Creating A Masterpiece

Last year at a local homeschool conference, my 9 year old daughter had the opportunity to participate in a hands on arts class offered by Creating a Masterpiece and taught by Sharon Hofer.  The class she took utilized pastels.  By the end of the lesson, my daughter walked away with a complete piece of artwork.  I was amazed!!  I decided to purchase one of her DVDs to take home and try with the other girls.

This is the curriculum that we purchased.

Creating a Masterpiece is a DVD driven, art curriculum where the teacher and creator, Sharon Hofer, walks the student through step by step to create their masterpiece.  Her videos are not only for those who like pastels, but she utilizes many different mediums including crayon, ink, pencil, watercolor and much more.

While we purchased our curriculum almost a year ago, we finally got around to getting the supplies and pulling out the DVD to give it a try.  Once we gathered everything together and started the video, I realized that I did not have the correct colors of pastels.  I was missing one of the colors they were going to need.  Guess that's what I get for buying my pastels when we lived in South Korea almost three years ago.  We were able to improvise and the girls had fun and made a mess while watching the video and creating their artwork.

And here is the finished product...a masterpiece.

Sale AOP at CBD

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Mark your calendars for the one day only sale on Alpha Omega Curriculum at Christianbook.com on January 13, 2015!

Week One - No Spend

So this month I am doing a No Spend January/Eat from your Pantry.  If you want the specifics on what that means, go here to my previous post.  In essence, I am only spending $150 on groceries this month for my family of 7, when we normally would spend about $150.00 a week.

Before starting I did stock up on frozen veggies, milk, eggs and bread, which went into the freezer.  I made one trip to the grocery store this past week and struck gold, while only spending $26.00.

One of our family's favorite fruits is strawberries.  When I buy them, we can go through a pound or two at a sitting.  I am pretty picky about price and will not spend more than $2.50 per pound.  When I went to the commissary before starting this challenge, one pound of strawberries was $4.99.  That's ridiculous to me!!  I opted out on that purchase at the time.  But when I ran to the store this week, they had two pound packages of strawberries for $1.99.  YES!!!

This is cheaper than frozen berries right now.  So I took advantage of the sale and stocked up.  I bought 14 pounds of berries.  I forgot to take a picture before we washed, ate, cut, froze and dipped strawberries in chocolate.  They were YUMMY!

31 Things to Do Instead of Spending Money

Since this month is a no spend money, I thought I would look up some fun things that could be done each day instead of wanting to go shopping or out and spend money.

1. Invite a friend over for coffee or tea.
2. Wash your car at home.
3. Have a movie marathon with friends.
4. Go to the library.
5. Organize your drawer or closet.
6. Take a nap.
7. Listen to a podcast.
8. Play a board game.
9. Go on a bike ride.
10. Take a walk.
11. Go for a drive and get lost.
12. Bake something.
13. Write a letter to an old friend.
14. Have a bonfire.
15. Paint your nails.
16. Plant or weed your garden.
17. Rearrange your furniture.
18. Gaze at the stars.
19. Create a bucket list.
20. Make a monthly meal plan.
21. Get rid of clutter and donate it.
22. Go to a park and swing on the swings.
23. Read a book.
24. Call a friend you haven't spoken to in a while. 
25. Watch an old favorite TV show on YouTube.
26. Try a new hairstyle.
27. Prepare a bag to give to the homeless.
28. Organize your refrigerator.
29. Go on a hike.
30. Visit with family or friends.
31. Count your blessings.

Random Acts of Kindness 2015

Joni, a blogger at FreeTastesGood,  is encouraging people to go into the 2015 doing  365 Days of Kindness by performing a random act of kindness everyday.  She is posting videos to give ideas of what you can do to bless others.  Check out her first video.

Eat from the Pantry/No Spend January

Last year my sister and I decided to go for one month with no spending above the minimal needs of our family.  We each had different reasons for wanting to do this but both of us decided make a commitment for the month of January.  My goal was to only spend $150.00 on groceries for the family, mainly purchasing fresh fruits, vegetables and dairy.  This is not much considering our monthly family grocery budget is about $700.00.  

I have decided to do this again for January 2015.  Would you like to join me?

Eating from the Pantry means that we eat the food that is already in our pantry and freezer, while only purchasing the bare essentials.  No spending means.... no eating out, picking up Starbucks, or buying that cute sweater that only costs $5.00 with a sale and coupon.  

The things that are NOT included in our no spend month are:

·                     Rent/Mortgage

·                     Utilities

·                     Tithe

·                     Insurance

·                     Gasoline

·                     Education (both my husband and daughter are in college)

Last year when I mentioned what I was doing on Facebook, some of my friends replied that they would starve, that there is no way that they could eat from their pantry.   I may have an advantage over someone who does not enjoy shopping, cooking or using coupons to save money.  Since my sister and I both have larger families, I have 5 kids and she has 6,  we normally buy things in larger quantities at SAM's Club or even stockpile for our families anyway.  While I keep a cupboard full of things we eat in the kitchen, I also have pantry in the basement.  I always have an extra one or more of many items in my basement pantry.  For example, while I have ketchup, mustard, PB and jelly in my kitchen, I also have at least one more in my basement pantry.  This is just how we roll.  I never want to be stuck without something I might need.

Here is a picture of my basement pantry.  I organized it just for you J

 You may be thinking there is no way you can do a month eating mainly what you have in your house.  Let me challenge you to try a week.  If you normally spend $100 on groceries a week, try getting creative with your meals, digging back into your cupboard and using things that you didn't know were there and only spend $25.00 on your groceries.  Also, see how long you can go without buy stuff.  You know what I'm talking about, not needs but wants.   Pepsi at the Dollar Tree...Starbucks coffee...Papa John's pizza....Chinese takeout.  I guess you can see where we like to put our money (though I am not the coffee drinker in our house).  

I will begin this challenge on January 1, 2015, just a few days away.  As I look at my freezer and pantry, I will probably make a run to the store to get a bunch of fresh fruits and veggies and a few more pounds of chicken before Thursday.  If my kids want to spend their Christmas money during January on something, I won’t stop them as I am not forcing them to participate in this challenge with their personal money, but don’t ask me to go out to lunch or shopping, as I’ll have to ask you to reschedule until February.

Happy Saving!!

Remembering Fort Hood - Repost from November 2009

Tragedy at Fort Hood

I have been struggling with what to post...whether or not to post. We live on post here at Fort Hood. We were home last Thursday when the events unfolded at the SRP building, just over a mile away. Normally on Thursdays, we are usually off post for a homeschool co-op, but co-op had ended just the week before and we were home. Our plans for last Thursday included an afternoon playdate and dinner out with the girls. At approximately 2:20PM, as we were loading up the mini-van with meals for pregnant friends, returns to the department store and kids and their jackets, the emergency sirens here on post began to go off. I looked at my watch and thought...that's strange, they ususally test the system on Wednesdays at 12:00 Noon. The announcement that followed the sirens was " Seek shelter immediately, stay away from doors and windows". I looked up at the sky and thought, I don't know why they are saying that, it's a bright and sunny day, I don't see any storms let alone a possible tornado. A neighbor across the way yelled out her front door, "get inside and lock your doors." So I attempted to take my kids out of their car seats...as they kicked and screamed, wanting to get in the car and go to their friends house to play. As I reached the front door, my oldest handed me the phone. It was a friend who lived in a nearby town, asking if I had heard the news...there was a shooting on Fort Hood at the Readiness Center, seven people had been killed. We finished the phone call, got everyone into the house and closed and locked all the doors and shut the curtains and blinds. As I turned on the TV, it was all over the news. There was so much speculation going around, I didn't know what was truth and what was rumor. Was there another gunman out there?

As we tried to occupy ourselves in our quiet dark home, I prayed for the safety of my family. Phone calls, emails, text messages and facebook comments kept popping up and coming in. For the next five hours, until lockdown was lifted, I learned to trust in the protection of the Lord. People prayed with me on the phone and prayers were lifted up for us by friends far away. The days prior to and including Thursday, my quiet time with the Lord, included a devotional book titled, "Faith Deployed; Daily Encouragment for Military Wives". I had just read a devotion entitled, Already Written. A quote from that devotional says, "Whether they are home or abroad, God's plan for us is already written; we cannot do anything to change it!" The next day's devotional was on "The Sting of Death". How timely were these devotions in my quiet time last week. I had no idea for what the Lord was preparing me. I did not lose anyone in the attack that took place on Fort Hood on November 5th, but many people did or they knew someone who was there. I need to be ready to respond to those who are lost and hurting, with a meal, a hug, a kind word. We are called to bring hope to the hopeless. I want to always be ready to meet the need that I am confronted with, no matter what that need may be.

My husband's unit lost a soldier in the tragic shooting last week. I had never met her but Angel knew her. He described her as "a wonderful and delightful person." Please continue to pray for my husband's unit as they mourn the loss of one of their own here at home.

I need to remember that we live in a fallen and sinful world. Without Christ, people are lost. I pray that in the midst of this tragedy, that those who are hurting find comfort and hope...that they find healing for their hurts. That they find a relationship with the true God.