No matter how old they get, they never really grow up. I feed the baby breakfast and lunch changed him, and held him all while they sleep until noon. Now they want to know if dinner is ready? Really!
Archives for February 2015
Printable Valentine’s Day Scrapbook Layouts
Sweets for your sweets! Valentine’s Day is around the corner, so I thought I would share these “sweet” printable scrapbook layouts, and give a little history of boxes of chocolates for this day of love.
You’ve heard of the Cadbury Chocolates, right? Richard Cadbury, son of founder John Cadbury, is credited with making boxes for chocolates. He had been working to improve his chocolate making techniques in Britain, and needed a marketing gimmick to get his new and improved chocolates noticed. He started designing decorated, heart shaped boxes and the rest is history.
The boxes were originally designed for 2 purposes, to house the chocolates and once they were gone the beautiful boxes could be used to store love letters and other mementos. There’s the history of chocolates folks.
Feel free to print the layouts, add your favorite photos, and enjoy.
Grow Your Own: 13 Money Saving Fruits and Vegetables
Here’s my top 13 money saving fruits and vegetables:
- Tomatoes – I plant and harvest enough to preserve whole or quartered for soup. I also make sauces for spaghetti and other pasta dishes, chili, and salsa. I also grow cherry tomatoes for salads and snacking.
- Peppers – I pickle and freeze them. Great in dishes, on sandwiches and on top of nachos and cheese.
- Zucchini – I make fresh muffins and zucchini bread.
- Green Beans – I freeze green beans for soup and for other side dishes during the winter.
- Onions – A majority of my dishes call for onions, so I preserve these for using during the winter.
- Garlic – Fresh garlic is great in salsa and sauces.
- Herbs – I dry my herbs for winter use.
- Potatoes – Red and Yukon Gold potatoes get plenty of use in my house.
- Cucumbers – Great for salads and homemade pickles.
- Lettuce – I grow leaf lettuce for sandwiches and salads during the summer.
- Strawberries – Great for jam.
- Watermelon – I love fresh watermelon on a hot summer day. I grow Sugar Babies.
- Cantaloupe – Great breakfast fruit.
Throw Back Thursday – First Grandchild
Oh memories. I was browsing old photos for #TBT and this one caught my eye. It’s a picture of me holding my first grandchild and only grandson for the first time. What a joyous moment, I guess that’s written on my face, ha!
This picture holds special memories for me too, My second grandchild and only granddaughter was born a preemie, so I was unable to hold her for the first 3 months of her life.
I loved being a mother, but there’s nothing like being a grandmother. Greatest role in the world.
15 Tips To Save Money
- Pay yourself first – First, bank a portion of your check regularly. Put it into an account and forget about it. I’ve cried broke my entire life, and I act as though the money doesn’t exist. People say they can hear me squeak.
- Limit credit cards – Instead of multiple lines of credit, why not drop it down to just one line of credit (or maybe even none). The Citi Double Cash review I read looked pretty promising. Additional tips to save money is cash and carry. It was my motto for most things. Buying budget furniture and refinishing items cut down on household expenses.
- Shop wisely – I shop at thrift stores, yard sales and second hand stores. You can find brand new items, name brand items and gently used items. Don’t by-pass the Dollar Stores either, they’re great for school supplies, coloring books, crafts and snack items.
- Use coupons and discounts – You can save tons of money by using coupons and taking advantage of discounts.
- Look for free activities – Take advantage of free activities during the summer and holidays for family activities.
- Bank a part of your child support – If you’re single parent bank a portion of your child support. If you can’t bank half, bank what you can. I was able to send my daughter to Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Austria on child support that I saved for her.
- Drive an inexpensive car with low maintenance – My first car didn’t have an air conditioner and it was a straight stick. At this stage in my life I couldn’t handle either of the two, but I sacrificed when I was younger and able to endure.
- Pack your child’s lunch – My daughter was a brown bagger until high school. Packing her lunch relieved me of having to pay another bill.
- Start a Thrift Saving Plan (TSP) or 401-K – I invested my money for the past 25 years, and again acted as if it didn’t exist. When I needed a loan, I borrowed from my TSP at a much lower interest rate. When I retire, I will have a monthly check from my employer as well as everything that I have saved and earned for 25 years in my TSP. I plan to use this money to travel the world.
- Purchase clothes off season – I purchase clothes on clearance at the end of each season for the following year. I’m now able to shop where ever I want whenever I want, but I still purchase the majority of my clothes off the clearance rack and the kid’s clothing there as well.
- Start a vacation club – I’m able to vacation several times a year. I treat my daughter, son-in-law, 2 grandchildren and my friend each summer to a week at the beach.
- Prepare meals for the week – This will eliminate stopping at fast food places and spending money unnecessarily.
- Become a DIYer – After I purchased my home, I did my own painting, mowed the lawn, trimmed it and fixed minor things around the house. I saved thousands of dollars by doing my own work and banked it.
- Assess your household expenses – Tips to save money can be applied to your household expenses. Get rid of unnecessary expenses and bank that money. You were spending it initially, so you shouldn’t miss it if you bank it.
- Be Creative – When I break a dollar, I throw the money to the bottom of my purse. I empty my purse at the end of the week, and place the money into jars. Once the jars are full I head to the bank and place it into my travel account.
10 Tips To Get Healthy and Stay Healthy
First, it’s a new year and my main goal is to eat healthier, exercise and stay healthy. Unfortunately, I’ve fallen off track on my healthy eating goals so many times I’ve lost count. This year I decided to pick myself up, brush myself off and get back on track. I made peace with the fact that there’s no quick fix, it requires a lifestyle change. I’ve tried fad diets, prepackaged food diets, eating like a bird, not eating, you name it. I only ended up frustrated and returning to my bad habits.
They say timing is everything. When I was contacted by Molina Health Care to do a post on health issues that affect me and my family I gladly accepted. Why, because the first step to overcoming struggles is to talk about them. I had put together a list of tips to achieve and maintain a healthy eating lifestyle, and most importantly they are tips to stay healthy. I thought I would share them in this post.
Next, the turning point for me to get healthy was when I looked at pictures and realized just how much weight I had gained. I reached a point where I hated to get my picture taken. Unfortunately, I was missing out on three generations of family pictures with my daughter and granddaughter. I couldn’t bear to look at the majority of the photos that were taken of me. If there’s a health issue blowing in the wind it will find my family. So, I knew that I had to get serious and get to work. We have a family history of high blood pressure, diabetics, obesity, heart attacks, cancer and the list goes on.
My daughter was a ballet dancer. As a result, eating healthy was always a must in my home. So, a snack for her was Jello when she was growing up. I truly believe my high stress job took its toll on me over the years, along with a lack of exercise. However, I knew that I could no longer allow my job to control me. My job was a means to make an income, not a means to end my life. Here’s the tips to stay healthy that I am currently using:
- Incorporate more fruits and vegetables into my diet – I started a kitchen garden several years and I grow the majority of my vegetables during the summer along with fresh fruits. There’s nothing better than being able to pick fresh fruits and vegetables outside your door.
- Preserve fresh vegetables – I now preserve fresh vegetables during the summer to make soups and other dishes throughout the year. I also grow fresh herbs to flavor my dishes. If you don’t have a kitchen garden, visit a local Farmer’s Market. Seal and freeze the fresh vegetables for later use.
- Get a partner – One the big tips to stay healthy is finding a partner to help you stay on track.
- Don’t deprive yourself – Give yourself a day or two to enjoy the foods that you truly love. Depriving yourself is a set-up for failure. Saturday or Sunday are my days to eat out and enjoy a burger, slice of pizza or pasta dish. I look forward to it and I don’t feel guilty.
- Give up the excuses – Most importantly, make your health a priority.
- Exercise – Exercise at least 30 minutes a day. If you can’t get in 30 get in 5, 10, 15 or 20. Some is better than none.
- Educate yourself – One of the most important tips to stay healthy is education. Learn what foods provide nutrition and energy for the body. Prepackaged and junk food are empty calories and contain high amounts of sodium and sugar. I’ve replaced chips with popcorn, candy bars with fresh fruit, ice cream with frozen yogurt. Gradually add healthy items into your meal plan.
- Drink plenty of water and don’t skip meals – I love water, so drinking it has never been a problem for me. I replaced soda with water and Gatorade and eat 4 – 5 small meals a day.
- Learn portion control – So, I took a class at my local hospital on eating healthy. You will be surprised on what is considered a healthy portion. (I got my answer on how I gained the excess weight).
- Relieve stress and get rest – Know the stress factors in your life and eliminate as many as you can. Get plenty of rest. Replace bed pillows if they are old and purchase them according to how you sleep. I’m a side sleeper, so I purchased pillows made for my position. I sleep through the night now.
Finally, I have incorporated these 10 tips to stay healthy into my life. However, getting healthy won’t happen overnight and there are no quick fixes. Believe me, I have tried them all. It requires a lifestyle change. Which, requires you to make your health a priority every day. Also, check out the Eating Well article on Molina Health Care. It discusses acceptable servings from each of the food groups and is worth the read. It’s great information for healthy eating.