Solomon Homestead

The Truth About Halloween -- a Resource for Those who do not participate in Halloween

It's that time of year again...... many children may be decending upon your home in a few short weeks..... asking for candy and donning their newest costumes for this year's Halloween.

For those of us who feel convicted that they do not wish to participate in this day I have a wonderful resource that I have used in the past in lieu of handing out candy to kids. 

The Truth about Halloween is a little booklet that is produced by  www.rodandstaffbooks.com

It outlines the history of Halloween and why many Christians choose to not participate in this day's activities. You can purchase these in quanities for very little.

Many people may not realize the history or roots of Halloween and may be caught off guard by your choice to not participate in this activity. This booklet is a great way to present the facts in a  kind way.

We feel very blessed this year that  we attend a Church that does not sponsor Halloween activities. For years we battled this with our prior Church. It always deeply disturbed me that a church would sponsor "spook allies" or parade their children around dressed as witches and vampires!!    I am so thankful to be in fellowship with other believers who have been convicted in their hearts concerning this  day.  Our church instead focuses on the blessings of the harvest season and we sponsor a harvest fellowship meal in November.  Most the families who attend our Church also homeschool and share the same values. So we are truly blessed!  Thank yoiu Jesus for bringing us into this precious fellowship with others who share and believe our activities should reflect godliness!!

I know this is a personal choice and many who read this may participate in Halloween activities -- but I wanted to lovingly and kindly present this resource to those who are tired of explaining to their friends and family "why" they have chosen to not engage in Halloween actitivies.

~ gloria ~

Ta da list

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Top Five Tips to Successful Grocery Shopping

1. Check your local newspapers for specials and clip coupons.

Now I have always said I can save more money by buyinng generic than clipping coupons.  And in years past, this may have been true.  But today, clipping coupons can save a family big money, depending on where you shop.  I am a little envious of those of you who have large stores near you who offer coupon and saving programs and offer double coupons.  We live in the sticks and most of these coupon games are not available for us.  However, finding coupon sites online and printing out coupons can be so helpful even if you don't have those stores in your area.  Finding soap on sale, great!!!  Finding soap on sale and having a coupon for it in your purchase, priceless!!!  LMSO  If done correctly, buying this way can cost you little or nothing at all for the item!

2.  Do not shop while hungry!!

Need I say more???  LOL  I myself, end up buying cheesecake and anything else with cream cheese in it when I am hungry at the grocery store.  Things I don't normally buy or eat because it goes straight to my hips (and everywhere else I am sure).  When hubby shops hungry he ends up coming home with JUNK FOOD GALORE!!!  Have you noticed when you are hungry at the grocery store, you don't stock up on fresh fruits and vegetables??  Save your waist line and your pock book, and don't shop while hungry.

3.  Avoid impulsive buys and stick to the list.

This is something I don't have much trouble with.  I make a list before going to the store.  It is divided into the areas of the store that make it easy for shopping.  Dairy, meats, canned items, cleaning supplies, frozen foods, produce, breads, etc.  I know exactly what I need, and I buy those things and get outta there.  I don't mind grocery shopping, but I can't stand the rude people, the loud screaming kids from 3 rows over or the children who drive their parents carts like they are race car drivers, so I am usually trying to hustle and get outta there.  LOL  Hubby, on the other hand, sees something, doesn't think about it and tosses it into the cart.  It doesn't register to him that buying those items will put us over budget.  He doesn't think about it not being good for him, or even looking for the generic version.  Nope.  He just tosses it in the cart.  He went to the store one time for milk and bread only.  He came home with $65.00 groceries!!!!!!!!!!  One month, he did this so much we went over our budget not by tens of dollars, but by HUNDREDS!!!!!  So the following month, I put us on a grocery diet and we didn't go to the store except for milk to make up for it!!!!  And don't ever give my hubby a blank check when going to the grocery store.  It makes him even worse! LOL 

4.  Plan week-long menus.  Plan a variety of meals.  Keep nutrition in mind,  and prepare well balanced meals.

As I said in a previous post, this is my main reason for planning dinners.  If I don't keep track of dinners in a menu, I can't tell how often we have had a spaghetti meal in one month, or how often we had ham.  With a menu planner, I can keep better track of what my family is eating and know that we are getting a variety of foods, and the fruits and veggies our family needs.  When our family doesn't plan meals we end up eating quick foods, which most of the time are processed junk and greasy fatty foods.  When planning dinner ahead of time I make sure they are more balanced.

5.  Don't let the packaging fool you.  Compare products.  Let weight, price, and content be your guide to value.

There are a few items in our pantry that I refuse to buy generic (after trying it once or twice first of course).  Everyone has those "luxury items"  I suppose.  LOL  For instance, does anyone use a generic Velvetta?  Not many I would say.  The generic is awful.  And although we use tomato soup in our house mostly in other dishes, we have realized the generic has a weird taste to it, so we wait until Campbell's goes on sale and stock up.  We no longer buy cereal because it has a brand name.  We buy cereal in bags from Malt-O-Meal at a much cheaper price or we make muffins and other breakfast foods instead.

Any other hints you have for grocery shopping you would like to share????

Menu Plans: Why I Have One (even though it changed often! LOL)

I love making out my menu plans for the month.  Don't ask me why!  I know some of you dread it.  It is a chore, but one I like doing.  It is the same as some people enjoying mopping or hanging clothes on the line, while other dread the unruly task I suppose.  LOL

I recently had a comment on my blog and a pm asking me why I plan a weekly menu if it is continuously changing.  Well, I had to think about that for a moment.  Much in the same way that you make your bed every day to jump in it that evening to mess it up again I suppose.  LMSO  (This was my excuse as a teen and even sometimes now as an adult when I get busy and forget to make the bed.  It worked as a teen only because my room was on the second floor and my mom never had to see it. LOL)

I usually plan out a months long menu planner according to what we have in stock (a large standing freezer, 2 refrigerators with top freezers, a large pantry and flats of canned items) and what is on sale.  I used to grocery shop once a month.  We have a family of 3, so it was doable, but I wouldn't suggest it.  LOL  First of all, we walked out with 2 overflowing carts full of food for just the three of us, it was exhausting, and it took most of the day to shop, stand in line to pay, load the car, drive 30 minutes back home, and unload and organize it all.  UGH!  Now I find shopping weekly or bi-weekly is much more managable, and I shop more of the sales doing this too.

I plan a menu mostly so I know what to expect, and so that I can guarantee that our family isn't having the same meal over and over again.  When things aren't planned out ahead of time here, we seem to make it a quick dinner and it isn't always that healthy.  Having the menu planner helps me know the night before what to thaw from the freezer and what to prep the next morning.  I use some time before or after breakfast each day to prep for dinner.  This is when I chop vegetables, brown the hamburger, or put things in the crockpot.  This way if the rest of the day ends up being busy, we end up running late because of a doctor's appointment taking 3 times as long as I would have liked (happens all the time), I have a step up on getting dinner on the table on time

Why does my menu change almost weekly?  Life happens!!  LOL  Matthew will end up working late, and I will change the menu to accomodate sometimes.  If I haven't felt well that day, I will look into the menu for the month, or see what I have on hand to fix a quick easy dinner of BBQ Beef Sandwiches (on buns I almost always have on hand in the freezer and can thaw when needed) instead of fixing lasagna that night.  Or sometimes Matthew requests a specific meal, and if I have the ingredients on hand I will try to accomodate his wants.  After all, he works super hard all week for this family, and if he wants one of his favorite meals that evening instead of what was planned, it isn't that hard to change a few things to make him feel loved!!  (I secretly love when he does this, because it means he likes my cooking and it is a pat on the back for me!)

For my family, having a menu planner helps us in having a variety of ingredients and dinners up our sleeve.  But it isn't anything cut into stone.  We need to be flexible and not let the menu planner be a controlling thing.  If we are invited by the inlaws to eat out (and because we know they always insist on paying, we usually say yes! LOL), then we know we can always have the Parmesan Chicken planned for that evening another time during the month.  If it goes onto the menu planner, we already have all the ingredients, so that is one meal later I don't have to shop for.

So, how about you ladies??? Do any of you love to menu plan?  Do you keep yourself strictly to the menu plan, or is yours forever changing??  Let me know!!!  I would love to see how others are handling this.

Menu Planner Monday

Here is my menu for the week.  Although Monday in the past has been for us a Meatless Monday for us, this week it is not.  I have some sausage that I need to use up quickly, so today is PIZZA NIGHT!  We planned on having this on Friday of last week, but things happened at the last minute. 

Monday:  sausage pizza

Tuesday: hame and cheesey potatoes, peas, crescent rolls

Wednesday: Chilli and cornbread

Thursday: fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans

Friday: sticky chicken, fried rice, vegetables

Saturday: rosemary porkchops, roasted vegetables, steamed broccoli

Sunday: Planned Leftovers

10 Tips for Saving on Your Heating Bills

This was in my inbox this morning and I thought it was worth sharing these good tips for saving money....Kitty

Saving on Your Heating Bill
by Justin Ripley
You don't have much choice. You must heat your home.

With gas, heating fuel, and electric prices rising more and
more every day, many people are finding that the cost of
heating their homes is reaching astronomical proportions.
Unlike other monthly expenses that can be cut out of a
person's budget, home heating expenses are not an area where
we have much choice. We have to heat our homes during the cold
winter months just in order to survive. It's a simple as that.

Despite the fact that this is an expense we can not remove
from our budgets, there are a number of things that can be
done to trim those heating costs throughout the winter. Many
articles point to expensive remedies, such as installing
energy efficient windows or installing new insulation. While
these solutions work, it can take years to realize the savings
in lower heating costs. Conversely, most of these ten tips are
cheap, easy, and quick to implement. I hope they will save you
some money while keeping you warm throughout those cold winter
months!

1. Install a "smart" thermostat. While it may cost you
somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 to purchase a
programmable thermostat, it should pay for itself within a
year. Personally, I bought a 7-day programmable thermostat as
soon as I moved into my new house and I love it. It was
relatively easy to install myself and now the temperature in
my home fluctuates throughout the day per my plan. The heat
drops down to 62 during the day when I'm not home (why keep
the place warm when nobody is home!) then charges back up to
70 degrees shortly before I get back from work. At bedtime, it
drops down to 62 again, and then it heads back up to 70
shortly before I need to get out of bed in the morning. It's
great!

2. Throw some extra blankets on the bed. Following the thought
from above, I sleep in a relatively cold environment. I find
it to be better for my lungs, and frankly, once you're nestled
under a bunch of warm blankets, it's quite enjoyable. Not
heating the house to 70 degrees throughout the night will save
a bunch of money on those heating bills.

3. Consider buying a humidifier. Moist air feels warmer than
dry air, and it's better for your skin and lungs, too.

4. Wear wool socks in the house. The floors in your house get
cold in the winter as heat rises and colder air moves down.
Cold feet make cold people. Wool socks are cheap, comfortable,
and will keep you and your feet warm.

5. Wear a sweater. Like the socks, this is a cheap and easy
way to stay warm throughout the winter and allows you to set
the thermostat at a lower temperature. I've noticed that in
today's modern world people seem to think they should be able
to wear shorts and t-shirts in their homes throughout the
winter. This is fine if you want to pay for it. I'll take a
lesson from my ancestors and just bundle up a little bit.

6. Let the light in. Be sure to open the window shades and
blinds during the day. Sunlight coming in will act as passive
solar heat and can make a significant difference in the
temperature of your home.

7. Turn the ceiling fans on. This one may sound a little
crazy, but it works. Most ceiling fans have a switch on them
that allows them to run in reverse. By running the fan in
reverse at a low speed, it will actually help circulate warm
air throughout the house.

8. Seal the leaks. At the beginning of winter, go around your
home and seal up any potential air leaks with caulk or weather
stripping. Most of the heat that leaves your home escapes
through cracks around the windows and doors. To the extent
possible, seal these up!

9. Service your furnace and/or heaters. A dirty furnace or heater is not efficient and
will cost more money to run than one  that receives
annual cleaning from a professional. In addition to periodic
servicing, be sure to replace those air filters if needed.

10. Cook a big Sunday roast.  Mom
always cooked a Sunday roast. Pork or beef with carrots,
potatoes, gravy, and all the other good stuff. It was a great
tradition to bring the family together at least one day a
week, and of course, the food was great, too. Cooking a
roast meant having the oven on for a few hours, and all that
heat definitely escapes into the house. It doesn't cost much
to run the oven, and it's also a nice way to spend a quiet
Sunday in the winter with family.

I hope these simple tips prove useful and help you save some
of your hard-earned cash this winter!

Little Bitty Updates

Let's see...We had our booth at the fall festival.  It turned out to be a good day.  We got a great spot for our booth & lots of children played & got fun little prizes.  The weather was also lovely.  We didn't quite break even...until........I won a $50 gift card to Kroger grocery store!!!  If you count that $50 we made a little profit!  Yeah!!!  We came home around 4:00 & were all very tired.

Sunday we stayed around home.  I got the children's lessons plans done up & cleaned up the school house.  Unfortunately I'm going to have to store my bean-bag toss game in there for a while.  --I said when we built the little school house that it WOULD NOT become a storage shed, and well, it's starting to look like that!  My husband is going to build me a small shed of my own hopefully sometime soon to store MY things in. 

As for today's plans, I've got the laundry going & the dryer too (calls for rain), I've got some baking to do for the week as well & then we need to make a quick run to the library to exchange our things.  We'll do school work first and then make our trip.  I need to pick up a gallon of milk from the dollar store too.  Now that they stock some grocery items in there it is so nice.  I do have to pay a bit more, but it saves on gas so it works out.

Oh...how did I forget this...our neighbors who lived across the street who stole from us, tore up our driveway, beat his wife, & tormented our children....God answered our prayers.  They moved out on Thursday!!!  Come to find out, they had not paid rent in almost the whole year they lived here. The landlord, his boss, finally kicked them out.  We've been watching like a hawk to make sure they did not tear up any of our things or vehicles and I'm happy to say nothing bad happened.  The man has another family that is suppose to be moving in soon so we hope they will be better--it would be hard to be worse!  We saw them over cleaning it up yesterday & the man who oversees the property told my husband they are "good people."--I sure hope so.

That's about it for us.  Hope you have a nice day!

How much is a little??

Purrsha brought a mouse in through our bedroom window around four a.m. this morning and started to play with it. Really not my idea of entertainment at the time of the morning or anytime of the day actually. LOL!

We took the trip into town Sunday morning and went to church there ~~Our little grandson Calvin Gabriel was dedicated. He is the newest in a family with five children now. Love having grandchildren.

Our discussions last night brought up the subject of MSG~~I looked it up on the net and oh my ~~~ We are so lied to.Or if "lie" is too strong of a word for some how about purposely misled. It is well known that MSG is not good for us to say the least but how well known is it that it comes under so many names. It and aspartame do we really know if a little of it is okay like the food industry would have us believe when it is NOT an okay food additive. I know we here have some food with MSG in it but when they say no MSG added and it is still there just not more added that is rather misleading is it not? Well I won't get into anymore on that subject at this early hour of the morning. I would say though those of you who do NOT want to be ingesting MSG look into it as it is hidden under various names and when said no MSG added on the label it is probably still there but not more added to the particular food. Even organic food can have it in it. Crazy I know.

It is Thanksgiving Monday and many families and friends are celebrating with their big dinner today. We had ours on Saturday but I think I will make a ham and mashed potatoes yams etc. and pumpkin pie today just for the three of us. That would be kind of fun. Teddy will have to have something done with his ham as he can still not chew very well. He is healing though.

I have the material washed for my wrap around skirt and the heavy denim washed for Dear Dennis' shirt. I plan on getting both pieces ironed and prayerfully cut out today.

Think I have myself a busy day ahead along with just everday things but that is okay. Have more cows to push into pastures. And the guys will probably work on their plans for the woodshed.

Be of good courage,

And He shall strengthen your heart,

All you who hope in the LORD.

Psalm 31:24