The Best $28 Ever Spent

I'm all for being frugal. Sometimes a little too much in certain areas. There is, of course, that other side of me that isn't so frugal in other areas. But, we're talking saving money here so let's get on with it....
I am always searching for ways to cut our budget. About 2 years ago the thought came to me! Why am I paying to have my boys hair cut?! At that point we had 3 boys in the family (2 boys and one husband) that were regularly getting their hair cut about every 6 weeks. Now we have 4 (3 boys and one husband.)

A haircut in our area, for a boy, can run anywhere from $12-$20, depending on where you get it cut. So, let's do some math......

52wks in a year/ 6wks = 8.67 haircuts per year per boy

and 8.67 haircuts x $12-$20 per cut = $104 - $173

With 4 boys the total would then be $416 - $692 per year!!!

So, just over 2 years ago I ventured down to our local Wal-Mart and bought this....

For $28.

Yep. That is all I have spent on boy's haircuts in the last 2 years, a whopping $28.

Savings? Best case scenario = $832 (2 years worth) - $28 = $804
Now that is a chunk of change.

I do get my hair cut (for $20) about twice a year and Timber has yet to even need a haircut. Yay for being frugal! Excuse me while I go spend that extra money on fabric.........er, I mean bills.

Do you cut your boys hair? Have you ever figured up your savings for doing so?

IndoctriNation Giveaway Winner

The IndoctriNation giveaway is now closed. Here is what Random.org had to say this morning:
Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:
21
Timestamp: 2012-01-21

That means that Katy~The Country Blossom is our winner!
Congratulations Katy, I'll be emailing you!

We're still inside!

The last 3 days have been very stormy and we've been in the house A LOT. Today is the first day where while it is still raining, it's not coming down in buckets and you can safely walk outside without being blown over into the next county. I haven't seen the river today but I'm hoping it has come down since yesterday. It was beyond flood stage yesterday.

But with all this time inside we've been able to still enjoy ourselves.

We've had the wood stove going strong for about a week straight. First it was the cold weather and sprinkling of snow....

Then the warm up with high surf (at the ocean), high wind, and flooding advisories everywhere!

We're looking at these books. Have you ever seen them? I know they can't be anything new, but they are new to us and we absolutely love them! If you have any at your library I'd highly recommend checking a few of them out.

I've been working on Mason's quilt too and have 13 of the 20 blocks done!

So here is to winter finally being here! Here's to hot fires and warm toes... drawing, reading, sewing and snuggling! I can certainly wait a little longer for spring.

A Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY
Outside my window... It's windy, overcast and cold. The ground is still wet from last nights rain.
I am thinking... that staying on top of discipline is a discipline in itself. And a hard one, at times, at that.
I am thankful... for my daughter. I am constantly thankful that the Lord's plans are always better than my own.
From the learning rooms... lots of reading and narration.
In the kitchen... leftover clam chowder for lunch today and a pork roast tonight for dinner.
I am wearing... this skirt with a long sleeve blue top
I am creating... Mason's quilt.
I am going...to violin lessons this afternoon with Timber.
I am wondering... if I'll ever measure up to the type of mom and wife that I want to be in my heart.
I am reading...I just finished "Raising Maidens of Virtue" and am in the midst of "Created to Be His Help Meet."
I am hoping... better yet, praying, that I do my husband (and my children) good and not harm all the days of my life. Lord, lead me.
I am looking forward to...the eggs we'll be getting from our 3 new laying hens!
I am hearing... the sound of the Suzuki Violin CD playing as my little children sleep.
Around the house... dusting and laundry are on my to do list.
I am pondering...signing Layton up for T-ball.
One of my favorite things...winter storms.
A few plans for the rest of the week... getting together with a friend to finish up a sewing project, cleaning house, running Wyatt back and forth to his bike repair class, etc.
A picture thought... sometimes you're just desperate for some snow!

Family Picture Time

While we were down visiting family for Christmas we had these photos taken. While the photo session went...well, lets call it "interestingly", we had better success than the last time we attempted family pictures.

I am blessed beyond measure.

IndoctriNation: A DVD Giveaway

I have been so impressed with the IndoctriNation movie. If you missed it, you can read my short review of it here. I wish that this movie could be handed out to all Christian families, for free, so that everyone could easily have a chance to see it. It's that important. It's that good.

I'd like to give away a copy of the movie here on my blog. If you'd like to win this DVD, here are the giveaway rules:

1. Leave a comment here telling me if you're already a homeschooler or looking into homeschooling or if you've never even considered homeschooling.

2. FB or Tweet about this giveaway and leave me a separate comment telling me you did for an extra entry!(optional)

Please make sure I have a way of contacting you if you win.

Giveaway will end Friday January 20th at midnight- California time!

Timber's Quilt

I think it's been longer than forever since I've shared a quilting post. True?
Mostly, because I haven't been quilting much with the exception of what needs to be quilted for our family.
Timber and Layton moved into bunk beds a few months ago when Mason got bumped up to a toddler bed. Since all 3 of them share a bedroom the bunk bed gave them more floor space. When I contemplated what to do for the kids quilts, I knew I needed to make it easy. 2 twin size quilts and a quilt big enough for a toddler bed were in my immediate sewing future and I didn't want to dive into anything intricate.
Here is Timber's quilt:

The quilt has been on her bed for a few months now, but I just got around to taking a picture of it.
I used Portugal by April Cornell for Moda.

Layton's quilt is on my machine as we speak. Hopefully once it's done it won't take me 3 months to snap a photo. I'm using the Ron's World collection by Henry Glass for his. I can't wait to show you the back of the quilt. I really love it!
As for Mason, his Happy Trails quilt hasn't even been cut. The poor baby is still sleeping under his baby quilt- with his little feet sticking out.

If we could get some rain, I could get some more sewing done....probably.

Really Good French Bread

Nothing says "winter dinner" like a nice pot of homemade soup and some french bread. When it's dark by 5:30pm and been cold and raining all day, nothing welcomes daddy home like the aroma of fresh bread coming out of the oven.

I'm sure that if it was winter here then my husband, who works outside all day (rain or shine) would appreciate that supper.

Except it's more like June here rather than January.

Case in point: December's average rainfall: 13.7 inches. This December's rainfall: 2.4 inches.

So instead we've been having crab salads for dinner with french bread. Because while it still may be sunny and late spring like, it is still crab season in these parts!

~ French Bread~

1 1/4 c warm water
2 tsp sugar
3 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 tsp yeast
1 tsp salt
1 egg + 1 Tb water
cornmeal for dusting

Place first 5 ingredients in bread maker and set on dough setting.

Read to your kids, spend some time in the Word, fold a couple loads of laundry, whatever, for the next 1.5 hours.

When cycle is done, divide dough into 2 equal portions. Roll each portion into a 8x10" rectangle with a rolling pin. Roll up dough jelly roll style, pinching seams and placing loaves seam side down on cornmeal dusted baking sheet.

Cover and allow to rise for 20 minutes.

Whisk egg and water together and brush over the tops of the loaves. Slice 4 slashes in the tops of each loaf.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Tiramisu Cheesecake

I realize that this is not the time to throw those New Year resolutions out the window but you just may have to for this recipe.

My Italian half has always loved Tiramisu. My other English, Irish, Russian, German, Scottish, etc. half just sees it going to my hips while shaking it's head.

This recipe combines Tiramisu and cheesecake together to make one of the most wonderful desserts!

Here's what you'll need....

1 pkg (12oz) vanilla wafers (For this recipe only, don't look at the ingredients on the side of the wafer box otherwise you'll end up not making this.)
5 tsp instant coffee, divided
3 Tbsp hot water, divided
4 8oz. pkgs cream cheese
1 c sugar
1 c sour cream
4 eggs
1 1/2 c whipped cream (cream that you have whipped yourself with some sugar and vanilla)
1 Tb baking cocoa

Layer half of wafers in greased 13x9 dish. In a small bowl, dissolve 2tsp coffee in 2Tb hot water. Brush wafers with half of coffee, set remaining coffee aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and sour cream until smooth. Add eggs: beat until just combined. Divide batter in half. Dissolve remaining coffee in remaining hot water and stir into one half of the batter. Spread coffee-batter over wafers. Layer with remaining wafers; brush with reserved coffee. Top with remaining batter.
Bake at 325 for 40 minutes. Cool for 1 hour. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
Spread with whipped cream, dust with cocoa.

Now, try to only eat one piece!