October Goals Update

October Goals
1. Pay extra on Mastercard.
2. Deposit into savings.
3. Set aside extra $20 for Christmas.
4. Complete one unfinished project. Actually completed 2 to make up for September!
5. Continue Revelation Bible study.
6. Average 1400 lines a day.

Ultimate Recipe Swap - Breakfast

Breakfast isn't usually so much a big deal at our house except for holidays. Oh, we have breakfast, but it's usually cereal, cinnamon rolls or bread, Toaster Pastries, something quick and simple. But come Thanksgiving or Christmas, this is one of our favorite ways to start our celebration.

Little Brown Jug Breakfast Rolls

1 c. chopped nuts
2 loaves frozen bread dough, thawed
1 stick (1/2 c) margarin, melted
1 pkg (6-serving size) vanilla pudding mix, NOT instant
1 T milk
1 T cinnamon
1 c. brown sugar

Grease a 13x9 pan. Sprinkle with nuts. Pull thawed dough into walnut-sized pieces. Fill pan with single layer of dough balls. Combine remaining ingredients and heat. Pour over dough. Let rise overnight in refrigerator. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Invert immediately onto foil-lined cookie sheet.

Young kids love to help with this - making the dough balls is a perfect "job" for them! And it's something that needs to be made the night or afternoon before, giving you a little more time the next morning while still serving a hot, delicious breakfast. Add some fresh fruit, milk and juice, and you're all set! Enjoy! Oh, and don't forget to stop over at http://www.lifeasmom.com/ for more breakfast ideas!

Music in the Home

I don't remember when I first started listening to Christian music. I know I tried some Stryper back in the 80s, one of the first hard rock Christian bands, but I wasn't impressed. Now I can only give thanks that they tried and paved the way for the groups that my kids love today. About 11-12 years ago, I found the local Christian station and was so surprised that the music was good! Around the same time, a fellow at our church had sang a song by Jars of Clay that I fell in love with. That sent me to the local Christian bookstore to find one of their CDs, and I was listening more and more to the Christian radio station. Now, pretty much the only time I listen to a non-Christian station is for news or Ohio State/Cincinnati Reds sports! In fact, after attending a Christian music festival at Kings Island this summer, my kids have me hooked on Christian hard rock! Skillet, especially. DD has her MP3 playlist on the computer, and I've gathered my own favorites to make my own playlist, which I listen to while I work. It's hard to type while your hands are in the air, praising and singing, but I've learned to multitask! lol It's the same thing in the car. All our presets for the radio are for Christian stations, the local family friend stations and the hard rock one preferred by the kids.

I truly believe that Christian music has had a tremendous influence on my kids and their growing relationship with the Lord, and it's had an influence for me, too. If you're in the central Ohio area, check out 104.9 (The River) and 88.7 (RadioU - hard rock) on FM. I hope you find them a blessing, too!

Tackle a Pile Tuesday

Thanks to routinely observing Tackle A Pile Tuesdays, my piles are greatly lessened in my home, but there is one area where the piles keep returning and returning - my nightstand! I take off jewelry and not put it away immediately, leave Sunday School and church notes there, books I want to read, lotions, not to mention DS's Nintendo games and whatever else he leaves there when he watches TV in my room. So, my goal is to get that cleaned and organized today. It's a small area, but you'd be amazed at how much can accumulate!

Christmas Countdown - Weeks 6 & 7

Well, I think I'm back in the blogging groove again, at least for a little while. More on that later this week. Right now, I'm concentrating on continuing with the Grand Plan at www.organizedchristmas.com. After missing last week, this week I'll be trying to condense weeks 6 and 7 together, and it shouldn't be hard to do. Week 6 was to concentrate cleaning on the kids' rooms and week 7 is dedictated to the guest room. We don't have a guest room, and the kids have been responsible for their own rooms for a number of years now, so my concentration will just to keep up with what has already been done in the rest of the house. Holiday prep again suggests a making a freezer meal and Christmas goodie and continuing with shopping. I haven't received my Christmas Club check yet, but I do have some cash that has been put aside over the last few months to start with. I also have over $50 in amazon.com codes that I have earned and will be using on DVDs, books and/or Wii/DS games. This is also the week to decorate for Halloween, and I think we'll be doing that this afternoon, after the kids get home from school. So that's what my holiday prep will look like this week.

Yearly Goals Check-Up

1. Pay off van. Done 2/09
2. Emergency fund to $1000. No
3. Pay off Mastercard. No
4. Pay off Visa. No
5. Complete 1 unfinished project each month. On track, 9 completed
6. Complete Revelation Bible study. In progress
7. Inexpensive vacation. Done - Spirit Song Festival in July
8. Complete 6 cross-stitch projects. On track, 5 completed

A Little Time Off

Other than a scheduled post for tomorrow, I'm taking this week off blogging. I'm trying to rearrange and reprioritize what and how I do things, and I'm not sure where blogging fits into that quite yet, but I'll figure it out eventually. :-) Have a good week!