Defeat the Paper Clutter

Who's ready for this one?

If you're a person, you probably have piles

and piles and piles and piles

of random paper clutter all over your house.

You might have a good idea of what is where,

but is that really where it belongs?

Doubt it!

About a year ago I got to researching the
best way to organize and maintain the paper
clutter in my house. It took a good day's worth
of organizing but I felt so relieved after.

It's about that time again.

Find a System!

I keep all of my important paperwork in this
cheap little box I got at Walmart.



One of my favorite tips from my research
last year was to keep file folders for each month,
instead of categorized by company or subject.



At the beginning of each month, I clear out that file
and start adding my new bills/papers to it as it comes.

Find a strategy that works for you, something
you can keep up with or your paper clutter will
come back for you!!!


What to keep? What to toss?

The first step to decluttering is to go through
the entire house and gather every piece of loose paper
you can find. This includes mail stuck in junk drawers,
receipts, flyers, school work, bills, menus, everything.



Keep: Birth certificates, health records, insurance policies,
passports, deeds, titles, warranty receipts, tax records for the
past 7 years, will, citizenship papers, bills for the past year,
bank statements for the past year, investment papers for the past
year, loans, anything else you think you should probably hold on to.

Organize!

Throw away the trash!

Sort your "keep" pile into their own categories depending
on how your file folder is set up.

Jot down numbers off of flyers and toss them.
Clip what you want to keep out of newspapers
or magazines and toss those.

Don't quit until every piece of paper is taken care of.


Rejoice!

You will feel so much better when it's done.
And if you have found a good system, the
next time you do this will be a lot easier!

One Month {survey}

I am almost one month into my new

blogging venture and I would like to get

some feedback from you guys!

I've had more "hits" on this blog in one

month than I ever expected.

Your support has inspired me to keep up

with my posts, try to expand my abilities

a little bit, and try new things.

When I first started this blog, I wrote about

what my goals were for it. I want to be an

inspiration to you as well.

So I created this short survey to see how I

am doing with accomplishing these goals

so far.

If you have a minute or so, please answer

these quick questions. And please be honest!

I want you to enjoy my blog as much as I do :)

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Our Bug Farm

Welcome to our farm.

Ok I know its not much, but we've got a lot going on here!

I think everyone knows about the butterfly habitat

that everyone talks about.

I snagged it on sale on Amazon a few years ago for 

around $8 and just never got around to getting it out.

We got our baby caterpillars last Saturday and

it will take a few days for them to grow and make

their cocoons.

Then we have the Sea Monkeys which was a stocking

stuffer this past Christmas. We've done Sea Monkies

before but they are cheap entertainment for the kids.

Then Santa brought Davin this ant farm which

we think is so awesome. Its called the AntWorks farm

and they have a couple different versions on Amazon.

We were so excited to get our ants and have loved

watching them build their tunnels and work together.

The habitat isn't very big though and they

filled this one up pretty quickly. Here is a pic from last

week and a pic from this morning. 

The kids are loving watching the progress of our

bug farm and learning how they each grow and live.

Some pretty cool products if you have kids!

The HMB

The HMB is one of my favorite tools!

It stands for Home Management Binder.

I created mine about 4 years ago and got the

idea from a group I was a part of on CafeMom,

back when that was cool.

It is my household guide book and is responsible

for keeping me sane on a daily basis.

 I will give you an idea of what I keep in my

personal HMB and hopefully you will be inspired

enough to make one!

I can't tell you how useful it is!

Section 1 - Monthly Planner

Monthly calendar

Weekly menus

Grocery lists

Schedules

Section 2 - Expenses

Budget sheet

Bills schedule

Debt snowball worksheet

Receipts/warranty information

Section 3 - Household

Password list

Trip packing list

Auto maintenance paperwork

Travel plans

Contracts

Section 4 - Cleaning

Daily chores

Weekly chores

Monthly chores

Spring cleaning breakdown 

Section 5 - Emergency

Info for babysitters

Family ID information

(thumbprints, recent pic, etc)

Medical consent forms

 Copies of insurance info

Home inventory w/ pictures

Evacuation plans

Section 6 - Home Projects

To-Do lists

Home wish list

Magazine cut outs, printed ideas

Garden information

That is my HMB in a nutshell. To give you a

head start on your own HMB, I designed some title

pages and added them to my Etsy store!

If you plan on making one you will need to get

a 3-ring binder, page protectors, and dividers.

"Stressed is desserts spelled backwards!"

Chili's Chicken Enchilada Soup {recipe}

This is one of my favorite recipes out of this cookbook:


I love, love, LOVE these cookbooks!

This soup is delicious and I usually make it with a side
of jalapeno and cream cheese filled crescent rolls.

I didn't take the above picture but it is
chicken enchilada soup, so I figured its close enough!

Here's the recipe.
If you make it, tell me what you think!

Chili's Chicken Enchilada Soup

Approx 12 Servings

 1 tbs vegetable oil
1 lb skinless chicken breast
1/2 cup diced onion
1 clove garlic, pressed
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup masa harina
3 cups water
1 cup enchilada sauce
16 oz box Velveeta, diced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin

1. Add 1 tbs of oil to a large pot over medium heat.
Add chicken breasts to pot and brown for 4 to 5 minutes
per side. Set chicken aside.
2. Add onion and garlic to the pot and saute over medium heat
for about 2 minutes, or until onion begins to become translucent.
Add chicken broth.
3. Combine masa harina with 2 cups of water in a medium bowl
and whisk until blended. Add masa mixture to pot with onion,
garlic and broth.
4. Add remaining water, enchilada sauce, cheese and spices to
pot and bring mixture to a boil.
5. Shred the chicken into small, bite-size pieces and add it to the pot.
Reduce heat and simmer soup for 30 to 40 minutes or until thick.
6. Serve soup in cups of bowls, and garnish with shredded cheese,
crumbled corn tortilla chips, and a spoonful of your favorite salsa.

The Customs Form

Filling out a customs form for the first time

can be kind of intimidating.

Yea, they give you instructions and have cute

little boxes to make it "easy" to fill out.

But when you have a crazy FPO/APO address to

send to, you can get lost pretty quickly. 

So I decided to share how I fill out my customs

forms when I'm sending my hubby a care package. 

Hopefully this will help some of you

sending a care package for the first time!

Step 1: From

Pretty self explanatory if you know yourself.

No need to fill out "Business" unless you're a business.

Step 2: To

The confusing part for an FPO/APO address.

Lets just say I'm sending a package to

 

Sgt Mouse, Mickey

1/2 D Co ABC Bn

Unit 12345

FPO AE 67890-1234 

Here is how I fill it out. No need to add "Country".

Step 3: Box 1-4, 8-9

For "Detailed Description" try to be as specific

as possible. I never follow their directions exactly

because I usually pack more into the box than what

fits in the spaces, so this is how I do it.

I add the estimated value of what's inside 

and the post office worker calculates the weight 

and writes that part in, I don't worry with the specifics.

Step 4: Boxes 5-7, 10-13

Box 5 mark "Gift"

Box 6 mark "Airmail"

Box 7 leave blank

Box 10 mark "Return to Sender"

Box 11 leave blank

Box 12 leave blank

Box 13 sign and date

And I leave the rest of this blank.

And thats it!! I've been through a few deployments

and my packages have always arrived, so you should

have no problem with your mail if you follow my directions!

Note: If your package weighs less than 1 lb 

you do not need a customs form!

Also, if you didn't know this already,

you can call the post office and order

a free kit of packing supplies for military

care packages. Everything from boxes, to tape

to customs forms so you can fill them out at home

instead of looking like a lost puppy at the post office!

Just call 1-800-610-8734 to request your kit!

Free Birthday Stuff!

My birthday is in TWELVE days, People!!!!!

So, naturally, I began googling what kind of

free stuff I can get for turning another year older.

I can't believe how much is out there.

After scoping a few different sites, 

I compiled a list of places where free things are

very much available.

FREE STUFF

ACE Hardware
ACE Hardware Kids Club   
Aveda
   Big Bear Mountain Resort   
Catalina Island Express
  Chicken of the Sea 

CVS
  Dave & Busters   
DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse
   Harris Teeter Market 

KMart
   Medieval Times   
Oriental Trading 

Petco 

Redbox 
Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey's Circus 

Sephora 

Smashbox 

Toys-R-Us 

ULTA Beauty
    Walmart Portrait Studio 

World Market
   

FREE FOOD

 Acapulco Mexican Restaurant and Cantina
Applebees

Arbys 

Auntie Anne's Pretzles   
Baja Fresh Mexican Grill  
Barnes and Noble Kids Club 

Baskin Robbins
    Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shop 

Benihana
BJs
Black Angus Steakhouse
Blue Bell
Bojangles
Boston Market
Breuggers
Bubba Gump's for Kids
Buffalo Wild Wings
Burger King
California Pizza Kitchen
Carraba's Italian Grill
Carrows
Chili's
Chuck E Cheese
Claim Jumper
Coldstone
Culver's
Dairy Queen
Daphne's California Greek
Del Taco
Denny's
Dunkin' Donuts
Einstein Bros Bagels
El Torito
Famous Daves Bar-B-Que
Fuddruckers
Golden Spoon Yogurt
Hometown Buffet
Hooters
IHOP
Islands Fine Burgers & Drinks
Jack in the Box
Jersey Mike's Subs
Johnny Rockets
Juice It Up 

Krispy Kreme
Logan's Roadhouse
Macaroni Grill
Marie Calendar's
Melting Pot
Mimi's Cafe
The Old Spaghetti Factory
On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina
Orange Julius 

Outback Steakhouse
P.F. Chang's
Panera Bread
Quiznos
Rainforest Cafe
Raising Cane's
Red Lobster
Red Robin
Rubio's Fresh Mexican
Ruby Tuesday
Schlotzsky's
Shakey's
Sizzler
Sonic
Sprinkles Cupcakes
Starbucks
TCBY
TGI Friday's
Taco Johns

Texas Roadhouse 

Waffle House

Wendy's
    Wienerschnitzel 

Wingstop
   

Ok this took me a long time to make

so please let me know if any of the links

do not work, enjoy!

Big News :)

Soooo this may be a little ambitious,

but I decided to join the world of ETSY!

Why not try to make a couple bucks for my family?

I figured it was worth a shot.

I'm big on printables.

I love lists and organizers and all that fun stuff.

So I figured, why not.

I decided to mess around and see if I could 

design some cute little pages, and I did!

I'm proud of them :)

There are only two but check them out!!!

My Etsy Shop

I plan on creating a bunch more and working

on my design skills and making cute, happy, fun pages

for my little mamas to use and simplify their lives.

Keep an eye out for new items!
There will be a lot more coming soon!

Get Healthy Pt 5

I find it highly ironic that I get sick 

the same week I do a Get Healthy series.

My kids and I have all caught something.

We've been pretty miserable all day with

body aches, head aches, sore throats, and coughing.

Bad News: I'm supposed to do my sit ups tonight

and I don't think thats going to happen.

Good News: I've been drinking a lot

of water and no energy drinks!

Part 5 of my challenge is

Walk at least two times in the next week.

I can't say much more about it!
Get walking. Outside, at the mall, on a treadmill.

Get Healthy Pt 4

I failedddddd today.

I got tempted into a 16oz Red Bull.

My best friend was like "Hey, you should go get us some Red Bull."

And I was like "Alright."

Bad.

Bad.

Bad.

But I can still keep away from them for the

next few days and feel good about it.

Except we're going bowling Saturday.

And I always want nachos.

And when you give a Kelly some nachos,

she's gonna want some soda.

:(

On the plus side I did buy only whole grains today! Yay!

Anyway, part 4 of this whole challenge is

Schedule a doctor appointment.

That's my doctor.

He's so nice.

So is this weird?

To make it a goal to schedule a doctor appointment?

Or is this typical for a busy mom?

It's been years since I've seen a dentist.

I don't even remember the last time I went to an eye doctor.

I should probably go get a flu shot.

Tomorrow I will schedule myself an appointment

to take care of one of those situations.

I really need glasses again.

And I really need to go to the dentist.

Ok maybe I'll be an overachiever and schedule two appointments.

That'll make up for that Red Bull earlier, right?

Get Healthy Pt 2 & 3

I bailed on my post last night.
I'm sorry.

So I'm gonna make double post tonight. 

So far kinda good in my health challenge.

I did good without soda or red bull until today...

and I went to a friend's house....

and my kids proceeded to literally split her daughter's

bed in half from jumping on it.....

Yea, that warranted half a cup of Dr. Pepper.

Other than that it's been water and coffee if I need the caffeine!

Part deux of this challenge is

Switch to whole grains.

I'm a typical American and I love my refined grains.

But for one week I'm going to try to change

that as much as I can.

I go grocery shopping tomorrow so whole

grain products will be my number 1 goal.

Just a little extra something to help my body get a little healthier.

 So I will be eating ONLY whole grains until (at least) January 23, 2013.

Hopefully longer.

Read this article if you need more convincing:

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=55832

Part three?

Three meatless dinners a week.

I have lots of vegetarian and vegan friends

and although I love my cheeseburgers, I know there are

plenty of delicious meatless meals I can make.

It won't only help your grocery budget but eating
meatless a couple times a week means you'll be
consuming less calories, cholesterol and saturated fat.
If you're making wise "meatless" decisions you will
also be increasing your intake of important vitamins and minerals.

Now I want to commit to three meatless dinners a week.
I've also heard of only eating meat on weekends.
And there's always Meatless Mondays.
So at least three meatless dinners in the next week is my goal.

I guess these two challenges go hand in hand.
I have no shame in admitting that our diet can use a little help.
Especially right now since we are prone to "deployment food".
It's always fun going to the commissary and knowing
who's husbands are deployed just by looking at their cart.

It's also Wednesday which means I will be doing my 

200 Sit Up Challenge tonight :)

Get Healthy Pt 1

I'm posting this for everyone, but mostly for myself.

I really need to work on being healthier.

Especially during deployment, we eat like crap.

So I made up a small little challenge.

I'm only challenging myself to a week of changes

but hopefully after 1 week I'll want to turn it into 2,

and then 3, 4, 5....

One of my guiltiest pleasures is SODA and RED BULL.

I'm horrible with it, especially Red Bull.

So I'm challenging myself to a week without either.

(Starting right after I finish this Red Bull lol)

I need to drink more water.

I want to drink more water with lemon.

I posted this on my last site but here is a hydration calculator

that estimates how much water you should be drinking

on a daily basis.

 http://nutrition.about.com/library/blwatercalculator.htm

Here's one of my favorite pictures to motivate me

to drink more water...

 

Here's an article about the benefits of drinking water with lemon...

http://cajunlicious.com/2012/05/18/10-health-benefits-of-lemon-water/

So who's with me??? No soda or energy drinks until January 21, 2013.

Also consider doing the 200 Sit Ups Challenge 

Monday is the perfect day to start.

I'm on week 2!

My 5 Purse Must-Haves

There are a couple things I have to have in my purse at all times!

NO EXCUSES.

If I don't have these things readily available,

I get a little nervous.

And then I started wondering if everybody

has this little quirk. If most people have a

few things they just can't go anywhere without.

Besides your cell phone.

That ones a given.

So here are my 5 MUST HAVES for my purse...

Chapstick

I freaking hate chapped lips.

If my lips are chapped and I don't have any chapstick,

I go a little crazy.

There is only one kind of chapstick I use though.

Carmex Click Stick, preferably cherry :)

A Couple Dollars

This is mainly because I shop at the commissary.

At the commissary, they have baggers who work

for tips only. I always feel bad when I don't have

at least a dollar to throw in their tip jar. I've gotten

better at making sure I have a couple dollars on me

at all times.

A Small Mirror

Ok I always have to check myself in a mirror.

How embarrassing to have something in your

teeth or on your face out in public? 

I remember as a teenager my dad put a little 

mirror in the visor of his work truck just for me lol!

Hand Sanitizer

Ugh public areas are so gross. I can't help but

get grossed out after putting gas in my car, using

an ATM or pushing a grocery cart. I use hand

sanitizer a lot for me and the kids. And then we 

always wash our hands when we get home!

Bandaids

Honestly, how many people carry bandaids?

I got this idea from my mom when we were

out in public somewhere and one of my kids

got hurt and she pulled a bandaid out of her purse.

What a great idea, especially when you have little

clumsy kids! I always make sure I have 3 or 4

bandaids in my wallet.

 

I know we aren't all "purse people" but does anyone else 

have any must-haves on them at all times?

By the way, isn't this little coin purse adorable?
I found it on thinkpinkribbon.com.

It's out of stock but they have tons of other stuff

and part of proceeds go to breast cancer research.

My Cleaning Schedule

 I'm one of those people who likes lists. I like schedules

and I like having a piece of paper telling me what to do.

A few years ago, after having my second baby, I 

realized I had no idea how to keep my house clean.

I felt like it was always messy. And not just normal

messy, I mean gross. Dishes in the sink, toilets that 

needed to be scrubbed. Forget about cleaning the showers,

who has time for that?

I started working on a schedule to follow.

I wanted something where I could do a little bit each

day without feeling overwhelmed, but making sure

that it all got done.

It took a few tweaks here and there as I figured out

what worked best for me, but I finally came up with

the winning product and I've been pretty good about

following it ever since.

Monday

Clean out the fridge

Throw away old food, wipe down the shelves.

Tuesday

Bathrooms

Completely clean both bathrooms from top to bottom.

Change towels, empty trash.

Wednesday

Laundry

All of it, no excuses. Washed, dried, folded, put away.

Thursday

Floors

Vacuum and mop the entire house.

Friday

Car and Purse

Yes I have to schedule to clean out my purse.
That's how bad I am with it!

On top of these I do daily rounds of making the beds,

casual pick up, and rotating the dishes.

And by the way, some of my favorite cleaning products are...

For more cleaning inspiration check out http://www.flylady.net/

or my cleaning board on Pinterest http://pinterest.com/kellymaeblog/clean-love/

101 in 1001

If you were following my previous personal blog

then you should already be familiar with the 101 in 1001 list.

I'm transferring my list over here in hopes of 

inspiring some of you to make your own.

And if you do, I want to see it.

And if you already have it, I want to see it updated!

I think goals are healthy for the soul.

The purpose of the list is to create 101 goals you'd like

to accomplish in 1,001 days. Your goals can be whatever

you wish. The idea is to get you motivated to complete them.

Check out dayzeroproject.com for more information.

START DATE: July 2, 2012

END DATE: March 30, 2015

UPDATED: June 7, 2013

ME
1. Get a passport
2. Spend a week without the tv
3. Start school
4. Create a living will
5. Buy 5 sets of matching underwear
6. Go to the eye doctor and get glasses again
7. Become more involved with the battalion
8. Figure out how to get my hair to curl
9. Get a pedicure once a month for 6 months (0/6)
10. Purchase 10 complete outfits to add to my wardrobe (2/10)
11. Make regular dentist appointments
12. Spend a weekend with just my sister
13. Actually do something for my birthday
14. Find someone good to do my eyebrows
15. Start a journal

HOME
16. Get all my pictures into albums
17. Get home videos on DVDs
18. Redecorate the kid's bedrooms
19. Buy new bedding for our bed.
20. Organize all our important documents and make copies for safety deposit box.
21. Get my bathtub fixed and take a bath
22. Start composting
23. Stock the freezer with meals and staples
24. Organize the laundry room.
25. Get all my kid's pictures on the wall
26. Organize craft cupboard

HEALTH
27. Start a regular exercise routine
28. Do yoga
29. Complete the 200 situps challenge
30. Have 1 soda-free week a month (4/30)

MARRIAGE
31. Take a vacation with my husband (no kids) Vegas! Nov 2012
32. Have a date night once a paycheck (3)
33. Have a dinner date with my husband on the back patio after the kids go to bed
34. Write a letter to my husband every day that he is deployed
35. Attend a marriage workshop on base September 12, 2012
36. Get a couples massage

MONEY
37. Buy a lottery ticket
38. Pay off credit cards
39. Save $1 for every task completed on this list. (0/101)
40. Put $1,000 in savings (1,000/1,000)
41. Only buy necessities for one paycheck, save the rest
42. Support 10 friends in their small businesses (1/10)
43. Work on building a credit score
44. Contribute $100 to each of my kids college funds
45. Cash all of our loose change and add it to our savings
46. Donate to 5 friends who are fundraising (1/5)
47. Subscribe to LA Times for coupons
48. Save $500 using coupons (83.85/500)
49. Recruit 2 Scentsy consultants (1/2)
50. Earn $1,000 in Scentsy sales (1,221.04/1,000)

KIDS
51. Homeschool successfully for 1 school year
52. Write a letter for each of my kids
53. Hire a regular babysitter July 15, 2012
54. Take the kids to a drive in movie Brave and Madagascar 3 :)
55. Take the kids to play in the snow
56. Make dentist appointments for the kids October 11, 2012

EXPERIENCE
57. See a live comic show Daniel Tosh Nov 2012
58. Try 5 new local restaurants (3/5)
59. Shoot a gun
60. Learn how to BBQ
61. Eat sushi October 3, 2012
62. Learn how to crochet
63. Learn how to cut Andrew's hair.
64. Try 5 different wines (5/5)
65. Learn how to change a tire.
66. Go ice skating
67. Catch a fish.
68. See a show at the Old Globe theater in San Diego

TRAVEL
69. Visit a state I haven't been to yet
70. Visit my family in Wisconsin
71. Visit Andrew's grandpa in Florida
72. Visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter
73. Buy a travel trailer
74. Fly first class

FOR OTHERS
75. Leave a 100% tip
76. Send my mom flowers just because
77. Send my Grandma flowers just because
78. Leave inspiring notes in 5 random locations (0/5)
79. Write a letter to someone who taught me something valuable in life
80. Volunteer at the animal shelter
81. Buy reusable grocery bags and use them
82. Do another "giving back" project for my high school.
83. Sponsor a child
84. E-mail a nice letter to 5 companies I enjoy (0/5)
85. Anonymously leave money for someone in need
86. Hand out 5 Blessing Bags to homeless (0/5)
87. Make holiday treats for my neighbors
88. Take flowers to our family members at Rosecrans National Cemetery

FUN
89. Make a quilt
90. Get family pictures done
91. Read 25 books (5/25)
92. Throw a fiesta
93. Answer 50 questions that will free your mind
94. Color an entire coloring book
95. Collect my favorite Dr Seuss movies
96. Open a cookbook to a random page and make the recipe
97. Throw a superbowl party
98. Go to Legoland
99. Host a murder mystery party
100. Finish an entire puzzle book
101. Go on every ride at Disneyland

Relationship Rescue

Marriage. Oh lovely marriage.

It can be so rewarding at times.

And other times you're like fdaslfyeufankfjdafh.

I'm definitely not an expert at marriage (did you know that?)
But I do know what has helped in my marriage.

Maybe it could help you too.

Dr. Phil's Relationship Rescue

I would highly recommend this to anybody in a 

long term relationship, whether there are troubles or not.

 We've been married for almost 7 years and no counselor, article, 

book, pamphlet, workshop, relative or friend has helped our marriage

the way this book has.

For a sample of what you get with this book,

you can take the Relationship Health Profile Test HERE

You will ask yourself questions you never thought to ask.

You will learn more about yourself than you even want to know.

You'll get mad at yourself, you'll have epiphanies, you'll

even feel sorry for your partner at times. 

But then things will start clicking 

and all of a sudden you'll realize exactly how a 

marriage is supposed to be and how to make it that way.

At least that's what happened to us.

The way I feel about it is we all go into marriage completely

in the dark. No one tells us how to be married or how to spend the

rest of your life coexisting with another human being 

in almost every aspect of your life. 

Things get off course, you don't know what to do, you don't

know what went wrong or how to fix it. Next thing you know

you're getting a divorce.

After this book, I truly feel like I know how to be married.

We read the book together and then each had our own 

workbook. We agreed we would only share our answers 

if we wanted to. That way we could be completely open

and honest with ourselves during this process.

Try it for yourself and let me know what you think!

Our Homeschooling Space

Today is our first day back at "school" after winter break.

For those that don't know, I homeschool our 5 year old.

I figured I would give it a try during her Kindergarten year

and if it didn't work out, I would enroll her for 1st grade.

Well we are LOVING it!

I absolutely love working with her every morning,

seeing her progress, witnessing her passion for learning.

I made up my own curriculum for this year

which has been really fun. I think I will post it

another day for anyone else who might want to use it.

We don't have much space in our little four bedroom

base house, but we utilize a small corner for our homeschooling.

 

I got the awesome calendar off of Amazon. The file holder as well.

  We have one file for each day of the week. I try to get our weeks

worth of lessons put into the files on Sunday nights. This system has

worked pretty well for us and its nice that it doesn't take up any room.

I snagged this desk off of a local yard sale site for $20. 

Its the PERFECT size for Kayden. To the left is a box where

I keep all of her completed work. The drawers on right hold my

mommy folder with all my lesson plans, construction paper, and

any other miscellaneous items we use such as math counters and flash cards.

It's not much, but we don't need much. I do have fantasies of a 

gorgeous colorful homeschooling room some day. But with only one

school-aged kid, this is good for now :)

PS. Don't forget to start the 200 Sit Ups Challenge!

I would do the initial test today, and start Day 1 on Wednesday.

200 Sit Up Challenge

www.twohundredsitups.com

 

I've been trying to complete this program for years.

I've never been successful but I've gotten pretty close.

The claim is that anyone, no matter what shape you're in,

will successfully be able to do 200 sit ups by the end of six weeks.

You start by taking an initial test to see how many consecutive

sit ups you can already do. This determines your place in the program.

Then you follow the directions on the site to figure out which

plan fits your abilities. You can also log your workouts 

and track your progress.

It is pretty simple to figure out and its even easier with 

their phone app, which includes a reminder so you don't forget!

(my downfall)

If you really need some accountability, you can use the site

to post your progress on Facebook for the whole world to see.

I have a goal to officially complete this challenge.

Starting Monday...lol

Who's with me?

Chicken Croissants {recipe}

This used to be one of my favorite dishes my mom

would make when I was a kid. 

She has it in some old cookbook and I don't remember

the exact recipe, but this is how I make it.

Simple and yummy!

Makes 8

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts cubed and cooked

4 oz cream cheese, softened

2 tbs of butter, softened

1/4 cup of onion or green onion
Salt and pepper

2 packages of refrigerated crescent rolls 

(the ones in a tube that explode when you're opening them)
Another tbs of butter and some seasoned bread crumbs for topping.

1. Preheat the oven to 350.

2. Mix chicken, cream cheese, butter, onion, salt and pepper

in a bowl and mix thoroughly.

3. Unwrap your crescent rolls but leave them in rectangles

and pinch the diagonal seam together to seal.

4. Scoop the filling into the center and 

fold each corner up and pinch together to secure.

5. Brush some melted butter on top and sprinkle bread crumbs.

 6. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for about 20 minutes 

until they look toasty and delicious!

The End

Do recipes say "The End"?

Oh well.

Snowball Your Debt

I am, by no means, an expert at money.

I warned you from the start, I'm not an expert in anything.

I just know what works for me and want to share with you!

While hubby is deployed, I have a goal to pay off our credit card debt.

I've seen this snowball method mentioned here and there

and decided I would give it a try.

I really like it. 

Its kind of fun. 

lol

There are two ways you could do it:

Pay off your highest percentage rate first.
{Most effective option for your money}

Pay off your lowest balance first.

{Most rewarding and motivating option}

I chose to go with the highest percentage rate first since I'm

already pretty motivated and I want to do what's best for my money.

I created a chart similar to this one to keep track.

Note: This is not my actual financial information, I just made it as an example!

 

I listed the cards from highest interest rate to lowest interest rate.

This will be the order in which I pay them off.

After you make your chart, HIDE YOUR CARDS!!!

Cut them up.

Burn them.

Put them in a safe.

Put them somewhere where you will NOT have easy access to them.

This will not be effective if you continue using your cards in the process.

 Ok, now that you don't have any cards to use, this is how you pay them off...

Say you have $400/mo to dedicate towards your cards.

Pay ONLY the minimum payment on all the cards except the one you are paying off.

Using the example above:

Pay Capital One: $50

Pay Target: $15
Pay Chase: $40

and you have $295 left to pay Visa.

Continue making payments this way until Visa is paid off.

Then snowball it to the next card:

Pay Target: $15

Pay Chase: $40

and you have $345 left to pay Capital One.

And so on and so forth until you have reached financial freedom. 

Sounds good right?

I love using mint.com to keep track of my expenses. 

I just thought I'd throw that out there.

It feels a little risky at first, putting all your financial info into one website.

But I know this website is highly recommended and secure.

I hope this helps at least one person out there :)

Deployment Countdown

Today marks one month since Daddy deployed!!!

We are ecstatic and are going out for ice cream to celebrate our accomplishment.

I think its so important to do something with your

kids to help countdown a deployment. 

 

This time, I made an ice cream cone with six scoops for the six

months Daddy will be away. For every month we will remove

a scoop and go out for ice cream!

Last year we colored a pizza and had a pizza party every month.

 

I also love the idea of giving the kids a "Kiss From Daddy" every day.

When the jar is gone, Daddy will be home!

This countdown I found at Etsy is adorable!!

For myself, I keep the DoingTime app on my phone.

I like the visual of the pie chart.

Here's to the New Year and many Daddies returning home!