I have alot to get done Friday, and mostly this is my list to remind myself and make sure I am accountable to get it done.  But if you read it and get anything out of it, great.  If it inspires you, wonderful.  If you are as bored reading it, as I am writing it, I am so sorry! LOL

1.  Clean off dining room table (the free produce I picked up yesterday is here)

2.  Start taking care of veggies (Freezing summer squash and zucchini and making salsa or spaghetti sauce with roma tomatoes and onions)

3.  Wipe down dining room table, chairs and highchair (while veggies are cooking)

4.  Clean off living room tables

5.  Pick up Noah's toys and put things away

6.Reorganize stuff on book shelves

7.  Put dvds and vhs tapes away

8. Dust and Windex in DR and LR (the rooms are ajoined)

9.  Spray fabrics with febreeze

10. Vacuum stairs and DR and LR

11. Wipe down brown chair and ottoman

12. Go through all magazines and purge (I will take some old ones to the Thrift Shop, and some more recent ones, I will box and let friends go through them to read before taking to Thrift Shop)

13. Put supper in the crockpot

14.  Empty dishwasher and start again if needed

15.  Go to Alltel store for a new charger (I am not sure why, but mine stopped working after a year!!)

If I get all this done, which is probable if I don't have too many interuptions, I will start in Saturdays to do list and get a few things done ahead of time.

Hi all.  Matthew and I are still what most would call newlyweds (May 21st will be our 3rd anniversary), but we have been through more than most have been through in more than 10 years of marriage.  To just mention a few, we have had a baby (he just turned 2), buried both of my parents, buried both of Matthew's grandparents, bought a house and moved, and both of us have switched jobs (me twice before finally deciding to be a SAHM while pregnant with Noah), all within the first three years (most within the first 2 years).  We know each other better than most couples who have been married for decades (Matthew's mother says we probably knew each other better in the 9 weeks we dated before getting married than she knew her husband within the first 15-20 years. LOL), but at the same time, we are newlyweds and still getting used to communication and getting to know each other's likes and dislikes.

The weekend after our anniversary is a 4 day weekend for Matthew. He took Friday off, and Monday is one of his holidays, so we are taking a short trip to the city (Kansas City, Missouri, about a 100 mile trip for us) to celebrate.  I am so excited about going, but nervous to leave Noah behind.  I have a wonderful friend Jen who has volunteered to stay at our house with Noah while we are gone Friday and Saturday (then we will come home, and still have 2 days to spend with Noah before daddy has to go back to work), and take care of Noah.  It will be easier on Noah to go to bed in his own crib.  Of course, we will leave her with his car seat, keys to the house, etc.  I just hate leaving him is all.  I know she will take wonderful care of him though. 

I decided today to make a list of the things that need to get done before we leave (such as a HUGE list of things that need to be cleaned up on the house before leaving.  It is awful to let a guest inside your home and expect her to make any sense of it all, and I hate coming home to a messy cluttered home too!) and make a goal of getting them all done by next Friday when we will be leaving.  My list is so long, but hopefully I can get it all done and then focus on sewing curtains for the kitchen and laundry room before we leave.

While we are in the city, we will eat our our all time favorite resturant called Ghangis Khan (mongolian BBQ).  The place is awesome.  They have a bar of fresh veggies, meats, and all the sauces, etc you could possibly want for your meal.  You pur your choice of things in a bowl and take it to the front where guys cook it on a huge flat metal thing (you expect me to know what they call it?? LOL) and bat it around with large wooden sticks to make sure it cooks evenly.  It is a little expensive, so we normally save eating there for anniversaries and birthdays.  This year, we are only eating there for our anniversary only.

Also while in the city, we will be shopping for my bday present (mine was April 27th), and my Mother's Day present from Matthew.  We consider the trip itself our present to each other.  We are planning a trip to Sam's to stock up on some things, and I am in need of some new bras, so Matthew said I can buy 4 new ones.  ( I am so excited about that.  LOL)  We will be staying at a hotel, which tickles me pink for some silly reason. LOL  We are hoping to stay somewhere with an indoor pool!  (We had a hard time finding a place with any pool that was open while on our honeymoon 3 years ago because in May most pools are either not open yet for the season at a hotel, or they are closed for remodeling, but most places that have indoor pools have them opened all year round.) 

I guess I am rambling here, but I wanted to write down what my plans will be for myself as well as writing releases stresses about the out of town trip as well.

After getting boxes of roma tomatoes, summer squash, zucchini and some onions from the guy giving produce away (he was taking donations for his food pantry in the city and since I knew him as a former pastor in town, I gave him a good donation), I have been looking up recipes for salsa (good use for my onions and tomatoes and I can buy the peppers needed), and looking up web pages giving directions on how to freeze the summer squash and zucchini.  So guess what I will be doing tonight and tomorrow??  I am excited because as my friend Kitty said, it is amazing to see anyone giving away food at these times.  Plus I have never frozen those veggies, and can you believe I have never made salsa before either???

Almost have my girlfriend's laundry done and bagged for her.  LOL  I washed it, dried it, folded it for her and she brought me a 1 liter bottle of my favorite drink....MT. DEW!!!   And a package of Reece's Peanut butter cups (possibly the best food on earth. LOL) for doing her laundry.  How funny is that??? She is a peach I tell ya.

Hubby went to work today with cructches and came home carrying them in one hand and walking slowly today.  LOL  He said his ankle is doing better, but I can gurantee hi won't be on any roofs or towers any time soon!  He is still planning on staying home this weekend instead of working with his friend on electrical moonlighting jobs, so maybe we will get some painting and other household projects done that are on my "honey-do" list.

Hubby and I talked about using some of the money we have had coming in to stock up on some groceries and paper supplies for the home again.  We were having a tight month and decided not to buy groceries this month, so we were using up what was stocked in our pantry shelves.  We did have to buy toliet paper (don't want to run out of that!!!), and diapers, and I even broke down and bought Matthew his favorite breakfast cereal while it was on sale because he was about to have a nervous breakdown without his Peanut Butter Captain Crunch cereal. LOL  Since then we have had some money come in, and after talking with Matthew today, I think we are going to make a list of bulk items we would like to stock up on when they go on sale and hopefully before the food prices rise again.  We had quite a stash going until we had to use it the last 2 months.  We may be doing some shopping while in the city next weekend over our anniversary weekend and I am excited to be able to visit Sam's Club again!  I haven't been to one in well over a year and I used to accompany my mom about 1-2 times a month.

ok, I am skipping out of here for now.  Have a wonderful evening.

My best friend is washing her clothes at my house today.  NO, I honestly do not care, but of course I am teasing her about paying me $2.00 a load to wash and another $2.00 to dry.  LOL  That is the going rate around here at the laundromats.  LOL  She had to run a quick errand, so she dumped her laundry in my lundry back porch area and left it with me to start and switch over. LOL  How funny is that??? I guess I am a true friend! LOL  

We went to a small store today and I ended up buying Noah and adorable table and four chairs.  He was sitting in the chair while were there looking about and then I noticed the table as well.  The gal who was there said the table usually goes for $69.00 (it was a sratch and dent Pottery Barn chair...had a tiny tiny dent on one corner) but she would sell me the table and four chairs (two blue and two green) for $29.99.  So I bought them all.  It is so adorable and I know Noah will love being able to sit at it and color, etc. 

We also splurged a little today and ate at Pizza Hut today.  Noah had a blast shaking the parmesan cheese onto his pizza and dipping breadsticks into the marinara sauce.  He was so cute with spaghetti sauce all over his face.  LOL Too bad I didn't have a camera with me.

OH, and we were headed to Pizza Hut, we saw a guy with a truckload FULL of boxed vegetables and a for FREE sign on it.  We drove by and he said he was giving these away for a donation of any amount.  Isn't that awesome?? So we got a box of tomatoes, a box of yellow squash, and a box of zucchini as well as about 5-6 large onions.  My friend and I are hoping to possibly make some salsa out of some of it and I will cut up some and freeze.  I called Matthew at work and told him to call his friend Dan (the one we have been trying to help out with groceries because he only gets $10 in foodstamps a month) and tell him where the truck was.

Noah is down for a nap and I have several things that need to get done today, so I am off.  I think I might go start the new dish washer again, and check on my friend's laundry that needs to be switched to the dryer.  Then I will clean off the dining room table, and oh yeah....I should figure out what is on the menu for supper tonight as well. LOL

Hope you are all having a wonderful Thursday.  The weather is perfect here today and I am hoping to get outside for some sun after Noah wakes up from his nap.

OK, first of all....the new dishwasher is GORGEOUS!!!  I am in love with it.  It is white, and has a beautiful wooden top, and buttons.........oh how I love buttons on kitchen gadgets. LOL   Silly huh??  But seriously, this might be one of the top 3 days of my life (1. when I married my husband 2. the day Noah was born, and 3. getting the new dishwasher)  It is portable, and I have never had a portable one before, so after hubby found out how to use it he showed me, and guess what?? THIS THING IS SO EASY TO USE!!!  I am super excited! 

Now, about the trip to the ER.  My husband is awesome first of all.  He works for the city in the internet department.  I will often find out (after he arrives home safe and sound) that he was on top of a roof or worse, a really high tower installing an internet dish for a customer or business.  He has never fallen (Thank you Lord for keeping my husband safe) off a tower or a roof!!!  Monday, while working on a small 2 foot ladder running some cable for a new internet dish (moonlighting after hours on his own), he fell off the ladder, twisting his ankle and cutting up his arms.  He came home complaining about how badly it hurt  (I love him, but you just don't even know how big of a baby this man can be when he is sick or hurt.  LOL And believe me, he milks it for all he can too. LOL)  I told him last night I have had many twisted ankles and once when they thought I had even broken it and never whined that much. LOL (I have weak ankles and used to twist mine at least once a week when I was growing up!!! )  He went to the ER this morning by himself (calling the ER when he parked and asking them to please bring him a wheel chair.  LOL  He walked from the house to the car, but then thought he needed a wheelchair to get inside the hospital.  He is so funny sometimes.  Oh, BTW, don't think I am being too disrespectful by not going and holding his hand.  He wouldn't let me because the dishwasher was supposed to be delivered and he was also so excited about it that he wouldn't let me leave the house to accompany him to the ER! LOL) and after xrays the Doctor told him it was a really bad sprain and he should not bear weight on it for a week.  He called his boss to tell her and she said ok, then you can come answer phones for the rest of the week!    (No offense, but thank you Lord for taking him back to work tomorrow.  LOL  He is driving me crazy with all the, can you get my fuzzy socks, my feet are cold , then waiting until I am sitting down again and asking if I could get him a drink, waiting until I sit down again and saying, it is too cold in here, can you turn off the air, waiting until I sit down and *Deep Breath here*................ok, you get the idea right??? It got so bad that he kicked me out of the house this afternoon.  LOL  We were driving each other crazy and he couldn't leave easily, so I went for a drive and ran some errands.  LOL  Aren't we funny??)

And the other stuff is, I have found the perfect sewing table.  It is big enough for the sewing machine adn a few little things and has baskets underneath that can hold all the fabric I have (at least I think most of the fabric I have in my collection) in.  It is really pretty.  I am still trying to talk Matthew into letting me spend the money on it though. He was planning on buying my birthday present for me while we are gone next weekend in the city for our anniversary, but I am trying to talk him into letting me pick out my own present.  He thinks it is more important to buy me a gift that is from the heart (even if I don't like it....yes he actually said that), instead of buying something I have specificially picked out myself and know I will like ahead of time.  LOL  Isn't that a little backwards??? Dont' you hear most of the time about girls who want their husband's to buy them something from the heart instead of a vaccum cleaner or blender???  LOL  I used to be like that I suppose.  I have changed over the years!

Anyway.  I have had a busy day babying Matthew and his swollen ankle (it was the prettiest shade of black purple earlier when I checked on it and rewrapped it) and running after Noah who now thinks instead of being two that he is an adult who can do anything that we do, and shopping for a few items, running some errands, trying to be counselor to a girlfriend who is having some problems, being the Avon lady when Jen stopped by to pick up her order, and then going to see my chriopractor and counselor tonight.  I have had a busy day and as I am writing this last sentence, my eyes are getting droopy! LOL  Talk to you all soon.

Dear Momma Marti:

I am so glad your surgery went well.  I was praying for you.

I hear that you are checking up on me (and your daughter) by reading my blog.  I just don't understand why you are such a snob and decide not to leave me a precious comment.  Just kidding.

Comment on my blog or email me soon.  I have missed you dearly.

God's Blessings,

Amy Jo

What??? You don't believe me???? I know....you had to click on this blog to read what the joke was all about right???  NO kidding!  He bought me a white convertible and it is supposed to be delivered tomorow!!

OK! OK!!!  I can't keep a straight face any longer.  My husband and I were looking at portable dishwashers last night online (lowes.com) and they call them convertibles now.  LOL  How funny is that?? He asked if I wanted white or black and I said white.  So he said I am looking at the white convertibles. I giggled, knowing then that I would be blogging about this! LOL

Anyway, we found the one we wanted and when Matthew called Lowe's they had only one in stock.  He ran out to buy in on his lunch hour and it will be delivered tomorrow.  I am soooooooooo happy.  Oh girls, you just don't even know, how thrilled I am about this!!

Since married to Matthew, we have lived in a small 2 bedroom apartment and now in our 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath house.  Neither place had a dishwasher and we have always washed dishes by hand.  However, the big problem in our household has been the discussion of HOW the dishes should be done, HOW HOT the water should be, etc.  My husband tosses his dirty socks on the floor in the evening not thinking at all about picking them up in the morning , ok?? But the dishes are his "thing" that he obsesses over. LOL  I can wash dishes.  I don't mind washing dishes!  But my dearest Matthew, thinks the water should be boiled on the stove in a large stock pot (which only fills up half of my sink) until there is enough water to wash a sinkful of dishes.  He thinks we need to do this every time we have a sinkful of dishes and then while the water is boiling he goes about doing other things in the house and forgets about the dishes, the water cools down, and then he has to start all over again.  Oh, and by the way, I have refused to wash dishes in our house for some time now after a large discussion (AKA BIG STINKING FIGHT), we had several months ago about the way I wash dishes when I was then told not to ever wash a dish in the house again.  And why the boiling water you may ask?? Perhaps our water heater is set too low and the water is not hot enough to wassh dishes effectively you may say??!!  Well you would be WRONG!  The water coming out of our faucet is so hot it will burn your fingers within seconds right out of the faucet.  It is quite hilarious to see him washing dishes in his yellow rubber gloves though.  LOL  It's kinda sexy in a weird way.

So.................I will have a dishwasher tomorrow and Matthew promises he won't tell me how to load the dishwasher or anything like that anymore. LOL

I have been doing laundry today, in my newly reorganized and cleaned laundry/mud porch and wishing I had the time to unbury my sewing and craft table and get the new curtains for the windows done.  I bought some really cute fabric at Wal-Mart yesterday that has daisies on it.  The curtains currently on the windows in there are very dark and have wine bottles all over them. LOL  Needless to say they came from the previous owner.  LOL  I call them my Wino curtains.  I have three windows in that tiny little room and making the room a little more cheerful with help me want to do laundry more often. LOL

Matthew is working a little late tonight, but he promised he might spend a little time painting tonight.  I am hoping we can get that room done so we can move on to the next thing we want to get done on this house before putting it up for sale.

Well that is all for now.  I am signing off to get the laundry hung up and folded.

Our stimulus check arrived (direct deposit) on Saturday.  I didn't find out until today because our weekend was so busy and I wasn't on the computer.  I am so excited though, because we have been discussing all the repairs and such we want to do on the house to get it ready to sell and one of those include................buying a dishwasher!!!!!  YIPEEEEEE!  So Matthew is looking at them today (at Lowe's) and hopefully we will be able to have it delivered sometime this week!!!!

If any of you have recieved your check, or even if you are still waiting on it, what do you expect to do with your money????  Setting it back for a rainy day, or spending it on a summer vacation?? Paying off a credit card, or stocking up on groceries???  I am just curious what everyone else is doing.

Hello all.  I spent my Mother's Day with my hubby and little one (he turned 2 in April), and then we all met at my brother's house for lunch with my sister in law's huge family.  They adopted me. LOL  They are the best and they include in even though I am not a blood sister to any of them but my brother.  We ate (too much) and then had cake and icecream and strawberry shortcake.  It was yummy and the company was wonderful.  It helped keep my tears and lonely thoughts of my mother not being here for Mother's Day at bay.  My brother and I were looking through family pictures later on in the afternoon and I teared up though.  I feel like a big baby sometimes when I cry and declare I MISS MY MOMMY!   She was my friend and this last few days have been hard without her.  It seems like yesterday we were sitting and playing with Noah as a baby, and talking about planting new flowers on her deck.  I miss her dearly!!

We arrived home in the afternoon on Sunday,  and got into a household project of turning the back porch laundry room into a mud porch (we would love to use this room to enter the house since it is not carpeted and be able to take off shoes and coats, etc. instead of using the front door from now on) and got it 95% done.  The project consisted of moving all Matthew's tools and such out to the garage (this room collects all kinds of stuff it seems. LOL), and moving around the clothing organizer and adding a bench and I will get hooks this week to hang coats on.  I bought some cute fabric today at Wal-Mart to make curtains with (it needs something a little more cheery instead of the dark curtains that have are there now which came from the previous owners.)  It looks so much better already and I can't wait to get the curtains done and hung!!!  The room looks bigger and it is so much more useful now!

After our project, which was mostly completed while Noah took his afternoon nap, we went to Matthew's parents house to give his mom her Mother's Day presents.  She absolutely loved the adorable Angel night light I had bought her from Avon and the small antiqued latern I bought a while back.  Noah had fun playing with the toys and such, while Matthew used his chain saw on a tree limb that had broken during one of the last storms.  If you are a long time reader of my blog, you will know that in the past 2 years we have had many many (MANY) problems with Matthew's parents and our relationship with them.  They are different, don't know when to keep their mouths shut, and don't have alot of common sense and so therefore we have problems.  I decided I would do what a good daughter in law should and try to move on and put my grievances aside.  (Loosing my own parents has partly to do with this)  I don't want to hinder Matthew of having a relationship with them and when he argues he doesn't want to go or see them, I tell them, we are not doing this for us, we are doing it because it is the right thing to do and what God would want us to do.  I also want Noah to have a relationship (although it is guarded....he is not allowed to spend the night because of their lack of disgression on many things) with his only living grandparents.  He doesn't know of all the problems and he loves them.  So, we had a good time over there after grabbing sandwiches at home.  (we refuse to eat over at their house because of the lack of cleanliness and fresh food, etc.)

Oh, and Saturday was a full day as well, with my 21 year old neice, Megan graduating with her RN degree and then getting pinned.  The ceremony was nice and several tears fell from my cheek watching her.  Then afterwards my brother and sister in law hosted a BBQ and then cake and icecream to celebrate.  Needless to say, we ate well with my side of the family this weekend.  LOL  We spent so much time with my family this weekend, that I think we need a few days alone now to recover.  LOL   Noah has a blast over there because the twins on that side are 6 and love to play with him.  Lydia was there too, and she is 3.  And I don't have to worry about a thing while Kailtlin is there (age 12), because she offers to help him with dinner, changing his diapers and watching over little Noah.  It is nice because I can sit back and relax while she watches him and plays and makes sure he is safe.

I just got Megan's wedding invitation in the mail today!  I can't believe the little blonde haired beauty I used to hold when she was a baby is now 21, an RN and getting married!!!  Noah is the ring bearer, so I can't wait to see him in his little tux!  We are planning on having some professional pictures taken of him in the tuxedo!  He will be so handsome in it.  Of course he is handsome even without it!  He gets that from his daddy.

If you read a previous post, you know a dear friend, Miss Betty (as she has lovingly been called for years) died Tuesday from a massive heartattack.  It has been quite a shock because she was as healthy as a horse!!

So, today was her visitation, and I had every intention in going with a few girlfriends, but I called Jen late in the afternoon and told her I didn't think I could handle it.  I was trying to keep my mind busy today by putting in some time on my neice's wedding present (a scrapbook of recipes from my late mother, her grandma) and while flipping through three boxes of handwritten recipe cards, I just broke down into tears.  Something about seeing her handwriting, and remember times when she and I used to cook together, plus the fact that I found a poem in her handwriting about her relationship with God amongst the recipe cards, sent me into tears and memories of my mom and how much I dearly miss her.  It doesn't help that Mother's Day is coming up soon and all the wonderful touching Hallmark card commercials are all over the TV lately.  Lifetime and other channels are having a Mother's Day weekend of motherly type movies and I am having a terrible I MISS MY MOMMY type of day!  So after explaining all fo this to Jen, she understood taking me to a funeral home to see Miss Betty would not be good for me.  I would have been a wreck tonight and most of the weekend.  This way I can remember her as I last saw her.

Matthew came home this evening so burnt out and frustrated with work and his Supervisor riding him so hard and micromanaging him all week, that I would not have been suprised if he had quit today and walked out.  Thank goodness he didn't, but he told me tonight, he was going to burn tomorrow as a sick day, because he was afraid he was about to blow up if he went to work tomorrow.  I pray that he doesn't get in trouble for playing hookie.  He is going to pray about it this weekend, but I think he will go in to see his boss (the one over the Supervisor) and tell him that she is micromanaging him again (It took you 5.6 minutes longer than it should have on your last client, what were you doing??? Answer:  Um, ma'am I had to tinkle!!!  LOL  It is seriously getting that bad around there.  She is stressed about whatever, and she takes it out on Matthew...the only person under her.) 

Tomorrow Matthew plans on mowing the yard and getting some repairs around the house taken care of, and little Noah and I will be more than happy to have daddy home for an extra day!!!

Saturday is my neice's pinning ceremony from RN school and afterwards a BBQ dinner at my brother's house for a celebration of her pinning, and her fiance's birthday.  It will be a busy day, but thankfully, my friend Jen will babysit Noah while we are at the pinning ceremony (hoping he will be taking a nap during that 2 hours), and then we will pick him up for the BBQ.

Sunday is Mother's Day and Matthew has decided to cook breakfast for us on Saturday, and then I think he is planning on fixing supper for me in the evening.  I am delighted he has taken this weekend off instead of spending time on his second job as electrician apprentice.  We do need the money, but I need time with hubby as well!!!

Well, I think that's about all for now.  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

God's Blessings,

Amy Jo

I was feeling sorry for hubby yesterday and a friend told me they had peanut butter captain crunch cereal (my hubby's favorite and one thing I told him I was not going to spend money on since we are so tight financially this month) on sale at Save-A-Lot today, so..............I BOUGHT 4 BOXES!  LOL  They had them on sale for $2.00 a box and I couldn't just let hubby go COLD TURKEY after all!!!  I love him way too much for that.

So, on our travels yesterday (running errands and paying bills), we also went into Pamida and after returning some decorative hooks I had bought earlier that I no longer needed, I ended up getting my diapers for free (they were the same amount as the hooks I was returning)

While walking back across the street from the post office yesterday (I hate buying stamps!!!  I think I might start buying them online and saving myself a trip across town from now on.  Does anyone else do this?) I saw a ten dollar bill lying on the street.  I picked it up (no one else was around) and opened it and there was a five dollar bill inside!  So with that money, I was able to buy a jumbo size package of toliet paper (already on my must have, it is an emergency list of items we needed anyway), and 4 boxes of snacks for $1 and $2 each for Noah (vanilla wafers and cheese-it crackers). 

So, although I have spent a few dollars on needed items this month, none of this came out of the household budget bank account, so I really spent no money!!!  All our bills are paid up to date and our stimulus check should be in this week (according to the website anyway! LOL).  The stimulus check will be put in the bank for emergencies and for repairs on the house so we can put it up for sale.

Tonight I plan on making some cookies and muffins.  Matthew keeps telling me Hy-Vee (a local greocery store) has cookies on sale and he was tempted to buy them. LOL  I said wouldn't you rather have homemade?? He was afraid to ask me knowing I have been so busy and stressed lately.  Sweet? Yes.  But all he had to do was ask.  LOL  So chocolate chip cookies and blueberry muffins will be baked off tonight for his snacks and lunches throughout the week and weekend. 

Matthew has decided to work weekends for the month of May to get a few extra dollars put in our emergency fund.  (We are ok, but if anything would happen where we need to fix a car, or buy a new water heater, etc., we would be in trouble. It is better to have some to fall back on if needed.  We know God is in control of all things, and we trust Him to help us through whatever!)  So he wants snacks for this weekend for he and his friend Matt.

I have been decluttering some around the house when I have time, and have asked Matthew if he minds if I have another garage/yard sale.  I was already planning on having one anyway before we got in this tight money situation, and now I think it would really help us.

Blessings:  We have more than enough food to get us by till the end of the month, it just may not be the exact thing we want to eat at the time.  We have all the bills paid and up to date, so no problems there.  We have no debt except for our mortgage on our home.  We are all healthy and have some wonderful health insurance that helps with any prescriptions or doctor visits we may need.  We have a local health department where I can take Noah to get his immunizations for free (no co-pay that way).  We have already bought most of our summer wardrobes (used clothing from the thrift shop, Noah got some adorable outfits for his bday in April, and a few new items at good prices from a consignment sale shop and Wal-Mart.), and we are all ok on shoes as well. 

We are being definate home bodies this month (which has been kinda fun because we have been creative in finding other things to do to keep us busy.  We have loved doing chores together, washing dishes together, playing card games and etc.).  We won't take any extra trips anywhere unless needed.  (I ran all the errands I think we will need to run for the month yesterday and that is taken care of) 

What are some of the rest of you doing to save money, or possibly thikngs you may be foregoing or giving up for the sake of making your money stretch farther????

Another thing we are trying to do is have a meatless dinner once or twice a week.  Last night was a meatless dinner: Pancakes!! YUMMY!!

Although I should be taking care of other chores today in the house (laundry, dishes, etc. etc.), I have been compelled to clean out the closet that hubby and I share in our bedroom.  I have felt lately while putting away hang up clothes that the closet walls are closing in on me!!  The closet is shrinking!

Matthew has clothes in there that he doesn't wear and some that were given to him that he will never wear.  I am compelled to clean these out and put them in a box to take to the thrift shop this week.  I will do the same thing with my side of the closet which is full of clothing that I swear I will wear one day again after loosing some weight and that I probably never will because by then it will be out of style! LOL  Now don't get me wrong, I still want to loose the weight, but by then I am going to want some new clothing! LOL

I went through Noah's clothing 2 weekends ago and cleaned out the clothes that were too big for them, and put them in a box and labeled it, and put the clothing too little for him in a box and labeled them as well.  I will hang on to them just a little while to see if a friend or myself needs them with another baby boy though.  (We are praying for a girl, but geesh we can't seem to get pregnant anyway anyhow.  LOL  God is in control though and we know his timing is perfect!!!!)

Maybe it is the nice spring weather that is putting me in this decluttering mood perhaps??? I love looking arond at all my accomplishments of the spring cleaning, but I don't necessarily like it while I am doing it! LOL  Any of you feel the same???

Ok, I am off to get a few things done around here.  Talk to you all later!!!

It has been a difficult day anyway (my dear friend had to go to court today over a restraining order that kicked her and her 5 children out of the house, because her hubby is accusing her of abusive.  Of course it is nonsense but they still had to go to court about it.  I went along for moral support and the case was postponed till next week sometime.  She was a wreck today over it.) and then we received bad news on our arrival back from court.

We walked in our friend Tammy's house and she started crying as we reached the kitchen.  She told us she had really bad news and told us Miss Betty had died of a massive heart attack earlier that morning.  (We had seen emergency vehicles near where her apartment is when we were going to court this morning and had no idea it was for her.)  Miss Betty was the mother of a highschool girlfriend and she has the sweetest personality.  She was a helper and a giver and she had the sweetest most honset spirit you could ever find.  Her daughter and she never really got along and I don't understand that, because Miss Betty (we have all always called her that! LOL), was such a blessing.  She gave of herself and mostly her time to any need or cause that was out there.  She babysit, helped take people to the hospital if needed and even practically moved in with my friend Laurie when she was on bedrest and then when she delivered her baby a couple of months early and took care of her two older daughters.  She was amazing!!!  She wasn't sick as far as we know, but that heart attack took her just like that.

We know that she is better off where she is now in heaven, but we grieve the loss of her non the less.  Please keep her family, her church family, and her "girls" at the church in your prayers.  Many are so distraught over her loss.

God's Blessings,

Amy Jo

My days have been busy lately and I have been utulizing my 15 minute favorites as well as using my crockpot alot.  I thought I would share with you some wonderful websites I have run into while searching for more crockpotting recipes.

BTW, using the crockpot uses less energy than your oven and doesn't heat up your kitchen in the summer months as an oven would.  Also, it is easy clean up!!!  I love ours.

One of my favorites is A year of Crockpotting:  http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

Slow cooking Thursday:  http://chrysanthemoms.com/inthekitchen

Crockpot Recipe:  http://www.crockpot-recipe.com/

Family Crockpot Recipes: http://familycrockpotrecipes.com/

I often visit Crystal's Homemakers Homestead page (www.homemakershomestead.com) and I love to see what others are doing on the grocery challanges each month.  I am a member there, but have never entered any of the challanges there, but this month I am doing a huge challange for our family.

We are running a little tight on money this month with gas prices being higher, and with a few unexpected things we had to spend money on, so I declared the month of May we are buying NO GROCERIES!!!  Usually the first weekend of the month is my grocery day and I stock up for the whole month.  This month, we are not buying anything we don't absolutely need (milk because our two year old drinks milk alot! And bread because as much as hubby loves homemade bread, he would rather have our favorite honey wheat bread for his sandwiches he takes to work)  We are stocked up on all the other essentials except for toliet paper and diapers. (I will be buying those today)

Our pantry is stocked full and our standing freezer is full of pork and all kinds of other meats!  We have dried goods and I will be baking and cooking alot this month to save money on store bought snacks and cereals.  Matthew panicked last night when he realized he was out of Peanut Butter Captain Crunch cereal that he eats every day on the way to work (dry in a cup, no milk....yuck!)  I told him I would bake muffins for him and he could grab some toast or oatmeal before leaving the house.  I felt guilty telling him this and taking away his favorite breakfast food, but I am hoping (and praying) that by the end of the month, he will adore muffins and he won't want to go back to his peanut buttery sugary boxed cereal.

On the other hand, I will miss my chai tea mix when I run out.  I have never been a big coffee drinking, but I love me a hot cup of chai tea in the morning, or at night when I am relaxing and ready to go to bed. 

Anyway, it will be an adventure because although I know we have enough food to get us by this month, I know I will need ot be a little more creative in my recicpes and cooking this month.  I am hoping hubby will like my creative recipes and not balk too much without his favorites!!!

Anyone that knows me know I am not the most patien person on the earth.  Ok, God tries his best to teach me patience and sometimes I am better than others.  LOL  So my question is where is my stimulus check??? I read two different blogs here at HSB who have already recieved their money and have most likely already spent most of it (that money just seems to fly when we have bills and such doesn't it) and I looked at my account for mine and......................NADA!

So I am hoping I am just further down the alphabet or something and my money will be here soon.  I can't wait!!! *LOL*

If you read a previous post on the things we would like to repair on our house, you will know what we are doing with the money.  We have a budget of about $1200.00 and the rest we will use for a short overnight anniversary trip for Matthew and I in KC where we honeymooned. 

The $1200.00 includes a new front screen door and gasket, paint for both upstairs bedrooms, one downstairs bedrooom paint for the kitchen cabinets and shelves, new countertop and sink in the kitchen, a new medicine cabinet in the mini bathroom, some new outlet covers and other electric things throughout the house and garage, soil and a few flowers for the outside of the house and some touch up paint on the chipping paint on the outside as well. 

We currently don't have any debt except for our house and once again are trying to refinance the house.  We tried this a few months ago and our house appraised too high and that messed up the financing.  It is amazing that our house can appraise too high since we thought the property value plummeted when our teenage enighbors moved in next door and tore up their yard and continue to leave junk, toys, 5 bikes, some kiddie toys and trash all over the lawn. 

The neighbors are the biggest reason we would like to repair some things on the house and move to the country.  We have a small yard, but it almost always has "little presents" from two of our neighbors dogs.  The dogs are left to run whenever and wherever they want most of the time and our yard doesn't have a fence (we would like one though), so we feel uncomfortable playing in the yard with so many large dogs not on leases.  We have called the city, but not much is done about it.  A stray dog was in my yard one day and wouldn't let me leave the house, and I called the police and they said they couldn't do anything about it until the following day when the dog catcher was on duty.  Then when the dog catcher is on duty, he doesn't do his job!! 

Needless to say we would like to find a home in the country far from any highways or roads so we can play outside and when Noah is older he can play outside without being scared of the dogs next door.  Our dream would be to find a place where we can plant our own garden as well.

Don't forget gals to stop by the B ird Lady's place to sign up for a wonderfully generous give away!!!!

http://www.homesteadblogger.com/birdlady/95942

As I was rushing off for a haircut today, I grabbed the mail, and read it while waiting for my beautifician to finish up on her previous customer.  I had a bday card and check from my mother and father in law (I was actually suprised they remembered even if it was late. LOL), and a card from my sweet Aunt Betty with pictures of her and my cusions and her grand daughter Hannah (who is about 2 months older than Noah).l  I was so surpised and blessed by this card and letter from my Aunt Betty.  It honestly warmed my heart. 

I also received our invitation today for my neice's pinning (she just finished her RN and they don't "graduate", they get "pinned". LOL), along with a card inside inviting us for a BBQ reception at my brother and sister in law's house afterwards to celebrate.  I am so proud of her!!  She just turned 21, is getting pinned (graduating with her RN degree), getting married in June and buying her first house and moving in this month!! She is super busy huh?? LOL

Anyway, my Aunt Betty made a comment in her letter that she couldn't wait to see me at Meg's wedding.  I will be delighted to see her and my cusions.  They only live 2 hours away, but it seems I haven't seen them since mom's funeral (March of 2007), and my cusion Lance couldn't come.  He is my age, married and has the the little one who is 2 months older than Noah.  I certainly hope they will be able to come and bring Hannah to Meg's wedding.  I haven't seen him in YEARS because until 2 years ago they were always stationed far away from here in the service.  (He used to jump from planes as a Paratrooper!!)

I have a friend who needs your prayers today.  I can't go into great detail beccause it is not my place, but please keep her in your prayers.  She was standing in my house today crying.  She is going through so much right now, and some MAJOR changes in her and her children's life right now.  She is heart broken and the bad news has crushed her in some ways.  I don't know what to do for her, but I am trying to be there when she needs me.  Please just pray!!

We have discussed making some minor (and some major) repairs to the house we have lived in for 2 years and moving.  So here are the things on the list to get done before we can put the house on the market.  I will break the list down later into monthly and weekly goals, but I didn't want to bore anyone with that just yet. LOL

1. Put a new screen door and gasket on the front door

2.  Put new countertops and sink and faucet in the kitchen

3. Paint both bedrooms upstairs (Noah's and ours)

4. Make our laundry room (on the back of the house) into a back entrance/mudporch/laundry room by hanging some hooks for coats and bags, and a small bench for putting on and taking off shoes.  This is will also help in not tracking so much dirt in on the carpet by using the front door.

5. Repaint the exterior or at least patch several spots where the paint has chipped away

6.  Clean up organize the garage

7.  Run new electricity to the garage (the house is 98 years old, and I am not sure how old the garage is, but the electricity to the garage is awful. Matthew knows how to do this, so we don't need to hire anyone)

8.  Demo the finish work in the basement (the old owners had up paneling in the basement that got wet and then half way came off, but they left it there.  We never bothered with it because we rarely use the basement)

9. Dispose of anchient furniture in the basement left by previous owners

10. Paint downstairs bedroom (because it looks so dark with the dark wood paneling)

11. Paint living room, dining room and stair case going upstairs (all of these ajoin so it will need to be the same color, or at least the same color family)

12. Paint cabinets and shelves in kitchen

13. Replace medicine cabinet and lighting fixture in the mini half bath

14. Yard Work ( I don't really know what Matthew plans to do here.  He loves yard work and such, so I am leaving this one completely up to him)

15.  Possibly new carpet throughout the house (Dining Room, Living Room and Stairs, and 3 Bedrooms)

Wish us luck!!! LOL

  Hello all.  Today is Monday and although I have skipped the last few Monday's for posting menus, I am back on track and posting mine for this week.  YIPEEEEEEE!!!!!!

Monday:  Ginger Chicken, Fried Rice  (need to get this in the crockpot soon)

Tuesday: Mini Meatloafs ( I make them in a muffin tin and can freeze the leftovers), mashed potatoes (leftovers will make potato pancakes for lunches later on in the week), and buttered corn

Wednesday: BBQ RIbs (I love my crockpot), potato salad

Thursday: Lemon Chicken, Roasted Vegetables, Steamed Broccoli (quick easy meal before rushing off to Bible Study)

Friday: Crockpot Ham and Cheesy Party potatoes, Buttered peas

Saturday: Tacos

Sunday: Crockpot Pork Loin and Vegetables

This Sunday we are planning on taking sandwiches with us and eating them at the park after church instead of coming straight home, to give Noah some time to play.  We live about 30 miles from our church family, and the park there is wonderful.  Noah loves it!!

So what's for dinner tonight at your house??