Food, Family, & Frugality

Frugal Friday – Thrift Stores

joelygirl29 — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:59:42 +0000

Thrift stores are becoming increasingly popular with the economy the way it is. But I still feel they’re underrated. So many deals are to be had. My husband and I shop thrift stores often and choose to check there for an item we need before we decide to buy new. My husband owns mostly name brand clothes like Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein. We get clothes for our children there. After all, they’re growing so fast, why pay brand new prices for something that will either get ruined in a short time or they will be out of in a few months? We’ve bought furniture, games, movies, toys, household goods, shoes and more. And everything is in great shape or near new.

One word of caution . . . .
While thrift shopping is tremendously advantageous in saving money, it can also be the opposite. You must know your prices for you to know if you are truly getting a good deal. If you see something that has a near new price tag, you may as well get it new. Why buy used if it’s the same price? This way you know the product works, or there is nothing wrong with it.

Those are a few brief thoughts on thrift shopping. See this post for other ways I save money.

My Babies

joelygirl29 — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:49:00 +0000

Recipe Website – Plain Chicken

joelygirl29 — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:24:54 +0000

I love this website. I’ve tried several of the recipes and they’re fantastic! The recipe’s on this website use normal food ingredients that we all have in our fridges and pantries. I’ve even been able to make some more points friendly since I’m on Weight Watchers. Check it out:

http://www.plainchicken.com/

joelygirl29 — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 04:33:35 +0000

My daily updates: http://joelygirl29.tumblr.com/

Exercise . . . .

joelygirl29 — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 06:25:03 +0000

Chicken Twisters

joelygirl29 — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 00:38:05 +0000

Chicken Twisters

My recipe for Twister Sandwiches like at KFC. How much of these ingredients you use depends on your family size.

*Burrito size tortillas

*Breaded chicken strips

*Ranch dressing

*Lettuce, sliced tomato, with each slice cut in half

*Shredded cheese, optional

Bake chicken strips according to the directions on the package. When done, heat tortilla in microwave for 10 seconds each. Then put the remaining ingredients on the tortilla in this order: dressing, chicken (1 or 2 strips depending on size), lettuce, 2 tomato halves, cheese if using. Roll and eat. Enjoy!

ABC’s of Weight Loss

joelygirl29 — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 22:47:34 +0000

A is for ACCOUNTABILITY – be accountable for my choices and my actions.
B is for BEHAVIOR – exhibit those behaviors that will carry me to my goal and beyond.
C is for CONSISTENCY – find those healthy choices I can perform consistently.
D is for DETERMINATION – never, never, ever give up!
E is for EXERCISE – include regular physical activity as a part of my healthy lifestyle.
F is for FORGIVENESS – never beat myself up for getting off track.
G is for GOAL – set small, measurable milestones.
H is for HEALTH – make the focus of my journey about my health, not the scale.
I is for INDEPENDENCE – this is my journey and I am not in competition with others!
J is for JOURNEY – a healthy lifestyle has no finish line because it is a lifelong journey.
K is for KINDNESS – remember to always be kind to myself and others.
L is for LOGGING – record calories in and calories burned every day.
M is for MOVE – find ways to stay active throughout the day.
N is for NUTRITION – always eat the right stuff to fuel my healthy body.
O is for OPENNESS – share my experiences with others.
P is for PORTIONS – eat a perfect plate and control my portions.
Q is for QUIET – remember to take regular “me” time to reflect and relax.
R is for RECORD – keep a detailed record of my progress.
S is for SLEEP – get my 8+ hours of sleep to be the best me I can be!
T is for TODAY – focus on making healthy choices today.
U is for UPBEAT – be positive and optimistic and success will follow.
V is for VICTORY – celebrate my non-scale victories!
W is for WATER – get my 8+ glasses every day.
X is for X MARKS THE SPOT – know what my goals are and keep headed straight for them.
Y is for YESTERDAY – forget about it because it does not matter anyway.
Z is for ZERO – absolutely nothing will stand between me and my goals!

Credit goes to one of my sparkpeople friends for this amazing list!

joelygirl29 — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 22:26:52 +0000

A friend of ours recently turned us onto this service, and since we’re low income, we qualified. Check out the link for more information.

https://www.reachoutmobile.com/

Saving Money on Baby Detergent

joelygirl29 — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 19:33:37 +0000

Alot of moms like to use Dreft laundry soap for washing their newborns clothes and blankets. But have you noticed how expensive it is? I spend that price on my huge 100 load regular laundry soap. While I’d love to buy laundry formulated especially for baby clothes and baby’s sensitive skin, I really can’t afford it with all the washing that baby clothes go through. So for awhile, at least until I know if baby has sensitive skin issues, I use a dye free or hypoallergenic laundry soap. Right now I’m using Ultra Purex Free & Clear Hypoallergenic laundry soap. It works great, I love it! I may just switch us over to using it period. It’s inexpensive whether you buy at Target or Walmart. And the bottle I currently have has 108 loads in it. Can’t beat that for $8.

Just as a disclaimer, I’m in no way affiliated with Purex or being paid to say this about their product. I just really like it!

Gestational Diabetes Information

joelygirl29 — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 00:59:53 +0000

Here’s some great information on Gestational Diabetes (GD, GDM). It’s best, most well rounded information I’ve found about GD:

Managing Gestational Diabetes

It’s opens in asa pdf file, so you may need Adobe Reader. You can get it here: Adobe PDF Reader