Budgeting - ugh

I'll be the first one to admit, I'm NOT a good money manager. Not that I spend thousands on the latest greatest tech items or have new articles of clothing every week, I could just do a better job planning. I know hubbs would appreciate this. So in an effort to end many uncomfortable conversations around money and more importantly be more budget saavy I am committing myself to learning and PRACTICING better budget behavior. Here's one website I've found already that I'm in LOVE with.

Budget101.com is plastered with wonderful ideas for grocery shopping, recipes, home repairs, great gift ideas, and just general budget tips and tricks. And this web site is actually pretty pleasing to the eye, compared to some other budget sites I've stumbled upon. A woman must have created it :)

Another familiar name in the world of finanaces is Dave Ramsey. He has a FANTASTIC course called 'Financial Peace' that I know many churches are involved with. I'll be signing up for the next one! He's also got an aresenal of books and other reference materials on his website. Here's a tip - reserach a book online you're interested in reading - HIT UP YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY! Did you forget its free?! I mean come on now Dave - we're all trying to save a buck here - no offense.

So check it out, get yourself learned in some moohla management!

Contents of a Purse

I've always wanted to do this! I cleaned out my purse and here's what I found...AND For the one or two men who read this, we are about to delve into the private contents of a woman's purse... BEWARE!





14 lists/sticky notes!!! (I might have a problem!)
1 movie stub - New Moon! Ha!
1 sketch of my dream landscaping
9 receipts (4 from Kroger)
18 cards!!! (expired gift cards, or cards with $1.88 on it, old insurance cards, punch cards, business cards etc.)
1 picture - the Isons, the beloved family of 7 I used to nanny for.
1 magazine - my favorite of course BH&Gardens DIY
2 notebooks
3 wallets... !? really?
1 change purse with 15 stray cents floating about
1 Happy to be an artist key chain
1 purse hanger - never used
1 comb
1 peacock feather print nail file
1 empty eye glass case
2 pens
3 tampons
1 unopened box of makeup primer
1 job application to H&M to be a visual merchandiser - it must have been a bad day at work...
1 monthly Jazzercise schedule
2 sermon notes/bulletins
1 piece of mail
A pizza menu
4 coupons
Hand sanitizer, nude nail polish and a partridge in a pair tree!

Perspective - If I were a rich man - la la la la la la laaa

First off - any one get my Fiddler on the Roof reference? Takes me back to 8th grade choir... anyways

I consider myself to be a very blessed gal financially. I have a great job and so does hubbin. We ain't make no 6 figgers', but we get along just fine... but there's a small part of me that was born an entreprenuer and I'm always trying to think of ways to make an extra buck. Whether it be to finance a new home project, my hobbies or my shopping fund, I sometimes find myself with an insatiable appetite to make more money! Ugh!

UNTIL - one Sunday morning in church - I found myself in another sermon about money. WAIT! Don't stop reading! This is different. You're thinking not another rich church preaching on tithing, cuz this was a different kind of Sunday mornin' money sermon.

A sermon on perspective. A lesson on giving back. An eye opening reality on just how blessed we are as Americans.

Here's the facts: (these were pulled from my sermon notes, which I believe were pulled from a website supporting the fight on world hunger - 'World Harvest' I think... don't quote me)

If you make more than $25,000 a year, you are wealthier than 90% of the world's 7 billion people.

If you make more than $50,000 a year, you are wealthier than 99% of the world's 7 billion people.

Half of the world's 7 billion people live on less than $2/day.

93% of the world's 7 billion people do not own a car.

Sooo... instead of trying to sell refurbished furniture for side funds, or launch a mini photography business on the side of my day job, maybe I ought to use my artsy fartsy-ness to raise money for a more worthy cause? Lots of thoughts swirling around in my head on this one. I'll keep you posted on the status of all this... feeling very inspired to give more to those who have less.

Chocolate Cake and Meatloaf - yes please!

I wanted to share 2 new recipes with you. Both are SUPER easy and for the very little effort that's put in, you get great results. Your family and friends will think you slaved away all day!




Lets start with the chocolate cake - because I always wish every meal could start with dessert!

I'm telling you this is so Friggin' EASY!

Start with a regular box of cake mix and a can of chocolate frosting. You'll also need whole fresh strawberries, blueberries and raspberries, about 11 Kit-Kat Candy bars and little preserves, jelly or jam - whatever you have - so long as its not cactus jelly or something - you know they actually make that!

Make the cake as directed on the box using the 2 - 8" cake round pans. Let the cakes cool.

When cakes are cool, carefully slice a thin layer off one of the cakes so that it is flat and not rounded. This cake will be the bottom layer. You could skip this step if you're into the whole leaning tower of Pisa look for a cake. The top layer might slip right off!

Frost the top part of the bottom layer and place other layer on top. Frost entire cake and sides. It doesn't have to be pretty because it will all be covered any way.

Gently break apart the candy bars into individual sticks. Try very hard not to get the jingle "break me off a piece of that - - - " stuck in your head. Gently push the kit kats into the side of the cake so they are standing vertically and the bottom of the candy is facing outward. Continue the bars around the cake until the sides are covered with the bars. There should be little to NO space left in between the bars.



Give the cake/frosting 20 - 30 minutes to set with the candy bars in.

In the mean time - clean fruit and cut tops of strawberries off. Fruit can be left whole. Mix all together in a big bowl with 2-3 TBS of the preserves. This just gives it a pretty glossy look and makes the natural sugar in the fruit come out.

Gently place the fruit on the top of the cake. Start with strawberries and arrange them in a way that looks pretty. Fill in the gaps with bluberries and rapsberries.

That's it! How cool does that look!





Experiment a little - try the white chocolate kit kat bars and different flavors of cake mix, frosting and fruit toppings.

DEVOUR!

Now for the meatloaf!

This aint' yo momma's usual brick of dry baked meat. This one is from my girl Giada on the food network. LOVE HER SHOW! Its SUPER MOIST and SO full of flavor!

1lb. ground turkey
1/4c. sun dried tomoatoes
1/2c. crumbled Feta cheese
2 chopped cloves of garlic (about TBS garlic)
1/2c. bread crumbs
1/3c. fresh chopped parsley
2 TBS. whole milk or half/half - or skim would work
2 eggs
1tsp. salt

Mix all ingredients except Turkey - add that last. Just mix until everything is incorporated. Don't over mix the meat. It will be brick worthy if you do.

Put mixture into a greased loaf pan 9"x5" or so... bake at 375F for 45 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes then serve that puppy!

FN is still here!

Hi all! I've been slacking on my duties as a writer and I apologize! Summer has been great so far and that means my calendar has been full of things like road trips, weddings, birthday parties, collecting junk to refurbish, landscaping, cookouts, and water balloon fights! I've had the opportunity to do a few photo shoots with friends babies and even a few weddings this year and the time spent on after shoot processing - is well - time consuming! If you notice things look a little different around here. I've added a photography tab and will be posting more pictures from shoots there. This is all for now! Enjoy the pics and Happy 4th!