Bits of Joy

Having all of my Christmas shopping done except for buying two gifts cards for hard to please people.

Finding healthy things the kids like and will eat for dinner on sale and planning a dinner around them.


Having a free date night using points we accumulated from the local gymnastics business.

Having a coupon for the nice restaurant so we can enjoy a dinner without children.

Needing to plan a mini vacation for our anniversary before our free Southwest Flight points expire. We're thinking Austin Texas. Anyone have any suggestions for the continental US?

Having grandparents who are happy and willing to come stay with the kids for a few days while we celebrate our 13th wedding anniversary.

Being done shopping for our adopted Christmas family. I hope our single Mom of two little ones likes what we assembled.

Finally getting the urge to wash our big stinky dog who hates baths instead of spending $25 at the groomer. Have you ever had to pick up a thrashing 60 pound dog and put her in the bathtub? Not fun. All done now though.

Having all of our outside decorations put up for once. Good job Hubby.

Only finding two broken ornaments in the big ornament box this year- which Hubby was able to fix with super glue.

Finding my address book so I can send out Christmas cards soon.

Actually being in the mood to drink tea lately instead of soda pop.

Having a silly little boy who got into the Christmas bows and refuses to leave the Christmas tree alone.




What's your small bit of joy?

Use What You Have- I found a soap dish.

I bought this shell shaped bowl at a thrift store last year because it caught my eye. It's done nothing but sit on a shelf forgotten and empty collecting dust since then. I think it's perfect for as a soap dish for a teacher's gift.

What do you think?

Agenda Today- Cleaning the Kitchen

The cranberry walnut bread that I made from Thanksgiving leftovers is burnt on top. We've been cutting the top off and eating the rest. It's still pretty good.
It has been a busy week full of field trips, errands, extra homework, and other things. My kitchen has suffered the brunt of it. Add that to the fact that I am not exactly organized and I have a big mess to deal with.



These tin canisters were a serendipitous find at Value Village yesterday. I can clean up my counter tops with the vintage brown and cream farm theme that I adore. The price was right too. A little soap and water and I'll be all set to put my kitchen to rights.

My current thrifting/garage sale dream find is a set of Spode pheasant dinner ware.

Am I too late? My Christmas Gifting Plans

Are you guys still there? ; )
I feel like I haven't been in blogland for ages! We finally broke down and bought a new laptop which I'm still figuring out how to use. Hubby ordered it online with about 5 rebates and ebates too.

I've got Christmas pretty well in hand by doing a bit of shopping here and there. I'm trying my best not to overdo it this year. I prefer a few well chosen gifts over an extravaganza that always leaves us feeling flat. After all, it's nice to get gifts but that isn't the main point of the holiday.

I was trying to download a picture that I took of the gift I assembled for my son's preschool teacher. I had planned on giving just a nicely wrapped bar of homemade soap to the teachers. Today I found a pretty round bowl at Value Village that would look great as a soap dish for only $1.10.
I picked out a round clear soap filled with red, white, and green peppermint scented curls (made to look like ribbon candy) and it just fits!
I figured out the exporting part. Now I need to work on the editing part.
The total cost for this gift is under $2.50 and I think it's much nicer than the bag of Hershey's Kisses I was contemplating giving. I just need to find one more. Perhaps I'll check in my cabinets to see if there's anything I don't need anymore.

At Value Village I also grabbed a few bags of tiny toy goodies into the cart to sort, wash, and wrap for Christmas crackers. Those are always a hit here and a few go a long way. The stocking candy was bought when Walgreens had a 39 cent coupon on Nestle stocking candy. I'm done shopping for our kids.

The neighbors are getting Christmas flavored Celestial Seasonings teas that I bought at the salvage grocery and a plate of homemade cookies. My version of homemade this year might mean doctored up sale mixes that I have in my pantry. It really depends on how busy we are. Instead of tins, I'll send them out in brown bags I have the kids decorate with stickers or magazine cut outs.

Instead of the annual Christmas picture from JcPenney or Target I think we'll take our own picture of the kids and print them out when there's a sale. Walgreens has a ten cent per print sale going on through Saturday that seems like a possibility. (Joy10 is the online code and you have to order 50 or more prints).

I have stacks of Christmas cards from when I helped clean out my Grandma's house. I'm forgoing the Christmas letter again this year and just sending a simple greeting to a few friends. Simplifying the holiday makes me more joyful and relaxed.

Christmas 2009

This year I told Hubby that he was in charge of buying the kid's big present to put under the tree.
He bought Big Girl a Wii cheerleading game. Needless to say- he's not a big fan of plastic toys anymore. I still don't know what he'll pick for Little Guy.

I've gotten into the habit of buying up clearance toys/kid's items when I see them at a good price.
Being as organizationally challenged as I am- I haven't kept good track of what I've stored away.
So, I started consolidating my piles and have more than enough for stockings, birthday party gifts, cousin's Christmas presents, and items to put into our adopt-a-family box.
I just need to buy stocking candy. This year I think my goal is three presents under the tree for each kid- so one from Dad and two from me plus their stocking which will have candy and small toys tucked in it.

The only presents that I might actually have to Christmas shop for are my brother's gifts. Any one have any ideas for what to give the men in your life?

Right now we're all stuck at home with some sort of virus. I haven't showered in two days and the kids are finally feeling like playing together again. I know this because I keep having to tell them to quit yelling. I've been out of the house for exactly one hour this week when I had to go to the grocery store to buy things for the Thanksgiving party at preschool. A party that we didn't get to attend because we were sick. I had a healthier Hubby drop off the food and cups.
We still don't have a working computer. I'm using Hubby's work computer. We just haven't made it to the Apple store- why do they all have to be in malls?

I think while the kids are busy playing nicely (and loudly) I'll slip upstairs for a much needed shower. I'd say that being sick has saved us money but I haven't been able to use the coupons I clipped to do my cherry picking for Thanksgiving foods and the past two days have been McDonald's, Taco Bell, and BK take out. Hubby does not cook.

Not Dead, Not Done. Just on Hiatus.

Our laptop is dead. So, I'm limping along by borrowing Hubby's work laptop here and there. We'll eventually replace our laptop but right now I don't really miss being on the computer whenever I want. I'm kinda enjoying the break.


I'm not giving up my blog- just yet anyway. But, it our laptop dying happens to coincide with a brief period of creative and frugal stagnation.

See you soon.

What I would do right now if I had no money

While putting dirty dishes in the washer I was contemplating making a trip to Aldi for baking mix and eggs since we're out of both. Then I started thinking about how if I really wanted to save money I should act like we don't have any and make do with our pantry items. I have made my own Bisquick mix before and I'm no stranger to using soy flour with water for an egg substitute.

Almost a year ago I posted this blog giving my ideas for helping those in financial straits. I started thinking about what I would do right this minute to keep a warm roof over our heads and food in our bellies. The goal should be food, shelter and warmth.

Making Money:
Find anything of non-sentimental value that we didn't need and sell it. Hold a garage sale for the little stuff like books, clothes, toys, and furniture that doesn't have a great resale value. Sell anything special on Craigslist or ebay. Even our scraped together yard sale stuff made us almost $100.

If you are physically capable of temporarily hiring yourself out to do yard work, babysitting, personal shopping or housecleaning do it. Someone somewhere needs those services and is willing to pay you for it. Swallow your pride and roll up your sleeves.

After you've combed the couch cushions, your coat pockets, and the top of the dryer for spare change you might consider taking long walks to collect cans or any other saleable scrap metals.
No you won't get rich but you will get exercise, a few dollars, and a chance to brain storm about your situation.

Saving Money:

Turn your thermostat down. Pull out extra blankets and wear a jacket if you get cold. A hot cup of tea costs pennies and will keep you nice and toasty. Consider insulating your pipes and water heater. Did you turn your hot water heater down to 120 F?

Call the credit card company if you need to and get them to work with you on your payment schedule.

Unplug all unused appliances and turn off lights when you leave a room for long periods of time.
Do all your baking on one day so you only heat the oven once.

My favorite tip from my previous article:
"Cancel everything that you can't eat, doesn't keep a roof over your head, or keep you warm at night. That's right- get rid of DTV, cable, Netflix, Blockbuster, and any other expensive money sucker that drains your wallet monthly. Do you have a library card?"

Saving and Getting Food:

Don't throw anything out unless it's rotten. And I mean completely rotten. A bit of mold can be cut off of cheese and you can cut the mooshy part out of the apple.

Don't throw out leftovers- that's not trash. That's tomorrow's lunch. Just have a tablespoon of veggies- that's soup fixins that you can freeze.


Clean out your pantry, freezer and fridge before you buy anymore food. When you do buy food buy ingredients like flour, proteins, and whole fruits and veggies. You'll save money and eat better.

This suggestion is a little subversive but I'm sharing nonetheless. Don't be afraid to dumpster dive. I've never dumpster dove for food but I still have jewelry and other things that I gleaned from a dumpster. My kids still play with toys that were found in a trash pile. If my family was hungry I wouldn't have a second thought about looking in a dumpster for a few cans of food or a head of lettuce. If you think about it only minutes ago it was perfectly good food on a grocery shelf. If it's not rotten, poison covered or dirty what's the harm in taking free food? Is it better to go in a landfill?

My last suggestion is to ask for help from friends or go to a food pantry. And that is what I suggest you do last. I think asking for help is great but I also believe you need to help yourself first.

Entertainment and Holidays:

Library cards are wonderful things. A whole world of dvds, books, music and books on tape available for your own free entertainment provided you don't rack up a lot of late fees.

Board games and card games with the kids instead of a night at the movies. They'll have wonderful memories of special family time spent together too. You don't even need packs of microwave popcorn for snacks. You can whip up your own with much cheaper popcorn kernels.

Potluck dinners for holidays can be wonderful! Everyone gets to show off their best dish and you don't get stuck fitting the bill for the whole meal. Get inspiration from Meredith about how to make a humble pitcher of water seem decadent and lovely.

A smaller, second hand Christmas or Hanukkah is nothing to be ashamed of either. You can find nice toys, books, and puzzles at garage sales for next to nothing. A little bit more expensive but still a good alternative is the thrift store. A few candies or chocolates bought on clearance or from the dollar store and you're done. I can attest personally that nice second hand items are still as exciting at their store bought counterparts. Nice sweaters, jewelry, purses, electronics, or cds can be found used for teenagers.
If your children are used to a big swanky unwrapping party on Christmas I suggest you discuss with them that things will be different this year. You might want to explain your financial situation to them. I truly believe that above all children truly just want your love and attention. And you can't put a price on that.



A few years ago my single mother (a real estate agent) friend was down to her last $1000 in the bank with Christmas coming, a mortgage payment, a car payment and no more income in site. This was just after the real estate market started to tank. She turned her heater down to 50 degrees, and put her little space heater in whatever room she walked into. Every conceivable cold air leakage problem was addressed with carpet remnants or rolled up towels. She and her little boy took hot baths at night (while the mini heater was heating up her bedroom) before they got into bed so they'd be warm for sleeping. While she was looking for a steady job she also enrolled in WIC to help with food supplies. Her close friends gifted her with store gift cards or their own pantry supplies because she let them know of her situation. She got a job a month later but I learned a lot from her about ingenuity from her brief period of poverty.
My friend is very proud but she swallowed her pride and did what she had to do. I'm proud of her for that.