tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54431749236471667882024-03-13T22:32:30.356-07:00WHOLLYHOLLYHolly Williams Urbachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11297441659389143375noreply@blogger.comBlogger70125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443174923647166788.post-41833657870507790572016-10-08T09:32:00.000-07:002016-10-08T09:32:10.003-07:00Why Purchasing Retail is a Last Resort for Me<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqQBBNufRwCQD7aCXkgWjT7mZ6Pc3A04uwjuFPlaJO9o6QTu2MNu3xw48IMOX-FOQttNh4k1oKrGAjt9AGV2UE2tBvkw7ghuyBdJi-sfJaIoozeaaMslH9nzxogbNrXLD1toyO69yF6f8/s1600/Camouflage+winter+coat+thrift+store.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqQBBNufRwCQD7aCXkgWjT7mZ6Pc3A04uwjuFPlaJO9o6QTu2MNu3xw48IMOX-FOQttNh4k1oKrGAjt9AGV2UE2tBvkw7ghuyBdJi-sfJaIoozeaaMslH9nzxogbNrXLD1toyO69yF6f8/s320/Camouflage+winter+coat+thrift+store.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">A great jacket at a great price!</span></td></tr>
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<br /><br />Whenever I need something, a retail store is not the first place I turn to fill my need. For one reason, shopping retail is the most expensive way to acquire goods. Retail purchases use a significant portion of my hard earned income and don't provide a bigger enjoyment of the purchase over a similar item purchased at a thrift store, garage sale, or traded between friends. In fact, I would have to say that for me, finding what I need in a less conventional way is actually way more enjoyable and satisfying.<br /><br />Here is a concrete example of my philosophy to turn to retail shopping as a last resort. My little boy needed a winter jacket this year. He is four-years-old, so it is unlikely that anything I buy him this year will be worn again next year.<br /><br />I was shopping at a favorite thrift store for Halloween costumes, when I noticed a rack of very nice, good condition boys' winter jackets. I moseyed on over and began to look at the jackets. I found several in size four and examined each one carefully for condition. I chose one in a camouflage pattern that was priced at $3.99. Now I only need to add a hat and mittens to be ready for winter, if we actually have cold enough days to wear a winter jacket in central Texas this year!<br /><br /> Just after I bought Liam's jacket, I had to go to Target to buy ink for my printer. This is an example of an item that I generally purchase retail (though I did have a $5.00 off storewide Target coupon to use that day). As I walked through the store I noticed boys' winter jackets on display and curious about what they cost, I moved closer to get a look at the price tag. Imagine my surprise to find that these jackets, which were not substantially different in construction or quality to the thrift store jacket I had just bought, were ten times more than what I paid at the thrift store!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nice jacket, but not ten times nicer than my thrift store jacket!<br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This price is easy to absorb for<br />my limited budget. </td></tr>
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If I spend $39.99 on a winter jacket when I could spend $3.99, that removes $36.00 from my budget that I could use elsewhere. I could almost fill my gas tank twice for that amount of money. My family and I live on a small income and one of the primary reasons we can do so is that we look for the most inexpensive way to get what we need. The thrift store, clearance sales, and markdowns are my allies in my war on excess spending. Every dollar I don't spend on discretionary spending is released to my mandatory spending categories such as mortgage, electricity, water, insurance, and the like.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can you say sticker shock? ;)</td></tr>
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One of the reasons we live on a small budget is due to choice. My husband and I value lifestyle and time to enjoy our lives over the rat race of working a forty-hour week. We chose instead to build businesses that allow us to work for ourselves mainly from home and to spend time with our family. We are working at earning a full-time income from our part-time efforts and are creating multiple streams of income that will allow us to work wherever we go, so long as we have our computers and a decent Internet connection.<br />
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If you have a good income and can afford to buy retail, I encourage you to give thrifting a try. The money you don't spend can go towards paying off your home or car early, saving for college, giving to charitable causes, or investing.<br />
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Buying secondhand also helps the environment by reusing and recycling items that would otherwise have ended up in the landfill. No matter what our income, we all need to be aware of how our purchases impact the world in which we all live.<br />
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Do you have a tight budget or live on a fixed income? How do you cover all your bases without exceeding your spending? Do you barter, shop garage sales, or thrift stores? Tell me all about it in the comments section!<br />
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Holly Williams Urbachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11297441659389143375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443174923647166788.post-81991130670381588352016-10-02T10:20:00.000-07:002016-10-02T10:20:38.261-07:00Five Thrift Store Christmas Present Ideas for Preschoolers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yep, this is a post about buying thrift store Christmas presents . . . posted at the beginning of October. If you want to have an affordable Christmas, you absolutely cannot wait until December to start buying gifts! There are lots of really nice new and nearly new items to be had for young children at thrift stores. You'll save a lot of money while still being able to get your child/children lovely items they will be thrilled to have.<br />
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<b>Five Thrift Store Christmas Present Ideas for Preschoolers</b><br />
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1. Create a dress up box. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGkpoCj8sdoCxgWcJky3dSVnmG5676AWhwd_nNN0FW7hSDTX-hNnTERxKVn842W1mxv3HvUiKh7RZzqCY4NIRDjMafnHQq2mS_hCOY8GtAzNlEh3jn1GA6yo0NlagvNAL1oNiHz5bW5zg/s1600/Liam+spiderman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGkpoCj8sdoCxgWcJky3dSVnmG5676AWhwd_nNN0FW7hSDTX-hNnTERxKVn842W1mxv3HvUiKh7RZzqCY4NIRDjMafnHQq2mS_hCOY8GtAzNlEh3jn1GA6yo0NlagvNAL1oNiHz5bW5zg/s320/Liam+spiderman.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My little guy in all his glory as Spiderman!<br />(Notice that he is standing in front of the markdown<br />shelf at our favorite grocery store, which is my first <br />stop on every shopping trip)</td></tr>
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Recently I was in a thrift store looking for a Halloween costume for myself to wear on Halloween, when I noticed most of the little kid costumes were priced at $2.99 each! Bells went off in this gal's head and I started snapping up costumes for my little guy. I am making him a costume box for Christmas. I purchased a Buzz Lightyear costume (splurged $7.99 on this one), an Iron Man costume, a Transformers costume, and a Captain America costume, each of which cost $2.99. I am going to spend $10.00 more to add an Iron Man mask, and hopefully a Transformers mask to round out the costumes. I wouldn't be able to create this super hero dress up box as inexpensively at any other time of the year, so this is why I am sharing this gem of an idea now. You can easily create any type of themed dress up box during the Halloween season sales.<br />
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2. Make a Lego, Duplo, or other building block set<br />
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In just about every thrift store I visit, I notice small bags of building blocks- Lego, Duplo, etc. Start now to pull together a nice set of building blocks for your preschooler. Many thrift stores have sales on certain items or certain color tagged items and these sales often change daily. Check your favorite store's Facebook page or website for info on what is on special. If toys are half price, you better plan on going to that thrift store that day! In the past, I have made a Marbleworks set, an oversized "Lego" set for a toddler, and other building sets, simply by knowing what my kids really liked and going to the various thrift stores frequently. I also purchase a large plastic tub to use as the container for the thrifted building sets, again, at the thrift store if at all possible!<br />
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3. Give books<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I paid $3.00 for this set of eight board books! </td></tr>
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Books are usually plentiful at thrift stores and many are in new or excellent condition. If your child likes a certain character (Spiderman, Barbie, Harry Potter), it is relatively easy to gather a good sized bunch of books in great condition from your favorite thrift store. One of my daughters liked the Babysitter Club books and one son liked the Animorphs. I buy books when they are on sale at half price and can give my kids a huge collection of their desired series of books.<br />
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4. Give puzzles and games<br />
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Every thrift store I visit has puzzles and games. I watch for sales on these items and stock up on high quality wooden puzzles, floor puzzles, and games of all kinds. I focus on wooden puzzles and floor puzzles because these two types are a bit more special than a simple cardboard tray puzzle and at retail price these are also quite expensive. Little kids love games but can lose interest in them quickly, so I would much rather buy them as inexpensively as possible. If the games or puzzles have beat up boxes, simply purchase a plastic box from the dollar store and print a photo of the game or puzzle to decorate the box.<br />
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5. Give art supplies<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can't go wrong with these popular children's character <br />coloring books priced at only 25 cents each! </td></tr>
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Thrift stores often have construction paper, stickers, coloring books, crayons, colored pencils, paint sets, sidewalk chalk, stencils, etc. When I can purchase coloring books for 25 cents each or 12 cents during a half price book sale at my favorite thrift store, this is a fantastic gift item to be able to give. I look for new or nearly new coloring books and carefully remove used pages to create a pristine book.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These coloring books were new and unused throughout!</td></tr>
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I encourage you to think thrift store when doing your<br />
Christmas shopping for young kids this year. Your money will go so much farther and you won't be paying for Christmas gifts long after the holiday season has passed.<br />
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I would love to hear how your shopping goes and what you found! Please share in the comments section!<br />
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<br />Holly Williams Urbachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11297441659389143375noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443174923647166788.post-91155846966588778562016-07-09T14:42:00.001-07:002016-07-09T14:42:59.513-07:00Ten Tips for Working from Home with Toddlers<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In April 2014, my husband and I became
parents to our eighteen month-old grandson. We had a lot to figure
out, but one thing we knew was that we wanted to have him at home and
not in daycare at such a young age. So, I began to pursue
opportunities to create income from home. I started doing virtual
assisting and I also went back to college in August 2014 to open
opportunities for myself at a later date. I am kind of crazy like
that-one challenge isn't enough for me, no sir!
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I began to comb the Internet for tips
on dealing with toddlers while working from home. Some ideas had
merit, such as work when the child is napping or asleep. Other ideas
weren't so helpful for my situation, such as put them in daycare, or
wait to start a business until they are older and in school. I mean,
really? That was not helpful in the least.
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Here are ten tips that worked for me
and hopefully they will be helpful to you too.
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<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Spend time with your child prior
to trying to do any work. If I spend a good twenty minutes with my
little guy, then I can count on just about the same amount of time
to do some work, maybe even longer. Before I start my work, I make
sure he has eaten, we have read books and played, and I have some
special toys ready for him that he doesn't see often. I repeat this
cycle of play and work all throughout the day. </div>
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<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Teach your child that when you
work, he/she gets to do something that he/she really enjoys. My
grandson likes to watch Daniel Tiger. When I go to my computer to do
some work, he gets to watch an episode of his favorite show. I also
reserve special toys for work time that will keep his interest for
an extended period of time and I rotate them so they are fresh and
fun when he does get to play with them.
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<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Offer a lot of praise for good
behavior while you are working. I tell my grandson what a good job
he did being quiet while I worked or while I was on a phone call. I
thank him for making good choices so I can get my work done.
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<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Keep a consistent schedule of
meals, naps (if they take naps), and activities. Children are much
more compliant when they know what to expect and when. Ever changing
schedules are hard on kiddos and in turn, hard on parents.
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<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Don't try to take care of your
child, work from home, and do housework. If I were out of the house
from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., I wouldn't be washing dishes and
laundry, so I don't while working from home. You need to view your
work time as work time. Don't visit Facebook, clean the house, or
babysit for friends while you are working. </div>
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<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Take a lunch hour. Making sure you
and your child are nourished is very important to getting through
the day well versus just surviving. Plan the week's lunch on the
weekend and have the lunches you need ready for the work week.
</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Get dressed and dress your child.
You will feel more productive and your child will realize that the
day has started if you both get dressed instead of wearing your
pajamas or exercise clothes.
</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In the summer, if you can, adjust
your work schedule to take advantage of summer events like free
summer movies, free bowling, participating in library summer reading
programs, or going swimming. These activities are enriching for your
child and will give you both a sense of having had a nice summer.
</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Don't work on the weekends unless
you can't avoid it. It is important to have normal family time. If
work is always intruding, your child will be resentful of your work
and not as cooperative.
</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Point out to your child how your
work benefits the family. Even small children can learn to
appreciate that your work provides juice boxes, toys, and other
niceties. When they understand the correlation of work to things
they like in their life, they deal with the fact of a parent working
a lot better. </div>
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</ol>
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Are you a parent who works from home?
What tips and tricks have helped you to manage your days with little
ones while trying to earn a living? Please share in the comments
section below.
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Holly Williams Urbachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11297441659389143375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443174923647166788.post-5274397076089797482016-06-24T10:56:00.003-07:002016-06-24T10:56:37.362-07:00Ten Low-Cost or No-Cost Ways to Enjoy SummerSummer is here! Kids are out of school, wildflowers are abloom, and folks all over Facebook are excited about vacations.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUig_YjOtS4S-CTQJr770_2tvxSZIZIuUV5HHekeoRI3xo7GV5PpHDTGJjdZW5YkKfVtZkYpx_QQ7rqxEEqkNjNeX9pSYfBuvZ42FutJqfyesuAXXqRo3suc9tEdhPrLMovTmBztv-k8Y/s1600/Pink+Evening+Primrose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUig_YjOtS4S-CTQJr770_2tvxSZIZIuUV5HHekeoRI3xo7GV5PpHDTGJjdZW5YkKfVtZkYpx_QQ7rqxEEqkNjNeX9pSYfBuvZ42FutJqfyesuAXXqRo3suc9tEdhPrLMovTmBztv-k8Y/s200/Pink+Evening+Primrose.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pink Evening Primroses</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Summer is a little different for me and my husband. It isn't a big income time for us. I run an enrichment academy for homeschool students and my husband installs raised bed gardens in the spring and fall. No school means no paycheck for me and there aren't many garden installations in the summer for my Master Gardener hubby, so his income is lower too.<br />
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Less income means we get more creative in the summer. We have learned how to have lots of fun for little to no cost out of pocket.<br />
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<b>Ten Low-Cost or No-Cost Ways to Enjoy Summer</b><br />
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1. Eat meals outside. Breakfast outside in the morning is a favorite with me and my crew.<br />
2. Make your own bubble solution and blow bubbles with your children.<br />
3. Garden! A hobby that offers nutrition, exercise, and vitamin D.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHWD00ChHVhsNxX1coV5Ed7r3fJOIuQQLybBI2R3LEB-GC3nNGmACbtJsOQwzNG7k_kRBt0BAE1fsxEZDk-VyaJ-atT4Ro7I3SwyG61iYaPlUNbsBmHHnEKt5dZayaOjzpWs8oB1d0v3g/s1600/garden+harvest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHWD00ChHVhsNxX1coV5Ed7r3fJOIuQQLybBI2R3LEB-GC3nNGmACbtJsOQwzNG7k_kRBt0BAE1fsxEZDk-VyaJ-atT4Ro7I3SwyG61iYaPlUNbsBmHHnEKt5dZayaOjzpWs8oB1d0v3g/s200/garden+harvest.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We love our garden!<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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4. Pop your own popcorn and watch favorite movies together.<br />
5. Go to summer reading club activities at the local library. Ours hosts many free activities and rewards for reading.<br />
6. Save your leftover coffee from the morning to enjoy as iced coffee in the afternoon.<br />
7. Find a playground or park in your area with a splash pad or free swimming.<br />
8. Go outside in the evening and stargaze.<br />
9. Take advantage of summer movie days at your local movie theater. It does cost a bit of money but it is fairly affordable.<br />
10. Go bowling! Go to <a href="http://www.kidsbowlfree.com/all_centers.php">http://www.kidsbowlfree.com/all_centers.php</a> to see if there is a bowling alley in your area participating.<br />
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What are you doing to have fun this summer while keeping spending to a minimum? Please share your summer activities by commenting below so we can all benefit!<br />
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<br />Holly Williams Urbachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11297441659389143375noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443174923647166788.post-77246465845092746022014-11-30T10:45:00.001-08:002014-11-30T10:45:56.783-08:00Christmas is coming- Ready or Not!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Tomorrow is December 1. Let that sink in a minute, folks. Yep, only 24 days until Christmas according to <b><a href="http://www.xmasclock.com/">Christmas Clock</a>. </b>Are you feeling a bit frantic? Last year I wrote a post about this topic called <b><a href="http://thewhollyholly.blogspot.com/2013/08/are-you-ready-for-christmas.html">Are You Ready for Christmas?</a> </b>where I explored<b> </b>ideas to pay for Christmas without cutting into one's regular budget.<br />
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So, here we are again and I am getting together my Christmas funds. Here is what I have done to earn Christmas money this year.<br />
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1. Swagbucks- by using the Swagbucks search engine, watching videos, and taking the daily polls, I have earned enough points to get $45.00 in Amazon e-gift cards. You can do this too. It is easy! Sign up under my <b><a href="http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/whollyholly">link</a></b> and help us both to keep earning Swagbucks.<br />
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2. Writing opportunities- I wrote a review of a product recently for THSC Review and earned $100.00 that I earmarked for my Christmas fund. ; )<br />
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3. The aluminum cans I have been saving up are about to get smashed and redeemed. I think I have at least $20.00 worth amassed. I am hoping it ends up being more and I will have to update y'all on the total once I get them turned in to the recycling center.<br />
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4. I have a big bank full of change that I have collected for at least a year that I am going to put towards Christmas. I will have to report on that total once it is counted.<br />
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5. I will be receiving a stipend from my college for providing notes to a person in my English class. I think I will be receiving $50.00.<br />
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So, there you have it. Without doing anything too drastic, I will have at least $250.00 for Christmas.<br />
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We are very frugal shoppers and that little amount will go a long way. My husband has been doing Listia and has accumulated a lot of points there which we will also be using to purchase Christmas gifts. I also do<b><a href="https://www.listia.com/signup/4087751"> Listia</a></b> (click to sign up) and if you join under me, you and I both get credits to use to shop there AND clear out our homes of no longer needed items.<br />
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How do you fund your Christmas purchases each year? Let me know in the comments. All respondents will be entered in a drawing for a Pampered Chef Season's Best Fall/Winter 2002 cookbook. I will draw for the winner on December 7 and announce the winner right here on my blog!<br />
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<br />Holly Williams Urbachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11297441659389143375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443174923647166788.post-39487513615548490212014-09-02T18:38:00.001-07:002014-09-02T18:38:17.375-07:00Recent Victories in Thrifty LivingI like to encourage and entertain myself by turning necessary activities like bargain shopping into a game. When I do well at my self-imposed game, I feel quite victorious and smart.<br />
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Here are some of my recent little victories in the money saving game I enjoy playing:<br />
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<b>KOHL'S CASH DEALS</b><br />
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Just a few weeks ago, I declared to my husband that I was badly in need of some new pants. Kohl's was nice enough to send me a postcard good for $10.00 savings on a purchase so off I went to paw through their clearance racks in hopes of scoring something to fill the gap in my wardrobe. Not only did I find a cute pair of petite sized Capri jeans for myself, I also found a gift for someone in my family for Christmas (I cannot reveal what exactly I found because that person sometimes reads this blog).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRl881DI3WDNN3HTHZ6ADTP4PBBHfP0v2IokRhqYRr5hu1JAYiYN2PreyLd0HcKOV5FkvO_2G98JlsM9CkIqL_XIflGSJ3qz5tiUwOvvq9UVqFg8CZzy_rZL6M3VDPi6MwUU4Pm99hcyc/s1600/Jeans+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRl881DI3WDNN3HTHZ6ADTP4PBBHfP0v2IokRhqYRr5hu1JAYiYN2PreyLd0HcKOV5FkvO_2G98JlsM9CkIqL_XIflGSJ3qz5tiUwOvvq9UVqFg8CZzy_rZL6M3VDPi6MwUU4Pm99hcyc/s1600/Jeans+photo.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCaNOmXzZ05xgAY5oLzxyJnk3FumRe34urt_FUo1cy9vN4MvDJ0r7GuKV54x5liNlcb380icxA-mz2whEBaGdlcC7y9gphyMpA-xHEFUSSUkETm2HSchunAVKmD5NzwhQWkQ1l-BkSKj4/s1600/Kohl's%2Breceipt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCaNOmXzZ05xgAY5oLzxyJnk3FumRe34urt_FUo1cy9vN4MvDJ0r7GuKV54x5liNlcb380icxA-mz2whEBaGdlcC7y9gphyMpA-xHEFUSSUkETm2HSchunAVKmD5NzwhQWkQ1l-BkSKj4/s1600/Kohl's%2Breceipt.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a>I ended up spending a total of $5.94 and saving $61.50! I make sure that I go to Kohl's every time I get one of those $10.00 Kohl's cards in the mail. I have gotten all kinds of amazing deals for my family, home, and myself this way. As I write this, I have another $10.00 card in my purse that has to be used by August 31 and since my grandson has a birthday coming up, I may be able to snag him a cool present using nothing more than my time and a bit of cash out of pocket.<br />
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<b>Healthy Breakfast for Pennies a Serving</b><br />
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Whenever I shop, I make it a practice to check the clearance items in each department of the grocery store. I stroll through the produce section, meat department, and the miscellaneous clearance rack in the back of the store. Recently I found a dented box of oatmeal with added oat bran marked to just $1.00 from its normal price of $1.69.<br />
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My grandson loves oatmeal and we used to buy the pre-made packets of oatmeal. Each box has 10 servings at $1.69 per box. So, 17 cents per serving. Not bad, except he eats two packets each breakfast, so the cost is actually 34 cents per breakfast. I decided to just buy rolled oats and flavor it myself with various ingredients we have on hand. Some days, Liam gets apple brown sugar cinnamon oatmeal (if I have unsweetened applesauce on hand), other days he gets strawberries and cream oatmeal if I have strawberry jam on hand.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH__FcY2hyQG1ooJEw6EAG1Kugc1tW_kLh71ZaJNovAmwCGMSDGUmUgsBDhg03AHhBTUhw-AY7kdZHE4yKclA2X4xYsYe_Y50c7bun5STV35IDkxJB5GOpZFCzVCWMCdWJYcWVjFqLbZE/s1600/Delicious+oatmeal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH__FcY2hyQG1ooJEw6EAG1Kugc1tW_kLh71ZaJNovAmwCGMSDGUmUgsBDhg03AHhBTUhw-AY7kdZHE4yKclA2X4xYsYe_Y50c7bun5STV35IDkxJB5GOpZFCzVCWMCdWJYcWVjFqLbZE/s1600/Delicious+oatmeal.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'd say he enjoyed his oatmeal!</td></tr>
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The oatmeal I purchased on markdown has 11 servings so it cost 9 cents per bowl of oatmeal. The cost of the add-ins is negligible because those items were all purchased for other purposes and the amount added to flavor his oatmeal is fairly small. Creating flavored oatmeal at home doesn't take much time at all. It is just a moment or two to measure out a spoonful of strawberry jam or to sprinkle cinnamon on the oatmeal before popping it into the microwave.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjed-xdzmBgBVf-53uVaKABKlPlPdi2vHvKFVbCgQ_rz_Q5IQigiybOvi6oX9sCJooi7v0sW0qM1uBjff9MCO9Vg8nmxsJm4V0cLCv1vrkB_zJSrmj6bYm9IbH5atK5FqS0y9BtDbdyciY/s1600/banana+bargain+bag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjed-xdzmBgBVf-53uVaKABKlPlPdi2vHvKFVbCgQ_rz_Q5IQigiybOvi6oX9sCJooi7v0sW0qM1uBjff9MCO9Vg8nmxsJm4V0cLCv1vrkB_zJSrmj6bYm9IbH5atK5FqS0y9BtDbdyciY/s1600/banana+bargain+bag.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a>Once the oatmeal is gone, we may switch to some other breakfast item that I purchased on a clearance or coupon deal. We stay flexible on what we eat so that we are always spending the least we have to spend. When I find a great deal, I buy as much as I can afford to lock in that deal for as long as possible.<br />
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<b> Going Bananas</b><br />
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When I go to the produce section looking for good deals, I always look for a big bag of marked down bananas. The bananas are still fresh enough to eat out of hand for a couple days and I have a lot of uses for them as they ripen. I happened upon a large paper sack of bananas recently weighing about 20 pounds that was marked down to $1.50 for the whole bag! That is 7 cents a pound folks!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXTUqTJvA5jYUEl1FAVQPPU1jxv5vjboyRh1E2rDc9kSuueGjn5FtE2P1CWjAR9e6x3CoSL1fQg5-XrxpmPRjIEwo42H5FvsOY2Ert4tuDQDAAeEFRMa23gL33uaoAWgKRW-YF5riFnL8/s1600/bag+full+of+bananas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXTUqTJvA5jYUEl1FAVQPPU1jxv5vjboyRh1E2rDc9kSuueGjn5FtE2P1CWjAR9e6x3CoSL1fQg5-XrxpmPRjIEwo42H5FvsOY2Ert4tuDQDAAeEFRMa23gL33uaoAWgKRW-YF5riFnL8/s1600/bag+full+of+bananas.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk6UKQDj5DdTVvASoGnBxCJL4GW0EyJ3ByH_gK5sX7FdPx7eBObxVPYTQpy9xukhNrjh_s4SV38fnq4LuX1PqAFPNxs-en-7FRR_DEC8BdIzpejBRb1LZxCptLG97JGFjrWh8XoTtK5Bg/s1600/bananas+ready+to+freeze.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk6UKQDj5DdTVvASoGnBxCJL4GW0EyJ3ByH_gK5sX7FdPx7eBObxVPYTQpy9xukhNrjh_s4SV38fnq4LuX1PqAFPNxs-en-7FRR_DEC8BdIzpejBRb1LZxCptLG97JGFjrWh8XoTtK5Bg/s1600/bananas+ready+to+freeze.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a> This go-round I made grain-free<b><a href="http://www.topwithcinnamon.com/2013/01/2-ingredient-healthy-pancakes-gluten-free-dairy-free.html"> banana pancakes</a></b> and <b><a href="http://www.babble.com/best-recipes/1-ingredient-banana-ice-cream-10-flavor-twists/">dairy-free banana ice cream</a></b>. The beauty of these recipes is how they can be customized for the consumer. I spent some time cutting up bananas for our "ice cream" and freezing them so they would be ready when the desire for a cold, creamy dessert hit.<br />
<br />
My grandson and I are both dairy-free so regular ice cream is out of the question. We love our banana "ice cream" and so do the dairy eaters in our home. Another plus on this tasty treat is that it is friendly to those of us watching our waistlines. And, finally, it is very inexpensive!<br />
<br />
The grain-free banana pancakes were amazing. With nothing more than mashed banana, eggs, and some seasonings, I made pancakes! They were tasty, gluten-free, dairy-free, inexpensive, and easy! I encourage you to give them a try! Everyone in the house who tried them, liked them.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEVoOC7ZHqaydAORcJMgRd6HJt1sZsK5YGj_EGMM1FZE8_6MCgiaKAUwQ3ADHHmY_Ehyv5cxlkyCY9iGx7sCODyVQziH8gw3JXfhkkvGRT_a3ztr8WLIuAsHBQSnuBBlE9-h9AtHb4QuA/s1600/banana+pancakes+cooking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEVoOC7ZHqaydAORcJMgRd6HJt1sZsK5YGj_EGMM1FZE8_6MCgiaKAUwQ3ADHHmY_Ehyv5cxlkyCY9iGx7sCODyVQziH8gw3JXfhkkvGRT_a3ztr8WLIuAsHBQSnuBBlE9-h9AtHb4QuA/s1600/banana+pancakes+cooking.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here they are just about ready to flip. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I have found that being willing to try different foods and recipes is one of the keys to the biggest savings in a grocery budget.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigF0QKTLGhpSRHMs6LDbteQeJa1P_5GByv_Hku-Aq-I5rCtmfwI4oxp_Tcu4mSJiS0pgmoZAW2HHefQbTiaZTR2K99zTbag1GBr54Qm8cOrWiGAaQxud0v0mlekcdRg0SCVTpFXnPfGhA/s1600/banana+pancakes+for+breakfast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigF0QKTLGhpSRHMs6LDbteQeJa1P_5GByv_Hku-Aq-I5rCtmfwI4oxp_Tcu4mSJiS0pgmoZAW2HHefQbTiaZTR2K99zTbag1GBr54Qm8cOrWiGAaQxud0v0mlekcdRg0SCVTpFXnPfGhA/s1600/banana+pancakes+for+breakfast.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a><br />
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Well, it has been a very busy week. School began for me and my youngest son on Tuesday. I have a bunch of homework and since I want to make A's, I will sign off now and get to studying.<br />
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If you decide to try the banana "ice cream" or banana pancakes, please let me know what you think of them.<br />
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I will be back soon with more tips, tricks, and encouragement to help you to thrive instead of just survive on a tight budget. And please, share your tips and tricks with me!<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigF0QKTLGhpSRHMs6LDbteQeJa1P_5GByv_Hku-Aq-I5rCtmfwI4oxp_Tcu4mSJiS0pgmoZAW2HHefQbTiaZTR2K99zTbag1GBr54Qm8cOrWiGAaQxud0v0mlekcdRg0SCVTpFXnPfGhA/s1600/banana+pancakes+for+breakfast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a>
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Holly Williams Urbachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11297441659389143375noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443174923647166788.post-23590945648236035942014-08-18T21:47:00.000-07:002014-08-18T21:47:00.214-07:00My Crazy Life Gets Crazier...on Purpose!You may remember that my grandson came to live with me on April 1 of this year. My then 19-month-old grandson. To a home of adults who weren't expecting a little child to be in residence 24/7. We were all a little shell shocked to say the least.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHK3PYxFHGXoeFfb48YTD4DuOjgYrQXUTztDeNAVRmQBVKU-N9x4L8y-rG65ag63uiIcp5W7DwNgPGXPAiqe_zRbP89-OxLld1PW855TIE-iWePnXz5w27NY_yw9quxRyzbgrgbmUahwU/s1600/Liam+hugging+a+tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHK3PYxFHGXoeFfb48YTD4DuOjgYrQXUTztDeNAVRmQBVKU-N9x4L8y-rG65ag63uiIcp5W7DwNgPGXPAiqe_zRbP89-OxLld1PW855TIE-iWePnXz5w27NY_yw9quxRyzbgrgbmUahwU/s1600/Liam+hugging+a+tree.jpg" height="200" width="146" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Liam hugs our trees every day<br />during our evening playtime. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Talk about a major life changing event for that sweet little boy and all of us, which includes my husband and two young adult sons in their early twenties. The dogs also were taken off guard by this tiny human who thinks that they are little horseys for his riding pleasure.<br />
<br />
Here we are just about in mid-August and we all have settled in to a routine that includes locking every door in the house, always having company in the bathroom, and hoping for a good nap time.<br />
<br />
Not content to leave things static, I have decided to complicate my life further by going back to college.<br />
<br />
Yep, this grandmother (Gigi to be exact) is a college freshman (because my previous college was on semesters and the credits weren't acceptable to my new school). I took the assessment tests and passed all but the math with flying colors! Take that assessment tests!<br />
<br />
I will be taking English Composition I and Intro to Speech this semester. I will also be working while going to school because we have this habit of enjoying food, shelter, and clothing. ; )<br />
<br />
I am working on a liberal arts degree, mainly because I am too much of a dilettante to buckle down to just one discipline. I will get to study English, history, French, and art and at the end I will be the proud owner of a Bachelor's Degree!<br />
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I am also working on moving my blog at some point to a self-hosted site. As I said, my crazy life is getting crazier on purpose.<br />
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I am striving to get back on a blog posting schedule but I am not making any promises. You may have to come see me on Facebook (Holly Williams Urbach) or Pinterest (whollyholly) to keep up with me.Holly Williams Urbachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11297441659389143375noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443174923647166788.post-86085065765555965742014-05-25T14:04:00.001-07:002014-05-25T14:05:53.449-07:00Turn Shabby Into ChicEveryone has heard the saying, "You either have time or money." In the summer, I have more time and way less money due to the fact that one of my big contracts is tied to the school year. But, because I am home more, I get the itch to fix up around the house at a time when I have less money to do so.<br />
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I don't let my lack of money stop me though, I just use it as fodder for exercising my creativity. We have a couch that was given to us around seven years ago and though still comfy, it is showing signs of its age. I don't tend to buy furniture as people are always giving me furniture, so when my current acquisitions start to look shabby, I make them last a little longer until something better comes along.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwG7GPmmerGNr04OXvqq9640_V2fWp6z9FAnseobsUHEhjTvODj39PTtfOAw6gMbFMZFufAGOADpypdhrQ6qz1zqBopWeJLJOiKWxP4xLCWAG4Ap3h1RYXUp8asCS6XpGmAnp4VoRx7XA/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwG7GPmmerGNr04OXvqq9640_V2fWp6z9FAnseobsUHEhjTvODj39PTtfOAw6gMbFMZFufAGOADpypdhrQ6qz1zqBopWeJLJOiKWxP4xLCWAG4Ap3h1RYXUp8asCS6XpGmAnp4VoRx7XA/s1600/photo+1.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> It seems that the arms of<br />furniture wear out faster<br />than other parts, though<br />I blame my dogs for this<br />as they stand here to get<br />a better look out the living<br />room windows at passers-by.</span></span><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"> </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZlGSfbvX7lSR64b5gB2Lj0Q7mH5zgv6CyoLDXyWlyEE2qKSVykvkVmG5mjhEwIDToN7_Ctde850MXaxMHK08t0jr9gaZm6V4pjKf6j_uWB6U9eGqYoUCC7Y6bmYgky7-MJafMtEo2otI/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZlGSfbvX7lSR64b5gB2Lj0Q7mH5zgv6CyoLDXyWlyEE2qKSVykvkVmG5mjhEwIDToN7_Ctde850MXaxMHK08t0jr9gaZm6V4pjKf6j_uWB6U9eGqYoUCC7Y6bmYgky7-MJafMtEo2otI/s1600/photo+2.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The damage to the back of<br />
the sofa is also due to the<br />
silly dogs who used to stand<br />
on the back of it to look out<br />
when the couch was in front<br />
of the living room windows.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Obviously these damaged parts of the sofa need to be addressed and without any cash outlay. I realized that I had purchased some forest green napkins at my thrift store for 50 cents that could work to cover the arms of the sofa.<br />
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I also realized that I had a throw in the cranberry color that I could use to cover the torn center back cushion of the couch. <br />
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Prior to covering the problem areas, the whole couch just looked sad and made the whole living room look run-down.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyyN6u7CAi8AcGjGz656e6ZYGTR8pe4grwjOgncWwTSLw6fsfSBGWEsteugTUfoqe0HG7q2fNREnDwdupvQVgPvWmmCVdmi3lngHO1l_9u0iJQUFq1YoaqYWnwfz5t706ei73CX72vTm4/s1600/photo+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyyN6u7CAi8AcGjGz656e6ZYGTR8pe4grwjOgncWwTSLw6fsfSBGWEsteugTUfoqe0HG7q2fNREnDwdupvQVgPvWmmCVdmi3lngHO1l_9u0iJQUFq1YoaqYWnwfz5t706ei73CX72vTm4/s1600/photo+4.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The dog doesn't mind the shabby couch but I sure do!<br />
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And now the after-<br />
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Not perfect but a whole lot more appealing until something better comes along! How do you manage when you are short on money but need to do some fixing up around the house?<br />
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Holly Williams Urbachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11297441659389143375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443174923647166788.post-35352932663793014682014-05-05T11:00:00.000-07:002014-05-05T11:00:00.992-07:00Giving Up Isn't an OptionMandisa has a song titled "Overcomer". I love this song, especially the chorus.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">You're an overcomer</span><br style="border: 0px none; font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">Stay in the fight ‘til the final round</span><br style="border: 0px none; font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">You're not going under</span><br style="border: 0px none; font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">‘Cause God is holding you right now</span><br style="border: 0px none; font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">You might be down for a moment</span><br style="border: 0px none; font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">Feeling like it's hopeless</span><br style="border: 0px none; font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">That's when He reminds You</span><br style="border: 0px none; font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">That you're an overcomer</span><br style="border: 0px none; font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">You're an overcomer</span><br />
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I have had a lot of challenging circumstances in my life to overcome. My parents divorced and remarried multiple times and not amicably. One sister had a terrible car accident. Financial struggles. My husband had a severe head injury and we didn't know if he would recover, my dad died of cancer , then my mother died of cancer, and on and on and on.<br />
<br />
Events happened in my life that made me feel like giving up...but I just couldn't give up. I wouldn't give up. What is it about some people that tough times make them tougher and others crumble?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtmzWsQpSGyksICWbXMsgEqgRELuRvs1OLeiWKPCg4eix6qkEPqZPscnrKJfcaPVV1p4GXe4jZFJVUBkBm5Ga15TIOxm9bL8L4S1JeMKv4yIH4WFqvlBGuAxVT1hNbLaHTieZCSshIA6w/s1600/upset+person.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtmzWsQpSGyksICWbXMsgEqgRELuRvs1OLeiWKPCg4eix6qkEPqZPscnrKJfcaPVV1p4GXe4jZFJVUBkBm5Ga15TIOxm9bL8L4S1JeMKv4yIH4WFqvlBGuAxVT1hNbLaHTieZCSshIA6w/s1600/upset+person.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br />
I became a Christian in 1988 but even before that I was not one to let troubles stop me in my tracks. So, is it in our DNA? Is it how we are raised? Is it just stubbornness?<br />
<br />
Some of it has to be our innate personality. I just took an <a href="http://psychology.about.com/library/quiz/bl_eq_quiz.htm?">emotional intelligence quiz</a> to learn more about what makes me tick. My result is below.<br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">How Did You Score?</b><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Your results indicate a high score on emotional intelligence.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">What Does Your Score Mean?</b><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">People who score high on emotional intelligence tend to be skilled at interpreting, understanding, and acting upon emotions. They are adept at dealing with social or emotional conflicts, expressing their feelings, and dealing with emotional situations. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">It's important to remember that no matter how good your score is, there is always room to improve your emotional intelligence. Consider areas where you are not as strong and think of ways that you can learn and grow. Take stock of your strong points and find ways to continue to develop and apply these skills.</span><br />
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When troubles come my way, I often stop what I am doing and cry but I don't stay there. I take stock of my situation, formulate a plan, pick myself up, and move forward. I try to use my problems to improve myself.<br />
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So, what do you think? Why do some people rise above their challenges and others go to pieces?<br />
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<br />Holly Williams Urbachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11297441659389143375noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443174923647166788.post-59193978321996667972014-04-23T11:37:00.000-07:002014-04-23T11:39:00.028-07:00Life, Interrupted<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello! I have been away since April 1 from this blog, from my social life, and barely keeping my head above water because my 19 month-old grandson came to live with us unexpectedly.<br />
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Now, I raised five children so I have at least a few child rearing skills up my sleeve. And I had those five children in eight years so I got pretty adept at juggling my time. I haven't lost any of the knowledge I gained...<br />
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So, I find it quite interesting that I am not getting much done with Liam living at my house. First, the lack of sleep derailed me because he didn't sleep well when he first came to us. Thankfully, now he often sleeps an entire 8-9 hours at night. This means that I get to sleep at least 6-7 hours uninterrupted which has improved my productivity and clarity of mind immensely!<br />
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Rearranging the house to keep Liam safe from harm and from harming our things took a bit of work as did figuring out what he liked to eat, when his nap time should be, how to get him to sleep, and so on. Getting back into the swing of shopping with a small child was also a skill to reincorporate!<br />
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Coming up on a month of having him, we are all adjusting well and thriving. We are climbing out of survival mode into a daily routine. When I was raising my children I did not work like I do now. Coordinating child care with my husband for our grandson was another challenge to be resolved.<br />
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I had a lot of emotions to work through when my life changed 180 degrees upon the receipt of a phone call. It was April 1 but it was NO April Fool's prank that would be over before the end of the day.<br />
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I was angry, disappointed, and mourning the loss of my freedom. Don't get me wrong- I am glad to be in a position to be able to help my grandson and his parents but it is still not at all what I envisioned doing once my children had all reached adulthood.<br />
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Thankfully, my grandson will be returning at some point (sooner rather than later we hope)to live with his mother. Until then, hubby and I will continue the juggling act and find some suitable sitters so we can get out together once in a while!<br />
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<br />Holly Williams Urbachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11297441659389143375noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443174923647166788.post-6111806805169206062014-03-19T14:08:00.000-07:002014-03-19T14:08:01.606-07:00Think Healthy Equals Expensive? Think Again!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's tax season...no matter how much we wish it wasn't. We are faced with our income or lack thereof in stark black and white and we start thinking about earning more money in the future or how to pay those stinkin' taxes!<br />
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I am in the category of thinking about how to increase my earnings and because of that, I live extremely frugally. I am also kind of a health nut unless I eat something sugary and then I become a voracious eating machine, but that is the subject of a different post! Can being frugal and healthy co-exist?<br />
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Many folks think that living a healthy life is expensive. They are sure that eating healthy food is pricey. They are sure that they can't get in or stay in shape without a membership at a fancy (meaning costly) gym. With those assumptions, a lot of people just give up or they blow their budget at the grocery store and don't have money for much else.<br />
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When I am faced with prevailing thinking such as, "It costs a lot of money to be healthy," I take it as a personal challenge to see if that school of thought is true or not. Let me encourage you that giving up a large portion of your budget to groceries to have quality food is not necessary if you are willing to change your mindset just a bit. Isn't that good news?<br />
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What do I mean by changing your mindset? You have to be willing to buy marked down items at the grocery store. These items are marked down because the packaging has been damaged, the item is about to go past its sell-by date (which isn't its expiration date, by the way), or the store is clearing out the item because it wasn't a good seller. Generally, these items will have large orange stickers on them showing the original price and the new, reduced price and the savings is anywhere from 25-80% off of the regular price. I also use coupons and oftentimes I can use a coupon on a marked down item for the maximum savings possible.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFyK7WB-xqBBeC3o_LNxBLN3jq_jW4ggtdQI_kZrTIjttP-0a6C4QBo1Al6fNbHjm9KSAGA-KaKVIis9EbeJh3llsXkh2hPXUnzTt_s0zC9iWN-cegIIHXXm2mxfMYe5s0-ssnOMCLbQg/s1600/marked+down+veggie+mix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFyK7WB-xqBBeC3o_LNxBLN3jq_jW4ggtdQI_kZrTIjttP-0a6C4QBo1Al6fNbHjm9KSAGA-KaKVIis9EbeJh3llsXkh2hPXUnzTt_s0zC9iWN-cegIIHXXm2mxfMYe5s0-ssnOMCLbQg/s1600/marked+down+veggie+mix.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This nice California mix made a delicious<br />
addition to our healthy stir-fry. </td></tr>
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I don't know about you, but I would rather get the best and most items I can for the least amount of money and have some funds left to put towards other items I have to buy.<br />
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Recently I made a nice pot of vegetarian chili. It made 7 1/2 cups of chili, which was about seven 1-cup servings. I often serve my chili over rice so we don't need huge portions of chili that way. This pot of chili cost me a shade under $2.00 to make and I got two dinners and a lunch out of it. Right now, you are thinking that can't possibly be correct. I can feel your skepticism coming through the computer. I will explain so you can do similar feats of financial alchemy yourself.<br />
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My husband, who wasn't frugal when we married but has been a good student, purchased two cans of pinto beans that were marked down because the cans had been dropped and dented. The regular price of these beans is 72 cents per can, but in this instance, one was reduced to 36 cents and the other to 18 cents. <br />
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He also bought a bag of black beans that had been torn open and re-closed with tape that had been $3.00 but was reduced to 25 cents. I had some Northern beans in the cabinet from an earlier purchase to add to the mix of beans and I had a can of diced tomatoes. I had purchased some cans of seasoned tomato sauce that was originally intended to make meatloaf the store was clearing out because it hadn't been selling (I am always thinking of multiple ways to use items). Each can was marked to 24 cents and I bought a dozen cans (when you see a great deal, buy as much as you can). I had onions and the seasonings for chili already on hand that I had used for other dishes so the cost of these ingredients had already been paid. The total of all items used in the chili was $1.77! And it was no-meat chili which is healthier.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It may say Dinner Starters for Meatloaf<br />
but the way I think, that is merely a suggestion.</td></tr>
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We scour every store where we shop for clearance items or hugely discounted items. Because of this unique acquisition method, I do not make a menu prior to going shopping. Once we get our goodies home, then I proceed to create a menu and see if I will need to buy any additional items. We eat a good variety of foods due to this creative way of procuring groceries.<br />
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I carry this way of thinking to just about every budget category as much as possible. Anytime I have to spend money, I see if I can reduce the expense somehow. I pretty much live in hyper-frugal mode. </div>
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Because I am interested in living a healthy lifestyle, I also am into exercising. Exercise equipment, workout clothes, and gym memberships can really take a big bite of a budget if you allow it. I work out at least three times a week and I can safely say that I haven't spent more than $50.00 in the past two years on anything fitness related. </div>
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I have purchased my gym clothes at the thrift store or found them at retail stores deeply discounted. I received an exercise bike from my brother-in-law for free because he was tired of it and all my free weights were given to me by people who no longer wanted them. My yoga mats were gifts as were many of my exercise videos. Some videos I purchased I found at the dollar store. I also found great exercise programs on my local PBS station. Working out doesn't have to be expensive any more than eating healthy does, especially if you work out at home.</div>
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Perhaps you don't need to watch your spending as much as I do. But, what if you did anyway and you saved the difference? What could you do with those saved dollars? Travel? Fund a retirement account? Buy a vacation home? </div>
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Holly Williams Urbachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11297441659389143375noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443174923647166788.post-43051424290504325502014-03-13T13:52:00.000-07:002014-03-13T13:52:39.080-07:00Spa Week Continues with Healthy Eating on a Tight BudgetTaking good care of oneself has a lot of components: getting enough sleep, eating healthfully, exercising, good skin care, filling one's mind with uplifting music and reading, prayer, and so on.<br />
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During this week, which I have designated as Spa Week, I am focusing on eating well. Those of you who are regular readers know that in this area, as in all the areas of my life, I work from a tight budget. A lot of people are fond of using the government's qualifications on how much money should be spent to feed ourselves. Even on the thrifty plan, I find that if I am observant and careful, I can do pretty well on a lot less money. If you are curious about these figures, check out <a href="http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/FoodPlans/2013/CostofFoodJan2013.pdf">USDA Food Plans</a>.<br />
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Here are some of my real life examples and by the way, I have to eat gluten and dairy-free, which can be a bit of a hit to the food budget. I make it a habit to be as flexible as possible in what I eat and drink to get the best available deals. This means that sometimes I am drinking almond milk and sometimes I am drinking coconut milk. It all depends on what I can get at the lowest price. If almond milk has a $1.00 off coupon and that is the best deal going, that is what I will have that week.<br />
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About a year ago, my local grocery store was clearing out some Bob's Red Mill gluten-free products, which normally run about $5.00 per bag, down to $1.00 per bag. I purchased several bags of creamy rice and creamy buckwheat and popped them into my freezer. Note, that I paid 20% of the regular cost and even that is much less than a gluten filled hot cereal. The creamy rice costs me 5 cents a serving before I add fruit to it and the creamy buckwheat costs 8 cents a serving!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqweFD5SHccDgkiZkHGLTyFA8BSv5VeAtENDgd-Ngy9d4TlW7mBe_YlIqb0wNL6eHUGcFn6ZMAoVD_GZpQ1QuQTlvtlFIeECO3PMTCkAus5JOqSOdMBi4FHkU4GLRkGjAHcnpEfIul3pw/s1600/Bob's+Red+Mill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqweFD5SHccDgkiZkHGLTyFA8BSv5VeAtENDgd-Ngy9d4TlW7mBe_YlIqb0wNL6eHUGcFn6ZMAoVD_GZpQ1QuQTlvtlFIeECO3PMTCkAus5JOqSOdMBi4FHkU4GLRkGjAHcnpEfIul3pw/s1600/Bob's+Red+Mill.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I bought these a year ago and<br />
put them in the freezer. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaFbr9M0mSisttTsMyBOMF4erJn-7FDeTjtqTvry9rR40fiMwDNaMPFkRjiKjWfG_JqX5zKRe6weMdxN867nshyphenhyphenXEXtvueVAQuM5meqWqg9CY1GTl9gFDsa-N9xHNJD9Geori1tQ2XwwA/s1600/Creamy+rice+with+strawberries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaFbr9M0mSisttTsMyBOMF4erJn-7FDeTjtqTvry9rR40fiMwDNaMPFkRjiKjWfG_JqX5zKRe6weMdxN867nshyphenhyphenXEXtvueVAQuM5meqWqg9CY1GTl9gFDsa-N9xHNJD9Geori1tQ2XwwA/s1600/Creamy+rice+with+strawberries.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My favorite way to eat creamy<br />
rice is by adding strawberries<br />
and bananas with a sprinkle<br />
of stevia to sweeten it. </td></tr>
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The fruit I add to my breakfast is usually purchased on sale or when it is marked down to move it out of the store quickly. Again, I am flexible on what I eat so I get the most out of the money I have budgeted for groceries. A plus to this philosophy is that I also have great variety.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzhgwL_Ost0AWlLYVwMzUqDOujozQXhbNZtgWo6o8_v3HcXsWQclj1h3YDCd56lrqhopMFL82GXAzK35RfQO4h0FfzSDEyTJqqOFtRWpTEwlAalZyCubZRUWVC8-_erJPYpQqeMg5xR0Y/s1600/healthy+breakfast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzhgwL_Ost0AWlLYVwMzUqDOujozQXhbNZtgWo6o8_v3HcXsWQclj1h3YDCd56lrqhopMFL82GXAzK35RfQO4h0FfzSDEyTJqqOFtRWpTEwlAalZyCubZRUWVC8-_erJPYpQqeMg5xR0Y/s1600/healthy+breakfast.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My bargain purchase of almond<br />
milk plus protein shake mix and<br />
fruit make for a filling, nutritious breakfast. </td></tr>
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Another philosophy I employ is to accept whatever people want to give me. In this case, I was given five packages of protein shake mix by my father-in-law. He had been sent them by a cousin and he was not at all interested in using them. I was thrilled because these are gluten and dairy free and I am always looking for ways to get low-calorie protein into my diet. Once people know that you are a person who is happy to receive items, you will be blessed with a lot of different things coming your way. I have been given meats of all types, all kinds of produce, lots of dry beans, furniture, clothing, even a car or two!<br />
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Another example of eating healthfully on a budget was finding a Kale Vegetable soup mix marked down at the grocery store. I would normally make my food at home from scratch but on this day I was having a busy day and so I was thrilled to find this soup kit for $4.00! Another plus on this was that I got two days worth of meals out of it so it was pretty cost efficient.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPoRH56T1oConaYE6U3jlaP4dL97ZKFlbdIFaCtye6n0J102m2PLXpIZRowQHcSiNrv_2aOf3dQDl-6mejizq0zyUH7OcufYSabwfzuLYREhku5Z5qZ-QIhrjn144tB7WRkzC1IlvFX20/s1600/Kale+soup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPoRH56T1oConaYE6U3jlaP4dL97ZKFlbdIFaCtye6n0J102m2PLXpIZRowQHcSiNrv_2aOf3dQDl-6mejizq0zyUH7OcufYSabwfzuLYREhku5Z5qZ-QIhrjn144tB7WRkzC1IlvFX20/s1600/Kale+soup.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I wouldn't normally buy a<br />kit but this was healthy and<br />fairly inexpensive. </td></tr>
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All this healthy eating doesn't mean that there aren't any treats to enjoy. I recently discovered the joys of using frozen bananas to make "ice cream".<br />
No sugar, no dairy, no guilt in this treat! Just slice fairly ripe bananas and pop into the freezer. Once they are frozen solid, just pop into your food processor and add a bit of whatever milk you like using for a plain version of banana "ice cream". I made a chocolate version for me and my youngest son by adding some cocoa powder to the mixture. You can add all sorts of tasty things to this for variety's sake. This is a good use of those really inexpensive markdown bananas we all see at the grocery store from time to time.<br />
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And there you have it, healthy eats on a budget! Just the kind of food that is called for during Spa Week!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFXE5LqLaRFpO3qPGORcvWGvVFkpEbOcw_3tQdxXlMv6YiaIsxvwbCGC7SnePinB6BwsXL0bWugyMbFzilJczPDTAJ7c8PeMmBz8Bkvb1wrLZY4tnlwuTd0ooFHoWs3Pk0H46P0Vplldo/s1600/Banana+ice+cream.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFXE5LqLaRFpO3qPGORcvWGvVFkpEbOcw_3tQdxXlMv6YiaIsxvwbCGC7SnePinB6BwsXL0bWugyMbFzilJczPDTAJ7c8PeMmBz8Bkvb1wrLZY4tnlwuTd0ooFHoWs3Pk0H46P0Vplldo/s1600/Banana+ice+cream.jpg" /></a></div>
Holly Williams Urbachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11297441659389143375noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443174923647166788.post-77994982844081470852014-03-11T14:45:00.000-07:002014-03-11T14:45:48.628-07:00Spa Week It is spring break here in my part of the country which means that
the school where I work is not in session this week. So, I have some
free time and decided to spend some of it on myself. I have
designated this week as Spa Week!<br />
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<br />
Even here in the South, it has been a long, hard winter. Cold
weather and dark, dreary days have had an effect on both my body and
my psyche! If you are in the same boat, join me in undoing the
ravages of Old Man Winter.
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I am going to be spending this week exercising, doing beauty
treatments, eating indulgently in a healthful way, and relaxing.
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I began my day with a weigh-in followed by a Classical Stretch
exercise session. Then I took my three<br />
dogs out one by one for their morning walk. I ran through my yard
with the two big dogs, Emmie, and Kiah, and did lunge walks around my
yard with my sweet little Shih Tzu, Watson.
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<br />
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As I write this blog entry, I am soaking my feet in preparation
for giving myself a pedicure. I am all about multi-tasking folks!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1JCLN3qQdxDzuGvVix9fnXIZlHmemIhASy9Z2tw-XGrk1bRqXb5uIaC8afq4kdRVfA5Ff1BkCN1ppSXuyxmQa8xHhYZhrvK__1sMuVqDLzi7XJs9xj_s_cSdVm8AtORtZHxA15EzuH4c/s1600/pedicure+supplies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1JCLN3qQdxDzuGvVix9fnXIZlHmemIhASy9Z2tw-XGrk1bRqXb5uIaC8afq4kdRVfA5Ff1BkCN1ppSXuyxmQa8xHhYZhrvK__1sMuVqDLzi7XJs9xj_s_cSdVm8AtORtZHxA15EzuH4c/s1600/pedicure+supplies.jpg" /></a></div>
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I put some lovely light pink OPI polish on my now smooth tootsies. I had purchased the polish on a markdown at my local grocery store. Looking good doesn't have to be expensive!<br />
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I also gave myself a mud mask facial this morning. Can you tell
it's on over here at my house?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8GtZ5LU_C0eiin10BMM5EU-sE13MbxzmoP3gVPZozpN_o6d26DfTvVUcTLuYiWTqxtBVuxwpLZzRewcSEtDDB3mOixXpLou2aaJMaS-KgARshO-XNpzZAcrYcbdPY1R7115Q5B3GuCZI/s1600/Holly+no+makeup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8GtZ5LU_C0eiin10BMM5EU-sE13MbxzmoP3gVPZozpN_o6d26DfTvVUcTLuYiWTqxtBVuxwpLZzRewcSEtDDB3mOixXpLou2aaJMaS-KgARshO-XNpzZAcrYcbdPY1R7115Q5B3GuCZI/s1600/Holly+no+makeup.jpg" height="200" width="149" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is as real as it gets folks-<br />there is no makeup on my face!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9OgGvmL4BMTdCPV43-HkjzKaO0MiUn5XjoD5hMTxokV71x98Av_VRYjKk6x9hi3yU8cwZgVDnf8tFXv3vwmonucidzyUFcZeTgKQSVc4sZKWo03q1eqchRbcpGxDE19ZYI6rWjEbp9BA/s1600/holly+mud+mask+face.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9OgGvmL4BMTdCPV43-HkjzKaO0MiUn5XjoD5hMTxokV71x98Av_VRYjKk6x9hi3yU8cwZgVDnf8tFXv3vwmonucidzyUFcZeTgKQSVc4sZKWo03q1eqchRbcpGxDE19ZYI6rWjEbp9BA/s1600/holly+mud+mask+face.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I used Arbonne's Sea Mud Mask<br />but you can actually make your<br />own beauty products if you are<br />up to doing so. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Spa week can be as inexpensive as the ingredients in your kitchen
or as expensive as a trip to the beauty counter. I will be sharing
lots of recipes, URLs, and exercises this week. I hope you will share
your beauty tips and tricks too! More info to come tomorrow!<br />
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Holly Williams Urbachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11297441659389143375noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443174923647166788.post-10616771685912896452014-03-07T11:55:00.001-08:002014-03-07T11:58:53.925-08:00Was the Oscar Buzz Deserved?It has been a BUSY couple of weeks at my house. My younger daughter got engaged, my husband, older daughter, and grandson took a long road trip together, younger daughter and fiance came for a visit over Oscar weekend, and things were hectic!<br />
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All of this activity caused our Academy Awards party to end up being a bit slapdash but my youngest son and I still had a lot of fun. We decided to eliminate some of the voting categories from the ballot because there were areas with which we weren't familiar. At the end of the night, I had predicted 9 winners correctly and my son (an aspiring filmmaker) had predicted 11 winners! His prize was a bag of Skittles as he loves candy. If you don't know what I do each year for the Oscars, take a moment and read <a href="http://thewhollyholly.blogspot.com/2014/02/and-oscar-goes-to.html">And the Oscar Goes To</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi9bRKrOQAgmFNUIi-9SoZmF07x8ZwzJp6qXo7YQ4no7bLePnrUaJ24cdZoUvJr2jumMhIHUS-KmPfSvf_xJpnIWTVQhEDrvw2mxl1IULmXk7d60vbYpOeT6emqFAsp8nTXjuMJfO-XXA/s1600/Movie+Clapboard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi9bRKrOQAgmFNUIi-9SoZmF07x8ZwzJp6qXo7YQ4no7bLePnrUaJ24cdZoUvJr2jumMhIHUS-KmPfSvf_xJpnIWTVQhEDrvw2mxl1IULmXk7d60vbYpOeT6emqFAsp8nTXjuMJfO-XXA/s1600/Movie+Clapboard.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I bought this clapboard years ago for a<br />
movie themed birthday party and have<br />
definitely gotten my $5.00 from it!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
Just prior to watching the Oscars, we rented <i>Nebraska</i>, <i>Blue Jasmine</i>, and <i>All Is Lost</i>. I found something enjoyable in each film, which especially surprised me with <i>Blue Jasmine</i> as I am not a Woody Allen fan at all.<br />
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Following the Oscars, we rented<i> Dallas Buyers Club</i> and went to see <i>American Hustle</i>. Let me just say that if you haven't seen either of these films, you owe it to yourself to see what all the Oscar buzz was about. Both films have a lot of profanity and sex scenes but they are true to the characters and not at all just thrown in gratuitously.<br />
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Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto turned in amazing performances in <i>Dallas Buyers Club</i>. They richly deserved their Academy Awards for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, respectively.<br />
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The two of us had such fun that I have decided next year to have a real Academy Awards night party and invite other movie loving folks to join us. I got some great decorating ideas from several television shows I watched prior to the Oscars that I can't wait to try. I think I may even start a new Pinterest board to help me in my preparations.<br />
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What did you think of the Academy Awards? Did you think that the best movies, actors, and other categories were fairly awarded? Who do you think should have gotten Best Picture, Actor, Actress, etc.?Holly Williams Urbachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11297441659389143375noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443174923647166788.post-32188970266096404802014-02-12T14:54:00.000-08:002014-02-12T14:55:10.166-08:00Healthy, Inexpensive, & Fast Valentine's Day Ideas <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjrLcQv8OiXuMjZ2eB01Z0B3tZ-pGarV92d0zkzPA7677jYvbifrT8M9swbQt4m0mrU97ecbrGfp7NUoQmbSQ9HcyuwXjZpf9RrpxWNCcQneavts9F9HzvOxRVnCmu_iVv-alQuN_f8wM/s1600/Cherubs-20with-20Banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjrLcQv8OiXuMjZ2eB01Z0B3tZ-pGarV92d0zkzPA7677jYvbifrT8M9swbQt4m0mrU97ecbrGfp7NUoQmbSQ9HcyuwXjZpf9RrpxWNCcQneavts9F9HzvOxRVnCmu_iVv-alQuN_f8wM/s1600/Cherubs-20with-20Banner.jpg" /></a></div>
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So, Valentine's Day is Friday...of course you already know that because unless you haven't left your house in six weeks, you have seen Valentine's products EVERYWHERE you go.<br />
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My sweetie and I have each lost quite a bit of weight over the past few years. I lost 60 pounds and hubby lost 120 pounds. We both make much better eating choices than we used to in our nachos and pizza eating days. Boxes of chocolates aren't exactly on the gift giving list with the changes we have made!<br />
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With Valentine's Day approaching, I was wondering what to do for Joe this year. As I was walking through the grocery store today, a nice bunch of bananas caught my eye and I knew right away what I was going to put together for his gift!<br />
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I am going to make him a fruit basket with a funny little homemade card tucked into it. I am going to include bananas, a couple of pears, strawberries, oranges, and perhaps a pineapple. The card will say something like, "Hey baby, I hope you know that I am BANANAS about you. I think you are the BERRY best thing that ever happened to me. I try not to PINE(apple) away too much when you are gone. I think we are one of best PEARS I have ever known. Will you be my Valentine?"<br />
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If your sweetheart is an outdoorsy fitness buff, you could create a nice basket with bottles of vitamin water or Gatorade, a variety of protein bars, a cute towel for mopping a sweaty brow, and some sunscreen from the dollar store.<br />
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For a gardening spouse, a basket with some new gardening gloves, tools, and seeds would be appreciated! Or put all the gardening items in a new gardening hat! Your gift can be very thrifty (think Dollar Store or thrift store) or you can splurge on items you know your sweetie would not buy for himself or herself.<br />
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The point is that we can show our love and appreciation for our loved one without breaking the calorie bank! And if we can do it inexpensively, how much better is that? It really isn't the money you spend but the thought and effort that you put into a gift that makes it appreciated. <br />
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My honey REALLY loves tostadas as a meal and we do bean tostadas so they are pretty healthy, too. I think I will make tostadas and guacamole for dinner this Valentine's Day. I am still trying to decide on a dessert that is gluten-free, dairy-free, and healthy. Suggestions are appreciated!<br />
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What gifts are you giving this Valentine's Day? How will you celebrate the day of love? (keep it PG, people!)<br />
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<br />Holly Williams Urbachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11297441659389143375noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443174923647166788.post-57744100953825674792014-02-11T15:08:00.001-08:002014-02-11T15:08:49.902-08:00And the Oscar Goes to...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Oscar season is upon us! My youngest son and I are starting our quest to watch as many of the Best Picture nominees as we can before the Academy Awards air on March 2.<br />
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Recently we watched Captain Phillips. May I just say that I don't understand why Tom Hanks wasn't nominated for his very superlative performance? His performance was gripping!<br />
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I bought some Alamo Drafthouse movie tickets through a wonderful Groupon offer so that we can go see the movies that are still showing in theaters. We are debating on what to go see: American Hustle and Wolf of Wall Street are at the top of my list but my son isn't sure he wants to see a movie that may have sex scenes in it with his mother...Twelve Years a Slave is still in theaters as is Frozen, and Dallas Buyers Club.<br />
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If you have not had the opportunity to watch movies at Alamo Drafthouse, I strongly urge you to give them a try. The cost of the movies is often less than at other theaters and the movie going experience is much better. If someone in an Alamo theater pops out a cell phone during a movie, the staff at Alamo Drafthouse will pop them out of the theater! Also, they have a strict no-children policy that I very much appreciate. I love children and have often felt very uncomfortable seeing young children at adult movies. This is not an issue at Alamo Drafthouse.<br />
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I also want to see Philomena as I adore Judy Dench in just about everything. I saw the actual Philomena on The View. I am a sucker for stories that are based on real people and events; it is the journalist in me. I think that true life is way more interesting than fiction. Unfortunately, Philomena doesn't seem to playing anywhere near me and the DVD doesn't come out until two days after the Oscars. So, I won't be able to see it before the show but I do plan to see it as soon as I can.<br />
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We are going to rent Gravity and Nebraska when they are available on February 25. Can you tell that we take this Oscar stuff very seriously?<br />
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We find this to be another way we can live large on a small budget- for more on how we roll at my house see my post <a href="http://thewhollyholly.blogspot.com/2014/01/tighten-your-spending-not-your-living.html">Tighten Your Spending Not Your Living</a>. We get our movie tickets as inexpensively as possible, rent movies from Redbox, print the ballots (<a href="http://www.moviefone.com/oscars-academy-awards/nominee-winner/printable-ballot">Printable Oscar Ballot</a>) to fill out before the show, decorate the dining room table creatively with movies and other things we have around the house, and serve special snacks for our own Oscar party. The person who does the best at choosing the winners gets a prize too. Last year I found an instrumental CD of Oscar nominated movie soundtracks at the Dollar Tree for our prize. So, even our prize was inexpensive AND it went with the Oscar theme!<br />
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Do you enjoy the Oscars? What movie do you think will win Best Picture? Let's discuss below in the comments.<br />
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<br />Holly Williams Urbachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11297441659389143375noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443174923647166788.post-17264645325698971502014-01-25T11:46:00.000-08:002014-01-25T11:46:17.568-08:00Don't Give Up on Your Goals!We are three weeks into the New Year and people are already getting tired of going to the gym, counting calories, budgeting, sticking to a routine, or any number of resolution related activities.<br />
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DON'T GIVE UP!<br />
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I get really tired, at times, of being vigilant with my eating and exercise. But then I remind myself of the results I obtained by not giving up. I lost 60 pounds! It didn't happen in one day. It happened as a result of many days of good decisions and efforts and by not beating myself up for a slip here and there.<br />
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Are you feeling frustrated with your weight loss/health improvement plan? Do you want to quit because it is too difficult? Perhaps reading the posts, <a href="http://thewhollyholly.blogspot.com/2013/11/low-cost-or-no-cost-weight-loss.html">Low-Cost or No-Cost Weight Loss Resources That Worked for Me</a>, <a href="http://thewhollyholly.blogspot.com/2014/01/new-year-new-you.html">New Year, New You?</a> will encourage you. I have maintained this weight loss for 4 1/2 years now by sticking with my eating and exercising plans.<br />
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Just last night I had to remind myself that I wasn't really hungry at 11:00 p.m. so I made myself a cup of herbal tea instead of eating something. I sat down with the tea and an interesting book and relaxed. I got sleepy after about ten minutes and went to sleep. I should actually have gone to bed earlier because staying up too late is a prime cause of overeating. But, if I do stay up too late, I have a strategy to keep me on track.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaZwVfqpVWGo8k5AK3aVGOsq5OrSuqA6q4LMt0wNrdJvx1_ql-j9VrF5pBPCO2jjZva-tbspiTyjQniezOtb7VJ5S8Rjvu35gghmNB_9vSPgmyerEbM2chWMblue27Sl23-ZGgJGVGmrw/s1600/Bob+Greene's+Total+Body+Makeover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaZwVfqpVWGo8k5AK3aVGOsq5OrSuqA6q4LMt0wNrdJvx1_ql-j9VrF5pBPCO2jjZva-tbspiTyjQniezOtb7VJ5S8Rjvu35gghmNB_9vSPgmyerEbM2chWMblue27Sl23-ZGgJGVGmrw/s1600/Bob+Greene's+Total+Body+Makeover.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Having this book as a<br />resource was like having<br />a personal coach at my<br />disposal!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Having a set of plans in place is the most important piece to achieving goals, in my opinion, because when faced with a difficulty, you already have the key to overcoming it. A 20/20 show I watched a few years ago stated that the reason people survive disasters such as plane crashes or fires in large public places is due to the information they acquired prior to the tragic event. In the case of a plane crash, survivors are usually those people who know how many rows they are from an exit and who pay attention to the safety briefing.<br />
<br />
In meeting goals, knowing what some of the pitfalls that can happen and how you will deal with them in advance is as useful as knowing how many rows you are from the exit in a plane. This information will help you to survive.<br />
<br />
I am currently working on improving the way I manage my income and outgo. It's two steps forward and one step back at times, but I am not giving up. I have already seen improvements because I am not quitting. This month I am going to pay my property tax in the month it is due and in full! I have not been successful at doing that in about eleven years due to a low income and poor management of that income in the past. I set myself some financial goals and I am seeing them come to fruition because I kept going instead of throwing in the towel.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhr35dkZKiQc5eZMCvRZV8phLsgCV3BD6O6CHHK7_61p5KQdWWhDGNynOfMjr8KLytyhOjEz56dHz1iGf-ibJD9J2UuMKoguxi5PgQJStaD4TUpyybcIOU4iUdJF63OW5Jt62ZHN9xZI0/s1600/money.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhr35dkZKiQc5eZMCvRZV8phLsgCV3BD6O6CHHK7_61p5KQdWWhDGNynOfMjr8KLytyhOjEz56dHz1iGf-ibJD9J2UuMKoguxi5PgQJStaD4TUpyybcIOU4iUdJF63OW5Jt62ZHN9xZI0/s1600/money.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I am planning to add quite a few of these to my bank account<br />this year! How are your financial goals doing? </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
You owe it to yourself to keep going because you are worth it! You are deserving of the time and effort required to reach your goals.<br />
<br />
If your family isn't supporting you in your goals, find some like-minded people who are also trying to achieve similar results. We will not change if we do not surround ourselves with positive, uplifting influences.<br />
<br />
If you can't find people to be with, look for podcasts, Facebook groups, online classes, books, videos, television shows, Pinterest pages, or Twitter feeds on the area of your goal to inspire and educate you.<br />
<br />
No excuses in 2014 is my motto! What is yours? What are your goals for 2014 and how will you achieve them? Let's help each other by continuing this conversation below in the comments section!<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
Holly Williams Urbachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11297441659389143375noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443174923647166788.post-46330105996468911752014-01-21T16:00:00.000-08:002014-01-21T18:02:03.824-08:00Better Living Through Conservation of Funds or Thrift Store Success!Son (aka Sawyer) to mother, "I need some new clothes and shoes!"<br />
<br />
Mother (aka me), "I do not have that much money for clothes...let's go see what the thrift store might have."<br />
<br />
Son, "Oh, they never have anything good."<br />
<br />
Off we went to my favorite thrift store. When we arrived, I asked the clerk what the daily special was and nearly fell over when she said it was 50% off EVERYTHING! I was excited and sad at the same time because there were only twenty minutes left before the store closed. We would have arrived earlier but my son was balking about going! The thrift store is a gold mine people! Shopping there allows you to live BIG on a little money. Read my previous post, <a href="http://thewhollyholly.blogspot.com/2014/01/tighten-your-spending-not-your-living.html">Tighten Your Living, Not Your Spending</a> for more on this school of thought.<br />
<br />
We went over to men's shoes but didn't find anything that was what my son wanted. A check of men's belts also proved disappointing, but when we went to the pants rack we found a nice pair of GAP navy blue pin-striped slacks in his size. They were priced at $5.00 but due to the sale we only paid $2.50.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOlCMV7OBnInC0esw54M3-w3GAxESaN39FRZZalMYIMry6UDJVECj8mfsOqLJrjerrZ8eIhNjaS1ErzozZltpK6d9Nhyi2rnyulhyphenhyphenyB5U35J9rTu9MX13fWLZidwZb78YFuxBR3Mz55x8/s1600/pants+and+shirt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOlCMV7OBnInC0esw54M3-w3GAxESaN39FRZZalMYIMry6UDJVECj8mfsOqLJrjerrZ8eIhNjaS1ErzozZltpK6d9Nhyi2rnyulhyphenhyphenyB5U35J9rTu9MX13fWLZidwZb78YFuxBR3Mz55x8/s1600/pants+and+shirt.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pants are quite nice AND are<br />
machine washable! Deals aren't deals if<br />
dry cleaning is involved, IMO. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm9_2Sa94EuDxndst78BRs17B5ULxNgMR9Cc_Np6Aet6qmDgvbMyM5-5QtyI7EyUyrhB257QJxc_DoGj4z6ENmwOWLo9vbtzFk6pF14qCSP2v4vj01-X714-4UPvwTEGYS7Bi1CFmCiFw/s1600/Sawyer's+shirt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm9_2Sa94EuDxndst78BRs17B5ULxNgMR9Cc_Np6Aet6qmDgvbMyM5-5QtyI7EyUyrhB257QJxc_DoGj4z6ENmwOWLo9vbtzFk6pF14qCSP2v4vj01-X714-4UPvwTEGYS7Bi1CFmCiFw/s1600/Sawyer's+shirt.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Son (aka Sawyer) likes dress <br />
clothes but is a poor college<br />
student with poor parents. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
He also found three Van Heusen fitted dress shirts that were priced at $4.50 but thanks to 50% off, we paid $2.25 each. The shirts retail new for $25.00 each and these shirts were in excellent condition.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8fNQonGtpfGaiw5o2Oz1qmzZVPFuToK695pmOWfCvsaAz-GxgEIYI8EqMddOgsY5AQHQ23VShl5NxASr7suWNbg9rstrSk7l2aLSIzglT4wwsbjpf66iwoVCPHQnxU1Du-5-8W9XkPCo/s1600/white+shirts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8fNQonGtpfGaiw5o2Oz1qmzZVPFuToK695pmOWfCvsaAz-GxgEIYI8EqMddOgsY5AQHQ23VShl5NxASr7suWNbg9rstrSk7l2aLSIzglT4wwsbjpf66iwoVCPHQnxU1Du-5-8W9XkPCo/s1600/white+shirts.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two Van Heusen fitted white shirts<br />
for under $5.00!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
I also found some wonderful items that will be Christmas gifts for some of my family members. A lovely set of brand new Norman Rockwell playing cards in a gift tin that cost $1.00 for my father-in-law who plays cards everyday. A really cute bobble head figure for someone whom I can't name because they may be reading this blog but it was only $1.00! Another item I purchased was a very nice, new in box spa item for $1.50 that will make another family member quite happy at Christmas.<br />
<br />
Some folks think that thrift store equals old, broken, out-of-date, junky, stinky, and so on. To me, thrift store equals fiscal responsibility, resourcefulness, dollar stretching, and ingenuity.<br />
<br />
If I had gotten the three shirts and slacks new for my son, I would have spent around $100.00! Instead, I spent $9.00. I can't even sew clothes for those prices. Now, I don't often shop retail, but on this shopping day, Sawyer and I went to Ross because he also needed a belt and shoes. We saw the exact same Van Heusen shirts at Ross for $14.99 and the price tag noted that retail for the shirt was $25.00 so I know for certain that I could have spent $75.00 to buy those shirts brand new elsewhere.<br />
<br />
As it is, because I opt to check thrift stores first, I didn't spend $91.00 that I could have if I had not checked the thrift store. Today, I took that $91.00 and spent it to pay my water bill, my trash collection bill, and a payment on a medical bill that I am chipping away at bit by bit.<br />
<br />
By shopping creatively, I don't have to resort to using credit cards to pay for necessities or to seek out payday loans to cover my needs.<br />
<br />
So, do you shop the thrift store? How do you save in one area to free up funds for another?<br />
Sound off in the comments below!<br />
<br />Holly Williams Urbachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11297441659389143375noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443174923647166788.post-7032773344911094572014-01-14T15:16:00.000-08:002014-01-14T15:16:13.313-08:00New Year, New You? <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBABhR37TpRK1NyGlBG-lfJZrvIiNDCblH1YE_1f_6JSnHpyFNSs1T85NzcWR5V9fIF5uJoCWr1i1vKTfIG3kRQcbRo_YbnxWAsFGEDJ7s7bzP_SkAWdgsqtk-MO_0urPugVXZej88pc0/s1600/barbell+exercise-clipart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBABhR37TpRK1NyGlBG-lfJZrvIiNDCblH1YE_1f_6JSnHpyFNSs1T85NzcWR5V9fIF5uJoCWr1i1vKTfIG3kRQcbRo_YbnxWAsFGEDJ7s7bzP_SkAWdgsqtk-MO_0urPugVXZej88pc0/s200/barbell+exercise-clipart.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Unless you have been under a rock, you have noticed that a few moments after 2014 began, the barrage of weight loss commercials for diets, diet aids, gyms, and the like took over the air waves.<br />
<br />
We were encouraged to eat tons of treats during the holidays; every women's magazine and every morning news shows rushed to share recipes for all sorts of foods. Then, one minute into 2014, they pull the rug out from under the partiers and start hitting them in the stomach and wallet.<br />
<br />
Well, my friends, if you over-indulged during the holiday season or the past 20 years, don't go crazy and do something drastic to fix your problem. Be kind to yourself and formulate a plan.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieZ7o-eh-aBOjyX0Uh6hXYGF2CvVW39S5wzywfWQgWkQ7tCqJwm3cjhtge2zuoeha3mwopckeDaWKiw9C3oPv0RCbodF2WxMLy9LRR5MHOsX4j0CSWmWAli4F18R3ZK_RR_MnUkUby43E/s1600/exercise_girl_stretching_leg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieZ7o-eh-aBOjyX0Uh6hXYGF2CvVW39S5wzywfWQgWkQ7tCqJwm3cjhtge2zuoeha3mwopckeDaWKiw9C3oPv0RCbodF2WxMLy9LRR5MHOsX4j0CSWmWAli4F18R3ZK_RR_MnUkUby43E/s200/exercise_girl_stretching_leg.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
<br />
I suggest that you begin with walking...consistently. When I decided I wanted to lose weight and reclaim myself in February 2009 , I started walking at a gym. At first, I just walked a mile and I walked it kind of slowly. But I did it and I did it three times a week. I didn't change my eating at first. So, I didn't lose weight at first either. But that was okay, because I was working on building a habit.<br />
<br />
After a few weeks, I decided that I needed to kick it up a notch, so I tried running. I nearly keeled over after just 30 seconds of running. Seriously. No, really! It was embarrassing to be that out of shape.<br />
<br />
The next day, I walked a mile, and ran for 30 seconds of that time. I was still about to keel over but each day when I went to the gym, I made sure to run for a bit of the time I was on the treadmill. I upped my running by 30 second increments and I also began to alternate walking with running (this is called doing intervals and it burns lots of calories). Eventually (it didn't take all that long) I could run a 5K on the treadmill in about 45 minutes. I know that isn't super fast but I am very, very short and I was running as fast as my little legs could do.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS9QifQ_VBXZVXKlS5r14CZc_UB-e0TTC__YSA_WcqO9BcZ5vEwEHKeej2qIe0P6p5rP-psKAZ6bEFcMpW28o8bM-uoNvSUhLdnM0dQkorP7tdxEGZ5GfXXwmdnaHOsk_ufbwHbpAl-Bg/s1600/stretching+lady.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS9QifQ_VBXZVXKlS5r14CZc_UB-e0TTC__YSA_WcqO9BcZ5vEwEHKeej2qIe0P6p5rP-psKAZ6bEFcMpW28o8bM-uoNvSUhLdnM0dQkorP7tdxEGZ5GfXXwmdnaHOsk_ufbwHbpAl-Bg/s200/stretching+lady.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
Within two months of beginning to work out, I had lost 15 pounds. By late 2009 I had lost 40 pounds using the principles in Bob Greene's book, Total Body Makeover, and doing interval training.<br />
<br />
I have lost about 60 pounds altogether since that cold February day when I nervously stepped into a gym with a friend and her mother. I didn't buy a costly program and I didn't have a lot of support at home. I did pray and ask God to help me to change. If I wanted to eat something I knew would not help me in my goals, I would ask God to help me not to eat it. I would tell myself that I could that food the next day if I wanted to eat it.<br />
<br />
I am not going to lie to you and say it was easy because it wasn't. It was a lot more emotional than I had expected. I realized that a lot of my over-eating had its roots in not dealing with my feelings and emotions. If I was annoyed with someone, instead of getting the problem resolved, I would just go to the refrigerator.<br />
<br />
As I started to realize what I had been doing, I began to change the way I dealt with anger, disappointment, loneliness, and other emotions and emotionally charged situations. During the time I was working on my weight loss and myself, my mother got very sick with terminal cancer, went into hospice, and died. I was very vulnerable at this time to fall backwards on my weight loss journey, but I leaned heavily on God, threw myself into my work, and kept going.<br />
<br />
If you want a new you this new year, you can do it! You just need to decide that you are worth all the work you will have to do physically, emotionally, and spiritually to see the change you want. If I did it and at the age of 45, anyone can do it!<br />
<br />
Let me hear about you and your plans. I want to help. And you can help me to reach my goal of losing 10 more pounds. Let's succeed together!Holly Williams Urbachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11297441659389143375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443174923647166788.post-74771111257049094562014-01-03T15:33:00.000-08:002014-01-03T15:33:34.943-08:00Tighten Your Spending, Not Your Living People who know me and later find out that we live on a very low income are amazed to discover this information. Some think that given our low income, we get some kind of government assistance such as unemployment or food stamps to make it. However, that is not the case for our family. Our philosophy is that we will trust God to provide what we need, and we will do the very best with can with the resources available to us.<br />
<br />
Some of the resources we have are ourselves and our abilities. I love to learn new skills and I love to shop for bargains everywhere I go. Recently, our living room furniture's well loved look started to get to me. I decided to go to the thrift store to see if I could find something to use to freshen up the look of the couch and two side chairs. I don't have any funds for replacing the furniture at this time.<br />
<br />
I had a coupon in my possession for the thrift store that would allow me to save $5.00 off a purchase of $15.00 or more. I went looking for a large bedspread to use as a couch cover, a nice piece of fabric to use to recover the living room chairs, and a fitted sheet to use to cover the seat cushions on the couch.<br />
<br />
My living room is decorated in the colors mauve, forest green, cranberry, and white. I found a large mauve bedspread, a forest green queen-size fitted sheet, and a drapery panel in forest green that has a nice pattern in it. I also found a new Christmas tablecloth at the same time that has mauve colored poinsettias on a cranberry colored background. I spent around $17.00 for these items. Let me show you the before and after on the chairs.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFXPJEjUfsQvYVque5Q9fmHOXD-Q6ikkEC441MDEthMj3Vb1zi0Diibwdv9BJKmAvajkcOq1e9uP6LKBmP1I4N_7gTy58J-plc1mU6uxoSN9xwtjubSXHFMteF5zWysO_l4KUOJKzGLi8/s1600/before+chair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFXPJEjUfsQvYVque5Q9fmHOXD-Q6ikkEC441MDEthMj3Vb1zi0Diibwdv9BJKmAvajkcOq1e9uP6LKBmP1I4N_7gTy58J-plc1mU6uxoSN9xwtjubSXHFMteF5zWysO_l4KUOJKzGLi8/s200/before+chair.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I can't believe I let the chairs<br />look like this as long as I did!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We had originally bought these chairs as part of a lot of twenty chairs for $40.00 at an auction. So, the chairs cost $2.00 each and we have had them for around seven years. This is the third time I have recovered these chairs. Each time, I look for inexpensive fabric at a thrift store. The drapery panel I bought cost $2.99, so I recovered each chair for $1.50 plus the cost of the staples in the staple gun, and my time to recover the chairs. I spent around 1 1/2 hours removing the old fabric and putting on the new fabric. I kept the contrasting fabric from the previous recovering job because I liked that look but I still have enough fabric to change it if I decide to do so later.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnW8QjaddpgjsvAfZIti0LvWl9oTIZWuZbF_VkZ9cyc4XP_Kk3xk136kj05r-hbYo3TUe4p9JzATyx8xhoIgJflSpJlLq-C5pQmQIiIYFeDwQpj9T2nXsXSMnY47M4hchsxv8fPYINYZM/s1600/after+chair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnW8QjaddpgjsvAfZIti0LvWl9oTIZWuZbF_VkZ9cyc4XP_Kk3xk136kj05r-hbYo3TUe4p9JzATyx8xhoIgJflSpJlLq-C5pQmQIiIYFeDwQpj9T2nXsXSMnY47M4hchsxv8fPYINYZM/s200/after+chair.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All freshened up for the new year!<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
We have to keep a tight grip on our spending so that we have as much of our income available as possible to pay the non-negotiable bills such as the house payment or electric bill. However, tightening up our spending doesn't mean we don't enjoy our lives. We do everything everyone else does; we just do it differently.<br />
<br />
Case in point- I have been wanting a pair of warm, snuggly boots for quite a while, but I was unwilling to spend the money that would be required to buy such boots at a retail store. Every time I went into my favorite thrift store I made sure to look at the boots they had in stock. A week ago, I finally found exactly what I wanted in my size. The boots were only $4.00! The only issue with them that I had to resolve was to buy new laces. I bought an inexpensive pair for $1.97 because if I had bought the suede laces, I would have spent as much for them as I did on my boots. I may upgrade to the suede laces but for now I am quite happy with my boots and laces.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCRVMgnXFrgh344QvXQuLpsV20-WiA7AAV0s9mulmSp-tT3FRaEPDvnzMftqI08EC4gnCrB5br3jN4Cx3sCiVOf9bYNgd4Y0z6sq0BatRdGxtamhIHsgVCmB3QF3KwzH8ZRor-MXLSrYc/s1600/thrift+store+boots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCRVMgnXFrgh344QvXQuLpsV20-WiA7AAV0s9mulmSp-tT3FRaEPDvnzMftqI08EC4gnCrB5br3jN4Cx3sCiVOf9bYNgd4Y0z6sq0BatRdGxtamhIHsgVCmB3QF3KwzH8ZRor-MXLSrYc/s1600/thrift+store+boots.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I told my husband that these boots have changed my life. I get<br />very cold in the winter and once my feet are cold, I can't get warm<br />for a long time. These boots keep my feet nice and toasty. I can<br />stay outside longer and more comfortably. I am one happy gal! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Would it have been easier to go to the store and buy a pair of boots when I needed them? Maybe for some people it would have. For me and my family, when we have a need we know we have to be a bit patient to get that need filled. Would it have been easier to get new chairs rather than to find the fabric and make the time to recover the chairs? Again, for some people that answer would be yes. <div>
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In our family, due to our restrictions, we have developed many useful abilities and attitudes. We are generally content with what we have, we have learned to do many things so that we can live within our means (cooking, baking, making simple repairs, doing simple maintenance around the house), we are grateful and appreciative of whatever we receive, and we help each other as much as we can. </div>
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My younger daughter and her boyfriend recently brought us a microwave and coffee maker that they did not need. A roommate had left the microwave and they had gotten a Keurig so they didn't need a full size coffee maker any longer. </div>
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I cleaned the microwave and improvised a foot to replace the two back feet that were missing. We had been without a microwave for nearly a year but I didn't want to spend money on a cheap model microwave and then have to spend again when I finally had the funds to get the over the stove model I really want, so I just did without. My daughter knew we didn't have one and rather than selling her extra one, she blessed us with it. My coffee maker had also died and again, I want a certain model of coffee maker so rather than buy a cheap one I decided to learn to make coffee without a coffee maker until I could get what I want. Here are a couple sites that I found helpful:</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.articlesbase.com/coffee-articles/how-to-make-coffee-without-a-coffee-maker-1967702.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=ab_paid_12&gclid=CPPr69eR47sCFUho7Aod7lIAEA">http://www.articlesbase.com/coffee-articles/how-to-make-coffee-without-a-coffee-maker-1967702.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=ab_paid_12&gclid=CPPr69eR47sCFUho7Aod7lIAEA</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.ehow.com/how_4505550_brew-coffee-coffee-maker.html">http://www.ehow.com/how_4505550_brew-coffee-coffee-maker.html</a></div>
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If it had bothered me to be without these items, I would likely have gone to the thrift store to get them while saving for the nicer ones I ultimately want. I find that the thrift store allows me to have just about anything I need or want and still stay within my budget. </div>
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Letting others know of items you need is also a useful way to tighten your spending but still get what you need. Lots of people have no longer needed items cluttering up their homes and would be happy to pass them on to someone who can make good use of these household goods or clothes. I belong to my local Freecycle (<a href="https://www.freecycle.org/">https://www.freecycle.org/</a>) and have gotten lots of needed items for free as well as decluttering my home by passing on no longer needed things to others who need them.<br />
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Anyway, I hope you are getting the idea that there are a lot of ways to manage when money is tight and still enjoy your life. There will be more posted on this topic throughout the year and I hope to hear from you so I can learn more!<br />
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Holly Williams Urbachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11297441659389143375noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443174923647166788.post-48013383803335418202013-12-28T13:30:00.000-08:002013-12-28T13:30:09.148-08:00Did Christmas Wreck Your Budget? Ten Ways to Do Better Next YearChristmas 2013 has now come and gone. We had a very nice
celebration and I hope you did too. We have five children, three of whom have significant
others, and we have two grandchildren. We get gifts for all of them as well as for my husband's parents,
my three younger sisters, some nieces and nephews, a few co-workers, and we pay cash for
everything.<br />
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<br />
We don't have a big budget with which to purchase all these gifts
and we don't generally purchase big ticket items but everyone is
usually pretty happy with what they receive. Let me share some of my
tips and techniques that I have used to accomplish this feat each
year.<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Keep a gift notebook. I use a plain old spiral notebook but you might like to set up something in your phone or computer. I allot a page to each family member and I pay close attention to anything they say that they would like to get. I write this info on their page and keep my eyes open all year for these items to give to them for Christmas or birthday gifts. </li>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
<ul>
<li>Use the Kohl's or other store gift cards that come in the
mail to you. I received three $10.00 Kohl's gift cards in my
mailbox. The first one I used to help purchase some lovely Melissa &
Doug puzzles for my grandsons. Kohl's had the puzzles on sale at 20%
off their regular price and I applied the $10.00 gift card to the
purchase and got two nice wooden puzzles valued at $27.00 for a
total of $11.50. The second $10.00 card was used to purchase a $56.00 sweater for
my youngest son for only $11.99. The sweater was on sale for $21.99
and I applied the $10.00 card towards it, making it an amazing deal.
My son was delighted with his sweater and wore it to his
grandparents' house for Christmas. The third $10.00 gift card helped me to purchase $52.00
of items for only $17.99. I bought my older daughter
a pair of Lauren Conrad leggings on sale for $9.99 (were $20.00) and
I bought some very nice bath and body items for my son's girlfriend
at 50% off the regular price, then applied the $10.00 card and went
home very happy with my purchases. The young ladies were also very
happy when they opened their gifts on Christmas Day. If you are keeping track, you will note that I purchased $135.00
of items for five people for only $41.48! That is nearly 70% off the
original retail price of the items. Even on a very limited income,
shopping this way allows me to stretch my precious dollars and bless
my family.</li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>Watch for bargains all year: I have a spot in my closet where
I store items I bought on clearance for future events such as
birthdays and holidays. I purchased a plaque for my daughter's
boyfriend that said Man Cave. It was on clearance at Target for
$5.00 but was originally $12.00. Colin loves his man room so I knew
this would be a fun addition to his room. I saw it and purchased it
in March 2013 and held on to it until Christmas. When I see a sign
that says “Clearance” or see those wonderful orange clearance
tags, I make a beeline to that area and go through that section to
see if there are any items that would make great gifts.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWE8M_nK5-twtwVar3CEtWQ1vEyS2eW8X1_X7LmMbKdy0s3DPkBJbd3PvIRiaTeDNTY_RUTr5iw7Kut-sbM7ZV0PEuHuwb1U3IvgrAms8iF-O6RquEcAVhoeVD5MuseGcXCqeYHhCNBJc/s1600/pound+a+ball.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWE8M_nK5-twtwVar3CEtWQ1vEyS2eW8X1_X7LmMbKdy0s3DPkBJbd3PvIRiaTeDNTY_RUTr5iw7Kut-sbM7ZV0PEuHuwb1U3IvgrAms8iF-O6RquEcAVhoeVD5MuseGcXCqeYHhCNBJc/s200/pound+a+ball.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I bought this after Christmas last<br />year to save for my younger grandson.<br />I only paid $5.00 but I count it as a<br />$10.00 gift. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</li>
</ul>
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<br />
<ul>
<li> Shop thrift stores: Yes, even for Christmas! Thrift stores
are full of brand new and like new items. It is true that you cannot
return the items that were purchased at thrift stores but don't let
that discourage you from shopping there- you just need to know the
person very well for whom you will be shopping to make this work. I
have gotten many new items at my favorite thrift store that still
have the retail tags attached. My thrift store runs a different
daily special each day. A few weeks ago when I stopped in, the
specials were: 50% off all books, puzzles, and bagged toys. I got
six new condition board books for my younger grandson for $1.50, a
new condition wooden puzzle for the same child for $1.00, and
several amusing paperback books to tuck into stockings for 12 cents
each! <span style="text-align: center;">Earlier in the year, I bought a new 4-piece sushi serving set for $4.00 to give to my younger daughter.</span></li>
</ul>
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<ol start="4">
<li><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF0zvPMrnZd69r2e5cwAmCL7j0zt6GuQ022RFp93MtA88hxHdbb7JTRk80R4PVtemrmi6QWdeJvdJDIkWFvloIapp_QHRK8iZiU-BP7QCcPN-KY0gJoktSJL-exZVXOJjI05DGZz4Avcw/s1600/board+books.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF0zvPMrnZd69r2e5cwAmCL7j0zt6GuQ022RFp93MtA88hxHdbb7JTRk80R4PVtemrmi6QWdeJvdJDIkWFvloIapp_QHRK8iZiU-BP7QCcPN-KY0gJoktSJL-exZVXOJjI05DGZz4Avcw/s200/board+books.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At retail price, these books would have<br />cost me $13.00, but I paid 75 cents!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaL4XlYf_Pqqo-3NxXlXlL3nBVdxPjcRTbCHpjYvVxmiJEBtAtUU-vMgCRhTEw5KH0uJTG39w0RAdM9khTGT4zFsUPAK_5OfaWEZPGCtCrh6kPxw11P88S0nFfIc5bvvP-npMYfEUuWc8/s1600/wooden+puzzle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaL4XlYf_Pqqo-3NxXlXlL3nBVdxPjcRTbCHpjYvVxmiJEBtAtUU-vMgCRhTEw5KH0uJTG39w0RAdM9khTGT4zFsUPAK_5OfaWEZPGCtCrh6kPxw11P88S0nFfIc5bvvP-npMYfEUuWc8/s200/wooden+puzzle.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What little boy or girl wouldn't love this<br />puzzle for Christmas? <br /><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</li>
</ol>
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<div>
<ul>
<li> Purchase memberships to certain stores to get discounts all
year long: my youngest son has a memberships to Game Stop which
enables him to get a 10% discount on purchases. He allowed me to use
his discount to purchase items for my daughter's boyfriend for
Christmas. I bought one game brand new and one game previously owned
and saved 10% on the whole purchase. </li>
</ul>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Many stores offer a bonus gift card for the purchase of a
certain dollar amount of gift cards. Case in point: Half-Price books
offered a $5.00 gift card good in January for each $25.00 gift card
purchased in December. I had a lot of books on my list for Christmas
gifts so when I went into the store, I bought gift cards, got my
bonus gift cards to use in January, made my selections, and then
used the gift cards I had just gotten to purchase my Christmas
gifts. In January, I get to take $15.00 in bonus gift cards to go
shopping for myself or get a head start on 2014 Christmas shopping.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7HSUel8_bW2J3bREb-4t2K7yPtqFIeJukWSCZ3XhgG_a_Hhe3lI3INHEelnpMSop1sNCNxDiPQqN9oaf1XOiF7RGR_pUGaVeScVoRTi0VCkfk2XKxsE4_gqsV1TCAXeA0ARNQynkHS0o/s1600/January+bonus+card.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7HSUel8_bW2J3bREb-4t2K7yPtqFIeJukWSCZ3XhgG_a_Hhe3lI3INHEelnpMSop1sNCNxDiPQqN9oaf1XOiF7RGR_pUGaVeScVoRTi0VCkfk2XKxsE4_gqsV1TCAXeA0ARNQynkHS0o/s200/January+bonus+card.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I took $75.00 in gift cards and turned into<br />$90.00 worth of purchasing power<br /><br /><br /><br /><ul>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">Shop discount stores: I live in a fairly small, semi-rural
town so shopping options were, until recently, quite limited. This
year, just before Christmas, a Ross store opened in our town. My
middle son wanted an electric shaver for Christmas and when I looked
at Walmart and some other stores I felt that this item would be out
of my means to get for him. While in Ross, I went to the men's
section and noticed a Remington shaver with the specifications he
wanted for under $25.00 dollars. This same razor was nearly $50.00
in other stores! Thank you, Ross, for making my son happy this
Christmas. </span></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><div style="text-align: left;">
Buy in bulk when you see a great item at a great price: a couple
years ago, I walked into my local Walgreen's and saw that they had an
end cap full of really nice jar candles originally priced at $9.99
marked down to $2.00. I bought five candles and gave them as
Christmas gifts to folks with whom I worked. They got $10.00 gifts
and I got to stay within my budget. I do this whenever I can as often
as I can.</div>
</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<ul>
<li><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Use the discount coupons that various stores publish in the Sunday paper. We shopped at Hobby Lobby using 40% off coupons to purchase a hobby knife set and portfolio for our middle son. The items together would have retailed at $38.99 but using the coupons we only paid $24.00 which freed up our money to be used to purchase more gifts for more folks on our list. </span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">And finally my tenth way to do my gift giving affordably-</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small; text-align: center;">Sell books to Amazon: I sell my college children's used textbooks to Amazon when I have items they are interested in buying. This year I only had one book that was on the list of items they wanted. This book brought me $11.44 in Amazon credit. I also earned a $10.00 Amazon credit for doing a survey for a company so I had $21.44 in credit with Amazon. I let whatever credits I earn just accrue until it is time to start Christmas shopping. The small amount I had was enough to purchase 12-month magazine subscriptions for four people for Christmas gifts. Note that I was able to give four gifts without spending a dollar out of pocket.</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I hope these ideas will help you to enjoy shopping for the holidays regardless of the size of your budget. I would love to hear what you do and how you save on these types of purchases, too!</span></div>
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Holly Williams Urbachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11297441659389143375noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443174923647166788.post-17025628462201870842013-12-02T16:28:00.000-08:002013-12-02T16:28:37.266-08:00After Thanksgiving Course Correction<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Thanksgiving dinner was so yummy this year. The turkey was moist and tasty. There were lots of vegetables to eat so I was able to make healthy food choices...until I started eating the gluten-free brownies my mother-in-law had made and the gluten-free dairy-free pumpkin pie! Then, fueled by the influence of sugar, I went CRAZY eating too many portions of these treats.<br />
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How did you do with your Thanksgiving eating? Did you eat mindfully or did you do what I did?<br />
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I have a habit of weighing myself daily so when I go off the skids, I can see pretty quickly the effect it has on my weight and I pull myself back into good behavior within a day or two.<br />
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After enjoying the tasty treasures and gaining a couple pounds I upped my activity levels and signed up for a new challenge on LoseIt! This challenge encourages the participants to walk at least 4,000 steps each day this December. <br />
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In years past, if I over-indulged and gained some weight, I would beat myself up with recriminations. Then I would feel worse and eat badly. Now if I go on a food bender, I just resume my healthy eating habits, work out a bit more for a week or two, and get back to my "fighting" weight. I don't get too crazed about it.<br />
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These little off course events happen less and less often the longer I have been on the healthier path that I began in 2009. I have built up many good habits that keep me out of temptation.<br />
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I usually carry appropriate foods with me when I leave the house each day, including at least 16 ounces of water. I have at least an apple with me to help stave off hunger pangs until I can get home to eat something nutritious. I also exercise at least three days a week and usually work out five days a week.<br />
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It is hard to get too far off course sticking to good habits consistently.<br />
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What do you do if you get off course in your eating or exercising?<br />
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<br />Holly Williams Urbachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11297441659389143375noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443174923647166788.post-54796079130547665132013-11-21T16:13:00.003-08:002013-11-21T16:13:42.188-08:00Low-cost or No-cost Weight Loss Resources That Worked for Me<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxNkX-1pOqkngwmT8OZJt3fpLEceOvU-t3ZUwuC7H_DfT9LX05c6ZxQJWl4SaKtNVpdD1ly1jrNmss491efhqhbyv0lSsEHsmA2MvElQbCwkFzmkLnczvEdGc0VR-nxqBetXWqPPc7ftk/s1600/Old+Holly.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxNkX-1pOqkngwmT8OZJt3fpLEceOvU-t3ZUwuC7H_DfT9LX05c6ZxQJWl4SaKtNVpdD1ly1jrNmss491efhqhbyv0lSsEHsmA2MvElQbCwkFzmkLnczvEdGc0VR-nxqBetXWqPPc7ftk/s200/Old+Holly.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The old Holly around September 2000.</td></tr>
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Four and a half years ago, I was a size 16 squeezing into size 14 clothes! Today, I wear size 4 and 6 clothes. At the start of my journey to lose weight and become healthy I wondered if getting to my current size was a realistic goal for me. Along the way I found some really helpful low-cost or no-cost resources that you may also find as helpful as I did.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWp39Keoxf3FfceQSq0deiQcotzUVIYG_xCv4Z5OTO2SmvWMyUEkDo08H6V7xtQrtVx-tlCC1IwzMo_ryGbkx9NwmYwg1uXYMfMcCbgx3wZuWi-8eozD1Kd7wuGATMm3KVW0tFoE6hxYQ/s1600/Holly+and+Newborn+Liam.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWp39Keoxf3FfceQSq0deiQcotzUVIYG_xCv4Z5OTO2SmvWMyUEkDo08H6V7xtQrtVx-tlCC1IwzMo_ryGbkx9NwmYwg1uXYMfMcCbgx3wZuWi-8eozD1Kd7wuGATMm3KVW0tFoE6hxYQ/s200/Holly+and+Newborn+Liam.JPG" width="112" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me with my grandson in Sept. 2012.</td></tr>
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Bob Greene's book Total Body Makeover was a huge help to me. It gave me very concrete ideas of how to structure a workout program and also helped me to deal with the emotional part of my weight loss journey. This book came out in 2005 and I still go back periodically to read it and encourage myself to keep up my efforts in maintaining my weight loss. There are many personal stories in the book that gave me faith that I could do what the other people in the book did!<br />
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Planet Fitness was the gym I joined when I began my steps to fitness. It was a wonderful place to go for someone who hadn't been working out because it is billed as "the no judgment zone" and that is truly what it was for me. A variety of people of all shapes, sizes, and fitness levels go to Planet Fitness (<span style="background-color: white; color: #00802a; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;">www.</span><b style="background-color: white; color: #00802a; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;">planetfitness</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #00802a; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; white-space: nowrap;">.com)</span>. It has a nice variety of exercise equipment there as well: regular and recumbent bicycles, treadmills, elliptical machines, stair-steppers, free weights, and weight machines, and a circuit training area. It is VERY affordable with no-commitment plans starting at $10/month!<br />
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If $10/month is not in your budget, I have great news for you! PBS stations have fitness shows on their line-up several times each week. In my area, I enjoy doing Classical Stretch workouts up to five days a week (http://www.classicalstretch.com) and Wai Lana yoga (http://www.wailana.com) from the comfort of my home. <span style="font-family: inherit;">My husband bought me a pretty pink yoga mat, I found some really cute workout clothes at the thrift store, and I was ready to get fit! I started doing these exercise shows last year after I lost a job I had had for seven years and I could not afford a gym membership. I am still doing these workouts at home because I have gotten great results from them and enjoy them very much. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Last October I realized that I needed a little help as I continued reaching towards my goal weight. I read in Fitness magazine of a lady who used a free app on her smartphone called Lose It! I began using it and have lost 7 pounds since then. ; )</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lose It! allows people to track calories of the foods they eat and calories they expend through exercise. I had tried to do this on my own but found it very difficult to do. Another feature of Lose It! that I enjoy are the various challenges in which I have participated. The challenges are very motivating. One such challenge to weigh in daily just ended after 278 days! I have established the habit of monitoring my weight every day which helps keep me from getting too far off track in my eating and exercising. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">One other fitness resource that I really enjoy using are the walking/running trails in neighborhood parks. Even in my small town, we have several of these trails. The hospital near my house installed walking trails all around it that are marked so people can track how much distance they cover. My husband and I enjoy walking on the trails at the hospital because it is</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> a safe place to walk, there are restrooms available, we can go inside to get a drink of water, and they have free Wifi to enjoy once we are done walking. </span><br />
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What have you done in your journey to better health and fitness?<br />
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<br />Holly Williams Urbachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11297441659389143375noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443174923647166788.post-58886217835155636412013-11-16T12:07:00.001-08:002013-11-16T12:07:36.892-08:00My November 11-16 Menu (gluten-free friendly too!)Menu planning is continuing to challenge me. <i> </i>I realized recently that I only have to plan dinners right now so that should make my task a bit easier.<br />
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Breakfast is pretty much an "on your own" affair with four to five adults in the household. I lay in a supply of breakfast items and people just choose from those items. Generally there is a selection of regular and gluten-free cereals, bagels, regular and gluten-free frozen waffles, and eggs on hand at all times. We also have three different "milks" due to allergies so we have almond milk, soy milk, and regular milk in stock. One son likes to make protein shakes with 2% milk, I drink almond or coconut milk due to dairy allergies, and another son drinks soy milk due to dairy allergies and a hatred of almond and coconut milk.<br />
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Lunch is also an "on your own" meal mainly due to the majority of us being at work during lunchtime. The lunch food selections are quite varied due to dietary issues and preferences. One son likes frozen foods for his lunches (I don't advise this but he is 19) so he gets burritos, Hot Pockets, and occasionally frozen meals. My other son at home likes sandwiches with lots of meat in them (he is a black belt in Kung Fu and needs A LOT of protein). I like salads, cut-up veggies, hummus, and soups. So, I just stock up on the items we all want and we pack our lunches each day.<br />
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Which leads to dinner...<br />
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Dinner is the one meal of the day when at least three of us are home at the same time so I feel it incumbent upon me to actually cook a meal. Given all the dietary issues (I have celiac disease, two of us have diary allergies, and two of us cannot eat soy), creating a meal we can all eat is a bit challenging. Add to the mix the need to be on a very tight budget and it is a wonder I can make any meals at times!<br />
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So, here are the meals we ate this week (Nov. 11-16):<br />
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<b>Monday</b>- Breakfast for dinner which consisted of omelets, leftover gluten-free hot dogs sliced in half and fried, hash browns, and apple juice<br />
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<b>Tuesday</b>- Soup and Sandwiches (first really cold night of the season!) so I bought a variety of gluten-free Progresso soups with coupons and made both gluten-free vegan grilled cheese and regular grilled cheese sandwiches.<br />
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<b>Wednesday</b>- Fried rice with egg and stir-fried veggies, egg rolls (sadly no gluten-free versions for me).<br />
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<b>Thursday</b>- Gluten-free General Tso's chicken, which is a crockpot meal from Stephanie O' Dea's blog, A Year of Slow Cooking (<a href="http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/">http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/</a>) served over rice. This was delicious and will be made again!<br />
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<b>Friday</b>-Leftovers<br />
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<b>Saturday</b>- Refried bean tostadas with chopped lettuce, tomatoes, onions, regular and vegan cheddar cheese, jalapenos, hot sauce, Spanish rice, garlic green beans<br />
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What was or is on your menu this week?<br />
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Holly Williams Urbachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11297441659389143375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5443174923647166788.post-15608103413230913142013-11-11T12:00:00.000-08:002013-11-11T12:00:02.425-08:00Strategies for Saving and Managing Calories One of the "cruel" realities of weight loss is that the less you weigh, the less calories you can consume to maintain or lose weight. I have lost 60 pounds and am working on losing 10 more. I am allotted 1,372 calories each day according to Lose It, a very cool free phone app. So, I have to manage those calories really well in order to feel satisfied and stay on track.<br />
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I came up with a couple strategies that are working quite nicely for me and hope they will help you too. Instead of topping my gluten-free waffles with syrup (a calorie bomb as 1/4 cup of regular pancake syrup has 187 calories!), I top them with cut-up fruit such as bananas or strawberries, both of which contain nutrients, vitamins, and far fewer calories than syrup. I do spread a little pat of butter on my waffle before topping with the sliced fruit.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyphenhyphenGqQN84a960my9fSAIbmTshCEnlfGGU0Lwsk1TGp3YFgYF8o08dkGxaYZ2zt0q1GsVGfOjjTM3xTZymfW9B5FO2xOxEu7ltO4mq0TESFd6oaCxytWHx89rmVsaS5iZ2wKeSeiAHj-VM/s1600/waffle+with+banana.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyphenhyphenGqQN84a960my9fSAIbmTshCEnlfGGU0Lwsk1TGp3YFgYF8o08dkGxaYZ2zt0q1GsVGfOjjTM3xTZymfW9B5FO2xOxEu7ltO4mq0TESFd6oaCxytWHx89rmVsaS5iZ2wKeSeiAHj-VM/s200/waffle+with+banana.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doesn't this look yummy?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSG12WoSsR7pFZSHiYErAH65FpADYWO_4C-Nf48eBiaEpzhoNlWFyX11iTYFMVShI-ye1C3zNAF8nJN1JEqsFhBCCACauZiJ11GOsopDVBXyIp75t8vzsHLhhDYNDR2C-hZwIoYZ19iZw/s1600/waffle+with+strawberries.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSG12WoSsR7pFZSHiYErAH65FpADYWO_4C-Nf48eBiaEpzhoNlWFyX11iTYFMVShI-ye1C3zNAF8nJN1JEqsFhBCCACauZiJ11GOsopDVBXyIp75t8vzsHLhhDYNDR2C-hZwIoYZ19iZw/s200/waffle+with+strawberries.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Summer waffles!</td></tr>
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I find these so satisfying and filling! Less sugar, more fiber, a plus all the<br />
way around!<br />
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I use this principle when eating cereal as well. Instead of adding sugar to my gluten-free Rice Krispies, I add cut-up fruit. I find that I don't need the sugar because the natural sweetness of the fruit is enough.<br />
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Another way to save on calories is to switch to unsweetened almond or coconut milk. A cup of unsweetened almond milk contains 30 calories and unsweetened coconut milk contains 45 calories. A cup of skim milk has about 90 calories, so do the math and see if you would rather save some calories while consuming the same volume of "milk".<br />
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I have celiac disease, cannot eat dairy, and cannot eat soy. This necessarily limits many food choices for me. Instead of feeling unhappy about this, I have discovered a benefit in that many of the vegan "dairy" alternatives are much lower in calories than their dairy counterparts. A slice of vegan cheese has 40 calories while a slice of dairy American cheese has 70 calories. So, even those of you who don't need to avoid dairy like I do may find a benefit in switching to vegan alternatives. I have found similar benefits in my gluten-free choices. ; )<br />
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Of course, not all the alternatives contain the same nutrients as their alter egos-they can contain more or less depending on the item. You need to make informed decisions for yourself. Because I have medical issues that preclude my consumption of gluten, dairy, and soy, I do take supplements to be sure that I get my needed nutrients.<br />
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Another HUGE help for me is measuring my food. I realized when I started my weight loss journey that part of my problem was consuming too great a volume of food. I was eating a dinner plate full of rice instead of a portion-way too many calories! Now, my measuring cups and spoons are my best friends. They help keep me on track and mindful of what I am eating.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj09Avi6PhAsodzYfWPr3i2Q0BQvuV7V62yL9UY2IP26yY4BNkBPJfwDH6JDgqLlg6rLsz8T8GEjpk3VEXh-nK8pE66LOnQPnrwOd1UkIPUTbjvAZQEaMv65l2OM4sIPzhFOGhTM_XRSDU/s1600/Measuring+cup.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj09Avi6PhAsodzYfWPr3i2Q0BQvuV7V62yL9UY2IP26yY4BNkBPJfwDH6JDgqLlg6rLsz8T8GEjpk3VEXh-nK8pE66LOnQPnrwOd1UkIPUTbjvAZQEaMv65l2OM4sIPzhFOGhTM_XRSDU/s200/Measuring+cup.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Did you know 1 cup is a portion?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiarkBF2Fg1zjSrE4ueDNh_ZHbDFJNEYGy6LLvVJqN4g44ZbKq0rhfrANubT5VPbSaLhLeMm_K2pE_4JWpZo8xqADMkraqXm9evSEvxj6R-LtEEYWAyb8qw36yNAqGUeGnaC6Qo6RO4Qok/s1600/measuring+spoon.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiarkBF2Fg1zjSrE4ueDNh_ZHbDFJNEYGy6LLvVJqN4g44ZbKq0rhfrANubT5VPbSaLhLeMm_K2pE_4JWpZo8xqADMkraqXm9evSEvxj6R-LtEEYWAyb8qw36yNAqGUeGnaC6Qo6RO4Qok/s200/measuring+spoon.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1 tablespoon = 30 calories of Coffeemate.</td></tr>
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What do you do to manage your diet while losing or maintaining a weight loss?<br />
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<br />Holly Williams Urbachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11297441659389143375noreply@blogger.com0