Recipe and Shopping Guide Binders

I love trying new recipes and frequently tear recipes out of magazines and print from online sources. I rarely use a store bought cookbook. But with all of those pieces of paper I needed to find them a home. What better then a BINDER!!!

First let's talk about my Recipe Binder. Here I put all the recipes I tear out of magazines or print off the internet. I keep a calendar at the front for monthly menu planning and I have a section for meal ideas. The recipes themselves are sorted into the following catagories: Main Dish, Side Dish, Breakfast, Baking. Each recipe is slipped into a sheet protector.

Next I have my Price Guide Binder. This is a handy tool when planning my weekly shopping trip. To be honest this has taken me some time to build, but is worth every minute spent.

This binder is divided into the following catagories: Fresh Fruit, Fresh Veggies,Breads, Dairy, Condaments,Can Fruit, Can Veggies,Can Food, Box Food, Pasta/Rice, Meat, Cereal, Frozen Food, Baking, Beverages, Paper Goods, Toiletres, Cleaning, and Snack foods.

At the front of this binder is a zipper pouch that holds reciepts I need to go over. I have a printed "Cheat Sheet" at the front that list the abreviations I use for each store; LK for Lucky, SW for Safeway ect.

In each section I have a sheet for each food item. On the sheet I list the size of the item, the store abreviation and the price. So for example I buy Jar Applesauce so on that sheet I have noted that a 47.8oz jar of TreeTop cost $3.99 at Safeway and $3.49 at Lucky. This helps me to try and save as much as possible on my weekly shopping runs because I ALWAYS compare the listed price with the sale adds.

5QFriday....

I've been reading this blog for awhile and decided to join the 5 Questions Friday. 



Here are the questions for today...

1. How much time do you spend on the computer a day?  Maybe an hour, sometimes alittle more.  It really depends on wat's going on in my real life that day.


2. Will you pay for your children's college or raise them to pay for their own way? Just this last fall Hubby and I opened 529 College Funds for each of our kids. 

3. Have you ever been in a car accident? Yes, Three.  My mom and I were hit at low speed when a car was backing out of there driveway and didn't see us; no one was hurt.  Another one when I was 7 or 8 we were in an accident on the freeway.  The car infront of us ran out of gas and we hit it an da car hit us from behind.  No one was seriously hurt, aside from my aunt splitting her lip open. And the last was when I was in my early 20's I was rearended at a high rate of speed when I was at a dead stop at a red light.  I ended up with severe whip-lash.

4. What is your favorite book?  I LOVE the Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon

5. Do you make your bed everyday? I attempt to.  I'd say it actaully gets done 4 out of 7 days.

Ten on Tuesday

1. Cookies are taking over my life........Girl Scout Cookies that is.  I am the "Cookie Mom" for two, yes TWO girl scout troops, so currently I have CASES and CASES of cookies in my garage.  I (heart) Girl Scout cookies!

2. I'm really, really tired of our crazy weather........Saturday HOT, Sunday warm but windy, Monday HAIL, Tuesday FREEZING and WINDY!!!

3. For two nights in a row my son has slept on my bedroom floor.  He's afraid sharks will eat him if he stays in his bed.........hmmmmm, it's a mystery to me as to HOW sharks will arrive in his bedroom, but if he wants to sleep on my hardwood floor, Okeydoughkey.

4. It is currently 5pm and I have no idea what I'm making for dinner.

5.  I am on to my second round of Amish Friendship Bread.  This stuff is YUMMY!!!

6. What do you say to a close relative that has recently had a stillborn and tells you she WANTS to talk about it.  I know listening is best, but I feel so sad and helpless.

7. I have a family reunion to attend this weekend.  This is the side of the family I see only once a year and always feel awkward going in.  Each year I think I won't feel so awkward, but as I approach the door it hits every time!

8.  Baseball season is upon us and we will be spending MANY days at the ball field.  My son is on a great team this year and is very happy to have his Daddy as one of his coaches.

9.  My washing machine just bit the dust, and by JUST I mean JUST NOW as I was typing this!!!  Fabulous!!!!!!!!!!!!!

10.  Don't worry, Be Happy! :-)

Forever altered.....

For the past several months I have been reading this blog.  In recent days she has been blogging about her trip to Kenya.  I encourage everyone to visit her blog.  I am forever altered by what she is writing and showing us through her amazing photographs and her from the heart comments.

By reading her post I have realized how much I have and how little I appreciate it!  I'm ashamed to admit that, but it's the God's honest truth.  I will be continuing to follow her journey in Kenya and in hopes of doing so I will be able to change my thought patterns FOREVER and learn to appreciate how wonderful my life truly is!  Thank You McMamma for opening my eyes!   

My Design Style--FMM

Join Friend Making Mondays hosted by Amber at aefilkins.

This weeks topc...................What is your design style?

According to Sproost my design style is.....

50% Wine Country Style

50% Mountain Lodge Style

I must say..........100% accurate!

I love dark warm tones.

My only wish is that my home looked like these!!!!!!!!!

My Household Bills Binders

Keeping track of household bills has always been a thorn in my side, I have to say!

In years past I would loose bills, forget about bills and frequently pay bills late. That is until I found my binder system!! Now my bills have a home and I have a system for filing and paying them that works for me.

I have 4 binders I use for bills and investments:
1 for household/utility bills1 for credit cards and loans1 for business related bills (my hubby owns a Landscape Construction Co)
1 for our investments (IRA's, College Funds and Stocks)

These binders are broken down by bill and at the front of each binder I have a form listing due dates, amounts due, dates paid and amounts paid. It's handy to have this information at-a-glance.

Each day when my mail arrives I go through it immediatly. I NEVER let it sit...that is to dangerous for me!! If it sits, it piles up!! I shred and recycle all junk mail first. Then I open all bills and 3-hole punch them, I keep my hole punch in the cabinet that house my Bill Binders. As I file each bill I write down the needed information on the form at the front of each binder. Checking this form is one of my MIT's listed on my Daily routine.

Now I always know where my bills are and I never pay bills late!!

I'm baaaaaaaack!!!!!

Yeah!!!  I've been MIA for various reasons, but primarily due to a MAJOR computer crash!!  It took almost a month for me to get our nearly 10yr old computer back up and running after a major virus attack.  Why not just get a new computer you ask???   TRUST me, I said the same to the King numerous times, but alas money is tight and the computer WAS repairable.  Even if it did take nearly a month.

To add to computer failures, our household was once again knocked out by a sick bug.  Thankfully nothing as severe as H1N1 we delt with last fall, but still bad enough that we all missed days from school or work.  One good thing that has come of the sickness is the King is FINALLY being tested for sleep apnea!  He is doing his sleep study tonight and hopefully we can get his nighttime breathing issues resolved.  AND I can get a good nights sleep instead of constantly worring about his lack of breathing!

We have also been hard at work converting our garage to a more functional living space....scrapbook area, toy room, art room, vidoe game room  ect.  It took a few weeks to get all our "stuff" cleared out and sorted into what was being donated, what was pure trash and what was keep.  Then the process of getting all our "keeps" organized and put away.  We aren't quite finished, but the garage is definetly looking better then it has in the past 5years we've lived here.  I'll post pic of our progress soon.

Now that our computer is repaired and life is getting back into a routine I can get back to blogging!! YEAH!!!  I have a ton of post floating around in my head, not to mention numerous drafts already written!!