These Times Are Tough

I won't sugar-coat it. The last year has been a hard one for my family financially. We've learned many ways to cut costs, which have been great, but in the last four years, we've lost $20,000/year of our income. Not an easy thing thing to recover from, by any means. We've made more than a few mistakes along the way, but so far, with God's help, we've made it this far. Against all odds we were even able to successfully modify our mortgage.

So now I'm looking even more into ways to earn some extra income. It's not so easy to sniff out those legitimate opportunities. On the plus-side, my traffic is picking up on Hubpages, Which means I should get my first check next month. I can't wait.

I've decided to write more articles there, and thought I might do some more personal ones--memoir, or personal essay style. The only thing is, I can't decide how personal to make them. I know that not everyone cares to read about others' trials. But I also know there are others out there with similar experiences who might want to see how someone else has made it through those hard times. But some of the trials I've gone through......well, they're not the usual things people will discuss.

How personal is too personal?

Is there a line that shouldn't be crossed when relating memories from the past? I called my mom and asked her how she felt about this. She's always been very supportive of my writing, and also helped me to not repress those emotions that come from things experienced in the past. She thought it was a good idea, but said to be careful about how much I share. I'm sure there's a balance there, as there is in most things (if not all things) in life. With God's help, I'll find it.

Say it Ain't Broke!

Okay, before I get started--yes, I'm fully aware that's not proper English! Haha!

So last week I was using my laptop (in fact I think I had just finished doing a post here), when all of the sudden it started making a horrible rattling sound. My heart stopped as I stared at it in horror, both waiting for and fearing what would happen next. When the noise continued, I hurriedly shut it off and set it down. I looked around for some assurance that I didn't hear what I just thought I heard. It's nearly Christmas, my laptop can't be broken now! How inconvenient--not to mention potentially expensive!

The only one who could offer any assurance was my one year old....and let me tell you, I wasn't all that comforted by her toothy grin at that moment. I picked my laptop up, gave it a gentle shake to see if there was anything rattling around in there and heard nothing. Hmmm....curious. So I took a deep breath and pushed the button to turn it back on. I started to let out a sigh of relief when it came on, with none of the awful rattling that prompted me to shut it off in the first place.

Well, that relief was short-lived. A message popped up saying that there was a dysfunction with my fan and if I continued to use my computer it would blow up in my face and all would be lost forever! Okay, okay, so it didn't word it exactly like that, but that's about what I got from it. NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'd already had the fan replaced six months ago. It just figures that it would go out again, now that the warranty was up LAST MONTH! Ugh!

I knew that sending it to the manufacturer with no warranty was going to cost mega-bucks. I don't have mega bucks. I don't even almost have mega bucks. After much hmm-ing and hah-ing, I decided to check on KSL classifieds. I mean, you can find just about anything on there. There had to be a repairman for sale right? You know what I mean....

Turns out there were multiple listings for computer repair. I narrowed down the search to my area and found one in my very town. That's when those cautionary tales started to come to mind. How did I know this stranger I was about to call could really fix my laptop? Just because he called his company Computer Nerds Consulting didn't necessarily mean I should trust him with my computer, right? Well, I figured I would call, get a feel for the person while talking to them about my laptop issue and then decide if I felt comfortable going that route.

Turns out I was in good hands. Funny enough I'd called a friend of ours whom I didn't know repaired computers in his spare time. Anyway, we had a good laugh about the fact that I hadn't recognized his number when calling it (or his voice when he answered said number), and then he assured me that he could indeed fix my laptop.

Well, I now have my laptop back and it's working better than ever (no more overheating either). I thought I should share my good fortune in finding an affordable and trustworthy computer repairman with others who find themselves in my shoes. They service Utah Valley to Salt Lake Valley all the way to Bear River Valley from east to west (to quote their website). The best part? They come to you at no extra charge! Oh, and they also say that if you're outside of their service area to still give them a call to see if they can help you.

You really won't find more affordable--and more importantly--trustworthy hands to fix your device. Oh and they help with other things too, check out their website for more information.

So if you are in need of some help, give them a call:

Computer Nerds Consulting
http://compnerds.webs.com
801-698-9317
Comp.Nerds@digis.net

Even Better than I Thought

So as you may remember, we decided to get rid of our satellite service to save some money. We went ahead and ordered the Netflix streaming service too after a while. The verdict? We love it! We don't do the DVD plan with it, because really, we already have quite the collection as it is--and also, they've raised their price on the combo from what it used to be (which was only two dollars extra if you subscribed to both streaming and DVDs, but now the price is double at $15.98).

We've discovered new series to watch, as well as got to catch up on episodes we'd missed out on with old favorites. Our new favorite is Psych. Too funny! We try to watch an episode each week together if we can. There's also some old movie favorites they offer on there too. They're not always the more popular movies you hear about, but we've found a lot of good ones nonetheless.

As for the new episodes of any series that we can't get through Netflix yet, we can usually find those on the network websites. It's free to watch, but the downside is that we do have to watch the commercials. Perish the thought! Yeah, I remember the day when that was a given. Oh how DVR has spoiled us over the years!

I hadn't realized how satisfied I was with the way things worked out until this week when Dish Network started calling us to get us to come back. Keep in mind that we were happy with their service for the most part, and they were very generous with the discounts because I'd call them and remind them that I was a longtime customer (about 10 years long!) and ask for them to give me a better deal. They would every time. I always had a discount on my bill. In fact, I even wrote an article letting people know how they could do that themselves. You can find it on Hubpages here.

Anyway, I wasn't even tempted to go back. The kids are happy with what's available to them on Netflix. Hubby gets to watch all those History Channel shows he loves so much and I get to find all those romantic British period pieces based on the novels I've loved and even many that I didn't know about. Win-Win!

Oh, and I thought I should mention that Hulu is another option you can look into for new episodes for many TV shows. It's free to use their regular service, or they even have a paid service that offers even more called Hulu Plus. I've only ever used the free service though.

So I just thought I'd let you know how great it's been working out for us. Maybe I've even inspired some of you who looking to save some money to make that jump too.

The Throw-away Box

My 3 youngest children getting ready
for the day....sort of!

As you can imagine, having five children can create a lot of work around the house. Things can get out of control rather quickly if I don't stay on top of things, and getting sick can be a way to turn the house into a disaster area!

Since it can be a lot to handle for me, and because I believe in teaching my children responsibility which they can carry with them into adulthood, I've come up with several tools to get a handle on the mess. The latest tool is "The Throw-away Box." Doesn't that just make you cringe? No? That's okay, it's not meant to make you cringe, but I hope it gets my children's attention!

Believe it or not, it's easier for me to keep the house clean during the times school isn't in session. The kids all know what they have to do so they can hang out with friends, play video games or other such things. So they generally accomplish this at the start of the day and then do their fun things after they're finished.

During the school year, however, the older kids are so bombarded with homework, projects, music practice, sports and activities of that nature that they just come in, throw off their backpacks, take out all their papers, books, instruments, etc; take off shoes and socks and any jackets they may be wearing, run for a snack and then dig in to their homework/lessons/practice, etc.

So regardless of how clean the house is before they get home, it quickly looks like a tornado hit it within the first 15 minutes of them being home. I tried to keep up, but it just made me grumpy. Imagine that! So I decided that even though they have other work to do outside of home, that shouldn't exempt them from cleaning up after themselves! Right? Of course! I don't imagine they'll have a maid with them at college, so they better learn this lesson now.

Here's where "The Throw-away Box" comes in. After a long day of canning and all that entails, and taking care of my younger two children, I was exasperated to watch my freshly picked-up living room become littered in the flurry of my returning school children.

"That's it!" I said. "No more!"

They momentarily stopped in the process of shoveling papers out of their packs and discarding them willy-nilly, to look at their wild-eyed mother. But those wide-eyed, innocent looks weren't going to stop me from laying down the law.

"Tyler, go get me a box." I commanded my teenager.

"A box?" He asked, clearly confused.

"Yes, a box," I affirmed. When he came back with it, I set it down in the middle of the mess in my living room. "You see this box? This is where everything that I find out of place is going to go." I started to pick up their belongings and shoved them in the box.

"Okay." My seven year old didn't seem bothered by this one bit. The older two just watched me warily.

"I'm not finished," I told them. "If, by the end of the day, your things are still in the box, I will assume you no longer want or need them and will take them out to the trash. No exceptions, no second-chances."

They all look horrified and immediately started to grab for the items that I'd already put in the box. I stopped them for a moment to add one last warning: "And if I find any of those items that you've taken out of the box out of place again, they will go straight to the trash. Understand?"

They all ran to put their things where they belonged and at the end of the day, the box was empty. Does that mean I haven't had to put things in the box since then? No. It's only been a few days of this new rule, and so far they've been catching their items before they end up in the trash, but haven't quite stopped them from making it into the box in the first place. On the plus side, the box hasn't been getting as full as it did the first day. Progress? I like to think so!

Anyway, we'll see how this goes. Somewhere we need to find the right balance of work for everyone. School can be demanding, and so can the other activities the kids have going on. That's why I limit their extra-curriculars so they don't get so bogged down. But with five children, that still makes for a full schedule most weeks.

So what do you think? Am I just a mean mom? Or maybe some think I'm a pushover? Haha! What do you do in your family? I'd love to hear your ideas and solutions!

Get rid of Garden Pests Naturally

I've never really considered myself an environmentalist, though I do believe in being responsible. What we do today affects future generations, so I do agree it is important to think about that when making decisions that have an effect on our planet. I try to balance being green without pushing our family decisions on our friends and neighbors.

Anyway, this year we faced a few pests during our gardening ventures. Some of them were recognized and returning foes (such as squash bugs), some were newly recognized problems (like aphids) and some were new and terrible surprises (more on that in a moment).

The squash bugs are my sworn enemy. They feast on the juices of my zucchini and pumpkin plants, while at the same time poisoning them. They mate constantly too, causing their numbers to explode if you don't catch them quickly. Last year was the first time we encountered them and I scrambled for a way to get rid of them.

I nearly went the pesticide route, but a combination of not really wanting that on my fruits and veggies and  also considering that one of our neighbors has bees made me change my mind. Instead I squished any bug I found immediately (and tried to ignore the pungent odor that filled the air afterwards) and destroyed the eggs I found on the undersides of the leaves. I think the presence of a garden snake might've helped to push things in our favor too. Keeping ahead of these bugs was tedious, but eventually, the balance was restored and only one of our plants wasn't able to recover.

This year I only found a few squash bugs and killed them immediately, so it wasn't a big deal. Unfortunately, the aphids took their place. I first found those nasty little aphids on our plum tree, which I treated with a mixture of Dawn, canola oil and water to kill the buggers. We saved the tree, but didn't get any fruit from it this year. Next year, we'll know what to look for and nip them in the bud sooner. The aphids caused the leaves to shrivel and curl, and when I uncurled the leaves I found dozens of them hiding there.

Then the aphids made their way to my zucchini. Yes, that squash seems to be a favorite among pests. I actually noticed some lady bugs hanging about, along with some damsel flies and lacewings, so I decided to see what would happen. Those beneficial bugs won out and I finally got to harvest some squash without so much as a single drop of pesticide. Turns out you can order these beneficial bugs on the internet or they may even be carried at your local greenhouse if you find that they're in short supply in your yard.

I feel good about the way we handled these pests because I know we haven't harmed any of our pollinating friends, especially the honeybee! This is no small thing considering the current plight we're facing with the vanishing bee population due to Colony Collapse Disorder. The current data points to pesticides (especially systemics) as a possible culprit, and yet despite the compelling evidence, many of these pesticides are still being used liberally. Well, not by our family :)

If you want to know more about this, we recently watched an excellent documentary on the subject called Vanishing of the Bees and they have a great website where you can find more about it.



And finally, there is the nasty surprise we got in our corn crop this year. I kept finding knocked over stalks and partially eaten cobs of corn littering the ground each morning when I went out to the garden. I couldn't figure out what was causing this problem, so I decided to research it. Turns out it was raccoons. So not only did we have to be careful of them getting into our chicken coop, but we also had to keep them out of our garden. We were able to get rid of them successfully, so I decided to write an article about it on HubPages: How to Keep Raccoons out of a Garden. Hopefully it will help others who encounter the same problem. I never knew raccoons could be so troublesome until this last year. At least we figured out how to handle it without too much trouble.

Well, I just thought I'd share what we learned this year. Hopefully it will help some of you out there facing the same pests!

Garden Goodies!

We've been gardening for several years now with mixed success. Our very first garden was amazing, and it's what got us hooked to begin with. Tasting those home grown tomatoes and cucumbers was heavenly and addictive! Nothing from the store has been able to match up since!

When we moved to our home six years ago, we had to start everything from scratch. Our soil was terrible, but we didn't realize how terrible until we tried to grow stuff in it. Then there was the matter of the weed field behind us. It makes for a nice view (strange that it would, but it really does), but the seeds blowing constantly into our garden area made for poor turn out in crops. There were so many weeds growing at once that it was impossible to keep up the large garden area we'd planted.

Some of our neighbors, upon learning of our troubles, told us about a product called plastic mulch. It's not really mulch, persay, but a very thin sheeting used for agricultural purposes that keeps the weeds from growing up, but lets your garden plants thrive. Last year we used it with great results, though our soil still wasn't up to par (but it was much improved from throwing in our compost and yard clippings).

We continued to condition the soil and used the plastic mulch again this year and the results have been amazing!!! I've canned a lot of salsa and have the makings to do even more.

I've got enough cucumbers that I've started giving them away by the bag. We had about thirty or so melons, and even though our family loves and eats them like crazy, I've not had to buy any for quite a while and don't think I will have to for the rest of the year because I'll be able to cut up and freeze all the extra we have.

I've made a lot of tomato sauce and will be canning even more due to our enormous crop of tomatoes (we did multiple varieties and have lots for snacking too).

I'm thinking of doing some vegetable juice in the next week or so, since it will give us more of a variety in the pantry.

Our pumpkins have really taken off too. I have more than enough for all those pumpkin cookies and pies I love so much. I'm going to have to figure out some more uses for them! We did the Orange Smoothie variety, which like the Sugar pumpkins, are the best for baking needs because they aren't as stringy and are more dense than the carving pumpkins used at Halloween.

We also jumped into growing our own herbs this year with gusto! We've got sage, chives, oregano, and basil. We plan to do even more next year, since we discovered how easy and delicious it is to grow our own. I dry the leaves in my dehydrator and then grind them up. It's better than store bought and it's much cheaper too!

Besides all of that, I've been making peach, apricot and berry jams and syrup. We go through a lot of that around here, so it makes sense to make it so we don't have to buy it. Plus, we know what goes into it and it's much tastier than anything on the market.

Though I feel extremely blessed with the bounty the Lord has given us, I have to admit that I'm more than a little overwhelmed at times. Believe it or not, it was easier to do the canning when the kids were out of school because 1) I had helpers who wanted to learn 2) I had someone to talk to during the long process of seeding and chopping all those peppers and tomatoes 3) I didn't have to worry as much about schedules.

I've gotten a lot of my canning recipes for free on  Pick Your Own and The National Center for Home Food Preservation. Then I also have Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving and Canning and Preserving for Dummies for even more recipes, procedures and ideas.

Anyway, I am thankful for all that we've been given and for the ability to be able to preserve so much and save my family money in the long run!

A Way to Get Freebies

I'm sure I'm not the only one to notice the rising prices of groceries over the last year or so. It seems crazy to me that wages are frozen, jobs openings are down, and yet prices of food and services continue to rise. It's because of this that so many have started couponing.

There are so many sites out there that can help you find all those deals out there, so I won't go into that part of things. But I will tell you about a site you can join that will occasionally send you out coupons for free products or large value coupons to try products on the market (like salads, fruit snacks, breakfast foods and laundry products to name a few). If you haven't already, think about joining Vocal Point.

I joined up about two years ago, and haven't regretted it. I'm not as active in the forums over there as I could be, since I have my hands pretty full as it is. But I still get clued in on the freebies and other offers they have going on. They give you a place to talk about what you like and don't like about the products you're buying too. This is so the consumer can point the manufacturers in the right direction when making products.

And no, I don't get paid or rewarded for referring anyone there. I'm just here to help those like me who are always looking for ways to save. Though if they offered to pay me, I'd hardly turn them down! Haha! Anyway, I thought I'd let you know, in case any of you were interested. After all, every dollar saved means more in your pocket--no small thing in a down economy!

What Makes a Good Mom?

Somebody said something to me several months ago and I haven't been able to get it out of my head since. I think he meant it as a joke, though I didn't take it as one. I mean, I laughed, but that was because I didn't know how else to react. He really struck a nerve--not that he meant to--but it happened nonetheless.

So what was this statement that haunts me? Well, upon learning how many kids I had (five!!!!), he said that nobody with five kids is going to be a good parent. Okay, honestly, I'm biased here. Those may not have been his exact words, but that's how I heard them. I laughed him off, said something about I'm not doing too bad, in my humble opinion, and the subject was changed.

Anyway, it stayed with me. Everytime my teenager forgets about an assignment, I remember that comment and I think I should've made sure I asked him about every class instead of the idle chit chat about who he saw and what he did.

Everytime my tween shows her painfully shy side, I  remember what he said and think I should've done more to help her become more self-confident so that she knows how amazing she is.

Everytime my six year old shows her temper, I remember it and I think I should've done better in teaching her anger management.

When my preschooler cries over every little thing and acts out at her baby sister, I remember again and I think she's gotten lost in the shuffle and I need to give her more of my time and attention.

When my baby gets sick, I think that I should've done better at sanitizing the house and then maybe those germs wouldn't have reached her.

When I take the time out to write, read or watch a movie, I can't help but feel guilty because I know there's something more important I could be doing with my time. I just can't seem to do it all. The more I try, the more impossible it seems. And these are the moments that statement rears its ugly head once again.

I suppose most parents have doubts about the job they're doing--especially mothers. I mean, we're supposed to be wired to be these wonderful, nurturing, caregivers, right? We're supposed to know what everyone else needs before they do, right? Seriously though, I really have no idea how to guage what a good mother does.

I love my mother more than I can say. She made some real sacrifices to bring me into this world, when it would've been much easier for her to make another choice. She was fifteen when she got pregnant with me. Barely sixteen when she had me. I can't imagine how difficult that must've been for her. She was so sick she spent much of her time in the hospital. Her marriage to my father didn't last beyond the early months of my babyhood-- and then came the rollercoaster of different homes, fathers and a lot of other things I won't go into just now.

Suffice to say, that I had a different plan for my life. I wasn't even sure if I ever wanted to get married, let alone be a parent. I didn't even think I was capable of trusting a man. God had other plans for me though, and I met the only person in the world I could share everything with and not want to run away and hide afterward.

I sobbed when I found out I was going to have our first child. It happened on the same day I found out I got the full scholarship I'd worked so hard for. I was terrified! I didn't know how to be a mother! I wasn't one of those nurturing types that wanted to hold those tiny newborn babies. I hated babysitting. I didn't know the first thing about what to do with a kid. I only knew the extremes of what not to do.

Well, I made a decision. I decided to put college on hold and see what this new life would bring. I knew I wanted to be the one to raise my baby and be there for all of the important things--and to protect him from all of the horrible things I knew all too well were out there.

I was sure I didn't know what I was doing, but I figured that knowing the things I wasn't going to do would be a good start. I got a subscription to every parenting magazine in existance and I did what I do best--research.

Fast forward to more than fourteen years and five kids later and I love my life. Yes, I know that sounds cliche, but that's something I never thought I'd be able to say. I'd certainly never said it in the years before my family. I love my children. I can't breathe when I think of anything happening to them. I miss them when they're not here, I want to know everything about what makes them who they are.  I want to help them overcome every obstacle that comes their way. And more than anything, I don't want to be an example to them of what not to do.....

I make a lot of mistakes. My body and my mind can't always keep up with all the demands that are put on me. But despite that, I'm happy. I have a good husband and I have very good kids. Are they perfect? No. But they're mine-the good and the bad.

I need to stop measuring myself by those perfect TV moms...or even those moms in my neighborhood who seem to have it all together. Maybe I'm not the perfect mother, but I love my kids more than life. I'd give anything for them. Just maybe that's enough. I hope it is..............

Deciding on My Focus Here

It's been hard to decide exactly what I want this site to be about. When I first started it, I wanted to help people avoid some of the financial pitfalls that we've learned about the hard way. I also wanted to help people become more thrifty and save money. It seems though, that there are plenty of sites out there that can tell you about all of the good deals a lot better than I can (mainly because they're a lot more dedicated to the task of looking for all these deals). I have no idea how I could find that kind of time with five kids to raise--at least not if I wanted to have time to enjoy my family!

I've thought long and hard about what I wanted to do here. Do I want to earn money? Sure I do! Who doesn't? Do I want to help others avoid some of the mistakes I've made? You betcha! Do I want to share some helpful tip I've learned to get through hard times? I'd love to!

But I also don't want writing to feel like a chore. It's always been a sort of release for me. It's something I love to do. I think that burying myself in coupon, saving and freebie deals (and other such things) and then focusing my writing on mainly that would suck out any excitement I get when I sit down to blog. Does that sound terrible? I'm sorry if it does, but that's how I feel.

I want to enjoy the time I spend here. I figure that if I'm enjoying writing what I do here, then it's more likely that people will enjoy reading what I've written (at least I hope that's the case). I like talking about my family. I like talking about what we're doing in our lives to survive in this tough economy. But I don't really like talking about each and every coupon, freebie or other such deal. Haha! Go figure!

So I think I'll leave most of the couponing know-how to the professionals like The Thrifty Couple, Freebies4Mom, Freebies2Deals, CouponMom and the many others out there who are so much better at it than I am. Though if I find out about something that's too good to keep to myself, I'll be sure to share it. But that isn't going to be my main focus here. My focus here is about family life, trials, successes and failures. They say to write about what you know best and my family and our lives together are what I know best.

I hope that works for my readers (few they may be right now), because that's what I do best. So there is my new focus! God Bless :)

My eHow Divorce...

As some of you know, I started writing for eHow a few years ago. At first it didn't pay anything, since it all has to do with ad-generated revenue, and you have to have traffic to make anything off of that. Anyway, eventually I started making a little money off of the articles there, and even mentioned that I wished I'd written more before the changeover to Demand Studio's new program of only on-staff writers and flat pay rates for articles.

The way they first handled the changeover was that you were still paid off of ad revenue for your initial articles, but had to become a staff writer and accept the new payment terms to have any other articles published on the site. I believe that they made this change to improve the quality of articles published on their site.

They did initially accept me as a staff writer, but I hesitated to accept these new terms and so I never did become a part of their staff. I still received payments for my original six articles though, until early this year when they discontinued even that part of their terms. They offered me a dismal amount of money for the rights to my articles (it wasn't even an amount I'd have accepted for one article, let alone six) and said if I didn't accept the purchase terms, then I would retain the rights, but my articles would be removed from their site. Well, I refused the terms and kept the rights. So, I'm no longer an eHow contributor. Ah, well, life goes on.

I'll be moving those articles I wrote over to HubPages soon. My earnings there have started to increase over the last month or so, and so I have the motivation to get back to work! Now that the kids are back in school, I'm hoping to have more time to write. We shall see.