I haven't gotten too organized with my coupons and sale flyers yet...
I really don't do couponing, but I'm just about to start dabbling! Y'all have any tips or favorite web sites for me? Do you use a notebook for yours? Do you trade with friends? How do you combine coupons with sales? Inquiring minds want to know!
You'll see several links related to the Publix grocery store. I don't normally shop at Publix because the prices are generally higher than Aldi or Super Walmart, where I usually shop. However, apparently if you are a smart shopper, Publix can yield a lot of bargains! According to one friend, Esther Wadley, who co-writes the Coupons Make It Free site) Publix can be consistently cheaper than the others if you use coupons and combine deals. Hmmm. I guess I'll have to look into that! I already occasionally stop into a Publix when I drop my boys off for youth group to grab their great Buy 1 Get 1 offers. Yesterday, I clipped a newspaper coupon for Mrs. Smith's or Edwards pies, and found a sale flyer ad for 50% off the same pies at Publix and another one for Buy 1 Get 1 Free at Walmart. Sounds yummy for Easter!
I think it's good advice to only use coupons for something you are really going to use, and only if the discounted price is a bargain compared to either another store or another brand. You can always pass your unused coupons along to friends. Or, if you see a really good deal on basic products, stock up and donate them to a food pantry or homeless shelter!
Happy couponing! And leave me a comment with your tips and web sites! There are already two very informative comments from my friend Mandy Reel, an avid couponer, so even if you don't have a comment to add, be sure to click the comment button below to see them.
Since couponing is only one strategy for pinching pennies, check out my articleSaving Money on Groceries. More recent posts in my food series include...
I'm trying to be more effective and efficient around the house. One of the areas where I always need work is in menu planning.
I recently compiled a list of all of the different dinner entrees that I might prepare. Most of them are standard ones that I've fixed for years, but I have also been looking for new recipes on-line via www.allrecipes.com and the Food on Fridays links at www.annkroeker.com. Here is my current list:
Menu Ideas
Beef
vSpaghetti
vTacos & burritos (sometimes as a make your own buffet)
My goal each week is to sit down on Saturday and choose a meal for each night of the week. Then I can go grocery shopping based on what we need to make these meals. I try to choose a variety of chicken, beef, egg, and other dishes each week. We try not to have red meat more than three times a week.
Menu for
March 17-23
Ingredients
Considerations
Sat:
baked potato buffet, green
cupcakes
potatoes, bacon, sour cream,
shredded cheese
St. Patrick’s Day
Sun:
confetti chicken, salad
chicken, penne pasta, yellow
squash, broccoli, red and green peppers, corn, whole milk, flour, butter
So how did we do that week? Saturday went as planned, though I should have bought more bacon for topping the potatoes. After Sunday's dinner we had plenty of leftovers which I recycled into a casserole on Monday to supplement the planned sandwiches (on sale-priced bagels instead of sub rolls) and chips. On Tuesday, I had forgotten to take out the chicken to thaw, so I substituted stuffed shells (frozen bags from Aldi) which I had bought instead of lasagna ingredients for Wednesday. We had the chicken on Wednesday. On Thursday, I got a late start at dinner, so we heated up two boxes of pierogies (potato and cheddar in pasta) and a few cans of beef soup. On Friday, my husband fixed tacos and burritos (instead of the chili) since we were getting home late from a field trip. There you have it! We didn't stick to the menu plan, but it sure helped as a guideline anyway. At least I had the recipe ingredients in the house, as well as some backup convenience foods.
One more tip: As long as you plan your menus for the week, you can set aside specific foods for each night so no one will take them for other purposes. For example, if you are making chili using canned beans, rice, corn, sauce or salsa, a seasoning packet, or whatever, you can put the food packages in a plastic grocery bag, tie it up, and label it with the day you plan to use it. You can store this bag on your pantry shelf. You can do the same with the refrigerated ingredients such as ground beef, shredded cheese, tomatoes, onions, etc. If you buy shredded cheese by the bag, you can take out enough for that one meal and put it in a zip lock bag to include in your dinner bag.
I'm
trying something new on my Come Weary Moms blog! I've been participating
in a few blog carnivals with different themes for the past several months, and
now I've decided to start my own! My theme is "Equip &
Encourage."
Here's
how it works: Each week, I will put up a new Equip & Encourage blog
carnival post. Then you link your blog post using the convenient tool
provided by Simply Linked. At the bottom of your post, please link back
to my blog so your friends can join the fun and visit the blogs of our other
contributors. Your posts can be of anything interesting to the target
audience, which is generally Christian moms. So posts could be about
mothering, marriage, homemaking, education, crafts, devotional, missions and outreach, what life is like at your
house, something new you've been learning, something you're frustrated about, a book review, etc. It doesn't have to be a recent post, so feel free to dig into your archives and bring out a favorite!
How
about it? Link up, ladies! Then check back later to see what others have posted!
Simply Linked
~*~*~
Please copy and paste the blog button below and include it in your post so it will link back here.
Last night, Lake Baldwin Church's women gathered for an encouraging evening called "Drinking from the Well." Monica Taffinder, a Christian counselor who is co-founder of Grace Clinic, shared on the topic of "Celebrating Hope and Joy in the Midst of Our Realities." Many of the thoughts I am writing here are ones she expressed, while others are my own observations. Then there is the silly little story of the pineapple coconut bundt cake I brought.
Celebrating hope and joy? The reality is that many Christian women experience disappointment, disillusionment and depression. Many of us face multiple simultaneous stresses, whether taking care of young children or elderly parents, marriage crises, infertility, wayward teens, church conflicts, financial distress, loneliness, or even general anxiety about what it going on in our communities and the world around us.
Hope and joy can be hard to find, especially when we confuse hope with expectation and joy with happiness.
A hope is something that we want to happen, that could possibly happen. We all desire healthy families, nurturing friendships, personal significance, and meaningful work. We are supposed to hope for and work toward these things! And yet our hope is not to be in these things or in our efforts, but in God, who is the good giver.We must trust that he will provide what we need, but not always what we want, and that what he gives us will be not only sufficient, but what is best.
An expectation is something that we think must happen for us to be satisfied. A desire becomes a demand. Unmet expectations can lead to anger and depression, so we feel like we have to control things and people to get what we want. (In some cases, this need for control is a survival function left over from a chaotic or dysfunctional childhood.) Many of our expectations are tied to our ideals and to our identities: "If I were a really good mom, I would...." or, for those who educate at home, "The children in godly home school families should turn out like this..." And when we don't, or when they don't? We try to force it! Or we become judgmental, grumpy, guilt-ridden, spazzed out, or worse. Besides our own expectations, we also need to be aware of how we respond to the expectations that others have for us. Do we allow our ability (or not) to satisfy unreasonable demands from others to determine our sense of value? Do we strive for perfect performance because we crave approval, or do we evaluate what is sensible, set our healthy boundaries, and choose to live as God himself has called us? Just because someone else thinks you need to do it doesn't mean that you should do it. Just because someone says that this is what good Christians do, doesn't mean that it is. Learn to listen to God for what he wants you to do.
Back to our own hopes and desires, what are we to do when we want something out of life? I like the picture of holding my desires before the Lord with an open hand, waiting to see what he will do. That doesn't mean passivity. We are still supposed to do our part!
What about joy? It's not the same as happiness, which is wonderful but fleeting. Joy is connected to a sense of gratitude, as well as acceptance (not complacency) and forgiveness (not a denial of the hurt). Joy and grief can co-exist. In fact, if you don't allow yourself to acknowledge and properly grieve what is wrong in your life, you can get stuck. Then it is harder to move on toward embracing and appreciating what is right in your life, even though the bad stuff doesn't go away.
Through it all, we need to stay connected to God, the source of joy. Unfortunately, some of us equate religious activity with an authentic relationship with God to the point where piety becomes a substitute for intimacy. Merely going through the motions on the outside depletes our inner joy instead of replenishing it. White-washed tomb, anyone? Yet if we really truly knew how much God loves us and is for us, how much he rejoices over us in Christ, wouldn't we want to listen to him, trust him, and grow deep in him? I don't know about you, but sometimes this is a struggle for me.
If our hope and joy are in God rather than in our circumstances or our performance, then we are also free to be bold. We can move forward with confidence and not worry about a bit of failure or disapproval along the way. We can take risks, starting with little ones like pineapple coconut bundt cake...
Pineapple Coconut Bundt Cake with Glaze (the dark spots on the inside are hollow pockets -- oops!)
I had signed up to bring a sweet treat to the Drinking from the Well gathering. Wanting a dessert that is a little out of the ordinary, I decided to make a pineapple coconut bundt cake. The complication is that I didn't have a recipe! I could have looked one up on the Internet, but I like to experiment on my own. I figured it would be easy enough to combine two boxes of yellow cake mix (along with the eggs, oil and a reduced amount of water), a can of crushed pineapple, and a cup of shredded coconut. I poured most of it in the bundt pan, and then the rest into a loaf pan. I pureed a little more pineapple, mixed it with brown sugar, and boiled it down to make a glaze to spread over the cake after it cooled. When I took it out of the refrigerator the next day, I was surprised to find that it had sort of collapsed in the middle, and that there were some large hollow pockets inside. It looked a little... weird! I guess I had used too much batter in the pan! Certainly not the perfect bundt cake. Hmmm. Was it good enough to take to the ladies' gathering, or should I buy some cookies instead? I scraped off the uneven parts from the middle and tasted them. Very very gooey, but definitely delicious! Did it really matter what it looked like? No! I knew that my friends weren't going to judge me on my cake's appearance. I didn't need to feel insecure, so I was more than willing to take the risk. As it turned out, my friends all raved about how it tasted and laughed with me about my "cake wreck" story. Honestly, by the time I sliced it, you couldn't tell that it had "issues" to begin with!
Seriously though, I want to say more about my friends at church. It's not just my cake that they accept. I have experienced their warmth toward me ever since I stepped out of my car in the parking lot that first Sunday morning in September 2010. I hadn't even gotten to the building yet before a dear lady heard my car door close, turned around, noticed a new face, and walked back to greet me. The friendliness from people in the church continued, and it wasn't just the "love bombing" hype that some newcomers experience. Whether it is inviting us over for a meal, or picking up our kids for youth group, or giving them a partial scholarship to summer camp, or dropping everything to come be with us in a time of need, or taking the time to tell me they liked my latest blog post, we have felt their kindness, hospitality, and generosity. Over the past year and a half I have found them willing to listen and help when I've shared some of the less-than-perfect places of my life, some of the hard situations with no easy answers. And you know what? My stories don't alarm them, because many of them have already been-there-done-that, and aren't afraid to say it. My gratitude for them gives me great joy. Their acceptance gives me great hope and comfort. And that is becoming my new reality.
I can't end this post without sharing a music video of Sara Groves singing "Less Like Scars." (If you are reading this via e-mail or blog reader, you'll have to visit the post on-line to view it.) Honestly, when my husband gave me this CD many years ago, I listened to it a few times but just didn't really "get" it. It wasn't until later, in the storms of life that it sank in.
"Less Like Scars" by Sara Groves
It's been a hard year But I'm climbing out of the rubble These lessons are hard Healing changes are subtle But every day it's
Less like tearing, more like building Less like captive, more like willing Less like breakdown, more like surrender Less like haunting, more like remember
And I feel you here And you're picking up the pieces Forever faithful It seemed out of my hands, a bad situation But you are able And in your hands the pain and hurt Look less like scars and more like character
Less like a prison, more like my room It's less like a casket, more like a womb Less like dying, more like transcending Less like fear, less like an ending
And I feel you here And you're picking up the pieces Forever faithful It seemed out of my hands, a bad situation But you are able And in your hands the pain and hurt Look less like scars
Just a little while ago I couldn't feel the power or the hope I couldn't cope, I couldn't feel a thing Just a little while back I was desperate, broken, laid out, hoping You would come
And I need you And I want you here And I feel you
And I know you're here And you're picking up the pieces
Forever faithful It seemed out of my hands, a bad, bad situation But you are able
And in your hands the pain and hurt Look less like scars
I know that many of you have read the advice to shop just once a week or once a month for your groceries, in order to save time and money.
I don't do that. It is not uncommon for me to buy groceries a few times a week, though not what I would call a "full run" each time. Here's why:
I have a huge family with eight of our ten children still living at home. I can almost completely fill a shopping cart, our refrigerator, and our cupboards with food for only a few days. I personally don't like dealing with more groceries than that at one time anyway. And it's amazing how fast it disappears once its in the house -- or even on the way home! For example, we go through a gallon of milk every day, I don't like to freeze it or use powdered, and our fridge only holds three gallons.
I shop at several different stores depending on what I am buying. I try to get most of our staple foods at Aldi, which is a discount grocery chain, but their selection is quite limited, and there is a lot that we need that they don't carry. I try to buy most of our bread at the local Entenmanns/Arnolds bakery outlet for about a dollar per bag. (I think today I bought about 20 packages of wheat bread, bagels, french bread, sandwich things, English muffins, etc.) I buy most of our other groceries at Super Walmart. I also stop in at Winn Dixie occasionally to see what they have for Buy One Get One Free, or Publix if I am picking up a prescription, or Sam's Club if I am getting photos. I also buy snacks and toiletries at the Deals dollar store which is right next to Aldi.
We live within a mile or two of most of the above mentioned stores, and the rest are on our regular routes to other places. It doesn't take me any extra gas to pull into a parking lot, or even much gas at all to drive from home for a solo errand.
Grocery shopping gives me a chance to get out of the house and clear my head for a little bit, or to take just one or two children along for Mom time. Sometimes that is just what I need after being at home all day.
It is not uncommon for us to run out of something that I need to make a certain meal. It does help when I label things for their intended use, but in real life, this stuff just happens. I find a child snacking on the "oyster" crackers I was saving to use for chili, or a container of sour cream turns out to be half empty when I thought it was full. Sometimes I just switch out the menu until I can get the needed ingredient, and other times I will just go out and get it. (Usually if, as in item #4, I want to get out of the house, or if I have already started making the recipe.)
My most common impulse purchases are snacks, but I usually buy cheap ones, and they help us to avoid extra trips out for fast food if we're out and about and get a little hungry. If a $1 box of crackers can tide us over, we can save $10 that we might have spent at McDonald's. (We still do hit the drive-throughs and order from the dollar menu once in a while if I only have two or three kids along around lunchtime.)
So how does this affect my food budget? Am I blowing the bank going to the store that often? Hardly! I looked up the USDA average monthly food bill for January 2012, and our family doesn't even come near to spending as much as their "thrifty" level! Do you want to know how? Read: Saving Money on Groceries.
Should you shop more than once a week? That depends on how much food you buy and how close you are to grocery stores. What will work best for your family?
Heading out the door, my two youngest daughters and one of their best buddies (who is fortunately our next door neighbor) announced their intention to parade around the block wearing silly dress up clothes. Never mind that they cut the fingers off of a pair of gloves -- this is Florida! The rain was barely spitting, but just enough to justify bringing out the frilly peach umbrella that her sister gave her for her birthday last month. After all, girls just wanna have fun! They grow up so fast, so I just knew this was a not-to-miss photo op. Thank goodness I always have my iPod in my pocket (unless, of course, it is in my hand)! I'm sure the neighbors all got a smile!
It was only later that I realized how well the first picture fit in with the P52 photo theme for the week, The "Eyes" of March. Have you ever seen such eyes of impish joy? Check out those oversize specs! And as for the March part, well, I guess the umbrellas say it all. In the first photo, I like the warm glow on the peach umbrella and how the blue umbrella blocks out the pickup truck. I can also sense the energy and movement in both pictures, especially with the placement of hands and feet. Rock stars in the making?
Come, weary moms! Enjoy the moment and absorb the joy!
Tell me: What do your girls do for fun? Leave a comment!
You'll see several links related to the Publix grocery store. I don't normally shop at Publix because the prices are generally higher than Aldi or Super Walmart, where I usually shop. However, apparently if you are a smart shopper, Publix can yield a lot of bargains! According to one friend, Esther Wadley, who co-writes the Coupons Make It Free site) Publix can be consistently cheaper than the others if you use coupons and combine deals. Hmmm. I guess I'll have to look into that! I already occasionally stop into a Publix when I drop my boys off for youth group to grab their great Buy 1 Get 1 offers. Yesterday, I clipped a newspaper coupon for Mrs. Smith's or Edwards pies, and found a sale flyer ad for 50% off the same pies at Publix and another one for Buy 1 Get 1 Free at Walmart. Sounds yummy for Easter!
.JPG)
