Go big or go home.

I've always heard the phrase, "Go big or go home."  I guess this is the year for me to do that.  Even though I'm not Catholic or Lutheran, I've always tried to give up something for Lent.  I guess it stems from my extended family all being Catholic and having grown up around people who observe Lent. 


For those of you who aren't familiar with Lent, according to Wikipedia, it is, "he Christian observance of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday....The traditional purpose of Lent is the penitential preparation of the believer – through prayer, penance, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial.....During Lenten season, some faithful observants generally commit to a form of fasting or (temporarily) give up certain types of luxury."  Lent is about 40 days long, though some churches exclude Sundays (so you don't have to deny yourself on that day) and some include it which makes it longer than 40 days.  Also, I know that many that observe Lent also give up meat on Fridays (only eat fish/seafood) but because I love seafood, this has never been a sacrifice for me and not something I typically observe.  


For me, since I observe Lent on my own and not through my church, it has always been a time for me to give up something that is taking a lot of my attention and focus that attention on reading my Bible, praying and remembering the sacrifice that Jesus made for me on the cross.   Whenever I think of that item or desire it, I redirect my focus towards Christ.  

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This year, it's going to be big for me.  There are a couple things in my life that I know aren't healthy for me and have become a higher importance in my life than what I would like.  I don't want to brag or make a bigger deal than it actually is, but I just want to say that this year is going to be tough for me.  It will definitely cause me to focus and rely on Christ more in order to last the 40 days.  I'll probably mention it a few times over the next 40 days, but I'll post at the end of the 40 days and let you know how it went this year.


So, I guess the point of this post is to encourage you to consider doing something for Lent this year, even if it's not something you have ever done before.  Your church doesn't have to  celebrate Lent in order for it to have an impact on your spiritual journey.  Lent starts this Wednesday, February 22, so you still have a couple days to decided if you want to participate and what you will sacrifice. 

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The Dave Ramsey Plan...how we survived!

Just about 1 year ago, we became debt free except for our mortgage.  It was such an exciting thing for us and totally a life-changer, so I thought I would share our journey with you.

It all started almost 10 years ago.  Steve and I met, fell in love, got married and within a couple months went out and bought a brand new car.  Steve had already purchased a house shortly before we met, so we already had a mortgage (a small one, because the house was tiny!)...what a better way to start out our marriage than by getting into debt?  Of course we got an awesome deal of around $18,000 for a CAR...but it was at 0% interest rate and the payments were affordable.  Then, I bought our wonderful Kirby sweeper. Now, I do love the thing and it works great, but it was like $1200 and we put it on financing...we had the cash, but it was at 0% interest for like 9 months, so we paid it off right before the first payment was due.  And then, we bought a washer and dryer...and you guessed it, 0% interest for a short period and we took advantage of the great offer and financed it again.

Then we decided we needed a bigger house.  Ok, so it was more me that Steve.  Because he had purchased the house on his own, it wasn't in a location I would have chosen, it wasn't the style of house I would have chosen, and we could afford more of a house, so why not?!  It took us almost 2 years to sell the stupid thing, but we finally got out and just about broke even.  I think we maybe made $500, which we put to paying the bill for storing our stuff while we looked for our bigger and better house.  We finally decided to pay a little more than we initially wanted to get a bigger, better house than we originally thought.  So, we stretched ourselves a little, but not too much because we were both working.  Our payment was about 25% of our take-home pay, so definitely still in the conservative category.

We had some cash savings, but instead of using that for a down payment we got creative with our financing and financed the entire house and used our savings for a fence for the yard, new appliances (and not the cheap ones, either), some new furniture to fill up the new house, you get the picture.  About a year after we moved in, we decided we also needed a newer vehicle.  Mine was literally falling apart and was still my car that I had from high school.  But, we decided we needed an SUV and we also needed a car payment to make it happen.

Everything we did from the time we were married (even before) to about 2007 was just living the normal American lifestyle.  It wasn't until we were pregnant with our first child that we really thought about what we were doing with our money.

My mom was (and still is!) a stay-at-home mom.  I am the oldest, and my youngest sister is still in high school.  I'm grateful that my mom was able to stay at home and care for us, but I always thought I would be bored and didn't ever want to stay at home full-time.  I thought that I would like to work at least part-time so I could keep my sanity.  But then I got pregnant and everything started to change.  I couldn't imagine leaving my precious baby with someone else all day or even part of the day.  But there was a problem.  We had too many expenses each month for the amount of money my husband brought home.  Almost enough, but not quite.  The difference?  The stupid $315 car payment for our lovely SUV.  I wasn't going to let that come between me staying home or working, so we promptly started chucking $1000 payments towards the thing.  I was able to stay home with my son for the entire 12 week leave that I was allowed to take (but it wasn't all paid!) but then I had to go back to work for 6 months until we could get the vehicle paid off and I didn't have to work anymore.  We paid the car off on a Friday and I turned in my 2 weeks notice that Monday.  I loved my job, but with having kids, suddenly priorities shifted.

As I said, my husband could now cover all of the expenses with his income.  Except that our house payment was about 50% of our income now.  My income was just slightly under 50% of our household income, so while we could do it, there was no breathing room at all.  Finally, in 2009 after reading about this Dave Ramsey guy on a lot of the blogs I followed, I decided my new year's goal was to find out more about him and do the Financial Peace University course.  Because we had baby #2 on the way and I was scared.

So, early in 2009, we had a chance to do the FPU course for the first time at our church and it was a life-changer.  While we lived within our means before and had only once carried a credit card balance (our first Christmas together), we realized that we didn't have a plan.  And without a plan, it seemed like our bank account was always teetering towards $0 and that we would never get ahead.

So, during the course, we got our act together, wrote everything down in a budget, and made a plan for the future.  Our debt snowball was pretty easy...only one item that we put on it.  The 20% portion of our mortgage (which wasn't exactly 20%, but it was what the loan officer told us to do).  Technically it was over 50% of our annual income, so it should have been put in Baby Step #6 (mortgage) instead of #2 (debt snowball), but we didn't have any breathing room and needed to knock it out in order to make it.

So we ATTACKED it with a vengeance as Dave Ramsey likes to say.  From around April 2009 - January 2011, we had baby #2 and we paid off our 2nd mortgage!  WE'RE DEBT FREE!  It was amazing how much extra money we found in our budget when we wrote everything down, stopped making those small impulse purchases that added up to hundreds of dollars, and cut our lifestyle for that time in order to get ahead.  I mean, we didn't make any extra money during that 20 month stretch (Steve didn't get any raises) but yet we were able to find extra thousands of dollars to chuck directly towards the principal on the mortgage.  It.was.awesome.  It was also a lot of hard work, sacrifice and tears, but totally all worth it.

So, from now on, whenever our house buys a new car, takes a vacation, or buys Christmas presents, you can be sure that we paid cash for it :)  Because we will never again be "slave to the lender."  We  do have our main mortgage still, but we chuck extra money at that every month and have a goal of paying it off in 8-10 years max. Because being debt-free is worth it.

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New Year's Resolutions and Goals

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I've always enjoyed making resolutions for the new year.  Although, my resolutions aren't just things I want to do (or don't want to do).  I try to make my resolutions be real goals.  I'm a big fan of Dave Ramsey, and he helps people set goals on his radio talk show all the time.  According to Dave, "For a goal to work, it has to have five components.  It must:

1. Be specific
2. Be measurable
3. Have a time limit
4. Be yours
5. Be in writing

I'm not sure if Dave actually came up with this list...I would guess not.  You can hear him talk about goals by going here.  It seems simple, but most people who set new years goals just say something like, "I want to lose weight".  It's a great thought, but it's not actually a goal.  I guess if you lost one pound during the following year you would have achieved your "goal" but it's not a very good goal because it doesn't have the five components.  

In addition to the five components, I also like to make goals for different areas of my life.  I like to make spiritual goals, health/body goals, financial goals, family goals and business goals.  You could also have reading goals, education goals, marriage goals, etc.  I like making categories because it makes my life seem a little more balanced.

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So why am I writing about New Year's goals mid-December?  Because now is the time to start thinking about them.  What do you want to accomplish next year?  I'm a planner, so I like to start coming up with my goals and a plan to meet these goals before the year begins.  While some people can come up with their resolutions in a few seconds before the clock strikes midnight, I think those are typically the people who don't achieve their goals.  So start thinking now about what you want to accomplish in 2012.  Make sure they meet the 5 components, and then set a plan to achieve those goals!

Need some help keeping your goals?  Here are some links to pretty ways to keep your goals where you can see them!

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Recipes to take to someone

As most of you know, I had a baby a couple months ago. She was baby #3, which meant that my schedule suddenly got even more hectic. Fortunately, I belong to a WONDERFUL group of moms and they came to the rescue! They brought me meals every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for THREE ENTIRE WEEKS! Did I mention that I LOVE my MOMS club?

Because this was baby #3, I think most people thought I had everything under control and would be fine, because nobody else brought me meals this time around except my wonderful next door neighbor. But this was probably the hardest post-pregnancy time I've had. Because not only are my boys constantly on the move, but it's taken a lot longer this time around for my body to recover from c-section #3. Have I mentioned how much my MOMS Club rocks?!

Anyway, I wanted to share the recipes of what people brought me. Because all the meals were good, none of them were repeats, and some of them were different than your usual casserole (not that those are bad!) and I know that the hardest part for me in taking a meal to someone is actually deciding on what to take.

Enjoy this list, and I hope it inspires you next time you would like to take a meal to someone.

Recipe #1
Creamy Baked Ziti

what you need

4 cups ziti pasta, uncooked
1 jar (26 oz.) marinara sauce
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
6 oz. (3/4 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed
3/4 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream
1 pkg. (8 oz.) KRAFT Shredded Mozzarella Cheese with a TOUCH OF PHILADELPHIA
1/3 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

make it

HEAT oven to 375ºF.

COOK pasta in large saucepan as directed on package, omitting salt. Remove from pan; drain. Meanwhile, add marinara sauce, tomatoes and cream cheese to same pan; cook on medium heat 5 min. or until cream cheese is melted and mixture is well blended, stirring frequently. Return pasta to pan; mix well.

LAYER half the pasta mixture in 13x9-inch baking dish; cover with layers of sour cream, 1 cup mozzarella and remaining pasta mixture. Top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan.

BAKE 20 min. or until heated through.


Recipe #2
Southwest Chicken Salad

what you need 

1 bag salad mix
Various favorite veggies (peeled and chopped cucumber, carrots, cherry tomatoes)
1 can or 1 and 1/2 cups frozen corn, drained or thawed
1 can black beans, drained
Tyson or Kroger brand fried chicken fritter style, baked according to directions then cut into small pieces
sharp cheddar cheese- use as much as you like
Santa Fe style tortilla strips (usually found near the salad section at the store)- as a topper

make it 

layer all ingredients in listed order. This is good with southwest ranch dressing or regular ranch mixed with salsa (1:1 ratio)!


Recipe #3
Simply Lasagna

what you need

1 lb. ground beef
2-1/2 cups KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese, divided
1 container (15 oz.) POLLY-O Natural Part Skim Ricotta Cheese
1/2 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 egg, beaten
1 jar (24 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1 cup water
12 lasagna noodles, uncooked

make it

HEAT oven to 350°F.

BROWN meat in large skillet on medium-high heat. Meanwhile, mix 1-1/4 cups mozzarella, ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan, parsley and egg until well blended; set aside.

DRAIN meat; return to skillet. Stir in spaghetti sauce. Add 1 cup water to empty sauce jar; cover with lid and shake well. Add to meat mixture; stir until well blended. Spread 1 cup meat sauce onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish; top with layers of 3 lasagna noodles, 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture and 1 cup meat sauce. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining noodles, meat sauce and cheeses. Cover with foil sprayed with cooking spray.

BAKE 1 hour or until heated through, removing foil after 45 min. Let stand 15 min. before cutting to serve.


Recipe #4
Barbecue Pork and Penne Skillet Recipe

what you need 

1 package (16 ounces) penne pasta
1 cup chopped sweet red pepper
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 carton (18 ounces) refrigerated fully cooked barbecued shredded pork
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes with mild green chilies, undrained
1/2 cup beef broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped green onions

make it 

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute red pepper and onion in butter and oil until tender.

Add garlic; saute 1 minute longer. Stir in the pork, tomatoes, broth, cumin, pepper and salt; heat through.

Drain pasta. Add pasta and cheese to pork mixture. Sprinkle with green onions.


Recipe #5
Fannie Farmer's Classic Baked Macaroni & Cheese


what you need

1 (8 ounce) packages macaroni
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 cup cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
fresh ground black pepper, to taste
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded good quality
1/2 cup breadcrumbs, buttered

make it

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Cook and drain macaroni according to package directions; set aside.
3. In a large saucepan melt butter.
4. Add flour mixed with salt and pepper, using a whisk to stir until well blended.
5. Pour milk and cream in gradually; stirring constantly.
6. Bring to boiling point and boil 2 minutes (stirring constantly).
7. Reduce heat and cook (stirring constantly) 10 minutes.
8. Add shredded cheddar little by little and simmer an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese melts.
9. Turn off flame.
10. Add macaroni to the saucepan and toss to coat with the cheese sauce.
11. Transfer macaroni to a buttered baking dish.
12. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Bake 20 minutes until the top is golden brown.

(You can also freeze this recipe in zip-lock bags for later use - once you have mixed the macaroni along with the cheese sauce allow to cool to room temperature before adding to your freezer - I generally pull it out the night before and allow macaroni and cheese to reach room temperature; I then add the macaroni and cheese to a buttered baking dish, sprinkle with bread crumbs and then bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until golden brown on top and bubbling.


Recipe #6
Southwestern Taco Pot Pie

what you need

1 pound lean ground beef
1 (1.25-ounce) package Taco Seasoning Mix
1 tablespoon oil
1/3 cup water
1 (1-pound) package frozen green, red and yellow peppers and onions*
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 (11-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1/2 cup salsa
1 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on package
8 ounces (2 cups) shredded cheese recommended: Colby/Monterey blend or Mexican blend
Garnish:
Sour cream
Taco Sauce

make it 

Brown ground beef in large skillet over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently. Drain. Add taco seasoning mix and water; mix until ground beef is well coated.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Meanwhile, heat oil in large saucepan over medium high heat until hot. Add peppers and onions; cook 4 to 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and drain excess liquid. Add garlic and onion powders, salt, pepper, corn, and salsa, stir well and set aside.

Prepare pie crusts as directed on package for 2-crust pie using 9-inch glass or metal pie pan.

Combine salsa and corn mixture with ground beef; mix well. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of cheese evenly in bottom of crust-lined pan. Spread 1/2 of beef mixture evenly in pan over cheese, pat down. Sprinkle 3/4 cup cheese in pan and spread evenly with remaining beef mixture, pat down, top with remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Top with second crust and flute; slit in several places.

Bake for 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cover edge of crust with strips of foil or a pie crust shield after 15 minutes of baking. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Store in refrigerator.
Garnish with a dollop of sour cream and a drizzle of taco sauce. Also recommended: guacamole, salsa, and diced green chiles.

* If using fresh peppers and onions, use 1 1/2 cups chopped onions and 2 1/2 cups chopped peppers and increase prep time and stove top cooking time.


Recipe #7
Baked Barbecue Chicken, (served with Mashed Potatoes and Broccoli) 

what you need 

1 package drumsticks
2 cups ketchup
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 cup brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste

make it 

Preheat the oven to 450. 

Place the drumsticks into a baking pan or on a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil or a baking mat.

Combine the rest of the ingredients. Pour 1 cup of the sauce over the chicken, reserving the rest. Bake the chicken until it’s opaque. About 40 minutes. Pour the rest of the sauce over the chicken and bake about 5 minutes longer. Serve!


Recipe #8
Italian Chicken 

what you need 

4 (4 ounce) boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 cup Italian salad dressing
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
Chopped tomatoes and green onions, for garnish
1 cup Mozzarella cheese
1 lb pasta, cooked as directed

make it 

Combine Chicken and Italian dressing in a zip-loc bag. Refrigerate for an hour or more.

Cook pasta as directed on package.

Place chicken in a greased 9-in. square baking dish. Drizzle with salad dressing; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and salt if desired. Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until chicken juices run clear. 

To deliver, place noodles on the bottom of a foil baking dish. Top with chicken and Italian dressing juices. Sprinkle with chopped tomatoes, green onions and Mozzarella cheese.

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Fall is here!

So, Saturday was 99 degrees out and so humid, but ever since Labor Day we have barely hit 70 degrees!  Needless to say, the change in weather was much less subtle than normal!  I welcomed the cool weather this year...I love jeans and t-shirt weather :)  Fall is quickly becoming my favorite time of year.  Probably because I've been pregnant the last 3 out of 5 summers (2007, 2009 and 2011)!

Here are some things I found browsing Pinterest.com and thought I would share.  These things get me into the fall spirit!

http://ohsheglows.com/2011/08/16/mini-cinnamon-sugar-pumpkin-spiced-doughnuts-rosemary-olive-oil-chips/

http://www.thehighheeledhostess.com/2011/09/festive-fall-porch-ideas.html

http://www.craftinessisnotoptional.com/2010/10/paper-pumpkin-tutorial.html

http://familyofcrums.blogspot.com/2010/09/artsy-fartsy.html

http://abeautifulmess.typepad.com/my_weblog/2011/09/fall-leaves-garland-diy-project-.html

This is a cool photo idea...carve your chidren(s) ages into the pumpkin and have them hold it in their lap.

http://mymontessorimoments.com/2010/10/30/my-pumpkins/

http://www.bakedperfection.com/2009/11/pumpkin-gooey-butter-cake.html

http://www.sweetcoconutlime.com/2011/08/friday-back-to-school-freebie.html

http://www.munchkinmunchies.com/2010/10/halloween-snack-mix.html

http://blondiescakes.blogspot.com/2010/12/apple-cider-caramels.html

https://sites.google.com/site/susieqtpiesrecipes/-gooseberry-patch-soft-brown-sugar-cookies

http://www.multiplydelicious.com/thefood/2010/10/caramel-pumpkin-spice-cookies/

http://cookiesandcups.com/fancy-shmancy-krispies/

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Lunch Box Notes

While I don't have any kiddos going to school this year, I have been in a back-to-school mode for some reason.  Maybe it's because I have a lot of friends who are teachers or that most of my friends have a kid that is at least going to pre-school.

Anyway, one thing my mom did occasionally and something that I want to do for my kids when we get to this stage, is put notes in the lunch box.  Because she didn't do it every day, it was a nice surprise and such an encouragement to see!  I don't remember what Mom wrote the notes on, but I know it wasn't anything fancy.  But with the help of Pinterest.com (follow me on Pinterest here)and the internet, I found a ton of free printable lunch box note pages.  

Some of these are also suitable for sending in a lunch packed for your spouse as well :)

http://getbuttonedup.com/2010/08/25/tool-free-printable-lunchbox-notes/

http://kelsieandnate.blogspot.com/2011/08/friday-freebie-lunch-box-notes.html

http://silverboxcreative.com/blog/2010/08/lunch-box-notes/

http://freshpickedwhimsy.typepad.com/fresh_picked_whimsy/2009/02/love-notes.html

http://cute-and-crafty.blogspot.com/2010/07/free-printable-lunch-box-notes.html

http://www.anotherlunch.com/2010/08/blog-header-inspired-bento-special.html

http://www.oliebollen.com/funstuff/lunch.html

http://www.allfortheboys.com/home/2011/8/4/free-printable-school-lunch-notes-jokes.html

http://living.weelife.com/2010/08/free-lunch-box-notes-for-downloading.html

Ok, so this last one isn't a printable note, but you can also use a toothpick and "write" on a banana.  The note will show up about 1 hour later.  How cool!

http://www.cutefoodforkids.com/2010/10/banana-art.html

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