We've had some fun new recipes to share with you since I last wrote to you, it's just that the holidays and January are very difficult for me as this is the three year anniversary of when we lost my mom. It doesn't seem even possible that she has been gone this long. I don't know how I've even made it this far, but here I am, sitting here in my office, still working, still taking care of my family, still breathing. Yeah, I know she's probably glad about that! ;o)
Okay, y'all, so I'm changing our monthly recipe contest just a bit. Starting this month we will be selecting the winning recipe instead of our readers at BetterBudgeting.com, this should save us a lot of time and going back and forth counting. However, y'all are always free to let me know what your favorites are, I love chatting with you all!
Also, we may need to end the grocery gift card giveaway at some point soon to cut back on our expenses, my husband is about to be out of work. I just could not bring myself to do that yet, I love our contests, they are so much fun! However, the contest will no longer include a free copy of my cookbook, I do hope y'all understand.
It would be so wonderful to get to know y'all better, I want to hear about what kinds of food you like to cook (and eat) and how you are managing cooking at home to feed your families on a budget. We have come full circle and are now eating most of our meals at home again. My sister-in-law has moved in with us (for almost a year now) so we're feeding a family of SEVEN!!!
Have a great weekend y'all, I will see you again soon!
Hugs,
Michelle
http://www.betterbudgeting.com/
http://www.michellejonesonline.blogspot.com/
Showing posts with label * Notes from Michelle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label * Notes from Michelle. Show all posts
New Contest Coming this Week!
Good morning all! Just a quick note to let y'all know the final details of our new contest are in place and will be announced in our "Living a Better Life" ezine this week!
If you're not signed up you can get your free subscription at www.BetterBudgeting.com
I'll be back soon with more of our frugal recipes for your families!!! :o)
Keep the faith and keep that kitchen open!
Michelle
If you're not signed up you can get your free subscription at www.BetterBudgeting.com
I'll be back soon with more of our frugal recipes for your families!!! :o)
Keep the faith and keep that kitchen open!
Michelle
Summer Break
It's almost time for the kids to go back to school here in Atlanta and we've enjoyed taking some much needed time off from our work over the summer. How has everyone been, how was your summer, what new dinner dishes have you added to your favorites? Send me an e-mail, I'd love to hear from you! :o) - Hugs, Michelle
Thanksgiving Recipes and Surgery Update
Last month I had so wanted to share with you some great recipes for Thanksgiving but life doesn't always go the way we plan, as we all know. Not only was I recovering from major surgery but my laptop which I needed in order to be able to get online for any extended amount of time just completely quit on me. My husband tried for about 4 hours to repair it but finally we had to give in and send it in for warranty work. I have missed y'all and do hope you had a wonderful and Blessed Thanksgiving!
NEXT YEAR, I do hope we can all get together here and share our favorite frugal family recipes for Thanksgiving, I would really love that!
We had some exciting news on the cooking front in November! ABC News featured two of my Thanksgiving recipes on their web site and one of them was my mom's Sweet Potato casserole. I was just so excited to see her recipe featured and I know she was smiling up in heaven along with me! :-)
(I do not have the page link handy at the moment but I will get it for you and add it here soon.)
Now, I'm guessing y'all would like to know more about my surgery as I haven't really had a chance to keep you up to date. Everything just happened so fast it was a lot to deal with for me and my family and thankfully, I am okay and on the road to full recovery. Praise God!
To make a long story short... in early October, I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. I was sent from dr. to dr. and had one test after another. Within just a few weeks my surgery was scheduled as quickly as possible with a GYN/Oncologist. Having just lost my mom to colon cancer last year and as a cancer survivor myself already, well you can just imagine what everyone was thinking, including my doctors.
However, God had other plans for me at this time! My surgery went very well and I am at home now recovering with my family taking good care of me. The tumor was removed along with a second one that didn't show up on the CT scans and the first and second pathology reports came back 100% cancer free! Meaning, there was no cancer! :o)
For most of this year I've been dealing with all the symptoms of ovarian cancer but I believe that was because I had a large tumor inside me that was causing the same problems whether it was cancer or not. At this time there are no sure tests to confirm ovarian cancer before surgery is performed and/or the tumor can be biopsied.
Please Note... If you have any changes in your health or digestive system that do not go away within a few days please talk to your doctor and do not put it off! Both my mom and I had regular dr. appointments that MISSED our health problems, and of course by the time her colon cancer was found it was too late. She died 31 days after she was finally diagnosed. I know it's just so easy for the days to turn into weeks and weeks turn into months and so on. But there are a lot of tests that can be done such as a painless CT scan to see if there is anything wrong inside of you, so don't be afraid, just call your dr. and make the appointment!
We are so very thankful that everything turned out okay and I am so glad to still be here with you! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season with your loved ones!
BLESSINGS!!!
NEXT YEAR, I do hope we can all get together here and share our favorite frugal family recipes for Thanksgiving, I would really love that!
We had some exciting news on the cooking front in November! ABC News featured two of my Thanksgiving recipes on their web site and one of them was my mom's Sweet Potato casserole. I was just so excited to see her recipe featured and I know she was smiling up in heaven along with me! :-)
(I do not have the page link handy at the moment but I will get it for you and add it here soon.)
Now, I'm guessing y'all would like to know more about my surgery as I haven't really had a chance to keep you up to date. Everything just happened so fast it was a lot to deal with for me and my family and thankfully, I am okay and on the road to full recovery. Praise God!
To make a long story short... in early October, I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. I was sent from dr. to dr. and had one test after another. Within just a few weeks my surgery was scheduled as quickly as possible with a GYN/Oncologist. Having just lost my mom to colon cancer last year and as a cancer survivor myself already, well you can just imagine what everyone was thinking, including my doctors.
However, God had other plans for me at this time! My surgery went very well and I am at home now recovering with my family taking good care of me. The tumor was removed along with a second one that didn't show up on the CT scans and the first and second pathology reports came back 100% cancer free! Meaning, there was no cancer! :o)
For most of this year I've been dealing with all the symptoms of ovarian cancer but I believe that was because I had a large tumor inside me that was causing the same problems whether it was cancer or not. At this time there are no sure tests to confirm ovarian cancer before surgery is performed and/or the tumor can be biopsied.
Please Note... If you have any changes in your health or digestive system that do not go away within a few days please talk to your doctor and do not put it off! Both my mom and I had regular dr. appointments that MISSED our health problems, and of course by the time her colon cancer was found it was too late. She died 31 days after she was finally diagnosed. I know it's just so easy for the days to turn into weeks and weeks turn into months and so on. But there are a lot of tests that can be done such as a painless CT scan to see if there is anything wrong inside of you, so don't be afraid, just call your dr. and make the appointment!
We are so very thankful that everything turned out okay and I am so glad to still be here with you! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season with your loved ones!
BLESSINGS!!!
New Garlic Shrimp Recipes!
We just had several new comments added to the Garlic Shrimp post, check them out... YUM!!! http://frugalfamilyrecipes.blogspot.com/2008/06/garlic-shrimp.html
Now I'll start going through my files to pull out the recipe submissions that came in over the summer, I will be adding them on here a bit at a time--if we didn't have 6 baseball games per week I'm sure I could do this faster! ;o)
And today is our oldest son's birthday!!! He is turning 15 today! I was thinking as I was getting dressed this morning that 15 years ago, my husband (with his broken knee that was still healing), was driving me to the hospital for our son to be born, and how much our lives have changed since then. It just doesn't seem real. How can you have a baby one day and then they turn 15 the next? lol Just kidding, believe me! HA, HA! We have come a loooooooong way. Ah, life, isn't it grand?! :o)
Other than the daily news of our stressed economy, world events and hurricane damages and all that, oh my goodness!!! And one of my dearest friend's recently lost her home to a house fire. And we've lost so many people and friends, and family, to cancer. So much of life is not so grand, that is for sure.
I pray all of you are doing well. And if you are going through a really rough time, hang in there. Hopefully things will get better soon! :o)
"...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellant or praiseworthy--think about such things." Phil. 4:8 (NIV)
And like I tell my kids... ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE, NEVER GIVE UP!!!
Now I'll start going through my files to pull out the recipe submissions that came in over the summer, I will be adding them on here a bit at a time--if we didn't have 6 baseball games per week I'm sure I could do this faster! ;o)
And today is our oldest son's birthday!!! He is turning 15 today! I was thinking as I was getting dressed this morning that 15 years ago, my husband (with his broken knee that was still healing), was driving me to the hospital for our son to be born, and how much our lives have changed since then. It just doesn't seem real. How can you have a baby one day and then they turn 15 the next? lol Just kidding, believe me! HA, HA! We have come a loooooooong way. Ah, life, isn't it grand?! :o)
Other than the daily news of our stressed economy, world events and hurricane damages and all that, oh my goodness!!! And one of my dearest friend's recently lost her home to a house fire. And we've lost so many people and friends, and family, to cancer. So much of life is not so grand, that is for sure.
I pray all of you are doing well. And if you are going through a really rough time, hang in there. Hopefully things will get better soon! :o)
"...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellant or praiseworthy--think about such things." Phil. 4:8 (NIV)
And like I tell my kids... ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE, NEVER GIVE UP!!!
I'm Back!!! :o) Freezer Cooking
As promised in our newsletter this month I will be adding a bunch of new recipes to our blog this coming week so stay tuned! If you have time to check in during the week I would love to hear from you, I am hoping to get started Monday morning if all goes well, you know... no sick kids at home, no emergencies, etc...!
I had the neatest dinner experience this summer! Last year at one of our son's football meetings I won a door prize for a gift card that was absolutely perfect for our CRAZY BUSY family, it just took me almost 12 months to finally get around to using it!!!
The gift card was for $25 towards a session at one of those dinner prep places where you go and make 6 or 12 dinners for your family at once and then take them home and put them in the freezer. The problem was, it was still going to be pretty expensive even with the gift card so the first thing I thought was, "NO WAY!" So, I just kept the gift card in it's pretty little gift bag in my office... for an entire year! :o)
Then, over the summer when my one of my niece's came to work with me in my office for a few weeks she discovered my little gift bag and said, "Aunt Michelle, what is this?!" I told her my sad/funny story and she said "You should GO!" She loves to cook like I do and we were hoping we could go together before she had to return home but it didn't work out because you have to make an appointment for these places in advance and we didn't have enough time. However, we did at least get me signed up for their information and that was progress!
What happened next was really cool. Well, it was good and bad. A few weeks later I rec'd an email from our local dinner store that they were closing that location and that all appointments booked during the remainder of August would receive a big discount! I just couldn't believe it. I felt bad that they were closing and I hadn't even had a chance to try them yet, but at the same time, I was excited that I might be able to finally go for a more affordable price. I knew this was "now or never" and I really SHOULD go. So, I made my appointment to make 12 dinners!!! The price to make 12 dinners is actually much more cost effective than making only 6, and with a large family of 6 and a big freezer, I knew that would be the best choice for us, so that's the option I chose. Then I selected 12 entrees from their August menu that I would make during my scheduled appointment. (This is how they know what items to have prepared for you when you arrive!)
It was great, the dinners were all recipes I would not normally make and I loved having everything already chopped up and prepared for me so all I had to do was put them together as they had listed on each recipe chart (adding more or less of the ingredients as I liked) and then put them in freezer bags to take home.
What I didn't know at the time when I made the appt. is that most people that go make only 6 dinners (HA) but thankfully there was one other dear sweet mother of a large family like me who also owns her own business and is crazy busy, and was there to make 12 dinners too! We had a great time preparing those meals for our family and it took us about 2 1/2 hours. And that's including the first dinner I made by accident that wasn't mine! lol And yes, I had to leave it in the fridge for the people who were coming in the next group who had ordered that meal. It was a delicious Jamaican Pork Roast!
Another thing I thought that was really cool was that several of the people there were COUPLES! My husband was with our kids at our two son's ballgames so I was on my own of course but how cool for both partners to be there so you can tag team the dinners! If we ever do this again I will be SURE to bring him with me!!!
Have y'all ever done anything like this, or do you like preparing meals in advance for your freezer? I have always prepared extra food and meals for our freezer and it helps tremendously! If you do too, send me your tips or recipes here so we can post them for the group, thanks! :o)
I had the neatest dinner experience this summer! Last year at one of our son's football meetings I won a door prize for a gift card that was absolutely perfect for our CRAZY BUSY family, it just took me almost 12 months to finally get around to using it!!!
The gift card was for $25 towards a session at one of those dinner prep places where you go and make 6 or 12 dinners for your family at once and then take them home and put them in the freezer. The problem was, it was still going to be pretty expensive even with the gift card so the first thing I thought was, "NO WAY!" So, I just kept the gift card in it's pretty little gift bag in my office... for an entire year! :o)
Then, over the summer when my one of my niece's came to work with me in my office for a few weeks she discovered my little gift bag and said, "Aunt Michelle, what is this?!" I told her my sad/funny story and she said "You should GO!" She loves to cook like I do and we were hoping we could go together before she had to return home but it didn't work out because you have to make an appointment for these places in advance and we didn't have enough time. However, we did at least get me signed up for their information and that was progress!
What happened next was really cool. Well, it was good and bad. A few weeks later I rec'd an email from our local dinner store that they were closing that location and that all appointments booked during the remainder of August would receive a big discount! I just couldn't believe it. I felt bad that they were closing and I hadn't even had a chance to try them yet, but at the same time, I was excited that I might be able to finally go for a more affordable price. I knew this was "now or never" and I really SHOULD go. So, I made my appointment to make 12 dinners!!! The price to make 12 dinners is actually much more cost effective than making only 6, and with a large family of 6 and a big freezer, I knew that would be the best choice for us, so that's the option I chose. Then I selected 12 entrees from their August menu that I would make during my scheduled appointment. (This is how they know what items to have prepared for you when you arrive!)
It was great, the dinners were all recipes I would not normally make and I loved having everything already chopped up and prepared for me so all I had to do was put them together as they had listed on each recipe chart (adding more or less of the ingredients as I liked) and then put them in freezer bags to take home.
What I didn't know at the time when I made the appt. is that most people that go make only 6 dinners (HA) but thankfully there was one other dear sweet mother of a large family like me who also owns her own business and is crazy busy, and was there to make 12 dinners too! We had a great time preparing those meals for our family and it took us about 2 1/2 hours. And that's including the first dinner I made by accident that wasn't mine! lol And yes, I had to leave it in the fridge for the people who were coming in the next group who had ordered that meal. It was a delicious Jamaican Pork Roast!
Another thing I thought that was really cool was that several of the people there were COUPLES! My husband was with our kids at our two son's ballgames so I was on my own of course but how cool for both partners to be there so you can tag team the dinners! If we ever do this again I will be SURE to bring him with me!!!
Have y'all ever done anything like this, or do you like preparing meals in advance for your freezer? I have always prepared extra food and meals for our freezer and it helps tremendously! If you do too, send me your tips or recipes here so we can post them for the group, thanks! :o)
Many New Recipes Coming this Fall!!!
Hey y'all I just wanted to check in real quick and let you know I'm still here! Our kids will be starting back to school in a few weeks and I have an inbox full of great recipes that I'd like to share with you. And yes, it's okay to keep sending me your favorites, we have plenty of room for more! Just tell me what you like for dinner, what you make when there's little food in the house or don't have time or money for a trip to the store. We all know what that's like!
I just got an email from one of our readers who is taking my Better Budgeting Class (I teach this 5-week course once a quarter) and he was laid off unexpectedly from his job on Friday! It can happen to any of us, at any time, and we've been there too. If you've never experienced being out of work, you are very fortunate!
So let's put our heads together, our typing fingers to work and get these frugal recipes posted for the families and folks that need them the most. As soon as our four children get settled back in school at some point in August I will be posting everything we can right here... on our Frugal Family Recipes Blog!!!
Hope you all enjoy the rest of your summer, see you soon! :o)
Blessings,
Michelle
I just got an email from one of our readers who is taking my Better Budgeting Class (I teach this 5-week course once a quarter) and he was laid off unexpectedly from his job on Friday! It can happen to any of us, at any time, and we've been there too. If you've never experienced being out of work, you are very fortunate!
So let's put our heads together, our typing fingers to work and get these frugal recipes posted for the families and folks that need them the most. As soon as our four children get settled back in school at some point in August I will be posting everything we can right here... on our Frugal Family Recipes Blog!!!
Hope you all enjoy the rest of your summer, see you soon! :o)
Blessings,
Michelle
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