Swaggy Mega Swagbucks Day

I woke this morning, cuddled with a few kids, moved my homemade yogurt from the oven to the fridge (I'm going to post about making it SOON) and switched on the computer. Bam! I earned 3 Swagbucks for using their toolbar. I did a search for "book clubs scholastic" and BAM! I earned another 36 Swagbucks! Yep, it's Mega Swagbucks Day. I figured I should remind you.

Fridays are Mega Swagbuck Days! This means that you could earn 30 or 50 or 100 Swagbucks while doing your usual internet searching. How do you like that? Fridays just got even better!

Want to learn more about Swagbucks, go here or click on the Swagbucks icon in the sidebar. Signing up is a breeze and you'll be on your way to free stuff like Starbucks or Amazon gift cards.

Getting Snugly

Not sure if snugly is an actual word, but I'm going with it.

I like snugly feeling clothes and towels and sheets and blankets. All things fleece are my friends, too. I do NOT like static cling and, since we live in a place that gets a bit cold for six months of the year, static cling is a part of my life. Furthermore, static cling and fleece are an almost deadly combination.

I am not a scientist, but I do have a sister-in-law who is one, which makes me pretty qualified. Based on my scientific observations while doing laundry, I think the electrical sparks I see while pulling a fleece blanket out of the dryer could probably run my Kitchen Aid mixer for a couple of hours. They are huge!

Enter fabric softener...

In the past, Bounce dryer sheets were my weapon of choice in my attempts to get that cozy, soft feeling in our clothes and the electricity out. They worked pretty well. Then one of our do-gooder friends came over and saw me folding whites on the living room couch. He saw the wadded up dryer sheet sitting next to me and made comment on all that plastic going into the ground. Grrr...my life upset yet again.

From that point on, I felt a little twinge of guilt each time I ripped off another sheet (even though I started cutting the sheets in half to make it seem not as bad). I bought a jug of fabric softener. At this point, you can now ask, "What about the plastic in the jug?" Yeah, I know. I thought about that, too. I tried the fabric softener, but wow, if you use it according to the manufacturer's suggestion on the bottle, that stuff goes fast. Way too fast for my budget! However, I did like the snugly feel and smell better than the dryer sheets.

Here is my solution:

I made my own dryer "sheets" out of old washcloths! The jug of fabric softener had a little spigot on it. So, now I just take my reusable dryer sheet (aka old yucky washcloth), put a tiny squirt of softener on it and throw it in the dryer. Ta Da! Comfy, cozy wearables with no static and less plastic in the ground.

As an added bonus, (yes, you knew this was coming) my dryer sheets are cheaper! If you watch your sales and coupons, it is pretty easy to score fabric softener for nearly free. My current bottle has lasted me for about a year or so, which is pretty amazing considering the amount of laundry generated here on the farm.

Any brand of softener will work; it doesn't have to be Snuggle. Great name for fabric softener, but I would like to go on record now stating that the bear's voice drives me nuts!

Abe Lincoln - Life Coach Extraordinaire

If you look for the bad in people, you will surely find it.

Abraham Lincoln

I bought myself a bottle of iced tea at the grocery store today. It was an odd thing for me to do and I don't remember the last time, if ever, I have done it. When I opened the bottle, the quote above was written under the lid. I've loved all things Abe Lincoln ever since I took a semester course on the man in college. I loved that class. What an amazing man! God truly placed him in just the right position in history.

This evening, I thought of the quote as I was in a conversation with some other homeschooling Moms. Believe it or not, homeschool Moms often talk about their kids and, well, schooling. Of course, our discussions lean towards curriculum and academic subjects. However, it seems that just as often, we talk about character issues - kindness, diligence, patience, obedience, joyfulness, perseverance and the list goes on.

All parents, homeschooling or not, think on these things and whether or not such characteristics can be found in their children. They are hugely important! However, as a homechooling mom, I sometimes feel like my children's lack of these things, their imperfections...their sin...is constantly thrown in my face all day, every day.

I can't get away from it when they head off to school, because school is here. I know when they speak unkindly to a fellow classmate (it's their brother). I see when they don't put their best effort into a math assignment. I bear the brunt of a bad attitude or frustration over a required task. It can be wearing, to say the least.

Unfortunately, I'm afraid I let all of this color how I "see" my students. Instead of seeing the amazing, fun, loving, bright kids they are, I tend to focus on the areas that are less than. To put it bluntly, I see the bad more than the good. Ouch! That hurts to admit. Who wants a teacher, let alone a Mom, that sees you in this light all the time?

It ought not be so if I am trying to see my children through the eyes of Christ. This doesn't mean I should never be critical of my kids; it is my role as parent to teach and admonish them. My instruction and guidance, however, need to be tempered with love and grace. And love, as we know, covers a multitude of sins (I Peter 4:8).

So, thanks Abe! Thanks for reminding me of the way I should be looking at my kids and my spouse and my family and my friends and all those who come across my path.

Two Meals in One

I spend lots of time in the kitchen, lots of time. With 5 kids (2 of whom are teenage boys) and 1 husband (aka The Big Guy), a limited dining out budget and no relatives in the area to have us over to eat from time to time, I make lots of food. Thankfully, I love cooking. I'd cook all day if I didn't have anything else I was needing to do. However, I have a few other things besides cooking vying for my time each day and there's the rub.

So, when I find a recipe that is delicious, easy, cheap AND a time saver, I do a happy dance. I've found one and, lucky you, I'm going to share it. With the recipe below, you'll do an afternoon of hands off cooking and have at least 2 meals to show for it. You'll have more meals, if those for whom you cook aren't teenage boys.

(Note: This recipe involves pork which I know is a sensitive subject with some folks. We don't eat lots of pork. It isn't the best meat in terms of health, but well, it tastes good and when it is on sale for .99 per lb, it is a DEAL!)

Easy Pork Shoulder

From "Everyday Food," an amazing magazine put out by Martha Stewart

7 lb boneless pork shoulder

Yep, that's the whole list of ingredients for the basic recipe. I've used boneless and bone-in pork shoulder depending on what's on sale.

Preheat your oven to 450. Use a knife to score the fat (not the meat) in a diamond pattern. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place meat, fat side up, in roasting pan or Dutch oven with 1/2 c water. Roast until some of the fat has rendered - not the prettiest word. Basically, it means that some of the fat will have been cooked and turned into oil. Cutting the fat in a diamond pattern at the start, makes this happen faster. This should take about 45 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and turn your oven temp down to 350 degrees. Cover the pan tightly with foil (preferably some that has already served another use in your kitchen). Slide it back into the oven and cook until meat is very tender, about 4 hours. When the meat is cool enough to handle, remove whatever fat is left from the top of the roast. Get two forks and shred the meat. This stuff will be so tender you'll barely have to touch it and it'll start falling apart. Seriously.

Ta Da! You've got about 10 cups of yummy roasted pork to use as you please. I did this on Thursday of our garage sale with a 10 lb. roast. The recipe was exactly the same except that I cooked the meat for about 5 hours.

What do you do with your shredded meat?

Make BBQ pork sandwiches! Add your favorite BBQ sauce to some of the shredded meat in a pot and heat it up. Whip up some quick coleslaw - shred some cabbage, add some shredded carrot, 1 T cider vinegar, 1 T olive oil, some salt and pepper - and you've got a meal.

Make Pulled Pork Tacos! Put some olive oil in a pan, saute some onion, garlic and chipotle peppers (if you're feeling crazy) until tender this should take about 20 minutes. Add some salt and pepper to taste. Add pork and cook until heated. Serve in tortillas with whatever toppings float your boat - chopped avocados, fresh cilantro, salsa, cheese, sour cream. I'd suggest squeezing some lime juice onto the meat as it cooks and adding some black beans to the mix. Yum!

If you don't want to have pork twice in a week - you can use some and freeze the rest for 3 months or so. Just to give you an idea of what a 10 lb. roast can do, we had BBQ sandwiches one night and Pork Ragu (recipe to follow later) tonight. I used half of the shredded meat for each meal. We didn't have leftover BBQ pork - we were feeding an extra kid that night. We've got a little leftover ragu in the fridge from tonight's meal.

You could do this in your crock pot, but it won't get that amazing roasted flavor in your meat. Not that I have an opinion about which one is better or anything...

So, make some pork and pig out! Sorry, I couldn't resist. BONUS: If you live near a Copp's store, pork shoulder is on sale this week THROUGH TUESDAY ONLY for .99 per lb. Stock up!

Verse of the Week

I did it! Psalm 150 is in my arsenal, so to speak.

If your church follows the Church year (or if you do so on your own), you know that today was the Fourth Sunday of Easter or Christ the Shepherd Sunday. You've probably guessed that means the lectionary texts (see them here) have to do with Christ being our shepherd. This, of course, means that we are sheep.

In our discussions today, our six year old, Ellie, asked, "So, does that mean that sheep are special?" The Big Guy and I did our best to explain what an analogy was an how Christ was the Passover Lamb and also the shepherd. I think she got some of it.

Her question gave me some food for thought though. "Are sheep special?" The first thing that raced through my head when she asked her question was, "Sheep are actually really dumb." The actual animals are not the bright and we, in the whole analogy of Christ being our shepherd, well, we're not that bright either.

How many times have I doubted the Shepherd's care for me? How many times have I not followed him and gotten into trouble? I know he's the Good Shepherd, but I don't act on the knowledge. Hmmm...not too bright.

This week's Verse of the Week is Psalm 23 - such great words for those times when I start to wander away from my Lord, the Shepherd.

Psalm 23

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside the still
waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear
no evil,
For you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

I feel like I'm cheating a bit, because I know these verses for the most part. I've helped the kids memorize them over the years. However, we could all use some brushing up on it so it'll be a family project.

Ebates = Extra Cash

We don't do a ton of online shopping because, truth be told, we have yet to find an online thrift store and I find most store's clearance prices to be better than what I can online.

However, when I do shop online, I shop through Ebates, if at all possible.

Ebates is a great site that collects online coupons codes from MANY of different online retailers and puts them all together in one easy to use location. In addition to this, almost of all of the retailers who are affiliated Ebates will deposit a percentage of your purchase at their store into your Ebates account. Each quarter, Ebates will send you the balance of your account with them in a Big Fat Check (that's what they call them).

All you have to do is sign up with Ebates, find a store you need to shop at and click on it on the Ebates website. You'll see any coupons available and Ebates will redirect you to the store's site automatically. Ebates does the tracking of your purchase so they know how much to deposit into your account. You just have to enjoy whatever it was you purchased and wait for your Big Fat Check to arrive.

It's so easy! In the past year, our Big Fat Checks have totaled about $100.00. Not a ton of money, but we were glad to get it none the less. We've gone through Ebates to purchase plane tickets, clothes from Land's End, ink cartridges (the company gives us a 16% rebate on our purchase) and more.

Give Ebates a look and see what you think! If you're going to buy something online, you might as well get a rebate on it.

I almost forgot - Ebates will automatically give you $5.00 in your account when you sign up! Free money!

Earth Day the Little Farm Way

If you missed that yesterday was Earth Day, you must have spent the day locked in a dark closet. Did you noticed how Earth Day was all over everything - from TV ads, to the newspapers, to magazine covers. I even saw "ads" for Earth Day on grocery store shelves this week.

Without getting too political (that's the job of the Big Guy over here), let me say that Earth Day was not celebrated here on the Farm, at least not in the way that most people were celebrating. There are many "issues" wrapped in Earth Day that just don't quite jive with the way the thinking tends to lean here on the Farm. So, we skip it.

Don't get me wrong - we love our earth! We praise and thank God always and often for His creation. It is truly an amazing gift to be respected and studied and enjoyed! Because of this, we make a concerted effort to use the resources of the earth in ways that would be honoring to Him. We were put here to take care of the earth - to be stewards of it.

One of the ways we do this is by being mindful of what we do and do not throw away. The three "R's" are part of the thinking here - Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. We try not to buy things we don't need - including toys of which we have very few - and what we do buy is often from a thrift store. Conversely, when we don't need an item any longer, it heads off to the thrift store or into a rummage sale. We recycle lots - just ask our oldest son, Nate, who has to haul it all to the curb each week.

One of the areas in our home where I've found it easy to cut back on what we use is the kitchen. Please don't get weirded out here and, if you are a personal friend who eats here from time to time, please come back,...I've got something to admit. I reuse ziploc bags and foil and rarely use plastic wrap. I know - it isn't enough of an Earth Day event to get me on the Sierra Club's top 100 people list, but it is still a good thing.

The first time I ever saw anyone reuse a ziploc bag was when the Big Guy was in seminary. Our next door neighbors were preparing to head out on the mission field. I often saw the plastic bags turned inside out and stuck over other dishes while drying. To be honest, at first I thought it must be a missionary thing. You know, those people have to be very resourceful and all. (Big stereotype, I know.)

Over time, I got to thinking about it, gave it a try and realized, it just made sense. Why should I throw all the plastic in the trash when it could be use many more times? So, now after we've used a bag, I turn it inside out and throw it in the water as I wash the other dishes. They dry in the sink along with the other dishes and then folded and put into a drawer. I do NOT reuse bags that had raw meat of any sort in them.

I also reuse aluminum foil. This is really easy. We don't have a microwave here on the Farm so I reheat things like muffins and tortillas in the oven. I always have a couple pieces of foil folded in a drawer and ready to go. If a bit of food gets on these, I just wipe it with a damp cloth. I don't reuse foil that had raw meat on it or is really oily and dirty. You know what I mean.

Plastic wrap or saran wrap rarely makes an appearance in our home. I try to use bowls and such that have their own covers instead of wrapping plastic around the top. Sometimes I use foil instead. Other times, when I've a large item that needs covering like a pizza I've make ahead or a few loaves of bread, I wrap it in a CLEAN kitchen garbage bag.

Yes, I know - kitchen garbage bags are plastic. I've been through this in my mind several times. Here's my thinking - we don't use that many (to my mind) compared to the number of people we've got around here. I bought a box of 150 bags last July and we just had to get a new one in mid-March. Also, once I have used the bag to cover food, it goes under the sink and we reuse it in the trash.

So, there you go. Have I got you thinking about how you can celebrate Earth Day just a bit? Coincidentally, reusing all these items can save you a bunch of money.