Frugal Friday 428

 Happy Frugal Friday!

Here is how we saved saved money/spent money wisely/made extra money this week:

- Last Saturday, we enjoyed our niece's first birthday party. It had a winter wonderland theme and we had fun gifting snacks, and Elsa outfit, and a snowy day book. Thank you to the Campbell family who also passed along several clothing items and winter boots for Annabeth. We look forward to her growing into them.

- Sunday we opted to worship from home through our church YouTube page. Mark is headed to a training soon so we are working very hard to be as socially distant as possible so that he stays healthy and able to go. 

- I mentioned that we are doing a low-spend January. We did have to purchase a few items for dance this week. I generally buy Annabeth two pairs of ballet tights each January and with careful wear/washing they last until the next January. We also purchased a couple additional items for costumes. I compared prices and saved $5 + got free shipping by comparing several sites. I was able to earn cashback through Rakuten. 

- I listed and sold several items on Facebook. We also donated some new with tag cold-weather items to a free little pantry. 

- I set aside 15 minutes each day to clean out and organize small sections of our home - kitchen cabinets, closets, etc. Many of these areas I had put off organizing and had allowed them to become frustratingly cluttered. I also cleared the front of our fridge except for magnets. The kids LOVE to hang all kinds of notes and artwork on there but during the long winter months when we are home all day, everyday I feel very overwhelmed by the clutter. I typically clear off all the counters, the fridge, etc and that helps me feel more calm. 

- I helped our dance studio run their winter Cards for a Cause fundraiser through my Usborne Books & More business. I combined this CFAC with a local family raising money for medical bills. Through the fundraiser they all earned $250+ Are you interested in your school, organization, or team earning money through this fundraiser? Just ask! 

- We have been cooking our way through cookbooks from Christmas and the kids have been especially enjoying Disney and Harry Potter meals. Last Friday night, Annabeth made homemade brownies and two kinds of hummus. She spread out veggie platters, hummus, naan, homemade sweet potato friends, and brownies Family Style on the table. She had music playing and place-cards for everyone. It was really fun to watch her put it all together so we could have a special "Disney Restaurant" dinner.

I am so proud that at ten she is able to bake/cook almost entirely on her own.

I am also proud that she is able to correctly, and beautifully, set her own table.

These social and homemaking skills are a huge part of why we homeschool.

- Mark and I launched our combined Valentine's Books and Bags. Mark will be making custom Valentine Bags and we'll be pairing them with a beautiful Usborne or Kane Miller book. You can learn more, and order here: Valentine Books and Bags

Marked by Riley

Amy Riley's Usborne Books & More 

We had a big change in plans for the weekend/next week that just came across the schedule yesterday. 

We are looking forward to having Mark in town next week! Hooray!

Happy Savings to All! 

Frugal Friday 427

 Happy Frugal Friday!

Here's how we saved money/spent money wisely/made extra money this week:

- Mark has been working his new Marked by Riley business and created some truly awesome custom designs this week. Be sure to follow along on Instagram to see what's new each week.

- Last weekend the kids were at Dancemakers Inc (DMI) dance convention in downtown Indianapolis. Saturday morning we did splurge on brunch out with friends but packed our lunches, snacks, and Sunday breakfast. I used a Starbucks giftcard to pick up coffee on Sunday morning. I received GREAT service and made sure to e-mail the store manager to let him know.

- Parking in downtown Indianapolis is extremely expensive. I typically book with Spot Hero but couldn't decide on which garage I wanted to use as they ran $20-$50/day on the app. I was glad I hadn't used a cheaper garage as it was snowing/very cold Saturday morning. I used the closest garage (BIG mistake as in person it was $55/day) I dropped Annabeth off, paid $10 for my 30 minutes of parking, and moved the car to a street location. I paid the meter all day and spent an additional $15 on top of my ten from the morning. Thankfully street parking is free on Sundays so we drove down very early and secured a free spot. Thankful to have paid just $25 for both days.

- Owen earned a National Scholarship from DMI. We are very thankful that they noticed his hard work and great attitude. We will not be using the scholarship as it would mean a trip right before our dance nationals. While his classes would be free, we would have to cover Annabeth's class fees as well as travel, hotel, etc. Owen, at 6, is happy just to have earned the award.

Proud of both of my dancers and their hard work this weekend!

- Monday we did a big stock up at both Mejier and Costco. We don't need to shop, other than for fresh fruit/veggies, for several weeks now. We did use coupons and sales and saved nearly $25 on everything.

- Tuesday evening Mark and his scout troop had a big field trip. Unfortunately, the venue did not deliver the tour as promised. The tour guide cut the tour short and skipped two whole sections, one of them being the main reason they went. Mark messaged to let the venue know how unhappy they were. Thankfully, the venue reached out to us several times and has refunded the tour fee AND is giving our boys family passes so they can return for a full experience. I will not name the venue as I have been before and had an excellent tour so I really believe that the boys' experience was not the norm. That being said, always be sure to let places know directly if you are satisfied or dissatisfied. In a social media world, it feels so "easy" to just blast  a person or place but often just calm, collected response will garner the results you would like. 

- Since we did a big grocery stock up, the kids and Mark gave me one of my birthday gifts early. They gifted me the baking set of OXO containers. Mark also took the gift a step further, and speaking my love language acts of service, filled all of them and organized them for me. Thank you all! 

- Yesterday, Annabeth and I took advantage of a free class from FARE - Food Allergy Research & Education. (Did you know that every 3 minutes a person in the United States is admitted to an Emergency Room due to an allergic reaction?) This particular class was excellent - "Freedom to Eat Eating Normally When Eating Isn't Normal." I am thankful for all of the free resources that FARE offers.

We are looking forward to a fun weekend celebrating a very special birthday and visiting with family.

Happy Savings to All! 

Frugal Friday 426

 Happy Frugal Friday!

Here is how we saved money/spent money wisely/made extra money this week:

- Mark worked a great deal of overtime. He had several call-outs last weekend. He also made his first sale with his Etsy shop, added new items, and I've been working my Usborne Books & More business. 

- Saturday morning I picked up coffee and brunch from Main & Madison Market Cafe. Thank you Kristi for the giftcard!

- We did our first big grocery trip in three weeks. We spent $108 but WalMart pick-up gave us some great deals. They were out of the half-gallon's of the kids' milk so we got a gallon for the half-gallon price. They were out of the smaller chicken packs that I ordered so they filled it with larger packs giving us 5 lbs free. 

- Sunday we had the Rileys over the lunch. We received several cookbooks for Christmas and we enjoyed baking/cooking from our new Disney cookbook for this meal. We made Frontierland Chili and Mickey Mouse Sugar Cookies. We had a great time playing Dominoes after lunch. 

- Sunday evening it was our turn to cook dinner at church for the youth group. It was our pleasure to serve and clean-up. We grilled too much chicken and were able to bring it home. I moved our menu at home for the week and made the chicken items early in the week. I was able to freeze the chicken that I had purchased for this week. This saved us $10 in chicken towards next week's menu.

- We ate simple meals this week - Italian Chicken Stew, Southwest Quinoa Stuffed Peppers, and Chicken Quinoa Chili. We had leftovers of these for lunches as well as Wednesday night dinner. 

- This week our only outings other than classes were to the library and for many walks/park play. 

We saw this lake on one of our many walks - it looked so blue which made us so happy!

Sunshine and fresh air do wonders for our spirits. 

We had a long, slow week of school. 

Thankfully we spent at least an hour outside each day as that helps keep everyone's mood up.

Happy Savings to All! 

Frugal Friday 425

 Happy Frugal Friday!

Here's how we saved money/spent money wisely/made extra money this week:

- We had a BUSY end of 2021/beginning of 2022 as Mark's whole family was in town. We spent four days enjoying the STL Rileys and having all of the cousins together. The kids loved playing with everyone. We all brought/shared food for each meal and had the best time.

- We spent NYE dinner with Mark's family and headed home around 8. We counted down to 9:30 PM with the kids, thanks to a YouTube Kids Countdown, and then Mark and I watched TV until midnight. Happy New Year to us. 

Happy to quietly ring in the new year at home with my love. 

- We did not grocery shop this week. We made a Costco run last week and I carefully planned our meals this week to use up what we had on hand. We enjoyed pepperoni pizza, chicken/broccoli/quinoa and spring rolls, bean soup with cornbread, and breakfast for dinner. 

- We are doing an informal "No Spend" month. We didn't formally commit to no spending but I've held myself back from many purchases by trying to develop a deeper sense of contentment with what I already have. We all received gift cards for Christmas and I have put those away and plan to spend them later. 

- We have continued our December habit of doing low cost/no cost activities as a family. We have been playing Annabeth's new "Haunted Mansion" board game nearly every night. We have also been walking nearly every day, visiting the library, and the kids have really been enjoying their Legos and games from Christmas. 

Wednesday's walk was gorgeous - nearly 40 degrees, sunny, and a nice blue lake!

- When the kids won their donut shop giftcard, they also one a tower of prepackaged candy and treats. We opened it with friends over and shared some as an after lunch treat. The rest we have donated to a local Free Little Pantry. I hope a pantry friend there is excited with a special treat. 

- Last week I hinted that we had some exciting business changes coming in 2022. I am still happily running my Usborne Books & More business AND Mark has launched his own Etsy Shop! He's working on more products but so far has listed some great canvas bags perfect for those that enjoy the outdoors, camping, hiking, and/or scouting. You can find him at MarkedbyRiley on Etsy. 

We are looking forward to a slower paced weekend. The past few weeks have been very busy and we are looking forward to getting back into a more normal weekend routine.

Happy Savings to All! 

How New Year's Day 2007 Changed my Life

2006 was one of the best/worst years of my life. 

January - April 2006 was my second semester at UofL, it was filled with adventures with friends, classes I loved, and finding my church in Louisville. I became incredibly aware of who I was and what I wanted out of life, out of myself. I left school on an absolute high after performing at the Kentucky Derby and saying a long, sweet "see you soon" to all of my friends.

Three weeks later, one of my dearest friends was killed in a car accident. We didn't have a proper "good-bye." He had written me on Facebook after a dinner out and said "We have to make your weeks at home memorable this summer." They were. Just not in the way either of us had imagined.

I left days after his funeral for a summer at Camp Lakeview. I went into staff training broken, numb. As the summer went on, God healed my heart. I grew closer to Him, to the friends I was making on staff, and also in love with Mark. I spent 11 straight weeks at camp - I didn't go home or spend one night away from camp. I isolated myself from the world, stayed off social media, turned my phone off for most of the weeks, and escaped into the woods. 

In August, camp ended and within 12 hours I was back in Louisville for band camp. The city was loud, the people were crass, and I was completely overwhelmed. My parents and Leah moved me into my dorm while I cried for hours, having my first ever panic attack. 

I spent the fall semester in a fog. I barely made it to class or the gym, I rarely went out with friends, I spent most of my nights crying and my days sleeping. I was so incredibly lost. Camp had been my dream job since I was 12 and I wasn't sure where to go from there. I had loved my summer at Lakeview and couldn't imagine another job ever meaning more to me. I was in love with Mark, sure that we would get married, and didn't know what to do with that. Mostly, I missed Brandon. I became consumed with making every moment matter. I wanted to live and love and play music the way he had. I was terrified of the thought of myself dying young like him. I was confused about how if my life mattered. Did I matter? 

I spent countless hours praying - at 4th Street UMC, on campus benches, on my knees in my dark dorm room, on long drives between Franklin and Louisville. I begged God for direction, for hope, for a sign that I was going to survive. 

Christmas Break 2006, we flew to Miami to perform at the Orange Bowl. We stayed in a gorgeous beachside hotel. I rang in the New Year with a 11 PM beach walk with Trent, Leah, and Chris and then a game of spoons as the year changed over. On the dark beach walk, I remember asking God "What is next year going to even bring? How am I going to keep going?" I felt tiny, and as I had for so long, like I didn't matter at all in the world. Staring into the dark, deep ocean I felt like I was nothing.

Early the next morning, I snuck out of my hotel room, and walked down to the water. I looked out over the ocean and I saw Hope. I don't know why, or how, but when I saw that January 1, 2006 sunrise I felt the Still Small Voice say "I have you. You have this." I spent the morning hours on the beach alone, feeling peace wash over me with the waves. I knew in that moment that I mattered, that I would survive the year. I took a picture and printed a ton of copies. I kept one in my purse, my notebooks, on my wall, etc all to remind me that I was alive and that God had a reason for that.

The moment I decided to live. 

The first time I truly took a breath in about 10 months

I clung to Psalm 30:5 "...weeping may last for the night, but JOY comes in the morning"

I share this today, New Year's Day 2022, to remind you that no matter what last year held. No matter the heights or depths that you experienced last year. No matter the loss, the darkness, the despair - God is with you. God loves you. God has a plan for you. God is loving, kind, and gracious - He will restore you (Psalm 23:1-3), He will never forsake you (Deut. 31:6), and He will be with you always "even unto the end of the days" (Matthew 28:20)

Happy New Day, New Year Dear Readers. May the Lord Bless You and Keep You.