My training is going really well. I'm working out muscles I forgot I had. A lady from church told me I should blog about frugal fitness because she didn't believe you could lose weight or eat right without spending more money. Here are some of my tips.
1) I don't pay for gym memberships or a personal trainer. (Now granted my girlfriend, who is training to be one, gave me a list of things I should do.)
2) I buy fitness DVDs at Used book stores or on Itunes for less than $2. I've bought several Biggest Loser DVDs that are usually $14 a piece, for less than $3 each. (You can also use fitness videos on Youtube!)
3) I use mytrainerbob.com to food journal and get fitness tips. The best part is, the site and complete access is totally free!
4) I don't like owning bulky fitness equipment. The only things I have are a few hand weights ranging from 5-10 pounds. Bought all of them at a 75% off sale at Tuesday Morning.
5) I buy most of our fruits and veggies frozen with coupons. Seasonal fruits we buy at our local farmer's markets. They sell in bulk and so much cheaper. We even have our favorites who we know make the hottest peppers, or sweetest peaches.
6) I do easy things on hard days. When I'm really stressed, the dog and I go out for runs. There is a kids park about a mile away. I put Mia in her little red wagon and haul her down to the park. She is really fond of my trips to the park.
7) Eating better, also means eating out way less--saving so much money!
Eating well and working out really doesn't have to cost a lot of money. The work is paying off. I'm over twenty pounds lighter, and down 2 pant sizes!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
I Received the Lemonade Award
I received the Lemonade Award from Frugal Patti. It is an award that celebrates good attitude and gratitude. I am so excited about my first award!! Thanks Patti! You should really check out her blog. She has really great frugal tips.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Frugal Tips
Frugalness must go beyond coupons and grocery shopping. Whenever I give my coupon classes, I try to emphasize other frugal tips that can be employed to save money.
1) We only use cloth napkins. I love cloth napkins for several reasons. One, is that they add a cute flair to even the smallest meal. The other reason they are great, is that you save money not buying paper towels. Using the cloth is also quite eco-friendly. In the long run, it really doesn't add to the laundry load much more.
2) I always carry a big 32 oz. hiking water bottle with me. This makes sure that I don't get thirsty when I'm out shopping or at school. I can easily refill without having to buy soft drinks or bottled water. You can save a lot of money not buying a drink throughout the day!
3) I cook large amounts on my big cooking days and freeze the rest. Home-made frozen meals are great when neither of us feel like cooking, and thus save us money by not going out or ordering in food.
4) Whatever clothes or blankets that I don't donate to Goodwill or give away at church giveaways, I reuse and make into fun craft projects for Mia. A lot of old cloth becomes fabric dolls, a small purse, new baby blankets, etc. She actually places with the fabric dolls more than her others..
5) We use free Redbox codes to rent new DVDs, then make our own popcorn at home, and don't have to pay for a babysitter!
6) I make a lot of my own cleaning products. It's not hard, it's always organic, and I don't have to worry about what my family is breathing.
7) We save all of our spare change in a really large cider jug. At the end of each month, we use it to either do something fun, go out to eat, or maybe save it for a big treat. (We saved for months to get David a new TV--all from the spare change jar!)
8) I buy almost all of Mia's clothes at Orchard's M.O.M or Once Upon a Child. I am very picky, and only buy the clothes that still have the original tags on. OUAC also has store appreciation cards, and you get 15% back when you fill up your card. Such cute clothes for almost nothing.
1) We only use cloth napkins. I love cloth napkins for several reasons. One, is that they add a cute flair to even the smallest meal. The other reason they are great, is that you save money not buying paper towels. Using the cloth is also quite eco-friendly. In the long run, it really doesn't add to the laundry load much more.
2) I always carry a big 32 oz. hiking water bottle with me. This makes sure that I don't get thirsty when I'm out shopping or at school. I can easily refill without having to buy soft drinks or bottled water. You can save a lot of money not buying a drink throughout the day!
3) I cook large amounts on my big cooking days and freeze the rest. Home-made frozen meals are great when neither of us feel like cooking, and thus save us money by not going out or ordering in food.
4) Whatever clothes or blankets that I don't donate to Goodwill or give away at church giveaways, I reuse and make into fun craft projects for Mia. A lot of old cloth becomes fabric dolls, a small purse, new baby blankets, etc. She actually places with the fabric dolls more than her others..
5) We use free Redbox codes to rent new DVDs, then make our own popcorn at home, and don't have to pay for a babysitter!
6) I make a lot of my own cleaning products. It's not hard, it's always organic, and I don't have to worry about what my family is breathing.
7) We save all of our spare change in a really large cider jug. At the end of each month, we use it to either do something fun, go out to eat, or maybe save it for a big treat. (We saved for months to get David a new TV--all from the spare change jar!)
8) I buy almost all of Mia's clothes at Orchard's M.O.M or Once Upon a Child. I am very picky, and only buy the clothes that still have the original tags on. OUAC also has store appreciation cards, and you get 15% back when you fill up your card. Such cute clothes for almost nothing.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Our busy world
School has started up again, and with it my busy life resumes. I am back to teaching two classes during the week, taking two of my Ph.D seminars at night, running the food pantry, hosting a Bible studying once a week, and raising a walking/talking child. Her newest phrase is "That Mine!" Apparently everything belongs to Mia and we are to know about the new change in the rules.
I have also been feeling quite crafty lately. I've made Mia some really cute scarves that are "her size." Along with the scarves, I've made her some cloth dolls just like my grandmother used to make me. My grandmother always used her leftover fabric to make me dolls clothes or actual dolls. When my camera starts working again, I'll take a picture of my creations. Mia likes to chew on the dolls, apparently they are a good chewy texture.
On top of all of this, I have started training again. Once upon a time, in a far away land, I was something of an athlete. A good friend of mine is a personal trainer and she sweetly agreed to put me on a work out regiment to get me back and shape. So far, she's been killing me, and its been great.
I have also been feeling quite crafty lately. I've made Mia some really cute scarves that are "her size." Along with the scarves, I've made her some cloth dolls just like my grandmother used to make me. My grandmother always used her leftover fabric to make me dolls clothes or actual dolls. When my camera starts working again, I'll take a picture of my creations. Mia likes to chew on the dolls, apparently they are a good chewy texture.
On top of all of this, I have started training again. Once upon a time, in a far away land, I was something of an athlete. A good friend of mine is a personal trainer and she sweetly agreed to put me on a work out regiment to get me back and shape. So far, she's been killing me, and its been great.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Texas, Our Texas
Both my hubby and I are Texans. For those who have never lived there, we, like most Texans we know, take our heritage seriously. Everything is bigger in Texas, everything is better in Texas, etc. Since we relocated to Oklahoma for my Ph.D work we have determined just how much we missed certain aspects of Texas. The number one missed thing, however, is GOOD Mexican food!
My sweet, sweet hubby surprised me on Friday with a quick weekend trip to Fort Worth before I start up at school again. So fantastic.
We stayed in a great hotel, complete with two rooms, great sofa, amazingly comfortable beds, and a 42" plasma TV. (You see why he picked the location now?)
But the best part, the hotel was really cheap! (under $90!) The other hidden bonus about the TV was that it was within walking distance to a fabulous Italian restaurant, Italianni's.
Once he told me we were going, I quickly began looking for coupons for fun things to do. In Allen, there is a great outlet mall. And if you have small kids, or really like animals, Fort Worth has one of the top five zoos in the country. Luckily I found great coupons for all kinds of activities in the metroplex, including the zoo!
The Zoo was so great. Mia loved all the animals and people watching. Her favorite part, however, was getting to go inside the bird sanctuary and feed them. I did not want to do in, as I have a slight fear of them pecking my eyes out! She was fearless! Put her hand out for them to land on her!! I'm very proud of her being a little daredevil.
After the zoo, I had to hit my favorite grocery store ever...HEB Central Market! After we purchased some yummy food, we then hit the outlet stores in Allen. I had gotten a Coach purse for X-mas, but needed to return it as I am very picky about my purses. Luckily the nice Coach people were so sweet and let me take it back. So I found one that I LOVED, and by taking the other one back, I only had to spend $30! I love thirty dollars for a Coach purse!!
Then we hit a few more stores & then headed back home. In the meantime, however, we went grabbed some Mexican food, and got extra salsa & tortillas to bring back to Oklahoma. Mia slept the entire three hours home! Such a wonderful trip!
My sweet, sweet hubby surprised me on Friday with a quick weekend trip to Fort Worth before I start up at school again. So fantastic.
We stayed in a great hotel, complete with two rooms, great sofa, amazingly comfortable beds, and a 42" plasma TV. (You see why he picked the location now?)
But the best part, the hotel was really cheap! (under $90!) The other hidden bonus about the TV was that it was within walking distance to a fabulous Italian restaurant, Italianni's.
Once he told me we were going, I quickly began looking for coupons for fun things to do. In Allen, there is a great outlet mall. And if you have small kids, or really like animals, Fort Worth has one of the top five zoos in the country. Luckily I found great coupons for all kinds of activities in the metroplex, including the zoo!
After the zoo, I had to hit my favorite grocery store ever...HEB Central Market! After we purchased some yummy food, we then hit the outlet stores in Allen. I had gotten a Coach purse for X-mas, but needed to return it as I am very picky about my purses. Luckily the nice Coach people were so sweet and let me take it back. So I found one that I LOVED, and by taking the other one back, I only had to spend $30! I love thirty dollars for a Coach purse!!Then we hit a few more stores & then headed back home. In the meantime, however, we went grabbed some Mexican food, and got extra salsa & tortillas to bring back to Oklahoma. Mia slept the entire three hours home! Such a wonderful trip!
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Starting her young...
We survived the holidays with only minor spoiling. Had many fantastic gatherings with friends and family. We are for the moment staying home for at least a week and getting back into our old routine.As the above picture indicates, Mia got kitchen "goodies" for X-mas. Her big present was a play kitchen. Then family and friends added to it with aprons, chef's hat, stainless pots & pans, dishes, cups, play food, etc. It is all she plays with!
Since we've been gone most the break, I haven't done much shopping at all. I haven't been to CVS in at least 3 weeks! We've just been using our surplus or X-mas presents. I have so many new coupons to use that I got for X-mas, including lots of gift cards!
I've also been baking, a lot! Last week, we made Paula Deen's peanut butter cookies!
1 c. peanut butter
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Roll into a ball the size of a walnut, and bake for 12 minutes in a 350 oven. You can use a fork and make a criss-cross pattern on the top before placing in the oven, or you can put a Hershey Kiss on it...Try the Kiss, it is divine!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
I Am Alive
So many of the blogs that I follow have recently posted, "I am alive" messages. The blogs seem to flow less frequently this time of year. I too am alive, but frantically busy. With Mia's birthday, Thanksgiving holiday, and now Christmas we've been frantic. This of course does not take into consideration hubby and baby both having severe sinus infections or that I am at the end of my semester and thus have extra grading on top of the 60+ pages of papers that I have to write for my own Ph.D classwork. I was very good and bought most of my gifts early, although one was stolen by a UPS worker. (An entirely different story, which luckily had a happy ending!)
I have done little shopping in the past few weeks. I bought diapers yesterday at CVS b/c I had some ECBs that were soon to expire. I needed the diapers for a diaper cake I'm making for a friend from church's twins baby shower! Thus, I need 2 diaper cakes. We don't have any diapers smaller than size 3 in the house anymore, and thus I had to purchase more. I only spent 2.15 (including donating $1 to St. Jude's) I will post the newest diaper cake creation when it is finished...
To hold over feverish fans, i.e, grandmothers and pseudo-grandmothers, and aunts who read this blog for couponing tips and/or pictures of Mia...here is a picture of our Little Red Raider to hold you over for a few days. (Or at least until I am able to hold my head up for a few minutes..)
**Notice the pirate flag that hubby made her to wave when Tech scored!**
I have done little shopping in the past few weeks. I bought diapers yesterday at CVS b/c I had some ECBs that were soon to expire. I needed the diapers for a diaper cake I'm making for a friend from church's twins baby shower! Thus, I need 2 diaper cakes. We don't have any diapers smaller than size 3 in the house anymore, and thus I had to purchase more. I only spent 2.15 (including donating $1 to St. Jude's) I will post the newest diaper cake creation when it is finished...
To hold over feverish fans, i.e, grandmothers and pseudo-grandmothers, and aunts who read this blog for couponing tips and/or pictures of Mia...here is a picture of our Little Red Raider to hold you over for a few days. (Or at least until I am able to hold my head up for a few minutes..)
**Notice the pirate flag that hubby made her to wave when Tech scored!**
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)