Taste of Home

     I love to read magazines. Over the years I have subscribed to quite a few. But the only one my husband ever told me I needed to subscribe to is  Taste of Home  Of course he said that after I made some of their recipes. 


     I have been a subscriber for over 10 years  and I can honestly say I have never had a bad recipe from this magazine. I started subscribing way back when their motto was still "The Magazine Edited by 1000 County Cooks". Now days it is "From Families Just Like Yours"  Not sure why they think that is a better slogan. I'm sure lots of fast food families look at TOH and want to eat just like the families in the magazine but they know they are not just like them.


     I just got the February/March 2012 issues and it is drool worthy! I can't decide what to try first. Hmm... May-be the Buffalo- Style Chicken Chili Dip or the Chipotle Focaccia with Garlic Onion Topping. Either one would be great for Super Bowl Sunday. The Chicken Marsala with Gorgonzola looks so good I can taste it. The Key Lime Bars will definitely make the try list however I don't think the Orecchiette with Roasted Brussel Sprouts will be gracing my dinner table any time soon


     My family loves the recipes from Taste of Home. Below is a list of ten of our all time favorites.


What's for dinner tonight at your house?




Apple and Onion Beef Pot Roast  A diabetic recipe

Apple Streusel Muffins  The bookworm request this for every birthday

Apple Stuffed Pork Chops

BLT-Egg-Bake

Cantaloupe Chicken Salad   My DH loves to find this in his lunch box

Bavarian Meatballs   Another diabetic recipe

Blueberry Bars

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake  When I donated one for the dessert auction it sold for $75

Chocolate-Zucchini-Cupcakes  I can't believe my kids ate these.

Shipwreck  An all time family favorite except for the Lego King who will not touch it

How to Find Free Books and Convert them for your device

     I downloaded a free book from Amazon ,Free Books For Kindle: Your Guide to Free Kindle Books Online. It's .99 today but it's well worth it if you are a new Kindle owner. 


     The book was clear and concise. It explained how to convert books to the correct format for Kindle and where to find free books. I already had a good idea of where to get free books.  What I didn't know was how to convert the books I have so they can be read on my Kindle. I follow his directions . It was quick and easy. 


     You need two things. The first is Kindle for PC which is a free download from Amazon. I already had it because I have been reading free books from Amazon for over 6 months. If you don't have it you can get it Here and you need to have access to the website http://www.online-convert.com/. At this site you follow the directions and quickly convert your pdf or ebook files into mobi format and then you download the file and Kindle for PC opens it. Then when you sync your Kindle you'll have the book on your device to read.


 Since there is a free nook for pc I am assuming you can do the same thing but I don't have a nook to try it on


Sites to get free books: Most of the books on these site are Classics.


Project Gutenberg


Open Library


Many Books.


Ink Mesh


Sites to facilitate book lending


Lendle


Book Lending


Free books sites that have classics and current books


Google Bookstore: Best of Free


Free Nook Books


Top 100 Paid and Free  
This is a list of Kindle books at Amazon. At their book kindle book page if you click on any genre to the left and then on the next page look to the left and there will be a top 100 free list by genre 
                                                         
eReaderIQ


This is a great site that tells you all the latest free Kindle books. If you signing up for their e-mail you will get two e-mails updates a day.


Happy Reading!

Trying to Be a Positive Thinker

     Yesterday, I blogged about Joyce Meyer. One of the things I have learned from reading her books and watching her tv program online is the importance of being positive. This was not an easy lesson and it is a lesson that I constantly strive to apply to my life.


     I first read her book  Battlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle in Your Mind in 2002. I kept a journal of what I was learning. I was going to be positive if it killed me and there were times it felt like it did. What happened next is a perfect example of  "New Level New Devil".


      In her book  Never Give Up!: Relentless Determination to Overcome Life's Challenges Joyce Meyer writes "Anytime we step out to do something new for God we will almost always and almost  immediately face a negative circumstance that will try to discourage us or convince us we cannot do what God ask of us" (p.31 Never Give Up) In other words,"New Level New Devil"


     I had vowed that I was going to be positive. I would not be like one those Israelites with their desert mentalities that Joyce Meyer describes in Battlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle in Your Mind . The first few weeks went well I was just starting to feel proud of myself and WHAM!! I got a nasty,messy tummy bug.


     This bug was not the kind that lasted 24 hours or even 48 . It lasted for days and then it went away for a few days and then it was back. This went on for 3 weeks. I was getting so aggrvated. I would sit in the bathroom and have a pity party. "Oh poor me, poor, poor me I have a nasty bug! There is nothing to be postive about this. Why is God doing this to me?? Why?? Why?? Poor , poor me." and on and on it went. "I was feeling so sorry for myself. Didn't God realize I wanted to be a positive person! Why would he let me get sick when I was trying so hard." 


     Finally, it dawned on me the Bible said in Philippians 4:6
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."  BUT IN EVERYTHING Not just when the getting is good ,not just when you are healthy but in everthing.


      I regained my determination and from then on when I was in the bathroom being sick. I would say "Thank you Lord for indoor plumbing." "Thank You Lord I can't imagine how awful it would be to be sick in this nasty weather and have to go to an outhouse." I also said Thank you for the inventor of toilet paper, thank you for my central heat. I finally got it. God wants me to praise him and thank him all the time not just when I feel he is blessing me


     Now you would think after that kind of lesson that I would become a positively postive person. Nope! that's not what happened. I was more positive than I had been but nowhere near where I needed to be. 


     Fast forward to the year 2010. I decided that I need a refresher so I ordered myself my very own copy ofBattlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle in Your Mind . I pulled my old journal out and started reading. It was really sad to read my journal and see how little progress I had made in 9 years. I had learned so much and written good notes but I had not followed through on the life application.


     I knew I needed to make some changes in my life and my way of thinking. How could I apply the lessons I learned and not forget them. I got out a package of 3 by 5 index cards. Instead of keeping a journal I wrote down various quotes and other things that I thought were important. Some of the cards I taped above my desk,some I taped on the bathroom mirror and others I displayed on my desk. I was determined that this time I would be successful at applying the lessons I had learned. I carried my cards in my purse and pulled them out to read when I sitting in waiting rooms. Gradually the way I was thinking began to change. Now when a situation occurs I feel myself responding to it differently then in the past, the lessons,quotes and verses I want to recall now come to mind quicker.


     When the 2010 school year began I decided that I needed to create a more positive learning enviroment for my children. I wanted to share some of the lessons I had learned. I had a wonderful educational catalog full of motivational posters and charts to hang in the classroom. Since all of the items were designed for a schoolroom most were to big for what I wanted and being the frugal person that I need to be I didn't want to spend the money. I did a quick internet search for free motivational quotes and free printable posters . I was able to find some really good sites. I plastered the walls of the house with posters and quotes. I downloaded motivational screen savers. Having the reminders all over the house has been such a blessing


Some of the sites I use:


...and Spiritually Thinking.


Positively Positive


Motivational-quotes-for-women.


Crosscards


These sites all have facebook pages so if you "like" them you will get the latest quotes, posters etc in your feed.

                                          My desk with photo holders holding index cards.

                                          My desk with Bible Verses on the wall.

                      The snowman photo holder holding an index card. I switch them by seasons

                                                       

Joyce Meyer Freebie

     I have never met Joyce Meyer but she has touched my life in so many ways. I have learned so much from her teachings. I love her books. Two of the best books I have ever read are:
Battlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle in Your Mind and Power Thoughts: 12 Strategies to Win the Battle of the Mind  One of my favorite devotionals is 
Battlefield of the Mind Devotional: 100 Insights That Will Change the Way You Think

     I have read  these books several times each but each time I have learned something new. When I am reading I keep a pile of index cards and a pen handy. When I come across something that really hits me between the eyes I jot it down on the card. I have a pile of these cards. I keep several of them displayed on my desk and I change them regularly. I review the cards all the time because it helps me to remember what I am learning.

      I was so excited to see a message in my facebook feed from the Joyce Meyer facebook page  about a Free devotional on you version. I had downloaded the Free Bible App from You Version  shortly after I got my Kindle Fire, Full Color 7" Multi-touch Display, Wi-Fi  but had not used it yet. I'll definitely  be using it now.

Today's Freebie

Two of my favorite things: Free and Crock Pot.


The Flylady whose little list I'm on calls the crock pot your servant and she is so right


Check this out. I saw it on Big Red Pot


Mr.. Foods FREE slow cooker recipe booklet

Not So Extreme Couponing

     Sometime in the spring of 2010 I watched Extreme Couponing for the first time. I think my feelings about the show were similar to many others. Envy: I wish I could walk out of the store with hundreds of dollars of foods for pennies. Disgust: Look at those hoarders ! Who needs 100 candy bars??  Disbelief: It's not possible and finally it's to much work: Who has that much time to clip coupons and organize a shopping trip.


     As envious as I was of those couponers I didn't think it was possible to extreme coupon in Maryland because not one store in my area would double a dollar coupon and my local store would not accept internet coupons. I scoffed at the show. " Did you ever notice most of those people are fat?" I would comment. " You can't eat healthy and coupon like that." I said over and over again


     Then In July several things happened that push me in to giving it a try. I read Pick Another Checkout Lane, Honey: Save Big Money & Make the Grocery Aisle your Catwalk!     and my husband,the pirate, tore a rotator cuff and needed surgery. While he was out of work on FMLA his union called for a strike. Rather than worry about what would happen if they were still on strike when  the pirate returned to work or if the new contract had the 20,000 in concession Verigreedy was asking for  I decided to be proactive and make changes that would put us in a better financial position. I
needed to find a way to save money so I could pay off debt, build up savings and put us in a more secure financial  position. Was couponing the way to do it? The Krazy Coupon lady assured me it was.


     The Crazy coupon lady stated quite emphatically in her book that you could eat healthy when couponing,that you could save hundreds of dollars and that she would show me how. I was skeptical but determined to try. I started with a small binder which was quickly trade in for a larger one. I start trying out different grocery stores since the one I normally shopped at only doubled coupons to .99 and they did not accept internet coupons. I have been couponing for 5 months now and I have saved hundreds of dollars. I have achieved a 90% on toiletries and 50-60% on my groceries I am not an extreme couponers but I am definitely becoming a Krazy coupon lady.


Here are a few of the things I have learned and some of my favorite resources:


The Krazy Coupon Lady


Check with your local library and see if they have her bookPick Another Checkout Lane, Honey: Save Big Money & Make the Grocery Aisle your Catwalk!   if they don't you can always get it at Amazon.com They have a Kindle Edition  for only $3.99 that is 2/3 of the price of the paperback book! And you do not need a Kindle to read it you can download a free copy of Kindle for PC. I found the chapters on how to stack coupons and how to use the different deals at Rite Aid to be invaluable. They helped me to achieve a 90% savings on shampoo,body wash etc. The book also includes list of various stores and their coupon policies.


Visit her website and she'll tell you how she does it. Sign up for her email list and save yourself the hassle of matching your coupons to the different stores. She sends out a coupon match up email that does the work for you.


Like her facebook page for the newest deals


Coupon Divas  Great website that list all the sites for printable coupons. They have an email that also does price match ups. Like their facebook page and you will get sneak peeks on upcoming deals


Printable coupon sites


Swag Bucks  When you print coupons from Swag Bucks and redeem them you get 10 Swag Bucks each coupon. Swag Bucks can be redeemed for free stuff. My favorite is the $5 Amazon Gift Card. I earn about one per month. If you decide to use them please click on the link above so I get credit for referring you.


Coupons.com  You can print lots of coupons from this site. They are the same coupons as on Swag Bucks but you don't earn freebies


SmartSource  This is one of the company that print the Sunday paper coupon inserts. If you don't buy a paper you can print the coupons here or if you see a good deal in the paper you can print a second coupon


Red Plum Another company that prints the Sunday paper coupon inserts. If you don't buy a paper you can print the coupons here or if you see a good deal in the paper you can print a second coupon


Saving Star  Don't want to be bothered clipping all those coupons? Check out this site that links coupons to you store loyalty cards


A couple of things about printable coupons: You have to let them download a piece of software to your computer that will print a special bar code on each coupon that identifies you. This is to prevent coupon fraud. NEVER EVER make a copy of a coupon after you print it. This is fraud.


Happy Couponing!!  If you enjoyed this blog post or checked out any of the sites please post a comments letting me know. I am a new blogger and I need encouragement!

Freebies

I LOVE freebies!!  Free books, free music,free samples there are so many goodies on the internet and here are just a few from today.


Free Digital Scrapbook Kit
Free Christian Ebooks
Download FREE Sunny Sweeney song

Free Books

     I love free books. For years I have been checking mountains of them out of my local library. The only downside is that I eventually have to return them! They even have a special shelf with my name on it for all the holds.


      However, a few months ago I discovered free Kindle books on Amazon. You don't even need to have a Kindle. You can get Kindle for PC or a Kindle app for your phone and then you have access to hundreds of free books.


     I got a Kindle Fire for Christmas and I have already loaded it with 300 books that I got for free. Today they are offering Organize For a Fresh Start  It's free !! How appropriate is that for the first day of a New Year