Mini Valentines Giveaway@Thrify and Chic Mom

HOW CUTE ARE THEY??? These mini valentine's are wallet size printed on Kodak photo paper and come with envelopes so they can be easily handed out at school, work or anywhere. Delight Design is generously giving one Thrifty & Chic Mom reader 24 FREE mini valentine's. Stop by Thrify and Chic Mom for all of the details. Contest ends February 1st so get a move on!!

Recipe of the Week~Strawberry Cake

I will be sharing some of my favorite recipes with you each week...and I'm from Louisiana so you know they are good :). I hope you love them as much as I do, and I am sure you will. I love to cook and love to eat (not good I know) but I am a very picky cook-er and eat-er. I cannot stand "not good" food. So, let me know what you think of these if you try them and come back each Thursday to see more of my favorite recipes!

This recipe actually came from one of my favorite magazines, Cooking with Paula Deen, but if you ask any older Southern lady this is they way their momma's made strawberry cake, so it is a CLASSIC!! My mom couldn't believe that so many of Paula's recipes are things that we have been making for years. She is a true Southern cook that Paula Deen! So here goes...

Delicious Strawberry Cake

1 box white cake mix

1 box strawberry gelatin

1 bag of frozen strawberries, thawed and pureed

4 eggs

1/2 cup of vegetable oil

1/4 cup of water

Frosting

1/4 cup of softened butter

1 8oz. cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup of frozen strawberries, thawed, and pureed

1/2 tsp. strawberry extract

7 cups of powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 2 9" cake pans. In a bowl combine cake mix and gelatin. Add pureed strawberries, eggs, oil, and water. Beat with a mixer on medium until smooth. Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then let it completely cool on wire racks.

For the frosting, beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add strawberries and extract and keep on beating, gradually adding the powdered sugar. If its not pink enough for you, add 2 or 3 drops of red food coloring!!

Once everything is cooled and ready, spread the frosting in between the two cake layers and all over! It is so good yall, you will just fall over right there!! Garnish it if you want, but for me that will just be something in the way of me and that delicious cake! Today's is my youngest daughter's 6th birthday so I am going to surprise her with this cake at school this afternoon (hence the sprinkles and candles). Its her favorite!! There goes the diet today!!

Lets Talk Gosselin

Last night was the big night that I have been waiting for I know 3 months! The Gosselin's showed us the first glimpse of the new house and I could not be happier. The house is beautiful, seems perfect for their family, and our old Kate was back. I watched a marathon on Sunday that showed episodes I had never seen before and one was viewer email where she got hit pretty hard with some rude questions. She defended herself well and stood up for what they were doing and I was so glad to see my old BFF back in business. That was a good way to lead up to last night's show because you got to really see how they feel about all the mean bloggers out there and the terrible rumors. Then came the new house episode last night! WOW!! Don't you just want to ask them if they could shave off a little bitty piece of that beautiful property just big enough for a house for you...I do, I love it! I think they are the kind of people who will live there forever and be happy. And, I was most impressed that even though they have a bajillion dollars in the bank, they still bought a house that they "can afford" and really needed a little bit of work. I am back to loving my Gosselin friends, how about you?? What did you think of last nights show ladies??

Motivate Me Mondays~The Extraordinary Mother~Eve

My dear Pastor's Wife gave me the book The Extraordinary Mother by John MacArthur for Christmas this year and I found it to be so encouraging that I am now reading it again and would like to share it with you. This book features 12 women/mothers some who are not even named in the Bible, encouraging us to remember that no matter what else we do in life, nothing makes a woman more extraordinary than her faith. Some of these women are great examples of godly virtue, some have significant flaws and by no means are all of them perfect, but ALL teach extraordinary lessons. Some we know waited many years on the Lord to give them children, some were just a mother by behavior, some raised children of great faith, others were dissappointed...ALL teach us something valuable about what makes a woman extraordinary. Please join me as we learn about these extraordinary mothers and allow the Holy Spirit to prick our hearts with these lessons and open our eyes to see what truly makes a mother extraordinary...and its not her pot roast!!

EVE

The Mother of all the Living

Genesis 1-3

Have you ever stopped to think about the amazing work of our God in the creation of Eve. She was made with our Creator's own hand with very careful attention to detail and care. Adam was just dirt but Eve was formed by the hand of God and was what completed creation. She was Adam's partner created just for him who made him complete. The Bible says Eve was the living embodiment of humanity's glory (1 Corinthians 11:7). God had truly saved the best for last!! Scripture never gives a physical description of Eve, the focus is strictly on Eve's relationship with her Creator and her husband. Yet we all know that she was beautiful, pure, and created perfectly by our maker's hand. She was flawless. As "the mother of all living" (Genesis 3:20), Eve is a major part of humanity's fall and redemption. Yet in all of Scripture, her name is used only four times...4 TIMES...can you believe??? How can "the mother of all the living" be so unmentioned, so vague, so UNimportant. We don't know how many children she had, how long she lived, or even where and how she died. The focus of Eve is not her beauty, her purity, or her perfection...it is her role of "companion" to Adam, the essential unity that is the ideal in every marriage, and what the meaning of husband and wife is designed to be. It is a physical union, but also a union of heart and soul. Eve was designed to be a mother, comforter, nurturer, and helper, not to be beautiful, perfect, flawless. This probably doesn't jive with 2009 women's rights, but it is what God's own Word says! This is why I believe the Lord talks so little about her, because her physical attributes were not important. What happened in her day to day life was not important. God doesnt focus on those things, God focuses on her role and relationship to Adam and to Himself. Looking at the fall of man, Satan obviously singled out Eve and waited for the time when she would be away from her husband, out of his watchful sight and unprotected by his loving arm. She was vulnerable, just like all of us women are each and every day when we are away from our husbands physically, emotionally, or even mentally. This little crack of an opening is all Satan needs to destroy us. EVE WAS DECEIVED IN THE PERFECT PLACE BEFORE SIN HAD EVER ENTERED THE WORLD. What do you think could happen to us in this sin filled world we live in. She was led by her natural desires such as appetite, aesthetics, and curiosity. None of whihc are sinful urges...but when the object of the desire is sinful, our natural passions become sinful...and it can happen in the blink of an eye! Eve didn't mean to disobey God, it just kind of happened. But what did that one mess up cost her? EVERYTHING!! We know that Eve was then cursed by the Lord. As Genesis 3:16 records, the Lord said, "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." These things are of course things that we see in our daily routines and to think that there was once a time with childbirth was undiluted joy is very foreign to us. It is also easy to see the gender role struggles today in our culture. But in all of this, the sin, the disobediance, the fall of man, the curse...God showed much grace to Eve and to Adam, who was ultimately responsible for his wife. She was able to remain his wife, able to remain his partner, and she kept her role as the mother of all living. She could still bear children and so the human race began, and even though she set the entire world of evil in motion, through her offspring, she would still produce a Savior. As we look to Eve, lets remember that our focus in God's eyes is not our beauty, outward appearance, material possessions, or even how clean our house is and how well dressed our kids are. God sees us as our husbands' partners and as obedient teachers raising our children to love their Creator. Let us be aware of how easily we can be deceived in our day to day lives and how close of a watch Satan is keeping on us. Look at the damage he caused when he deceived Eve and imagine what he could do if he could sink his claws into us!! Next week we will look at Sarah...A picture of faith in God's Promises! If you would like to be a part of this study, subscribe to my blog and never miss a thing. I would love to have you along with me on my journey to becoming An Extraordinary Mother!!

Tips and Tidbits Tuesday - All Hail the BINDER

Good morning everyone! Today's tip and tidbit has to do with getting our lives in order and organized. My wonderful Pastor's Wife gave me this binder and I have been toting it around for about 3 years now and I'm telling you if the house caught on fire and my kids were safe this is what I would grab. I bring it with me everywhere. It is always on the front seat of my car, on my kitchen table, on my desk...it is essential, in my opinion, to sanity! So here is how you do one.

First you will need a binder of any kind. It will need to be a wide one though so that you can continue to add and add stuff to it. You will need sheet protectors, subject dividers, loose leaf paper, inserts with pockets, various calendars (whichever you like) which can be downloaded from http://www.printablecalendar.ca/ which has my favorite selection. You can also go to one of my favorite websites http://www.flylady.net/ and print what she calls her "Control Journal" and get the same thing. My version is a scaled down control journal because I found that after I mastered certain things I didn't want them to take up space, but you can certainly print her stuff and use it!!

Now organize your binder into sections that fit your life. Here are mine: Calendar (Monthly and Weekly), Menus and Groceries, School, Birthdays and Christmas, and Budget.

First I have in the front pocket, all of my bills that need to be paid, bills that have been paid this month with the conf. numbers and dates written on them, and any little whatevers that I need to hold onto for whatever reason.

Next I have my monthly calendar where I can see a full month at a time. I print out enough for a full year in this section so that when the dermatologist sets my appt. 3 months in advance, I can jot it down and trash that little card.

I also have to have a weekly calendar that I can look at each morning while I have my coffee and see what I have to do for the day or the week. This is where I will write down things like grocery shopping, my daily activities, I always write in the margin of the day what I'm cooking for dinner, what my husband is working (got a shift worker over here) and any thing I need to remember like things at the kids school, etc. This will often overlap with my month to month calendar, but it is a necessity for my to-do lists that I have to write to keep me sane.

My next section is Menus and Groceries. In this section is where I will have my menu planner and past menus, so that I can look back in times of the nothing to cook crisis, but this is also where I write my grocery list, keep my coupons, jot down where I will be going for what, etc. This is my CVS and Walgreens section as well and where I keep my sale papers and my scenarios for my shopping trips there!

After Menus and Groceries is my section for "School" which is where I keep everything I may need for the kids...field trip info, supplies I need to pick up, important notes, etc.

My next section is Birthdays and Christmas which is where I will plan out my kids birthdays, write everyone down like who we sent an invite to, highlight each name when we know they are coming, where I am getting the cake, invites, etc. Again, just helping to keep me sane. And this is also where I will jot down ideas for Christmas gifts and highlight as I get them. In an effort to have all of my shopping done, except for my kids, by Thanksgiving this year, this will really come in handy!

The final section in my binder is Budget. This is where I keep track of our household budget, goals, finances, my checkbook registry is shown below. This is what I use to track all of the money coming in and out of our house. There is certainly room for other sections in your binder that would be more personalized for you, but just to have one that goes with you everywhere is LIFE CHANGING!! I look over my menu in carpool, I balance my checkbook at the park with the kids, I have everything I need with me all of the time to take care of any household business I should need to!

I am thinking of re-vamping my binder with cutesy paper, a cutesy fabric cover, and better dividers. This has been with me for 3 years and has honestly seen better days. You could certainly put yours together however you wanted to, and I just hope to give you this tip today so that if organization is something you find to be a trouble spot in your life you can utilize this...IT IS A MUST HAVE!!

If you are interested in doing one please feel free to email me and I will be happy to help you!

Lets Talk Gosselin

courtesy of Photobucket.com

Last night was the "All you Wanted to Know" episode on Jon and Kate Plus 8 and as you all know I am beginning to get a little disappointed in my favorite tv family! I don't know what is going on but last night I did not learn all I wanted to know, in fact I didnt learn anything. And I know that they are trying to kill us before they show us the new house...SUPPOSEDLY NEXT WEEK, but really viewer email is HORRIBLE!!

Now, I have to say that learning about the crew and how everything works was very interesting and like I said before I know that they are killing time until the big new house episode, but last night I truly think Kate would've rather had her right foot cut off than have to sit there and answer these questions which I thought were legitimate, but I guess she didn't.

Did anyone else find her to be on the defensive at all?? It seemed that she was aggrevated and trying to defend herself the entire show. I realize though that there are so many mean people in the blog world that bad mouth them every chance they get, so maybe she was directing her frustrations to those people, but what about us...her faithful viewers that are defending them, supporting them, and contributing to the bagjillions of dollars that they now have??? Did anybody else watch and if so, what are yalls thoughts??

House Building 101

This week was not as productive as we would've liked because we were waiting on inspections pretty much all week! We did finally get all of them though and now we are ready to move on to the next phase...STUCCO, ROOF, and BRICKS!! I could not be more excited. So, here is where we stand on WEEK 8... Lots of painting going on at this house this week. We rented a man lift from Home Depot to be able to reach the tippy tippy top of the house so that we could paint all of the eaves and overhangs (I guess that is what they are called). My big boy (aka husband, which he would much rather be called) has worked so hard this week caulking and painting all of our hardi-pank siding (which is alot) and by doing all of that SAVING US LOTS OF MONEY!! He even suffered his first "on the job accident" when a 2x4 fell on top of him and knocked him to the ground. Funny now, not funny when it happened. While Big Boy had the man lift, he decided it would be smart to go ahead and hang the shutters. Great idea!! We also went ahead and installed the flood lights...which I have a money saving tip to go along with... To the naked eye these look like those really expensive "Oil Rubbed Bronze" floodlights. Well, not on our dollar. These floodlights are the $9.99 white ones and with a little bit of spray paint now have the beautiful oil rubbed bronze finish at a savings of $20.00 per floodlight!! Now, I know that you aren't looking for a reason to upgrade your floodlights, but think about this for light fixtures and items that you may not be in love with anymore. It is amazing what a can of spray paint will do!! Just for fun, here are a few of our interior pics...a first glimpse of the inside of the house. This is the kitchen and before long I hope to be whipping up some good food and even better coffee in it!!

And here is our living room where I look forward to doing lots of entertaining our friends and church family!

And one more, just for kicks...have you met my neighbors??? If you are like me and love the movie Barnyard, then you too are probably waiting on him to start dancing!! We laugh and laugh at the cows and the kids just know that one day we are going to drive up and they are going to be having a party in our living room...GREAT MOVIE!!

Please Be In Prayer

Yall, I just came across a blog that I am sure everyone on here already knows about, but in case you don't, its Kelly's Corner, and she just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl with some very serious complications. The best I understand is that the baby has pneumonia and was flown to a children's hospital in Tulsa and is in very critical condition. Yall, as I read, it seems that they went in for a supposed perfectly normal delivery and now have had their world torn completely apart. The baby girl named Harper is doing okay as of last night, but please be in prayer for this precious family. Her blog had 30,000 hits one day this weekend of people praying...WOW!! Please join in and say a prayer for Harper and Mom Kelly today!

Awesome Grocery Gettin' Deals at Winn Dixie!!

This is a great week to visit Winn Dixie!! The B1G1 deals are especially good this week. I have cross checked all of these items at Walmart and they prices just cannot be beat!! I am going to layout everything I got and how I got them, so you can get over there right now and stock up!! This is my grocery shopping for the next 2 weeks, everything I didn't get at Walmart trip. While this is certainly not a freebie, CVS run, it is nice to spend less and get more, no matter where you are!! 2 bags of Goldfish Crackers $2.19 B1G1 2 3lb bag yellow onions $2.99 B1G1 2 pints of strawberries $3.99 B1G1 1 Iceburg Lettuce $1.59 1 4lb. bag of oranges $3.50 2.5lbs bananas ($.69/lb) $1.67 .5lb roma tomatoes ($1.50/lb) $.75 11 cans of various vegetables ($.50/can) $5.50 2 bags of Cheetos $2.89 B1G1 2 Quaker Instant Oatmeal (coupon for $1.00/1 "weight control"availabe on pull machine) $2.99 (using $1/1 coupon in store) 1 Cinammon Toast Crunch cereal $1.99 (locked in price this month) 2 Quaker Granola Bars (coupon for $1.00/2 available on pull machine) $2.49 (using $1/2 coupon in store) 1.5lbs green grapes ($1.99/lb) $3.40 2 Plumrose Premium Bacon $4.99 B1G1 1 family pack of Jumbo chicken drumsticks $4.19 Total Spent $46.59 Total Saved $37.79 Earned a $10/$50.00 purchase to be used by next week. I will go back for $50.00 worth of these B1G1 as soon as I get a few coupons for them!!

Frugal Friday ReCap...CVS

Today I am so excited to say was my very first CVS trip and while I already see some mistakes I don't think I did so bad. I keep hearing that this was a bad week for CVS, but I am happy with my deals....so here is what I got!! Transaction #1 1 box of Soy Joy bars ($6.00) (I agree with Mommies with Cents...they aren't the greatest, but hey, they are free and got me a good start on my ECBs) $6.00 + $6.00 ECBs earned 2 Colgate Toothpastes ($2.79 B1G1) used $1.00/1 coupon and $1.50/1 coupon $.29 ___________________________________ Total $6.29 $6.29 OOP (out of pocket) $6.00 ECBs earned Transaction #2 1 Listerine Mouth Wash ($4.39) $4.39 + $3.00 ECBs earned 1 Gillette Shaving Cream ($1.65) $1.65 ____________________________________ Total $6.58 $.58 OOP because I used $6.00 of my ECBs to pay for it $3.00 ECBs earned Transaction #3 1 Speed Stick Deoderant ($1.99) $1.99 ____________________________________ Total $2.16 Paid for completely with $3.00 ECBs earned from Listerine *Im not sure how many ECBs I have left over, I need to check to see if any!!* $6.87 Total OOP $8.67 Total Savings!! Not bad for my first CVS run!!

Birthday Party on a Dime

My Little Bit is turning 6 (that is so scary) and wants to have her party at The Young Chef's Academy which is a cooking school close to where we live. Well, your frugal, thrify, super crafty momma friend here would never let a commercial business have all of the fun, so we have decided to have her party at our house, like we always do, and we will have a "COOKING PARTY" for about 1/3 of the cost of The Young Chef's Academy...and we can invite the whole town if we want to (they only allow you 10 guests...BRUTAL). Now the catch here is that as you all know, our house is just sticks right now. My wonderful hubs has promised we will be moved in by the end of February, so we are counting on him and are scheduling her party for the first weekend in March!! I am beginning my planning now and will keep yall up to speed on what we are doing and how much I am spending so that if your little darlins ever want a "cooking birthday" you can whip it up real fast and in a hurry!! Check back here on Thursdays for all of my updates!! I love celebrating my kids' birthdays, and I love to WOW everyone with how much you can do with a little creativity and Oriental Trading Company!! FUN! FUN! FUN!!

Show some love!

How cute is this??? I just went to Target and got my $1 each mailboxes and could not be happier about this fun way to celebrate Valentine's Day and the possibility of maybe getting a sweet little note from my Big Boy!! WHO LOVES VALENTINES DAY!! Check out all the details at one of my favorite blogs to follow Beautiful Mess. Come back and show me how yours turns out!! I love this idea!!

FREE SUAVE PRODUCT

If you haven't heard, for TODAY ONLY, you can register for a coupon for a FREE Suave product. Click here for all the juicy details!! Its today only though, so HURRY!! Thanks to moneysavingmom.com for the info!!

30 Day Membership at Bally's

Okay Ladies, if you have losing weight on you 2009 Resolutions List, then click here to sign up for the Discovery Health National Body Challenge! When you do, you will receive a FREE 30 Day Membership to Bally's which is like THE workout place! Im too emberassed to go somewhere like that and would probably have an anxiety attack when I walked in, but if its what you like, go get your free 30 days!! Thank you moneysavingmom.com!! Have a great day!!

LAPTOP LUNCHES GIVEAWAY!!

If you have school aged kids and send their lunch to school this product will be the answer to prayer...do you hear me?? I have been stuffing tupperware in those horrific bag lunch totes for 3 years now and Im so excited to have found this company. To enter for a chance to win one of these just go to frugalmommyof2girls and let her know which is your favorite. While you are at www.laptoplunches.com please process their lunch ideas and this weeks lunch menu...WHERE HAVE THESE GALS BEEN ALL MY LIFE!!! Oh boy, pick me, pick me, pick me!!

Awesome Giveaway @ FrugalMommyof2Girls

Go over to FrugalMommyof2Girls to enter for multiple chances to win that awesome planner. Who wouldn't want to whip that thing out to check your dates!

Peace Love Mom Giveaway!!

Life As Mom is giving away a shirt from Peace Love Mom who has been seen on Kate Gosselin of Jon and Kate Plus 8 on TLC! I love her and I love her cute mom-ified t-shirts. So, get on over to Life as Mom right now and enter for your chance to win!!

Jon and Kate Plus 8

Does anybody watch Jon and Kate Plus 8 on TLC?? My kids and I have been watching faithfully since episode #1 and I have even got Kate's book "Multiple Blessings" that was released a few months back. My kids love it, and one day wanted to know something about them (I can't remember what) so I googled their name to see what we could find out. Well, to my surprise there are tons and tons of websites and people and bloggers that just despise the two of them, their show, and TLC for airing it. There were so many horrible things said about them that now when I watch the show, its almost not the same for me. Every time Kate says something in the back of my head I think of what these websites say about her. I don't want to continue to spread the rumors by elaborating or make you begin to think differently about them, but I was just outdone that there was so much negativity about them and am wondering if I am living in "Bazarro World" and am the only person that loves them or do you like them too??

Got Guilt and Looking for Validation

Hey Gals! Im just wondering if anyone has been in this boat before and if so, what did you do. My girls are 5 (about to be 6) and 8. We have been going through this little thing all week of getting little visitors in the middle of the night. Now, before I go any further, let me just say that my kids are not sleepers, never have been, probably never will be. But, anyway, at around 3am comes round one of what my husband calls "our night crowd." So, now there are 3 of us in the bed. Then around 4 comes round two and so we are all four of us in our queen size bed. Now, I see the alarm clock and know that it will be going off in an hour and it infuriates me. I don't know why and so then I feel guilty about getting mad. Im just wondering if anyone else has a night crowd in their bedroom and if so, what do you do about it?? Our kids are only little once and one day the time will come when they won't want to even come home much less get in the bed with us, so how do I keep that in mind at 4am???

Tips and Tidbits Tuesday

Hey Everyone!! I hope your shower doors are sparkling from last weeks tip about the dryer sheets!! Today's tip is another good one and works equally as well. I don't know why but I always end up finding multiple uses for laundry items and today is no exception. Regular laundry detergent, whatever brand, or something like Oxy Clean is the best thing on the market to clean carpets with. A few weeks ago I spilled an entire crock pot of shrimp and corn soup (trying to kiss the teachers' butts by bringing lunch...that's what I get)on the floor of my car. Yeah, that is disgusting. It all came out thanks to my Gain detergent. Here is the trick though...you have to use COLD water. Just fill up a bowl with your cold water and add about half the detergent of what you regularly would add to a load of laundry and stir it up. Using a scrubbing brush and washcloth saturate your spot on the carpet and scrub...it will disappear before your very eyes!! Wonderful! Now the final trick is to get all of the excess water off of the floor after because what I have learned is that the wet spot will get dirty again from traffic or whatever if its left wet for too long. I just use a towel and step on it a hundred times until its just barely damp and then I put a fan on it. My mom uses her ShopVac and sucks the water out...works great, but I don't have one of those. Hope this helps you rid your house of carpet stains. Have a great day!!

House Building 101

Okay, so as a rule we have built a house every 2 years since the kids were born in an effort to completely eliminate all of our debt and while it hasn't worked out perfectly, we are now building our 4th and final house out in the country away from it all. The sacrifice has been huge over the last 8 years, but I have my own little saying that I like to repeat over and over again to the kids, "A house is just sticks and bricks, its who is inside that makes it home." We have all enjoyed the process of building and have learned so much along the way about ourselves, our family, and really how not-so-normal we are (at least that is what Im told). So I would love to share our journey with you and keep you updated with our progress. Every Monday I will share what's happening at our house and give you an updated pic. While right now it may seem kind of boring, things should pick up and get interesting over the next few weeks. Today Im sharing a few pictures just to catch you up!! I hope you enjoy our journey as much as we do!! When you want to dig a pond and it not take you 400 years, we have learned that this is what you need...WOW!! THOSE TIRES ARE TALLER THAN ME!! Our little slice of the world right after the pond was dug! Forms can only mean one thing...WERE GETTING CONCRETE!! You would think concrete was gold around here. It is just the best gift!! WE HAVE CONCRETE!! And a week later, this is what we have!! How exciting, it is really a house!! This is the view from the playroom upstairs. Yes, we are in the middle of a huge cow pasture. How's is that for country living?? Here is the same pond, just a few weeks later. This is actually a few days before Christmas. Is is obvious I live in Louisiana? Tank top and shorts a few days before Christmas?? This really has absolutely nothing to do with our house, but just to prove our Louisiana weather to you this picture was taken about a week before the above picture of my daughter in a tank top and shorts. It snowed 6 inches here on December 11th and we were in tank tops and shorts on December 20th...CRAZY!! Here is where we are today! Our electrical, heating and air, and plumbing are all done and we are hoping to get a roof by the end of the week. YIPPEE!!! I can't wait to show you the progress next week!! Maybe by then we will be moved in...HA HA HA!!

Sooo...did everyone download their Suze Orman book?

I absolutely love Suze Orman and her new book "Suze Orman's 2009 Action Plan" will be one to read to make sure all of our finances are in order for this huge turning point in our financial history! We have to take responsibility for our own money and stop waiting on another day or the next time we have a little extra. The time is now because after some things she was saying yesterday, ALL DEBT MUST GO!! Lets get an action plan for 2009 and get out of debt NOW!! If you missed the Oprah show yesterday but want to download the book, click here to be able to do that. There is also a webcast on January 15th that Suze and Oprah will be hosting to answer everyone's questions. If you want to sign up for that you do so on www.Oprah.com as well. Have a great day!!

Suze Orman on Oprah TODAY

Hey Ladies! I heard through the grapevine that Suze Orman will be on todays Oprah and will be featuring her BRAND NEW BOOK and offering it for FREE by download. I love Suze Orman and I can say that I have read her books and they are phenomenal. They put things into perspective for me. I know that we like to save money and pinch pennies and be frugal, but sometimes its difficult to not follow the crowd and just buy the dang $60 shirt. She really does a great job of showing us how UNimportant all that stuff really is. I will be tuning in and if you haven't missed it, you may want to as well. Also, I hear that you will be able to download it on either Oprah.com or Suzeorman.com, so if you have missed it in your area you may want to check out the websites. As soon as I see it or have it confirmed I will let you know. My Oprah is starting in about 15 minutes!!

How To Get Rid of that Leftover Halloween Candy that is Lurking in your Kitchen

Okay, I don't know about your house, but at mine the Halloween candy is lingering around and calling my name all day every day. And the sad part is, what's left I don't even like, and yet Im still eating it. My kids have long forgotten that it is here and haven't had any in months, but I still have my little paw in the candy bucket at least once a day. BRUTAL!! So here is what I decided to do... Today is "Report Card Day" at my girls' school. It is a day that is built up with much anticipation in my house because my kids are always looking for an easy way to make a little cash. So yesterday I divided up all the leftover candy and made baggies for each of the kids in both of my daughter's classes with a cute little note inside saying "Good luck on your Report Card." Now, let me just say that my kids are in Kindergarten and 2nd grade at a small, very one on one oriented private school, so there won't be any kids in either classes that will be disappointed today I feel sure. I never would do this if I thought that there would be. The teachers passed them out and all of the kids got a little treat before the report cards were passed out at the end of the day and all of the kiddies took a little bit of love from my house to theirs and saved me a few pounds over the next several months it would've taken me to eat all of that junk!! I have no shame either, I put the orange and black, turkey, candy corn, candy canes, and every other kind of blatant holiday candy in there. Hey, a desperate mom has to do what a desperate mom has to do!! Ha Ha!! Both of my girls got in the car today full of excitement, first for their report card money that they knew to be coming and also from being able to pass out a goodie bag to all of their friends at school!! GOODBYE CANDY...HELLO BROWNIE POINTS FOR MOM...not bad, not bad at all!! Of course I sent them all without taking a picture. Cut me some slack, I am knew to this blogging thing, I will do better next time...I promise!! If you decide to do this for your report card day or next holiday off or early dismissal or pep rally or whatever, comment me I would love to see how yours come out!! Have a great day!!

$$No Loyalty When it Comes to Saving Money$$

Hey Ladies! Yesterday morning on GMA they had a momey manager on showing you how to stretch your dollar. One thing she said was that you can have NO loyalty when shopping. She explained it like this and it makes so much sense, but was so tough to get through my thick skull for such a long time! She said that if Colgate is your favorite toothpaste and you have brushed with Colgate your whole entire life and Crest is on sale, you have a new favorite toothpaste. Next week if Colgate is on sale, it can be your favorite again. Wow, how such common sense stuff can take so long to sink in!!

BIG DEALS AT WALGREENS THIS WEEK

Hey Everyone!! Thrifty shoppers that we all are, I thought you would definitely love to know that this is a great week to hit Walgreens and stock up. I have been shopping sales for a long time, and this is a great way to save money in our budgets that we can then put towards other things...YAY!! So check out all of the above stuff that Pheobie at Sweet Tea and Coffee picked up at Walgreens earlier in the week...FOR A DOLLAR!!! Unbelievable. Here's how she did it...

This is what she got for $1.07 total:

2 Garnier Fructis shampoo (2.99) 1 Garnier Fructis conditioner (2.99) 2 Garnier Fructis Mousse (2.99) 1 Garnier Fructis Hairspray (2.99) $2/1 GF product ~ Easy Saver Booklet Coupon *1 Easy Saver coupon took off $12. You do not need 6 coupons* 3 $1/1 GF shampoo or condition ~ 10/05, 11/09, or 01/04 RP inserts 3 $1/1 GF styler ~ same as above FREE after coupons

2 pints Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream ($6/2) 2 $3/1 pint ~ blogged about (now expired) FREE after coupons

2 Reese's Whipps ($.89 each) $1/2 Reese's Whipps ~ 01/04 SS insert 2 for $1 Walgreens 7 day coupon (hand cashier this coupon first) FREE after coupons

Hunts 8 oz. tomato sauce ($.99 each) 3 for .99 Walgreens 7 day coupon $.99 after coupon

GRAND TOTAL ~ $1.07 That was 26.92 is coupon savings!

You can visit her blog at http://www.pheobie.blogspot.com/ and check out other freebies and great deals that she posts all day every day! She's so great!! Comment me back and let me know how you do if you go over to Walgreens and also what you think of Pheobie's blog!! Have a great $Money Saving$ Day!

CHRISTA-TAYLOR GIVEAWAY...DONT MISS IT!!

Like a Warm Cup of Coffee is hosting a fabulous giveaway!! And this is not just any giveaway, but a Christa-Taylor $25 gift certificate giveaway (donated by the gracious Christa herself)! I wasn't familiar with this designer until I saw her on Like a Warm Cup of Coffee, but let me just say that she is an amazing designer who creates beautiful and modern clothing that are actually MODEST, something not easy to find in the malls these days! To get in on this giveaway go over to Like A Warm Cup of Coffee. And be sure to read about her study on Modesty as well as the Modesty Blog Fashion Show on January 15th!! Lots of Fun!!

ITS FASHION SHOW TIME!!

Okay ladies...who doesn't love a good fashion show every once in a while. Sarah Mae at Like A Warm Cup of Coffee is doing a fabulous study in our 5:16am Club on MODESTY!! WOW...if you have not subscribed to it already you should because just when you think you know everything about being modest...believe me, you don't! It is such a sensitive "to-ma-toe, to-mo-toe" kind of topic, but I really think that the Lord is going to convict some hearts through this study each morning! You can subscribe by clicking here!! ANYWAY...to show off all of our best modest fashions, Sarah Mae has lined up a Fashion Show! So get dressed, put on makeup (yes really), and get out the camera cuz its time to show everyone how hip and trendy a modest mama can be!! Then go somewhere once you log off...I mean really, you'll be dressed and all!! Click the Modesty Blog Fashion Show pic above to get in on the fun!!

Tips and Tidbits Tuesday

Allright yall, every Tuesday morning, I will be posting a quick and easy, money saving tip to help us all set the tone in our homes for 2009!! I hope you enjoy these little tidbits and tips and if you have some of your own, feel free to comment and add them. We are all in this together!! So for today I want to share my best kept soap scum cleaning secret. I want everyone to go to their dryer and pull out the left over dryer sheet from the last load you got out...or maybe its in the laundry basket...wherever it is, grab it because it is the best soap scum remover on the market!! You will love this little darling. Use it in your tubs, on your faucets, on your mirrors, and in its most useful place THOSE GLASS SHOWER DOORS!! You will not believe what this little baby can do!! Get it barely damp, don't saturate, or better yet use it right after the tub or shower has been used. Just wipe down in small little scrubbing strokes and the soap scum comes off like magic. Use them frequently girls, and it may take more than one (they get dirty pretty quickly in my house). These things will become your best friend. I keep a little basket in my laundry room where I just put the used ones as they come out of the dryer and I dip in when needed!! You may want to keep some in your bathrooms, so that every morning when you get out of the shower or you get the kids out of the tub, you can use them. Let me know how this works for yall and HAVE A GREAT DAY removing your soap scum!!

Motivate Me Monday {The Proverbs 31 Woman}

Good Morning!! First let me say that I cannot even for one second believe that I am awake!! I will be the first to admit that I am not a morning person, and really not a night owl either, now that I think about it..ha ha! But as we all get back to our daily routines of getting the kids back to school, getting the house back in order from Christmas (which for me is double hard because we are living with my parents right now as we build our new house), and starting the new year, this is so needed for me because I need the Lord in the mornings just the same as I need Him throughout the day and in the evenings. What a great way to start the day!! As I am reflecting, like everyone else, on what the Lord wants to see from me this year, I go straight to the Proverbs 31 Woman (don't you just love her?). After reading about her years ago, I quickly learned that there are so many levels to the job Mom and Wife that you could work around the clock and never cover them all! She is such a great example to me and to what the Lord wants to see from His wives and mothers, so this year I resolve to work harder at prioritizing and time managing so that I am better able to serve my Savior and my family as she does. Here is just a glimpse at the Proverbs 31 Woman, who the Bible says is more precious than rubies!! She gets up before dawn preparing breakfast for her household. She works far into the night. She is an energetic and hard worker. She is thrifty and conservative. She isn't a gossiper, and when she speaks her words are wise, and kindness is the rule for everything she says. She watches carefully all that goes on in her home and is never lazy. Her husband can trust her, and she will richly satisfy his needs. She will not hinder him, but help him all her life. She generously gives to the needy. And she manages her time and prioritizes to take care of her family, so that none of them are ever in need. Yall, the biggest reward though of reading of this truly inspiring woman is the last verses.

Her children arise and bless her, so does her husband.

He praises her with these words: "There are many fine women

in the world, but you are the best of them all."

Proverbs 31:28-29

Isn't this what we all want? To make our families happy, to raise our children to one day grow up to know the difference between godly and worldly, to create a tone of security in our homes, to be the backbone of our family instead of being the anchor that drags it down, to be a help mate to our husbands just as God created us to be? For our children and husbands to bless us and know how much we love them? I think so.

So as I go out into 2009, I will continue to reflect on the Proverbs 31 woman, and I will keep telling myself over and over that nobody can do these things in our family except me. It is my job and it is what God has appointed me to do from the beginning of time!!!

If you want to know more about Motivate Me Mondays, visit www.likeawarmcupofcoffee.blogspot.com!!

One Mom's Book of The Month - January

January's book of the Month is one that I just picked up at a local thrift store but is amazing!! It is called The Book of Virtues by William Bennett. This is a book of stories to read to your children that are written by classic authors like Benjamin Franklin, Emily Dickinson, Aesop...you get the idea. The values and character traits that are built into this book will NEVER be taught to our kids in a public forum...in my opinion. The stories are awesome!! Just so that you will not think I am off my rocker with some "Four score and seven years ago" bedtime story, let me just give you a glimpse of the very first story. It is about the "pleases" that live inside your mouth and if you don't let them out they will leave your mouth because they have to get fresh air and light to survive. If you don't let them out (as the rude children do not) they will leave your mouth forever and go to someone elses. My kids thought that this was the funniest thing ever and every time they have said "please" this afternoon, they have gotten the biggest kick out of it. Some of the poems and short stories, just like with any other book, will be skipped over because of one reason or another and some are too mature for my kids, but with virtues like Self Discipline, Compassion, Courage, Loyalty, Faith, etc...the book is well worth the money. It is over 800 pages long and is chock a block full of great stories and poems that the kids just love! This books shows that Character does matter!! I think you will really like the book and will keep it around for a long time!!

Motivate Me Mondays!

I have just joined the 5AM Club at Like a Warm Cup of Coffee. This is so exciting as it will be a motivation to get up early and have some quiet time with the Lord. This is something that is so hard for me because I am neither a night owl or a morning bird! Im a mid-morning/early afternoon kind of gal. But for me, this challenge is one that is desparately needed. I have been really struggling because it is so difficult to wake up when the kids wake up and go to bed when the kids go to bed. I find that our moods are so much different when I am up earlier, even if just 15 minutes, than they are and have a little while to myself in the evenings. This will be an encouraging and very inspiring time to be awake in peace with the Lord and see how He is speaking to others and motivating them to begin their day with Him. Even though I have only been on the "blog scene" for a little over a week and have only had 2 comments (so sad I know) I am so excited about what friendships I will begin and where 2009 will lead me!! I can't wait for this new year and new routines!! Check out the details for the 5AM Club and Motivate Me Mondays at Like a Warm Cup of Coffee by clicking here!