Saving Money in the Garden

I have loved the past two days of sunshine!

I raked the leaves, pine needles, and pine cones that were left from the fall when the snow hit hard.

I am dreaming about the plants I would love to buy and fill my garden with. I am dreaming (and getting estimates) on having three trees removed. I also am looking to have a more successful vegetable garden. Last years didn't turn out so well.

How would it be to be one of those people who could plant seeds, nourish them, and watch them sprout? I would love that. My grandma does it each year, so it's in my blood but I think my blood needs maturing or something!

There are the traditional ways of saving in the garden, outside of growing seeds. "Trade plants with neighbors", "Plant perennials, divide, and spread", "Collect Seeds," and of course, "Use coupons."

Some good coupons lately came from Lowes for buy one get one free plants.  This is my first choice, not because I think they have better plants, but they have a waranty on their plants that if you do everything correctly and it still dies, they will replace the plant. I have used this policy in the past and it is my favorite way to go. Make sure you save your reciept and then if you need to, dig up the plant, stick it in a box and take it back to the store. Go to the customer service desk like you were returning any other item and they will either exchange it or give you a store credit.

City Deals has a deal: $30 to Glover Nursery in West Jordan for $15 for those of us in Utah. I imagine other city's will have similar deals.

My grandma gets several plants at the end of the season from the local nursery by her home at pennies. However, she is able to bring them back to life somehow (while I always manage the opposite).

I plant ground cover in my back yard, to be able to use in my front yard once I have enough. Then I rotate where the ground cover was and plant vegetables. As a result of crop rotation, I don't worry too much about supplementing my soil. We till the ground, rake the ground, weed the ground, and then plant.

However you plan to spend your money or your time, I believe that gardening is naturally healing.

Happy Spring!

Utah 1/2 Price Produce!

Utah Moms should be excited about this city deal! Maceys has a $10 gift card towards produce for $5 on City Deals. I see some for the Clinton, Clearfield, and Ogden, Utah locations

I never see deals for produce and coupons for fresh fruit and veggies is few and far between. We will be getting some of these and spreading the word too!

Priesthood Pedastool?

I have heard recent complaints about how men in the LDS or Mormon faith have been placed at such a high standing. They are supposedly revered and more powerful.

I really have to disagree with this notion. I believe that anyone who took the time to examine the responsibilities of the Priesthood holders from a 12 year old deacon through a 70 year old high council men, they would see that the Priesthood is about service, not power. I wouldn't want to responsibilities that come with the Priesthood. I am not envious of the young man who passes the sacrament, nor of the bishop who sits in the front of the ward. All of those "callings" would make my anxiety sky rocket and I probably would attend church much less than I already do.

I believe that a righteous man, in any denomination is reverenced and respected. This is no different for the LDS community. I do think there are men who misuse the role of "head of the house" but I think the LDS normatives follow the general population normatives.

Any other ideas on the topic?

Going Sugar Free

Not too happy for all the cake!

First off, I work for a great company. They have these monthly health challenges and we get monetary compensation for following through. One of the challenges was Sugar Free. However, they stepped us into it using a structured approach. I think this approach would be helpful for anyone trying to "diet" or just improve their health.

The first month's goal was to increase water and to "stop the pop". They limited us to one can of diet soda a day. I found this first month fairly easy as I only drink diet soda. I made the goal to push myself to only 2-3 cans of diet soda a week.

The second month's goal was to continue the challenges from the first month of more water and no soda. Then we added 5 servings of fruit or vegetables and no added sugars or sweets (except one "free day" a week).

I found that once I had mostly stopped soda, I didn't crave chocolate or sweets near as much as I did before. I also noticed that the increased fruit made my after-dinner dessert habit more bearable. Instead of ice cream every night, I have switched to a fruit smoothie with almond milk or yogurt with fresh fruit.

One other thing that made the no extra sugar a much easier thing for me is that I already don't eat gluten products, like donuts, cakes, or cookies. I know that you can buy all of these items gluten-free, but it is more cost effective to make them home made and I just don't have the time or motivation to make them. Once in a while, Jeff will make me waffles and I put raspberry preserves on them and that fills my cake craving.

Next month, we're adding a half hour to an hour of exercise. That will be the challenge that pushes me to change. Wish us luck!

Cheesy Stuffed Acorn Squash

We made an excellent acorn squash for dinner tonight. We used a recipe from http://www.allrecipes.com/ and used two of the comments: not cooking it in the microwave and using olive oil instead of butter.

It turned out great! We served the left-over stuffing on top of chicken and rice. Yummm....

$1.19 Country Crock at Smith's!

Smith's Deal Scenerio:

If you bought two country crocks, one using coupon  at 1.49 and the other at 1.89 and got the $1 voucher for the next shopping trip, the price for each country crock would be ($2.38 total/2) $1.19 each

The country crock is on the 10 items get $6 off promotion and also a catalina! Too sweet!

(Check out http://www.grocerysmarts.com/ to find your own great deals!)

Relaxation idea for Children

Sometimes children having a hard time getting to sleep or calming down can be the most challenging aspect of parenting (at least for me!).

One thing we have done with my son is turn relaxation into a game.

We start out in the living room. If it is night time, all the lights are off and he would sit on my lap in the lazy boy. I would use a very soft voice and say, "Can you hear what I hear?" and then he would say what he could hear. Fortunately for us, we live in a very noisy area. He would name the obvious things like a train or airplane or cars passing. I would then name something softer like the refrigerator. I would wait several minutes before asking him what else he could hear.

When we ran out of things to listen for in the living room, we would move to his bedroom. I would sit on the floor and he would lie in bed. I would say what I heard and wait for his reply.

This activity would take between 20-25 minutes and usually happened after we read books and our son would get out of bed to complain of being scared, hungry, thirsty, etc.

I have never tried this when our son was mad or noncompliant, however I assume it may work as a de-escalation technique for a child.