To Red Card or Not to Red Card
To Red Card or not to Red Card, that is the question??…. But it shouldn’t even be a question! I held off for so long, but wow am I so grateful that I finally bit the bullet and signed up. I know, I know every time you go through the Target line they ask you if you want a Red Card… It may get old, but they really are only trying to help your quality of life. How many of you shop at Target weekly, or maybe even daily some weeks? How many of you have trouble keeping track of all your receipts? How many of you like free shipping? And how many of you like discounts and added benefits? If you raised your hand or said me to any of those questions, I think it may be time you take advantage of the Target Red Card. You may be thinking, “really, one more card”, but did you know it doesn’t have to even be a credit card? You get a debit card that is linked to your bank account with no credit charges or fees. So what are the actual benefits?
- 5% off all purchases
- Keeps track of all purchases
- Longer time to return items
- Free shipping on all online purchases
- You make the target workers so happy when you get to say you already have one
- Special Pharmacy rewards
5%… really?? That’s 5% on all food, gifts, baby items, clothes, sales, clearance items…. It’s a great savings on top of great deals already!
How can you say no??
So next time that friendly person in the red shirt asks you, say yes! It has definitely improved my life, helped my budget, and rewarded my spending habits.
…
We Love Discounts!
This month is all about things, people, and activities that we love! Something that we all LOVE is a bargain! Living in California means that we all pay a “pretty penny” for the sunshine and ocean breeze 🙂 So, we have all become accustomed to searching for discounts and finding the best deals. This could be as simple as price checking a product on Amazon or doing more research to figure out timing of sales at a store. Here are a few of my most recent discoveries when bargain shopping…
- Buy Buy Baby has to put baby food 50% off when it is three months out from its expiration date.
2. Costco has quite a few discount tricks to be on the look out for: A price ending in .97 is a deal decided by the manager; A price ending in .49 or .79 is a manufacturer’s special; A price tag with an asterisk means that the item has been discontinued.
3. Get additional discounts at Target with the Cartwheel App (more on this in a future post)! Want even more of a discount…Check out Bethany’s post TOMORROW to read about why you should get a Target RedCard! We just got one and we LOVE it!!
4. Shop at Sprouts on WEDNESDAYS for Double Ad Days when two weeks of ads overlap. Save even more using the app for more specials and mobile coupons! We love buying our produce on Wednesdays at Sprouts because there are such great deals!
5. Zulily is one of our favorite websites and apps to find Baby Clothes and Toys, Party Supplies and many other Mom-Need purchases! All the prices are discounted and we have found some really great birthday gifts, home decor, and some favorites and go-tos such as Pack-its!
…
Light Minestrone
On these rainy and cold winter nights, one of our favorite things to have for dinner is a big bowl of steaming hot soup. This recipe is loaded with healthy veggies and has a fresh and light flavor. The addition of a small scoop of pesto and a sprinkle of grated parmesan on top adds a special richness and yummy flavor. This soup freezes well for at least 2 months, so I made a big double batch of this to put in my freezer. i will be sharing freezer-friendly recipes like this over the next few weeks as I get ready for our kitchen remodel.
NEW LIGHT MINESTRONE
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups thinly sliced leek, white and light green parts only (about 2 leeks)
1 cup thinly sliced carrot
1 cup thinly sliced celery
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
8 cups unsalted chicken stock or vegetable stock
1 (14.5-ounce) can unsalted diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (14.5-ounce) can unsalted cannellini beans, rinsed, drained, and divided
2 cups chopped yellow squash
2 cups chopped zucchini
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup fresh green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup uncooked pasta
5 ounces Lacinato kale, stemmed and chopped
1 Tablespoon oregano or Italian seasonings (adjust as needed)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper or to taste
1/4 cup homemade or high quality pesto (Trader Joe’s)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1. Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add leek, carrot, celery, and garlic; cover and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tomato paste; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add stock and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer 15 minutes.
2. Place 1 cup cannellini beans in a small bowl; mash with a fork. Add …
Read MoreHow Do You Show Up?
This week we have had an emphasis on LOVE and SELF LOVE! Loving yourself is at the core of everything. Believing that you are worth love and knowing every day that you are loved by God should be like oxygen for your body, mind, and soul.
I love this quote by Charles Bukowski, “If you have the ability to love, love yourself first.”
Isn’t that a concept?
Love yourself first. If we don’t love ourselves first, we don’t feel our best, we don’t give our best.
This affects EVERYTHING: how we show up in our daily lives, how we love others, how we treat others, how we interact with our children,
So here’s my challenge for you this month. Take a look at how you are showing up. It starts with you. It starts with love.
What is one way you can love yourself better?
Is it the way you talk to yourself when you look in the mirror? Is it the way you fuel your body? Is it how you prioritize yourself and time for you?
Share ONE THING you plan to do to love yourself better so you can SHOW UP with your BEST SELF in February in the comments!
…
Celebrate YOU!
Celebrate yourself! Love yourself! Be excited with who you are! In a month where so much focus is on loving others, I wanted to take some time to remind you to love yourself too. Now don’t take this to the extreme and think I am telling you to be self consumed, take it to help you discover who you are. But you will be so much better to others if you first love the person God created you to be. You will be such a better wife if you are confident in who you are. You will be a better mom if you aren’t comparing yourself to all the other moms. You will be your best self if you love who you are.
Rachel said it pretty well the other day on her social media post
❤Loving yourself is a necessary, DAILY process.
❤Loving yourself means taking care of YOU so you can show up and put your best foot forward.
❤Loving yourself means putting your oxygen mask on first BEFORE helping others.
❤Love your body. Fuel it right. Feed it right. Move it in a way that bring you JOY.
So as she is reminding us all to love ourselves and take care of yourselves, I want to take it the next step to actually celebrate yourself. Think about your favorite three qualities that you enjoy about yourself. Think about your strengths. Live proud of those because that is who God created you to be.
Do you feel beautiful? Are you living fearfully and wonderfully made? You are beautiful. You are unique. YOU are YOU and that is the most exciting part. Celebrate who you are. You are created with love, purpose, and wonder. You are God’s masterpiece. Psalm 139:14 “I
A Chex Mix for Your Valentine
Valentine’s Day is such a fun holiday for new recipes! This mix is sweet, crunchy, and delicious! It would be so cute bagged up for a little gift and is a fun way to give a sweet treat that is different than candy!
Valentine’s Day Chex Mix Ingredients:
2 Cups Cheerios
2 Cups Rice Chex
3 Cups Pretzel Thins
One Package (Approx 9) Honey Graham Crackers
1 Cup Ghirardelli White Chocolate Chips
1 Cup Valentine’s M&M’s
Red & Pink Sprinkles
Directions:
- Place the Cheerios and Chex in a large bowl. Break the Pretzels and Graham Crackers into pieces and add into the same bowl. You want the bowl to be large enough to mix.
- Put the 1 cup of chocolate chips into a glass bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds and stir. Microwave for 15 seconds and stir. Microwave another 15 seconds and stir. You want the chocolate completely melted, but you need to be careful not to burn the white chocolate.
- Pour the melted chocolate onto the chex mix and begin stirring right away. While the chocolate is still hot, pour the sprinkles and M&M’s into the bowl and continuing mixing.
- Spread the coated chex mix onto a lined baking sheet and allow to cool. Place the chex mix into cute Valentine’s bags to gift or in a Ziploc to keep fresh.
- 2 Cups Cheerios
- 2 Cups Rice Chex
- 3 Cups Pretzel Thins (break into pieces)
- One Package (Approx 9) Honey Graham Crackers (break into pieces)
- 1 Cup Ghirardelli White Chocolate Chips
- 1 Cup Valentine's M&M's
- Red & Pink Sprinkles
- Place the Cheerios, Chex, Pretzels, and Graham Crackers in a large bowl. You want the bowl to be large enough to mix.
- Put the 1 cup of
True Friends Help Strengthen Marriages
With Valentine’s Day coming up in a few weeks, I have been doing quite a bit of thinking and praying for marriages. Marriages seem to be under attack in our culture. One wonders what has happened to the “ALL IN” commitment that used to be the foundation of the “for better or worse” promise, spoken in marriage vows. So today I challenge you to join me as I ask myself each day, “Am I all in for better or for worse and am I living like I mean it, today?”
Marriages have seasons. There are ups and downs as two imperfect people learn how to live together and love one another. The kind of love needed to keep a marriage alive, growing and strong takes a decision or a mindset that strives to consider another person’s needs as more important than one’s own needs. When I made my commitment to marriage, I considered it a covenant with no wiggle room for an opt-out clause. Therefore, it is my responsibility to live every day “ALL IN”, for better or for worse. I am willing to invest, invest, invest, regardless of how I feel…………because I made a covenant of love with the man I married in the presence of the God I serve.
But what do I do when we hit a rough patch? How do we navigate the storms of life that rock our marriages today? Where do we turn to get the encouragement we need when our relationships need help?
Today as I spent time walking on a beautiful trail near my house, I listened to a podcast from Family Life Today called How Marriages Get Better. You can listen to it by clicking here or go to http://familylifetoday.com/program/how-marriages-get-better/. What I gleaned from this story of John and Pam …
Read MoreDIY Personalized Photo Valentine
This is my daughter Ellie’s first year in school, so our very first Valentine’s Day exchange is coming up. I wanted to attempt something special, and then take Ellie to the store to pick out Valentine’s as a back up. My attitude towards Pinterest projects is I love them if I can confidently complete them.
So, I got to Pinning. There were a lot of great ideas, but sometimes I get frustrated with Pinterest because a Pin takes you to the wrong link, only a photo, or a post with no tutorial!!
I decided to do the photo card where you pose the child to look like they are holding a lollipop, so when you add the REAL lolipop to the card, it looks like they are presenting their friend with a GIANT lollipop!
I found a lot of adorable DIY photo Valentine’s, but only one with a tutorial and it required an application (Google Photo) that I don’t have. A little searching on Google, and I found I could do everything I needed with the Apple application, “Preview.”
DIY Personalized Photo Valentine:
Step 1: Take your photos
We tried a few different poses so I could pick a favorite. I ended up liking 4 of them, and used them all so there would be a variety of cards to give her classmates.
Step 2: Add text
On an Apple computer, open the application, “Preview.” I recommend duplicating the photo before editing so you have an original copy of the photo and a second to edit. Once the photo is open in Preview, click the icon that looks like a brief case to show “markup toolbar.” Click the “T” to add a text box. Write your text. Change the font, size, and color to your liking and move around on …
Read MoreLove Begins and Ends with…
Does your love have a beginning and an end? Does it depend on the mood, the circumstance, the outcome, or any other influential factors? Is your love tapped out at the end of the day? If so, is it renewed each morning? Or are you running on empty?
One of my focuses this year is to be filled up to overflow. And one of the main things I want to be filled up with is love. Love that isn’t conditional, that doesn’t depend on anything external, just the love that is in me. And I want that to overflow. I recently heard a quote that said you only love as much as you are willing to be inconvenienced. And too often I live my life not wanting to be inconvenienced. I have a schedule, an agenda, the next place to be. So am I willing to go out of my way to love? Too often that answer is no. Sometimes the need will even smack me in the face, and I am still not willing. My heart is only open to my schedule, my life, and my narrow focus. But that is no way to love.
True unconditional love has no beginning and no end. There is no empty, there is no void, there is no but. Real love fills to overflowing. It doesn’t end when there’s a hardship. It doesn’t run out after a long day. It doesn’t alter when circumstances change. The famous love passage says that love never changes. Love keeps no record of wrong. Love is patient. Am I this kind of loving person? Or do I love when it is easy. I want my eyes to be open to see things differently. I want my heart to be open and real. I want my love …
Read MoreKing of the World
It feels like there has been so much negativity recently in our world, in our country, flooding social media. Sometimes, it can be easy to get swept up in it or to allow anxiety and fear to take over. I heard this song today and the words really resonated with me and was a great reminder of the One who is ultimately in control!
KING OF THE WORLD — Natalie Grant
(Click on the title to listen to the song)
I tried to fit you in the walls inside my mind
I try to keep you safely in between the lines
I try to put you in the box that I’ve designed
I try to pull you down so we are eye to eye
When did I forget that you’ve always been the king of the world?
I try to take life back right out of the hands of the king of the world
How could I make you so small
When you’re the one who holds it all
When did I forget that you’ve always been the king of the world
Just a whisper of your voice can tame the seas
So who am I to try to take the lead
Still I run ahead and think I’m strong enough
When you’re the one who made me from the dust
When did I forget that you’ve always been the king of the world?
I try to take life back right out of the hands of the king of the world
How could I make you so small
When you’re the one who holds it all
When did I forget that you’ve always been the king of the world
Oh, you set it all in motion
Every single moment
You brought it all to me
And you’re holding on to …