Link Love, 10/1/10

Sorry for the delay in posting today. In addition to prepping for my switch over to Word Press, I was hit with a computer virus last night. My husband spent several hours cleaning it up this morning, and now I **think** I am as good as new.

Are you starting to look for cute little Halloween themed items or things to do? If so, check out these cute Mini Pumpkin Halloween Cakes.

Eighty MPH Mom shared her experience of writing down her children's activities and actions each night in her post, "Daily Journal for Your Children--A Must Do." Now that her children are older, she has fun looking through the journals and recounting the things her children said and did as toddlers, preschoolers, etc. I love this idea and am starting to do it myself. I only wish I had read about this idea when my son was younger.

Finally, Yahoo! offered "Seven Spending Cuts You Might Not Even Notice." I found a few my husband and I could implement, such as trying a free phone service. Has anyone tried Magic Jack before? If so, I would love to know your experience with it.

Link Love, 9/24/10

Good morning. I hope you are having a good Friday!

I found a link to a woman who not only had A Very Hungry Caterpillar cake for her daughter's first birthday, but the entire party was fashioned after the book. What a cute idea! I might have to make this cake for my baby's first birthday.

Over at Money Saving Mom, a guest post written about "5 Ways to Repurpose Newspaper" got me thinking about what I could do with all of our old newspapers besides recycling them.

This video on Yahoo! about the "Top Five Ways People Are Irrational with Money" has at least one way I can identify with. Chances are you or someone in your life falls into these categories.

Yahoo! had another article about Lynnette Khalfani-Cox who gives insight into her journey out of $100,000 of debt.

Have you read any good posts this week? Please share them in the comments.

Link Love, 9/17/10

As you know, I am a big proponent of freezer cooking. I loved the article, "Freezer Cooking for the Elderly" and wish my family had thought of this while my grandmother was still alive. If you have an elderly neighbor or relative, this could be something you could do for them. I am sure they would appreciate it.

Are you getting ready to send some of your children off to college? If so, be sure to read "How One College Student Beat Tuition Costs." This student finished his undergraduate degree with no debt and even wrote a book about how to do it.

I found the article, "6 Benefits of Getting Organized and Slowing Down" inspiring. I continue to trudge through our clutter and write about in my Monday posts, The Decluttering Challenge. I am hoping some day to enjoy all of the benefits she wrote about.

Lastly, I will be attending my first blogging conference in mid-October. I am excited and a bit nervous. I enjoyed the information and the humor in the article, "Conference Survival Guide."

Have you read any great articles or posts lately? Feel free to share them in the comments.

Link Love, 9/10/10

If you think all billionaires are out spending all of their money, think again. The article, "Seven Spending Tips from Billionaires" presented information most wouldn't expect. There are frugal billionaires out there. (Who would guess?)

A problem Suze Orman often touches on are spouses who hide debt from one another. In the article, "How Debt Can Destroy a Budding Relationship" one man actually broke off his engagement when he found out about his future wife's student loan debt.

Finally, if you have not heard of Ann Voskamp, I invite you to read her blog, A Holy Experience. She is a powerful writer that routinely brings me to tears. She is now in Guatemala meeting a child she sponsors through Compassion International. Her moving post, "How To Make Your Life an Endless Celebration" is about meeting the little girl.

Have a good weekend.

Link Love, 9/3/10

Now that I am staying home full-time this year, I am still struggling with time management. I have grand plans of what I would like to get done, but somehow I always feel behind. I loved the post "Schedules and Charts" by Faithful Homemaking. I think I will implement some of her strategies and see if my day goes more smoothly.

The articles "Six Outrageously Overpriced Products" made me think. Too often I just buy things out of habit without thinking of the true cost.

Our car is getting older--six years old with 85,000 miles, so our time to buy a new car will be coming in a few years. I really hate negotiating at the dealers. The article, "Secrets Your Car Dealer Won't Tell You" will arm me with good information when the time comes.

Have a great holiday weekend!

Link Love, 8/27/10

I recently discovered that I can’t eat dairy, so I went to the health food store and bought several dairy free products, but I didn’t realize they were all packed full of chicory root and inulin, an extract of the chicory root. So for now, until that all gets out of my system, I am back to square one with gastrointestinal issues. I am slowly realizing I am going to have to radically change my eating habits and make most of my food at home and avoid a great deal of processed foods, so I found this article, “An Inconvenient Challenge: Eat Real Food For a Month” very interesting. I don’t think most of us realize just how much we rely on processed foods.

On a different note, there was a great guest post on Money Saving Mom about how to save money on products you buy on Amazon. Check it out here.

Finally, if you are like me and annoyed with the abundance of flies and fruit flies, check out Money Saving Maineac’s suggestion to get rid of the fruit flies.

Link Love, 8/20/10

In “Turn Ugly Dresses Into Nice Ones for $1” an unemployed woman decides to put her sewing talents to use by finding ugly dresses and turning them into attractive ones she could actually wear to go out and blogs about it. I went to her blog after reading this article, and the pictures alone are worth the trip. (She found some amazingly hideous dresses!)

If you have a little one at home and want a frugal bank to teach them how to designate where their allowance goes, check out “Make It—Spend, Save, Give Bank”. This would be a fun activity to do with your child, and it has a practical use once created.

Many of you know I document my food waste every week. I always wonder if something is past the expiration date but still seems good, should we eat it? The article, “Food Expiration Dates: What Do They Really Mean” helped to shed light on the subject.

Finally, I am in the process of decluttering my house. Some things we have simply outgrown such as my son’s old clothes, but many other things are items we never should have bought in the first place. I could appreciate this article, “Don’t Let Deals Chase You.”

Link Love 8/13/10

We are trying to cut expenses around our household by using cloth diapers, going out to eat less, using the envelope system, etc., so I found this article, "You Don't Have to Pay for Cable TV" very interesting. I think I am going to try it.

This week I have focused on freezer cooking quite a bit on this blog. I was fascinated to read this article from a clip that originally appeared on Good Morning America, "Mom Plans Meals for an Entire Year." Wow!

Happy reading.

Link Love, 8/6/10

Did you enjoy Orange Creamsicles as a kid? If so, you will want to try Lynn's Homemade Orange Creamsicles. They are on our menu this weekend.

I found this article, "Family of 5 Spends 7 Years at Sea" fascinating, both because I can't imagine living with my family on a small boat for 7 years and because I admire their bravery in ditching their lives to make their dreams come true.

And lastly, "10 Expenses You Don’t Need" and "Five Expenses that Will Consume 50% of Your Lifetime Earnings" were complementing articles and eye opening.

Happy reading.

Link Love, 7/30/10

Here are some posts I enjoyed recently on the web:

Even though it is only July, Life as Mom is already looking ahead to the holidays. Check out her post today "5 Ways to Save on Christmas Expenses."

Yahoo! had an article, "10 Summer Slow Cooker Recipes". Try these if you don't want to heat up your kitchen with the oven.

I saw this guest post on Money Saving Mom a few weeks ago and thought it offered an excellent tutorial on way to lower your grocery bill without clipping coupons, "How to Start Your Own Produce Co-op".

Lastly, I enjoyed this article, "Repurposing Baby Food Containers" by I Can Teach My Child. I plan on visiting her site some more to find activities I can do with my 21 month old during the day.

If you have read any particularly memorable posts, feel free to leave the links in the comments.

Happy reading.

Link Love, 7/23

Earlier in the week, Yahoo! had an interesting article entitled, "Secrets of Extreme Savers." I found it to be an interesting read.

The Frugal Girl posted a tutorial on how to make "Homemade English Muffins." I would like to give these a try.

Finally, I was looking online for crafts to do with my 6 year old when his two little sisters are napping on the weekend. I found this recipe for homemade playdough. We have never made that before and are going to give it a try this weekend.

Link Love, 7/16

I don't know about you, but I have a ton of my son's artwork around the house. I am trying to find a way to organize it all. One possible way I found was in the post "Organizing All that School Clutter" by Laura at I'm An Organizing Junky.

Over at Life as Mom, Jessica wrote a good article about the reasons we say no to some of our children's requests and why we should say yes instead at "To Be More Joyful--Be a Yes Mom."

Link Love

-I made Easy Lemon Pie for a 4th of July picnic. It was delicious, cool, refreshing, and, well, easy. Yummmm!!!

-The article “Six Mistakes Young Families Make” was interesting. My husband and I are making at least one of the outlined mistakes—we don’t have any additional disability insurance besides what is provided at work.

-Does your budget need help like mine does? If so, check out In Good Cents' 90 Day Budget Boot Camp.

-I happened upon Lena Phillips’ blog Pencil Portraits. Her talent is amazing, and her portraits would make a memorable gift for a loved one.

Some Link Love

A few day's ago, Lynn's Kitchen Adventures posted a delicious recipe for Copycat Orange Julius. I have not had one of those since I was a middle schooler going to the mall every weekend. Her version is delicious and has quickly become a favorite in our house!

I found the post Simple Changes Aren't Always Simple at the Simple Dollar an inspiring post about how to change bad habits in your life one step at a time so you don't become overwhelmed.

Have you read any good blog posts lately? If so, share them in the comments.