2007

Thank you all for your sweet messages. We are on the mend, but that flu really takes it out of a girl! We hope to be back in the swing of things soon and are hoping no one else comes down with this stuff.

Much thanks again to Heather, from Freebies4Mom, for her invaluable contributions towards our weekly Freebie Friday.

Enjoy all of those freebies and thanks for your sweet words and patience!


Health & Beauty

Slim-Fast Style Your Slim Challenge Starter Kit (pedometer, coupons, etc.)

Entertainment

Christmas Compilation free album download at Magnatunes

Bach Classical Music free downloads from James Kibbie Bach Organ Works

Seriously Westcoast Album Download (I am SO excited about this one- hurry because these end in forty-eight hours!)

Ski Magazine (need to be a Start Sampling member)

Skiing Magazine

Blender Magazine

5 day trial to Jump Start World (no credit card required)

Redbox Free Rental Code: NEWBIE- expires 12/17

Creativity Magazine

Home & Garden

Spice Art Calendar (register one Spice Islands spice)

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Friday, December 14, 2007

Too Sick

I am so sorry that there was no Freebie Friday this week. Emily & I have the worst case of stomach flu ever and I don't have the energy to post. I will try and put some freebies up next week when we are feeling better.

Have a wonderful weekend!

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Thursday, December 13, 2007

Amy's Notebook 12.13.07


I love these cute ideas for holiday ornaments, and I just so happen to have the supplies!

These Christmas DIY projects look simple enough that even I could do them!

I really enjoyed this post on Wii buying tips for the frugal shoppers.

I have been working on an article for homemade stocking stuffers, but it looks like Wise Bread had the same idea...Hmm..back to the drawing board!

This Advent calendar is a true thing of beauty. I am tempted to make her bread recipe too!

I have a new use for recycling those wine bottles!

These chocolate drizzled peanut butter cookies look delicious. I might have to add these to my holiday trays one year!

I wish I had a mantle so I could decorate it like this. It is just so festive and clever!

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Wednesday, December 12, 2007

New Year's Resolution: Better Pictures

Along with my New Year's Resolution to take a sewing class, I resolve to take better pictures. Confessions of a Pioneer Woman brings some inspiration on acquainting myself with my copy of Photoshop.

Oh, and more photography inspiration...my camera arrived! Thank you all for your most excellent recommendations because this camera ROCKS! I am having a blast with it and can't wait to share some photos taken with it. We are just getting acquainted, so please bear with me!

Anybody have some hints for a beginner in Photoshop? I gave up on it the last time I tried the program and have been using Picasa since then.

Note to Self: Do not measure flour and talk to husband and make lunches at the same time. We have to call out for pizza because I don't believe dough is supposed to be a liquid consistency. Perhaps a cooking class might be a good investment?

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Booster Seat Cleaning Solution

I hate cleaning underneath my daughter's booster seat, but the things that can get stuck under there can be quite unappetizing a few days after sitting there.

The other day I decided to tuck Emily's plastic placemat under her seat instead of on the table and can't believe I had not thought to do that sooner. Now after we enjoy our meal, I just pick the seat up and slide out the mat for a quick rinse instead of trying to clean under the seat, creating a sea of crumbs under our table.

It doesn't help the nasty on the top of the seat, but sure makes the nasty underneath a little bit easier.

For more fun solutions for your family, be sure to visit Works-For-Me Wednesday over at Rocks in My Dryer.

Sound Off: Do you have any clever solutions for dinner clean-up?

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Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Frugal Hacks: Themed Gift Baskets

Head on over to Frugal Hacks and you can read my ideas for themed gift baskets to give for the holidays. These are one of my favorite things to give (AND to receive!) so I hope it will help spark some ideas for the gift-giving season.

Sound Off: If you could pick a gift basket to receive, what would it be filled with? Remember, Santa just might be reading!

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WSBT-TV: Holiday Gift Baskets on a Budget

This morning's segment is on how to create holiday gift baskets on a budget. I just love putting these together and over the years have tried to put together gift baskets with great themes in them. I am hoping to talk more about themed baskets in our Frugal Hacks segment that I am putting together for today. I will post more on this topic later!

I hope this will give you some more ideas for putting together some fun baskets for the holiday season.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

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Organize in 15 Minutes: Plastic Food Containers

I am far from organized and am really needing a gentle nudge (or maybe a huge shove) to get me back on track. One of the things people seemed like they would really like to see more of on here were ideas for organizing and caring for their home.

It is hard to guide when I feel so disorganized myself, but maybe sharing my problem spots and solutions will help someone else? That is what I am hoping for!

This project that I did took all of fifteen minutes, but has definitely saved me fifteen minutes of hunting each evening for storage containers for our leftover food.

The first picture was of my avalanche of containers that I had in my pantry. Since space is limited in my kitchen, I keep my storage containers in two cardboard boxes in the bottom of my pantry. I am hoping to one day expand the pantry and buy beautiful wicker baskets, but this solution works well for now. They are just old Avon boxes that I had and the size fits perfectly for the narrow closet that we are using for a pantry.

I went through all of the containers and matched them to their lids. No surprise that I had five hundred lids and four actual containers so I kept the lids that had matching containers and pitched the rest.

We do save food containers and repurpose these for a couple of things in our house. The kids love to use these to pretend to help mommy cook so I am able to sacrifice some of these butter tubs for them to play with while I cook.

The main reason I keep these though is for our company. When my family comes to dinner, I love to send them home with a container of the leftovers. These are great to give to them and not to have to give away valuable containers that I might need during my week.

I also have a separate area where I keep the sectioned plastic containers that I use for my husband's lunch. I found that the best place to keep these was right under the kitchen counter since that is where I prepare all of the food. Those containers are right at my fingertips so that I can make lunches quickly and save us valuable money throughout our week.

Sound Off: How do you organize your plastic food containers?

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Monday, December 10, 2007

Free Redbox Rental Code

The code will only work today, but it will get you a free movie at your local Redbox. Just enter in the code: 54TRX3.

I hope you can enjoy a fun & free holiday movie tonight with your family!

Sound Off: Have you seen any good movies lately that you could recommend?

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New Article: Becoming a Wrap Superstar

We have posted a new article for the holiday season- "Becoming a Wrap Superstar." This article is also appearing this month in the Michiana Family Magazine.

Cheers to wrapping inventively this year! Happy Holidays!

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Prayer Request

I have a very special friend named Amy that I would like to share with you. Amy & I actually met through the internet and through my website. Her husband worked for a news channel in town, who featured our site in one of their stories, and he told Amy about it and she decided to visit the site.

Our friendship grew through emails exchanged back and forth and we were so surprised by how much we had in common. Amy has a similar quirky sense of humor, she has a computer hubby, she & I both had one little boy...oh, and her name was Amy too!

When I got the opportunity to talk to a mom's group in another town, Amy happened to be friends with the moms and had been planning to go too. She emailed me and said that she was willing to drive and I could ride with her to the meeting. It was a bit like a blind date for us, but we talked all the way there and back, enjoying great conversation about motherhood and all that goes along with it.

Amy later joined my mom's group and quickly became a leader in our group. Sadly, her husband found a job in another town, and Amy had to move to another city. I have discovered though that Amy has found an awesome congregation, has found a rock-steady faith in God, and she has made a new and wonderful life for herself in her new town. We were sad to see her leave, but who can argue with all of that good stuff?

Recently though, Amy has went through one of the most heartbreaking experiences that a mother could ever go through. When she was only twenty weeks pregnant, they discovered that their child was diagnosed with a rare and fatal disease called anencephaly. They were told that they had to make the decision on whether to terminate the pregnancy or asked if they would want to deliver their little daughter to term, not knowing if the baby would even be with them when she was born.

They made a very brave decision to carry their daughter, named Lydia Grace, to term knowing that this was the best choice for their family. I can't imagine how heart wrenching that decision must have been, but they knew that it was the only decision and proceeded on with her pregnancy and making arrangements that no parent should ever have to make.

Lydia Grace was born on December 3rd and she spent only 28 minutes with their family before going to be with the Lord.

I just ask that each of you lift their family up in prayer and help them during this difficult time. I have been so thankful for Amy and her friendship and I know that God has a reason for all of this and for all of the people who have been touched by their family and by Lydia Grace.

If you have any kind words to share with their family, please leave them here!

We are praying for you Mike, Amy, & Alex!

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A Months Worth of Meals: November

Here is our menu planner from the month of November. I did really well with it and ended up only missing a couple of the meals on our list, mainly because I ended up running out of ingredients due to entertaining and some potluck events on our schedule for the month.

Since people seemed to enjoy this last month, I am hoping to share each month since it will help to keep me on track with our grocery budget and our menu planning.

I hope this will give you some new ideas for your month! Please visit I'm An Organizing Junkie to get more ideas for your family!

November Meals

1. Olive Garden Chicken & Broccoli Fettuccine Alfredo (I used that recipe, but added cooked chicken and broccoli for toppings)

2. Parmesan Sage Pork Chops & Cheesy Orzo Pasta

3. Roast Turkey Sandwiches (Scroll to Meal #7) with Tortilla Chips

4. Yeast Waffles with Orange Juice

5. Pizza Night

6. Clam Chowder & Red Lobster Biscuits

7. Herb Baked Tilapia, Chicken Flavored Rice, & Microwave Corn in Butter Sauce

8. Meatball Subs with Shoestring Oven Fries

9. Chicken & Broccoli Lo Mein

10. Caesar Pork Chops, Cheesy Orzo, & Baby Peas

11. Oatmeal Waffles with Orange Juice

12. Chicken Pasta Milano With Homemade White Bread (I didn't get to make this chicken dish yet, but I have moved it to next month)

13. Potato Soup & Toasted Cheese Sandwiches

14. Roasted Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, & Buttery Bread Machine Rolls

15. Tomato & Artichoke Chicken Breasts Over Angel Hair Pasta (another one I didn't get to make, but will move to next month)

16. Pumpkin Pancakes (Scroll to Meal #8) with Scrambled Eggs

17. Sloppy Giuseppes (Scroll down to Meal #8) with Tortilla Chips

18. Italian Sausage Spaghetti Sauce With Homemade Bread

19. Pizza Night

20. Italian Pork Chops Over Spaghetti Noodles

21. Country Ham & Macaroni Casserole (Scroll to Meal #6) with Sweet Cornbread

22. Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken (Scroll down to Meal #16), Chicken Flavored Rice, & Baby Peas

23. Turkey Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, and Corn

24. Baked Salmon, Chicken Flavored Rice, & Baby Peas

Snacks: Banana Bread, Pumpkin Muffins, Almost Nutra-Grain Bars, & Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Friday, December 07, 2007

Freebie Friday: December 7, 2007


Thanks to Heather over at Freebies 4 Mom for her help on compiling our freebie list for the week! Please visit her site for more great freebies and check us out for your freebies each Friday. Happy holidays and enjoy these fun (and FREE) stocking stuffers!



Food

Community Coffee (send to a friend not living in Louisiana)

RiceSelect Flavor Club (reusable shopping bag and coupon)

Burger King Reward Coupons (sent via your mobile phone or through email)

Entertainment


Website Magazine (for Website Owners Only)


Nylon magazine free subscription (from Urban Outfitters)

Free Rental Code from The New Release: USFNF

Home & Garden

Free Gift from Sutter's Creek for signing-up for e-catalog (they say the free gift is something they sell in their catalog)

Pet Care

Purina Naturals Cat Chow (Walmart sample)

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Thursday, December 06, 2007

Amy's Holiday Notebook 12.06.07

I just wanted to thank you all for your value camera feedback and I am happy to report that I have finally made my exciting camera purchase. I actually went to several stores and test-drove each of the models and settled on the Canon PowerShot S5. It was on sale (through December 8th) for $319.99, plus free shipping through Office Depot. After doing some price research, I thought that was a phenomenal deal and after reading the reviews and trying it out, I think I made the best choice for our family's needs. I am so excited to start using it! I am putting all of our Christmas money towards it (from all of our family) so we will have to cover about $150 of it ourselves, but the rest is through our generous grandparents! What a great Christmas gift that will be and I can't wait to share the pictures with all of you!

Now that I am REALLY in the holiday spirit, here is some great holiday reading for all of you!


Create some new holiday traditions with an Advent Book Box (I could reserve the books at the library to save money)

These stacked Christmas trees would be so cute in some festive colors.

This oatmeal pie would be delicious to take to all of those holiday potlucks.

Become more creative with my gift-giving with these great free gifts you can give.

Here are some ideas for gifts that are under ten bucks.

Remember how I told you I wanted to make one of these? Well, Michelle beat me to it and made a super cool felt gingerbread house. I am drooling right now! I also like this other tutorial for more gingerbread house ideas.

These hooded towels would make great Christmas gifts.

This envelope accordion would make a great stocking stuffer or these patchwork pincushions would be so cute as small gifts.

I love these candy cane cookies. I might have to make these this year!

How about some homemade sugar cookies? Who could resist?

Here is a great list of holiday things you can make yourself.

I love these ideas for festive holiday decorating.

I might have to make some of these holiday beer rolls for one of our dinners.

I love this post on creating Christmas values & traditions.

I am loving these mod paper ornaments.

These fabric organizers would be a great gift for a crafter.

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Wednesday, December 05, 2007

When the Pantry Is Bare...

The creativity can come through! We went to a potluck playgroup today and I had to come up with something to bring. I really need to go to the grocery store, but wasn't planning to go until this weekend so I decided to try to be a tad more inventive for my dish.

I happened upon this great recipe for Stovetop Macaroni & Cheese. I happened to have everything on hand except the shredded cheese. I got out my trusty cheese grater and grated a block of sharp cheddar we had in the fridge and we used that instead.

I finished the dish with a sprinkle of Italian bread crumbs and a little more shredded cheese on top. Ta-Da! Better than that stuff in the box and just as fast!

Unfortunately, I lost my creative streak for dinner and we opted for McDonald's this evening. Sometimes the creative juice gets taken up during the lunch hour and I am left scrambling in the dinner hour. A self-indulgent nap in the afternoon didn't help the creativity, but it certainly made for a great midweek pick-me-up for a tired mommy!

Creamy Stovetop Mac 'N' Cheese (courtesy of The American Test Kitchen Family Cookbook)

8 ounces macaroni (2 cups)
Salt
2 large eggs
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
1 teaspoon dry mustard, dissolved in 1 teaspoon water1/4 teaspoon Tabasco (I omitted this ingredient)
Pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 ounces shredded cheddar cheese (3 cups)

Bring two quarts water to a boil in a large pot for the macaroni. Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and the macaroni and cook until almost tender but still a little firm tot he bite. Meanwhile, mix together the eggs, half of the evaporated milk, the mustard mixture, Tabasco, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Drain the pasta and return to the pot. Set the pot over low heat and stir in the butter until melted. Stir int he egg mixture and half of the cheddar. Continue to cook over low heat, gradually stirring the remaining milk and cheddar, until the mixture is hot and creamy, about five minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

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Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Grab a Cup of Tea...

And sit down to read this most excellent interview with Michael Mead of Country Home Magazine, courtesy of Restyled Home. I just love the questions about the holiday season and his creative answers. Be sure to swing by and visit his site to see all of his wonderful ideas for holiday decorating!

Enjoy your mommy break!

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Frugal Hacks: Never Miss a Christmas Show Again

Today on Frugal Hacks, I am sharing tips for recording all of your favorite Christmas specials and movies on television this year. Who would want to miss any of their old favorites? Plus, they added some great new favorites (did anyone else love the new Shrek Christmas special?) for the year too. Be sure to check out my post so you can set those recorders for some fun family nights together!

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, we checked out some of our old favorite movies and I happened upon a movie that we had not seen before called, "The Holiday Inn." This has become my new favorite Christmas movie and I would recommend checking it out for your family this holiday season. There is lots of great singing and dancing in this film and although there is some political incorrectness for our time period, it is an excellent movie that really made us smile! Interesting enough, it was also the inspiration for the hotel chain name...Holiday Inn.

I am curious, what is your favorite holiday movie? Do you have any obscure holiday movies that might be overlooked by most families, but that is a favorite in your house?

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WSBT-TV: Getting the Cheapest Shipping

Today on our WSBT-TV segment, I am sharing inexpensive ways to ship your packages, good investments for creating a shipping center at home, and things you can use around your house for packing materials for your packages.

This goes along with a post that I wrote awhile back on shipping your packages frugally and our adventures in shipping. I plan to write a more extensive article after I noticed that it is one of the top things people have been searching for on our site.

You can also see our new Christmas tree, as our tree this year was looking a little um... Charlie Brown-ish. The top had broken on it and I had hot glued it last year, but it couldn't survive another year. We had just put it up, but no decorations for it yet.

Sound Off: Do you have any tips for cheap shipping or any frugal materials around your house that you use for packing your gifts?

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Eat Your Heart Out, Martha: Elegant Photo Albums

Grandparents can be difficult people to buy for because I think as we get older, we began to acquire so much and it can be a struggle to come up with an idea for something they already don't have or can't buy for themselves.

Last year I started doing photo albums for each set of grandparents and it was a real hit, particularly for the grandparents who don't live near us. It is a great way to share with them what we have been up to throughout the year and give them a tiny glimpse into our everyday life. By making each of these albums personal and filling them with pictures from our life, it helps them feel like they are close by and gives them a great brag book to share with their friends.

I found professional-looking albums last year at our local dollar store, but I didn't have any success this year. I decided to head over to Marshall's and found some very elegant albums for
only $3.99 each. Not as good of a deal as the ones got for a buck last year, but still a phenomenal deal.

I found thirty pictures from our year to have printed for each book. I tried to put the fun holiday pictures in there, but also funny pictures from our year and included subtitles for each. How else can you share the joy your husband experienced from getting his hands on one of the first copies of the last Harry Potter book on a midnight run to Barnes & Noble? Those are the moments that I wanted to put in our books.

We included pictures that our son drew for each album...six in all! I decided not to wrap them since they looked so elegant without the wrapping and opted for a gold bow instead. I found the ribbon at Dollar General and plan to use this same ribbon for our treat boxes this year. 75 feet for $5 is a great deal and I love how beautifully it brought these albums together.

I ordered our pictures this year through Winkflash.com. This was the first time I used their photo services and it was a great experience. They had flat shipping of $1 and it was twelve cents per print, which I thought was very affordable! For a complete breakdown on photo deals for this month, be sure to stop by Baby Cheapskate. Angie has a great price breakdown on holiday card specials and coupon codes you can use.

The total cost for each gift was $7.80, which makes it not only a memorable grandparent gift, but also an affordable one!

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Monday, December 03, 2007

Camera Recommendations?

I am looking to purchase a new digital camera and was hoping to get some recommendations! My camera is great for capturing still objects, but not for crazy kids and all of their busyness.

I would prefer one with image stabilization and that can take photos quickly, but I think I want to stick with a point-and-click camera. I love the fancier models, but just can't justify the price tag.

So with those things in mind, do you have any camera recommendations or any tips for shopping for this big purchase?

Thanks for your input!

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A Homemade Kind of Birthday

In a future episode of my segment on WSBT, I am discussing ways to simplify birthday parties and the birthday party process. Like everything, it easy to get caught up in the hype of the celebration and the focus becomes less about the birthday girl/boy and more about the giant bouncy house and enormous goody bags.

This year we opted for a simple homemade celebration for Emily's 2nd birthday party. At this point, we are able to get away with just family attending. With just over twenty people in our immediate family, having family feels like a giant party without even having to invite any friends over.

Once again, I ran into a dilemma with holiday festivities complicating a birthday celebration. Emily's birthday is on the nineteenth so I opted to have her birthday on the first, so that her party would not get lost in the mix of holiday get togethers. Unfortunately, Ethan's Christmas concert fell on the same day at the same exact time, so I had to put together a meal that could be eaten following a Christmas concert.

I had hoped to do brunch, but trying to figure out how I could have everything immediately on the table for consumption was proving to be challenging and then with the time shift (meal following the concert instead of morning time) I thought a lunch would be more appropriate.

This is what our homemade birthday party looks like:

Invitations- I purchased really cute blank cards and envelopes for the invitations. They had sixty cards in the package and I used seven cards out of the box. I had a coupon at Michaels, so I was able to get the package of cards for about $6. I just used my number stamps to stamp the invites with a giant "2" for our party. I did purchase a party stamp that I used for the date/time and they had a sale on the stamps so I was able to get it for approximately $3. I can use this over and over so I did spend a bit for the initial investment, but I plan to use this often. The extra cards in my set will be stamped with the same "2" stamp and we will use these for thank-you notes. Total cost for invites was approximately $4.

Party Decorations- I purchased one bag of pink balloons, one package of white streamer paper, one package of party blowers, and a tiara for the birthday girl. We just used regular plates and cutlery so we saved on the paper products department. Total cost was approximately $3.

Slow Cooker Chicken BBQ- I made this the night before and it cooked all night long. In the morning, I shredded the chicken and then put it back in the slow cooker to cook. The longer this cooks, the more the BBQ flavor comes out. It ended up being perfect for the dinner. This cost approximately $4 to serve twelve people. (Side Note: I had BARELY enough of this for our party because, during the cooking process, my chicken breasts shrunk considerably and I had a lot less meat than I had anticipated. With chili on the menu though, we managed to make this amount work. I had used approximately 3 pounds of chicken. The buns were provided by my in-laws so I did not factor in this cost).

White Chili- I made this the day before and put it in a plastic container in our fridge, after it was done cooking. The chili was thrown back into the slow cooker to be cooking while the concert was going on. I served this with chili toppers like shredded cheese, tortilla chips, and sour cream. This cost approximately $6 to serve twelve people.

Tossed Salad With Balsamic Dressing & Homemade Croutons- I cut all of the lettuce up the night before and tossed it into a plastic bag for the next day. The croutons were made from leftover bread that I had from my Bunco night potluck that I had went to. The dressing was made the day before in a mason jar and I just gave it a shake and poured when we arrived. It made a beautiful salad and cost about $4 to serve twelve people.

Best Birthday Cupcakes- These were made and decorated the day before. I served them on my pretty cake platters. These cost approximately $1.50 for twenty-four cupcakes.


Total Cost for Party-
$22.50

I find it very gratifying to see how much I saved by hosting and making my own homemade birthday party. The reason I shared this is because people sometimes say that it is cheaper to just buy everything from their superstore or that you would spend just as much money having someone else host the party, but that might not necessarily be true. There is certainly convenience in buying food that is already made, but there is definitely a cost involved.

Much like Meredith, from Like Merchant Ships, sharing about the cost of making a homemade pumpkin pie versus buying a pie, it is often easy to think that you would spend as much to have a birthday party somewhere else versus the cost of hosting it yourself. When I sat down to write this all out, I realized that there was a great savings by having my own party and I have to say that the food was a lot better than having it somewhere else.

It felt good to have such a fun and loving celebration for our daughter without spending astronomical amounts of money. We still had a beautiful day and I believe she felt just as special as she would have with a fancy celebration. After all, it is all about celebrating who they are and I think we were able to capture that with our homemade and inexpensive birthday party.

Here are a couple of additional recipes that we had used to make our birthday lunch:

Basic Vinaigrette Dressing (Courtesy of How to Cook Everything)

1/4 cup good vinegar, such as sherry, balsamic, red, or white wine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard (optional, but I did use)
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons minced shallots (optional, but I subbed with a teaspoon of minced garlic)

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste


I placed all of these ingredients into a Mason jar and shook the ingredients. Taste to adjust salt and add more oil or vinegar if needed. Add shallots and pepper. This is best made fresh, but it will keep refrigerated for a few days; bring back to room temperature before using.

To make a small amount of Basic Vinaigrette: Combine 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon mustard, 3-4 tablespoons oil, and 1/2 teaspoon minced shallots. Prepare as directed above.


White Chili (Courtesy of AllRecipes.com)

1 onion, chopped (I left this out because we don't like onions)
3 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
2 (4 ounce) cans canned green chile peppers, chopped (we used mild)

1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

ground cayenne pepper to taste

ground white pepper to taste

3 (15 ounce) cans cannellini beans (we used Navy beans)

5 cups chicken broth

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese


In a large pot over medium heat, combine the onion, garlic and ground turkey and saute for 10 minutes, or until turkey is well browned. Add the chile peppers, cumin, oregano, cinnamon, cayenne pepper to taste and white pepper to taste and saute for 5 more minutes. Add two cans of the beans and the chicken broth to the pot. Take the third can of beans and puree them in a blender or food processor. Add this to the pot along with the cheese. Stir well and simmer for 10 minutes, allowing the cheese to melt.

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