Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Works for me Wednesday - Pantry Organization

Do you ever wonder what to do with all of your "packets" of stuff for the pantry? Jello boxes? Koolaid envelopes? I saw this idea on another blog (I can't remember which one, it was forever ago - sorry!) and I love it!
This is an over the door shoe organizer. The clear pockets are perfect because you can see everything. The size is perfect because it comfortably fits 2 boxes of jello or several taco seasoning packets.
I got this for about $7.50 at a 50% off sale it is so worth it! This storage solution works for me!

Check out more great Works for me Wednesday ideas at We are THAT Family!

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Restaurant.com Discount Offer

Have you checked out Restaurant.com yet? It is a fun site where you can get a $25.00 gift certificate to local restaurants for $10.00. Periodically they run great promos where you can get a % off. Right now you can get 80% off - that means you can get a $25.00 gift certificate for $2.00!

Usually you must spend a certain amount and an 18% gratuity is added to your ticket, but that's it. This is a great way to try new places or enjoy your current favorites.

Some of my local favorites are:

Carino's
Baja Fresh
Fiesta Guadalajara
Pizza Pipeline

It seems like more new restaurants are added all the time! To save on your next dining out experience click on the picture below and enter promo code CHEF at checkout!

Enjoy!

Restaurant.com Weekly Promo Offer 300 x 250

My New Game Closet

I have always wanted a game closet in our house. Our house has a large storage room off of the kitchen so the games have always been there. When we wanted to play a game it was always so inconvenient to go dig one out of the storage room. Then I though of a solution. We have this tiny closet in our living room that is supposed to be a coat closet. There were a few coats in it, but we never used the closet. We have a hanging rack by the front door for coats - so I decided that we would convert it into our game closet. My kids had never seen the closet empty before, so they enjoyed playing in it after we cleaned it out. (Do you like how my daughter is wearing dinosaur pajamas? I have never bought her girly pajamas - any that she has are gifts or hand me downs!)We had some old wood laying around in the garage, so my hubby cut it to size for brackets and shelves.

Voila! My game closet. I love it so much! I did have to get rid of 3 games to get them all to fit, but that's fine with me. They were games we hardly ever played.

Now all of our games are at our fingertips...I think family game nights will start happening way more often around here.
Side note...what are some of your favorite board games?
We have some unusual games as favorites:
  1. Pig Mania (pigs as dice, it is so wierd, but so fun!)
  2. Milles Bournes (a french card game all about driving - so fun!)

I don't know if they make either of these anymore - we found them at thrift stores for super cheap.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Menu Plan Monday - September 28-October 3

Another week has gone by - I can't believe it! We are almost into October...what happened to 2009? Seriously - it is almost over!

For some reason, I was in a cooking frenzy all weekend, so our fridge is full of leftovers. This is a good thing because Monday and Tuesday I work. When I don't plan ahead the result is fast food, so I'm grateful for the leftovers. I made a (huge) turkey breast for Sunday dinner and we will be enjoying it for most of the week!

Monday - Leftover turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans

Tuesday - More leftovers

Wednesday - Poppy Seed Chicken casserole (with turkey instead!), green beans

Thursday - Pulled pork sandwiches, homemade rolls, jello salad (didn't get to this last week!)

Friday - Chicken and rice soup (with turkey)

Saturday - Hamburger helper, corn

Sunday - Pasta Carbonara, green salad

What's on your menu this week? For other menus check out orgjunkie!

Friday, September 25, 2009

Motivation

I was feeling a little unmotivated this morning, but I had so much to do. You know those days? I hate them.

Anyway.

I posted a status update on Facebook that said:

Michelle is in need of some motivation...

About an hour later I got back on my computer and checked Facebook and received one response to my request for motivation. My uncle who I honestly don't know very well and have only met a few times in my life left the most uplifting response that truly changed my outlook:

Obviously you have forgotten who you are: The daughter of heroes, the wife of a saint, the mother of miracles, and the friend of multiple admirers. If that doesn't motivate you then think of the magical body you have that has articulating fingers, binocular vision, the heart of a lover, the vision of a friend, and a child of God. I could go on but by now you should be tuned in. Go rock your world!
It made me realize how often I get bogged down with life that I take for granted what a miracle life really is. I am blessed beyond measure. I am all of those things and I have all of those things. I have so much to be grateful for. Reading that truly did change my day. It made me want to be a better person, wife, mother, and friend. My mundane life didn't feel so mundane anymore. I have a purpose. I hope I can pray I can live up to more than a portion of what God have been me with.

From now on when I am feeling down, sad, lonely, unmotivated I will remember these simple and powerful words then I will go rock my world!

FREE Restaurant Copycat Recipes E-Book

I love to copy restaurant recipes. A few years ago I got this great book called Top Secret Restaurant Recipes and I have enjoyed making some of the things listed like Olive Garden's Fettuccine Alfredo (YUM!). Last year I shared a yummy potato cheese soup copied from Ruby Tuesday from this cookbook.

Right now there is a great E-book now available from Recipe Lion called 27 Secret Restaurant Copycat Recipes. Find out how to make Chili's Boneless Buffalo Wings, Wendy's Frosty, Pizza Hut Pizza Dough and more!

Click HERE to get yours! (You will need to enter your e-mail address (use a junk address!), then click skip to get through the next two pages, then download your FREE book!)

Enjoy!

Weekly Shopping Trip

When I took a month off from blogging, I felt weird not taking pictures of my groceries. Then I got used to it. Now that I am doing it again, I feel weird again. Anyway, I did find some great deals this week! One super deal was a total accident!

For those of you who have been reading my blog for awhile, my annual goal for his year was $2,600 for groceries or $50.00 per week. This included food, household items, and diapers. If you notice, the word I used above is WAS not IS. Unfortunately, I have not been able to stick to the budget of $50.00 per week. My current total is $2,454.47. That leaves me $145.53 for the next 13 weeks of 2009. That is $11.00 per week. Yeah...not going to happen. I have learned a lot along the way though, and my stockpile is still pretty big. This makes my average for the year about $63/week. This is also way better than my average from last year, which was $118/week.

Now that I got that out of the way...here is my shopping trip:

Walgreen's:1 Glad trash bags - $7.99 (-$1.50 coupon in September savings booklet) - $6.49

2 Scott Bath Tissue - $5.00 (w/in ad coupon)

4 Domino sugar - $3.20 (yes, you read that right - this is 20 pounds of sugar for $3.20. I love clearance! This was the deal I found by accident!

2 Baskin Robbins chewy candies - $.64 (clearance)

Net OOP: $16.24

Then I hit Fred Meyer: 8 Country Oven bread - $10.00 (w/in ad coupon)

2 Cheerios - $3.00 (w/in ad coupon)(2 -$1.00 off coupons) = $1.00

2 Big K Rootbeer - $1.00

1 A&W Rootbeer - $1.69

1 Coke Zero - $1.39

2 FM tuna - $1.00

1 bunch bananas - $1.14

1 Oscar Meyer lunchmeat - $1.79 (marked down from $3.99)

2 Land o' Frost lunchmeat - $5.00 (w/in ad coupon) (-2 $1.00 off coupons) = $3.00

2 Fresh Express salad - $2.50

2 Oscar Meyer bacon - $5.00 (-1.25 off 2 coupon) = $3.75

3 gallons milk - $5.97

2 Bumble Bee Tuna bowls - $4.00 (-2 $1.00 off coupons) = $2.00

1 bunch celery - $.34

Net OOP: $38.95

So my total for the week is $55.19 - not terrible! How did you do this week?

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Shopping Day

My cute son Owen turned 4 this summer is now attending preschool. I am just sitting here wondering where all the time went!

This is a long confusing story, so try to keep up...:)I work two days per week (Monday and Tuesday), and preschool is Tuesday and Thursday. My MIL watches my kids on Monday and Tuesday (it is such a blessing!). I have a great arrangement with her for preschool. Preschool is close to her house and isn't close to mine. She takes him on Tuesday when I am at work, then on Thursday my husband drops him off at her house on the way to work, then takes him to preschool. I just have to pick him up. I get to be all alone with my daughter during that time.

That has been another great blessing. We have turned our Thursdays into our grocery shopping days and it has been so much fun with just the two of us! She will actually stay in the cart, which is great. We also get to go check out stores that we don't live near like Boise Bargain Basket.

Have a great day! We are off for another shopping day!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Works for me Wednesday - Cheap Thrills

Do you remember going to Chuck E. Cheese as a kid (or Showbiz Pizza - as it was called when I was a kid)? I hardly ever got to go because it was so expensive. Granted, my kids are still very little, but we have found a way to get maximum enjoyment there for a minimum price.
Periodically there are coupons in the paper for discounts on tokens. A few months ago, I picked up 100 tokens for $15.00. This takes them for $.25 each to $.15 each. Because there is no admission price, you don't have to eat to play there (we never do), and 10 games each is plenty for my kids we can go up to 5 times for just $15.00 - or $3.00 for a fun morning.
By the way...I'm not big on crowds - especially at Chuck E. Cheese, so we go around 10:00 and are usually the only ones there! This works for me! Looking for more great Works for me Wednesday ideas? Go to We are THAT Family!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

On a mission to redecorate...

Do you ever just want to light a match and start over?


That is how I feel about my house right now.


I want a new look, but I can't spend much. I wish I were more creative with decorating!


Any ideas or great sites to help me?

Monday, September 21, 2009

FREEbies for the week

Get some FREE Fall Samples from Quality Health HERE.

Click HERE to print a coupon for FREE Venom Energy Drink.

Click HERE to make your own FREE printable calendars! These could make great gifts!

Get a FREE Financial Education CD from the FDIC called Money Smart for Young Adults HERE.

Potty Training? I feel for you! Get a FREE potty training kit from Pull Ups HERE.

Enjoy!

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Menu Plan Monday - September 21-27


Ahhh...getting back into the swing of things is so good! While I took a one month break from blogging I also took a break from doing a menu plan each week. I still had a general plan, but a plan not written down can sometimes get lost.

So, now I am getting into it and it feels great! I am also very excited for the cooler weather and soups, stews, and yummy comfort foods!

Monday - Taco soup, corn muffins

Tuesday - Spaghetti w/ Italian sausage, garlic toast, sauteed zucchini

Wednesday - BBQ pork sandwiches on homemade rolls, oven roasted potatoes, jello salad

Thursday - Roasted chicken, rolls, green bean casserole, lipton pasta sides

Friday - Pizza, green salad

Saturday - Leftovers

Sunday - Steak, baked potatoes, green salad

Check out orgjunkie for other menu plans this week!

Saturday, September 19, 2009

I'm back!

So has everyone had a chance to make the Creamy Black Bean Dip yet? After all, I did leave it up for about a month!

I decided to take an unscheduled blogging break for many reasons. Mostly I just felt like I have been so worried and focused on my blog and making sure I was posting and neglecting the things that really matter. My husband. My kids. My house. Myself. Now that I have taken this break I think I am different. I think my blog will be different. I think it will be a good thing.

I have some fun and exciting posts to come - and a great giveaway coming. So please stay tuned!

-Michelle
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