I'm Outta Here.

Ok, this has been the worst/best/most emotional/crazy/hectic last two weeks of my entire life.. I graduated high school last week. I spoke at graduation.. And I think I did pretty good (:

Wanna watch it?! Go Here! Life is crazy.. and it's super crazy how fast time flies.

    Well, a few days after graduation, Grandpa Roy laid down in bed and hasn't really gotten up since. His body is shutting down and we all know it. It has been the hardest week in that way. I spent a good part of Monday and Tuesday out on the farm sitting by grandpa's side and just waiting for the news. I came to one conclusion.. Life isn't fair. My grandpa has done so much for me and I don't know how I could ever put it into words.. so I'm going to leave it at what I have said. He is a great man and I was very sad to say goodbye yesterday when I left there farm. I knew when I was leaving that it would be the very last time I would see him.

     That being said. Leaving for AIT was the hardest thing I ever had to do. Knowing that I have no idea what I have gotten myself into. As my Drill Sargent said today, "AIT is either going to be exactly like basic or exactly like college." [without the drinking/partying/going home on weekends]
I have no idea which... I know that I would rather be at home, but I know that this is my last stretch of being away from home for more than a month for the rest of my military career [unless I get deployed.]

     With all of this being said, I want to thank everyone for reading my blog. I want everyone to go and hug your family members. I want you to apologize to the ones you don't talk to. And stop judging and holding grudges toward the ones that don't make the best decisions.
   People try their best to make their life perfect, they have these images of what their life will be like when they are older.. (I know I am still young) but this goes for those who read this that are younger than me:

Love your parents, because you never know when they will be gone. Not only am I losing my grandpa, but my mom is losing her father... I can't even imagine losing my father. He has done so many great things for me in my 18 years of life. Thank you, Dad.

Love your siblings, because they will always be your friend, they will always be around.  Luke (I know won't read this, but to all my siblings, my life would not be the same without you guys.)
Love every moment that you have with your friends and family.
But most importantly, love high school and being young, because being grown up isn't what it is cut        out to be.

I am gonna wrap it up, but as I sit in the hotel getting ready to leave. I realize how great my life really is. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of me growing up to be the woman that I am.
To my Aunt Lisa, who I am sure will read this, stop crying. (: I love my entire family. Thank you

My goal is to get to post some this summer so you all know what is going on with my life down at Ft. Lost-In-The-Woods, Misery. But I don't know what privileges I will have yet. Soo keep an eye out for them.
If not, see you all in 10 weeks.

Money Saving Tips #2

As most people know from reading this blog, I am all about saving money. I am trying to come up with more creative ways to push that penny a little farther. Just in case you missed the first Money saving post. Here is the link to it. I have continued to find ideas and slowly add to them. I am hoping that this list gives you some more great ideas for saving money. Whether that money goes toward a new house, vacation, to pay off debt or whatever else it could possibly be.  This is my combination of other things I have found and other peoples comments.

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• Check your bank account daily. You can see how much you have and how much you have spent. It is a great way to check for fraud as well as make sure you don't overdraft your account. Overdraft fees can be mighty expensive for just buying that dollar pop if you didn't have that money in your account.
• Make Things homemade. Pinterest is full of copy cat recipes for snack crackers, and different things like that. Sean and I just attempted making our dried fruit ourselves. Its working so far. I also found a thin mint recipe that I am super excited to try! (I found a make your own thin mint recipe!!!) I have homemade egg muffins on here! and they are GOOD!
• Challenge yourself to not spend money for an entire week. You would be surprised at where you spend money when you don't need to. I read a blog that budgeted very little for a month and didn't spend any money other than that. None on gas, only like 100 on groceries (25 per week) None on eating out/ clothing. They called it their month of nothing... Ugh. That would be hard.
• Bring your own food to work. This is especially important if you work at a restaurant and don't t way to eat healthier.
• Turn off the lights. This will decrease your electric bill greatly.
• When grocery shopping, the things on the end caps are typically NOT on sale. They just look like they are. They are actually priced at the same as they always are, but they just need to up the sales on that product. Don't be tricked into buying them. 
• Here are some great tips for saving money when buying groceries. It is something that I put together a while back. I like the fact that grocery shopping doesn't have to be so expensive.. Before I started looking at ways to save money, I was spending almost 100 dollars every time we went to the grocery store. Finally, I just couldn't do it anymore and I had to find another way to do my grocery shopping.
• Here are great meal ideas to help you organize your meal planning.
• Not everything was meant to be bought at a grocery store. Stores like Supermarket and Sunmart specialize in groceries. This means that items like laundry soap, cosmetics, and hardware (like light bulbs) can be much more expensive than the would be at most other stores.
• Try shopping at the dollar store (like dollar tree for some of the things you buy often.) Last time I was there, we looked into getting Pasta Sauce (Only a dollar), Kitchen Utensils (Only a Dollar), Kitchen Cleaners (Only a Dollar), Commonly Used Spices (Only a dollar, and those really add up quick)  Here is a list of 100 things you can use to play with kids from the dollar store, but a lot of these also make a great point..
• Don't buy books at the book store (don't mock me Sean), Okay. I definitely don't follow this because I read A LOT, but once summer hits stock up on books from garage sales. Most of the time you can get 7-10 dollar books for a quarter to a dollar! WOO! Check out that savings.. The same can go with movies. Plus you can get some books that you probably wouldn't get otherwise. (if you just can't wait until summer hit up the thrift stores and second hand book shops)
• I have a basket where all of my bills go into as soon as I get them in the mail. This makes it easy to sit down on pay day and pay all of the ones from then until the next pay day. THAT is how I avoid late fees. 
• If you don't need it, don't buy it. (I know that is easier said than done, but how often do we buy something that we simply don't need!)
• Make lists. I have an on going list of what I need from certain stores. (ie. Dollar Tree. If I think of something that I could use from there. I have the list that I will take with me next time instead of going to walmart and paying double next time.) I always have a list with me when I grocery shop. It makes it easier to stay focused on what I need to get and what I don't need.
• This website has a ton of great information and other tip!

Okay, well.. that's a pretty extensive list. I know there are a ton more out there and I am always interested in what everyone else is doing.

Are you doing something similar or did you find something that works as well? Let Me Know at Elylyons2013@gmail.com or comment below. 

Will increased DVR use cut into TV advertising revenue?

    How many of you don't have cable or use DVR when you do watch TV? Personally, I don't have cable. In our house, we have Hulu and Netflix.
    Many advertisers are concerned that with the increase in DVR use, commercials will become a thing of the past. I would have to agree.
   My little brother is five years old. He is very easily persuaded into wanting something that he sees on TV. One morning, I was sitting in the living room with him before school. A commercial came on for some sort of Lego set. It showed the Legos moving, flying, and attacking other Legos. While that is great for the Lego company, my little brother actually thought they if he got them, they would move, fly, and attack on their own.
    Since then, my little brother has stopped watching TV as much and started watching Netflix more. It used to be that every time I saw him, he would tell me about a new toy that he wanted or had to have for his birthday.  Now, it has decrease quite a bit since he started watching Netflix.
     I believe that the biggest lost in advertising revenue will be from young children. They are the easiest to persuade and I believe that children under the age of 10 are the most affected by the commercials on TV.
   Even in the picture to the right, both children are actively engaged in the commercial. Right after this commercial is completed, I bet one of them run to ask their parents for Trix. It is almost inevitable for children to want an item they see other kids playing with on TV.

      With all of that being said, it is destined for the TV advertising revenue to decrease due to all of the technology and new ways of watching TV. It's not just commercials anymore. Everything is changing, but I believe that advertisers will come up with a way to be one step ahead of the game and end up coming out on top once again.

Meal Ideas

     Many people struggle with the idea of saving money because when they sit down to make a list, they don't know what to put on it. They aren't sure what to make or what they need to get to make it. Then, when they do go to the grocery store, they get snacking foods. When time comes to make a meal, they don't have complete meals in the house and end up getting take out anyway.. 

    For some time now, I have been working on compiling a master list of the meals that we eat in this house. I am ALWAYS looking for recipes and ideas for meals. I probably missed some major ones that seem to obvious to put on here, but PLEASE. I am always interested in finding out what my readers are eating at home and how much they are working with for their monthly grocery bill.

    Currently, I have our grocery bill at about 180-200 a month. That includes a TON of fresh and frozen produce, and some great cuts of meat when it is on sale. I always look for good sales on meat. 

     The other day we were at Heartlands Foods in Beatrice. They currently have a "Pick 5 for $25" Special on their meat. 

We got pork chops (marked at $5.89) 

Two cuts of ribs ($6.96 and $5.33). 

Huge chicken breasts ($5.89)  

Brautwaursts ($7.26). 

Well, that meat wasn't really that high priced, but I did make sure to get some of the more expensive cuts of meat. We saved $6.33 on that meat!! (I LOVE sales like that.) 

PLUS!! The best part is that with the heartland foods groceries to gas card Meat is 50 points per dollar spent. Well I earned 1580 points on the meat alone, which can turn into 5 cents off per gallon. (Up to 15 gallons!). That means I can still save a 75 more cents!! 

That puts me at just over $7 dollars in savings in the entire grocery trip.

Anyway... that was not the point of this post, I just had to brag a little because I was excited about those kinds of savings on meat!

Here is my list of meals:

Beef:

Golash

Spaghetti
Stir together Lasagna

Tacos

Hamburgers

Hamburger Helper

Taco Hamburger Helper

Meatloaf

Hamburger Gravy with Mashed Potatoes

Taco Soup

Runzas (Casserole Style)

Cheeseburger Casserole
Cheeseburger Sloppy Joe
Cheeseburger Calzone

Burritos/ Enchiladas

Chicken:

Chicken Tacos

Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken Noodle Casserole

Chicken Breasts (Baked with Ranch powder as a coating)

Wings
Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

Breakfast:

Biscuits and Gravy

Pancakes

Eggs

Convenience Meals:

Banquet meals (Sometimes, they are nice to have when I get off work and don't want to cook!)

Pot Pies

Mac and Cheese

Frozen Pizzas

Frozen noodle and veggie steamers (Add some chicken.. Yumm.)

Other Cuts of Meat:

Sausage/ Fettuccine Alfredo

Ribs

Roast

Hot Dogs (Turkey Dogs from Walmart ($.99)

Brauts

Pork Chops (SunMarts 10 for $10!)

Sandwiches

Farmland Ham and Instant mashed potatoes
Pepperoni Pizza Roll

Vegetarian:

Potato Soup

Noodles with veggies and cheese (or Alfredo sauce)

Quesdillas with a Rice Side

Stuffed Shells (Meat/Marinara/Cheese.. Or pretty much anything)

I try to do about 2 or 3 vegetarian nights a month, just because meat does get expensive very quickly. I will be the first to admit though, Sean and I eat very well. We have a veggie and a fruit at ALMOST every meal when we eat at home.. We rarely ever have Ramen noodles in the house. We don't really eat canned soup other than tomato soup. All of those "cheap" foods, they don't exist in this house.. other than mac and cheese (Cuz its the best food EVER)

A lot of my recipes are found on pinterest. If I find something I really want to try, I typically print it off and try to fit it into the meal plan for the next two weeks.

      Now, when you have a master list you can sit down and figure out what each recipe takes and how much you need of it. Then you can effectively look for price matches or coupons.

Do you do something similar at home home and know something that worked better? Let me know what you are doing at home!!

Cooking Oil instead of Air in a Can!!

     Sooo.. I am starting to try to bake more (trying more pinterest stufff...) and I was in need of non-stick cooking spray. Cooking spray can get so expensive and it has a ton of added chemicals and such... Not a fan.. So I thought I would give this a try. I got the instructions from this blog post.

Ingredients: 

1 part oil

5 parts water

Spray bottle (preferably misting)

Here is the ending result: 

Yes, It is settled, because it settles within 3 seconds of shaking it up. You almost have to spray it in between each shake... Bummer..















My opinion of the product: I'm not really sure what I think about it yet. I don't like that I have to shake it really well between each spray.. but I did it and it seemed to work.
I used it for making scrambled eggs (baked in the oven) in muffin tins for my egg muffin look alike, which can be found HERE.

I think, for now, I like it. It is quick and easy to make, and I don't have to spend a fortune on a little air filled can with a little bit of oil. (Plus, every time I am at wal-mart I forget to buy it anyway, that is until I need it again.)


I consider this a Pinterest Success. It helped me save money. AND I don't have to worry about all of the chemicals in the can of air and oil. Woo!

Egg McMuffins at Home

 Wow, It has been a crazy couple of weeks around here. I had drill last weekend (and it kicked my butt). I have been working about 15 hours a week now (budget is tighter than ever) and I have been spending as much time as I can at my grandparents farm to spend time with my grandpa. Between all of that and Sean being in school and working about 25 hours a week, our lives are crazy..
   Well, now that Sean has started school, he is on the go for breakfast almost every day. He just doesn't have time to sit down and eat a bowl of cereal (We don't buy milk either so cereal is kinda out of the question anyway..)
    I've been spending some time on pinterest looking for ideas for breakfast. We don't have time to sit down and make pancakes and all of that every morning and we don't have the grocery budget to buy a ton of prepackaged, chemical added, frozen breakfast sandwiches. I have come up with a couple good ideas so far, and I'm slowly trying each one of them.


     Even though I have worked at McDonald's for almost 3 years, it has not stopped me from liking our egg muffins! I LOVE our Sausage Muffins. So after spending sometime on pinterest I realized that I could easily make some ahead of time, toss them in the freezer with a paper towel around them, and microwave them in the mornings for us.

Here is a printable version of this recipe!


 I used:
Tomas Muffins (Bought at the Bread Store)
6 Eggs
6 Slices of Cheese
6 Slices of Ham (about 2 or 3 slices per muffin
3 pieces of Turkey sausage (Not Pictured)










First, I cracked the eggs into muffin tins.
I broke the yolk just enough so it would bake all the way through.

 Preheat oven to 350 and bake the eggs for about 10-25 minutes. That seems like a huge range, but it really depends upon the muffin tin you are using.

When I made them, it took about 15 minutes. I suggest not using a small muffin tin like I did. Our eggs turned out fitting really small on the muffin. The goal is to have the egg smaller width wise. It should be relatively flat.

While the eggs were in the oven, I baked the muffins just a little bit. I spread them out on a cookie sheet and put them in the oven with the eggs.

I have read that you can also use a toaster and that works just as good.









After the eggs were fully cooked, I assembled the muffins. I made three of them with sausage and the other three with ham.

Then, (Not Pictured) I baked them for about 3-5 minutes after they were completely assembled. After taking them from the oven I let them cool on the counter for about 20 minutes.

After that I wrapped them in paper towels and placed them into 2 freezer safe bags. (One marked ham, one marked sausage)










For reheating, I just about 2-3 minutes. I flipped the muffin over half way through.

These are great for in the mornings.











Price Breakdown 

Muffins:                        1.25                        (At Breadstore in Beatrice)
Ham:                            1.55                        (while at BOGO Free-Regular at 3.10)
Cheese:                         1.98                         (Heartland Grocery Store)
Eggs:                               .89                         (For half dozen eggs)

Total:                          5.67
Per Muffin:            95 CENTS!!

McDonald's Savings:      2.66   -  .95   =  1.71 savings per muffin!! 
    On 6:                      15.96   -  5.67  = 10.29!!!! 

What a great way to save some money if you are one of those people who eats a sausage egg muffin on the way to work almost every morning of the week (or even 1 or 2)

These are also great for kids! What a yummy treat to get them to eat breakfast, not to mention they have a lot of the needed food groups in just one sandwich (Meat, grains, dairy)


And! They are pretty healthy. (Well.. The egg muffins actually don't save you that many calories.. Only about 40 calories..)  BUTT.. When using turkey sausage you save about 140 calories. They save you a ton of sodium as well. If you use a lower calorie cheese or muffin you can mix it up and make them for pretty low calories.


(But with that kind of savings who can argue with that!)
They only took me about 45 minutes to make (while I was doing a couple other things!)




Did you try this at home and find something that worked better? Let me know what you are doing at home!!