Free New Testament Audio - Act Fast!

Ok, that totally sounds like a spam-ad. But, I wanted to pass this on to you guys.

Visit Christianaudio.com to get an MP3 version of the New Testament for FREE (one of my very favorite words) - it's good until the end of September! Every month, Christianaudio.com has a free audio book download!

I am looking forward to being able to listen to God's Word while I wash dishes, fold laundry and change stinky diapers!

I've been chewing on about 10 different blog posts I can't seem to finish and the stomach flu has been lingering around here for a few days, hence the lack of posts. Hopefully I will have the energy to post again soon.

Until then, enjoy!

Menu Plan Monday.

If any of my readers are mommy bloggers or mommy-/homemaking blog readers, you are probably familiar with "Menu Plan Mondays". Started at one of my favorite blogs, Organizing Junkie, this blog "carnival" is intended to help the cook in the family plan ahead so that we aren't scrambling to figure out dinner every night, give up and just head for the Taco Bell drive-thru (because this neeeeeeever happens at our house).

Menu planning has, by far, been one of the best ways to pinch pennies with our budget and has really cut down on the panic I used to feel at 4:00 when I would think "OH NO! What in the world should I make for dinner tonight?!". Hence the Taco Bell runs.

So here's this week's menu:

Monday: cheese ravioli w/pumpkin sage sauce, salad

Tuesday: marinated tuna steak, root vegetable medley, sourdough bread

Wednesday: black bean chilaquile, salad

Thursday: calzones, salad

Friday: peppered steak, oven-roasted asiago cauliflower, creamy spinach, chocolate pudding cake

Saturday: leftovers/eat out

Sunday: spicy rapid roast chicken, summer squash casserole, herbed oven potatoes, broccolli

In recent months, I've started doing a monthly menu plan that I repeat for the season (i.e. summer menu, fall menu). Making a menu plan each week was WAY STRESSFUL for me, so instead I make up the plan for a month and repeat it several times. This has worked really well and allows me to double up on some recipes and freeze half, cutting down on cooking for the next month.

I eat this stuff up, so hopefully it will spark some menu planning in your households!

Now, it's just a matter of sticking to it!!!

Swiffer Wetjet Hack

....aaaaaaaaand, I'm back.

It is ridiculous how excited I have been to share this on here.

If you've known me for 5 minutes, you probably know I'm pretty cheap frugal. What can I say, living off of one income and trying (very slowly) to get completely out of debt makes it hard to part with any extra money. So, all that to say, I was super-stoked to find this tutorial on how to "hack" your Swiffer Wetjet. I bought one a few months ago after using it at my mom's. For a house almost entirely of wood floors and a toddler, having clean floors can be a constant chore.

Of course, Swiffer wants you to buy their refills, but it gets very pricey when you use them at the rate we do around here. Plus, the cleaner is far from the non-toxic stuff we prefer to use. So, without further ado, check this out:

How to get the top off a Swiffer Wetjet bottle

I was almost literally jumping up-and-down when I found this. I refilled the bottle with a little castile soap and some water and *ta-da* clean wood floors on the cheap!

What happens when...

....Mommy spends too much time on the computer!

(Ironically, that is a picture of her on my computer screen.)

So, for many reasons, mainly because my computer time has become a time-suck and takes time away from what is most important - spiritual life, time with Thang and my sweet daughter - I am stepping away from the glowing screen this week. Unfortunately, I can't step completely away from it as so much communication happens via e-mail these days, but I am limiting my time to a minimum. I am praying it will help me to re-prioritize my days and the way I spend them.

So, signing off for a little while, and I pray this week is one of spending your time wisely!

"Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise..."

Ephesians 5:15

She had us at "hello".

This past weekend, Nora and I took a trip with my parents to central Nebraska to attend a family reunion. We stayed with my grandma - it was Nora's first overnight away from Thang. It was sad to say "goodbye" to Thang on Saturday morning as we hopped into the backseat of my parents' car, it had been a long time since I had spent a night away from him too.

The reunion was actually of my great-grandmother's family and her brothers and sisters families - kids, grandkids and great-grandkids galore. I so enjoy hearing the family stories that have been passed down through the generations - like how great-great grandpa Pollman dropped everything he was doing in the potato field when he got the news he could leave Germany for America. And, that he ice-skated the canals all the way to Amsterdam to board the ship across the Atlantic. I really value knowing where I came from and hope to continue to pass down those stories to Nora.

And, central Nebraska in early fall (which it sure feels like around here) is gorgeous. I believe this year it is especially so - the highways and interstate were flanked with the tall cornstalks of late August and an abundance of sunflowers.

On the drive home, Nora decided to add another word to her repertoire...