Monthly Archives: March 2009

Would you like to be able to reduce your grocery budget?  How about avoid the grocery store?  Well, there is a wonderful non-profit organization called Angel Food Ministries who can help you do just this!

Here is a Angel Food Ministries description of their program:

What is Angel Food Ministries?

Angel Food Ministries is a non-profit, non-denominational organization dedicated to providing grocery relief and financial support to communities throughout the United States. The program began in 1994 with 34 families in Monroe, Georgia (between Atlanta and Athens), and has grown to serve hundreds of thousands of families every month across 35 states. Angel Food Ministries crosses denominational lines and has spread the good news of the gospel of Christ through salvation tracts that are placed in each food order.

Everyone Qualifies!

There are no qualifications, minimums, income restrictions, or applications.

Everyone is encouraged to participate.  Some churches even encourage participants to apply the money they saved to help someone else in need.

Blessings by the Box

Angel Food is available in a quantity that can fit into a medium-sized box at $30 per unit. Each month’s menu is different than the previous month and consists of both fresh and frozen items with an average retail value of approximately $60. Comparison shopping has been done across the country in various communities using a wide range of retail grocery stores and has resulted in the same food items costing from between $42 and $78.

Generally, one unit of food assists in feeding a family of four for about one week or a single senior citizen for almost a month. The food is all the same high quality one could purchase at a grocery store. There are no second-hand items, no damaged or out-dated goods, no dented cans without labels, no day-old breads and no produce that is almost too ripe.

Also offered are specialty boxes such as steaks, chicken and pork. Many participants in this bonus program appreciate the expanded choices. Additionally, there is no limit to the number of units or bonus foods an individual can receive, and there are no applications to complete or qualifications to which participants must adhere. Angel Food Ministries also participates in the U.S. Food Stamp program, using the Off-Line Food Stamp Voucher system.

It’s both a Bargain and a Blessing!

Sample Menu:
(this month’s menu can be viewed here)

• 4 lb. IQF Leg Quarters
• 4 oz. Beef Back Ribs
• 1 lb. 80/20 Lean Ground Beef
• 2 lb. Breaded Chicken Tenders
• 1.5 lb. Bone in Pork Chops (4 x 6oz.)
• 1 lb. Ground Turkey
• 18 oz. Stuffed Manicotti (Cheese)
• 12 oz. Smoked Sausage
• Betty Crocker Seasoned Potatoes
• 7 oz. Cheeseburger Dinner
• 16 oz. Green Beans
• 16 oz. Baby Carrots
• 2 lb. Onions
• 1 lb. Pinto Beans
• 1 lb. Rice
• 7 oz. Blueberry Muffin Mix
• 10 ct. Homestyle Waffles
• Dessert Item

Visit the Angel Food Ministries website to see if they have a distribution location near you!  Most distribution locations even offer online ordering (you can even use your credit or debit card!).

You can find other ideas for reducing your budget with Frugal Fridays hosted by Life as Mom.

Would you like to win $150 worth of fashion office line products?

Do you love polka-dots and stripes? If so, you might enjoy “Eye Candy.”

Or would you prefer “Simply Chic” with its black-and-white with splashes of color?

The winner will win his or her choice of the two! Lori at Just Pure Lovely is hosting this terrific giveaway.  For your chance to win one of these two beautiful lines of fashion office products, visit Just Pure Lovely and follow Lori’s directions to be able to enter the drawing four separate times!  Good luck!

Thirteen things that I enjoy:

1. Hugs and kisses from my little ones with a special affection for those that include an “I love you, Mommy”
2. Snuggling with DH in front of a fire
3. Reading books to my little ones
4. Hand-writing letters to friends and family (although, I don’t do this often enough!)
5. Watching my little ones learn new things
6. Finding (and sharing) a good deal
7. Reading a good book – I always have several books that I am reading at any given time.
8. Staying up late
9. Watching my mom get excited about something
10. Reading dessert cookbooks that contain beautiful pictures of the scrumptious desserts
11. Dancing – even if it is just bopping around the house with the kids to whatever they are willing to listen to
12. Spending time at the library.  I absolutely LOVE books!  I love to be completely surrounded by them.
13. Playing sudoku

For more lists of thirteen, visit Happy to be @ Home.

What is your definition of happiness?

When you have more than enough money to fulfill your needs?
When your soul mate smiles at you?
When your child tells you that he loves you?
When an friend calls to just to say “hi?”
When your pet cuddles with you?
When you are traveling?
When you curled up with a good book?
When you receive a hand-written letter in the mail?
When the traffic was light on the way to work?
When you nailed the presentation?

There are so many aspects of life which we can base our happiness upon. Yet, it is a choice as to what we allow to affect our moods. We all have things go wrong during our day:

We just can’t get up when the alarm buzzes the first time putting us behind for the ENTIRE DAY…
Traffic was horrid making us irritable…
The boss picks the other guy for the special project…
The kids make a mess and are fussing about everything…
Our spouse had a bad day and all household tasks are left for us to handle…
The cat threw up on the carpet AGAIN…

The list goes on and on. But are these really reasons not to be happy? Yes, they put a damper on that moment, but happiness is a state of mind. One which we have control over. We can choose to let these things bring us down for the rest of the day OR we can focus on the blessings of the situation or other blessings in our life.

Many – okay, most – of my days are rout with minor irritants that dampen my mood:

The kids don’t want to get dressed…
Now, they want to get dressed, but refuse to actually put the cloths on their bodies or let me do so…
The boys are arguing over a toy…
The house is a mess…
The ability to put DH’s dirty cloths in the hamper has eluded him – although our 2 year old and 4 year old do so without prompting…
The cat has thrown up on the carpet AGAIN…
It is five o’clock and I still haven’t even considered what to make for supper…
DH is irritable after a long day of work and traffic…
Did I mention that the cat has thrown up yet again???

But, these things are only minor nuisances. They might cause me a bit of additional work and definitely help me to develop more patience and tolerance, but they aren’t life-threatening although our attitudes can be. So, when something annoys me, I try my best – which quite often is not good enough – to remain calm and focus the blessings:

The kids are learning to assert their independence…
The boys are learning the art of negotiation…
We are blessed with an abundance of earthly things…
The boys love being Mommy’s helper and taking care of Daddy’s cloths for him…
Our purring cats…
McD’s is on DH way home from work (LOL!)…
DH comes home to be with us most every night and enjoys his work…

Happiness is a conglomeration of all of the little blessings in life that we choose to focus on.  As I continue on my journey, I work on my patience and understanding. I try not to become angered by the little ones’ blatant disobedience (most often failing). I try not to impose my expectations on others (DH) unduly. And, each night I pray that God will grant me the patience and skills to be the best mom and wife I can be. It is a blessing to know that I don’t have to be perfect!  With God’s help and my determination to try to choose to be happy as much as I can by recalling my blessings and the small joys that bring me so much pleasure instead of fixating on the nuisances, I am beginning to be a much happier person!  Please remind me of that it is up to me to remember my blessing the next time I start focusing on the negative, okay?

The birds are singing me a sweet song.
The sun is kissing my forehead from between the clouds.
The breeze is ruffling my hair.
The squeals of delight from my little ones enjoying their outdoor play is filling my heart with pure joy.
The wind is playing a melody for me as it rushes through the trees.
The squirrel even come up close to bid me good afternoon while he indulges on a lunch of peanut butter and jelly crusts.

Ah, the pleasures and beauty bestowed upon us by the natural world around us!

Join Amy for Finer Things Friday to see what is shining in others people’s worlds.

The Happy Housewife asked for ideas for date night at home. Seeing as we are living very frugally (although occasionally treat ourselves to a date that includes paying for a sitter (we don’t have any family nearby)), we have been embracing date nights at home for a while now. But, having date nights – at home or otherwise – requires more than just planning something that isn’t part of the normal doldrums. We have to keep in mind why we were “dating” each other. Our top priority in dating one another was reconnecting – sharing something that we both enjoy. The cool thing is that we can do any activity that we wish, including ones that we hate, as long as we have the correct mindset. How? Well, aren’t we marriage because we enjoy (or at least at one point in time did) our spouse? As we spend our special date nights together, we focus on seeing the blessings of each other. The things that we like about the other person. As it is human nature to dwell on the negative, sometimes I have to stop and remind myself of all of the wonderful things that DH is and does. When we are focusing on the positives in each other, our relationship is strengthen and we feel a greater depth of love for one another.

Other people have wonderful date nights that include a special dinner after the kids go to bed, but by the time we get the kids to bed, I am worn out and would rather just skip the date if I am starving and still have to get everything laid out to create the date atmosphere that is enjoyed by other couples. I wish that weren’t the case, but I just don’t have the energy for it. (Okay, and it seems to me to be more work for me – more dishes, more prettying the house up, etc. Yes, I can be very lazy!) But, we do enjoy our date nights at home. Some of the activities for a date night at home that we enjoy are:

• Playing Guitar Hero together. We both enjoy it, and as we are working as a team for a common pursuit, we have fun cheering each other on. Okay, and the occasional good-humored teasing helps us to relax a bit.
• Snuggling on the couch together while watching a good movie (one that we already own or that we borrow from the library) or television program. It is nice to just have the physical closeness without thinking about some chore that needs to be completed. We rarely take the time to sit down and watch television of any sort together as by the time the kids are in bed, we are usually trying to unwind in our own ways. So, it is special when we take the time to watch something together.
• Laying on our bed (fully clothed! – or not) and talking about our true desires and thoughts. As I said in an earlier post, there is just something comforting and intimate that allows us to talk easier while laying on our bed.
• Playing a board game together. We don’t do this nearly enough, but it is fun when we do.
• Gazing into a burning fire – either in the fireplace or on the patio in the fire pit. There is something about an open fire on a clear night that brings great peace to us both. We then share our intimate thoughts and dreams within this special cloud of tranquility.

I can’t wait to read what great ideas other people have of incorporating date night into their frugal lifestyles. We will have to try to implement some of them. And, maybe I will even plan far enough ahead that I could cook us a special date night at home dinner with some candles. But, we might just have to settle with a special dessert shared by candlelight.