Hall of Fame Moms: an Ohio MomBlog » Top Ten Tuesdays

10 things on my mind.

Tracy — Tue, 04 May 2010 01:08:31 +0000

My Top 10 Tuesday.

1. I’ve committed to working through Darren Rowse’s Problogger ebook “31 Days to Build a Better Blog” and posting about what I’m learning on my other blog where you can follow what I’m learning too….BlogTipsThatPay.

2. Walking 20-30 minutes daily (or most days). This started May 1st and I was convinced by the end of day 1 that this was a good thing So far I’m 3 for 3! Whoo-hoo!

3. To lose 10 pounds this month of May…by walking and watching what I eat, but not dieting or counting calories. There, now that I’ve told you, I better keep up with this

4. Writing a guest post for CWAHM that is to be posted May 18th. Topic to be determined…

5. Writing a guest post for College for 10K. Topic…my college experience and money.

6. I’ve applied to become one of the new Sears Outlet Signature Power Team members. If you’re a blogger you can apply too, but the link is not at Sears. Read on and I’ll share the link with you so you can apply too.

7. I’ve applied to work with another marketing firm for another product. Won’t share the details on that unless I’m accepted.

8. Mother’s Day is this Sunday and I don’t know yet if we are going to a cookout or hosting one here at my house (yikes!).

9. Homeschooling. (I will be a first-time homeschooling mom this year).

10. Mama Robin has laid 4 eggs since I shared that pic of her empty nest last Wednesday (built on our windowsill). AND, you haven’t seen it yet, but Brendan found a Woolly Bear caterpiller and about 4 days after finding it – it had spun its cocoon. If it survives it should be turning into a Tiger Moth I believe in about a week or two and I still need to cover the top of its makeshift home so it doesn’t fly away inside my house! I’ll share a pic of the eggs tomorrow for my Wordless Wednesday. Oh yeah. And if you’re looking for the link to apply for the Sears team, here it is. I just didn’t want you to leave before you finished reading my post

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Praying for our children.

Tracy — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 18:59:40 +0000

When I was pregnant with Brendan I received a really nice book as a baby shower gift. God’s Little Devotional Book for Moms by Honor Books, Inc. (Thanks Mary Clare ). Lately I’ve been reading the short inspirational stories in it and came across one that I just decided to make as my Top 10 Tuesday post.

I really believe that praying in detail for our children, husbands and others is vital in life. Vital to “their” lives, yes, but prayer changes the one doing the praying also. This particular short story I read gave 10 points we should consider praying about for our children. I didn’t realize there were 10 things until I wrote them out (they weren’t numbered). I’ll share the list with you here in black font and the tweaking I gave them in blue.

Ways to pray for your children:

1- For their physical, emotional, and spiritual health.

2- An abiding sense of safety and security. Hedge of protection from all harm.

3- Courage to face the problems of each day.

4- A calm spirit to hear the voice of the Lord.

5- A willingness to obey. To obey God, us-their parents and authority in general.

6- A clear mind, both to learn and to recall.

8- Wise teachers, mentors and counselors.

9- Unshakable self-worth and personal dignity.

10- Eternal salvation and a home in heaven one day. Being saved IS eternal (though it starts immediately here on earth) and automatically includes a home in heaven- they are unseparable! We are a new creature in Christ right away Are you saved?

Look for more Top Tuesday posts at www.OhAmanda.com

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Ten things I’d like to do someday.

Tracy — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 00:02:52 +0000

* Attend the Relevant blogger’s conference. This would be my first conference, its only in the state next door and its for Christian blogger’s! Alas, I need a sponsor for this. So on that note, if you are a family friendly company and would like some free advertising on my blog as well as be represented by myself at this conference I’d love to hear from you.

* Visit a really nice beach in Florida.

* Replace our very used dining room table and chairs with a set that actually matches and is in great condition.

* Have (someone else) remodel the laundry room in the basement.

* Have (someone else) pull up the nasty carpet in the basement bath and replace it with… something else.

* Visit a really nice beach somewhere on the east coast- not too far of a drive from Ohio.

* Have a really successful garage sale ASAP.

* Replace the bathroom countertop (I think its been here since the house was built in 1960)- I wouldn’t be opposed to the idea of replacing the cupboards under it either.

* Did I mention I want to attend The Relevant Conference in October?

* And visit a really nice beach somewhere

Find more Top 10′s at OhAmanda.com

10 ways to save money you may not have thought of.

Tracy — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 01:34:31 +0000

Replace or minimize paper towel use by…

using cheap white wash clothes (I get mine from Walmart a pack of 18 for about $4).

Instead of replacing your toothbrush every 3 month…

stick it in the dishwasher in the utensil holder and wash every now and again.

Make shampoo go further…

by diluting it with water. Its still shampoo!

Make your handsoap go further…

by buying the foaming dispensers at Bath & Body Works when they are on sale (they’re already filled w/ soap). When empty, add a little bit of your own handsoap and then fill about 3/4 of the way with water. Give a gentle shake back and forth before pumping.

Make your dryer sheets last longer…

by tearing them in half. Use half a sheet instead of a whole one.

Got bath towels with holes but lots of life still in them?

Cut them down, hem the ends and use them in the kitchen.

Cleaning mirrors and windows…

Use newspaper or coffee filters (instead of paper towels).

Like real fruit smoothies?

Buy your bananas and strawberries when they are the cheapest and then freeze them.

Got interior house paint leftovers?

I’ve kept mine around for years and it has been very useful for smaller projects like painting shelving.

Cute handled shopping bags you get at stores like Bath & Body Works, American Eagle…

They can be very useful for just carrying everyday things you need to transport from point A to B or personalize them for someone special and put a gift in there.

Can you think of any other ways to save money that you think others don’t think of? Please leave a comment and share.

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10 + 1 of my {current} favorites!

Tracy — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 00:50:58 +0000

1. I just came across this GREAT resource for homeschooling mom’s or wanna-be’s like me. HomeschoolBar.com. I already have the Swagbucks (where I earn Amazon egift certificates and the StumbleUpon toolbars but I wanted this one too. It doesn’t take up anymore room than the other too and it is LOADED with goodies… homeschool blog links, homeschool feeds, local weather, games (I hope some educational ones for my sons), Homeschool FREEBIES…and more. You have to check it out!

2. A change in weather! Yes, goodbye snow (I hope)…tonight we’re getting thunder and lightning and I like it!

3. Freezer cooking in general. I like having things I’ve made myself, in bulk, in the freezer that I can pull out and nuke for a quick meal …such as my breakfast burritos and french toast sticks.

4. Being able to pick up a delicious Little Caesar’s Hot ‘n Ready Pizza for $5. (I do this often after picking up my son from school

5. Organizing my home and checking out how other mom’s are doing it on their blogs. Like today, I visited 119 blogs (some did not have working links anymore however) of how homeschooling mom’s were organizing their homeschool rooms/areas of learning.

6. Did I mention the warmer weather (squee)!

7. Researching online. Unfortunately my “butt” seems to be proof enough for me that this activity is NOT figure friendly

8. My yummy healthy smoothie because I KNOW it not only tastes good but is good for me…especially now that I learned that adding a big old bunch of raw spinach doesn’t ruin the taste (though it does make it green) and I’m getting more fruit and veggies by drinking them.

9. How clean my carpets are after I nearly hurt myself cleaning them so intently. Okay, well, I was sore for maybe 2-3 days after I did them!

10. How good life is when you can take anything to the Lord and you know He cares! He’s the source of HOPE and CHANGE America needs to be looking too…instead of the government. I know I have HOPE that some things will CHANGE for my family and I’m waiting on God to take care of it in His time

{#11…Oh why not!} I like being frugal and how rewarding it is to score the wonderful deals that save our family money. Like all the free before sales tax toilet paper we’ve been getting among other things! Just check out all my posts under “Frugal” in my categories.

10 Baby Steps to Saving Big with Coupons

Tracy — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:32:47 +0000

I was just reflecting on a shopping trip I had recently at Giant Eagle where a total stranger saw me and my coupon binder and asked if I used coupons. “Big time” was my reply. She said she had just attended a workshop on coupons held at Malone College. We talked briefly, she’s a realtor and I, a blogger. We shared our website info. I told her “baby steps” when it comes to learning how to get great deals using coupons.

There was a time when I didn’t think coupons were worth the effort. I mean, c’mon… 35 cents off? Like thats going to really help. But then I learned a thing or two. I hope to break down this kind of savings into baby steps. Start small and build on your experience and knowledge from there!

1. Save the coupon inserts from your Sunday papers.

2. Buy extra Sunday papers on Monday if you can get them half off like I can and buy them at Giant Eagle so you can get the Fuel Perks discount towards gas. Get the inserts from family/friends who don’t use them.

3. Sign up for free email/rss updates with a few coupon matching websites, preferably ones in your area. I like CouponAllies.com (NE/Central Ohio website).

4. You can cut out all your coupons or just leave the insert intact until you know what coupon you need. If you organize your inserts (the coupon pages from the paper) and follow the bloggers who do the match-ups, they will tell you what coupon and what insert to find it in so you can match the right coupon with the items on sale. Write “today’s” date on the insert.

5. I do a couple things. I use a coupon binder/organizer to hold coupons I cut out and I keep my inserts intact. Sometimes you will want to have them cut and organized in a binder so you have them conveniently stored in an easy way to grab and go at moments notice – you know, “just in case” you find something you weren’t expecting. I also use a simple 3 drawer plastic organizer to hold my inserts.

6. If you cut them, staple the “like” coupons together.

7. As I’m shopping I pull out the coupon that matches the item I just picked up off the shelf and I lay that coupon in the cart somewhere safe. I do this as I shop so I’m prepared at checkout.

8. As you get familiar with couponing get familiar with the following terms…SmartSource, RedPlum and the P&G coupon inserts, learn about the Catalina coupons that pop out at checkout, watch for rebates at drugstores.

9. Drugstores: Don’t forget about Rite Aid, Walgreens, and CVS too. Stack manufacturer coupons on top of store coupons when those items are on sale. Or stack coupons, on sales, on items offering rebates!

10. Sign up for coupons at the websites of your favorite brands and/or call or email a request for coupons to be mailed to you. I get coupons in the mail AND I print them off from company websites as well as some coupon sites (i.e. Coupons.com).

Some of the brands I get coupons from are Betty Crocker, P&G’s Home Made Simple booklet, Stayfree, Angel Soft (may be able to request these once a month), Pampers, Huggies, Kraft foods, and Conagra Foods. Also be sure to check out Coupons.com to print coupons. Hint: Hit the back button to get a 2nd coupon! Coupons.com uses “bricks” coupons and usually we are limited to printing out 2.

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*I’m also linking this post to RaisingHomemakers. Go there if you want to see lots of other blogger’s tips on “homemaking”.

Cute things they say.

Tracy — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 02:29:12 +0000

What you might hear if you visited our house…

I want to play on the “pooker“. (computer)

A sneeze being referred to you as a “blessed you” as in …”Mom! He just blessed-you’d on my picture!”

Its not the other-one but the “o’ one.”

I want ‘is one and ‘at one.

Jack asking for a “tytarp” (poptart).

We have “wed, bwue, and lello” crayons.

“Who-body” did that?

Can I have “shlocate milk”?

Emergency vehicles are “Woo-woos”

and “amberlances”.

For more Top 10 posts visit www.OhAmanda.com .

Top 10 Tuesdays: Ten ways to save while staying warm.

Tracy — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 04:04:36 +0000

I’m starting a “Top Ten Tuesday” on my blog. It may not be every Tuesday- but we’ll see Right now as I’m typing the snow is falling down by the loads on Canton, Ohio. We got our snow late this year, in my opinion, and its been really cold. So I want to include in my Top 10 some ways we save while keeping warm. So here we go…

1. We use space heaters during the day and house (gas) heat at bedtime. We almost had a fire back when we used the space heaters at night. No more of that. It has helped cut down on our gas useage.

2. We use the “budget” program through our natural gas provider. We’ve been up and down on prices (went back up because of the near-fire that scared me from using the space heaters). We had our monthly bill down to about $55 a month, cue in “near-fire”, we shot back up to about $145 a month in gas useage. Now we use space heaters during the day and set the house for about 69/70 at night. Working on getting that budget amount down again.

3. Insulate the house better if you can. We have magnetic storm windows over some of our windows but even they have some spots cold air is getting through. I used masking tape to cover those areas I wanted. Its working.

4. Plastic window kits that shrink wrap the inside of your windows. These are not hard to do. We use these on the bedroom windows. I found kits at Walmart one year marked down to about 50cents give or take. Wonderful deal! I stocked up. Watch for these great deals tucked away out of plain site during the off-seasons.

5. Draft blockers for the doors. My sister made me this really long, narrow pillow type protector we use on one door. My mother-in-law gave us another kind with foam pieces covered in material that slides under the bottom of the door and moves with the door. Its great! Not sure where she found it. I’d check Marc’s though, she shops there.

6. Every year I look for the best deal I can get from the gas suppliers. This year I got us locked into a 6 month contract for about $7.67 mcf (I think)…AND I got a $25 Visa gift card as a bonus!

7. We don’t have much of these but heavy drapes can help block a draft.

8. Make sure your fireplace/chimney flue is shut when you’re not using it.

9. Dress in layers, wear thick comfy socks, or use slippers.

10. If you have trouble paying your heat bill contact your gas/electric provider for more information about other programs to help.