Tuesday, July 28, 2009

The Great Outdoors!





Sunday we returned from our five day camping trip and I have to say we had a great time. We went with our good friends, the Masons, and stayed in the Uintas. We didn't stay in a designated campground (which saved money), but it was a great spot with a ready-to-use fire pit and even a perfect spot to do all our dutch oven cooking.

I do have to confess that we didn't go tent camping. We hauled our 37-year-old prowler trailer up there. The fresh water tank sprung a leak, unfortunately, and the second battery proved to be a dud, but we had plenty of other water we'd brought along (plus they have places for refilling your water up there) and several flashlights to light our way.

We went hiking and fishing, took a tour of the fish hatchery, cooked by fire and dutch oven, ate smores and had a blast! I have to say that it was good to get away. Tony's work at the school hasn't kept him as busy as we'd hoped. He's starting to get sent home again. It was great to get away and forget all that for a few days. It was a sanity-saver to think about something else for a while.

The views up there are just breath-taking. The peace you feel as you take in the scenery tends to remind a person of God's existence. I would definitely recommend the great outdoors as a prescription when you're feeling down and out. It's given me a boost and now I feel like I can continue trekking along, come what may!

Crash Course in Canning


My hubby came home with four ready-to-burst grocery bags of apricots from his dad. While I love apricots, and some would say we're a good-sized family, I have to say that there was no way we could eat all of those before they started rotting. I set them all on the counter while I contemplated on what to do.

We were leaving for a five day camping trip in four short days and had much preparation to do there, but I couldn't just ignore this bounty bestowed upon us, could I? I was tempted though--that is, until I woke up the next day, moved the bags out of the way so I could make breakfast and saw that they were already beginning to spoil. I got out all my books, gave my good friend and neighbor a call and made a decision. I was going to learn how to can, and I was going to learn FAST!

My friend and I did two double batches of canned jam, 4 batches of freezer jam and two batches of canned apricots in syrup and even some homemade fruit roll-ups. It was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be, and thanks to my mother-in-law for giving me lots of jars years ago (in hopes that I would use them, I'm sure) and to my grandma Artheta who gave me her canning bath a few years ago (also in hopes of me learning this great skill) and also to my mom who gave me a dehydrator over a year ago (lots of people wanting me to preserve!) I didn't have much to buy (lids, seals and pectin--I already had tons of sugar in my food storage). Two days of canning later and I have a quite a bit to show for it :)

If you're interested in canning, check out this site to learn the benefits, acquire the know-how and get some recipes. I'll definitely be doing this again! It's a great way to build food storage and to save money!

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

But Mom!

I've decided to do something this summer that I haven't really done before, or at least not planned out well enough to stick to. This year, though, I'm prepared and I'm determined. This year, much to my children's chagrin, I'm making it work. What am I talking about? Summer school!

I'm not talking about the school summer school programs, or those others out there that you have to pay for. I'm talking home schooling in the summer time. I have the workbooks (care of Sam's Club, Costco, Dollar General, Ross) and I have the internet to fill in any gaps. I also am making sure that I set aside the time and make it realistic. I mean, the kids have to have some fun this summer, right?

So the plan is that I get them at the kitchen table, with their worksheets already put together for them, three days a week for one to two hours. It's actually working out pretty well. My four year old loves it. Haha Now if only she can rub off on my 11 year old. At least he's cooperating :)

I got some great books I can work out of with them for dirt cheap. Most of them came from the dollar store, but I also found some of the big, all inclusive ones for a good deal at those other stores I mentioned above.

There are also some fantastic educational websites I've found with some great resources and where I can find and print out worksheets for free:

Sites for Teachers
Worksheets 4 Teachers
Math Fact Cafe
TLS Books

We've also been making weekly trips to the library. They've got a great summer reading program going on and the kids have already won prizes in their drawings.

The whole reason I'm doing this is that I found that the kids were having some areas they were struggling in on their end of level tests. I want to send them back more prepared and confident. I think it will make for a better school year.

And on that note, I'm going to be reviewing a Multiplication CD shortly. It was sent to me a while ago by a friend, and I'm using it to help my 9 year old with her times tables. I'll let you all know how it works and how you can get it in an upcoming post. I'm also thinking of doing a giveaway for it. But I'm getting ahead of myself now. LOL. More on that soon!

Enjoy your summer!

Monday, June 29, 2009

Going Where it Takes Me

I'm sorry for the delay in my posts. Life has been, well, hard lately. My mom is still having a hard time. Her good days are very good, and I have hope that she's finding her footing. Her bad days are devastating and I've found I have to distance myself emotionally from her on those days to be able to function for my own family. Mental illness is no picnic.

My little sister was in the hospital for a few days, too. They found two blood clots on her lungs and are not sure what's causing them. They've put her on a medication to break them up and prevent them from returning. I've been praying for her and hope that she'll make a full recovery.

Hubby has gone back to working on Mondays, for the time being (for the rest of the summer, we hope), but he's not allowed any overtime, and without that, I don't know how we're going to catch up. I have to have faith that things will work out some how.

Countrywide/Bank of America is still stringing me along. The ARM refinance they offered me under the Making Home Affordable Refinance program was offered in ignorance of the fact that if you're already in a fixed loan, you can't be refinanced into an ARM. I had to tell them this information when I went to Freddie Mac's website to get more information on the program. Isn't it crazy that I know more about how these programs work that the mortgage company?

We went ahead and sent them all our information all over again a few weeks ago for the HASP, or Making Home Affordable Modification and were assigned a negotiator. He called me once on June 22, left a message for me to call him back using the Hardship number I already had, but left no extension. When I called back, they basically said there was no way for me to reach him directly, that they would email him and let him know I wanted him to call me again, but that was the best they could do. They also told me that he would probably try to call me again at some future date, and that if he was unable to reach me again, it could cancel our application. So I guess I'm suppose to stay next to the phone and hold my breath. Hah!

I haven't heard from Bill Gephardt since that first embarrassing phone call several weeks ago. LOL. He did tell me there were no guarantees that he could do anything, but that he would see what he could find out on all this. Keep your fingers crossed:)

So life has kept me on my toes. I'm fairly certain that whenever it feels like I'll catch my breath, something is waiting in the wings to come knock it out of me again. Some days I'm just fine with this, and just go with the flow. On those days, I look around me, thank God for the many blessings in my life, smile, and go along with whatever comes my way.

I wish I could say I was always this good. I'd be a better person for it, if I could manage it. But alas, I'm not there yet. On the bad days, I mutter, maybe even let out a curse, and just feel like my world is caving in. On those days I forget the blessings I have and ask God, "can I not be happy? Can't I just take it easy for a little while? Does everything have to go wrong at once?" Actually, that's probably the nice version of what I say on those down days. Haha.

I have to remind myself that without adversity, I can't grow. I'd be content to stay where I am, in my comfort zone, and learn nothing. I heard yesterday something that will stay with me:
The very existence of adversity proves God's love for us.
What? I thought at first. How can that be? Why would He want anything bad to happen to us? But that was the wrong way to look at it.

I can't tell you how many times I've told my children, when they were grumbling about something hard they had to do, that they would be thankful for it someday--because they'll be able to take that experience they've learned from and it will make things easier later. The very same principle applies to us.

Trials make us stronger. So reminding myself of that, maybe I'll have more of those good days, and complain less on the bad ones. It can happen, right? ;)

Friday, June 12, 2009


Tonight is our pizza and movie night. We make our own pizzas to save on money and rent a movie from Redbox. Just in time to save us money, Inside Redbox sent out some working codes for today. I tried the one they said was working for all locations (for now) at Walgreens and it went through with no troubles. I'm saving the one they gave for McDonald's (set to be good until June 30--hopefully) for next week.

If you haven't done so already, you should check out Inside Redbox and subscribe. You've got nothing to lose and plenty of free movie rentals to gain!

I did do a no-no when I couldn't find a known family friendly movie we all wanted to see and just picked a movie off the full listing that I hoped wouldn't be too bad. I went to PluggedIn Online (where I can get a detailed breakdown of what's in a movie to help decide whether or not it's okay for kids) and found that the one I randomly picked was not one that I'd even want my almost 12 year old son to watch. So we'll have to find something else for them to watch tonight. Haha! That'll teach me!

If ever you have a question about a movie's content, definitely check that site out (for DVDs or movies in theatre). It gives a very comprehensive breakdown for even the most discerning of parents/viewers. Keep in mind though that you will be reading spoilers for whatever movie you're looking up.

Anyway, I wish you all a great weekend!

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

She's a Maniac!

So today I'm going through my daughters' room with them--and it's a wreck to say the least--pulling garbage and dirty laundry out of their toy bins and giving directions on where to put things. I'm also blasting my Pure 80s CD on my 9 year old's CD player to make the task a little less tedious.

I'm bouncing around to the lyrics "She's a maniac, maniac, that's for sure..." whilst attempting to organize the chaos that is their bedroom and I shout an order over the loud music to the girls. They hesitate to follow, as usual, and I yell out over the music, "Just do it!"

I look up at my son, who I realize is holding the phone at me and I yell, "who is it?" He shrugs and passes me the phone. "Turn it down!" I call out over the music and reach for the phone.

"Hello?" I ask, thinking it's probably my hubby on the other end of the line, checking to see how my organization mission is going.

"Is this Nellie?" I hear a man's voice on the other end, but it's definitely not my hubby's.

"Yes, it is." I'm feeling bashful about the music and the hollering that went on before getting passed the phone. Oh well, it's probably just another telemarketer anyway, right?

"This is Bill Gephardt..." Yes, the Bill Gephardt from KUTV New's Get Gephardt.

Yikes! Hahahahahahahaha. What a great first impression, eh? I laughed, fumbled out an apology and told him I was going through my kids' rooms today. He assured me he'd been there himself with his own kids.

Anyway, long story short, he's looking into our situation with Bank of America/Countrywide and we may just get this story on the news. Wish us luck!

For those of you not knowing what this is referencing, read my last post.

Monday, June 1, 2009

You Can Kiss My HASP!!!

Today's title is directed at Countrywide/Bank of America. It's now been over two months since we applied. During that time, as you know, I've called them regularly to check on things, only to be told it's going to take longer. The kicker? They've deleted my application and I have to start all over. I'm beyond upset about this. I decided to take the advice of friends and family and send Bill Gephardt of 2News a letter.

Here it is:

Have you heard of the Making Home Affordable Plan AKA HASP? Well, when my husband's hours got cut, we lost at least $1,000 per month of our income. We started to struggle to make our payments, draining our savings, cutting our bills where we could and clipping coupons. With no end in site to our money situation I called our mortgage company (then Countrywide, but now Bank of America) to talk about what options were available to us in trying to keep our home. It was then they told us about MHA (HASP), and we applied for it over two months ago.

I sent them everything they requested and called regularly to check on the status. One person told me it would take 7-10 days for me to get a workout packet. When I didn't get one, I called back and was told I should hear something within 30 days. When I called back after that, I was told 40 days, then 50 days, then 60 days.

Each time I asked if they had everything they needed. Each time I was assured they did and that my application was still under review. When I called back on the 60 day mark, I was told I needed to start the process all over again. Why? I was told it’s because my information is now two months old and also I didn't qualify on my first application.

Why was this the first time I was hearing this, after two months of phone calls? I asked that and was told they didn't know why no one told me. When I asked what kept me from qualifying now for the application, when I'd been told by several other representatives there that everything looked fine, I was told it’s because I'm current on my mortgage.

I told them that the rules say that I don't have to be behind on my mortgage to qualify, just that I have to show that we are in danger of falling behind and defaulting, which is what we're trying to prevent. They said that was correct, I don't have to be behind to qualify, but I can't be current. What? How is that possible? I asked this, and they said that I'm not considered current if I haven't paid my bill the first day it becomes due, which is the first of each month.

This modification process takes 30-60 days, according to them, so it would be impossible for me to qualify if I don't fall behind. If I play their game, and fall behind on the slim chance that I may qualify, it ruins the only other option they're offering me: A 5/1 ARM refinance at 4.215%. You have to have good credit to qualify for the HASP refinance program.

We aren't thrilled about the ARM idea, as we feel this is what has gotten so many people in this mess in the first place, but we don't want to lose our home either. According to the Making Home Affordable website, we’re perfect candidates for this program. What’s the problem?

We have several friends and neighbors who have called about this program, only to be given the run-around. According to each of these situations and the information we've all been given individually, at least some of us should have been approved for this program. Some have been told they have to be behind to qualify, some are told they have to catch up to qualify. I've yet to meet a single person who has been approved for this program in my online searches. Instead, I'm finding so many others that are being jerked around in the same way we have been. Good and responsible people are losing their homes! There are numerous websites and forums set up because of this.

What kind of program is this that Obama has set up to help responsible homeowners who have been hurt by this bad economy? How is it going to help any of us if they banks won't let us do it? Please help us, Gephardt. A lot of family's homes are at stake.



I'll let you all know if I get anywhere with this route. If I don't, I'll look for another. I'm not going down without one heck of a fight. Wish me luck!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Busy is an Understatement!

I know it's been a while here. Between my yard work (I can officially call them flower beds instead of weed beds-Yay!) and sick kids (one sick four-year-old most of last week, and a sick one-year-old for a solid week now), I've had time for nothing else.

Oh! And it's a good thing hubby fixed the dryer (a loose screw on one of the agitators), because I've been doing laundry nonstop for over a week now--not that we don't generate a lot already in a household of six people without adding a nasty stomach virus to the equation!

The plus side is that so far it's only gotten hold of the two youngest members of our family. I'm hoping it doesn't go any further, as it seems to be long-winded. I feel bad for my baby though. Poor thing :(

I really feel that we do have some divine help on our side though, as I know we've accomplished a lot--despite the sick kids--in the last couple of weeks. A very, very good friend (perhaps an angel in disguise?) spent two of her days off working with us on those radioactive weeds (I swear some of them had to have been exposed and mutated!) I'll never underestimate the value of such a good friend. I'll have to try to return the favor.

Our yard is actually looking pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. We got our garden planted too, and so far, so good. Most of the seedlings we grew indoors have made it through the transplant, and the seeds we sowed in the ground are sprouting too. I'm so excited!

If you haven't got your gardens in yet, it's not too late. There's nothing like eating the food you grew yourself. It's cheaper, tastes great and is even better for you (no losing nutrients in storage and shipment). No space? That's okay, container gardening works well, too! Read my garden articles here for more info.

We've been listening to a lot of music during all that yard work. Some of it we got for free (no kidding) from iTunes. They have a freebie section that is updated regularly for you to check out and choose what you want to download. You have to have the itunes application on your computer to take advantage of this deal. So if you have an ipod and didn't know about this cool feature, check it out!

Well, that's all I have time for today. I accomplished this much with a baby on my lap! Are you impressed? Haha! Take care!

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

A Little of Everything!

I haven't called this The Juggling Homemaker for nothing! It's always a juggling act here, trying to keep so many different things going at the same time. My mom is out of the hospital, but still having some struggles, so I've been trying to do what I can there, though it's not as much as she (or I, for that matter) would like. It's hard when you have your own family to take care of to do much of anything else.

We're still working on our yard and went and got more compost from Wasatch Integrated Waste Management at $25/truckload--not too shabby! :) We also got some of their medium sized bark at $10/truckload for our flower beds (okay, I'll be honest and call them weed beds--but we're working on it). We're going to whack the weeds down, put down another layer of weed barrier (better stuff, this time) and throw the bark down on top of that. Take that weeds!!! Haha! It was back-breaking labor to unload those loads from the back of the pick-up. Believe me, I'm feeling it today!

We could have saved on the back pain and had someone else come out and deliver that stuff for us, but financially that just wasn't feasible. We had to cut some things out of our budget to do it the way we did. But in reality, it will help if we end up having to sell, since it will add some curb appeal to not have massive weed jungles on all sides. It's impossible for me to keep up with it all! Hopefully it won't come to that, though. And to be honest, it probably wouldn't sell for what we'd need anyway....ah well...moving on!

We had optimistically got a movie from Redbox to watch last night. We didn't get to watch it because the work took longer than we thought. We didn't even get to staining the playset! So I'll more than likely have to pay for another night.

Yesterday was the last free weekly Monday they're doing, too. Yeah, I know, it sucks. I wish they would continue doing it weekly, as I only recently started taking advantage of it, but they're not giving us as good a deal anymore. However, they are going to start doing free monthly Monday starting next month, for over the summer. We'll be taking advantage of that. For more information you can go to Inside Redbox.

As for our HASP application, we're still waiting to hear. The waiting period keeps getting longer, as more people are learning about (good!) the program and applying for it. They said it could be anywhere from now to another three weeks before we hear. So far we're still scraping by.

I've learned this will all come down what they call the Net Present Value Analysis. That's where, after reviewing all the information they have for your application, the market, and your property, they decide if the mortgage investor would make more money on a loan modification or a foreclosure. They also weigh the risks of your situation in their decision. Hopefully, between the down market and the incentives the government is offering them, our situation will look more profitable for a modification. I found an online explanation that explains this better, if you're interested.

Anyway, we're plugging along. Overall, I'd say I have more to be thankful for than to complain about. I just have to remember that on the bad days ;)

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Free Chicken Dinner From KFC


Here's yet another reason to love Oprah. She's got a coupon for a free meal at Kentucky Fried Chicken on her website! It's for the two piece grilled chicken, two individual sides and a biscuit. Not too shabby, eh?

This is a limited time download and is only available from 9 a.m. CDT on May 5, 2009, to 9:59 p.m. CDT on May 6, 2009. So hurry! The good thing is that you don't have to rush quite as fast to redeem the coupon once you've got it. The coupon is redeemable at participating KFC® locations in the United States from May 5, 2009 to May 19, 2009. The only catch for this time period is that it's not redeemable on Mother's Day, May 10, 2009. It's one offer per person and can be found by visiting Oprah's site here.

I've already printed out mine! Yummy!