Stay Debt Free Over The Holidays

It's already Cyber Monday, and I've heard nothing on the radio today but about how much money people are going to be spending today - an estimate of over $1.5 billion - and more to come.  With the most possible shopping days before Christmas, retailers are exhorting people to make the most of them.  And making the most of them is going to put a lot of people into unnecessary debt.

My gift to you this year?  My suggestions and tips on how to avoid sliding into debt over the holidays.

1. Holidays are about people - or should be.  Have conversations with your family about what really matters to you and what you want most.  Explain to your son that this year you won't be buying a new video game console, but you'll offer $25 or $50 towards buying it.  Discuss with your spouse whether you really want to exchange gifts or maybe set strict spending limits - and stick to them.  Explain to your kids that they will receive fewer gifts this year because the focus is shifting.  The wee ones know that Jesus got three gifts, and they get three gifts.  And they're fine with that.

2.  With extended family members or groups of friends where you regularly exchange gifts, have a similar conversation.  Do you want to exchange gifts?  Can you maybe simply purchase gifts for the kids and not the adults?  What about drawing names and buying one gift for someone in the group instead of each buying a gift for every person?  Have you ever though of doing a white elephant exchange with a $5 or $10 limit?  They are so much fun.

3.  Don't add anyone else to your gift giving list.  I know you love you new best friend or there's someone who you could start the gift exchange with, but ... don't.  In all likelihood they need a gift from you just as much as you need one from them, so save the cash on both sides.  Go out for a drink or dinner instead.  Bake cookies and share them.  But don't start giving more gifts if you can help it.

4.  Don't just spend money, raise it.  If I look around my house, I see so many things that I no longer need or want - from gifts that people gave me to books the wee ones no longer read to clothes they've outgrown to kitchen gadgets I don't use.  The season for garage sales is over in Chicago, but Craigslist is your friend.  So is eBay.  And I told you about the awesome Buy/Sell/Trade groups on Facebook.  If you're going to spend money, make sure you have it.

5.  Speaking of those gifts people gave you that you've never actually opened or used... regift.  I have no issues receiving an item that someone else received as a gift that didn't fit for them so long as it is a good fit for me.  If you don't cook and received an immersion blender and need to get me something, pass that sucker along.  No one will know - or care (or if they do, shame on them) - and this is a great way to upcycle items that are otherwise just taking up space.

6.  Put away the credit cards.  This one is an obvious one, I suppose.  It's really easy to forget how much you're spending when you don't have to open your wallet and remove the green.  In fact, figure out how much you can afford to spend, put it in an envelope marked "Christmas money" and use that to buy everything.  If you run out, you're done.  And if you have some left over, deposit in the bank.  It is not a windfall.  It's your hard earned money that you can use for something else you really need later.

7.  Create your own gifts.  Giving the gift of time or talent is wonderful.  So many of us have more than we need.  Instead of another... thing, give people you.  Create a gift certificate for an hour of organizing or a home cooked dinner or babysitting or three hours of window cleaning or anything that you can do that your recipient would appreciate.  Maybe it's a date to the movies.  Maybe it's reading to your niece before bedtime.  Those are the gifts that people remember fifteen years from now.  Those are the ones I want to receive.

8.  Buy the large gift baskets and split them up.  I do this all the time, especially for gifts I need to purchase for teachers and therapists where all of a sudden, I have to purchase 11 more gifts for the people who do so much for my children.  If I buy a large gift basket, I suddenly have a bunch of gifts that are much cheaper than they were individually.  And they are often pre-wrapped very prettily, which saves me time.

9.  Search for coupons for every item you want to buy.  It's amazing what's out there.  I was looking for a Black & Decker smart battery charger (or something similar) for my car the other day.  I first found one for $157.  After searching and coupons, I managed to bring the price down for the same model to $84.53.  Search.  Whether you're buying offline or on, search for a coupon both for the item and for retailers where you might purchase it.

10. Save your receipts.  You may have thought you got the best deal ever when you went shopping on Black Friday.  But maybe you didn't.  Or maybe that perfect gift wasn't perfect and now you've found the perfect gift - and it's cheaper.  Save your receipts so that you can return any unwanted items that you bought in the heat of the moment and you can bring back the items that are now cheaper at another retailer.  Plus, many retailers will credit you with the newly discounted price within a certain time period (usually two weeks) if they now sell it for a lower price.  You simply have to bring in your receipt, and they'll credit you for that amount.

I'm staying out of debt this holiday season - and beyond.  What are your tips beyond the ten I've shared here?

How To Do A Football Manicure

I love football.  And when I saw that one of my friends had posted a photo of the most awesome - and timely - manicure ever, I knew I had to figure out how to do it myself.  Headless Mom had a football manicure, and it was awesome.

I may have never done any sort of nail art myself at all, but it couldn't be that hard, right?  It actually isn't.  I've been giving myself this manicure since the first week of the college football season, and I've figured out how to - and how not to - do the football manicure.  I am constantly stopped by people admiring my nails, and it's fun.

I've figured out that the nails don't have to be perfect to get the effect across.  I'm the only one who looks at them with a magnifying glass and sees every imperfection.  Everyone else sees them and just thinks they look really cool - from at least a couple feet away.

Football Nail Art Steps

The most important thing is to choose the right polish.  You want a toffee football brown, which is very doable.  When you look at the polish, look at the chips by the display and not what's in the bottle.  You'll notice that what is in the bottle looks a ton lighter than what shows on my fingers.  And because it's a dark color, the second coat makes a huge difference.  I was skeptical the first time I put on my first coat, but it's the right color!

In total, you will need three polishes: the toffee brown, a white nail art (not regular white - see below), and a clear polish with a thick brush.

Step 1:
Obviously, paint your nails brown in two coats just like you would with a normal manicure.  After you've shaped your nails and pushed back your cuticles, of course!

See, totally different color brown than what's in the bottle!

Step 2:
Once your brown coats have dried to a degree, you'll be ready to do your white nail art.  Pull the brush from the bottle, and ensure that any extra polish that is higher up on the brush's stick is discarded on the edge of the lid so it doesn't drip down while you're painting.  You then want to drag the brush against that same edge, removing most of the polish from a "front" and a "back" which will create a flatter surface.  Turn the brush a quarter turn,  and use that sharp edge to do the painting.

Do just the long side of the laces first.  I've found that the easiest way to do this to create and even and a straight line is to place the tip of the brush on the back of a nail, then pull your hand straight back instead of trying to move your brush hand.  You end up with a much better line that way.

Step 3:
Create the short side of the laces.  Again, use the same technique for the short side of the laces as for the long side.  Be sure your hand is angled the right way for this, as otherwise you'll have the short laces at an angle to the long laces instead of perpendicular, and it doesn't look quite right.  I'm still perfecting this part.  Make them much shorter than you'd think you need to - see below for the why!

Step 4:
Place your clear coat atop the laces.  You have to be careful with this step.  This is where the thick brush is a necessity.  You want much more clear polish on the brush than you normally use.  You want only the polish touching your nails, with the brush above the polish moving it.  If you aren't careful, the brush will pull the white polish and smudge the beautiful laces you just created.  You also want to be sure to do no more than three strokes to cover your nails with clear polish - once in the middle and then once on either side, being careful each time not to smudge the white.

And voila!  These nails are super easy and create a ton of fun attention - and support for the sport you love.

How Not To Do Football Nail Art

The steps are fairly easy, and I've also figured out what doesn't work.  The first time I did it, my dad saw my nails and asked if they were Christmas trees.  Or if they were Chinese characters.  Obviously I had a little work to do.  That said, most other people knew they were footballs; my dad's a little oblivious.

I had purchased white nail polish, and I used the end of a toothpick to apply the laces.  The toothpick holds onto too much polish, so it ends up too thick.  After showing this to a few friends, they told me about nail art polish.  It's regular polish that is in a bottle with an extra thin brush.  I picked that up, and it made all the difference in the world.  Another friend suggested using a thin paint marker, which I'm guessing would also work.  Just... don't use the toothpick.  See?

I also experimented with a variety of laces.  I always did at least three, and I experimented with doing four and five on nails.  If I were really good and could keep the polish lines as consistently thin as professionals do, I think doing five laces would be perfect, depending on your nail length.  For me, whether my nails are longer or shorter (or both at the same time - I'm tacky like that), three laces looked the best.  See?  They look silly.  This was also my first shot with the nail art brush, and I was still learning.

You can also see from the photo above that I would press down with the brush on one side and then slide it across and lift.  It didn't give an even look.  Using just the bare tip of the nail art brush made a big difference.

Additionally, I started out making my laces too wide.  In the photo above, the thumb has the right proportion.  Most of the others are too long on the laces.  Making them shorter than I thought I should actually looks much better.  It's easy to add more polish if needed.  It isn't so easy to take it off.

So what do you think?  Is this not the coolest idea ever?  What is your favorite way to paint your nails? I'm ready to branch out and try something new once football is over.  Maybe I'll really do Christmas trees and surprise my dad....

How To Cut A Pineapple - Tasty Tuesday!

So this week is a little different.  Instead of providing you with a recipe, I'm sharing a tip I use all the time with the wee ones when I'm making snack for school.  They adore pineapple, as do I.  We have it all the time, by itself, in a smoothie, chopped and over ice cream, and more.

But do you know how to cut up a pineapple?  You see them for sale all the time in the store (I got this one for $1.98 the other day), but what do you do once you buy it?  Cutting and serving it is simple, and today you get my demonstration, along with a few other tips.

A couple things to note.

First, when I am cutting, I always move the material I'm cutting so that the flattest surface is against the cutting board.  The last thing I want to have happen is for something to roll and me to cut myself - badly.  I do this for anything I'm cutting, whether it be a carrot or a potato or an onion.  Always create a flat surface, then cut with the against your cutting board.

Second, always use a sharp knife that is the right size for your job.  A dull knife won't cut cleanly through what you're trying to cut.  You will have to use more force, and it's likelier that something will slip or that you will cut yourself.  Find a professional knife sharpener near you, and sharpen regularly.  And use the right size knife.  My husband has a penchant for using a paring knife to cut vegetables.  Just like when a knife is too big, a knife that is too small is also dangerous.

How to Cut A Pineapple



Enjoy this and more with Blessed With Grace and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.  Rachel from A Southern Fairytale has an awesome Mouthwatering Monday linkup that I participate in, too.

How To Make Pots From Newspaper

I mentioned last week that while at the Autism One conference I had attended a great session about We Farm America where Seneca Kern talked about organic gardening.  The most fascinating part was making seed pots from newspaper.  It was amazingly easy and far more effective than I had thought it would be when he first started talking about it.

When I plant seeds, I can get them to sprout and grow - to a point.  It's the transplanting that I have a hard time with, and these pots solve that issue neatly.  You simply plant the newspaper, opening up the bottom just a little bit for the roots.  Brilliant, no?  I think, too, that having a larger initial pot will help develop the roots better so that they don't start to suffer as they get bigger.  I can't wait to test out that theory!

This couldn't be easier.  Even the wee ones were able to do it, and I love projects like this that can involve kids because they should know where their food comes from and that they can make a difference, too.  All you need for this is a can, some newspaper, and dirt.  Since newspapers now are all made with soy ink, you can use any newspaper so long as it isn't the glossy paper.  Sweet, no?

Step one is to rip the newspaper into strips.  You want to have a strip that is the length of a front/back page.  Rip or cut it a couple inches taller than your can.  I find I can get four good strips from a standard size newspaper, so I just cut it into quarters.

Gently and loosely wrap the newspaper around the can, leaving a little space at the top of the can.  If you wrap it too tightly, it gets hard to remove the pot from the can.  Trust me on this one.  You'll have an overlap of several inches on the bottom of the can, which is exactly what you want.  See how you don't have to have perfect edges?  This is the perfect project for me.

Fold down your edges into the center of the can bottom.  Start with where the seam of the pot is, to help it stay together later.  See how easy?

Once you have the bottom folded in, turn the can right side up again, and twist and push it against a hard surface to help get the bottom to stay in place the way you want.  This is just a couple seconds, and you don't have to push super hard.

Then, gently pull the new pot off your can.  If it comes apart a little bit, don't worry.  You can easily push it back into place, and it doesn't have to be perfect anyway.  Once you get the dirt in, and especially once it's watered, it will contain the dirt and seeds very well regardless of how sturdy it was initially.

Place your pot in something sturdy.  I used a disposable roasting pan simply because I had one handy.  You want something that is at least a couple inches deep for watering purposes.  I'm a little concerned about having something so shiny and reflective outside when the sun in shining, so I may place some extra newspaper around the edges showing so that the sunlight doesn't damage the plants, but use what you have.

Fill the pots with dirt all the way to the top.  Don't push the dirt down at all.  You never want to tamp down your dirt because you need and want the air, etc.  I used a small cup to get the dirt into the pots without making a massive mess.  It worked fairly well for me.  I would make a couple pots, then fill them, then make some more pots.  If I made too many pots without filling them, they started to tip and come open a bit without the weight of the dirt.  Once the pots are filled with dirt, you're ready to plant. 

Plant your seeds to twice the depth of the diameter of the seed.  That means it's a whole lot shallower than what I usually do.  Possibly that's another problem for me previously.  Note that I labeled my pots.  I need to know what I'm growing, and I know myself.  I'll never remember otherwise, and I want to ensure that when I plant my plot, I'm able to strategically arrange my plants.

Watering is super easy.  Again, because we don't want to have the dirt pushed down any more than necessary - or wash away the seeds accidentally.  Simply pour water into the bottom of the container you're using.  Depending on how many pots you have, you'll need a whole lot of water.  The newspaper will help to wick the water up the pots and keep them evenly watered - yet another benefit and bonus.  As your plants need to be watered going forward, you'll do the same thing; simply water the pan and the water will be absorbed from the bottom of the pots on up.

Once your pots are watered and the dirt is moistened, you'll want to remove the excess newspaper.  The newspaper wicks up the water really well, but any newspaper the isn't covering dirt will make the water evaporate faster.  Simply peel away any exposed newspaper.  As you continue to water your plants, the dirt will compact more, so you'll need to keep doing this every once in awhile.

Totally easy, right?  And green?  And amazingly effective.  I can't wait to see the impact of my garden once it's grown.  Thank you to We Farm America for sharing all this great information.  What will you plant?

How To Make A Palm Cross

Every year, we bring home palms from Palm Sunday Mass. Every year, our cats try to abscond with them and turn them into cat toys. It's a constant battle, but it's one that I learned to win a few years ago. I learned how to make crosses out of our palm fronds, which makes them a nice keepsake and removes the temptation from our cats.

It's super easy, although I'll admit to being able to make them a lot faster and more easily when I don't have to actually talk and think about what I'm doing. Welcome to my life. The wee ones enjoy making them, too, and it's a great reminder to keep in our bedrooms all year long.



And please do excuse my hair. I'm fighting off some nasty bug and feel pretty rotten right now. The next video, I'll look better, I promise.

How To Keep Your Kids Organized

I'm trying to decide if I'm a mean mom because of all the rules and strategies I put into place for the wee ones or if I'm just lazy. I have this thing about keeping my house somewhat neat and the wee ones helping me do so. Thus, the fining system that I recently implemented (which is working amazingly well by the way).

One of our other challenges is the afternoons when the wee ones get home from school. There is a lot they have to do, and we sometimes struggle to get it done without ... issues. Either the wee ones can't figure out what they're supposed to do. Or they whine that everything will take forever. Or they claim that they've done something but really forgot. Or they simply don't want to do it at all.

I've finally come upon a solution that's working for us. The wee ones are happy, we're getting things done, and I don't have fifty kajillion questions about what they need to do now. Remember the homework room I created? I'm using the whiteboard I painted for more than practice work. It's now where I create a list each afternoon - before they get home - of everything the wee ones need to do.

I'm a list maker, so I love the idea of a list. And the wee ones love having things crossed off. We learned very quickly that one rule must be that only Mommy may erase anything from the board. I will take it off only when the item has been done to my satisfaction - clean clothes put away means that the laundry basket has to be put away, too, and math homework means the problems have to be all correct, for example.

The wee ones love it because they get to choose what order to complete the tasks. They have control over it, and it makes them feel good. So long as nothing is mission critical (e.g., today, they have to change for gymnastics before they finished all their homework), I have no problem with that. And it's nice for them to learn to prioritize their tasks, too. Eventually, I'll require that they write down what they need to do instead of me doing it, but we're not quite there yet.

And best of all? It's the board that's telling them what to do. It isn't a battle of me versus them telling them what to do. When I see Mister Man starting to play with Legos or read a book when he still has tasks to do, I can simply ask him to check out the board, and he knows he has to wait. I'm amazed by how smoothly this is going for us - and here's hoping I didn't just jinx it!

The hardest part is me remembering everything they have to do each day. On Tuesdays, Little Miss goes to the school library and needs to return her books. I have to remember to write that on the Monday tasks.

But oh how it warms my heart to hear, "Mom. Mom, I just completed Task X. Can you erase it from the board?"

What works for you to keep your children organized?