Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Tupperware Summer Savings

Hi blog friends.  I am still here.  Just a  little busy with Summer activities.  My kids are attending a VBS this week. 

And I have been home, a little bored.  So I have been finding myself things to do.  I have been reading more.  I made a home budget.  And I have decided to stop using my credit cards and get out of debt ASAP.  One thousand dollars is not a lot compared to the thousands of dollars some of you owe.  But to me is a lot of money and when you are paying interest as high as 24% and you can only afford to send minimum payments, well it seems forever to pay off that debt.

So I started with the smaller debts and I am working my way up to the larger debts in credit cards.  Another goal is to create an emergency fund.  At the moments we are at zero in savings.  So I must try my best to sell some of my tupperware inventory and host that Summer Yard Sale.

So if you love Tupperware and will like to order online go here and order.  At the moment there are great Summer sales.

Hope you are having a great Summer!

Where's your treasure?

Every morning I have quiet time in the word.  I read the readings for each day, and a short devotion that talks about each one.

Today's reading from the gospel of Mathew, spoke to me.

Mathew 6:19-23

"Do not store up riches for yourselves here on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and robbers break in and steal,  Instead, store up riches for yourselves in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and robbers cannot break in and steal.  for your heart will always be where your riches are."

I began to think were has my heart been lately.  I have been visiting other blogs, that show how their house looks and how they decorate.  I have been trying to get my house to look like some of those houses.  It is not bad to want a more organized and clutter free home.  But when you start wanting the same furniture and expensive home decor, that becomes a problem.  Now there are so many ways of keeping your home organized and not spend a lot of money.  There are also blogs that show you how to be a thrifty shopper or how to make things out of recycled items to save you money.

Yes, I will love to have a nice home.  But for what reasons?  To impress others, or just because it make you feel better?

I have accumulated many things over the years, some of them are not even used and are piled up in the attic.

My goal this summer is to get rid of all the  items, I no longer have a use, and either sell them or give them away to someone that needs them.

I also got inspired by this post at Organizing Made Fun
To use the items we are blessed with and share them with others.

I have always wanted to have VBS at home with my kids, nephews and their friends.  I have lots of books and craft supplies we can use.  We did something similar,  a few years back.  The kids will get together  once a week.  They learned about a Catholic Saint, made a craft,  they will have a snack and then go outside to play for a while.  They were here for about 2 hours, and they  had lots of fun.

Do to some of our relatives summer plans last year, we have not being able to this again.

Our plans for this summer are:
VBS at our local church next week.
Daughter might be attending a Math enrichment summer camp in July.
And I am still trying to find an activity for my son.

I hope I get to teach my children good virtues this summer.

One thing we have been working on is our summer chores.  Helping each other, and teaching them how to earn things.  My son is already learning about laundry.  He said, "Mom the washer is filling up with water again."  I told him,"that is the rinsing water to take out all the detergent out of the clothes."

Another lesson, was that he bought a toy and he only had one dollar earned.  He said,"Mom, can you pay the rest and I will pay you back."  I said," Ok, but you cannot buy anything else until you pay me back."

I told him," Now you see why its better to save up your money before you buy something.  In the real world you can buy things on credit but you are charged interest.  If you do not pay it all at the end of the month your balance increases, and you end up paying more."

Yesterday, I was at the store and I saw a nice quilt set for my bedroom.  It was over $40, I was already close to the checkout lanes, and something inside me kept saying. "Do you really like it?" I did, but I did not feel right about spending so much.  So I took it back to its place and did not buy it. 

I began reading the book, The Total Money Makeover, by Dave Ramsey.  I plan to do the steps.  I will be making a Financial Binder, with a tracking sheet of my spending and a tracking sheet of how much I have saved by using coupons and buying items on sale.

I will be sharing with you pictures next post.

My heart is with my treasure, my treasure is my family.  I want to not only teach but do the things I am teaching my kids.  If I expect them to have a clean room before they play.  Then I also must have my room clean before I get on the computer.

I ask God to continue to guide me in the making the right choices. May he also guide my children too.

Great Savings!

I have been organizing my jewelry and now I have a drawer were I keep most of it but I wanted to show off some of the jewelry my daughter has made for me.  I went over to Michaels and found this:

It was under $7.  I placed the earing sets that I bought on the left side, and the sets that daughter made for me on the right side.

I also got at Michaels these two items:

A Vase

And a Chair

Both were 60% off regular price.  A savings of $20 on both.
I have been reviewing all the store receipts from last month.  I love it when they let you know how much you saved on the receipt.  Last month I saved, $167. I have been more aware of sales and have been using cupons and ecupons at my local grocery store.  And sometimes I buy at a grocery outlet store.  I have found great deals there too.

At Target, if you pay with you Red card you get an extra 5% off your purchase.

I will be making a track sheet for all my expenses and savings, and at the beginning of each month I will let you know how much I have saved on the prior month.

Its time for 7 minute blessings!

Happy St. Anthony Day!

St. Anthony is my faithful intercessor.  When ever something is missplaced or can't be found, I ask for his intercession.  My kids learned a song that goes like this:

"Tony Tony look around something's lost and can't be found"

Cute, right?

This morning, I could not find my devotional booklet and kept looking and when I found it, I thanked St. Anthony for helping find it, then as I was reading the prayers, it said something about St. Anthony in the prayer and I looked at the beginning and saw that it was St. Anthony's day today. 

Totally forgot his day is in June!  I had promised to light up a candle for him, and had not done this yet.  But I hope this week I can pray a novena to St. Anthony in gratitude for all the help he has provided.

This week is the final week for school.  Kids final day is on Wednesday.

Marah's 6th grade promotion is on Tuesday. 

This last three days are short days, which means they get out at 1:30 PM each day. 

The chore chart is working well.  We also have a reward for their chores done.

We will be going to a County Fair on Thursday and Friday.  Every year, my sister's kids enter a contest with a pig or turkey.  This year, nephew entered a pig, and niece entered a bunny.

Looks like Mr. Pibb ( pig's name) is doing well this year.  Last year's pig was Dr. Pepper he did not make it into the auction.

The kids had  fun and learned a lot about taking care of animals.

Well I hope you have a blessed week.  And Enjoy you Summer!

Blog Update

My blog has been quiet all week because, on Monday I left to a camping trip with my daughter's 6th grade class.  We camped outdoors up in the hills.  It was raining the first day, but no one paid any attention to that.  I helped one of the teachers to cook most of the meals. 

We were there for 3 days, 2 nights.  My thighs hurt from sleeping on the ground on my sleeping bag.  We had tents and I shared one with one of the female teachers.  We had a total of 30 kids and 6 adults.

The kids did well.  The problem was the wild sounds at night, from cayotes, owls, and gophers. The wind was another problem.

The last two days were sunny and we had a talent show on the last night.

We returned on Wednesday, so I have been busy catching up on house chores and errands.

Next week we begin our summer vacations.  And I thought I need to put the chore chart to use this summer if the kids want any fun activities.

I bought this chore chart at Target.  The chore magnets were not included, I had bought those at Michaels a while ago.  For just a dollar.

I had the kids pick two chores to do for the week.
Marah's chores are: laundry, and feed the pets.
Julian's chores are: wash dishes and clean the bathroom.

Everyone has two clean their rooms every day. If chores are not done, no TV, computer, or video games.

If we all work together and do our assigned chores we get to do a fun activity.

They will be attending VBS next week at a close by Christian Church.
And Marah might be attending a School Summer Camp all month in July.

I have to find something for Julian to do also this summer while his sister is at summer camp.

I have also done a schedule for Laundry.  We will be sorting the clothes in bins on Saturday.  And each day is assigned to a particular type of clothes.

This way we are not spending all day doing laundry.  Just a few loads per day.  We will be having less laundry since the kids will not be using uniforms this summer.

I will be changing the weekly schedule also for me, since I will be having more help from the kids this summer.  I hope that I will be able to continue their chores after they return to school.  It is so much easier when we all work together and its not just me doing all the work.

First Friday

Its the first Friday of the month. 

Today, I will spend some time visiting the Blessed Sacrament.  This is the month dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Here is a post from last year.

This year, I have a bigger image of the Sacred Heart.

To Do List

I could not wait to show you this project.  Inspired by a post shared by Tiffany at Family at the foot of the Cross

My To do List:

I had some stamps that I bought at Michaels craft store.  A decorative tape from 99 cents store, paper and construction paper and used my computer and printer to make the words: To do list, have, and Love others.

Scrapbook scissors to cut paper and there it is, my to do list.

What's on your to do list?

Kitchen Window

Summer is coming soon, though some of us are still getting rough weather, we are praying for warm, sunny days to soon come.

Here in Northern California, we had some cloudy days and showers.  The kids do not get out of school until a few more weeks.

Meanwhile here in our home, I'm beginning to change the decor from Spring to Summer.

Starting with the kitchen window.  I was thinking of a theme for the summer and decided on this:

I had found 3 similar valances at a thrift shop and sew them together to make a longer window covering for the laundry room.  I took one apart from the other two and now I have one for the kitchen window and the other two will go in the home office.

I love light houses.  They remind me of Jesus being the light of the world, and my guide.  The eagle reminds me of the scripture, " and you shall mount up with wings like eagles" Isaiah 40:31

And the flags well 4th of July is coming up next month.  I am thankful to God for being an American Citizen by birth.  And that my children are now second generation Americans.

Thank you Lord Jesus for the "Dream Act", a chance for students not born in USA to be able to fulfill their dreams of higher education.

The kitchen window display helps me to meditate in God's word and pray.  When I'm washing my dishes, I like to pray for others.  It is a time of relaxation for me.  I offer up my works to God.

St. Therese will offer all the little things she did to God.

When I am cleaning my home, I am blessing my family.

What do you have near your sink that inspires you?