John Deere Fleet from the Thrift Store

I've only been to one thrift store this month and Gavin was with me.
We stopped there after he had been to story time at our public library and before it was time to pick up Elizabeth at her baby preschool.
We did not see much downstairs,  but when we got upstairs to the toy room, we saw all these John Deere tractors.  

Gavin likes tractors a lot!
He lives in the country  and his parents have a real John Deere tractor.

We got his whole fleet plus a bag of pompoms and a package of rose wallpaper border for $8.
Very good bargain, I think.    

Elizabeth lives in town but she likes tractors too, she likes to roll the tractors on the floor.

have you found any good thrift store things this month?

Spend less time and money shopping

Doesn't everyone want to spend less and have more time?  

I have been very frustrated with the huge amounts of money and time I have spent just shopping for groceries.  In the past,  I mostly shopped at the stores in our town, and tried to stock up on the sale items.  It just seemed to require so many trips,  things would be out of stock,  all the time checking ads and then the actual shopping.  I know lots of people do very well with this method.  But it was not really working for me,  and instead of getting bargains and keeping stocked up  - I just spending too much time shopping.  

I've made several big changes 

1.  We did one big shopping trip to Sams,  Aldi and Crest (a discount grocer in OKCity)  and tried to buy about a month's worth of groceries.

We went  Dec. 27, almost 3 weeks ago and I have not bought anything else since then 

(except one bag of frozen cherries for a pie)  

I have not been to Walmart or Walgreens or done any shopping at all, 

except for a quick stop after Theo's vet appt. to get the cherries and one trip to  a  thrift store while I had time to spare between 2 events.  

I would like to average $100  a week for groceries but that is probably too low.  However we spent a little less than $300 on that big trip and still have a lot of it.  It is too soon to know if this method will average out to that low or not though.  

2.  I gave up drinking soda.  Big money saver as well as time shopping 

3.  buying extra milk and freezing it

4. buying produce that will last a long time - we are out of grapes and bananas,  but we still have plenty of apples, grapefruit, oranges, clementines and canned fruit.  

For produce,  the produce from Sams is so fresh, it really will  keep for a month.  I wash it and then package it (well dried) in Tupperware or zipper bags.  

5.  Making all our bread

the last one has been very easy too.  

My parents gave us money for Christmas and we used it to buy  a  large Zojirushi bread maker. 

 It makes the nicest bread too.  

can you tell from the picture how big that loaf is?  

 It is big!

 Gavin thinks it smells really good!

We have a Zojirushi rice cooker that we bought in 1990- it still works great.  

After reading several blog reviews for the Zojirushi bread machine,  I felt very confident choosing it even though it is more expensive than other makers.  

The bread is delicious!  I've baked 6 loaves and every one has been perfect.

Also,  this bread stays softer and moister, even days later, than my normal homemade bread.

Thank you Mom and Dad,  I promise you will love this bread too!

this does not have anything to do with saving money
but I wanted to show you the set of Pyrex bowls my brother gave me for my birthday.


I've been keeping this set on the counter and use them almost everyday for whatever I cook or mix up that day.  

I like spending less money but I am thinking the saving time is equally or even more valuable right now. 

Cast Iron ???

lunch for Gavin and Elizabeth and myself today

grilled cheese  on homemade bread toasted in a cast iron skillet

we also had clementines and a sliced apple

I chatted with another blogger,  Belle at The Bon Bon Club, about cast iron.  She showed some before and after pictures of cast iron that really needed TLC.  They looked amazing after she cleaned and seasoned them.  

It reminded me that I have several pieces of cast iron but almost never use them.  I do a lot of cooking in big non-stick skillets that need replaced about every year or so - not a thrifty thing at all.  

Anyway,  she encouraged me to use them.  

So,  I thought what have I got to lose?  I opened the drawer under the stove and found more cast iron pieces than I remembered.  I knew I had 2 cornbread stick pans and 2 skillets,  actually I have 3 skillets!  

I got out one of them  and was pleased to see it was seasoned a lot better than I remembered.  I've cooked in it 2 days in row now and plan to keep working with it.  

So,  do you have cast iron?

What do you cook in yours and what do you not cook in it?
This old dog wants to learn some new tricks.  

new address for one of my very favorite friends who is also a blogger

  Blue House Journal  

Terri used to write Penny Ann Poundwise and In the Blue House on the Hill.  

She has a new blog address and I just wanted to pass it on in case any of you might be looking for her. 

Big Oops!

I have not heard from anyone who tried to make this recipe.  

I noticed a problem before I gave the recipe card to my DIL.  

This recipe also calls for 2 1/4 cup milk.  

I added it to this card and hope you will too if you try to make them.

They really are good pancakes!

I am so sorry if anyone wasted your time and ingredients because of my goof.  

who does this messy kitchen belong to?

 Before 

 who does this messy kitchen belong to?  That can't be Rhonda's kitchen, can it?

Well, yes it was my kitchen this morning. 

another shot of my messy kitchen.

I have had a few days alone and I mostly just rested for a week.
I did the stuff that had to be done and a few little projects but mostly I just rested.
2011 was a busy year 

AFTER

 I was slow getting around this morning but then I got busy in that messy kitchen.  

All the dishes got washed and put away.

 Supper is cooking in the crockpot -smothered pork chops.

 Potatoes are peeled and waiting in a saucepan to cook for supper.  

Every surface got wiped off including all the appliances and counter tops.  

The floor was swept and mopped

The big pantry needed some organizing and got it

Trash taken out

   awwww

it makes me smile just seeing my kitchen clean and organized again. 

Frugal Doings 

homemade croutons
I made croutons with some bread that just starting to be quite  fresh enough - it is really easy .
We are having salad for supper but the croutons taste so good,
so I had a salad for lunch as I did not wait so long to eat them.  

Kitchen trash can lined with a brown grocery sack.

I try to remember to use those cloth bags when I shop but have not been too good about it lately.
We got a stack  of these brown sacks in December when we bought groceries in Oklahoma City.
One big brown sack is just the right size for our kitchen trash can.  

an announcement and a frugal recipe

This is a photo of some things on my fridge.

edited  !!!!   This recipe also calls for 2 1/4 cups of milk

One is the Christmas card from my stepson Clint and his wife Amanda.  The picture is her torso by their Christmas tree.  If you click on the picture,  you can read the message better.  

The other is a recipe Amanda asked for months ago and I just got around to writing it out for her.  

This baby will be a sibling for Gavin.

Our son Bobby and Sheena will also be having a baby
due the end of March.

We will have 4 grandbabies come next Christmas,

won't that be fun!!!!

So, I think 2012 is going to be a busy year too.  

Good thing I've been resting for a week!

Frugal Makes Cents

I am participating in the saving money in 2012 challenge over at Frugal Makes Cents and will have some posts about it soon.

Go on over and visit if this is a subject you are interested in.  

I should be back posting soon, just resting up as 2011 wound down and 2012 gets started. 

A Cultivated Nest

Did you all see that Manuela's blog is back?

a very nice surprise indeed~!

A Cultivated Nest

December in our home

Son Bobby noticed our home needed some TLC on the outside.
  He offered to power wash and paint all of the outside
and he did!
It looks great too.
 He is same son that helped us tile our floors just about a year ago.  

2011 beautiful fresh evergreen wreath that my brother made.
He makes one for me every Christmas and this is one especially fresh and pretty

and doesn't it look great on the freshly painted entry way?

that wonderful real wreath is how we ended up with this assortment of trees for  Christmas  2011

We own several big green artificial trees but when I set them up,  they looked awful -
just squashed and straggly and not nice at all.

So with Gavin here to help me,  we packed away the green trees and set up these 3 trees.
One is silver, one is pink and one is white.

I like them but I  am hoping to do a big fresh real tree next year.  

By the comments from people that have been in our home,
they seem to either really like this tree medley
or they think it is just bizarre.  

Gavin and Elizabeth 

having a little Christmas fun

and in case I don't get another blog post done before Dec. 25,
Merry Christmas 
to you all with love
from Rhonda and Jeff

Happy Birthday Mom!

4 generations
Me, little Elizabeth,  my daughter Nina and my mom Rowena


My Mom's birthday is this week.

Happy birthday with love to you!  

the little stuff is at the top of my thankful list

Some cookies I baked today for a baby shower that Nina is hosting tomorrow.

The new mom is doing this new baby daughter's room in hot pink and zebra. 

Nina saw some cookies similar to these on Pinterest and thought they would be perfect for this occasion. The Pinterest version used peanut butter cookies dipped in pink sugar.  

The new mom is a RD so I am sure she follows the no nuts eating recommendation to avoid passing on allergies to the baby.

So I baked a double batch of  thumbprint cookie dough from Betty Crocker,

 and tinted it heavily with rose food coloring.   

The center is a Hugs flavor of the striped Hershey kisses 

I don't think I have ever made such hot pink cookies before,  these turned out delicious though!

I saw this cartoon on Facebook and  really like it .
I am just not a fan of rushing from holiday to the next,
I am not really a fan of rushing anything
So I will just be enjoying Thanksgiving for the rest of November.  

The December issues of Country Living and Martha with  their very pretty Christmas covers have arrived
but I will just wait until Dec. 1st to read them.

Sweet little Gavin and Elizabeth this morning
just a coincidence that they both wore Eskimo Joe shirts

Jimmy came for lunch and Elizabeth was so excited to see him.
Gavin would of been excited too but he had already left today.    

I am thankful for little things like a lunch visit from my son,  

sweet grandchildren, 

 fresh cookies,  

a funny cartoon,  

and new magazines

there are lots more things I am thankful and this is just the things I am thinking of right now

I added a few kind of new blogs to me on my sidebar.

One is the fun activities of an American family living in Europe.

One is a homemaker in New Zealand who follows Pinterest and actually makes something she pins everyday, then blogs about it.  

Another one is about thrifty things made at home and 

the one is  called Life at Kilkinney Glenn

November update

November is halfway over and  I finally put out some fall/Thanksgiving decorations this week,
I think I might be the very last blogger to do so........
Anyway,  decorations are very simple this year.
Everything is stuff I already had.
The jars on the mantle are filled with faux apples and pears

I just made the thankful banner this week,  so I guess it is new.
But I used only supplies I already had
I used a Cricut to cut out the brown oak leaves and cream letters, them glued them to a some craft ribbon.

2 wreaths made by my brother,
 this wall leads into our kitchen and faces the dining room.

keeping it real - can you see the trash can?  

plastic canvas candlestick Pilgrims and Indians I made 10 or more  years ago
The turkey salt and pepper shakers belonged to my grandmother.  

more turkey S&Ps, that will actually be used.
I don't care if these get handled but I would be very sad if  something happened to my grandmother's set

my father in law painted this turkey and it is hanging by our front door.

some very simple silhouettes I made of my grandchildren

I took profile pictures of them, printed them and cut them out of black paper.
Then I scanned them and shrunk them to fit these little frames and printed them
in black and white on paper.
I've seen lots of method to do them,  this is just my method and probably not the best but I am really happy with them.
The frames were 10 cents at a yard and I have 4 of them,
so when future grandbabies come along,  I can add their profiles to this grouping.



One other change I made is about comments on my blog.  I used to allow anonymous comments but I have been getting so much spam,  about 3 day and they've mostly been anonymous.
I am not going to add the word verification but I did change the settings to not allow anonymous comments anymore.
So if you want to leave a comment but don't want to do the blogger thing,  then just email me
stwoliver3@yahoo.com

Happy Birthday Marines

Okie humor

Not sure who to give credit for making this funny graphic,  it is being forwarded among most all us Okies.
The weather has been so extreme the past 12 months,  we just have to laugh at it and wonder what is coming next.

I may not be doing much blogging for awhile.  I am fine however my days are busy.

25 Shutterfly Christmas Cards -winners announced!

Update by Rhonda
I apologize for being so pokey about announcing the winners of this contest.  I thought Nina was picking and notifying the winners and she thought I was .

the winners are Cindy, Dawn and Emily.
thank you to all who read about and entered this contest.
Shutterfly really is one of my favorite online companies.



Hi Everyone!  This is Nina, Rhonda's AMAZING and AWESOME daughter (hee hee, Momma told me I could write whatever I wanted!) here.  I am so excited to tell you about one of my favorite online companies - Shutterfly.

I first found Shutterfly in 2007 when I was planning my wedding.  I didn't want a "normal" guestbook for my wedding, I wanted something that everyone could write a message in, so I made a Shutterfly Photo Book out of our engagement pictures.  I made sure to leave plenty of white space around the edges of the pages so everyone would have plenty of room to write.  I also wrote the story of how John and I began dating and the proposal story in the beginning of the book, so we would always remember the "funny little things" that have happened.

BUT! I'm really here to tell you about their Holiday Cards!  I have used Shutterfly for my holiday cards for the past 2-3 years and I have always been thrilled with the results. They have so many different designs to chose from.  Every time I look at their cards, I find new favorites!  I'm so indecisive that I usually order several different designs.  We haven't had our pictures taken for our cards yet, so I'm using some pictures we took on our beach vacation this summer.

Here are a few of my favorites this year:

Newsworthy Wishes

I am always on the search for "Religious" Christmas cards without them being cheesy or old fashioned.  I really like the new designs Shutterfly has this year.  They still convey the message, but they are also fun and modern.

We Are Blessed

Mighty God

They also have a large variety of items on their Stationary Page.  They have Invitations for Christmas Parties, Address Labels, Gift Tags and even Thank you cards if you are feeling extra ambitious! 

Now for the fun part!! Shutterfly will give 3 of you a code for 25 free Holiday Cards!  Yay!  Here's how to enter (Please leave a separate comment for each entry you complete):

1 Entry - Leave a comment telling me your favorite holiday tradition (can be a current tradition, on you had growing up, or a neat one that you've heard from someone else).

1 Entry - Blog about this Giveaway on your blog

I will choose three lucky winners on Saturday, October 29.

P.S. if you like hearing from me, let my Momma know and maybe she'll have me back to share again! :)

Disclaimer: Shutterfly provided us with 50 free holiday cards and free shipping (along with the 3 codes that I am giving away).  But all opinions/thoughts/random musings are all mine.  

this contest is over and closed  

talking a little about family and state

cowgirl in pink

cowgirl in orange and black

We live in a college town and our football team is doing especially good this season,  

they are undefeated and currently ranked 3rd in the polls.  

I am sure they are so successful because of how cute little Elizabeth roots for them.  

Son Bobby was here today too.
He rightly calls himself a grillmaster as he enjoys cooking outside.
He grilled a trayful of chicken breasts dipped in Head Country barbecue sauce for our lunch.
That chicken was delicious and I am happy we have leftovers too.  

Candy Corn Doilies for Fall

While Gavin napped yesterday,  I did a little fall updating.
I put the green polka-dot sheers back on the front window -I found them several years ago at a thrift store for $1 :)
and the yard sale green tablecloth replaced the red and white checked summer cloth.  

Aren't these doilies wonderful?
My mom, The Queen of Crochet, made them several years ago 

I think they look like candy corn.
Have you all seen the candy corn crafts that are the rage this year?
I searched for candy corn on Pinterest and found 80848 pins for candy corn!

Mom was way ahead of the times when she crocheted these.  

A few weeks ago, I saw on Elizabeth's blog, that she had some pretty colored glass up in a window very similar to the window over our front door.  
I put my grandmothers glass paperweights up in ours and they really look pretty when their is bright light coming through.  

oops - looks like I need to add clean dead bugs off windows to my to-do list!

I sewed up this new handbag for me this week.
The bird fabric was a preprinted apron panel,  also found at a thrift store.
I used a free internet pattern that I have used before
Artsy Craftsy Babe's Pleated Tote

it is an oldie but goodie pattern,  very easy to sew up and does not require a huge amount of fabric.

Jeff's got a  cold but has gone to work anyway.  

Both grandbabies are here today. 

 I've got some sirloin cubes thawing to make beef stew in the crock pot for supper. 

 And son Jimmy is coming over this evening so I can hem the pants of a new suit he just got.

What are you doing today?