One Christian Mom: A Trip

Saturday, June 6, 2009

A Trip

Well, we just found out we are going on a trip! It will be a super-long one, too. My mom has sent us tickets to go see her! We haven't seen her in almost 2 years, which is WAY too long. My Aunt had some frequent flyer miles saved up, and she graciously used them to get me and the kids tickets to go there for the family reunion. The problem was with blackout dates and whatnot, we could go for either 4 days or 3 weeks. So, we chose 3 weeks. Unfortunately, hubby is not too thrilled with the idea, but in the end, it is better if we go. Maybe he will start to realize that he really does miss the kids (and hopefully, me).

He is still on and off the wagon, at least in my opinion. Of course, he won't admit to having been drinking, but I can smell it, and also a person acts differently when consuming alcohol. I pray he stops, I pray he accepts God's grace, and I pray he will come back to us.

That is what has been on my mind today, as he visited briefly with the children today. They need him so much, and he spends more time with them now than he ever did, but it's still not a normal relationship between a father and children. I am thankful that they now have solid playtime with him, though.

God bless, and I hope you have a wonderful Lord's Day!
One Christian Mom

2 comments:

~Bren~ said...: Hey I thought about you today. I bought a new book called, "How Women Help Men To Find God" by David Murrow. Here is the link...
http://www.amazon.com/How-Women-Help-Men-Find/dp/078522632X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244340504&sr=8-2
He also wrote "Why Men Hate Going To Church"
I may pick that one up. I will let you know if this one is any good. If so, I will pass it on to you ;); June 6, 2009 10:11 PM
Crunchy Christian Mom said...: Hi! Thanks for your sweet comment on my blog. I hope you have a wonderful trip to see your family!; June 7, 2009 10:57 AM

Post a Comment

Frugal Tips

**Still under construction - please check back for more!**

Recently, a lot of people in real life have been asking me about my tips for frugal living. I have gained quite a few of them through the years as our family grows and the cost of living is skyrocketing. This list is ever growing, so check back for updates! If you have a frugal tip, let me know, and I will add it to the list, with credit to you!

TIP #1
The first thing I did was join The Grocery Game at http://www.thegrocerygame.com/. I think it's $10 for three months, but you can save way more than that. You do need to either live in a metropolitian area, or have access to the city's newspaper in order for it to work well. I have saved between 25% to 100% off of grocery items. This works best if you have no brand preference for most items. I only subscribed for the first three months. After that, you pretty much get the gist of the savings plan, and can do it on your own. It basically follows the sales at the stores, and the coupons in the paper. When the store has rock-bottom prices on the item in the coupon, it will tell you to use it. Sometimes the item is free!

TIP #2
Another GREAT tip that most people don't do is cut back on your disposable items in your household. I wrote a post on this sometime last week, I think! :-) I am not just talking about cups and plates, but also paper towels, napkins, even things like yogurt. For the paper products, just replace them with cloth. We bought dishtowels at WalMart for $5 for a package of 6, the initial cost is higher, but you will make that back in a month or two (depending on your family). We use those instead of paper towels. For napkins, we use dishrags, pretty ones! They were also inexpensive, and they wash well. When we have company we break out the "real" cloth napkins, it just looks nicer.

For things like yogurt, milk, etc - buy the larger items, then package it yourself in smaller containers. If you like to take yogurt to work, put some in the small tupperware containers from the large container. That way, you are saving money, and helping keep the earth cleaner by not throwing plastic away every day.

TIP #3
For those of you who have babies, CLOTH DIAPERS! Here is a great site for you to learn about them: http://www.diaperpin.com. There are forums there where you can ask questions, read about others who use them, etc. They also have a rating scale on how well the diapers work for others. I, personally, went with the cheapest option, which was prefolds with covers. You can get quality prefolds for $2 per diaper (if purchased in a dozen) and covers for around $9-$11 each. So for the cost of one month's diapers, you have enough to fit your baby for at least a year. Most people will have to buy two sizes over the baby's diaper-wearing lifetime, but it's still way cheaper than buying diapers to throw in the trash! Also, washing them is easier than you might think. Dump all solids into the toilet. Store wet diapers in a wet-bag or dry diaper pail or trash can. When you wash them, put them on a cold rinse cycle. Then add detergent (home-made, preferably, which I will talk about later) or about 1/4 the amount for commerical detergents and put on a warm wash, cold rinse cycle. Dry on medium in the dryer, or hang to dry! Which leads me to:

Tip #4
Hang-dry your clothes. I can hear it already. "But my complex won't let me have a clothesline!" OK, here are some remedies for that. The first solution is to have a folding rack that you can put outside when you dry your clothes, then take it in when they are dry. Since it's not a permanent fixture, most complexes will allow this. Another solution, which may take longer, is to put your clothes rack up inside near a heater (in the winter) or a fan (in the summer). It may take longer for them do dry, but it has never taken mine longer than a day to dry, and I do about a load a day.

Problem with stiff clothes when you hang? Here are two solutions. The first is to add a few tablespoons of vinegar to the rinse cycle in the washing machine. They won't be as soft as in the dryer, but they will be softer than if you didn't. The second solution is to hang them until almost dry. Then put them in the dryer for 10 minutes. You will never know they were hung to dry, and you will save 80 minutes of drying time in the dryer!

More Tips to Come!

Saturday, June 6, 2009

A Trip

2 comments:

About Me

An Updated List of Blogs I Visit Almost Daily

Followers

Blog Archive

Frugal Tips