Favorite Ad

Going through the Sunday coupon fliers I found this coupon for M & M's. Why is it my favorite you may ask. It is a sign that fall is near. My very favorite time of the year.

This brings to mind cooler weather (crossing fingers, praying and hoping) that it will happen sooner than later. It has been so miserably hot and I DO NOT LIKE the heat at all. Looking forward to stew, soup and other yummy fall dishes. Having the windows open instead of the air conditioning running 24 hours a day. I am looking forward to decorating for fall with all the browns, oranges, yellows and reds.

Yes I love this ad and I am truly excited to buy some of the yummy fall colored M & M's for my candy dishes.

Hugs, Bobbi Jo

Dave Ramsey Money Lesson $1

Dave Ramsey Money Lessons $1

August 29, 2011

Two Invaluable Money Lessons for a Buck! (95% off) Follow this link Mama Source

Don’t miss your chance to get these two audio downloads from Dave Ramsey!

For just $1, you’ll receive “The Super Red Racer”, a kids’ book and “Cash Flow Planning” an adult lesson (both audio) to help you and your kids understand, manage, and save money.

In “The Super Red Racer”, kids will learn about the merits of hard work and saving for what they want. In “Cash Flow Planning”, you’ll learn how to live within your means, pay off your debt, and have enough extra cash for saving and entertainment.

You can listen to these audio books anywhere so grab it for only $1!

Share this deal with your friends and get it for free!

You must download before February 12, 2012.

I just got mine. I love Dave Ramsey he is a smart man and fun to listen to even when he doesn't sugar coat the truth. Hugs, Bobbi Jo

Friend Makin Monday: The Last Thing

I think these are fun to get to know someone and it has been a while since I have done one. So here we go!

Friend Makin Monday: The Last Thing

Be sure and stop by Kenlie's blog, All The Weigh, for more

Friend Makin Monday and make some new friends.

1) What is the title of the last book you read?

The Duggars: 20 and Counting!

2) What is the last movie you saw in a theater?

Ramona & Beezus

3) Briefly describe the last person you saw today.

Gabby

working on the computer right across the room.

4) Which store did you most recently shop in?

Fry's grocery shopping this morning with 2 of my girls.

5) Who’s the last person you spoke to over the phone?

Alan, he was at work.

6) Where’s the last place you vacationed?

Pinetop. My home away from home.

7) When was the last time you kissed someone of the opposite sex?

This morning when hubs (Alan) left for work.

8) What’s the last thing that made you laugh?

Watching "Good Luck Charlie" with Gabby this morning.

9) What’s the latest app that you downloaded on your phone?

I think it was a ring tone about 8 months ago.

10) What’s the last kind thing you did for someone?

Wash clothes and clean the house for the family (and myself). Help Gabby with schooling.

Hope everyone is have a good day. This morning has been busy. I took E'lyse and her friends to school (HS) and then the two younger girls and I went to take care of my errands for the day so Dallas could use my van. He starts college today. I am excited for him. We have one in college, one in high school, one in middle school and one in elementary. I am home/on line schooling Gabby. She was just a little behind in 2 subjects last year due to missing so much being at the hospital. Yet she aced her AIMS testing. So we are reviewing 4TH quarter in the 2 subjects and moving on to 6TH grade for the other ones.

Tonight we are having a comfort dinner of roast (in crock pot), mashed potatoes, gravy, homemade rolls and brownies for dessert. Faith is teaching our Family Home Evening Lesson tonight then we are playing Quelf. It seems like it will be a fun game.

To be honest after this busy weekend I feel like I need another weekend to rest. But I guess that is good it keeps me out of trouble. he he

Hugs, Bobbi Jo

Making My Home Sing

Since I haven't posted in a little while I thought it was seriously time to do so. It has been a while since I joined in on Nan's fun Making Your Home Sing Monday. This past week has been a good one. I have been busy working on projects all over and outside our home. This week my plan to Make My Home Sing is to continue to work on the house. My plans are to finish up a wall that has needed the bottom edge painted for almost 3 months now, work on & finish painting my daughters bunk beds, get their room put together, finish hemming the curtains and put them up, to continue to clear out and clean up organizing every drawer & room. This has been the project that I went big time with last week.

I was reading from a blog about downsizing that said too many of us have items in our home just because they match the carpet or walls it has nothing to do with the love we have for the object. I am using this to help simplify our home. This will help to cut down with the cleaning and maintaining the items. Hugs, Bobbi Jo

Makeovers

Earlier this past week Faith, Gabby and Ainsley wanted to do make overs. In our house this means a fun time to get to wear makeup. I don't allow our girls (or boy) to wear any makeup until they are 12. They can wear mascara, lip gloss and a little blush are allowed at this time. I am not a huge fan of the raccoon eyes.

This is where the eyeliner takes away from the beauty of the person and that is all you can look at.

I know I can only control so much but teaching how to wear makeup and apply it so it helps to enhance the beauty not cover it or change the look. This is only my opinion so I hope I don't offend anyone with this.

I think my girls are beautiful without any makeup

Faith

Gabby

Ainsley

The girls being Divaish.......he he

Excuse the dog that seems to want to have her picture taken too.

The girls had fun getting dressed, putting on makeup and getting pictures taken. Then it was back to normal.

Hugs, Bobbi Jo

My Glee GIrls

Last Friday night Faith had an audition for the Queen Creek Performing Arts to try out for the cast of Glee. She had to perform a song and then learn and perform a dance number.

We were hoping we would be able to watch her so Alan and Gabby went too. It turns out it was a closed set audition. We are waiting for Faith to be called and Gabby keeps saying I want to try out. So finally I said if you want to try out then you go ask. She went over and they had a time space for her to try out also.

The girls went back did their song and dance. They both felt good about it. So today I found out that both of them made the cast for Glee.

This is the 2ND play that Faith will have done. She was in a play in 5Th grade at her school.

One of Faith's life dream is to perform on Broadway. Watch out Broadway there are TWO babes on their way!! Neither of them are very shy and love to be goofy and have a good time.

Way to go girls I am so proud and excited for you both. Also one of Faith's BFF's made the show too so, it will be a lot of fun for them.

Hugs, Bobbi Jo

Wheat Bread Recipe

This post is for sweet Ann of Annster's Domain, a fun blog with a lot of great pictures, who asked for the recipe for my wheat bread. Ann the recipe I am using is from Crystal's blog Everyday Food Storage . There are 2 videos showing how to make the bread. I have to tweak mine just a little due to it being a little too chewy. She lives in a much higher altitude than I do so I don't know if that has anything to do with it..
 Here is her recipe (Giving full credit to Crystal of Every Day Food Storage).

 EZ Wheat Bread recipe (I doubled this recipe in the video you watched)

1 1/4 cup warm water
1 Tblsp active dry yeast
1/4 cup honey or 1/3 cup sugar
2 3/4 cups whole wheat flour (or whatever combination white/wheat you like..I use 100% hard white wheat. To learn more about the different types of wheat, download my wheat handout)
1/4 cup wheat gluten
1 tsp salt
2 Tblsp nonfat non instant dry milk
1 Tblsp butter/margarine/oil
1 Tblsp vinegar
1/4 cup potato flakes (NOT potato pearls)

Mix ingredients in order listed in mixing bowl of mixer with dough hook attachment (like kitchen-aid) for 12-15 minutes. Let rise until double, 1- 1 1/2 hours. Punch down, and shape into loaf or rolls. Let rise again until double and bake 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes until golden brown and sounds hollow when lightly tapped.
If you are making this recipe in a bread machine, follow your bread machine’s directions for wheat or whole grain selection and add the ingredients in the order listed for their recommendations. (only one loaf will fit in a bread maker)

EZ White Bread

1 1/8 cups warm water
1 3/4 – 2 tsp active dry yeast
2 Tblsp sugar (you can use a little more sugar if you like your dough a little sweeter)
3 cups flour
1 Tblsp vital wheat gluten (remember you don’t need as much gluten if you’re not using whole wheat flour)
1 tsp salt
2 Tblsp nonfat dry milk
1 1/2 Tblsp butter/margarine or oil
1/4 cup potato flakes
(you don’t really need vinegar for white bread, remember the dough enhancers are primarily needed for whole wheat bread)

Add the ingredients in the order listed into a mixer bowl (like a kitchen-aid) with a dough hook attachment and mix on low for 10-12 minutes. Or mix it on the dough cycle in your bread machine.
After all the mixing is complete, if the dough still seems too gooey and you are unable to handle it, add 1 Tblsp flour at a time, and mix after each addition until the dough is manageable with your hands.

Let rise 45 mins -1 hour, punch down and use to make bread, cinnamon rolls, cookie sheet pizza, rolls, or anything else you can think of! Let rise after you have made your creation and bake according to the direction of the recipe you are making.
If you are making it into bread, form into a loaf at this time, place in a loaf pan, let rise in a warm place 45 min -1 hour and bake 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and sounds hollow when lightly tapped.
If you are making this recipe in a bread machine. Follow your bread machine’s directions and add the ingredients in the order listed in their recommendations. (only one loaf will fit in a bread maker)

 Ann I hope you will give it a try. It is really yummy and I will continue to make it weekly to replace the bread we buy at the store. I know everything that goes into it and it tastes so much better than store bought bread.  Hugs, Bobbi Jo

What I've Been Up To

On the 30TH of July was our wards Pioneer Day Celebration. Most of our family didn't go to it. E'lyse went and showed girls how to make little material dolls. Gabby went with  her BFF, Ansley and her family. Since Coco & her family was down to visit we really didn't feel like going anywhere.

Gabby came home with this pretty center piece for me.

This is me (no makeup) and sweet little princess Naima.

Enjoyed the time with the grand babies. They are so much fun and so lovable!

On Wednesday I decided that I really needed to get my refrigerator cleaned out and organized. So I pulled 

everything off the door and out of it scrubbed it down and got it nice and organized.  

The door

The inside. I do have another refrigerator in our garage that came in handy when cleaning out the indoor one.

I love having things neat and orderly.

After getting the fridge cleaned I decided to follow Crystal's lead from Every Day Food Storage 

and place my bread making supplies in a #10 can. I have yeast, gluten and lethicine in separate containers inside this can for my bread making. I then made a label for on it.  

This one has my fresh ground wheat flour for bread making.

Here is the bread that I made. I still need to tweak the recipe a little bit 

Bread is ready to go in the oven

The bread is done

The family sampled it to give me there opinion of it and as you can see they liked it. 

Gabby loves playing with her hair and she is so silly some times. She put chopsticks in her pigtails to make them stick out. She is such a nut!

So this is just some of what I have been up to. 

We have E'lyse who started back to school 2 weeks ago. Faith starts school this coming Monday and Gabby will be home/on line schooled this year. Long story short last year since Gabby had missed so much school her teacher said that Gabby would probably have to repeat the 5TH grade. We got her AIMS scores back from last year and she passed everything. So she will be tested and placed accordingly for this year for our homeschooling/on-line school through Mesa Distance Learning. We are happy that even though she had missed so much she was able to do so well on the testing.

So it is late Saturday night and I really need to head off to bed so I can get up for early church. 

Have a wonderful and blessed Sabbath day! Hugs, Bobbi Jo

Coco Is 21

This past weekend Coco, Kyle, Talmage and Naima came down to stay for 4 days and to celebrate Coco's 21st Birthday. 

They showed up early Saturday morning. Coco and I made a Goodwill run around 9ish. When we got there the parking lot was packed so I drove around till we found a parking place. We go inside and it was crazy. So many people and NO shopping carts. Coco had a look on her face like I felt, major anxiety hit both of us. So we looked around a little bit and got out of there. We found out that they were having a half price on everything. What a deal but way too many people for either of us to deal with.

So Saturday was spent visiting, a little bit of water fun and eating.

Sunday July 31ST Coco turned 21 years old. I made her cake early in the morning, Faith and Gabby made the icing when we got home from church.

Coco followed in her mothers footsteps by making her own dinner (I helped a little). She made Alfredo with spinach. Then she made a spinach & artichoke dip. We had garlic bread & rolls. It was super yummy!

 This is Coco and her husband Kyle as we are singing Happy Birthday to her.

 Notice the huge candles on the cake? I once again did not have candles so we had to use some Chanukah candles.( I don't know why I have these but I do). 

Coco blowing out her candles

 Waiting for the last one to burn out

 Our newest family Birthday traditions of shoving all the Birthday Cake candles in your mouth. 

 I don't know why she still looks so pretty with a mouth full of candles, but she does!

Coco has grown up to be such a fun and beautiful woman. She is an awesome mother guiding her family in following the gospel and living in accordance to the teachings. 

I am so proud and blessed to have Coco as my daughter.

 Love you Coco.

 Hugs, Bobbi Jo

Cooking From Scratch

 I've been missing in action due to my daughter Coco and her family had come down to stay and visit. I'm back now!
 In the past I have been talking about cutting down on the costs of living and for me food is a biggy. I love to cook and I also love to eat. My family seems to like my cooking so this all works out great received my monthly news letter on Monday from Homestead Happenings.  

 Crystal Miller who's blog Homemaking on the Homestead has given me permission to share this article with you.  Crystals was one of the first blogs that I started following when I was introduced to blogging. She also has her other site called The Family Homestead . She has so much wonderful advice, recipes and knowledge to share. She also makes soap,shampoo bars (I  LOVE these) and many other products to help the homemaker. Crystal is one of those ladies that I really wish was my neighbor. 

 This article puts into words some of what I knew to be but couldn't say it as well as Crystal has. 

 Cooking from Scratch ( Used with permission by Crystal Miller)

Crystal Miller

Cooking from scratch has quite a few benefits for your family. The food is healthier, it saves money, and it can make shopping more streamlined. 

Cooking from scratch can be healthier if you use good quality foods and avoid as many processed foods as possible. When shopping for food with health in mind making choices such as whole grains, and beans, fresh fruits and vegetables is a must. 

You can save money by buying foods in bulk, especially foods such as beans, grains, spices, pasta, etc.. However, simply buying the individual items to make a meal is typically going to be less expensive than buying prepackaged, frozen or canned meals. 

So, how does cooking from scratch make your shopping more streamlined? When you stock your cupboards with basic foods, the list is not that long. It is not difficult to keep a supply of basic foods in your cupboard to be able to create a huge amount of variety. 

I wrote down a list of the most common and basic foods I try to keep in my house at all times. Obviously we sometimes run out of things a day or two before grocery shopping day, especially things like fresh veggies and fruits. But overall this would have to be what my basic list of staples and supplies would look like… 

1. Beans
2. Brown rice
3. Oats
4. Wheat
5. Popcorn for snacks and dried corn for grinding into cornmeal
6. Some type of fresh veggies, preferably salad veggies
7. Onions 
8. Fruit: fresh & canned
9. Olive oil
10. Meat (hamburger, chicken, canned tuna & salmon, and pork, such as sausage or kielbasa or ham)
11. Cheese
12. Sour cream
13. Milk
14. Mayo
15. Eggs 
16. Spices and basic baking supplies such as baking soda, baking powder, salt, etc.. and yeast for making bread
17. Potatoes
18. Pasta: I try to keep on hand spaghetti noodles, macaroni noodles, lasagna noodles and one other type of pasta
19. Sweeteners: brown sugar, white sugar (or better yet, Sucanat and cane juice crystals), honey
20. Canned foods such as tomatoes and olives 

This list alone does not look like much.. no prepackaged type foods, no ready to go meals.. However it has enough variety for me to make many, many meals; breakfast, lunch or dinner as well as desserts and quick breads and yeast breads. Grocery shopping becomes more simplified when you think in terms of restocking the basics. 

When I menu plan I examine my basics and see what type of combinations I can come up with from this list. 
For breakfasts I can make:
Pancakes http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/wwpancakes.htm  
Waffles http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/wwwaffles.htm  
Coffee Cakes http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/favcoffeecake.htm  
Oatmeal http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/bakedoatmea1.htm  
Granola http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/granola1.htm  
Scrambled eggs

Lunches:
Sandwiches: grilled cheese, tuna, chicken salad, ham salad, egg saladhttp://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/lunchessnacks.htm  
Soups: bean soups, vegetable soupshttp://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/souprecipes.htm  

Dinners..
This would be a huge never ending list as there is so much variety in the ingredients listed above.. so many so that I have my website simply filled with recipes that use basic ingredients..http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/recipes.htm#Homestead%20Kitchen%20Recipes!  

Soups, stews, casseroles; coupled with quick breads, pasta, potatoes, salad, etc.. 

Being able to cook from scratch enables you to simplify your grocery lists and save money. It also makes grocery shopping quicker because you learn the stores and aisles to hit that have the items you need. 

When I get ready to plan out my menus I first think of starches. Do I want potatoes, rice, pasta or beans for this meal? Then I look at the meats I have on hand and go from there. 

Chicken and pasta can be made into chicken n’ noodles, chicken cacciatore, chicken lasagna, chicken alfredo, chicken tetrazzini, chicken noodle soup, and so on..

I go through my recipes and do the same for beef or ham (whatever meats I have or were on sale) and see what meals can be coupled with the starches I have to serve. 

Then I add a vegetable. Most always this is a basic green salad. I use romaine lettuce, spinach and add other veggies such as tomatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms, carrots, peppers… whatever I have in my fridge. From the above list of staples I also make salad dressing (http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/makeyourownsaladdressings.htm ), typically ranch or Italian. 

The one thing cooking from scratch can lack is convenience. The best way I have learned to solve this is to think ahead, and be prepared. I keep cooked chicken, hamburger, rice, beans, etc.. in my freezer at all times so when I need something quick I have prepared food ready to go. This is the basic idea behind my ebook “Freezer Cooking with Meal Starters”. 
( http://crystalscountrystore.com/freezercookingebook.htm  )Cooking from scratch does take time, but I have always figured my husband spends his time earning the money and I can spend my time in the kitchen being a good steward of that money. Enjoy your time in the kitchen making food that saves you money, improves your family’s health and simplifies your shopping! 

  Crystal has a love for her family and Heavenly Father that shows in her blog posts. It is one of those blogs that makes you want to be a better homemaker, wife and mother. So I hope you will be able to use some of this advice if not all. Please check out her blog and site and sign up for the great newsletter that is delivered to your email each month free. It has homemaking ideas, recipes, tips and a menu planning sheet for the month that is so cute! 

  Hope everyone has a great day. Hugs, Bobbi Jo