I'm officially a fan!

Oh, yes. It works.

Beautiful volunteer plants of all sorts grow in my yard thanks to the variety of birds we have visiting. Any plant that bears small fruits or berries will usually be found sprouting somewhere in my fence row or gardens, or under the bird feeders. We have wild strawberries, Virginia creeper, and poison ivy all making their appearance this time of year.

Unfortunately, I didn't see the plant until I had exposed my arm to it's oils. But, I came right inside and washed with the Burt's Bees soap, letting the suds linger on my arm for several minutes. It neutralized all the oils, and I only have some slight remains from the exposure.

If you are allergic like I am, you need to keep this wonderful product on hand!

Simplify!

Here are 5 frugal ways to declutter and simplify your home and life.

1. Don't bring stuff home! "The first step to eliminating clutter is to not buy it, collect it, bring it home in the first place."

2. Find common ground. Having one kind of something in multiples, like these white cloth napkins, eliminates the need to "match". And, they can all be washed together in one load! I love this idea, and will be making my own set very soon.

3. Give things their own home, and keep them there, like this creative blogger.

4. Take what you have, and make it pretty, like eye candy.

5. Don't be greedy. How many widgets do you need anyway? Some of what comes into our hands is "bread for food", meaning it is for us to consume. Some of what comes is "seed for the sower", meaning we should find others who have a need, and fill it with our abundance.

Have a restful Sabbath!

Momtrepreneur

I keep Fast Company, but it's not what you think. For about a year now, I've been subscribed to Fast Company Magazine, and there was an interesting letter from the editor, Robert Safian, in the March 2009 edition. Here's a snippet:

"You won't find Bernie Madoff in these pages. Or talk of another Great Depression. You won't find unemployment statistics or the word "bailout." We may discuss those topics in another issue, but this month, we pass.
It's not that we have our heads in the sand. We know how challenging the business environment is. In fact, that's exactly why we've tried to make this issue as upbeat and bursting with potential as we can. The one incontrovertible truth about this era: Only creativity and aggressive innovation -- in the face of hardship and layoffs and seriously tough choices -- will fuel a turnaround."

I've been a SAHM for many years, and until 2005, I operated my own profitable in~home business. Even though I have since disolved my S~corp, I keep my eye on the market, and try to stay current with innovations, politics and information. And, I run my household like a profitable business.

I also love to study and pray. I've been praying and pondering Luke 19:11-27 lately, which is about business, or the busy~ness of life. Whether we leave the house or not, we conduct "business" every day. Luke 19:13 says, "Occupy till I come...", and that's what we do when we keep home.

We are an occupying army of moms. But, what are we doing?

The Greek word here is #4231, pragmateuomai, from the root #4229 and literally means "to busy oneself with", to trade ~ occupy, to do business. This means, as a SAHM, I'm to busy myself with the business of homekeeping, managing my household budget, and to even make an income from cottage industry if I can.

The reason I decided to quote from the Editor's letter is that it struck a cord with me.

Am I employing my God given creativity and innovation to help my family prosper, regardless of the economic situation outside my four walls, or even within them?

After all, I'm not just a mother sitting at home eating bonbons and watching soap operas.

Some of the things I do to help my family prosper include gardening, couponing, budgeting, and practicing thrift where I can. I don't demand fancy clothes or expensive haircuts and mani~pedi's, although I do take care of my myself. I just choose to do it while making an effort to be responsible with my money and my time.

Blogging and reading blogs has helped me realize that there are other ways to be frugal as well. Repurposing, remaking, and being content regardless are just a few ways I'm helping insure my family doesn't have to participate in this so~called Recession, which, by the way, I'm not totally convinced is really happening since I can't get down 71st Street to the mall without fighting terrible traffic, and I still can't get a good parking place at Walmart or Target.

What ever became of the idea of checks and balances in the market, and corrections where spending is out of line, like Lehman's million dollar bonuses? Whatever happened to suffering consequences from poor decisions? Or, letting a business fall on it's face if it was not being run successfully?


Part of my Greed study has been to understand the true meanings of words we commonly use, but do not completely understand. One such example was the word business. which means to trade. Prosperity comes through trade. Luke 19:15 says so.

If I want prosperity, I have to handle trade or business correctly, with an excellent spirit and so forth. The business of everyday life must be much more important than we realize. Don't you think?

Baseball and life
My Pastor said something great on Sunday. Teaching about faithfulness, he said, "In the ballgame of life, singles will win the game just like a homerun."

It's the truth.

That's why Dave's Baby Steps work. It's one step at a time, heading in the right direction. The Emergency Fund, Baby Step One, keeps us from getting off track, like Manuela teaches here.

Doing little things consistently can add up to one big thing, like scraping your checking account to fund your Roth IRAs as Meredith teaches. I guess that's why the saying "a small leak can sink a great ship" is true.

Another truth, "watch your pennies and your dollars will add up", is proving true in my little personal stash. I'm purposing to save money every payday, even if it's only $5. Since I only get my grocery money and income from selling on Craigslist, I've decided to be happy with whatever I can set aside. Since the beginning of the year, I've saved $275, which isn't a fortune, but it's a baby step in the right direction.

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Well, many of you don't know, but today is an anniversary of sorts for my family. My husband has been on his full time job one year today! That may not seem like a big deal to some, but let me tell you, it is a big deal to us.

In 2005, my husband was laid-off from MCI, where he had been employed for 7 years.

In 2006, he was forced to leave a company that was withholding commissions from him. He had worked there 11 months.

In 2007, he was laid-off from a third job, after only 10 months.

While we understood that these were just seasons in our lives, it was still difficult. He decided to leave telecom and utilities, which were the two primary industries in which he had been employed. He chose a new industry.

On February 18, 2008, he took a position with, of all things, an oil and gas manufacturer. I'm sure I don't need to say too much about where the oil and gas industry is at the moment, and yet I'm sure he is exactly where is supposed to be employed during this season. I don't know what the future holds, but I'm asking God to show me as much of the future as I need to know.

In the meantime, I'm celebrating the anniversary of a year's full-time employment, and rejoicing in knowing that before any of this happened, God had prepared us by leading us through Financial Peace University with Dave Ramsey. He also gave us the vision to get out of debt, which we have attempted to walk out, even during the months of unemployment.

Praise God for His faithfulness. We've never gone hungry. We've not had a forclosure or repossession. And, we continue to pound away at our debt with our little snowballs. We will get there, walking out His good plans.

Wisdom for Wednesday...

We always have to keep the ground rules in mind:
1. Weird is good.
2. We don't take advice from broke people.

Boy, don't we wish Congress would listen to this wisdom, and stop listening to the foxes who are asking for the keys to the henhouse!