A Great Giveaway Contest

I recently (actually, just today) found a blog that I will be returning to very often. You can find the link under Blogs I Love. It's called Blog Momma and they are running a wonderful new contest. It's for a copy of the new game Guitar Praise. Here is the link http://blogmommas.com/?p=1182 and a bit about the game.


"It features great songs by some of your favorite Christian artists such as Casting Crowns, Petra, tobyMac, Kutless, Newsboys, Superchick, and so many more! As you play along you have 4 levels of playing for each song - this is endless playing! The game is for either one or two players - go it alone or battle it out with a friend! Lyrics show on screen so while you play you can sing your heart out with lyrics that are worshipful to the Lord. Guitar Praise works with either Windows or Mac computers and requires 650MB of free space on your hard disc one available UBS port for the guitar."

Be sure to stop by Blog Momma and enter to win. I'm very excited about this game. It would be perfect for my kids for Christmas!!

So Sad.

I'm very sad. Devastated one might say.

My crockpot broke.

Now, I know that might not sound like the end of the world to most of you. But for me, this is huge. Hugely huge. Big time depressing stuff.

I use my crockpot ALL the time. If I'm not using the whole unit, I'm at least using the insert for cooking in the oven.

I cook dinners and desserts in it. I adore my crockpot.

So, the big question now is, do I go out and buy new, or do I go second hand?

New will last longer, but second hand is less expensive.

What to do??

I'm taking the plunge today and putting an ad on Kijiji to start selling eggs. I'm really rather excited about it! It will be the first time I've ever sold something like this. Pray that we will be able to recoup some of the cost of keeping the chickens, please!

This homesteading, simple life, frugal living thing is tough. I know everyone already knows that, right? I just thought it beared repeating. ;) Over the years, we've developed some habits that we need to change. So, what we've decided to do is change one habit at a time. I mean, if we try to tackle them all at once, I think the whole family will implode. ;)

Starting Nov. 1, we are going to work on our frivilous spending in the form of eating out. We tend to stop in at McDonalds to grab something quick more often than we should. It's really just too convenient. But, we just can't afford it anymore.

So, to work to that end, I'm going to be bringing back the weekly dinner menu that we used to use, but during the selling of the house and the move went by the wayside.

Every two weeks, I sit down with the calendar and my meal list and schedule each dinner meal for that pay schedule. Then, using the recipe for each meal, I make my grocery list with only the ingredients used in each meal. Of course we have our basic need grocery list as well.

By using this method we can usually shave at least $50 off our grocery bill if not more.

If anyone needs more information on how to set up a workable dinner list, let me know. I can post a more detailed how to here on this blog.

Yesterday's Shopping

Well, it went great yesterday! Not only were we able to get some excellent clothes at an amazing price, my teenage daughter now believes me that second hand clothing isn't the end of the world!

We spent just over $100 and this is what we got:

Myself: a pair of jeans, two skirts, two sweatshirts

My Husband: a pair of jeans

My Son: 3 pairs of pants, a new fall/spring raincoat

My daughter: 2 sweaters, a new pair of pants.

It was fabulous! We will definitely be going back. It was incredibly busy there being the last Saturday before Hallowe'en and honestly, none of us do crowds very well. So we're going to go back sometime when it's not quite as busy. ;)

Taking The First Step Towards Frugality In Shopping

We're on our way today to make our first steps towards frugality and simplicity. Unfortunately, that means spending money, which seems a bit backward, doesn't it? ;)

Everyone in our family needs winter coats, snow pants and boots, including my husband and I. Hubby also needs new shoes, I need new jeans (the knees and for lack of a better word, crotch, are almost completely worn through and aren't going to last much longer) and dress pants. The kids both need some mucking around clothes for cleaning out the chicken coop so they aren't wrecking their school clothes. We're looking at close to a thousand dollars just for winters coats and boots! So, we're heading to a second hand store today!

We've never shopped in a second hand store, so this will be something very new for us. We're having a hard time convincing our teenage daughter that it will be ok for her to buy something there. I'm hoping that once she gets there and is able to see the quality of the clothes that she'll start to understand that it's not the end of the world. Being in highschool, appearances are very important to her and she's afraid. She doesn't want to be teased by her friends and those who aren't her friends.

This is a huge step for us! I'm excited and very proud of my husband and I. Normally we would just head to WalMart or the mall to buy these things and spent way too much money. This is a great step in the right direction.

I'll be sure to stop back in and let you all know what we got!

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. A lot of thinking. I've also noticed that God is really speaking to me about something.

We all know that things aren't great in the economical part of our lives. Markets are falling, banks are being bought out, mortgages are being called in, jobs are being lost, and the list goes on and on and on.

It's pretty scary stuff isn't it? It can make a person want to hide under a blanket and never come out. If we dwell on it, if we allow that fear to take over, we will destroy ourselves.

We need to trust God. We need to understand and accept that He will take care of us. That's not to say that He's going to let you sit at home and He'll pay your bills for you. Not at all. But if we trust Him, he will bring us through.

I've noticed too that a lot of people are feeling very negative. Understandable, but not helpful. We tend to start acting the way we are thinking. Instead of being the positive, filled with joy Christians we should be, we start to preach the doom and gloom that everyone else is feeling.

It's our job to be light in darkness. To help others to see that even though things are tough and may get a bit tougher, that all is not lost. Those who are unsaved need to see the joy of the Lord shining through us regardless of the situation.

We need to remember to be thankful for what we have, not begrudge the things we don't. If you woke up this morning, then thank the Good Lord that you still have breath in your lungs! If you're eating tonight, thank the Lord that there is food on the table. Just because it's not sirloin steak, doesn't mean it won't nourish us.

I volunteer at a local Mission. Every Saturday we cook and serve a nutritious well balanced meals to the disadvantaged in our area. Some weeks we have more people there than others, but generally speaking we serve about 50 a week. I leave there thankful and joyful that I have a house to come home to, with food in my fridge to eat.

What we think always ends up showing on the outside. If we are thinking negative thoughts, we will act negatively in our lives. We need to think positive uplifting thoughts. We need to thank God for what we have. We need to ensure that we are following God's will for our lives.

We need to trust that God is caring for us. That He will keep us safe no matter what storms rage in the "real" world.

Stop grumbling about what we don't have. Stop predicting doom and gloom. Start with a smile on your face. Have a peace in your life that will make others wonder what you have that they don't. Show the love of Jesus in your life.

Trust me, you'll feel better if you do. ;)

Fall is my absolute favourite time of the year. I love everything about it. I love the cooler days and nights, the crunch of the leaves beneath my feet, I love the smell of the air. I can't honestly think of one thing I don't love about the fall.

My favourite thing about this wonderful time of year, though, is the changing leaves. And the best part of that is when they fall. I absolutely adore walking through them, kicking them out of the way as I go. The sound of them rustling against each other is like heavenly music to my ears.

I've been noticing something this year that is really bothering me. I don't know why I never noticed it before. I know it's always been there, but for some reason, this year it jumped up and bit me on the nose.

It all started about two weeks ago, when the leaves really started to fall. I was driving through our little town on the way to the grocery store, admiring all the colours of fall when I noticed a lady in her front yard, raking up the leaves and throwing them into the garbage. I wanted to stop the van and ask her why? Why are you doing this?

God, in all his infinte wisdom and kindness has given us a great gift in the fall. When everything else is dying and withering He gives us a glorious riot of colours in the trees. Then, He allows them to fall from the branches and carpet the ground. It's stunning!

Take some time this year to really look and appreciate the gift God has given us. Don't just automatically reach for the rake. Actually look at the carpet of glorious colours God has given you. And say thank you. Thank you for covering everything that is dead and wilted with this colourful bounty. Enjoy it. Don't just rake it up and throw it away. Appreciate the beauty of it.

We're given a wonderous gift in the fall, aren't we?