Winter Freebies

And some freebies to go with those coupons!

Free Coupons

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!

Mom Monday

Today's post isn't very encouraging, unless maybe to show you that you're not alone. :)

Today's one of those days that, by 4PM, I just want to crawl back into bed and hit restart. Or maybe just sleep the rest of the day away and restart tomorrow. My kids have been whiny. My husband isn't getting price quotes that are reasonable on something he's trying to sell. My bread I made to take to a dinner tonight looks terrible (at least it tastes good.... so good I ate half of it!) My daughter won't nap OR have quiet time and ripped one of her pop up books to pieces while in "quiet time." My web browser keeps crashing, freezing and won't download anything and I've spent way too much time trying to fix it. And to top it all off, my feet are cold.

Sound silly to you? What may seem like little things to one person can seem like big things to another, but what encourages me most of all isn't that other people sympathize with me. It's that I worship a God who knows and cares. It may seem silly that I don't like the way my bread looks or my feet are cold, but I believe God cares. Sometimes I feel that He sits beside me, patting me on the back, telling me to keep going when I just want to go back to bed.

So often I have an image of God, sitting on His throne, just waiting for me to mess up or get off track or not follow His "perfect" will and when I do I imagine He'll kick me when I'm down or frown in disappointment. Or judge me, like I do to so many others. No, our God is a God who saw us in our mess and came down to walk among us and say He cares. Who lifts us, instead of judging us. Who watches curiously us as we make choices, not wait for us to choose the wrong thing so He can scold us.

I'm not talking about willful, unrepentant sin. If you are willfully walking away from God and His word, beware. But if you are a Christian who tries to love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and love your neighbor as yourself, then take courage my friend. You have a Savior who knows. A Father who loves. A Friend who comforts.

Share Yourself Saturday

Well, not sure what to share this week. :) What would people out there like to know about me that they don't already? Hmmm....

I know how to knit. Does that surprise you? Actually, I got a book about knitting socks and did one. Yes, one. It was so awful I stopped at one. :) I thought about ripping it out to start a new one when I got sidetracked by a new hobby... card making.

Then a few days ago I found an old project of mine... a shirt for Thad that was never finished. Are you getting a picture of me now? I LOVE crafty stuff, so much so, that I can't finish a project before I get excited about another and take off after that. I have a lot of half finished stuff, which I know is a bad character trait. But, alas, it is so. I know I need to pick one or two things and really concentrate on getting good at them, before moving on, but my attention span seems to be short with crafty stuff.

Anyway, how about you? Do you love crafts? Love starting stuff so much you tend to leave when you started unfinished? Share with us!

Giant Eagle Deals 12/3-12/9

As much as I'd love to take the time to sit and list out the Giant Eagle deals for you this week, I'm not going to. Sorry. It's too hard for me to look at all the great deals when I'm not supposed to be buying anything this month. :( So I'll avoid the temptation and just send those of you who love Giant Eagle over to Cherry Picker for the deals and coupon match ups. She's very good at what she does and at informing readers of any changes or hidden stuff. I highly recommend Cherry Picker, she's where I get my local deals info anyway. Happy shopping those of you who are lucky enough to get to go!

Book Review and Giveaway: Treasured

I recently was given the opportunity to receive and review the book Treasured by Leigh McLeroy by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group. Overall, it wasn't a bad book.

The basis of the book is that we all keep "treasures" that tell the story of where we've been and who we are. The author lists certain treasures that God would have, based on the Bible, that would tell the story of Him and His people. She writes about a fig leaf (from Adam and Eve) and an olive branch (from Noah and the flood). The author interweaves her story with the stories of the Bible, showing that God's character and attributes apply to us and our lives as well.

I liked hearing some of the author's personal stories and lessons she's learned, but I didn't really get much out of what I read in this book. Most of what I read wasn't new to me or applicable, so it became boring for me to read and I stopped. I didn't think it was a bad book and it would probably make a nice gift for a woman you know.

On that note... I'm going to give away my copy of Treasured (which is only half used :) to one of my readers. To enter the giveaway you can do any of the following, leaving a separate comment for each:

1. Leave me a comment
   
2. Blog about this giveaway and leave me the link.
3. Become a follower or tell me if you already do!
4. Become a subscriber or tell me if you already do!
5. Follow me on twitter or tell me if you already do!
   

That's 5 chances to win. The giveaway is open from now until Saturday Dec. 12th at 11PM EST when I will randomly pick a winner. Sorry, but I can only ship to the US and Canada. I will email the winner (so make sure you leave a way for me to email you!) and the winner will have 48 hours to respond. If they don't, I will pick a new winner. Good luck!!

Giveaways

Money Saving Mom has unleashed the mother load of giveaways today, ranging from Oxiclean products, Walmart gift cards, a $100 Pottery Barn gift card and more. Go check it out!

Cookbook Review: Visions of Sugar Plums

You know me, when the chance to review a cookbook came up, I jumped at the chance! Unfortunately, for whatever reason, every time I try to download the e-cookbook, my Firefox crashes. I'm not sure what's going on, but I'm not going to be able to give a first hand telling of what this book is like, but you can read the media blurb here:

Presented by: Lizzie at A Dusty Frame

Price: $7
Available at: A Dusty Frame
Description:

Visions of Sugarplums: A Collection of Christmas Cookery is a delightful ebook published by Lizzie of A Dusty Frame, filled with those exceptional recipes of holidays past. My mouth waters as I examine the contents:

Gingerbread Waffles
Warm Cranberry Punch
Sweet Potato Casserole
Moravian Cookies
Toffee Squares
Epiphany Cake
Julgrot (Swedish Rice Pudding)
Triple Layer Brownies
Vintage Molasses Cake

The book is sprinkled with holiday traditions from around the world and their corresponding recipes, like finding the lucky single almond in the Julgrot. You’ll find inspirational quotes, a section on making homemade ornaments from kitchen ingredients, suggested family traditions, snow day ideas, and a list of favorite Christmas books. And, of course, lots of love.

Visions of Sugarplums is available for just $7 and is thoughtfully arranged with vintage illustrations—a lovely keepsake for yourself or a special gift for a friend

A Blog Giveaway by April Showers

April Showers Blog Design is having a HUGE giveaway and celebrating her OPEN waiting list that starts January 1st! April not only does blogs - but also invitations, announcements, calendars, cards, business cards, custom illustrations, and so much more! Just by pasting this paragraph on my blog I'm a winner! www.aprilshowersblogdesign.com

CVS Coupon

If you're going to CVS this week, you might wanna check out the $3/$15 coupon good til 12/6.

In keeping with one of my new habit goals this month, I wrote out a menu plan for this month, including breakfasts and lunches. It was a little hard though, with the holidays. I never know when a party or event will pop up or when we'll end up staying longer with family, etc. Anyway, I did my best and this menu uses only stuff we already have on hand and a few fresh things I'll pick up ( like salad). I know you can't really read this, but I thought I'd just show you my style. :)

Marc's Deals 12/1-12/7M

Here are the best deals I see at Marc's this week (not that I'll be going :P) You can check out Cherry Picker for more.

Nuts $2.50 (Walnuts 16 ounces, Pecans 8 ounces, Raw almonds 16 ounces, Best nut price in the area)

White potates $1.29/10 lbs

Yellow onion .59/2lb

Avocados .89¢.each

Baby carrots .75¢/12 oz bag

New York brand Croutons $1.08
Tortilla strips .99¢
Use .50¢ from 11/8/s =.49 -.58¢

Scotch magic 3 pack $1.88
/
Uncle Ben’s long grain$1.66
Use $1.00/2 from 11/8/R = $2.32/2
/
Underwood meat spread $1.28
Use $1.00 from sept/AY=.28¢
/
Delgrosso spaghetti sauce .99¢

Peter Pan Peanut Butter$1.50
Use .50 Oct/Ay =$1.00
Use $1.00 Dec /AY=.50¢
Use $1.00/2 Jan/AY=$1.00
/
Mom’s best natural cereal $2.00
Use .75¢ Mom's =$1.25

Book Review: God Gave Us...

I was recently sent two books in the God Gave Us... series for children to read and review by WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group. One was God Gave Us Love and the other was God Gave Us Christmas. Both books are written by Lisa Tawn Bergren. When these books were offered to review, I jumped on it because I'm always on the look out for new books for my 2 year old daughter.

In God Gave us Love, a Grandpa Polar Bear is explaining to Little Cub (a girl) why loving is important and about how God loves us. He explains that God wants us to love everyone, even when we don't like them or want to love them. I especially like that the Grandpa explains that God loves us, that we can't ever make God not love us, and that we show others love by "being patient, gentle and kind." Near the end, the Grandpa tells Little Cub that "God loves us because He sent his son, to show us the way."

In God Gave us Christmas, a Mother Polar Bear explains to Little Cub that is wasn't Santa that gave us, but God. The Mother takes the Little Cub out on a trip to "find God" and they see His work in Northern Lights, His power in freezing water and glaciers, and Jesus when they see a bright "Morning Star." The Mother explains how God sent Jesus on the first Christmas and that Jesus came for everyone. I appreciated the simple way the author explained God and His gift for children.

Overall, these were beautiful books. They are hard bound with paper pages, one of which daughter accidentally tore. I think these books were a little old my 2 year old and probably would be perfect for a 4 or 5 year old. Although I don't tell my daughter about Santa Claus, I don't mind that they mention it in the Christmas book because they point out that God is more important and that Christmas is about Jesus. I appreciate that the author showed that we can see God's attributes all through creation and that we need to love others, even the unlovely. Although I may feel little uneasy about how some things were worded, I felt that these books were very good overall and would be excellent for beginning to teach a young one about God.

A New Habit: December

Last month, Life as Mom started a neat challenge called the Get a Good Habit Going Challenge. I was very excited about the idea, but it just didn't work out for me to do it last month, so I'm going to jump in this month! I know it's already December 2nd (wow!!) but it's not too late to state a goal or two and map out a way I hope to achieve it. There are SO MANY habits I want to change/create, but I think for sanity's sake I'll just choose 1 or 2 to baby step my way through. That way I'll I'll be more likely to actually accomplish it!

For this month I'm going to work on two main goals: Get to bed at a decent hour and Use up our pantry and freezer without buying additional supplies. I know I'll have to work on these goals in steps to make it more achievable and lasting.

I always have been a night owl. However, I notice that when I get to bed at a decent hour and get up before the girls my day seems to go much smoother and I'm a much happier Mom. Sunday night I was up until 3AM and not because I was doing anything terribly productive either. I woke up the next day when the girls did and was very tired still, which made for a long day with a short temper. This needs to change and I know it! Here's my plan of attack:

• For Week 1: get to bed by 12:30 AM and up by 8:30 AM
• For Week 2: get to bed by 12AM and up by 8AM
• For Week 3: get to bed by 11:30 AM and up by 7:30 AM
• For Week 4: get to bed by 11PM and up by 7AM

As for the freezer and pantry challenge, here's how I plan to get better at using stuff up with out going to the store (I've failed miserably in times past!):

• List out all the pre-made meals in the freezer from past freezer cooking days
• List out all the side dishes I have in my pantry
• Make out the month's dinner menu based on what we have on my sharpie calendar
  
• Make fruit smoothies for breakfasts to use up some of the frozen fruit I hand picked this summer
• Drink hot tea once a day. It's good for you and we have a TON of it!

Well, that's my plan of attack this month. Are there any good habits you're working on this month? Share them and any tips you have with us!

Freezer Cooking

I have much admiration for these ladies who do marathon baking/cooking days with small children during the day. :) I would love to join in this time around, but, alas it wasn't meant to be. My job for the next month or two is to EMPTY our freezers (chest and refrigerator unit) for the day that we'll have to move, whenever and to wherever it may be. If you'd like to see some great examples of freezer cooking, follow along with Money Saving Mom or Life as Mom (Tuesday and Wednesday) as they blog and twitter about their progress. It's very inspiring! Life as Mom has posted several posts lately about Once a Month Cooking. If this idea of OAMC intrigues you, I highly recommend checking out her helpful posts.

I'm going to be getting VERY creative in my meal planning and perhaps I'll do some posts on pantry meal planning here soon, because we have a lot of stuff to use up (much of it random bits and pieces). I know I love reading about it whenever Money Saving Mom does her pantry challenges. The plan is to not buy any groceries until everything else is used up. This'll be a serious challenge for me, mainly because I've tried it before and failed miserably. Any tips or encouragement you have would be greatly appreciated!!

New Coupons!

It's that time of the month again... new coupons at the right of my blog or here. There's some good ones this month:

$1/1 Muir Glen
$1.50/1 Keebler Wheatables
$2/1 Nivea Body Wash
$0.50/1 Starkist Pouch
$1/1 Bagel Bites
$1/2 M&M's bags (9.4 oz.)

Go check out the other ones available here before the good ones get snatched up!