Thrifty Tip Tuesday!

Thrifty Tip Tuesday Tip of the Week:

The Redbox Movie Rentals

This tip is my latest discovery, and I am so excited I found this!!!! Have you ever seen one of these babies in your local retail stores? This is the Redbox, baby. Make friends with the Redbox.

Chances are, you are like me, and have probably passed by one of these for months in your local Walmart, Albertsons, Walgreens, etc. What was wrong with me to ignore this attractive red box for so long? I could have saved so much money!!! In fact, there is one in the Walmart I shop in on a regular basis. Frustrated with the cost of renting a video at my local Hollywood Video store (almost $5), I decided to look into this whole Redbox thing. It says $1 per night. Can that really be? They must have old, boring movies that nobody wants to rent! I mean, come on, what's the catch? OK, people, there is no catch. Really. $1 per night for new release movies. And you don't even need to talk to anyone to get them! It's really this simple: You walk up to the machine, select your movie, slide your credit or debit card, take your movie, and go home. It's literally like a movie vending machine! If you return your movie by 9pm the next day, your credit or debit card is charged $1.09 per movie. If you decided you want to keep it longer, they charge you an additional $1.09 for each extra night you keep it. It's really that simple. You get an email telling you what movies you've rented. When you want to return your movie, you simply return it to ANY Redbox location, use the touchscreen and select "return DVD", insert your DVD into the machine, and you're done. 30 seconds flat. You will then receive another email declaring that your movie has indeed been returned.

Another tip: You can view which machines have which DVD's on their website (I linked it above), and you even reserve the ones you want so you can be sure they will be there when you get to the machine. Ha! How much easier can it get. No calling around to video stores to see if they have your desired DVD. This is revolutionary, people. Genius, pure genius. The Redbox people are taking this thing to the bank! So go try the Redbox today! It has changed my life.

Adventures in Chipotle-land

My troublemaking, mischievous, naughty sweet, loving kitty, Chipotle has had some interesting adventures of late. A couple weeks ago, while enjoying the afternoon sun outside, we believe Chippy ate a bug that really didn't want to be eaten. He returned into the house with a swollen red lump on his chin. He proceeded to pick it, lick it, and scratch it until it was a raw, gaping, nasty wound. Enough said. So I stopped by the local pet store and picked him up one of those cone things that goes around the animal's neck to prevent them from scratching and licking their wound. I personally think it looks like a lampshade. After all, I just wanted him to be the life of the party heal properly.





Here's my little conehead. He turned into Mr. Lovey Pants when he got the cone put on.



He laid around all day and was extremely affectionate. I guess he didn't feel like the life of the party.

And it was quite hilarious to watch him adjust to life with the cone. He would bump into stuff, fall over, hang his head down low....Watching him learn to go through the cat door was comedy. Sheer comedy.

Then, just a couple days before we took off the cone, he found a small hole in the screen of our dining room window while it was open. He couldn't resist the temptation to the outside (we had been keeping him in while he was healing), and he decided his cone would fit through that small hole. He escaped outside, and a chase ensued between the cat and Austin for about 15 minutes. Naughty boy.

This is what the screen looked like after he escaped.

I mean, come on, who doesn't need a little fresh air, anyways. I love my precious boy. Really, I do.

Busy weekend....

Last week was busy, busy, busy. Work has officially begun on Austin and Luke's AWANA Grand Prix cars. Designing, cutting, sanding, and painting is in progress. They really enjoy doing this each year! This is Austin's last year in AWANA, therefore his last Grand Prix race. Dave is doing very minimal assisting this year and letting the boys learn and enjoy the process of making their own unique creations out of a simple block of wood. The transformation has begun, and will continue for the next couple of weeks.

Thursday we went down to Children's Hunger Fund with the Killians and I made pot roast for all of us for dinner.....love this Pot roast recipe. It is so simple, yet so divine. I don't use the mushrooms in the recipe, though. I found out the leftovers made great burritos the next day. You could also use the meat in enchiladas, sandwiches, homemade tamales (which I am dying to try this summer with my sis), etc. Make this someday soon, served over mashed potatoes to soak up the amazing gravy.

We also had dinner with a friend of mine from high school this past weekend. Thanks to Facebook, we have been back in contact for some months now, and have enjoyed getting together every few weeks for dinner. My friend's wife, whom he doesn't deserve I adore so much, made us Argentinian barbecue for dinner. We're talking authentic. Two kinds of empanadas, skirt steak, short ribs, sausages, rosemary fries, and a beautiful salad. Culinary delight, I must say. It was a wonderfully enjoyable evening at their charming and beautiful apartment down in Glendale.

Tomorrow we will go to Olvera Street downtown with our homeschool group. Looking forward to finding the churros my sister had there last week. I am starting to think my life revolves around food. Yikes.

What's been going on around here?

We've been busy around here. We are in the home stretch for the school year, about 6 weeks left....WOO HOO!!! Around this time of year, I usually get pretty burned out and just want to close the school books and go to the beach. Right, Luci? Amen. But we will press on to the finish line and finish those school books. I think we may actually finish all I set out to accomplish this year, by God's grace!

The last week or so has been hectic. Easter was spent with some great friends, the Killians, enjoying corned beef, ham, and crepes for dessert with the Crawfords, too! And the most amazing coffee, ever from Intelligentsia. Did I say amazing? The kids had an Easter Egg hunt as well. It's funny, for me, it's Easter every day. There usually isn't a day that goes by that I am not reminded of my Savior's death and resurrection. For a Christian, it is a daily reality, not a once a year ritual or celebration.

Last weekend was busy! Dave's cousin Jennifer wanted to get some "official" wedding photos done, since she never had any done at her actual ceremony about 9 years ago, so I went with Emma on the most amazing photoshoot ever. It was SO much fun. Jen even brought her two "babies" for the photos, their Australian Shepherds, Haven and Kona. Austin came along and was a great dog-sitter. Too much fun, indeed, and Emma is such a gifted photographer. Of course, Jen and Shane are amazingly beautiful, which made Emma's job all the much more easier!

The next day after that, I had the privilege of seeing my nephew, Drew profess his faith in Christ and be publicly baptized. It brought tears to my eyes to hear of how Christ changed his heart and his life, and how he wanted to follow Him for the rest of his life. As a mother, that is all you can long for in your child's life. Yes, you want them to be successful, you want them to get married, and raise a family, etc. etc. But you want their eternity to be settled. You want their sins to be forgiven. And I long for that with my own children. God is the only one that can do that work in their heart, I can only teach, guide, and pray for my children. Anyways, congrats to Drew!

This week, we took a field trip to the Guide Dogs of America. What an amazing place. This place is completely run on donations, and it costs $38,000 to place ONE dog with a blind person. We were genuinely enthralled by the process, and my boys and I all left there with the strong desire to be "foster-parents" to a guide dog. My boys LOVE dogs and have been begging for one for quiet a while, especially Austin. This would give us the opportunity to care for a dog with a purpose. You get the pup when it's 8 weeks old, and you care for it until it's approximately 18 months old. During that time, it's your job to socialize the dog and teach it basic obedience. You take the dog with you everywhere-the grocery, the bank, church, restaurants, the movie theater. When it's time to give up the dog, they go in for formal training for 6 months, during which you cannot see your dog. Then the dog is placed with a blind person, and you get to meet the person who will receive your dog. Isn't that amazing? How wonderful to be able to be a part of this life-changing ministry. You can then get a new pup if you want and start the process over. If for some reason, your dog doesn't make it through the training and isn't a suitable guide dog for whatever reason (this happens at least 30% of the time), the puppy raiser gets the first opportunity to keep the dog. So I asked Dave if we could do it, and he was fully on board!!!! So our application goes out today, and we'll see if we can get approved. They just want to make sure you have a suitable environment for the dog. Actually, we have the ideal situation, as they want the dog to be exposed to as much as possible, including other pets and children, of which we have both.

Austin also had the opportunity last weekend to go to the Long Beach Grand Prix with my Dad for the first time. My dad gets tickets from a friend every year, so he took Austin downtown for breakfast, then they hopped on the Metrolink which drops you off about 1 block away from the races. They had a fantastic time together, and it was a day I know Austin will never forget. Thanks Dad!

Well, that's all for now. More exciting stuff to come, I'm sure!

Thrifty Tip Tuesday!

Boy, it seems as if nothing is going on in the DeShong household, since my last post was last week's Thrifty Tip Tuesday! Actually, there have been some interesting happenings, so I will plan on posting later in the week. Stay tuned!

This week's tip comes out of necessity in my family. With four boys (well, one is a man) in my home, without this handy little apparatus, I would be spending a fortune every month. What is it, you ask????? Behold, the Wahl Clippers.

Thrifty Tip Tuesday Tip of the Week:

Give your own haircuts!

If you have boys, even just one of them, this little device will save you hundreds of dollars each year. I have to admit, I was a little hesitant at first to try this years ago on my hubby. I had a healthy fear of making my husband look like a complete loser a little strange. I had visions of bald spots and jagged edges. While it did take some really bad haircuts practice to learn how to use them, I was amazed at how easy it was to give a decent haircut. Now that I've been using them for years, we've got it down pat! In fact, I have well overused my current set of clippers and it's time for a nice new sharp set. These clippers are quiet inexpensive, in fact even the more expensive ones are paid for with one round of haircuts in my family. Take Supercuts, for instance. It is now, what, $15 for a haircut? Times 4, plus tip comes to about $75!!!! And my boys could easily have their hair cut once a month. Yikes!!!!! Now, I know you're saying, "But I don't want to give my boy a haircut that looks like he just signed up for the Army." These things don't just shave your head bald! You can use the longer attachments, which I use for two of my boys, and just give them a trim! It takes practice, but it is well worth the effort to save so much money every month on haircuts. As for me, well, I just go to Supercuts once every 4 months or so. Why do you think I have long hair??!!!!! And for you moms of girls, trying cutting their hair at home. You'd be surprised at how easy it is! I have learned to cut Vance's hair using scissors, and while it doesn't look like a professional cut it, it looks good enough! Another option is your local beauty college. Flair Beauty College in the Santa Clarita Valley, gives haircuts for $5, I believe. Great deal! Unless you have a really stubborn hair type or style, these places do a great job. And honestly, I'd rather spend my money elsewhere than on an expensive haircut anyways!

Thrifty Tip Tuesday!

Today's tip is not endorsed by the teenages of America. If you are a teenager, you will probably not agree with me, and will potentially laugh in my face when you read the following information. But for the older and wiser out there, this could be helpful. And when I'm done, we'll see who really is the wiser one. Please laugh, I'm not being serious. I'm being sarcastic. As usual.



Thrifty Tip of the Week - The IPod Knockoff



Ok, I know that almost every teenager in the world today owns an IPod. I mean, who wouldn't? It's technology, baby! Music in the smallest and most compact form ever known to man. Remembering back to when I was a teenager (long, long ago), I had a record player and an enormous Sony Walkman. Can you imagine having to carry that cumbersome thing around? Today's youth are so spoiled fortunate. And of course, you need the Apple Ipod, right? Because that is the quintessential MP3. The only one of its kind, right? Wrong. Being the cheap wise and thrifty person that I am, I am always mindful of the fact that there is something cheaper. There always is. Now, I am not advocating that you should never buy name brand things. Because when it comes to quality, usually you do get what you pay for. Take the KitchenAid stand mixer, for instance. Do you need to buy the KitchenAid brand. Absolutely, 100% without a doubt. Do you need to buy Starbucks beans as opposed to the store brand. No question about it. But we all buy the store brand can of tomatoes, don't we? Yes, because we know it's the exact same thing, just cheaper! And I have learned from my dear husband that you can't always buy the cheaper one, as they are sometimes not made with the same quality or materials. But, do you need to buy the Ipod? First of all, let's get something straight. All MP3 players are not Ipods. All Ipods are MP3 players, though. So when I say Ipod, I am referring to the Apple brand. There are other brands out there. Dave bought me a Sansa Fuze for my birthday last year. Sansa has a whole line of MP3 players, from the very basic, all the way up to the top of the line. The model I have is comparable to the Ipod Nano. Same features, same screen, same quality of sound, same warranty. Same price tag: Nope! About half the price. Yes, half. And for someone like me, who just wants to download some sermons off of Grace to You, put some tunes on it, and listen to it while ironing, exercising, and hooked up to the car radio, it is just great. I have been really happy with my little Sansa. And with the same warranty, why would I need to spend more? Just so I can say I have an Ipod? I'm past the age where people won't think I'm cool if I don't have an Ipod. In fact, whose the smarter one now? I spent half the money and got the same thing!

Happy Birthday to my One and Only Sister!

Me and my sister and bestie, Karen

Today is my sister and best girl friend, Karen's birthday! Unfortunately, she is waaaaaaaaay across the country this week in Washington D.C. on a business trip for her hubby. But thanks to technology (oh, I love technology...), at least I can speak to her personally, wish her a happy birthday on Facebook, and blog about her!!! All in the same day!

My sister is the most amazing woman in my life. She is my best friend, spiritual mentor, loving advisor, and living example of Christ to me. I am so thankful to God for His work in her life, and I give Him all the glory for who Karen has become as a woman. Year after year, she strives to honor God in all she does, and it shows. It speaks volumes to me and to the many other women who know and love her.

I love just being with her and hanging out at her house, talking, sharing recipes, donating blood together, eating out, serving in Children's Ministries at our church, camping, and the much, much more we do as sisters. God chose Karen to be my sister, and I am so grateful for the mere fact that our lives were ordained to be shared with one another. I am grateful for the relationship we share. It is so unique and priceless to me. I am thankful for the many valuable lessons I have learned from her, and will continue to learn as time goes by.

Karen, happy birthday my dear sister. It is with a full and overflowing heart of love that I wish you the greatest of birthdays today, even though you are thousands of miles away. Thank you for all you are and all the love you have shown me. Enjoy your special day! I love you!

Thrifty Tip Tuesday!

Well, it's Tuesday once again. My, how they creep up on me! I am honestly having a hard time deciding what to blog about each Tuesday, because there are so many things I have learned over the years. Picking one thing each week is hard stuff! But today, I have been pondering over an idea that a dear friend of mine whispered in my ear on Sunday in church. I just want to preface today's tip with some thoughts. The lesson in the childrens' ministry at our church last Sunday included the woman who poured a costly vial of perfume over Jesus' head to demonstrate her implicit love and worship of Him as more valuable than anything else. So here I am telling everyone how to save money and be wise with the resources God gives us, and BANG!!! Jesus condones the spending of what would be the equivalent of over $20,000 in today's society just to pour something out!!! The idea seems preposterous, but it simply demonstrates that we should place Jesus as the most valuable thing in our lives. He should be the most important thing to us in this life. So what does that have to do with Thrifty Tip Tuesday? The point is, that with all our efforts to save money and be wise, we should also be generous with others. Does that mean we should buy our friends expensive perfume? Probably not. But the connection here is that if we are careful with our resources and spend less on ourselves, we will have more available resources to be generous with others. So this should be at the heart of our motives to save money. As simple as it sounds, we sometimes lose sight of the reasons why we do things, and I honestly was so thankful that my friend mentioned this to me, because it spoke to my own heart. I have always been careful with my money out of necessity. The things I do to save money aren't merely for recreation...they have been absolutely necessary in the keeping of our budget. The money to do things other ways simply wasn't there. Period. But when the purse strings are loosened a bit, shouldn't we all still maintain these standards of being wise? If our income increases, should we then abandon all the lessons we have learned and spend foolishly? So I pray that we would all continue to be mindful of the ability to be generous with others as a result of wise living in this area.

OK....with all that said, today's Thrifty Tip Tuesday is.........

Make your own homemade bread and rolls.

Do I buy packaged bread?....of course I do. But for the most part, I make my own dinner rolls, pizza dough, loaves of French bread, cinnamon rolls, etc. The big tip here is that the cost of a bread machine will yield hundreds of dollars of savings over the course of your life! I bought my bread machine when we were first married for about a hundred bucks, and the thing is suprisingly still kicking, after almost 14 years! I can't tell you how much healthier homemade rolls and breads are, how easy they are to make using just a few ingredients on hand, and how ridiculously cheap they are to make. Some of my family's favorites are homemade crescent rolls (so good you will give up Pillsbury for good, and all the chemicals they contain), cinnamon rolls (so good you will give up Pillsbury for good, and all the chemicals they contain), potato rolls (nope, won't say it again), French bread, and homemade wheat bread that contains about 5 ingredients. Nothing artificial there. My kids absolutely love homemade breads, and I feel good about feeding them good stuff. Have you read the super long label of ingredients on grocery store bread or rolls lately? Ewwwww!!!!!! Trader Joe's is the only place that carries healthy bread. But that can be expensive! Although they do carry a whole wheat bread called Harvest Whole Wheat that is very inexpensive.

Now while I do believe that this bread addiction has caused many unwanted pounds to appear on my body, I do believe the benefits outweigh the negatives! So my point is, a bread machine is a worthwhile investment. It may seem expensive, but I can't tell you how many times I have used the thing, and how much money I have saved. It probably costs me 75 cents to make a batch of crescent rolls. Compare that to the over $2 price tag at the market. These savings will add up quick and before you know it, you will have paid for that bread machine many time over. And if you want to save even more money, bag on the bread machine and make breads by hand. For minimal effort, you will be enjoying yummy breads in the days to come. Another TT (thrifty tip): Buy your yeast in bulk at Sam's or Costco. It is ridiculously cheap, and even if some of it goes bad before you use it, you still will have saved tons of money versus the grocery store price. I have many recipes, too many to post, so if you know me, just ask and I will furnish recipes upon request! Now, go make some homemade bread and delight your family today!

Vance turns 8!!!!

8 years ago today, my "baby" was born. My youngest son Vance entered the world April 6, 2001, and has brought us so much joy ever since!

This is such a "Vance" face. Vance is such a happy, active, loving, and hilarious boy. He always makes us laugh every day. I love him for the gift of God that he is to me. I have so enjoyed watching him grow (and grow) over the last 8 years. He loves his brothers, food (obviously), legos, riding his dirtbike and camping, being with his friends, riding his bicycle, and Pokemon.

He is such a treasure and blessing to me in this life, and I am thankful to God for the days I have had with him thus far. I look forward to what the future years hold for my "baby". Love you, my Fuzziest.

Luke's 10th birthday happenings...

Luke turned 10 last Thursday, and it was a whirlwhind weekend! He was up at 6am excited about his day! He opened up a couple little presents, and then we headed over to the Killians' house with homemade cinnamon rolls. We then headed off to Children's Hunger Fund. After we were done there, we had a little gathering at the park and ate lunch. I made some yummy chocolate cupcakes for dessert. Too bad it was too windy to light a candle!!!

Since we were leaving to go to Cal City for a weekend camping trip that evening, we spent the afternoon running errands. I took Luke to pick out his birthday present...a new skateboard deck at Val Surf. He had so much fun picking out a new deck and wheels. I think he is supremely happy with his choice. He got an Eric Koston "Girl" deck with special Eric Koston wheels. Whatever???? I know nothing about skate stuff, and he seems to know the world about them! All I know is the kid loves to skateboard. He is outside practically every day doing tricks and learning new stuff, and he has already worn out about three decks!

After that, we picked up his birthday cake to take on the camping trip, and headed out to Cal City! We celebrated with the other 5 families that came with cake and ice cream! It was a wonderful time! And we figured out that you can pretty much stuff 30 people in our trailer and still have room for the cake!


I hope you enjoyed your birthday, Luke! May God grant many more!