my latest challenge

It all began mid December when I went to visit a friend in Edmonton and she got talking about how she's given up refined sugar. That and a whole bunch of other stuff. She's made some pretty dramatic changes to her diet. Of course, I have other friends who also eat pretty radically, and who always seem so in tune to their bodies. I have never really cared. Honestly.

We eat pretty healthy here. I do most of the cooking, from scratch. We use a lot of home grown and preserved things. We mostly venison (very lean). But I have never been one to eliminate something from my diet, or to notice that a certain food makes me feel yucky.

But after I talked to said friend from Edmonton, I got to noticing how ADDICTED to sugar I have been. Ok, it was the Christmas season and I could excuse some of my indulging on that... but my typical sugar intake is ridiculous.

 

For example, on a typical day, I would have a cup or two of coffee loaded down with creamer (home made, or egg nog) to get a sweet fix. I would probably sneak some kind of treat as well... some baking from the freezer or chocolate from the cupboard. If there was a stressful moment in my day, I would turn to sweets to lift my mood. While the kids rest or nap, I'd probably have some more coffee and something else sweet. We would also usually have some sort of treat after supper too. I work hard and "I deserve it!"

So I was convicted.

January 2 hit... (couldn't start Jan 1 because we were having a party) and I cut all sugar (refined) from my diet. Yup- coffee without sugar is not nearly as tasty. No chocolate. No baking. No icecream. No candy. No store bought yogurt. I have been noticing that everything is loaded with sugar! Ketchup. BBQ sauce. Cereal!!

I was grumpy at first. Even had a bit of headache. I did not like my coffee.

People have suggested sugar replacements- agave syrup, sucanat, honey, maple syrup, splenda. I am trying to avoid them too. I want to handle my cravings and need for sugar more than I want to cleanse my body.

I have been using honey in my home made bread (2 tbsp per loaf) and maple syrup in my home made granola. But that's about it.

And its ok. No, it's more than ok. I have realized that I crave sweets A LOT! It's crazy actually. But I have been eating more fruit to satisfy it. I have added cinamon to my coffee and that has really helped. So has drinking green tea instead of coffee. I made a cake, muffins and cookies without sugar- using applesauce or peanut butter to sweeten them, and 2 out of 3 were yummy.

But the best part is how I feel.

I am suprised actually. Amazed. I feel different. Empowered. Free.

 And I have so much more energy. I am not on the sugar rollercoaster anymore. No more highs and lows. I can't totally explain it, but it's been amazing for me to give up sugar. It's been almost 2 weeks now, and I can't say that the cravings have left- I still really desire sweets... and I am curious to see if that desire leaves over time or if I'll just find healthier ways to satisfy my desires.

I am also trying to improve the way we eat on a whole. More fruit and veggies. More healthy. More natural.

This is a fun experience for me, not a chore as it would be for some. I enjoy making things for my family. Granola, bread, soups, bread, yogurt, home cooked meals. I love it. It's creative, it's energizing.

I am not a die hard but I have been using some recipes from the Eat Clean Cookbooks, and the Kind Diet. Check them out.

What's UP?

So on August 15th, I finished the 30 for 30 clothing challenge. I admit I was sick of the 30 items I had chosen to wear for 30 days- but it wasn't really that hard of a challenge. My husband told me that I should always be on a clothing challenge... that was after I emptied my entire closet onto the floor of my bedroom to see everything I had put in storage for the past few months. It's like seeing long lost friends, and getting all kinds of new cloths at the same time :)  I will probably do something similar this fall once I get myself more organized. The challenge freeing and fun at the same time.

I do have a confession to make about the no-spending challenge. We were doing family picture recently, and my older son (almost 6) had to wear his little brother's jeans because he had none that were suitable. And my baby (age 2.5) has been barefoot most of the summer because of a shoe issue. SO- my hubby basically forced me to go shopping for shoes for the younger two and jeans for the oldest. I did go to my thrift and consignment stores first but had no luck. Thankfully I found what I wanted on extreme sales, and we are all very happy. But I broke my challenge, and I feel bad about that. Oh and I bought the boys suspenders, and a clip on tie (super cute and they wanted them sooooo bad) at the thrift store while we were on a holiday in Canmore. Phewf... confession over.

I am not sure what my conclusion for the no-spending challenge is. I feel like I am just itching to go out and spend money now. So is it really better to withhold for a while if you end up going out and spending lots? I will probably be satisfied with hitting up a few good sales and garage saleing before the season is over... but I could go really crazy if I wanted to, feeling justified because I haven't spent in so long.

A couple things I have gained from this experience is to really evaluate what I am spening money on, and to use coupons more. I have started teaching the boys some criteria for spending- do we need it? is it a good price? do we already have something like it? do we have a coupon?

What else have I been up to, you may be thinking...

Well, I made DILLED (pickled) SNAP PEAS!! I know, when I first spotted these at a farmers market in BC I thought it sounded weird. But I had to try it. AND WOW... they are amazing!

I've made raspberry jam, though it ended up too runny this year- but it tastes amazing mixed into some homemade yogurt!  I canned peaches. We have been freezing everything we can get our hands on... strawberries, blueberries, cherries, and raspberries. Yum.

I made a couple jars of dilled carrots, and my first attempt at dilled pickles too!  I grew my own cucumbers in order to do this, so I am quite pleased with myself really. I have no idea if they'll be any good, and I only was able to make 3 jars (though I may have enough cucumbers in the next few days to make more). I made borscht like crazy the other day with my beets- my first beet crop ever. I tell ya, I will grow beets again. I love the versatility of that vegetable! I also made some beet leaf roll ups  which were time consuming but taste amazing. The last 24 hours was applesauce. I made close to 30 - 1L jars of apple sauce. I am tired, but it was so worth it! I hope to score more apples to make some apple pie filling later. I am in awe of my tomatoes that are growing and can't wait to make tomato sauce and salsa in a couple weeks. Oh I love this season!!!

I am enjoying trying new things, experimenting with new recipes and putting away food for the winter! I need to pace myself though. For my sake, and the children's.

my first attempt at pillowcase dresses... made from my husband's college pillows. Navy and yellow, summery and sweet

Because my kids have been crazy the last while due to no routines, late nights, lots of company etc, I decided to start homeschooling at a really slow pace this week. We are getting the morning routines established, and then are spending about half an hour doing real school. I'm experimenting teaching my gr.1 student and my preschool boy (4.5) language arts at the same time. It's amazing for me to see that they are nearly at the same level in reading but such a huge difference with written language. My middle boy started reading really young, and hasn't really progressed much, staying about the same as his brother. But my oldest son has always been more interested in writing, and does well at it. So teaching language arts to the two of them at the same time will require some creativity, and perhaps having the older teach the younger. My middle son gets so frustrated easily if he can not do something perfect, so learing to write his letters is going to be very painful for him and us. I am attempting to make it fun for him, and we will see how we do.

In looking ahead at the next weeks I see so much potential. This is my favorite time of year (I may have said that a few times already) and I look forward to celebrating birthdays, harvest, preserving more and having a few fun adventures with the boys. We are going to be learning together about 'creating color' (which is a gr.1 science unit!!), and the communities in our community that we are involved in. There certainly is lots to be thankful for and lots to anticipate:) We are blessed!



nearing the end of a great challenge

Other than last night, I haven't written in a while. We were on holidays. I am helping at a VBS. I have been busy in the kitchen since we got home. The kids need me. The garden needs me. It's been busy adjusting back to life.


I am less than a month away from ending my no spending challenge. I am over half done my 30 for 30 clothing challenge. It's SOOOO good. It really hasn't been hard. I have hardly noticed the size of my wardrobe. Being on holidays was kind of like cheating- I only packed a certain number of things and wore them over and over. It was nice to come home to some more variety - but all that I had left behind was 2 dresses, 2 sweaters, a skirt, a shirt and a pair of capris. I don't even know if I will wear everything before August 15th. I have definatly learned to be more satisfied with what I have. I have learned the art of mixing and matching. I have learned to look at what I have in different lenses and how to add accessories to change things up. I have let go some of my pride, I have let go of my insecurities, I have let go of the time it can take to choose an outfit, and sort through the garbage to find what I want.  Its been fun.


I did break my no- spending rule on holidays. We bought the kids ice cream several times- YUM!!! We also bought the boys some books (my weakness) and some toys at a thrift shop. I bought myself one top and 2 silk scarves. I plan on using the scarves as part of a sewing project someday. Confession over- other than that $10, I have not spent anything on myself or the kids. Awesome eh! Again, I have learned to make due with what we have- to repurpose things we own.


I have mentioned that due to the no-spending rule, I have become more interested in the art of couponing. I am not like 'those' people you are thinking of, but I am learning to use the coupons that are out there. My husband was skeptical at first, thinking I was going to be buying things we didn't need just to use the coupon. To his joy I have easily passed over coupons for products that are not on my shopping list already. The last trip I took to Superstore, I did spend a lot of money. Original total was about $290, but I had $21 in coupons, and then $35 in store coupons and markdowns. And on top of that.... I scored a $25 gift card for Superstore. I was so excited!!!

When we got home from holidays I opened the mail to find all kinds of great coupons, and lots of bad ones too--- but this is another way that I will be learning to serve my family.

the end... of part 1

Well today is day 45 of my challenge. I am done the first half of the no-spending challenge and done my first clothing challenge.  For a quick refresher of what these challenges are, see "Am I up to the challenge?"

 

For the most part this has been pretty easy actually. I had only one day where I really longed for a larger wardrobe. I was feeling blah and nothing made me feel "WOW!"... after texting a friend she said "If only we could see ourselves the way God sees us." It made me think about how I still put so much focus on appearance. Sigh.

 

I am glad I kept it at 45 pieces of clothing for 45 days... with our crazy weather I don't know how I could have done 30 pieces of clothing! I have added a few things to my closet in the last 45 days that has made it easier too- I did some dyeing and a bit of sewing and repurposing. It was quite fun actually! I have started looking at things differently- a more economical way maybe? Old sheets can become fabric. An old scarf could be made into a skirt or belt. Three pieces of discarded clothing can become a dress!  

 

BUT that said, I am going to try... I am going to attempt 30 pieces of clothing for 30 days. I am going to go back through my clothing and take out even more... maybe add a few things back in, but the end result will be 30 for 30. That means that by August 15 I will be done this next section of my challenge.

 

On the other side of my challenge was my no-spending for 90 days (until Sept. 1). I would say that I have really grown in this area personally. We have been spending money.... we have done things around the house, like finish our deck and fire pit.

 But I have not bought anything for myself for 45 days. I have not bought my children anything for 45 days. They did get one happy meal. We did pull out some new sticker books and games that I had previously purchased.

 In thing 45 day period, we were given several bags of clothing as hand-me-downs, we set up our trampoline - also a hand-me-down, and we received some other new things from various places without spending a cent. The one thing I almost did buy was a pair of shoes for Levi- I even had some in my hands in the store but decided not to, we would have to find a way to get by. That was Wednesday, and on Friday my mom shows up with 2 pairs of crocs for Levi that she had gotten at a garage sale. She didn't even know I was feeling like he needed them....
I have been missing garage sales. I am also kind of missing the hunt of the deal. But why hunt the deal when you don't need the stuff anyways?

 

I have been looking for ways to be more helpful financially. I have been using coupons more. I have been seeing things we can make at home instead of buying them. This has been fun- making creamer (yummy!), granola bars- thanks Cara!, bagels - thanks Erin!, and yogurt! 
I have been becoming more aware of the fact that none of our money really belongs to me anyways- its all HIS anyways.

my first batch was a bit runny- but the boys loved it anyways

 I have begun the fruit gathering and preserving with strawberries- first at the grocery store, and then this week the boys and I went strawberry picking. It was raining so I have no pictures of them in action- but they were AMAZING... my bigger boys each picked an ice cream pail, and my 2 year old ate and ate and ate!

we picked 6 of these ice cream pails!

I am looking forward to the rest of the fruit season, and though my garden is currently under water, I am excited about what may be. The next 45 days (until Sept 1) are very important in our life... the next 45 days will stock our freezer full of fruit and vegetables, they will tell us what kind of crop and harvest we will have this year, we will enjoy family time in BC together, we will say good bye to friends who are moving, we will celebrate the birthday of a soon to be 6 year old, we will begin gr.1 officially with said 6 year old... 

A few things I am learning...

• sometimes the life you never imagined, is better than you could possibly have imagined.
•  And when you surrender yourself to servanthood the feeling of being sentenced to this life as a mother disappears, replaced by excitement for each step ahead.
•  Oh... and HE provides you what you need for every step of the way.
• If you open your eyes to see, there is beauty everywhere!
•  When you are thankful for even the little things, joy flows- unstoppable
• Nothing is as hard as you think it will be, so just try it- it's ok if you fail

feels good to stretch my dollars

I think this is flowing out of my challenge... but I have become more and more concious of how I am spending my money. As a stay at home mom, I love to do what ever I can to make things easier around here- in a way to feel like I am helping provide for the family. I have always bought second hand or on sales, and last year I got into canning and freezing produce and fruit. This is very fullfilling to me. The other night I lay in bed, unable to sleep, with excitement over the coming season of bounty.

the garden is coming...

 Garden bounty, fruit in the stores, fruit from BC, fruit from u-picks and fruit from people who have excess. I seriously was unable to sleep over this!


I admit I have been pretty proud of some of my house wife accomplishments as of late. This is not usual for me, so it is an accomplishment. I made homemade bagels the other day and they were amazing! Yum. I have been making some yummy breads too.

 I have been capitalizing on the 50% off fruit at Superstore- you know, that whole rack of one day old fruit. I have been very pick at what I'm buying and for the most part I've been very happy! The other day I grabbed 2 packages of strawberries, cost me $2.50 in total, and I was able to make 3 jars of strawberry jam with it. There were maybe 3 strawberries I wasn't able to use. The next day I got 2 of those blueberry packages. I washed them then lay them out on a cookie sheet and picked out any that were bad. There was maybe a small handful of unusable berries. I put them in the freezer like that and the next day I vaccuum sealed them (you could use ziploc baggies) into 6 different 2 cup packages that we will use in the winter for on our poridge or cereal. All those blueberries cost me $6.

Then today was another strawberry score.

All of these strawberries, as well as the bunch in the picture above were $2.

I spent $2 and got enough strawberries to freeze 4 pkgs worth and make some stewed fruit with the excess.

beginnings of stewed fruit

Stewed fruit in our home is strawberries, apples and rhubarb boiled together with some water and sugar until runny. This is also very good served on poridge, ice cream, cereal. For me these are triumphs, ways I feel like I am helping our family.

This may sound crazy to some of you but I made my own taco seasonings and spaghetti sauce seasoning mixes. I used only spices and ingredients I already have in my house, mixed them all up, and now they are ready to use. I always have cases of tomato sauce in the house, and so why not use them with the spice mix instead of buying spaghetti sauce?


I also made my own coffee creamer today. I thought I would give it a try anyways- just mixed a can of sweetened condensed milk (on sale for $2.50) with 1.5 C of milk and some vanilla. I haven't tried it in coffee yet, but from a spoon it is pretty amazing! I can't wait till 6 am tomorrow to have my first cup. So a 1 L jar of coffee creamer cost me about $3.25 to make, as opposed to the almost $5 that I spend at the store for my favorite.

 I also used coupons and saved 10% on my groceries today- which really was only $11 but every bit helps, right.

I don't mean to say that this is the way everyone should live, but it is a fun experiment for me right now. I am learning new things and using what I have more wisely.

the difference a few days can make

a couple weeks ago, I embarked on a challenge. Not the kind of 'challenge' my kids talk about and play knights with, but still a very interesting challenge.

This closet extends up and both to the right and left of what the picture shows. And it was previously FULL and spewing out onto the floor. The thing is that I had TOO much stuff, I couldn't see what I had, wanted or needed. Even though I purge regularily, I still lived in the land of the excessively excessive. So I decided to challenge myself to make some changes in my closet and my life. Am I up to the Challenge?

Well this is my closet now

Look back to the first picture and do you see that little section to the right of the mirror, that's all my clothes. I have some jeans above on the shelf but that is it! And I'll tell you something- I am reallllllllly enjoying it. I am actually happier, more satified, and overall enjoying my clothes more. I can find what I want in no time at all, and there is no spillage to sort through in the morning. Laundry and putting cloths away is a snap too! I haven't even really found myself yearning for things that I have put away. Interesting, right?

Another part of my challenge was that I would repurpose or make a piece of clothing. My friend over at sonneblomstudio  lent me this book :



"New From Old" by Jayne Emerson



And I have been SO inspired. I am looking all over my house and seeing things I already have in a new light. In typical me fashion, I went all crazy and started pulling things out and visualized half a dozen projects. When am I going to do all  this?!!

first project- a hand-me down sweater that I do like, but it is a bit tight. An idea in the book is to cut it down the middle and make it a bolero or cardigan. I'll attenpt it and see what happens. I may end up dyeing this too because it is yellowing.

This is a giant pile of nearly a dozen yellowing while t-shirts. Our country water isn't very kind to the whites, but DUH, I could dye these shirts and give them a new life!

Random items with beads on them. While being distracted the other day, I tried on my wedding dress and found extra beads in a baggy, and the little princess tiara that I wore. I decided to use the beads to do something timeless and pretty.

Garage sale find a while back- this table cloth was $0.25 and I loved the pattern and colors. I have no idea what I will make out of it.

Closer up pic of what the beading loks like on the tiara.

SO we had a pretty relaxed day yesterday. We got the brothers to our kitties so now we have 3 kitties and the boys were busy taking care of them. And they were making daddy father's day cards, looking through all of my scrapbooks (so cute!), and generally taking care of themselves. It was wonderful. I sat at my desk in the craft room and played. I love it!! This is what I've come up with so far.

A bracelet made from beads of an old broken necklace.

necklace made from old tiara beads. I really like this! I made earrings to go with it too

closer up of the tiara necklace

Sweater, nearly done I sliced it down the middle, and since it natuarally wanted to go together at the top middle, I ended up (not shown in picture) adding a huge brown button in the center. I LOVE IT. I think I will wear this lots this summer. I am going to wear it today, thats for sure.

                                             nice finished product picture taken by a 4 year old

I am inspired and challenged to do less shopping, and more recycling and repurposing. I am going to go find some good clothing dye and get to work on the pile of whites. I also love the feeling of being creative. It makes me feel alive and giddy with excitement. I am NOT a prefectionist so nothing is ever perfect, but I have fun doing it and I don't mind the imperfections. None of this is hard, but I normally don't think about it.

I wonder what else I am missing because I am not looking or am too busy?



money, possessions and eternity!!

I have this book in my house


"Money, possessions and eternity," by Randy Alcorn


that my husband has been reading for months (it is thick, and he is thorough)


and two close and trusted friends have referred to this book serveral times when we talk about money...


but until today I have not looked at it.


Well... I just skimmed a few sections, and WOW! I am scared to read anymore.  Honest. This is a kick you in the but, hit you over the head with God's Word, stir your inner self, need to spend months reading kind of book.


One of those trusted friends suggested I look at it in light of my current "CHALLENGE", and so tonight I did. There is definately tonnes in this book that applies to me (my head is spinning), but what I wanted to share are a few points from the appendix D- Practical Guidelines to Control Spending.  If you have this book, read it in full- if you don't have this book -Get it!!! Or just read my abbreviated version below...


"For many people, spending money is an addictive behavior similar to alcoholism or gambling. With compulsive spending, the true enemy lies within. We need to replace our preoccupation with short-term gratification and make our spending decisions from a long-term perspective. We must replace our self-indulgence with self- control."

He then goes on to give 10 guidelines to help with exercising self-control in the area of spending. I will just outline the ones that impacted me.

"1. Realize that nothing is a good deal if you can not afford it! Paying $80 for a pair of barely used skis that  cost $400 new seems like a great deal. But if we can't afford them, it simply doesn't matter.

3. Understand the difference between spending money and saving money. Saving is setting aside money for a future purpose. If we buy an $80 sweater on sale for $30, and think we just saved $50, we simply don't understand the concept of saving. Where is the $50 we think we saved? It doesn't exist All we've done is spend $30. If we keep "saving" like that, we'll soon be broke!

8. Learn to walk away from things you want but don't need.

9. Realize that little things add up. Like water from a leaky faucet, money trickles through our hands. The little drips don't seem like much, but they add up to gallons. One dollar here and ten dollars there; a hamburger here and a mocha there... These things may seem inconsequential, but they add up to hundreds of dollars per month and thousands per year. If a swimming pool if full of leaks, you can pump in more water, but it will never be enough until the leaks are fixed. We can take in more and more income, but until we fix the little leaks in our spending habits, we'll never be able to divert the flow of money. "

I entered this challenge without really thinking. I knew it would be hard, but I never imagined the change that would come from it. I am convicted. I have always thought of myself in a certain way, and I feel like layers of that perception are being peeled off and I am seeing things as they really are. The Lord is revealing things in me that I do not necessarily like, but that I am going to be striving to change. Interesting.