My Latest Project

I have been cooking so much at home and have tried numerous recipes. The Taste of Home magazines I have been using are getting a little greasy so I decided to take out the ones we liked best and put them into one binder. I also put in the various articles, clippings, and recipes I had been keeping from various Parenting magazines that I just might need some day.

When I get the magazines in the mail, it is like Christmas. Matt and I both look through them and mark all of the things we want to try. I use my weekly menu plan and fill it out using the great recipe ideas and create my shopping list. Then, I cut out the recipe and put it in our "Leonard Family Favorites".

Now if I can just get caught up on scrapbooks . . . .

A Must Read Article - 14 Ways to Save Money on Groceries on Shine

14 Ways to Save Money on Groceries on Shine

It's become a game for me to see how much money I can save on groceries. I always felt I did a good job, but now that I am really trying I realize I wasn't. By planning dinners two weeks out, cutting coupons, buying roughly 75% of our groceries at WalMart with 40% of them store brand and produce and meats at a local market, I have gone from well over $1200 per month to $900 per month. The sad thing is the $1200 per month didn't include the money we spent eating out. Now, we hardly ever eat out - maybe twice a month when it used to be at least once a week.

It pays to plan ahead . . . and it doesn't take that much time.

A Helpful and Cost Effective Article - 75 Surprising Expiration Dates

75 Surprising Expiration Dates - Yahoo! Shopping#buzzed=http://shopping.yahoo.com/articles/yshoppingarticles/505/75-surprising-expiration-dates/

SPRING

Our first 'real' spring in a long time, and a first for the kids. They are amazed at the flowers growing, the length of the day, the colors of the trees, the birds and animals, the weather, and everything else. It is fun to see it through their eyes.

Our big adventure will be to head in to DC to the Cherry Festival. I am very anxious to see the beauty of the cherry trees with the majesty of DC as the backdrop.

Our own yard has been overrun with daffodils and crocus. We have hundreds of flowers. We are now beginning to see hyacinth and bearded iris, too. Needless to say, allergies are affecting us like never before. Guess you have to take the good with the bad.

Question 3, Why Worry?

3. Why worry?
These two words, considered sincerely, can radically reconfigure the landscape of your mind. Worry rarely leads to positive action; it's just painful, useless fear about hypothetical events, which scuttles happiness rather than ensuring it. Some psychologists say that by focusing on gratitude, we can shut down the part of the brain that worries. It actually works!


I completely agree with this one! One of the major thoughts that got me through my two years as a school administrator was “If my Matt, Maddy, or Peyton are not in immediate danger, then the issue is not important and it can be handled.” Another one was “An emergency on your part does not constitute and emergency on my part.” Everything can be handled, one way or another and with a support system in place any decision that you make will not matter or change their support of you therefore why worry?

In addition, it is all about perspective. When a situation arises in which you feel worry or stress simply take a breath, analyze the situation, look at the big picture, and then react or solve the issue at hand. If you are able to have this outlook and attitude it is easier for those around you to adopt it as well. Your calming nature can be contagious.

Question 3

3. Why worry?

These two words, considered sincerely, can radically reconfigure the landscape of your mind. Worry rarely leads to positive action; it's just painful, useless fear about hypothetical events, which scuttles happiness rather than ensuring it. Some psychologists say that by focusing on gratitude, we can shut down the part of the brain that worries. It actually works!


I completely agree with this one! One of the major thoughts that got me through my two years as a school administrator was “If my Matt, Maddy, or Peyton are not in immediate danger, then the issue is not important and it can be handled.” Another one was “An emergency on your part does not constitute and emergency on my part.” Everything can be handled, one way or another and with a support system in place any decision that you make will not matter or change their support of you therefore why worry?

In addition, it is all about perspective. When a situation arises in which you feel worry or stress simply take a breath, analyze the situation, look at the big picture, and then react or solve the issue at hand. If you are able to have this outlook and attitude it is easier for those around you to adopt it as well. Your calming nature can be contagious.