Are you trying to save on the groceries you purchase? Who doesn't need to work at saving in this department?
Here is a great web site that may be in your state.
anglefoodministires is a web site that is about a wonderful program. It does not matter what your economics are it is open to anyone. I noticed it is not in every state but it is available in many. For a prepayment of $25 you get an assortment of food products. The web site shows the menu each month of the items you get. Also it looks like at least in my state they take food stamps to pay for this program.

I say if you are struggling or you need some help, take advantage of this program. It really looks interesting and an easy way to stretch.

This is an area I tend to struggle in. I am resolving to really get serious in food shopping. One way to spend alot is to take your kids with you. I look at shopping for food as an a outing with my kids. Last night I took my oldest daughter with me. We spend time together in this way. I have to really work on balancing shopping and being frugal with making it "entertainment". It is hard.

By the way I wanted to share what my kids got me for Christmas-
A nice purse
the video series of Love Came Softly.
Kohl's gift card
Silk plant I saw months ago
Decorative item for the family room wall

My ex takes the kids shopping and he tends to let them spend alot on me. Part of me feels a touch guilty. I am not sure why. By the way my son gave me a Christmas card and he wrote "I love you mom" --that was so special to me. I am sure I will keep that card forever.

Please check out angelfoodministires.

Have a good day everyone!

Hope everyone had a very lovely Christmas. I think ours was very nice. It was pretty relaxing since we do not entertain anyone but ourselves. The children seemed to have enjoyed all their gifts. We had a few laughs as so many were bargains.....it was a good lesson in giving and yet being a tad frugal. My kids had a nice time I think with their dad. It is always very pleasant but yet hard on them. We did not have snow of course, but lots of rain and dreainess.

Today I need to go to the grocery store as I need some items for myself in order to eat what I need. We used to have two grocery stores in town now we have one and boy is it ever crowded 24/7. It is a bummer to be down to one store. I am taking my son to the Dr as he sounds terrible with his cold. I hope to play some games....we got a few from Santa...so I hope we can all play together. I got the kids a BINGO game. We are going to buy some candy and play for candy today. Cheap entertainment.
I sorta wanted to take the kids to a movie. I am so darn cheap.....I hate to go because it is a small fortune. Movies are absolute treats at my house. So far no one seems too intersted so I may hold off and not say too much about going. I wanted to see the Nativity movie....I may go myself when the kids are with dad.

My kids received alot of money from grandparents. My kids are putting some in the bank. I think they also want to spend some....I guess I would rather they would save it all....but I understand they are excited to have some cash.

I am really working on saving money. It will not be easy but when is it EVER easy? I think once we get back to our routine and back to school next week.....the money issues will settle down. With the mild weather.....I have saved on heating bills. I even dried some clothes outside on the rack on Christmas! So every little bit helps.
My dinner last night was a cup of yougurt. That alone is a savings. Just not eating much! Hopefully next month I will be able to put at least $2000.00 in my savings account. Fingers crossed. I also have saved pennies since Jan. 1st....it will be time to cash in my little mason jar filled with pennies. I enjoy this method of saving pennies. After awhile the pennies add up. It is a daily reminder to not waste and to be thankful in all things.

Do you have a lot of returns? Did your re-gift pile get bigger? We have a few returns but not too many. I also do not have anything for the re-gift pile. Sometimes I do. I feel zero guilt about that.
I hope to get some gift wrap and maybe other gift wrapping supplies. We will see.

Well everyone enjoy your day. I feel blessed to be home and with my kids. It is sure wonderful.

Today I spent time cleaning out the hall closet upstairs. I have enough soap and shampoo and other odds and ends to last about four months. I organized the towels and sheets a bit. Other things included shower gels, razors, heating pad, blood pressure cuff, cotton balls and small paper cups. I also threw out some meds that were very expired. This is a good place to load up with things from the Dollar Store. I also get samples galore from the Wal Mart web site. Those were handy to take to the hospital.


While I was out I saw some pretty Christmas dishes. I walked by only looking for a second. I do not entertain what so ever at Christmas. That would be a major waste purchase. I had a set but donated them to the school for an auction. I was glad to donate them but I do sometimes wish I had some holiday dishes--I am not sure why! I also saw some cordless phones. I would like one for the family room as opposed to one with a long cord. Again....walked by and got out of the store as quickly as I could! No spend...No Spend....No Spend!!

My food budget will be drastically cut. My lunch is a small yougurt....dinner a cup of food,it is very nice! I will be saving some money on the food budget. I will be grocery shopping on Thursday. Hopefully it will not cost me a fortune bringing my three girls along! I did buy some candy and candy canes. I hope to make a nice display and let the kids enjoy it.

Last day of school today. I am glad as we all need a break! It is nice to be home and with my kids. I am so blessed to not have to be working. I hope we can all just sleep in, nap, play games, bake and just enjoy the time. Next Christmas my son will be in college. He leaves with his dad to visit some on Thursday.
I was looking at his baby pictures in tears. He is my firstborn. Going thru the divorce and seeing his dad in some photos made it very hard for me. Divorce heals over time but it still hurts here and there. Yes my son is growing up.

Quick question....have you received less Christmas cards in the mail this year? I used to get a ton....I hardly got any. I also only got one Christmas letter. Partly I think because I am divorced. So many of our friends were couple friends....I was just wondering. I do not send out cards anymore.

Have a good Weds. everyone!

Sorry I have to rant here! Our nativity set is missing! I have looked everywhere in our house.....it is not to be found anywhere! I am betting it was in a box and somehow it got thrown out....! I decided to venture out to the many stores and look for one. Gee whiz....not one to be found. When I asked the gal at Sears she asked if I was looking for Christmas Tiffiany? I said to her....NATIVITY! She still stared at me till I said ya know Mary, Joesph and that baby named Jesus. She then continue to stare at me like I had asked her if I had three eyeballs! I finally gave up and went hunting. I found plenty of blow up outdoor snowglobes, plasic candy canes and spongebob ornaments......but no Jesus. Maybe they are all sold out. Maybe I was too late. Maybe this is not a good year for Jesus. Not sure. Maybe Jesus is not so "PC" right now. Again not too sure. Even WalMart was out or never had. What is a mother to do? I am sure I can find Jesus online.....right??

Sorry I have been gone so long. I was recovering very nicely and then I got a very bad cold. I was not able to do much and hence not eat much. I am finally able to drink my meals again. I had alot of popsicles, which helped a bit.
I received some wonderful meals from some friends. Tonight an entire turkey dinner with the fixin's arrives tonight from my very good friend. It helps cause well I am not too intersted in food with this cold and I am still recovering a bit. Monday I get to stop the liquids and eat baby food type food. I am kinda glad.

I paid my visa off which was HUGE. I am almost ashamed how large it got. I had some big out of the ordinary expenses so I have to go easy on myself I guess. I hope like everyone lese in the world, to have a light expense month in January to catch up a bit.

I know my food budget will be less since I am eating practically nothing. Less pop, less bread, less sugar, less everything. It helps. While my parents were here my dad did alot of little repair jobs and garage organizing. It sure was a help.

As far as budget goes I hope to just stop spending as much as possible and recover a bit. I know I am due a hospital bill from the anthesialogist. That was not covered with my payment originally. Thankfully it is in my emergency fund waiting for the bill. I have no clue what the amount with be.

I am looking forward to Christmas. My ex has the kids on Chirstmas eve and I have them Christmas morning till noon. Then the kids are with the ex and his family. Only my oldest daughter will stay home with me.....she never likes to go and finds it boring with my ex's family. All I have to do is make a nice breakfast on Christmas morning with the kids and I think just something my dd wants for Christmas. So it will be very quiet for me as usual. That is ok.
I would not know how to make a huge Christmas dinner....I have never been in the position to have to do that.

So GLAD my shopping is done. I highly encourage others to really change your ways and shop early. I find it helps keep the stress down and the focus centered better. I also make a small stash of gifts. I have been able to bless a few folks easily with a gift.
It sure helped to have my mom wrap gifts for me. That was a HUGE help.

Well enjoy your Sunday. I will be doing some laundry and cleaning with the kids help. I hope to take a nap.....I was finally sleeping normally again till the cold hit. I guess when you are older-it takes a just a bit more to recover and get healthy after a set back or two.
Blessings---

Just a quick note to say I am now home.
Surgery went well and I had pretty much no complications. My parents picked me up and are home with me. My kids are spending another night with their dad so I have some time to adjust a bit. I have some pain but meds are helping. I have no appetite. I have felt great mentally as well. I had some visitors and some nice phone calls which were very healing and uplifting! I def. will be using my college student to help me out. I already can see I WILL NEED HER!! I am not able to lift anything for 6 weeks. I tried to lift the kitty and my mom scolded me. How easliy we take things for granted. My nurses were super too. I just hated gettitng my vitals taken all night long...not fun!!!!!

Hope all your Christmas plans, shopping and fun are coming along nicely. I am so glad I did my shopping.....there was no way to do it now.

Thanks for the nice comments from beforehand. I am glad each day I am healing and getting closer to health and personal goals.
Blessings---

Hello frugal friends. Just a quick note to say my cooktop is getting installed as I type! Hip Hip Horray!! It looks so nice....and really modern and up to date!
I am really excited.

I am getting ready for my sugery on Thursday. I have things to do .....but what I do not get to....well too bad.
My sister called today from VA to wish my luck and prayers. I always can share with her and vice versa.

I hit WalMart yesterday to get some things I need.....hopefully while my mom is here she can also run out to the grocery store for more to replishen. I was told not to buy too much as my taste can change after surgery.

All gifts are purchased as far as I can tell...that feels nice.

I will be sure to blog as soon as I can and let you all know how it went. I am starting to get nervous.....like an adreline rush of sorts. I am sure by the time I am laying in recovery I will be exhausted from the surgery and everything else I have had to deal with mentally it seems. I need to not worry about my children. Their dad is capable as much as I hate to say that....but they are good kids that can do so much for themsleves at this point. I am sure I will miss them alot.
He has some things planned to stay busy so that will help make the time go faster.

By the way it snowed here....it looks very pretty outside today.

Have fun getting ready for Christmas----talk to you all soon!

Why are rebates so confusing and so timeconsuming?? I guess so you give up and never send it in! I have one for my cooktop and one for some contact lenses. All I can say is what a major pain! That is my goal to get these done and mailed.

My cooktop is STILL NOT IN! How awful it has been. It is still all sitting in my garage. My installer is due on Tuesday. I told him I had to have it in due to surgery. Hopefully it happens on Tuesday.
It is past the point of getting mad.


Had to have the Geek Squad out. They seem pricey but they were out in 24 hours to do some major repairs. The man who serviced my computer.....had Weight loss surgery three months ago. He asked as he saw some bookmarked favorite sites.
He was very open and enjoyed sharing his journey. It was pretty neat to hear how wonderful he felt. He has his own web site on WLS. It has been amazing the number of neat things God has placed in my path regarding this surgery and life style change. I am trying to get ready for my surgery on Thursday. I feel overwhelmed by the loose ends I have. Yet I know I have to release it and let it go for now.

I saw the Nutcracker yesterday with my first grader at the local college. Boy was it good!!! I am going back on Sunday to see with my daughter who dances. The ticket yesterday with the school was $7 and on Sunday the ticket is $25!!!!It pays to go with schools and enjoy field trips. I had to drive five children but I was able to take the teacher in my van so we were able to chat which was very nice.

I have been trying save money--
1. Limited use of heat when kids are not around
2. Limited use of lights when kids are not around
3. Not shopping anymore for Christmas
4. Stashing cash and keeping up the change jar. I will cash it in on December 31st or so.
5. Sewing and repairing clothes and using hand me downs with the kids.
6. Very little eating out or fast food.

I was in Amish territory this week. Boy did I have fun! My gal pal and I went shopping for the entire day. I ended up buying a few items. My gal pal gave me the most beautiful card and a gift of money to spend on me. It was such a neat blessing. She wrote some sweet things about friendship that I started to cry in the van.

We went to alot of shops, ate at the Amish place we love and hit the cheese factory as well. I bought some swiss cheese. We also went to the hardware store where they had the biggest selection of drying racks I have ever seen! Huge ones! It was neat to wander all thru this amazing store filled to the brim with old fashioned items. I bought a few things for stockings in the toy department. I saw lots of buggies and little Amish children with their mothers. It is a different world there...but very delightful. Simple and cost effective that's for sure.

Well I hope to get lots done and organized this weekend. I am starting to get nervous. I gathered a few photos of my kids to take with me in my hospital bag. I decided that would be a help if I felt blue or lonely for them. I am sure all will go well and it will speed by quickly. Each day I will be getting better and more healed. Fretting is really not needed or profitable for me. How we think on things can determine the outcome....positive or negative.

Have a good weekend.