Abraham or Lot?

Genesis tells us about Abraham and Lot. Both had been blessed so much that they couldn't fit all their stuff together. The herdsmen were arguing. Something had to be done. Abraham offered his nephew a solution. They needed to move apart and Abraham offered Lot his choice of land. Lot looked around and took the best land he could find, The Plain of Jordan. He moved his stuff there and set up housekeeping. Abraham took what was left, the Land of Canann. As Abraham settled in his new digs, God blessed his generosity. God told Abraham to look as far as he could, to the east, west, north, and south. That land would be his and his descendents. He would have so many descendents they would number as much as grains of dust on the whole earth! Lot, on the other hand, took the best land for himself, the land near the wicked city of Sodom. Lot was eventually captured and rescued by Abraham, who held no grudge against his nephew's selfishness.

As Adam, Ryan, and I studied Abraham this morning, we talked about selfishness as a part of human nature. We all vowed to be more like Abraham, and less like Lot. It wasn't even an hour later when Ryan and Evan were arguing over which DVD to watch. I asked Ryan, "Are you going to be like Abraham or like Lot?" It was hard, but Ryan let Evan pick the dvd... and Evan picked one they both could enjoy. The blessings have started already. :)

Lesson Learned

Although it may look clean, if you suspect that milk has been spilled in your cooler, you really should clean it before you put it back into storage.

Oriental Salad

I'm not a big salad eater, or any other vegies either. I'm more of a meat and potatoes kind of gal... or actually, more of a dessert kind of gal! LOL

My sister made me try this salad at a birthday party. YUMMY! I've made it for a couple occasions since then. Everyone that tries it, loves it! It's the perfect combination of sweet and healthy. ;)

Oriental Salad

Salad
1 head finely chopped lettuce
1 bunch chopped green onions
1 tblspn poppy seeds
1 can chow mein noodles
1/3 c sliced almonds

Dressing
1/2c sugar
1/2 cup oil
1/4c cider vinegar
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt

Toss salad
Put dressing ingredients in blender
blend until sugar is dissolved
Pour over sald and toss, JUST BEFORE SERVING, the noodles will get soggy if you let it sit!

Easiest Recipe Ever

My kids and husband have been on a huge cinnamon toast kick lately. They eat it for breakfast, for snack, for dessert.... It's the anytime food! And, as far as sweet treats go, it's far more healthy than most other choices.

My mom used to make cinnamon toast in the oven. I hated the way the bottom would stay soft and mushy while the top got too crispy. Plus the oven takes too long, uses too much energy, and heats up the whole house! I decided to try a shortcut and it makes better toast faster

1. Toast bread (in the regular toaster)
2. Spread with butter
3. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture
4. Eat
5. Ask for more

We keep the cinnamon/sugar mix in a salt shaker so it's ready to go and makes less mess than trying to sprinkle with a spoon. It's about half sugar - half cinnamon but you can mix it to your taste.

When you make cinnamon toast, the aroma of warm bread, melting butter, and sweet cinnamon makes your whole house smell like you're baking a fancy dessert.

Free Pizza Rolls

Okay, it's been a while since I posted here... over a month. But I have to update on that pizza roll post; the pizza rolls I bought for 39c a box. Each of those boxes had a 50c coupon on it!!! Last week Kroger had pizza rolls on sale for $1. And Kroger doubles coupons!! That's right... 50c doubled = $1!! I got five free boxes of pizza rolls and another box for 20c b/c I had an extra coupon for 40c off. I love a great deal!

Coupons

My freezer is stocked with frozen convenience foods. They're not something I normally buy since they're overpriced and generally less healthy than other options. But, they are convenient! And since I used coupons, I got great prices.

Totino's frozen pizzas are an occasional treat for the boys. Last time we bought them, they had coupons on the back of the boxes. For 99c, I got the frozen pizza and more than 99c in coupons! One of the coupons was 50c off Totino's pizza rolls. Our local grocery had the pizza rolls on sale for $1.39 last week. After they doubled my coupons I spent 39c per box! Adam is in heaven. Another coupon was 50c off Toaster Strudel. Toaster Strudel were also on sale last week. After my coupons were doubled, I paid $1.oo per box. It's not as good a deal as the pizza rolls, but I love Toaster Strudel.

Another great deal I got last week was on Honey Nut Cheerios. All the males in my family adore Honey Nut Cheerios. They eat at least one box, sometimes two boxes, every week and it must be General Mills, no store brand. Honey Nut Cheerios are not the most expensive cereal, but they're not the cheapest either. When I see coupons for HNC, I stock up and wait for a sale. In July, it was Kroger that had HNC for $1.69 plus you got free milk if you bought a certain amount. Then, they had blinkies for $1.00 off two boxes. I stocked up!! But those boxes ran out and it's time to restock. Our local Foodland had the bigger boxes of HNC for $2.50 last week. I had a stash of those blinkie coupons that I got a Kroger in July. That brought the price down to $2/box. It's not as good a deal as Kroger in July, but good enough for me to buy eight boxes of cereal. I just hope there's another sale in October! ;)

It takes some effort to save money with coupons. Couponing is more than just clipping the Sunday inserts and remembering to take it to the store. It's even harder now than it used to be. Manufacturers aren't putting out as many higher dollar coupons as they used and the coupons now have shorter expirations. I've never been one of those people who purchased an entire cartload of grocries for $1.67, but I have gotten a lot of free and almost free stuff.

My advice:

Don't limit yourself to Sunday inserts. You can find some good coupons
in there, especially for new products, but the better coupons are from other
sources. Check your food packages before you toss them.
I get tons of coupons in the mail b/c I'm on every mailing list in the
country. Request free samples on-line. They usually come with
coupons AND you get added to the mailing list. Join the diaper
clubs. Be alert at the stores. Grocery stores often have coupons
right there in the aisle. Don't just use them today; get enough to last
you through the expiration period. Don't forget on-line coupons! You
can find tons of printables or just add coupons to your shopping card at Upons.

Maximize your savings by waiting for a sale. That's double savings and
that's where you wind up getting your free or practically free items.

Shop at stores that double coupons. Same amount of work, twice the
savings!

Store you coupons so you can find them when you need them. I carry mine
in a brag book photo album. Each page holds a coupon, or multiples of the
same coupon, and they're arranged in the order of the aisles in my favorite
grocery store. It's much easier to flip through the book, than to sort
through a coupon file or, gasp, envelope stuffed with coupons.
Sort them regularly and pull out the expireds.

Don't use coupons to buy things you don't like. You'll hear a lot of
people tell you to only use coupons for things you're already buying. But
I don't regularly buy pizza rolls and I got them for 39c! Don't overlook
things you like, but don't normally purchase. Coupons can be great way to
afford that extra treat or try something new. But, be selective.
You're not saving anything if your family won't eat or use the product.

It's a Contest

I just love Sandra Boynton. Our favorite book is The Going to Bed Book. We love it so much we don't even need the book anymore. LOL I just recite the poem as I put Matthew in his PJs and he knows it's time to snuggle down and go to sleep.

Loni, at Joy in the Morning, is giving away a Sandra Boynton calendar! My SIL has one of these and it's very handy for organizing a big family. There's lots of space for writing down everyone's plans so you can cross reference which parent is taking which kid where! I hope I win!