Staycation!

We are doing our fair share of travel this summer.  My husband has out of town conferences for work so I go with him.  After all, the gas mileage and hotels are already paid for.  But mixing play and work is often more stressful than fun and your place of travel is chosen for you.  Not that I complain when it is to where my family lives.

Another way we are trying to save money this year is by staying home.  People come from all over the world to visit my house (okay not my house, but the region) so why shouldn't I visit it as well?

We call it Tourist Tuesday. Every Tuesday we pick a new place to go explore. Whether it's a hike, museum, park, or a walk around the neighborhood, we're enjoying seeing the place we call home. Picking a day in the middle of the week means smaller crowds as well.

What's in your neighborhood?

30 Days of Thinking

I don't know about you, but sometimes I get a really big list of wants- expensive wants.  Well, instead of taking out the credit card and running to the store, I take out a 3x5 card and write them. Then I prioritize what I want first, search for good deals, and just plain wait.

I recently learned there is a thing called the 30 day challenge.  When you find something you "just got to have" you write it down and wait 30 days.  If you still want it- and have the money- then buy it.

I had five expensive (more than $50) things I wanted a few months back.  I knew we could not afford them all. So I wrote them down with about how much they would cost depending.

Printer $80 on sale
Carpet cleaner $90 on sale
specific preschool curriculum $190 for 2 yrs)
food dehydrator 60-100+ on sale
freezer 200+

Here is what happen:

 I had already waited a long time for a printer- ours stopped working.  Instead my awesome husband spent some time fixing it.  Instead of $80 we spent $13.

Carpet cleaner- Wait, all I want to do is clean a chair.  I will ask around and find one I can borrow.

Preschool lessons- Um, I graduated in Early Childhood Development. I know how to write my own lesson plans.  Bought a $4 book with activity ideas specific to the curriculum I liked.

Food dehydrator- still want, but it is the beginning of spring. I don't need it yet.  It can wait.

Freezer.  It was a long wait to get a second freezer!  I had a month to look at reviews, prices, space in our apartment, etc.  Yup, it's got ordered as soon as possible!

Giving myself some time to think about my wants saved us hundreds of dollars. Doing it with small items helps too!

What ideas do you have to save money?

Homemade Poulty Seasoning

Remember how homemade Cream of Chicken calls for Poultry seasoning? (Probably not since the post got deleted and I currently don't have time to retype it.)  I didn't have any of that to make the homemade Cream of Chicken, so homemade seasoning it was.


Homemade Poultry Seasoning

2 tsp ground sage
1 1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp marjoram
3/4 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp black pepper

Mix. Store in air tight container

Whew, between that and the cream of chicken and the cooking, that was a lot of work for dinner.  I enjoyed it though.

Summer Simplicity

Perhaps that title is misleading. Summer is already full of vacation, family activities and, yes, school, conferences, and work.

We decided we need to simplify our lives.  One way is less media- and less blogging.  I have a few ideas already lined up, but for the summer at least I will probably only be posting one or two articles a month.  Enjoy your summer!

Peanut Butter Balls

The other day my friend pulls these little treats out of her freezer and let us try them.  My toddler has been asking for them ever since. We have already made two batches. Peanut butter goes fast in our house.

Peanut Butter Balls

1 c peanut butter

1 c powdered milk

1/2 c honey

mix together and roll into balls.  Enjoy!

I think I am ready to experiment and add oats, chocolate chips, coconut or something else to add crunch.

This is very similar to edible play dough.  It should have about the same consistency.

Homemade Tootsie Roll

Every week my toddler and I have COOKie Tuesday. Two of our weeks have involved this simple no bake treat that little hands can help with.

Tootsie Rolls

3 Tbsp butter- melted

1/2 c cocoa*

1/2 c light karo syrup

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 c powdered milk

3 c powdered sugar

Mix in order.  Knead well.  Texture will be like play dough.  Roll and cut. Enjoy.

*For fruity tootsie rolls add 1 pk of Kool Aid instead of cocoa.  It is delicious too!

We actually halved the recipe because it makes a lot. This recipe is softer than store bought

Coconut Oil

Years ago Dove stopped making my favorite moisturizer.  Nothing- within my price range- has come close to being as amazing.  I'm still sad over that. Anyway... I had some coconut oil for another experiment I was trying and thought why not see if it works. (it would be cheaper than the brand I'm using now)  Putting oil on my face was a little scary, and I only used a little bit.  It absorbed quickly and three days into the experiment their have been no adverse effects.  I did look it up and learned people do use it as a regular moisturizer and for about a million other things.

I found this list (and many others) of 101 uses for coconut oil:

http://wellnessmama.com/5734/101-uses-for-coconut-oil/

Although I don't think it makes a good lip balm by itself and I certainly have not, nor will I try all of the uses listed.  (I'm skeptical of any "Windex" claim.) As a moisturizer I think it works pretty well for the not too dry skin I have.

OKAY, UPDATE!!!!

I found after awhile I no longer liked using coconut oil as a face moisturizer. Too heavy.  Now I use 100% Extra Virgin Olive oil. I like it better.  I read this is a good oil for dry skin.  I have also read grape seed oil works wonders for those with oily skin.  We will see how long using this one last.