Happy Halloween!

Isn't she the cutest little punkin?

Today is our ward Harvest Party and I am running around the house gathering items for the Young Women's spooky laboratory! We'll start with dinner, have the activities and end with the Trunk or Treat. I think I'll let dad hand out candy at the trunk or treat so I can help clean up the Relief Society room where our activities will be. It should all be lots of fun!

I cannot even believe that November starts this week! WHAT! I will tell you that here at home the weather has decided to be super cold. When I woke up at 4:30 AM it was 15 degrees and then at 7:00 PM it was 13 degrees! Holy Hannah! Makes me very grateful for the blessings of a working furnace and a warm home!

For my saving money portion yesterday I went to get my flu shot and afterwards went to Cash & Carry. I picked up a gallon of mayonnaise, #10 cans of pizza sauce and ketchup, mini peppers, yeast and a gallon of white vinegar. The prices are really good there and everything added up to under $30 and these items will last quite a while. (Except the mini peppers which I bought to dip into my homemade hummus) I love saving money, I love being frugal, I love making do with what we have!!

Making Money When You're Not Employed!

Some people just radiate style and confidence! 

Isn't this the best picture of a boy who knows he has what it takes? Love this!

Now let me get to the title of this post. Because we decided that I would retire to prevent further injuring my back and that I would wait a couple more years before I collect Social Security in order to receive more each month., (I still don't totally get it but dad knows so I'm good) I am no longer receiving a paycheck. Who knew that when you stopped working, they stopped paying? LOL!

But I want you to know that even though I am home I am earning money in a variety of ways. 

1. I am able to make everything from scratch now because I have the time to do so. When I plan the weeks menu I see if there is anything that I can make from ingredients we have and do it.
2. Again, because I have the time now I can see what is in the pantry and freezer and food storage room and use those items instead of running to the store! 
3. I have more time to search out recipes that use up what we have stored and canned and have in the freezer!
4. I am more intentional about what I spend our money on. And the money that I saved once I knew I would retire is there for those things that we deem necessary.

There are many more reasons but I just wanted to share a few to show that just because I am no longer bringing in an income I am still contributing to our household. And every stay at home mom, or retired person or anyone unable to work out of the home but still wants to be a contributing member of the family, can. 

Finally, I want to share a recipe that I found at Brooklyn Farm Girl. These granola bars are so incredibly delicious and addicting and yet so easy to make. You have got to try them!

Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

2 cups quick cooking oats

1 cup crispy rice cereal

1/3 cup salted butter

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla

3 T mini chocolate chips (I used regular size)

Put parchment paper in a 8x8 pan. Let paper over hang sides. You could also spray the pan with cooking spray. Mix oats and cereal together in a large bowl. In a small saucepan melt butter, brown sugar and honey on med-hi heat until melted. Once it begins to bubble put heat on lo and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from stove and put in vanilla. Pour mixture over oats and cereal and stir well, really well. Put mixture into prepared pan and push down with another layer of parchment paper. Take at least a minute to a  minute and a half to make sure it's pushed in firmly. You can sprinkle chocolate chips over it, cover with plastic wrap and put in fridge for at least 2 hours. Take out, cut into bars and enjoy!

A microwave option is to put butter, honey and brown sugar in microwave bowl and heat on high for 1 minute. Remove and stir until butter is melted and then return to microwave for another 1 1/2 minutes on high! Remove and stir in vanilla. Oh my goodness these are good. I think I'm going to go eat one! 

Staying Healthy by Eating Healthy

Today was a day of baking bread and making flour tortillas for fajitas! Because of my continuous stomach issues I am trying to avoid processed foods. The tortillas were so easy to make and I cooked them on my crepe maker. Here's the easy peasy recipe:

Flour Tortillas

3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 cup warm water (pour in a little at a time while mixing, I didn't use all the water)

Mix all the ingredients until a ball forms. Take about 1/4 cup worth of dough and roll out. Cook on a flat skillet or use a crepe make like I did. 

See what I mean by easy?  I'm not going to lie, cooking from scratch is definitely time-consuming. I could have bought the tortillas but when they're so easy peasy and take only about 10 minutes to mix and throw on the griddle I can take the time. I hope you try this recipe and I challenge you to see what other food items you can make from scratch. It's worth it to know what you're putting in your body!

And here's a throwback photo in honor of the Halloween season! Looking so cute Maran! 

What To Do When You're Done Canning!

Canning Water

I have added 34 jars to my collection of bottled water in the last couple of days. I have saved my large mouth jars because I just bought 40 pounds of chicken and will be canning that tomorrow and Saturday. But it is one of the best ideas that I found online to keep my empty jars full of water. It makes sense for two reasons: I have a good supply of water for storage and it keeps my jars clean and bug free. Thank goodness I enjoy canning, even just bottled water.

Good Days!

Little Red and Me!

This picture is such a great reminder of sunny weather and a beautiful place to hike! And a great time with dad and Zach!

Mondays like today are my favorite! I made a list of things to do and got it all done! I started a crock pot of potato soup, made some amazing dinner rolls and made 2 loafs of french bread. We're having spaghetti on Thursday and I wanted to make my own french bread to go along with it. I'll freeze one loaf for next week. Do you realize that french bread is just flour, water, yeast, sugar and salt? It took me 10 minutes to mix the ingredients and the rest of the time was just waiting for it all to rise. It feels good to make everything from scratch and it tastes so good! It's truly worth the extra effort to make it yourself!

Going Shopping!

The Kindness of Others!

One of dad's coworker's bought these cute outfits for the triplets and Becky shared back pictures of them. The friend of dad's is named Julie and calls our little Julie her namesake! On Julie's outfit was a little J pin! That was so sweet of her! And they look adorable!

Yesterday was payday and I actually went out today and bought ground beef. It was $2.99 a pound for the 93/7 type of beef. I bought about 10 pounds worth.  I remember buying beef when you kids were little and paying .99 a pound. I do wonder how young families are making their dollars stretch with food prices being what they are. But I imagine you all are doing what we did, a lot of casseroles, not a lot of processed and packaged food and being smart at the grocery store. When I got the meat home I packaged it in 12 oz. portions and I have 17 containers in the freezer now to pull out and use in sauces and casseroles. That makes me happy!

What Do You Do?

Our Little Miracle!

Such a blessing to have happen to our family! We feel such gratitude to our Father in Heaven for the successful surgery that happened to Lacey! We continue to pray for a quick and painless recovery!

Yesterday I went to watch 2 of my young women play softball over at Salk. One was on the JV team and the other plays Varsity. While I was there I saw two teachers that I used to work with. It was great to see them but what I thought was interesting was that both asked me, 'what do you do now?' And to be perfectly honest I stammered and stuttered to answer. To one I said in jest, 'absolutely nothing' and to the other I rattled off a list of things that I have been doing such as visiting family, going to the temple and gardening. But as I later thought about it I was mad at myself for feeling defensive about being retired and wanting to justify my being at home! It was how I felt when I was a stay-at-home mom. Surely I was doing more than running a household and raising a family? (Sarcasm intended)

So I have come up with my answer should I find myself asked again and I'm sure I will be. I will reply that 'every day is different and I look at what needs to be done that day and what the Lord will prompt me to do'. 

For instance, today I made my to-do list (which I do every day) and thought 'I am going to get a lot done today'. And while I did get a lot done, there were a number of things I didn't get done. Because there were texts to send out about our combined activity tomorrow and some of my chores took longer to do and the Relief Society bulletin board materials that I needed to collect took about 2 hours instead of the 1 hour I had allotted it. So on tomorrow's to-do list I will add canning tomatoes, putting up the bulletin board and finding a new cross stitch pattern to begin. And that's okay. My days are mine and I fill them as I see fit and you know what? 

That makes me very, very happy!

Catching Up!

Some photos from our latest trip to Lehi!

It was a great trip and I was so grateful to be there for the triplets blessing! 

The night before we left for home I began to have symptoms of diverticulitis and it followed me home. Today, one week later I am finally feeling better. Wow! If I ever needed a wake up call to begin my healthy eating regimen, this was it! I did about 36 hours of a clear liquid diet to begin the healing and now I am watching every bite that enters my mouth. I haven't had any sugar or fried food in the last week and for me that's nigh on miraculous! I am snacking on fruits and veggies and I am very mindful of what goes in to this highly susceptible body of mine. I want to live a healthy life and I believe that means whole foods and very little processed food. As Michael Pollan says, 'if it came from a plant, eat it. If it was made in a plant, don't.' Wise words. 

How did I save money this week? 

Well, I haven't gone shopping, I don't have the energy yet to go shopping so we have been eating what's in the house! Yay! 

Dad replaced the curling iron I left at Becky's with a $2.00 thrift store one that is a conair and works better than my old one.

I love saving money and I love figuring out how to not spend it when emergencies seem to crop up. A good way to live in my book