Blogging Through the Bundle- Strawsome Glass Straws

One of the things I was most excited about in this Healthy Living Bundle was the bonus offer credit towards glass straws. I have been wanting to try glass straws for a while. You think I would have them already, considering the "low waste" factor, but I could never really justify shelling out the dough for them when I could always just you know, drink out of a cup without a straw.

The number 1 reason I wanted to try glass straws was for smoothie drinking. (Smoothie pictured above made green by the addition of collard greens, and idea from the "Green Smoothie Challenge" Book.)

The only container we have large enough to hold our monster green smoothies that we have are ball mason jars. And while I am perfectly capable of drinking it straight from the jar, what tends to happen is I get smoothie gunk on my nose where the rim of the jar hits it, as exhibited in Crappy Selfie.

Crappy Selfie

I was very excited to use my $15.00 credit to Strawsome. I ordered a "straw sample kit" which included one short straw, one short smoothie straw, one tall straw, and one tall smoothie straw.

The tall smoothie straw fits perfectly in my ball canning jar and allows me to sip the green goodness without worrying that I might have gunk on my nose. It is also really easy to clean. They provided a little cleaning brush with it, but I have been just putting it in the dishwasher.

Verdict: Awesome! Why didn't I try this sooner? Oh yeah, I'm cheap.

If you want to try Strawsome, check them out here: Strawsome

I am not affiliated with them, but I am a satisfied customer who uses her smoothie straw every day!!

YUM!

Blogging Through the Bundle: Was the Ultimate Healthy Living Bundle Worth Buying?

(photo credit: http://ultimate-bundles.com)


So I came upon this ebook deal, called the "The Ultimate Healthy Living Bundle". Being as I am into e-books, and healthy living I decided to check it out.

It includes 73 ebooks, and a bunch of bonus offers. The total price was $29.95, or $39.95 for the Kindle/ebook version (which I bought).

Being that I have to analyze every purchase to death to make sure it was worth it, I am going to be talking about each book and bonus offer here on the blog, so then when the next sale goes live, I can decide if it was worth the price or not (and maybe you want to know if you should buy it too?)

So far I have already read 3 books.

The first book I read right away .

(image taken from http://ultimate-bundles.com)

Crash Course in Natural Parenting by Karli Von Herbulis

This book is just the basics in Natural Parenting, I will say most of it was stuff I already knew so I was a little disappointed. But, it would be great for someone just embarking on natural parenting.

(image taken from http://ultimate-bundles.com)

The 30 Day Green Smoothie Challenge Guide

I am no stranger to green smoothies. We were whipping them up in our Blendtec long before it was  cool. But, this book motivated me to actually do it every day. In addition, it inspired me to use other greens besides my go to spinach and kale. I would recommend this book if you like green smoothies. Or even if you don't. :)

(image taken from http://ultimate-bundles.com)

Clean and Simple by Stephanie Langford and Writers @ Keeper of the Home

I'm not going to lie- I stopped making my own cleaners since the birth of my baby well, almost a year ago. I have gotten used to the convenience of buying stuff. I was excited about this book because hey- 7 cleaners and you can clean your whole house! The recipes seem very easy and doable. I enjoyed the book, but since I have yet to make the cleaners I cannot vouch for whether they work or not (maybe I should get on that?)


I have more Books of the Bundle waiting for me on Kindle.... Stay tuned!!!

Katie

Check out My New Ride

One step closer to my dream of being a 1 car family

Depression and Anxiety are not a Choice.

There has been a lot of talk going around the internet surrounding the recent death of Robin Williams. While I am greatly saddened, I hope we can use his tragedy to spread light on the fact that many people are quick to deny-

 Mental illness is real.

Depression is real.

Anxiety is real.

And it can kill.

Mental illness is devastating to those who suffer from it and those around them. I know this because I am a sufferer of depression and anxiety. In my short 30 years of life, I have suffered from depression, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and panic disorder. For lack of better words, it sucks.

It sucks because a lot of people think you should just choose not to be depressed anymore. People don't judge diabetics for taking insulin, but they will judge people with mental illness for taking medication.

(Image source: http://imgur.com/gallery/CWFTYoV)

If you are one of those people who thinks that enough healthy eating, sleeping, exercise, and prayer will pull you out of the pit of depression, I am happy for you. I am glad that worked for you. But, it doesn't work for everyone.

Depression is more than feeling blue. It is feeling like this:  Anne Voskamp.
It is the feeling of no feelings. I liken it to ring in one of those rooms Star Wars style where the walls are closing in on you and crushing you.

OCD is more than wanting a neat room or being clean. It is vomiting after you eat because you are sure your food has been poisoned. It driving back to make sure you didn't run anyone over every time you hit a bump. It is checking your baby's pulse every 10 minutes because you are sure he died of SIDS. It is removing all the knives from your house so no one gets hurt. I can say that because I've lived it.

What people need suffering from mental illness is not to be torn down, to be ridiculed. We need God. We need your compassion, caring and prayers. Sometimes we need medication too.

My name is Katie, and I have suffered from anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety, depression and most recently post partum depression. I take medication and I am not ashamed.

Because at the end of the day, it is NOT a choice. NO ONE would ever choose to feel like this.

If you ever need someone to talk to, you can comment and I will email you. I will listen, and pray for you. Whatever you need. You are not alone!

Katie

Summer Sabbatical

This is the view from my summer vacation home in Maine. We were lucky enough to go on a family vacation with my parents, my sister's family, and my other sister's children (while she and her husband spent their 20th wedding anniversary in France :)

I have taken a step back from the blog. I have a lot of things I want to write about, but not a lot of time to write them. There are many writers who write about simple living and living in the moment, and you see that is exactly what I have been doing.

(From left - my son, my nephew, and my mom swimming in the lake)

Consequently, I veered off the path a little from the compact.

I bought 2 new skirts from an independent skirt maker.

But, I am not going to worry about it. I will be back on track in September. We still have another month before school starts, and I am really enjoying soaking in all the lazy days of summer.

(From Left: My husband, son #2, my brother in law, and my nephew)

I hope everyone has enjoyed their summer (or winter, on the South side of the equator!)

Katie

Help! Food Allergies and My Out of Control Grocery Budget

So, I was going along nicely with my grocery budget, keeping things within reason despite having to shop for my husband with celiac disease, when I was thrown another curve ball.

The baby started having bloody diarrhea, which was quite alarming but apparently is a sign of a dairy allergy. Since I am still breastfeeding, I was advised to cut dairy out of my diet (and discontinue the baby yogurt I was giving him.)

His symptoms have since cleared up, but being dairy free and gluten free presents challenges in our house, particularly with the grocery budget. Almond milk is more expensive than dairy milk (and soy milk gives me ahem bad flatulence.)

I am caught between the dance of wanting to buy sustainable/organic foods and keeping the price down. It is hard to decide which is the most important.

Also, not having the accountability of posting my expenses here has made me lazy, and I have become lax in keeping the costs down.

For July I am going to go back to posting my expenses, and gluten-free dairy-free meal and snack ideas.

Suggestions are welcome!

A Day in the Life of...My Diet

I often get asked how I keep my grocery costs down (around $400USD/month) and still manage to eat real organic food. So, I thought I'd share with you a typical day of what I eat.

Would You Accept Government Help if you Qualified?

I have mentioned before we do not make a lot of money. My husband is self employed and currently I am unemployed outside the home (I am a homemaker!)

Earlier in the year we received a letter telling us we qualified for free and reduced price lunch. I had mixed feelings on this, but we did not have to do anything to accept it so I accepted it. Most of the time my son was a packer. When he did buy lunch, the food seemed to give him very bad gas (it isn't the healthiest of fare, but I am all for everything in moderation).

Because we do not make a lot of money, it has come to our attention we qualify for a few government services, such as WIC, LIHEAP, and health care tax credit.

I was interested in the health care tax credit, but once again my husband and I have mixed feelings about insurance. We have a friend who traveled to another country and broke her leg, and at that country's hospital, each procedure was listed with the expense. We both think it makes a lot more sense to pay for services rendered.
Then we heard about the concept of Christian health care bill sharing programs. Essentially you pay a monthly gift that helps everyone pay their medical bills. At this point in time, this is the route we are taking for health care.

If you are interested, here are 3 links to Christian health care programs:

Christian Healthcare Ministries

Christian Medi-Share

Samaritan Ministries

We have also qualified for the Women, Infants and Children Supplemental Food Program. I think this is a great program, helping provide breastfeeding support and nutritious foods for mothers and their babies. But, even though we qualify, I do not feel we should accept it unless we are really desperate for food. And we are not. We are incredibly blessed.

I do worry about the future- what if my husband income diminishes, etc. But it this a reason to accept help?

What would you do?

Low Waste Endeavors as of Late

I am not blogging much, but here is what I am doing in the "low waste" homefront.

1.) Composting.
Don't know why I didn't start years ago.

2.) Forgoing the Air Conditioner
Even in the 90's we've managed to only use the unit in the bedroom at night. The hottest the house has gotten is 89*F. Time to find a fan?

3.) Cold Showers
This makes it fast.

4.) Local organic farm co op
We joined with my mom and sister. I am really enjoying the fresh fruit and veggies!

What are you doing to reduce your waste/impact?

Blog Update

It has been a while since I posted. I have just been enjoying life home with my boys. The summer weather has arrived here in Pennsylvania, and our community pool has opened and it is where we spend our weekends.

I am excited to be hanging the laundry out again, my husband also hung a hammock in our yard. I spread the quilt on the ground for the baby to play while I hang my laundry. It feels quite idyllic.

I am now only going to do monthly budget updates- I think you get the point that my weekly spending isn't much. My grocery/gas/takeout budget has remained pretty constant.

My next goal is to lower the utility bills (electric/water). We are trying to see how far we can push the envelope on air conditioning.

When I am not spending time being mom, I have been trying to strengthening my faith and working on my relationship with God, clean and declutter the house, and reading. I look forward to sharing with you books I have been reading soon.

I leave you on this Monday with a favorite poem my wonderful Pastor shared with us.

Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

— Teresa of Ávila (attributed)

That time I flashed my underpants in the parking lot at Costco..

 

So! So. 

 I have been making my monthly treks to Costco to pay homage to their low prices.

On this particular trip, I had the baby with me. I was feeling deucedly excited about my bounty as I walked from the store through the parking lot to my car.

When, all the sudden, my elastic waist band maxi skirt (the skirt version of yoga pants) started slipping. Huh. All the sudden it was pulled down to mid thigh. What the heck?! I started pulling at it trying to get it back up, but it won't come back up! I couldn't figure out what had happened.

I was standing in the Costco parking lot in my underpants! With my skirt hovering around my knees!

I am freaking out! I can't get it back up! I try to hurry to my car, but that makes it worse! It starts going lower!

Finally, I realize the bottom of it is caught in the shopping cart wheel, and as I push the cart forward the skirt goes lower (can you picture this?)

So I start frantically trying to get it out, but it's stuck! An old man walks by! Luckily he seems kind of out of it (it is a weekday during the day, and all the senior citizens are out at Costco), and pays no notice to me.

I am still trying to get my skirt out, and I squat down so I can heft it up over my cute underpants granny panties. So I am squatting by the bottom of the shopping cart, trying to cover myself with my skirt, while simultaneously trying to get it out of the cart wheel. At this point I am just trying to rip it out because I really don't care if the skirt rips, I just want to get out of the middle of the parking lot.

Baby is sitting in the cart smiling and cooing and totally unaware of my distress.

Finally, I back up and get the skirt untangled, and I pull it up and for safety reasons I tuck the bottom into the waistband (super cool.)

Who ever said "maxi skirts" are more "modest"?

Katie

PS. Miraculously the skirt is fine!Can't say the same for my pride...

Weekly Spending Report 5.16.14 - 5.24.14

We had a busy weekend! My big boy had a birthday (Memorial Day weekend is a great time for that!) and we had a big picnic to celebrate. My son's birthday parties are proof you do not need a big hoopla for kids to have fun- every year we have a picnic outside. We invite family, a few friends, and we let him choose the dinner. This year we picked up a slip n slide for $10 and that and wiffle ball were the source of entertainment for kids (and adults) alike!

On to the Weekly Spending Report:

Groceries: $48.52
Gasoline: $87.86

Takeout: $45.74

Other:
Toys for kid's birthday (from 2nd Hand Store): $36.00
Diapers: $21.56
Birth Control Product: $138.09
Toilet Paper: $32.51
Gifts/Slip n Slide/Other: 67.66
Bills: 129.90

Total for Week: $607.84

Weekly Spending Report 5.9.14-5.16.14 And Thoughts of My Year in the Compact So Far

Weekly Spending Report:

Groceries: 79.67
Total for Month: 217.17
Gasoline: 21.11
TFM: 139.95
Takeout: 0.00
TFM: 0.00 :)
Other:
Laundry Det. : 3.00
Plants and Garden Junk: 44.56
Netflix: 7.99
Beer Store: 48.99 (they discontinued my favorite cider in the US.)
Kindle Books: 5.00

Total For Week: 210.32

I am almost at the half way point in the year since I pledged to do the Compact. Time has flown! I really think everyone should take this on.

I decided to join the Compact mostly for Environmental/Social reasons- the impact of producing new things on people and the planet. I also joined it for the economic advantage- I am currently living out my dream of staying home with our baby and kid.

 I have learned it is very easy to get almost anything you need second hand, especially with the internet. Even though we did not enforce the compact on the rest of the family, my husband is pretty much a part of it and we have bought almost all of the things for our children second hand.

I have also learned thus far that there is very little you actually need to buy new, and there is also very little you need to buy to be happy. Beyond food, clothing, and shelter happiness is much more a state of mind than something you can find in accumulating stuff. The compact has become a great tool to make me stop and think before I buy something, because I cannot buy it new. It has prevented me from buying a lot of useless crap.

What I'm Reading 4.16.14

 My sister (the librarian) told me I would love this book, and I have to concur. She knows me well! This is possibly the best book I've read all year.

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

I laughed so hard! This is a book by an Australian author about a man with Asperger's (who does not realize he has it) who decides it's time to find a wife. Right now, it is only $1.99 on kindle, but it is quite popular so you can probably find it at your local library!

If you like the Big Bang Theory, you will probably like this book.

Weekly Spending Report 5.1.14-5.11.14

Seeing  goals from last month help me set some more "realistic" goals this month. To reiterate, my 3 target areas right now are groceries, gasoline, and takeout, since they are the 3 expenses I can (most) easily control.

Monthly goals:
Groceries: 400.00
Gasoline: 175.00
Takeout: 50.00


Housing: 900.00
Groceries: 137.50 (Costco)
Gasoline: 118.84

Takeout: 0.00 !!!
Other: 
 Kindle Books: 7.53
The Honest Company: 54.59
Staples (Printer ink and paper): 72.37 (uh, so expensive!)
Free Cards S&H:  7.37
Beer Store: 42.35 (In Pennsylvania, you can only by beer by the case. PA has "state" liquor stores, which are pretty much the communist version of alcohol sales.)

Total for Week: 1340.55


Happy Mother's Day to all the Mothers out there :)

It's Screen Free Week- How we Limit Screen Time

It is "Screen Free" Week. We are not screen free, but I figured it was the time to address mine and my family's feelings on screen time.

 I am not anti-technology, I love the internet and I think used in the right way and as a tool screens are great. I do think that too much of a good thing is pretty much always not good.

The baby is a baby so obviously he has no screen time yet, but here is how we deal with our older son.

I think the number 1 way to reduce your child's screen time is to have less screens. The other thing is obvious too- monkey see monkey do. If you are always on a screen, your kid will want to be too. 
I try to limit my screen time in front of my kids.

I see a lot of people on their smart phones all the time, and consequently that is what their kids want to do too.

Mike and I do not have smart phones so this is a non-issue for us.

My 7 year old has not once asked for a cell phone (yet).

In our house we have a desktop computer in the living room, a kindle, an ipad, a laptop, and a tv with a Wii hooked up to it (no channels).

The kindle is solely mine for reading, and the laptop is my husband's for work. The desktop is in a communal area with a password, so my son needs to ask us to log him on, same for the ipad. That is big, because he can't access them without us He is allowed a maximum of 2 hours on any of the screens per day, and he has to earn this through good behavior. We use a stick system much like this one: how to negotiate screen time.

My husband and I made the decision that we will not permit any hand held devices, and the ipad does not leave the house. That means when we go to a store, restaurant, etc.- my son does not watch anything or play with anything electronic. He is expected to sit at a table and eat with us. In the car we do audio books or we listen to music, i.e. no screens.

Does this always make us popular with our kid? No! But at the end of the day, if you want to limit screen time, you have to learn to say "no" and deal with being the "meanest" mom. :)

Weekly Spending Report 4.25.14-4.30.14

It has been a while- our family was enjoying a vacation at a cabin in the woods :) I will hopefully be able to share some pictures soon!

Family selfie @ cabin

Before I get into the Weekly Spending Report, I need to draw attention to the situation in Nigeria, where their was 276 girls kidnapped from their school. This is horrific and I just saw this article that my country is getting involved - US Joins Hunt to Bring Back Our Girls

Now that that serious stuff is out- onto my weekly Spending Report. I can't believe April has come and gone already!

Groceries: 25.04
Gas: 53.40
Takeout: $19.00 - this is slightly shameful- it was all spent at one place at a Chick Fil A. Fast food aint cheap.
Kindle Books/Ultimate Homemaking Bundle: 49.50
I will do a post about this later

Grocery Total For Month of April: 438.17 (goal was 400.00)

Takeout/Dine Out Total for Month of April: 67.43 (I think the goal was 35?)

Gasoline Total for Month of April: 184.12 (Goal was 180.00)\

Total Spending for Month of April:  2201.65

A Win and A Fail

I'll start with the fail first.

So, 8 (!) years ago, Mike and I got married. It was a small humble affair with immediate family and a few friends. Somebody left an umbrella. It was quite a dapper umbrella, tasteful stripes with a wooden handle. No one ever came to claim it, so I commandeered it as my own.

We shared some good times together, me and this trusty umbrella. The handle eventually broke off, but we soldiered on.

Until this summer (7) years later, we were at the shore, on the boardwalk and it started to rain. I broke out old trusty, and low and behold, he no longer kept the rain at bay. The what I assume is the "brella" part of the umbrella was so worn the rain was seeping through. Forlorn, I stuck old trusty in the garbage on the Ocean City boardwalk.

I don't have many pictures to choose from. Here is Mike and kid 1 a couple of years ago building a sand castle on the beach.

And for good measure, kid 1 and I in front of the beach house.

 

So, back to my story. I proceeded to forget about it until one day recently, when I had to go out in the rain, and I did not have old trusty to take along with me. I had to get to work, and the only place on the way to stop was a CVS drugstore, not a thrift store in sight. I shelled out $10 for a cheap metal and plastic imitation, a poor substitution to my old friend. If I had planned better, I could have scored an umbrella at the thrift shop I'm sure.

FAIL!

Now for the win. Another wedding, this time my mother in law and her husband, 2 years ago. Somebody left a pair of sunglasses. My mother in law searched in vain for their owner, and when no one laid claim, she asked me if I would like to give them a home. I accepted, and over the last year or so I have enjoyed wearing them. So, I kept them in the pocket in the door of my car. One day, I opened the car door and they fell out onto the pavement. I proceeded to get out to pick them up, but I must have poorly misjudged my place in space and I stepped on them, breaking off the ear piece. 

I was disappointed, I like these glasses, and good sunglasses can be hard to find. Sometimes they squeeze your face, and sometimes the ears are lopsided, but these fit well. I was prepared to go to Good Will to search for a replacement, when an idea came to me. I brought them to my dad, and asked if he thought he could fix them. And he did! So, I saved myself a trip to the store and having to find and buy new glasses! WIN!

I Bought Something New

So, I bought something new even though I said I wasn't going to buy anything new.

But, hear me out.

I weighed back and forth on what to do, but I think buying this thing new in the long run makes more sense then going without, or trying to make something myself.

Why? What did I buy?

I bought a composter!

I have had this on my Amazon Wish List for at least a year. I have waited in vain for my husband to build one out of a trash can, but living next to a state park we have a high potential of wildlife getting into it. This one is self contained and comes with a wildlife- free guarantee.

(If you would like to know what kind of flora and fauna are near me, I highly encourage you to check out Joy's blog, Joyfully Green. She lives about 45 minutes from me, and her pictures are beautiful!)

I know I pledged to not buy anything new for a year, but I felt that the benefits outweighed the cons to investing in this. I am excited to further reduce my waste.

What do you think? Was the composter a good investment? Or am I just making excuses for breaching the compact?

Things I have bought new so far:
1.) an umbrella (poor planning)
2.) Sneakers for kid
3.) Bathing suit
4.) Composter

Weekly Spending Report 4.19.14 - 4.25.15 and My Dreams are Getting to Literal

Weekly Expenditures:

Groceries: 84.15
Monthly Total so Far: 413.13

13.35- Baby Food and Formula ( I went into work and needed a back up for the baby)
146.03- Bills
2.00- Snacks at Library
23.46- Diapers and Wipes
75.00 - Anniversary Dinner at Restaurant with Kids
Our first dinner out as a family of 4.
10.00 - Field Trip for Kid 1

The couple weeks I have been using disposables makes me see how expensive they are! My total stash of cloth diapers and accessories paid for itself in 4 months.

Total for Week: 353.99

I have been having a lot of dreams lately, that I remember. I think it may be due to the fact my sleep is so broken that I am in this semi-awake-asleep state. They are getting so literal I cannot remember if they happened in real life or not.

For example, in one dream I was hanging out with our extended family, who thinks I am a hippie communist liberal, and we were having a friendly discussion over dinner of whether or not electronics affect the environment. And, in my dream, I hopped on my soapbox to educate everyone about the mining of coltan in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and how bad it is.

Since this did not actually happen in real life, I figured I'd share it here and encourage you to learn about coltan and try to hold out on buying new electonics as long as possible.

Have a great weekend!

Katie

What I am Reading 4.22.14

Hello all, Happy Earth Day! Which also happens to be my wedding anniversary. We are celebrating 8 years of marriage :) 8 years and 2 kids later and we still like each other.

The Offspring

I am very excited to share this post from one of my favorite blogs, The American Jesus.

Easter Sunday is over, Now What?

It summarizes very eloquently what I believe:


"If the resurrection is merely something we confess, celebrate, and sing about on Easter Sunday, but don’t live out each and every day, then everything we did at church yesterday was a complete waste of time.

I often tell people that I believe in the resurrection because I believe I have encountered the resurrected Christ in my own life through the kindness of strangers, the love of family, the grace of friends, and forgiveness from everyone in between." -Zack Hunt

Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed!

Katie

If the resurrection is merely something we confess, celebrate, and sing about on Easter Sunday, but don’t live out each and every day, then everything we did at church yesterday was a complete waste of time.
I often tell people that I believe in the resurrection because I believe I have encountered the resurrected Christ in my own life through the kindness of strangers, the love of family, the grace of friends, and forgiveness from everyone in between.
- See more at: http://theamericanjesus.net/?p=12077#sthash.KXnf0nkH.dpuf

If the resurrection is merely something we confess, celebrate, and sing about on Easter Sunday, but don’t live out each and every day, then everything we did at church yesterday was a complete waste of time.
I often tell people that I believe in the resurrection because I believe I have encountered the resurrected Christ in my own life through the kindness of strangers, the love of family, the grace of friends, and forgiveness from everyone in between.
- See more at: http://theamericanjesus.net/?p=12077#sthash.KXnf0nkH.dpuf

If the resurrection is merely something we confess, celebrate, and sing about on Easter Sunday, but don’t live out each and every day, then everything we did at church yesterday was a complete waste of time.
I often tell people that I believe in the resurrection because I believe I have encountered the resurrected Christ in my own life through the kindness of strangers, the love of family, the grace of friends, and forgiveness from everyone in between.
- See more at: http://theamericanjesus.net/?p=12077#sthash.KXnf0nkH.dpuf

If the resurrection is merely something we confess, celebrate, and sing about on Easter Sunday, but don’t live out each and every day, then everything we did at church yesterday was a complete waste of time.
I often tell people that I believe in the resurrection because I believe I have encountered the resurrected Christ in my own life through the kindness of strangers, the love of family, the grace of friends, and forgiveness from everyone in between.
- See more at: http://theamericanjesus.net/?p=12077#sthash.KXnf0nkH.dpuf

If the resurrection is merely something we confess, celebrate, and sing about on Easter Sunday, but don’t live out each and every day, then everything we did at church yesterday was a complete waste of time.
I often tell people that I believe in the resurrection because I believe I have encountered the resurrected Christ in my own life through the kindness of strangers, the love of family, the grace of friends, and forgiveness from everyone in between.
- See more at: http://theamericanjesus.net/?p=12077#sthash.KXnf0nkH.dpuf

Weekly Spending Report 4.12 - 4.18.14

Happy Easter/Passover/whatever holiday you might celebrate!

We had a busy Easter weekend, my husband and I sang in the choir and kid 1 went to a few egg hunts. I find the Easter bunny thing kind of dumb (bunnies do not lay eggs!) and really has nothing to do with Jesus rising, but, what are you going to do?

Trying to explain the resurrection to a 7 year old boy is not easy. He was very concerned Jesus was a skeleton or a zombie. We had to work on that one!

Anywho, here is the spending report.

Groceries:
38.87 which brings the total so far this month to 328.98

Takeout:
22.50
total for month so far: 48.43

Gasoline:
54.02
total for month so far: 130.72

Other Spending:
54.94 - CVS- included diapers, wipes, granola bars, and personal item
17.74- Easter candy and prescription
25.00- Easter toy for kids
3.34- Netflix

Total for Week: 216.41

How to tell if Your Life is Good or Amazing Quiz

Disclaimer:
I created this quiz myself and cannot be held responsible for your own personal feelings and actions as a result.



How to tell if Your Life is Good Quiz

1.) Are you starving?
2.) Are you homeless?

If you answered no to both of these questions, Congratulations! Your life is good.



How to tell if Your Life is Amazing Quiz

1.) Do you have access to clean water?
2.) Do you have indoor plumbing?
3.) Do you have access to electricity?
4.) Do you make more than $34,000 USD/ year?

If you answered yes to these questions, Congratulations!

Your life is amazing. 

You are not part of the 3.4 million people in our world to not have access to clean drinking water (1), 2.6 Billion people do not have a toilet to use (2), 1.6 Billion (1 quarter of the world) without electricity (3), and if you make $34,000 USD/year, your are in the top 1% of the highest income earners of the world (4).

Congratulations, you are free to deal with first world problems like I do.

Go out and have an amazing life!!!




Sources:
1.) http://water.org/water-crisis/water-facts/water/
2.) http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/20/26-billion-with-no-place-to-go-to-the-toilet/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0
3.) http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats
4.) http://money.msn.com/now/post--charles-koch-dollar34000-puts-you-in-the-top-1percent

What I'm Reading 4.14.14

What I'm reading on the 'net.

The Buyerarchy of Needs-

I try to follow this hierarchy of buyerarchy.


And Lindsay's story of How She Quit the Supermarket


I got a chuckle about Unrecognized Personality Disorders and have to woefully admit I used to suffer from "Normal Personality Disorder."

Sarah over at Live to List is exploring different religious issues. I was interested to read and weigh in on Modesty in Dress.

What are you reading?

Katie

Weekly Spending Report 4.1.14 - 4.10.14

I know I have said it the past couple months but this month I really mean it- I am keeping a close eye on the 3 most controllable expenses I have- Groceries, Take Out, and Gasoline.

Goals:

Groceries: $400.00
Gas: $200.00
Take Out: $35.00

This spending increment is longer because I am including the first 4 days of April in this week.

Groceries:
$82.28 at regular grocery store
$215.93 Costco run (this is a monthly trip- hopefully will lower my over all monthly grocery bill)
Total: 298.11

Gasoline:
Mike: $36.75
Me: $40.00
Total: 76.75

Takeout:
 $14.92 (fast food)
$9.01 (milkshakes and soft pretzels with Kid 1)
Total: 25.93

Other Expenditures:

$900.00 Housing
$74.00 Sewer Bill
$17.00 Hair cut for Kid 1
$20.38 Disposable Diapers and wipes (cloth diaper hiatus due to shingles fatigue)
$40.55 Includes birthday gift for husband, coffee and bagel for self
$51.59 Honest Company order with included dish soap, dish washer soap, hand soap, bar soap, sponge, window cleaner, and 3 tubes of toothpaste. Still undecided about canceling this. I have been giving myself a pass as we are going on month 5 with out a full nights sleep!

Total For Week: 1504.31

That's Life (as Frankie Says)

So I mentioned in my last post how I have a "weak constitution" and don't deal with stress well, so I thought I'd provide you with some anecdotal evidence of such.

The other night, I woke up in the middle of the night to a feeling, with the closest thing I can describe is the feeling of when you have your lady 'stache waxed off (you know that burning, tingling, irritated feeling? oh, you don't have a lady 'stache? Lucky you. Darn Italian genes.) But this was on my stomach. And, I am not at the point in my life (and hopefully never will be) that I need to have my stomach waxed.

So, I decide this merits extricating myself from the baby and son who are sleeping with/on me (Son 1 sleeps in his own bed, but somehow migrates into ours without me knowing) and checking it out. I have to do this very stealthily, because waking them up is not an option.

So I stumble into the family room, which isn't very far because our house is small, and Mike is passed out on the couch, where he usually is when he falls asleep watching something such as Star Trek (the Next Generation, I Love Patrick Stewart. I digress).

I lift up my shirt to inspect tummy, and low and behold is a funky rash. "Look Mike," I say, "I've got a funky rash."

He mumbles something like "That's nice" and stumbles off too bed. (We're doing a lot of stumbling tonight.)

My first thought is, "oh sh*t, the carpet beetles are back." We had a carpet beetle infestation a couple of years ago. It sucked.

So I break out the google, and research "carpet beetles." But, they don't bite. Then I am thinking, "aw crap, it's bed bugs." Even though we haven't traveled anywhere. It's the middle of the night, and I am not thinking properly. So I google all types of bug bites, and then I decide it's mosquitoes. And I go back to bed.

The next day the rash is still there and itching and burning. While inspecting it, Mike says "Whoa, you've got a funky rash! You should get that checked out!" And I'm like yeah, I showed you last night. But he doesn't remember. Whatever.

So then I show my mom, and she tells me I should get it checked out.

I go to the doctor, and low and behold, I have shingles. She says it usually only happens to old people but if you are stressed and run down, sometimes it can happen then. (Weak Constitution!)

I get a prescription for Valtrex, which she says is okay for nursing.

But, I go home and break out the google again, just to make sure it's okay for nursing.

While researching, I find out Valtrex primarily treats genital herpes. "Great," I'm thinking. The pharmacist is going to look at me and think I am genital herpes girl.

"No matter," I say to myself. The pharmacist is probably some old guy who I will never see again.

Commence pharmacy trip.

I am standing in line, waiting to pick up my prescription. I am staring around, and notice the sign with the name of my pharmacist today.

"Huh," I think. "That name is familiar".

That is the problem about living where you grew up. You always run into people you knew (like old dates, past mean girls, etc.) on a day where you've forgone yet another shower (I can go one more day, right?) and decided your pajamas could pass for clothes today.

The name is familiar, I remember, because that guy went to school with my husband.

Great, so now I am genital herpes girl who also doesn't shower.

But, that's life right?

What I'm Reading 4.8.14

I haven't done a "what I am reading" post in a while. I haven't had much time for blogging. Mothering is a lot of work. Really. I don't deal well with lack of sleep and stress. I know probably everyone would say that, but I really don't. I have a "weak constitution".  :)

Anyway, I spend a lot of my time reading. My sister is a librarian and knows what I like, she recommends books to me all the time. Here are a few of my recent favorites.

Home to Woefield by Susan Juby

 This book is about a girl who inherits a farm from her Uncle and goes to live there. It was a funny, lighthearted, read. Probably my favorite of the recent books I have read.

Keeping up with the farm theme, The Lost Husband by Katherine Center is about a widow with children who goes to live on her aunt's farm. I loved this one too! (Not to be confused with "The Husband's Secret", another popular book that I did NOT like.

and

  "Little Heathens Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm during The Great Depression" by Mildred Armstrong Kalish.
This is a non-fiction about a woman's childhood on a farm (as is obvious by the title.) Another great read!

Can you tell I like books about farms? As a kid I always wished I could live on a farm. I wanted to milk cows and collect eggs, which is ironic because I am lactose intolerant and eggs give me diarrhea. Oh well.

What are you reading?

~Katie~

Weekly Spending Report 3.24.14-3.31.14 and Spending Temptations

Usually I do a week of spending, but I decided to just wait until the end of the month to wrap it up, then I can be done with March.

March is a long cold month here in these parts (Southeastern Pennsylvania, United States, North America, Earth).  I am glad to be looking forward to Spring. April is a big month, I have Mike's (32) birthday (he's older than me :) and our 8th wedding anniversary. We got married on Earth Day. Not on purpose. It just so happened to be that way. Oh, and our wedding cost $500.00 and was awesome.

Aw, we love each other. I realize we have almost no photos of just the 2 of us together. Oh well.

Have I mentioned my husband is a jazz musician?  If you are so inclined, check out his first album. :) :)

Anyway, back to the spending report. To recap, I am in the compact, buying nothing new, family of 4, Southeastern crappy expensive PA, etc. etc.

Shoes for Kid 1 : 46.35
Shoes are one thing I spend money on. Good shoes are important for your back and stuff.
Date with Kid 1: 7.95
Gift For Kid 1 Birthday Party: 16.05
I don't know why I made him go to the party. He does not like large groups of people. Neither do I.
Groceries: 145.78 (Time to go back to Costco me thinks.)
Take out: 14.92 ( I was so tired. Baby does not sleep through the night yet! )
Gas for Both Cars: 83.23 (I am getting my bike soon equipped with baby seat. I can't wait! I am hoping to have a basket and/or cart fixed so I can go to the food store!!)
Church: 70.00
Kindle Books: 11.00

Total: 395.28

Total for Month of March: 1991.97 WOW! New Low!! Woohoo!

I love not spending money.

That is not to say I do not have temptations, although I do not think my spending temptations fall in with what normal ladies spend money on. Books are my biggest temptation. Follow that with cleaning supplies.

Yes, cleaning supplies.
I am a sucker for anything that promises my house to be cleaner in an easier, less work, less time fashion. I am sorta lazy but I like to have a clean house. In the end, I have found the simpler products are usually the best. I have all hardwood floors, so I find a dust mop works the best, and I have a steam mop that I use around 4 times a year to clean and sanitize. (This may change once baby is crawling around, but in my opinion kids can use to eat a little dirt. Kid 1 tried to eat a cigarette butt once at the playground and lived to tell the tale. That was super disgusting. And don't get me started on our poison control call history.)

As for clothing temptations, I am tempted by things that promise me comfort. Like pajama jeans. Don't be fooled. They do not feel like pajamas! I love pajamas. And skirts. I love skirts.

What are your spending temptations?

Katie

Kindle Book Sale

I am excited to share with you 2 books on sale for Kindle today that have been on my "must read" list for a while.



Jesus Feminist by Sarah Bessey is on sale for 1.99

And




A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans

On sale for 2.99

I don't know how long these sales  will last!

Weekly Spending Report 3.15.14-3.21.14 and The Most Financially Freeing Thing You Can Do That's Free

I will share with you my weekly spending, which honestly you probably stopped caring about a while ago since is nothing earth shattering- at this point I am doing it for me to keep myself accountable for a budget and The compact. Seriously this blog has kept me from making impulse purchases that I would later regret.
And then, after that, I will share with you the most earth shattering thing you can do for your finances! I can feel your excitement now...

Weekly Spending Report:

Bills: 168.59
This includes electric and Internet.
Groceries: 63.81
Family Lunch Out: 18.74
This 4 of us went out for a lunch and library outing after church on Sunday.
Gas for Me: 49.62
Gas for Him: 31.65
Church: 3.00

Total: 335.41

And now the moment you have been waiting for, where I share with you my financial wisdom. What is the most financially freeing thing you can do that's free?

Stop caring what other people think.

Seriously.

Katie

Expense Report 3.8.14 - 3.14.14

Really rethinking my stance on Costco- as I have not set foot in a grocery store in 3 weeks  since my trip there. Mike did stop to pick up bananas and milk, bring our weekly grocery trip total to $11.51!

Groceries: 11.51
Husband Gas: 34.42
Water Bill: 90.47 (pay this quarterly)
Lunch Playdate with Kid 1: 12.58
Gift: 25.96

Total: 200.90

The Living Room: Where we do our Living

Lots of blogs show these perfect (white!) living rooms, and I just have to say, they don't live with my husband, son, and baby. My husband treats every room like his closet, my son crushes goldfish everywhere, and baby just likes to spit up on everything. But you know what? I am done feeling bad about my living room not being perfect. Welcome.

Welcome to my living room.

 

This is where my son plays.

This is where I write to you. And do other computery things.

 

This is our media closet.

This is where I nurse the baby, take naps, and hang out with the family.

This is our living room, it is not white or uncluttered or perfect. But, it is where we do our living.

Weekly Spending Report 3.1.14-3.7.14 and Homemade Cleaners

Although I am a "J" type in my Meyers Briggs (INFJ) My "J" seems to be my weakest, and although I like to have things planned and a general outline, I am not rigid in my schedules. Which is why my Friday spending report is being posted on Monday.

Spending Report 3.1 - 3.7

House payment: $900.00
Shower Curtain: $10.00 - I let ours go for too long without cleaning it and now it is beyond hope. I ordered a cloth one from Amazon and plan on taking better care of it.
Book For Son used on amazon- $5.00 - a start to the "sex" talk. I want to make this as comfortable as it can be between a mother and son.
Gas for Me - $55.50
Gas for Mike- $31.05
That is the difference between a tank of regular and a tank of premium.
Groceries: $3.65 - rethinking my dislike of Costco as the only thing I needed to buy this week was bananas. I am definitely down with one shopping trip lasting 2 weeks.
Swim Diapers: $13.28
We have a trial family membership to a local gym and they have family swim night at their indoor pool.
The Honest Company Cleaning Bundle: $41.90

Total for this week:
$1060.38

The last thing on my list is the Honest Cleaning Bundle. Prior to the birth of Son 2, I made most of my cleaners at home. This started because I wanted all natural cleaners but didn't want to pay the price at the store. I decided to give myself a break when Son 2 was born and purchase cleaners from The Honest Company.  
I didn't realize at the time that is a monthly subscription that needs to be canceled via phone call. If I had, I  might not have ordered it, as I hate making phone calls (social interaction! Ah!)
Now that Baby is 4 months old and (sorta) sleeping through the night, I feel I might be ready to go back to my homemade cleaners, but the problem is, not all of them worked. And  my husband HATES vinegar. With a vengeance. And he can sniff it out like a crime sniffing dog. So. Vinegar is out.

What did work:
Laundry detergent
Mirror/Window Cleaner
Soft Scrub
Dish Soap

What did not work:
Toilet Cleaner (still had marks in bowl)
Mold/Mildew Shower tile cleaner (shower looks a lot better since I started using Honest Bath Cleaner)
Dishwasher Detergent (made my dishwasher grime-y)

So, I am trying to decide if the expense is worth it. $35.99/5 products seems like a lot, and I don't know if I can justify the expense anymore. Does anyone have cleaner recipes for those things that work that do not use vinegar?

Happy Monday!

Katie

Compact Monthly Spending Wrap Up

 So, it is the second month of my "compact", or "buy nothing new." I had one breech in which I bought a "character badges" behavior program for my son.

I spent more in February than January, although part of that was because I had to order heating oil.

The total spending for February was $3028.30.

I had a goal of spending $25.00 on take out, which I did not meet. I spent $68.77 on take out this month.

 I realized in doing this that I was approaching it the wrong way. In order to reduce take out costs, I need to be better organized about my grocery store/meal planning. So this month (March) I am going to focus my efforts on low cost meal planning.

My grocery expenditure for February was $501.42. I ultimately would like to get this closer to $400.00, but this month I am going to aim for $475.00. (A little at a time, slow and steady I say..)

I have lowered the thermostat down another degree to help with heating costs. We have had an unusually cold winter with lots of snow, so it cannot be altogether avoided.

The other big expense I am looking at is car gas. Between the two of us we spend $192.45 on car gas. Since I am currently not working, I think I can lower this by driving less. Most of my driving is done to spend time with extended family. I am shooting for $150.00 this month.

I look forward to Spring (hopefully) coming in March with some more mild weather. I actually do not mind the snow, I would be outside a lot more if the baby was not too little. But, I really enjoy having 4 seasons, and I am ready for winter to move on and welcome Spring.

Well, that's all for today. Talk to you soon!

Katie