Budgeting

I love to save money and spend as little as I can each month. I used to be really good at budgeting, then we moved and things cot crazy. I got out of my habit of writing down everything that we spend and keeping track. Then entered Mint. It is a really cool online budgeting site. It is secure, like bank secure, and links all of your bank/credit accounts to it. I have still got to get things set up how I want it to be, but it tells you right there where you are spending your money. Like your types of purchases and things. It is much easier then going through bank statements and receipts. So go, try it! It will help prepare you for the future so you can have that rainy day fund you have been talking about. It is secure and pretty easy!

Is your pantry prepared?

No, this isn't my pantry, but I wish! It's courtesy of Living Off the Grid and is worth checking out! The title of their post with this photo is "Being Snowed In Is Different When You're Prepared." Ain't that the truth!

I'm in the throes of harvesting and preserving too. Already I've canned 14 quarts of apricots and 12 pints of apricot-pineapple jam. The fruit cost me exactly ZERO dollars. While we were in Utah, my cousin's 94-year-old sweetest lady of a neighbor was desperate for someone to clean off her apricot tree, so I stepped up. :-) Not sure what to do next...it all depends on if our tomatoes decide to turn red. If so, we're in for a bumper crop!

In case you want a source for food preservation trouble shooting, check with your local extension office. Sure, you can use your trusty canning recipe book for the how-to, but the experts at the extension office will be able to tell you everything from why your dill pickles aren't crunchy even though you put alum in the jars, to why your peach jam went dark, to really just how long to process pears so they don't cause botulism but aren't cooked to death and mushy (yes, I've called them for all of these issues and they were super helpful).

Finally, I found a helpful checklist of pantry staples to have at all times that will help you make a variety of different meals. This list includes not only pantry items, but refrigerator, freezer and produce items as well. I edited it just a little bit for my family's preferences. Like, I took off the Dijon mustard and added sour cream and cream cheese to the fridge list. You could also make changes based on the season as well. For me, it came in handy having these things on hand the last few days when it was SO hot here that my menu plans containing anything cooked were abandoned. Because my pantry and fridge were stocked with the essentials, I whipped up some pretty darn tasty impromptu alternatives.

What are your trusty go-to pantry items that you always have stocked?

Ready, Steady, Go! And don't be afraid to sing.

A stroller's-eye view of the Washington Monument

I'm late. I'm always late; and this blog post is no exception. My exuse this time? I was on an airplane.

I thought I'd write about traveling with kids, and that doing it after the fact would give me insight into what I wish we'd brought with us for the plane trip. But then it turned out to be one of the easiest, most fun trips on a plane that I've taken with kids. We had plenty of snacks, stickers and coloring books. On a cross-country trip including a stopover and plane change, we didn't even get around to the finger puppets I brought, or the chapter books for my reader. I've heard that a portable DVD player is a must on the airplane when you're traveling with children, but I saw it as quality time spent with my kids and we were all nicely entertained. It was actually a blessing that we couldn't all sit together - for half the trip one adult sat with the kids while the other got some R&R, and then we switched.

Today, however, the lesson came. And not in the way I expected it to. We are here to visit my family first and foremost. But in this town your'e cheating yourself if you don't get out and see some things, too. Today we thought we'd see one of the many museums on our list. But we didn't get there with enough time to really see it so we decided to change our plans and just go for a walk to see some of the city's sights. My sister dropped us off, so we were on foot for a couple hours. Right in the middle of our walk, wouldn't you know it, a downpour. We're from the northwest; we don't carry umbrellas. And besides, it was warm rain, not our native frigid kind. We all got soaked, and the kids were slightly miserable about it, but we were ready with good attitudes - there was nowhere to go but forward on our walk, so we might as well make the best of it! - and a couple of old hit songs (picture me singing as loud as I dared in this busy place "I don't care if the sun don't shine, I get my lovin' in the evening time, when I'm with my baby! ... ")

The Lincoln Memorial was the only shelter around. She was annoyed by the grown-ups' good moods in spite of the rain.

Sometimes being prepared is about having the right stuff - for entertainment on a plane ride or surviving an emergency. And sometimes it's about a flexible plan and a good attitude. And seriously, knowing the words to a few good oldies - and being willing to sing them out loud! - can be a lifesaver when you least expect it.

Preserving the Taste of Summer

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It's that time of year again. I have some peaches coming to me this week and I am getting so excited to get my canning done and my freezer jams made. Cali talked about U-pick berries here last week and we take full advantage of this luxury. My freezer is slowly beginning to get full and as I have been exploring the Internet, searching for new sites that have great food storage ideas, I ran across a few things I wanted to share with you.

Food Storage Made Easy

This site is just a good basic blog to follow if you are like me and need a lot of help with this whole food storage idea.  There are great tips and recipes and fun ways to acquire and use your food storage.

I also found this site that has a yummy jam recipe I want to try. 

Prepared Not Scared

My main goal this week is to get my peaches canned.  I'm hoping it will cool down by the end of this week so that this can be a more comfortable goal.  Here is the recipe I think I might use.  I love Summer.  I love canning summer and then getting to taste it in the winter time. 

Happy canning!