Anticipation

What a week of anticipation... this week is like any other week, but there seems to be so many things we are waiting for that we could possibly get answers on this week.
Gunnar had testing this Saturday with a local police department, he did a great job, they are scoring the test now and will let him know by Wednesday if he gets to interview on the 1st.  He will also find out with his job offer will be from the company he interviewed with last week by Tuesday... Then he gets to interview with another department on Friday...  Which ever one is the one that God has chosen for us we are willing, it is just the anticipation of knowing God's will!

Along side of that I have a doctors appointment on Wednesday.  I have struggled with chronic urinary urgency for almost three years now.  This was a random illness that has been driving me crazy.  I have gone to every doctor I can think of, OB GYN, Naturopath, emotional counselor, general practitioner, specialist... you name it.  And no one can figure out what is causing my symptoms... so so frustrating.  I know that I have one or two ovarian cyst, I have had ultra sounds monitoring them, so my thought is that they are causing my symptoms.  I have wanted to get these cysts removed for a while, but I have not had insurance.  I got notice come the first of the year that my insurance WILL cover it now... so it has taken me this long to schedule appointments.  Now I just get to see if the Dr. will say this is a needed surgery.  Either way - this appointment means a lot to me and my life right now, there is only a few other things I want right now other than to feel healthy again! 

On another note, my Mother and Father in law have been living with us for the past month or two while they were in between houses, and they are moving this week.  Such a bitter sweet.  I love seeing my daughter play and have so much fun with her family, and this was such a short time it is hard to believe it is already over... we did not play enough cards for this time to be over already.

There are a few other events happening this week as well that are important to us, but I'll spare you the details!

Ok, here is just me thinking out loud.  I wonder if Jesus new how he was going to die.  We know He had a conversation with His Father, when God told him he would be sacrificed, and we know He wasn't happy about it.  But then He had to continue His course... in anticipation He waited for His death, the death that would save the whole world.  Ok, know I know my anticipation has nothing on His but maybe I can learn to wait by the way He waited... joyful and loving... full of life and hope.

Cheers - have a great week!  I am sure we will!!

Turning over a new leaf

I have to say I have not been blogging for a few specific reasons.  It is not because I do not enjoy it, but instead because I have been overwhelmed with my own personal expectation of why my blog should be like.  I had an idea of how I wanted my blog to be, then as I started following all these other amazing blogs done by amazing women on couponing, cooking, frugal living, and more I was .. well to say the least overwhelmed.  Why should I do it, if everyone else is already doing it so much better than I can??

Well.. I am not going to do it!  But I am going to blog.  I have made a few changes in my blog - from being "The Daily Kindle" it is now "My Daily Kindle" - I made this change because I need this blog for me, this is my output to see the good and wonderful things that God is doing in my life and my family's life!  I used to be a big journaler.. but now.. I guess I type more... I talk to my friends.. but to process what God is doing I need to write it down.

This blog has from the beginning inspired me to be better, be more of the woman I want to be, more of the child of God I want to be. 

To recap what I am saying - I am not going to promise anything, but I will write down my journey as I live it, and hash out my thoughts and fears about our life here... in My Daily Kindle!  Wanna join me??

Today - what is going on Today???  I just feel as if I should take the idea of wanting to feel in as if I was in "idle" out of my mind.  Not that being in idle sounds great anyways, but when you have been running full speed for three years idling does sound appealing!  For those who don't know me personally, and do not know what I am talking about here is a little timeline for you ::
2007 - move to Bend
2008 - new job - new house - school - unexpected horse injury expenses - and near the end of the year decision to bring a child in our life.
2009 - NEW CHILD - a lot of unexpected drama with our child (adoption) - and a lot of unexpected expenses - end of 2009 - Adoption finalization!
2010 - New house - unemployment - expenses....New job
2011 - New house (yes this does seem like an unfortunate pattern!) - lay off - unemployment - New Job ... great new job.... still expenses...
2012 - Great new job is shaky.... 

So my husbands recent new job that we have been truly blessed with is not so much up in the air, but is changing... not idling!  The company he works with is selling so he has a few choices, to move with the company that he currently works with or to change to the new company that bought the business.  There are also a few other variables in the picture, he has testing for a county job, and an interview...

Sometimes... actually a lot of the times I feel that there are so many things that are blessings in disguise.  I love change...  ask any of my friends... I bet there hasn't been a time in the last three months that they have come to my house and seen my furniture in the same place!  I keep moving things around in my current present life because I love the new.  I do right now... feel that God does understand my need for change, or am I anticipating the change in my life so I am changing my physical life??

There are so many things going on, and I feel like 4 years ago, I would have spent a few days alone with the Lord and had it "figured out"... how can you do that with a three year old?  I did read my bible today... it was the Storybook bible... but I did read it! :)   

So again - how many times have I changed my mind about this blog!! 

Cheers - Here is to change!!!

My next project

Here is my next project ::
Granola Bars

I will get my ingredients this weekend... wanna join me! 

Today's To-do's

This morning started off pretty slow with me organizing my daughters clothes - so so thankful for friends and family who give us hand me downs!!  Now it's nap time, I have a pumpkin cooking in the oven, and will make baked pumpkin oatmeal out of it! yummmm.
I also have dinner heating up in one crock pot and I am about to make some applesauce in another!  I love feeling productive in the kitchen!! :)

Have a great day.

Cheap Meals

Have you ever actually figured out how much your meals are per serving?  I haven't either ... yet.  I realize that some of my ingredients are expensive and the cost of some of my meals are higher than they need to be.  This is just another step to helping my grocery budget stay down. 
I would like to start a "series" of cheap meals that we can all share, meals that cost under $5.00 for your family of 4 or less.  Of course if you get your ingredients at a discount and with coupons this helps your meal cost. 

This week I am on a tight budget (as if that ever changes!  But due to my husband loosing his job and back on the job hunt I am going to really try hard).
My meals this week include  ::

Garlic roasted chicken drumsticks with potatoes and green beans.  Drumsticks I got at .99 p/lb from whole foods, potatoes from my garden, and green beans from my garden.  It calls for garlic which I also got from my garden.  This meal is REALLY cheap for me...12 drumsticks were under $3.00 and the rest free...

Roast - I going to try a new recipe that was in the whole foods september/october flyer.  My husband loves Indian food and I never cook it, so there was a recipe for a roasted Indian roast.  I have the roast from the cow we bought last year, I have cauliflower, rice from costco, and carrots from the garden.

The next night I will left over meat from the previous two nights and make tacos.

I will then have chili which consist of canned food I have, mixed together in some yummy goodness.  I will also probably make some bread to go with it.

The last night will be meatloaf and alexia sweet potato fries - another cheap meal.

Do you have any cheap meals to add????

Good morning Sunday

Todays paper had an adnormal amount of coupons in it so make sure you get a paper!  There were a few organic/natural coupons in there.  Off the top of my head there was an Alexia Sweet potato coupon, and Eggs lands best organic egg coupon.  Lots of household product coupons. 
I am working on a meal plan and will post it later.  I am going to try to make meals from my pantry this week and just buy produce this week.  Stay tuned!  I hope you all have a great Sunday!

Be still and wait

WHAT..  today I am hoping for a little Mary and a little less Martha in me!  Ever have a sudden big change in your life that makes you feel the need to fix??   Well today I did!  When stuff like this happen to me I feel the sudden need to fix it... change it... but I can fix this... or change it.  I know that I can try all I want, but this time it just doesn't feel right. 
So today I am praying for the grace and strength to sit and be still... to wait and see what our God can do! 

So here is me telling myself and today I really need an AMEN FROM YOU!!

GOD IS BIGGER THAN ME
GOD IS BIGGER THAN THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
GOD IS BIGGER THAN MY FEARS
GOD IS BIGGER THAN MY ANXIETY
GOD IS BIGGER...... THAN ALL!!

Now... can I hear that AMEN!!

Morning

Good morning - this morning my daughter and I read about Adam and Eve and how they broke the rules...  trying to relay what happened to a two year old is kind of challenging.  Then, as I ask her to play for two minutes so I can type up this blog she is pushing me to come on my lap, come stand by me, mommy come play....  I can't help to get a smile on my face and think about our relationship with God.  I want to be with that with our Father.  To constantly be asking for him... come do this with me, can I sit on your lap, can we go play... I DON'T WANT TO DO ANYTHING WITHOUT YOU!!!  I love it when my daughter teaches ME!

Have a great day I NEED to go play!!

Evening thoughts

So what I want to know is when did our thought patterns change from thinking about who we "are" to who we "aren't"... or what we have done to what we have not done???  Confused??  As I lay down at night I think about my day and unfortunately the first things that come in my mind is stuff like "I didn't switch the laundry, I responded wrongly to my husband/child, there are clothes on my floor I didn't get to, I didn't go to story time"... all of the things that I didn't do or things I did wrong.  My question is why cant I lay down at night and say stuff like "I read to my daughter today, I cooked a great dinner, I provided for my family, I spoke kind words, and I played with my kid"? 
I think that if I were to change my thought process to the things I DID to from the things I didn't do that I would DO more tomorrow because I would feel better about myself instead of feeling like I am not good enough.  Anyone else have this same problem or is it just my crazy mind???

So here is to starting a new trend. 
Today I DID ::
Read to my daughter good stories and we talked about how much the Lord has done for us.
Play in her room and let her dress up like punky brewster because it was fun.
Tickled and kissed her long enough that she laughed so hard she got the hickups.
Sat down at the table for Breakfast, lunch, and dinner with sustainable food that I know is good for our bodies.
Was a good steward with my time and money.
Relaxed.
Preserved food that will allow me to cook more yummy goodness.
Told my family I love them.

Thank you Jesus for seeing the things we DO.

Giving Him the Glory

This morning I decided to not head out of the house so quickly to story time or play group and instead sit and enjoy the morning that I am forever thankful for.  I was reading the "Story time bible" to my daughter and it was talking about God bringing Light into the Darkness.  So we did a little exercise with a dark room and a flash light. 
I love seeing the fresh new things in my daughters eyes.  When was the last time you thought about what it would be like if God didn't make Light???  It would be pretty tough to enjoy the little things in life that we so frequently take advantage of.  Like gardening, hiking, going to parks, and enjoying rays of sunlight in your kitchen window. 
Today I want to give God the glory for making the light, the sea, the mountains, the land...  God is good to us... all the time!

1 Cor 1:9
God who called you into fellowship with His son Jesus Christ our Lord is Faithful.

Preservation mode

Today I have only a few things on my To Do list... that is preserve.  I have zucchini and kale that needs to be "handled".  I have been trying to think of ways that I would most likely use the zucchini and kale after they are "preserved"  and I choose two ways.  First is bread.  I have a fabulous recipe for banana zucchini bread that I love and it works with spelt flour.  This recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of shredded zucchini.  My goal today is to make four loafs which would take 3 cups (or 1 zucchini) and freeze them.  I am also going to shred two zucchini's and freeze them so I can make bread in the future.
As for the kale... blanch and freeze... not much else I can do with it, but at least I know I will use it in smoothies, spaghetti sauce, and more!

Off to preserving!

Good morning Monday

Good morning!  My daughter and I were up and running early this morning for our music class that we had loads of fun at.

I just saw this recipe, and with my overwhelming amount of kale I thought I'd try it!!!
One Pot Kale & Quinoa

So I will deviate from my meal plan because I have all these ingredients already!  Would love to see some of your yummy new recipes!

Sunday Shopping Trip

So I do not have my receipts in front of me but all in all it was a good day.
I wanna say my best deal was Ray's... a rather expensive store, but they had mailed me good coupons so I used them!!! 
A 2lb block of Tillamook cheese, laundry soap (32 loads HE), and two rolls of paper towels for under $7.00.
My second best trip was Safeway.  They had their buy 8 mix and match sale.  If you buy 8 you get .50 off each item.
I got 8 cans of black olives (each .69)
Tullys coffee with $1.50 coupon - $5.00
Free ice cream
Organic kidney and chili beans
 and more... total under $20.00 save $27.00

Then I did Fred Meyers - Costco - and Whole Foods.  

Sundays are consumed with me and stores!   Did you get anything good today??  I am in the market for tennis shoes... for our whole family.. if you see any deals please pass them on!!

Cas

Sunday Shopping Trip

I am watching a movie working on my shopping trip tomorrow... all I need is my Sunday morning adds!  I am on a very small budget this week so it is like a challenge to get my needs into that number!  I am working on an excel spreadsheet of 6 different stores and the deals matched with my coupons. 
Here is a few....

If you are local you may have gotten mailed coupons from Ray's - This week you can get Tillamock cheese 2lb for $3.99.
Albertsons has Seattle best coffee for $6.99 - pair that with the $1.50 off coupon and it's a deal!
They also have Newman's own pasta sauce for $2.79 - paired with $1/2 coupon from their website
Safeway has Olives .79 when you buy 8 or more.  They have a deal going this week when you buy 8 of their products including their organic brand you get .50 off each product.  Tully's coffee $6.49.  Then Philli cream cheese tubs b1g1 use coupon of $1/2.
WholeFoods has Pears at .99 a lb.  and Applegate turkey on sale.

Now... to make my menu plan and shopping list... some nights I wish there was "easy" button to get it all done.

Reports on my outcome tomorrow to come!

Delicious Kale Salad

A friend of mine recently gave me this recipe, and with the amount of kale I have in my garden I was GAME to try it!  And it is DELICIOUS!!!

A bunch of Kale
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
An apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
Raisins (Cherries... anything that sounds yummy)
Pine nuts (or what you have)

Take the bunch of kale de vein it, and tear or chop it to bit size pieces.  Put in a bowl, and sprinkle the salt over the kale.  Massage - yes I said massage - for 2 - 3 minutes and watch the magic!  The kale will reduce and get moist.  Add the rest of the ingredients, toss, and enjoy!  I don't know the measurements of the raisins and pine nuts... to taste!!

Good morning

Morning!  I would love to here from you all to get some delicious recipes you have found...  I get bored with the same ol stuff and I am in a search for new recipes.  Got any you wanna share?  What about a roast recipe?  I have one defrosting in the fridge to cook this weekend and would love to try something new.  Maybe zucchini? 

I hope you all have a great day, I am going to be working on some deals and coupons today and I will post some this afternoon.

Have a great day!

Up and Running

So it has been a while since I have been consistent at making post to this blog that I so enjoy.  Well... I am back in business.  I found a great deal on a computer to replace the computer that crashed on me... which will allow me to be up and running again.

So what is new??  Well... 35 spaghetti squash in my garden ... 10 pumpkin... and several other!  I have had the opportunity this summer to start a garden that far surpassed my expectations.  Including enough kale to feed half of Bend!  Lets just say I am eating a lot of squash and kale these days!

This summer I have made strawberry, raspberry, and blueberry jam.

Next steps???  I need to find a GREAT way to preserve some of this squash!

My grocery budget is lower than ever which means that I have had to SAVE a lot with coupons, meal planning, and more.

I am going to revamp the looks of the blog and make it easy to access for good and healthy recipes, devotions, and other great sites to help you light your fire!

Night!

Time for change

I have been through a lot this year...moving...watching kids full time...watching kids part time... family in town for over a month...and so on.   And before you know it it is SEPTEMBER!!  I have no idea how time passed so quickly.
My blogging slowed down when my laptop crashed.  It has proven to be difficult to always get to the desktop to post when I have the time to post.
Well... I was able to fix that problem and will be back on action in a week!!  I am so excited!!  I have tons of yummy recipes to share with you, news on the garden, couponing tips and more.

So my request... bare with me one more week so I can get rolling again!

Enjoy your evening and let's remember those in 911 ten years ago.  God bless them.

Getting back to basics

So I just got finished reviewing my summers grocery bills.... and to say the least I have gotten lazy.  I havens to get back to the basics of grocery shopping and using my coupons.  As I was reviewing my bills I was noticing a few mistakes that have really hit me hard. 
The number one mistake I have made over the past few months is the "random" grocery store trips.  I know I had company over the summer so I was more lax than I should have been...  but I have to stop those mid week trips!
The second mistake is going to too many stores!  All though the price of one or two items maybe cheaper at another store, when I get there I don't just buy that one item... its another $50. 
So... time to revamp!  I will start posting my trips..the cost..and the coupons starting tomorrow.  Writing it down holds me accountable to myself!  Here we go!

Garlic, carrot, and potato harvest

I put my child to bed at a decent time tonight so I could do some of the "tending" my garden desperately needed.  In the midst of weeding (which was the initial plan of the evening) and being attack in my own backyard by mosquito's... I switched my purpose from weeding to harvesting!
I harvested more garlic than I can count... found some potatoes that were ready... and had a few carrots come up as a casualty!  I was amazed...I know I am a new gardener but not one thing I harvested tonight did I actually plant!  Everything was a return from last years crop.
I am off to clean and store my vegetables...  tonight I didn't even get through a quarter of the garden!  What will tomorrow bring!

Here are some pictures of todays harvest.

P.S.  earlier today I harvested about two lints of raspberries and a pint of strawberries!