Posted in Thoughts Comments or Concerns

Hi to all my homesteadbloggy friends! The time has come. My deadline of completely transitioning over to the New Journey to Simplicity has long since past. I just kept posting here. I didn't want to leave anyone behind. Then I reduced the posts to a blurb w/ a link to the entire post in an effort to keep in touch with everyone.  However, as you know our lives have had some significant changes in the past few months. In regaining the simplicity in my own life, it has come time to prune this website. I will be leaving it up for several months, but will only be posting sporadically. God is leading me to a whole new quickly blossoming area of minsitry for women. The links will all be here, but I will no longer be posting daily.

Please go to Journey to Simplicity (www.leslievaleska.com/blog) and book mark it. Everything you love is there! If you are seeking encouragement, inspiration, & companionship on your journey to Godly womanhood, I would be pleased to have you join me over at Simple Journey Ministry's main site (www.leslievaleska.com). If you like to use social networking systems, such as Facebook & Twitter, the links are on the sites for you to do so. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me at Leslie@leslievaleska.com.

I will still be posting on the Front Porch, memes, and writing articles for other online publications, as well as speaking online. You can find all the info you need at the links above. I look forward to seeing you there! Thank you for your patience and understanding during this time of transition. Please keep our family in prayer as our ministry reaches out in new and exciting ways!

As always, These are my thoughts.

<*)))>< Leslie

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Posted in Kitchen

Casseroles have long been a convenience food for moms. They are easy to assemble, can use up leftovers, are a comfort food, and are a frugal way to stretch your food budget. Best of all, you don’t need a special recipe or cookbook to make them! What often isn’t so great about casseroles, is the fat content. You can overcome that in a few easy, simple, & frugal ways.

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Posted in Faith

Everyone loves free stuff; me included! Sometimes I download free items and I don’t use them for months, but having them on hand has always been a blessing. Each day when I go for my walk I typically listen to my iPod. I listen to a variety of different items; music, audio books, podcasts, seminars, sermons, conferences, etc. I have found that listening to audio books is relaxing to me. I can lost in the authors message or story and come back refreshed in an entirely new way! So today I have to share a completely FREE & unabridged audio of Donald Whitney’s Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life.

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Posted in Frugality-Simplicity

One of the most common comments I get from those who are wishing to achieve simplicity in their lives goes something like this, “I am trying to simplify life and I have read every book I can get my hands on, yet my life still seems complicated.” This goes hand in hand with the feeling of being overwhelmed by life. Where do you start? Exactly what is the first thing to do. Here are some tips to get you started today!

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Posted in Organization

Hooks can be used for a wide variety of organizational ideas. Just recently, I spoke about using them to hold an art bar to display and change up all the art & school work your kids are constantly producing. But hooks can be used in other ways to keep your home organized. They are especially good for organizing those things we just don’t know what to do with. Try some of these tips to help get your clutter under control.

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Posted in Kitchen

This past week I had been reading some entries from women who are taking part in Peggy’s Simple Woman’s Daybook. I am always inspired & encouraged after reading them. I often walk away from my computer with a smile on my face and a prayer of gratitude in my heart. Then there are those entries that open my eyes to something so simple that I scratch my head in wonderment and think, “How did I miss that?”

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Posted in Frugality-Simplicity

In any typical household, the woman is the shopper. She shops for clothing, sales, gifts, sundries, and of course food for the family. I often discuss how to be a smart shopper, especially when it comes to your food budget*. We like to call it Smart Shopping. But there is more to Smart Shopping than just being a saavy shopper, knowing your sales, and menu planning, and price tracking.

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Posted in Homeschool

Every year around this time, homeschooling moms begin drag from within. Life has happened, many times, and we are ever getting further from the schedules we set in place at the beginning of the year. We can feel so far behind. We have a tendency to compare ourselves to others around us. A fear of educational inadequacy can take hold of our hearts and put undue stress upon us. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

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Posted in Thoughts Comments or Concerns

I have been receiving emails asking for advice on topics I hadn’t thought of posting on before. When some of the questions started to be duplicated it gave me pause to wonder if our changing times had many of you wondering about how to do certain things or ideas on different topics are going through all of your minds. I still don’t know how to post a poll, so I am asking here.

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Posted in Kitchen

The other day I saw a post on Facebook pertaining to the consumption of food for a family from countries all over the globe. I studied each one of these photos with intensity. I didn’t see a credit for the photography, so I started digging. What I found was the photographer was none other than the fabulous and well known Peter Menzel. His website contains the photos as well as other photos of food around the world and so many other areas, such as earth, water, and death among other topics. Mr. Menzel’s website is well worth the time to visit, but please be warned not all images are suitable for littletons.

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Posted in Frugality-Simplicity

A bunch of us were chatting online the other day about the chores we dislike the most. We all have one thing we put off because we really don’t enjoy doing it. I really got a chuckle from some of the tasks we don’t like and an even bigger chuckle from the excuses we make not to do them. Ironing was a popular one. When I mentioned I don’t mind ironing, but it used to take so long for me to iron, that I would let stuff pile up until we ran out of clothes that needed ironing. Then I would be short on time and only be able to iron a few pieces. This bugged me. That is until I found a way to cut my ironing time in half.

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Posted in Frugality-Simplicity

This post is a friendly reminder that a holiday has just past and now is the time to save some money! Everything Valentine’s is on sale. Today I was in Wal-Mart and saw so many great things on sale that may be useful in other areas or for different purposes. For example, there were sets of hand towels that were red & white. If your kitchen is decorated with fruit, rustic country, bold colors, coca-cola products, diner, etc these would be a great bargain! Bags of candy that can be frozen and used for different baking items are at rock bottom prices.

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Posted in Kitchen

I have never been big on making fried chicken. Not specifically because I can’t, but because any meal that requires a lot of work just doesn’t make it on our menu very often. In addition, fried chicken, really tasty fried chicken, has to have the skin and needs a deep fryer. Since I rarely purchase chicken with the skin on and I don’t own a deep fryer, you can take a really safe guess that it doesn’t get made around here. I do have two recipes that my family likes which are baked. Again, the breading of the chicken takes time, so they aren’t made often either. However, I have developed a sure fire delicious and succulent recipe that offers the crunch of fried chicken and a taste that is out of this world! Since it requires no pre-breading or coating it offers the utmost in simplicity. Need another reason to add this to your regular menu planning list? This can be made in a short period of time with chicken straight from the freezer; perfect for those extra crazy days when you need a last minute meal, but forgot to take something form the freezer.

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Posted in Kitchen

With our life schedule getting so crazy the last few months breakfast was a meal that was often being skipped. But then the hubby surprised me with a much wanted little appliance…a waffle iron. Now, I can make a bowl of batter and it lasts all week. Breakfast takes me just a few minutes and the kids never seem to tire of them. Here is a recipe that I created for some of the yummiest waffles on the planet.

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Posted in Frugality-Simplicity

Frozen vegetables can be not only a last minute dinner saver, but they can be an extremely frugal & nutritious option to fresh produce. Winter is no exception, since produce is generally priced higher because most produce is not in season. Most of us meander through the grocery picking up the items on our list. Frozen veggies are picked up and tossed into our shopping cart as needed. If you are using some of the techniques I outline in Trim the Fat: The Ultimate Book on Cutting Food Costs then you are never paying full price for your frozen vegetables. But in the last few months as prices have been rising & falling on items for no apparent reason, I have noticed a trend that can save you even more!

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Posted in Thoughts Comments or Concerns

I rarely blog about current events, even during the past election process, when for the very first time I didn’t like either candidate and considered not voting. This is a place you come to find respite, giggles, support, and encouragement. There are millions of blogs and websites that you can search out to get the skinny on the latest news worthy government or Hollywood debacle or scandal. Simple Journey Ministries is a place to come and escape all of that and rest in the Lord, unabashedly, to laugh at the mishaps of our family, to learn something new that helps you on your journey to Godly womanhood. This blog is about bringing glory to God. However, I cannot stay quiet right now. God has been nudging me, but I have been sitting back and giving it time to make certain I am not involving my emotions (take note of the FREE A Moment in Truth Audio this week located on the right sidebar).

If you are an American please read and pray on what I am about to say. I am sure you have heard from some venue of media about the Stimulus package that the government is trying to push through. President Obama, who during his campaign vowed to get rid of pork and unnecessary government spending, is pushing a bill that is cloaked under the title of Economic Stimulus that is so full of pork (lobbied for government dollars from special interests groups) that we may not see the end of the fallout from in our life time. President Obama represented himself during his campaign as someone who would lead the people, reach across the aisles, represent everyone, and stomp on lobbyists. We voted and he is now our President. In less than a month he has acted in quite the opposite fashion. He has been running full throttle for special interest groups and passing (or reversing) laws that are in the best interests of some, but not all. The big issues our government faces were placed on hold while he swiftly used his power to represent and pushed the agenda of special interest groups. Now, he is doing the same with this Stimulus package. President Obama campaigned vehemently against the debacles of the Bush administration’s Big Government spending, and today he is pushing (along with Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid) at the speed of light a package that is the biggest Big Government prospect in history! What happened to Obama for America? I guess the change he spoke of was not based on the best interest of the American people, but his political agenda. Nothing new in our government. And this bill says it loud and clear.

The format he is using in making this decision and the format he is pushing Congress to use to get this passed is not only against scriptural premise for decision making, but a clear indicator that what he promised in his campaign was merely an election tactic. He is pushing people to act and swiftly. Hurry, hurry, hurry, sign it now. Vote for it now. We have to do it before our country crumbles. FEAR is his driving force to get us to agree to this bill. I ask that you take a moment to look at this bill and read each and every pork lined item. I will not pretend this will not take time, because it will. This is a BIG FAT pork package to the tune of an excess of $800 BILLION of YOUR money. How can I say its your money? Well the government doesn’t have the money, which means Americans have to pay for this spending if approved. How are you going to pay for it, well with higher and new taxes for YOU!  If the government prints the money the prices you have seen rise in the last 12 months will be low comparatively to what they will be. There is NO free ride here. We all need to cut back on everything, including our government. Do they need $600 million of new vehicles for politicians to drive? Let them drive around in 5,10, and 20 yr old vehicles like the rest of us. If they need new vehicles, let them buy them with their own money, not your money. Remember, YOU will be buying those vehicles.

Are you struggling to make ends meet? Have you seen foreclosure and hardship on families all around you in the last year? Hang on, because if this bill is passed, that will be the tip of the iceberg. Here are two articles, one from National Review and one from the NY Times (to offer a balanced media perspective). Do the research on your own, but do it quickly, because they are moving swiftly. Take this into consideration prayerfully. I don’t agree with making decisions swiftly with this much money, but saying NO now doesn’t mean we can’t say yes in the future. All we need to say is slow down and give us time to understand what our government is about to do. It’s our money. If this bill is such a good answer, then why the big rush? Why can’t we take time to read it, digest it, and make an informed decision. I have begun to feel as though this is a slick sales tactic, sign here, sign here, sign here, sign here, sign here, after they have had you running on emotional emptiness for hours and your kids are hungry and bouncing off the walls. Don’t think about it. Don’t read. (Do you know that one of the most used and effective sales tactics is to push people to close the deal asap on their first visit because if they walk out the door to talk about it, 83% of the time they do not return to make that purchase?)

In Obama’s own words:

These are your constituents. These are families you know and you care about. I believe it is important for us to set aside some of the gamesmanship in this town and get something done.”

 

This is about you. You have the right to voice your opinion and CAN affect change! Real change. The change we have needed in our country for years; for us, the constituents, to stand up and stop letting politicians make the decisions that affect our lives.

PLEASE call your senators today if you do NOT want this package. You can get more info on contacting your representatives by visiting www.nostimulus.com. There is a petition there that you can sign if you are interested as well. PLEASE MAKE TIME to do this TODAY!

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share this with you. I will not be posting about this again, but I appreciate you taking time to read. There are times to stand up and for me this is one of those times. I will say no more.

These are my thoughts.

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Posted in Frugality-Simplicity

Today I have something special for you! A Moment In Truth audio is available for FREE over at Simple Journey Ministries. All you have to do is click on The Truth about Emotions on the right sidebar and download it. This is a great audio that will help you handle your emotions through the most stressful situations which leads to better clarity for hearing God’s guidance in your life. Grab it while you can! And how about a few more goodies for you?

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Posted in Frugality-Simplicity

After yesterday’s post, are you wondering about your lifestyle? Hey, we are the IN crowd now. Oh tee hee! I crack myself up. I never thought I would live to see the day when my frugal ideas would put in the popularity club. Just funny! ANYWAY…

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Posted in Frugality-Simplicity

Those of you who have been visiting me over the years likely find a frugal life just part of living. We have chosen for a variety of reasons to pursue this lifestyle. Whatever the reasons we have shared many stories amongst ourselves about how people react to our choices. How many times have people said things like, “You are crazy!” or “That’s too much work.” or “I don’t have time to be frugal.” Know what, Frugality is the IN thing! If you haven’t experienced it with those around you, it has actually made it to the headlines. Not just some minor headlines, my friends, we are in BIG front page news!

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Posted in Thoughts Comments or Concerns

Want to know exactly what happened this weekend that threw me completely out of whack? Click Here

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