My New Look As A SAHM

I have been seriously battling with myself over the last year about this whole, getting dressed up in the mornings thing. I finally decided that my clothes would never go to use if I didn't. So I started dressing up, and it feels great! I ordered new matching aprons for Samantha and me awhile back, and they finally came in! 
Here are some pics!

I'm Not Cheap. I'm Smart!

I have always told people I am cheap, if they ask. I am not embarrassed to admit it, but the more I think about it, the more I realize that is a bad statement. Cheap means that you are so stingy with your money that you won't even get your kids a present for Christmas or you skip meals to save money. I am not like that, no. I just believe a dollar is worth more than other people do. Here are a few things I do to save money: 


1. I buy off brand foods. I could save some money clipping coupons, doubling, etc. But after I took the "Extreme Couponing" class, I realized  that I do not have hours and hours in my day to sit around and search and print coupons to save a few bucks. Not only does it cost a lot in ink, it takes my time. The off brand is just as good, and at the stores I shop at, I save more than I ever could couponing. Also, watching what I buy. We don't need a lot of snacks. All they do is make you gain weight. A think of ice cream or a cake here and there is good, but 6 packs of Oreos, 4 boxes of Little Debbies, and a 24 pack of Cokes, no thank you! 


2. I yardsale. But I realize that is not an option for some. (Although if you do, plan your route, go in order, and walk when possible. It will save you a ton of gas.) Thrift stores, consignments, and Craigslist are all good ideas too. I have expensive taste most times, so I HAVE to shop used. 


3. When I am making a purchase, any purchase, a toy, an electronic, furniture, etc. I look online first! Amazon is amazing, and they sale everything! If you are willing to use Pay Pal and do bidding, EBay is good too. And sometimes stores have better deals online, even after shipping. And sometimes you can get free shipping. 


4. When we are going anywhere, and I mean ANYWHERE, I always look online first for a special or coupon. This is the one exception for in couponing, because even though I spent the money on the ink to print it out, I usually get $10.00-on average, depending on the activity, versus 50 cents you get off cheese or a pack of Gold Fish.


5. As far as using credit goes, I don't-UNLESS I have the money for the item I am about to purchase. As long as I have $200.00 in my bank account, I will buy a $200.00 Blu Ray player-for example. The only reason I use credit is to build my credit to get a house later on. This saves money because 1. I am not buying everything on credit just because I "want it." Therefore, the interest does not build up. and 2. We pay it off faster than needed, which keeps the interest down and still builds my credit. 


6. Of course there are expenses that you have to pay for, but you can keep costs down. Saving energy. Being conservative with gas. Water. Buying off clearance or sales. Shopping around for car insurance. (We use State Farm because they are the cheapest we could find, but they have strict stipulations. We actually got accepted by accident.) 


We do other small things. Try not to eat out too much. Do cheaper things for fun. That sort of thing, but at the same time, we can't be so cheap that we never take her anywhere or take her to a nice dinner. Middle ground is a good thing. I believe I have found mine, but it is a hard thing to find. It just depends on what is right for the family. 

Brownies

Here is the newest recipe I tried the other day when we had our friends over for dinner. However, I was not thrilled with them. They were good, but SO RICH! They were also really chewy in the middle. I am not sure if it is supposed to be that way. Maybe if I try to bake them longer next time? Any advice? The directions are on the page-link. Personally, I think the brownies were better without the powdered sugar on top. We tried it both ways. We also left out the walnuts. 

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 4 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Grannys-Brownies/Detail.aspx

The Smell of A Fresh, Clean House

My house doesn't smell good, and it doesn't smell bad either. (Although, we do have a habit of not wanting to take out the trash. We argue until someone has to sometimes. Ha Ha.) So I looked up some tricks and tips online. I am attempting them. I don't have much money to waste, and I want whatever I use to last awhile I really want a strong smell good odor, but sometimes I think that is hard to achieve with products used to mask odors. 

Here is what I have found works: 

Kitchen:

-In the drawers, I use cotton balls that I dipped in vanilla. (I used the vanilla I use for baking.) 

-On the counters I use the big bottle of liquid potpourri from the Dollar Tree mixed with water. I dip my wash cloth in it and wipe down the counter. With the left over mixture, I let it boil on the stove. 

-On the sink, I rub it down with a lemon or an orange, and then squeeze juice down the drain. 

-On the floor, I have one of those mops where you mix water with your own cleaner and have a reusable pad, and I pour Pinesol, or well, the cheaper version of it to mop the floor down. 

Living Room: 

-On the furniture I use Febreze. 

-On the floor I pour out baking soda and vacuum it up. 

-I may consider candles or diffusers, so that there is a really nice smell, but as of right now, I stick to what I am doing. 

Laundry Area, Closets, and Bathroom

-Dryer sheets. They are cheap, and they make the room smell wonderful, like laundry right out of the dryer, for obvious reasons. 

Bedrooms: 

-All I have for the bedrooms is to keep the beds washed and febreeze everything. Also, use the baking soda on the floor. 

I figured all the different scents would be overwhelming, but to be honest, they are just enhancing the natural smells of "clean." 

Baking also helps keep a fresh aroma in the house. I Love to bake, and when I start making bread and stuff that we need daily, I am hoping that the house will smell even better. (I am baking muffins right now, cinnamon sugar, the smell is AMAZING! )

Cleaning Routine

I just thought I would give an idea of what my cleaning routine is. It works for me and keeps the house looking awesome!

Every morning I sweep, dust, then vacuum. I wipe down the counters before lunch, then sweep. I wash dishes and put away the ones from the night before. And then again at dinner, if we eat dinner at home, I wash dishes again, and put up the ones I washed at lunch time. I also sweep again and mop.

Every week I vacuum the furniture, try to wash the windows-if I remember, and do laundry. 

Then, of course, every month, I do the whole house. That includes the cleaning the corners, the appliances, my cleaning supplies, and organizing.

See below:

http://brittanyhomemaker.blogspot.com/2011/01/clean-house.html

Smoked Sausage Casserole

YUM! That is all I have to say. We have a ton of smoked sausage in the freezer, and I was tired of frying it all the time, so I found this recipe. I didn't really do it the way it called for because we didn't have any money to buy the stuff, so I made do with what I had. Instead of hashbrowns, I used tatertots. And I left out the onions and such because I am not a big onion fan. I mixed it all together in a bowl and poured it into a glass baking pan. I put the oven on 350, and baked it for 45 minutes. It was AMAZING! I put hotsauce and mustard on it...YUM! There was none left, which makes me sad because I wanted it for lunch. =( 

Ingredients

• 1 (1 pound) package Hillshire Farm® Smoked Sausage
• 1 (20 ounce) package refrigerated shredded hash brown potatoes
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cheesy-Potatoes-with-Smoked-Sausage/Detail.aspx

The Twice Baked Potato

I have heard of it before, so I thought I would try it. We really enjoyed it. Although, I would recommend it more as a lunch than a dinner. We did 5 potatoes, so that Samantha could have her own and we could each have two, but we still used the measurements used online since hers is was so small. 
All you do is wash your potatoes, poke holes in them, and put them in the oven on 350 for an hour. We put ours on a few minutes longer. Once they are finished, take them out and let them cool. Cut them in half and scoop out the insides. Leave a little on the sides, so that the potato doesn't collapse. Put the insides into a bowl with the ingredients listed below. mix really well, and then scoop back into the potato. It was AMAZING! We had that and macaroni. MMM...

Ingredients

• 4 large baking potatoes
• 4 tablespoons milk
• salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup shredded mild Cheddar cheese

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Twice-Baked-Potatoes-I/Detail.aspx