Week of 7/8/12 through 7/11/12

So it's delayed. But.. but...but... welp, here it is.

I was gone for two weeks. I went to my mothers for a week so that they could see Sister Bear. They take Brother Bear for a week every month. It's his time with MawMaw and PawPaw {See, we all have bear names around here!}. It was a nice visit that turned into a really nice visit when Papa Bear came and joined us for the second week.  So yes, I'm behind. But I'm back. So here's what's going on in my world.

Our car broke. Boo. Prayers please that today it gets fixed easily without any damage to our head gasket. Our radiator house blew on our way back from Maw-Paw's house. But thankfully my cousin and her boyfriend came to our rescue that night. Tonight it will be fixed, hopefully. I've let go, and let God take this one. He knows we need to have it fixed. It's our livelihood.

So here's the lists.

To-Do List

1.Canning. I was given some yummy fresh blackberries and they need to become a few jars of jam.

2. Bake a Blackberry Pie from my cousin Chelle's birthday. I won't share how old she is, she might hit me! ;)

3.Fix Car. {See Above.}

4.Finish tagging car. Apparently we thought our Personal Property Tax was more than it was, they send the check back. So it'll be paid by the end of the week and the car will be fully legal!!

5. Purge the children's play room. With a birthday came more toys. I need to get some of their old ones out of there!

6.Blogging, of course! I'm working on a blog about why we choose to not vaccinate. {Just for you Sabrina!!}

Bible Study

Ruth

I'm also suppose to be doing one with KP, but she hasn't got back to me on what it is....

Pantry Clean Out Meal Plan

Breakfast 

Granola Bars

Breakfast Bites

Oatmeal & Berries

Bacon & Eggs

Eggs & Oranges

Pancakes & bacon

Lunch

Tamales

Chinese Noodles with Garlic and Soy Sauce & Veggies

Tuna Salad & Carrots

Leftovers

Sandwich & Chips & Fruit

Noodles & Vegetables

Dinner

Chicken Breast with Carrots & Stuffing

Salmon & Asparagus & Pasta

Pork Chops & Corn & Mashed Potatoes

Brisket & Fried Taters & Green Beans

Meatloaf & Mashed Potatoes & Corn

Chicken & Rice/Gravy & Peas

Snacks

Veggies

Fruit

Chips

Leftovers

The reason this is called Pantry Clean Out Meal Plan is because I am trying to get rid of all the random cans and stuff that we've been avoiding eating because we don't eat it normally. I can't fathom giving it to a food pantry when we can easily eat it. So I'm making one bad week where we clean it all out and eat. Then the following week I will be doing a juice fast. That's going to be hard. Yikes! I'm still nursing so some people will claim that I shouldn't do it, but the verdict is out. I know that she's old enough she won't starve if there is something she doesn't like the taste of. Plus, toxin rich breastmilk is still better than formula any day of the week. So I'm kind of on the fence. We'll see how it goes. Plus there is stored milk in the freezer, I think. It's buried by all the other junk in there! 

**********

 We are also in search of a family motto. This was inspired by another friend. I'd love to use her family's but, our family's are not the same. So though it would work, it's not my family's motto. I'm in search of it. For some reason  I've had Proverbs 22:6 stuck in my head as well though. It could because our downstairs neighbor quotes it all the time. But it's really been influencing me lately. 

Proverbs 22:6

Train up your child in the way he should grow,

Even when he is old he will not depart from it. 

I want to focus on training or raising our children correctly. Which is so hard in our world today. It's hard fighting the fast, mainstream world. Even harder when you've been a part of it for so long and you are trying to remove yourself from most of it. I'm going to continue praying on it. I'm sure I'll find a motto that fits our family. We've been loosely using this one from Carl Bard.

"Though no one can go back and make a brand new beginning, 

Anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending."

I'm working on my brand new ending. How's yours coming?

{Hollea}

 

 

 

Frugal is as Frugal Does

Frugal

There are many, many thoughts that come to mind when you use this word. The common one being that you're poor or live on a tight budget of barely making it. That you're only living frugally because you can't afford anything else. You eat dried beans and never do anything fun. This is the image that has been played in our heads for decades. When did frugal become such a bad thing? 

Merriam-Webster defines frugal as;

: characterized by or reflecting economy in the use of resources

So really being frugal means your being resourceful. You're making the best with what you have. You're getting by without needing to add to your consumption. In a land of plenty and throw away, I can see how someone not following the "norm" would become an outsider. 

Is there a difference between being frugal and being miserly? 
Yes. Not that I don't love the book Miserly Moms by Jonni McCoy and love how she changes the meaning of miserly. But most people still think of misers or miserly in the terms of Scrooge. Pinching pennies so hard that you leave no room for experiences and fun. This is the differences between frugal and miserly. Frugal allows room for fun and experiences, on a budget.


So should being frugal be considered a bad thing? 
I do not believe one who only takes as little as possible and only uses what they need, is a bad thing. I think we need to change the modern ideology that you have to take and take and take. That if you're not up on the latest gadget, kitchen appliance or fashion, that you're suffering. You can survive with the jeans you have and not have to go buy a new pair because they changed where they are suppose to sit on your waist. 

What does frugal NOT mean? 
Put simple. Punishment. You are not going to torture yourself by wearing pants that have a zillion holes in them or shoes that should have been replaced a year ago because there is no sole left on them. It doesn't mean you don't celebrate holidays or traditions. It doesn't mean you don't treat yourself {every once in a while, it's not a treat if you do it daily}. It doesn't mean you do go to the movies or take your children to a theme park. You just learn to do it in an affordable matter. Instead of doing a huge Christmas, you do three gifts or homemade gifts. Grandparents would rather have a homemade gift over store bought ANY day of the week! 

We strive to be frugal everyday. Here's our top 5 frugal tips. 
1. Eat at home. Every single frugal mom {and dad} out there will tell you this is their number 1 tip.
2. Establish needs verse wants. Even with your children.
3. Buy second hand. This being said, there are some thing I'd never buy second hand. Beds, Couches, or underwear. Those are no-go's. Seriously.
4. Look for free and cheap activities in your city. I live in the urban core of Kansas City. We have so many free exhibits and  movies that are simply amazing. Our local zoo is only $5 for residents in the zoological district. My children get in for free and we can take our own lunch and snacks!
5. Remember to treat yourself. If you don't treat yourself along the way, you'll eventually crash and burn. You'll blow your entire savings because you felt deprived. Trust me, {I have personal experience with this one!}  blowing all your money will hurt far worse than being "deprived".

Some of my favorite resources for frugality and resourcefulness.

Miserly Moms

Penny Pinchin' Mom

The Hillbilly Housewife

The Peaceful Mom

Please leave me your favorites in the comments!

Keep going green!

{Hollea}

Preventing the Cycle -FSC #1

Preventing the cycle... sounds like something us women try to do with birth control, doesn't it. But that's not they cycle I'm trying to prevent. {I embrace that one, oddly.}

The cycle I'm wanting to prevent is diabetes, obesity, heart attacks/strokes, autoimmune disorders, poor body image, etc. I want these to be a thing of the past. A poor reminder that at one time, as Americans (and some other countries, but mainly Americans) we made some very poor decisions on the basis of our health. That we allowed others to dictate what we put in our bodies. That we let other dictate how we lived. That we allowed others, mainly big business, dictate our health.

See this isn't about who is skinny and who is fat. This isn't about who's a size 2 and who's a size 16. This is about our hearts, muscles, spines, feet, ankles, and guts. Read that again. Our bodies. But not in the matter of what your clothes look like on them. Or how terrific (or not so terrific) they look in a bikini. This is about how they perform with the tools we are given to fuel them.

They are always saying looking at your body as a machine. Put in {X} number of {Y} and burn {Z} number of {Y} and BAM! size 2.

It's not that simple.

Calories aren't the end all. Life isn't measured in number on a scale or number you put in your mouth. It's about the positives you live in your life. It's about the effort you put into your life.

That effort includes how you maintain your body.

I could go on and on and on {and on..} about how nutrients doesn't equal food. I could tell you how our lifestyles aren't healthy. But we know all that already. We know what we're suppose to eat, how we're suppose to eat, when we're suppose to eat.....*yada, yada, yada*. Are you tired of me yet? 

So where/how do we begin?

We start small. We remove one bad thing at one time. First we remove the processed foods. Stick to the outer aisles. Then excess and refined sugar. Then we up our food. Our plants and meats. Jillian Michaels said it best. If come from the ground or has a mother, it's probably safe to eat. {In her Master Your Metabolism book.} 

We set the example for our children. We know we can cure all these ailments. We know we can end the cycle. But we don't. Eating healthy can be affordable. It can be feasible. IT CAN BE DONE. END OF STORY.

Be the change you wish to see. Everyone knows this quote. So be it. Don't worry about the size or the number or the weight. Worry about how you feel. How your body thanks you {after detoxing} for feeding it real food. Food it knows. Food it can work with. 

And remember. Synthetic nutrients do not equal nutrition.

So stop the cycle. Start with your family. So your children will never know the cycle. 

Like I {and KP} say... take your Fresh Start today!

Fresh Start Wednesdays (Starts this week)

Today is Wednesday. Today is the day. The day I attempt start my semi quasi original foods diet. I got the idea from Mandy over at Biblical Homemaking. I love the concept. I pretty much follow it anyway. But I am officially going to be cutting back on dairy and meat. I'll never give up eggs, I love them too much!

So the plan is 80% vegan and 20% non-vegan or "junk" food. Not that that's an issue. We don't really eat junk. Occasionally I crave a box of cheap pasta salad, only to regret it later. So this is more about the focus on eating a lot of really good quality fruits and vegetables. Plus, if I have to cook a hamburger for Papa Bear, I don't want to feel bad if I decide to eat one. Or if I eat an ice cream cone on Friday with Brother Bear. (It's our Friday treat for having a good week!)

So what can I eat? A lot!

Mandy laid her's out like this.

the original food diet “rules”

I'm creating my own scheme of foods based on what I've studied. I'm calling it the "original food" diet. For 40 days, I’ll be following these guidelines for what I eat! :)

My allowed foods are any naturally occurring plant-based foods:
vegetables
fruit
legumes
whole grains
nuts
seasonings from seed plants

Foods I'll be avoiding: anything artificially or factory-created or any animal meat or animal product.
meats
bread
cookies
cereals
pasta
refined sugars
dairy
eggs
artificial sweeteners {this is huge for me!}

I've tweaked mine just a little bit. I will be avoiding grains. I will eventually eliminate all of them that contain gluten. I'm pretty sure I have a gluten intolerance and rather than spend the money to find out if I'm correct, I''ll just eliminate it. So add gluten to the list of avoiding and put meat and dairy as a "sometimes food" and you've got my list.

So why am I doing all of this?

I'm pretty sure I have a gluten intolerance and a thyroid issue. I'm curious to see if cutting out someone "trigger" foods will help me loose the weight that I'm struggling to shed. I'm currently 5'4 1/2 and weigh in at 215 lbs. I don't look like I weigh that much, but to me, I feel it. All my other stats are normal. Normal heart rate, blood pressure, o2. Everything. So I know that my weight is just a cosmetic issue for me. Not a health issue. I'm not borderline for diabetes, my blood work is perfect. This is simply about the strain my body feels physically and emotionally because of the excess weight I carry around.

I'm not complaining, I'm not moaning. I can do this. This diet is just another step in my journey to make my outside reflect my inside. FOR ME.

Another reason for this overhaul is I'm trying to get closer to God. I want my body to be the Temple he designed it to be. I'm going to feed it things he's put here for me to put in it. Things that I know are designed for me. Designed for my Temple. I know I can do this!

What are you going to do for your "Fresh Start"....I challenge you. :)





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