Monday Meals

I had a fabulous Mother's day and I hope you did too. I know that many of you were spoiled and didn't have to cook or lift a finger so here's an easy breezy recipe that will help you with re-entry into reality.

I usually don't get all that excited about hamburgers but these burgers are out of control good! They are mouth watering delicious, moist (uggh...a word from my "Words I Hate" list), and as far as hamburgers go....fancy.

Mozzarella Beef Burgers

What You Need:

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
4 hamburger buns

What You Do:

PREHEAT grill to medium-high heat. Mix meat, cheese, bread crumbs and barbecue sauce. Shape into four patties.

PLACE patties on grill; cover grill with lid. Grill 4 to 6 min. on each side or until burgers are cooked through (160°F).

Enjoy!

Top 10 Signs That it's Time to Clean

10. The sticky spot on the floor has disappeared. I had a friend confess to me that her floor was so dirty that it was no longer sticky. I didn't get it either at first. She then explained that she had noticed a spot where something had spilled and left a sticky residue. One day she noticed the stickiness was gone and realized that enough dirt and grime had covered the area so that it wasn't sticky anymore.

9. Your windows look like they have a frosted effect. My kids lick my windows. I have no idea why other than they like to make work for me.

8. Your kids don't ask for snacks because they can find enough sustenance in lost cheerios in the couch cushions.

7. You're on the verge of a toy coup. I once slept on a toy and it was no princess and the pea story. I never felt the matchbox car until I woke up the next morning. What does that say about me? Yikes!

6. You notice that your kids are "drawing" pictures in the dust on your coffee table.

5. your kids are pretending to be mountain climbers on the piles and piles of laundry. I am a complete failure when it comes to laundry. I wash it and then it sits until I get about 7 or 8 loads to put away all at once. If I had a million dollars, I would so pay for fluff and fold!

4. There isn't a clean knife to butter your bagel. You know it's REALLY bad when you start to use the kid's plastic ware! I dream of the day we get a dishwasher. I don't currently suffer from this problem only because there is only so much you can fit in a sink.


3. You clean one room for when quests come over and then try to limit their movement. I do miss having a 2 story house where you could just clean the main floor and everyone just assumes that the upstairs is just as clean.

2. You count on your dog to clean up the floor after family meal time. This benefit of dog ownership almost outweighs the hassle of dealing with pet hair!

1. Your turn. I'm stuck so leave a comment with your #1 sign it's time to clean. Seriously, I can't post a top 9 list!

Easy Art for Kid's Rooms

I'm always looking for an inexpensive way to decorate my kids walls. Here's a very cheap way to pull it off and put your creative powers to use.

First, pick up a blank canvas at one of the big box craft stores. They come in all different shapes and sizes. When you shop, be aware that some have a clean looking edge on the sides and others show the staples that fasten the canvas to the frame. You can frame it ($$$) or use ribbon to cover the staples.


Next, I used an accent paint I had left over from painting a tree on my daughter's wall. You can use any coordinating color. You could simply use your trim paint or consider bringing in your child's bed spread or curtains to a paint store. They can easily create a match and mix up a quart for you.


Next, find coordinating paper (I used scrap booking paper) to create frames and other decorative shapes. As I mentioned, I painted a tree on my daughter's wall, so I continued this pattern onto one canvas along with simple squares that will act as frames for photos. The birds and flowers are stickers that I found at a craft store.
You could also add your child's name in large letters...you get the idea. Be creative and have some fun. Don't worry about cutting out your shapes perfectly either. You won't notice the imperfections once it's finished and on the wall.

Finally, glue every thing down using Mod Podge. Be sure to use a matte finish so it doesn't turn out super shiny. Once everything is in place, coat the top with a layer of Mod Podge too. If bubbles pop up under your paper don't stress. They will work themselves out! When your paper is wet you can lift color and it also can rip easily so use a bit of care. You can use mounting tape to place your photos on your canvas once it's dried.

Viola! Easy, cheap, and cute!

Mother's Day

My Mother's Day present came early. Well, it's not actually a present. It's the fact that my kids are sneaking around making "supizes" for me. I love it.

There have already been a few days when the kids act like they're sneaking by with paper and markers and announce that I may not look at what they are doing. The house goes quiet not in that "Oh no! It's quiet!". I actually can relax knowing that they're up to good.

I can just imagine what they're making. They both tend to use the old paper pad that they got from one of our friends when his business and address changed...fancy! I also saw post-it notes and heard the stapler hard at work.

I'm sure your kids make creations like this too. Ones that only a mother could love because really, they are just plain sad looking. Truthfully, I'll probably end up sneaking out to the trash while they're asleep because there is only so much that I can store and they create in quantity. Still, I'm feeling especially loved and appreciated this week.

Feed My Starving Children

How can a SAHM make an impact on a social justice issue like hunger? Seriously, I feel competent to cook for a family of 4 but take a bite out of world hunger...seems a bit beyond me. And it is.

God blessed my home church this last Sunday and I'm still all abuzz from the event. By the grace of God, our church was able to raise $32,ooo during Lent to buy and pack 150,000 meals (each meal feeding 6 children) along with a general donation to Feed My Starving Children Amazing.

The best part of the entire day was watching my son work during our shift. I was in charge of scooping the soy and rice into the meal storage bag after a friend scooped a vitamin/chicken powder and dehydrated veggies. Yum, yum. My husband and our son took the bag after it was properly weighted and sealed it. Our shift packed enough meals to feed 169 children one meal per day for one year. The feeling of helping, of being a part of the process, of being used to help, made us feel so full!

Feed My Starving Children is a Christian organization that will work with you and your group of volunteers! Here's their link: http://www.fmsc.org/Page.aspx?pid=398

Please comment if you have any questions or if you've worked with this organization and you can recommend it along with me!

Sharpie Weight Loss

I have an addiction to Sharpie markers and even more so, I occasionally feel compelled to write on my walls with Sharpies. Yes, me. No, not the kids, me, age 33.

It started at our last house, which was a sprucer upper, A.K.A. hideous. I knew it would take several years before we had the time and money to remodel the kitchen. And I was right, it took 7 years until we fixed up the kitchen and then we moved to our current sprucer upper, A.K.A. extra hideous. I guess the logic went something along the lines of...if I have to live with an ugly kitchen with cupboards custom built for a short person, which I am not, and striped berber carpet in it, it might as well be fun. So, I began writing my favorite quotes on the wall in Sharpie. Eventually, whenever we had a dinner party, I invited our guests to add so meting to the kitchen walls too. It became this thing...

Well, it's started again. No, I'll take personal responsibility, I started again. This time it's our master bathroom. Don't let the "master bath" fool you. It's tiny. It has a tiled shower minus the glass door. The glass must have broken during the last owner and now it has small plastic curtain hung by 3 random pink flowered hooks. It also has one oddly placed wall cabinet that the previous owners painted a random exotic bird on and of course... one toilet (that we replaced...good-bye pink toilet), and one tiny and short vanity with a pink sink. Oh, I forgot to mention the florescent light that is all yellowed and flickers for a good minute when you first turn it on. I pretty much feel like I'm getting ready at camp every mooring.

It doesn't bother me that much really because I can see through the ugly to the potential. I know that with some hard work and a bit of cash that someday it's going to feel like a "master bath". In the mean time....I'll write on it in permanent marker.

This time it's not quotes though. This time I write out the current month, calendar style. The logic goes something like this...if I can see how often I work out each month...maybe I'll work out. It works. I started with the month of March and I starred each date that I exercised on. March looks like the 4th of July...I rocked March out!

I also post how much weight I've lost or (grrrr...) gained at the end of each week. It's not really about the weight though. I mean, trust me, I have weight to lose and i'd like to lose it, but I'm focusing more on the exercise piece. The weight loss is a result not the goal.

Then there's April and May....well, I didn't hit rock star status either of those months, but the point is I'm sticking with it. There's an excuse every day to not work out but I'm trying to do the hard thing. I'm trying not to ignore the writing on the wall (pun intended) and although there have been a few starless weeks overall, it's been a great accountability partner for me. I figure I have at least 1 year before we have the time and money to remodel the "master" bathroom. In that time I hope to put up at least 100 stars...and you'll get to count them. I promise, when the time comes, to post before and afters of the bathroom and by that time I also hope that regular exercise will be just another part of my routine...permanent like

Book Review: The Money Answer Book by Dave Ramsey

Recently, I received the book The Money Answer Book to read and review. Now, like many, Dave Ramsey is not a stranger to me. My husband and I first turned to Dave for advice 6 years ago when I became a stay at home mom and we went from D.I.N.Ks (Double Income No Kids) to "good golly are we eating spaghetti again". It was Dave Ramsey's book The Total Money Makeover that led us, step by step, out of our financial pickle. I also became a listener of his national talk radio program and even worked up the nerve to call in when we became debt free.

When this book, The Money Answer Book, showed up in the mail my first thought was, "does the man really need to write a new book?". I know. It sounds cruel. It's not that I'm sick of Dave Ramsey. I love the guy. I wondered though, if Dave had anything new to write. Dave's principals on becoming debt free and building financial wealth are simple, straight forward, and grounded. Truly, if you've read Dave Ramsey there isn't much "new" in this book...and I'm good with that. In fact, I'm slightly relieved.

What Dave Ramsey does do in The Money Answer Book is repackage his plan for financial peace into an easy to read and slightly entertaining book. The book is organized into a question and answer format much like his talk radio show. This is what captured my peanut sized attention span. You can eat this book in small bites...one question per page. Or you can chew away at a chapter which organizes a number of questions around one financial topic. While you're entertained by the questions and *gasp* drama in the lives of strangers, your own financial questions are answered and you come away motivated to manage your money. It's a win win.

Throughout the book, The Money Answer Book also includes profound quotes and Biblical scripture grounding it's concepts and providing a bit of a thoughtful reading break. You also gain a few easy, stress-free, financial work pages to create your own money action plan. Very practical.

The book's opening chapter begins with a inspiring "No matter what I don't" list, which just endears the man more to me, and then goes on to explain, what Dave calls, The Basics. If you're at all familiar with Dave Ramsey, you'll recognize these as the baby steps:
1. $1,000 in an emergency fund
2. Pay off all debt(except the house) utilizing the "Debt Snowball"
3. 3 to 6 months expenses in savings for emergencies
4. Fully fund 15% into pre-tax retirement plans and ROTH IRA, if eligible.
5. College funding
6. Pay off home early
7. Build wealth! (Mutual funds and real estate)

Overall, I recommend the book to anyone who has, needs, wants, and is out of money. That's everyone right? Dave's advice is relevant for a person drowning in debt to a person swimming in cash. If you've never read or heard Dave Ramsey, this book is a gentle introduction that gives you a well rounded knowledge of Dave's program. It also wets your appetite to learn more and put your plans into action. If you're like me and you've already been "Ramsified" as I like to call it, and this book serves as an entertaining refresher course that will walk you back into your baby steps if you've strayed a bit.

I'll end with my favorite quote included in the book....

"If at first you don't succeed...try hard work." - William Feather

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”