20 Pack Portion Control Bento Boxes

I have some similar to these three compartment meal prep containers! I actually have one, two, and three compartment ones! And I love them. I use them for leftovers and prepping ahead lunches or dinners when I have time. They are BPA free. Dishwasher, freezer, and microwave safe makes them great for all kinds of foods.

Best off if you have prime shipping is free on these! So take a look at this 20 pack portion control boxes that will help save you money, time, and food waste!

Middle Thompson Lake, Montana

Montana a lot of times is called gods country, with good reason. 

Glacier National Park

And we are lucky to live so close to Glacier National Park and the mountains. 

Ashley Lake, Montana

Have lots of lakes near us for fishing. 

River outside Bozeman, Montana

I just figured with all the negative we see in life it would be nice to have some nature pictures. I hope everyone is having a wonderful Summer or what is left of it. 

Meal Prep- Salads

It's summer, and its HOT! I dont know about you but when its hot I hate cooking. Tonights dinner is in the crockpot, but tomorrow is a different story. Tomorrow Sage has a girl scout meeting and I have to work tomorrow night so I know I am not going to want to cook anything. I found these great containers on Amazon that make meal prep easy! You can free in them, you can microwave in them and best of all they are dishwasher safe. They come in packs of ten. I use two compartment ones and three compartment ones.

I love that they stack nice, and don't take up a lot of room. I have done more than salads in them but today was salads for dinner tomorrow. All the family will have to do is warm up the chicken in the fridge that is already cooked add their salad dressing and go. If you are making salads ahead for work or on the go meal three compartment containers would probably be better as you could put your salad dressing in it's own spot.

Happy New Year 2016

The New Year is here! And with the New Year here in Montana is freezing cold weather, along with New Years resolutions, or in my case just goals. 

Seems like every year we have new goals, or the same goals maybe? 

2015 was a rough year for my family, but it could have been worse. We were doing ok till my boss at the time decided he couldn't afford to pay me. I was working for a small business owner doing his books. I went three months with out working till I finally found another job doing overnight shifts at a local grocery store. Nights at a grocery store is a whole different world of craziness and crazy people. 

I worked both jobs for about 4 months and then we were back to not working and not getting paid form job #1. Still with the over night store, but it takes a toll on my family. 

Homeschooling, working overnights and all other things that are going on in our lives things get really crazy. Sage is doing Girl Scouts, art classes, and now a science class through January. 

Goals for this year are about the same as last year. The normal, lose weight, spend less, pay off more bills, and be more happy. 

What are your goals for the year?

First Day of 4th Grade

Wow it's been a while since I've been on here. We have had a busy summer. I started another job, Sage has been enjoying her summer but now its time for school! Today is her first day of 4th grade! This year we are using Easy Peasy. Easy Peasy is all-in-one online school that kids can work on at their own pace. You can use it to supplement what you are already doing or use it by itself. 

With school starting means more things happening! Outings, art classes, and this year we signed Sage up for swim classes. Going to be a busy few weeks while we get into our routine again!

Pray for my sanity! LOL

First Day of 4th Grade Picture

Is Summer Break Here YET?

Im sure everyone who has kids in school or that homeschool are ready for summer to be here! I know there is  a few that homeschool that do school through the summer. Not us! By the time the middle of May gets here im ready to school to be out and over. 

Do you have summer plans? We plan on doing a few trips to Glacier Park, fishing, maybe hiking, doing a little gardening and probably just enjoying the weather. 

FREE Art Lessons from Kinder Art

While looking ofr stuff for homeschool I ran across this website Kinder Art which is FREE art lessons! Those who know me know I love FREE! Sage does art at our local art museum, but loves art and I'm always looking for more to do. I just wanted to share this great site! They have lessons for K-12 but also lessons for children and adults wiht disabilities which I think is AWESOME!

Thoughtful Thursdays - Think Before You Speak

This week on thoughtful Thursdays thinking before you speak. Seems everyone has that person in their life who has a better story to tell, better life, better job, better kids, better everything or so you think.

I have a few I have had to deal with over the years and still do. I wish I could get rid of them out of my life but things my child is involved in, work, things I'm involved in doesn't allow this to happen. And its hard to push them out of your head! Just because THEY think they have the best in life, jobs, kids, other half's job, ect doesn't mean they are any better than you. Seems to me these are the people that either push their kids to far or shelter them to the point that when the do go out into the "real" world they aren't going to know what to do.

So if you have a bragger, know it all, what ever word works for you remember you may not having everything they do, but you are still you and doing the best you can for yourself, and your family and kids if you have them. We are all our own person. Don't ever try to be like someone else, it will just depress you. Just because they have the best of everything or have to have the best of everything doesn't mean they are happy.

So if you are happy where you are be thankful for that. We all wish for bigger and better things, it depends on how you work towards that goal. Baby steps may be the way to go for you. You may be the person who saves up for something big rather than just go out and buy it. That's fine! As long as your happy that's what matters. Those who brag are often not happy people deep inside.

Menu Mondays Week of 1/26 -2/1

Here is this week's menu. I am looking into new recipes with cheap ingredients cause lets face it we are on a limited food budget. Do you have any ideas? If so please leave a comment below. I always only plan out the main part of the meal. The sides I figure out while I'm cooking dinner. 

I like to print menu's off from $5 Dinners. You could make your own calendar or even use the one on your wall. Here is the weekly menu I use from $5 Dinners. 

My menu for this week consists of

Monday

Breakfast: cereal

Lunch: sandwich

Dinner: hotdogs and Mac & cheese

Tuesday

Breakfast: oatmeal

Lunch: ramen

Dinner: grilled cheese and soup

Wednesday

Breakfast: cereal

Lunch: mac and cheese

Dinner: FFY

Thursday

Breakfast: toast

Lunch: ramen

Dinner: soup and grilled cheese

Friday

Breakfast: cereal

Lunch: mac and cheese

Dinner: pork chops

Saturday

Breakfast: oatmeal

Lunch: sandwich

Dinner: crockpot

Sunday

Breakfast: eggs/toast

Lunch: FFY

Dinner: leftovers


(FFY is fend for yourself)

I always look at our schedules to see what is going on before planning out meals. Sage has Awanas, we do Girl Scouts, and other homeschool activities during the week so we try and plan around these. My crockpot meals unless planned out are normally chicken, or a freezer meal I just have to throw in there to cook.

**The links in this post  may contain affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link. For more information see my disclosure policy. 

Menu Mondays Week of 1/19 -1/25

Here is this week's menu. I am looking into new recipes with cheap ingredients cause lets face it we are on a limited food budget. Do you have any ideas? If so please leave a comment below. I always only plan out the main part of the meal. The sides I figure out while I'm cooking dinner. 

I like to print menu's off from $5 Dinners. You could make your own calendar or even use the one on your wall. Here is the weekly menu I use from $5 Dinners. 

My menu for this week consists of

Monday

Breakfast: cereal

Lunch: sandwich

Dinner: tuna helper

Tuesday

Breakfast: oatmeal

Lunch: soup

Dinner: pancakes

Wednesday

Breakfast: cereal

Lunch: tuna sandwich

Dinner: FFY

Thursday

Breakfast: toast

Lunch: ramen

Dinner: soup and grilled cheese

Friday

Breakfast: cereal

Lunch: mac and cheese

Dinner: pork chops

Saturday

Breakfast: oatmeal

Lunch: sandwich

Dinner: crockpot

Sunday

Breakfast: eggs/toast

Lunch: FFY

Dinner: leftovers


(FFY is fend for yourself)

I always look at our schedules to see what is going on before planning out meals. Sage has Awanas, we do Girl Scouts, and other homeschool activities during the week so we try and plan around these. My crockpot meals unless planned out are normally chicken, or a freezer meal I just have to throw in there to cook.

**The links in this post  may contain affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link. For more information see my disclosure policy. 

Frugal Fridays- Living in With Your Means

Living in with your means.........seems most people don't have a clue what this means. We have all done it, need something put it on a credit card, or a place that lets you buy now pay later. Most of the time we see this is in teenagers just starting out in the world.

Are you teaching your kids about money? How to save wisely? How not to be in debt? Some debt is good for example buying a house. Some is bad like credit cards.

Are you one of those like us who is working to pay off credit cards? I'll admit we used ours for Christmas even though we didn't want to. Our goal this year is to get at least half of them paid off. I am working on getting a extra job to get this goal done. While I don't know when I'll get to sleep having a extra job this is how we are planning on getting stuff paid off.

I read once if you want to pay off your credit cards start with the ones with the highest interest. They may not be the ones you owe the most on, but you are paying more in interest on them, costing you more money in the long run. This is our goal sitting down finding out which one has the highest interest and work on paying extra on that one every month. Once it is paid off we will apply what we have been paying on that one to another credit card till we get it paid off then go down the list.

There is also places that will help you where you can take in a list of your bills, credit cards, ect and they will work with the credit card companies to get the interested lowered. The catch to that is you CAN NOT use those cards the whole time. Most work on a 5 year plan to get everything paid off. For some people this might be the best option especially if you are in way over your head and don't want to claim bankruptcy. Check for a local place. Most charge you a fee for helping but should be less than trying to tackle all your credit card debt at once.

Got any tips for getting bills paid off faster? I'd love to know!

Menu Mondays Week of 1/12 -1/18

Here is this week's menu. I am looking into new recipes with cheap ingredients cause lets face it we are on a limited food budget. Do you have any ideas? If so please leave a comment below. I always only plan out the main part of the meal. The sides I figure out while I'm cooking dinner. 

I like to print menu's off from $5 Dinners. You could make your own calendar or even use the one on your wall. Here is the weekly menu I use from $5 Dinners. 

My menu for this week consists of

Monday

Breakfast: cereal

Lunch: hot dogs

Dinner: Tacos

Tuesday

Breakfast: oatmeal

Lunch: Mac and Cheese

Dinner: French Toast

Wednesday

Breakfast: cereal

Lunch: tuna sandwich

Dinner: FFY

Thursday

Breakfast: toast

Lunch: sandwich

Dinner: nachos

Friday

Breakfast: cereal

Lunch: mac and cheese

Dinner: goulash

Saturday

Breakfast: oatmeal

Lunch: leftovers

Dinner: soup and grilled cheese

Sunday

Breakfast: eggs/toast

Lunch: FFY

Dinner: salad

(FFY is fend for yourself)

I always look at our schedules to see what is going on before planning out meals. Sage has Awanas, we do Girl Scouts, and other homeschool activities during the week so we try and plan around these. My crockpot meals unless planned out are normally chicken, or a freezer meal I just have to throw in there to cook.

**The links in this post  may contain affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link. For more information see my disclosure policy. 

Frugal Fridays- Keeping Track of Expenses

While you know how much normally about you have coming in for income, do you know how much you spend? This includes using store cards and credit cards. In our house we have started using a Google Sheets so either of us can access it at any time.

We have different categories by expenses for example

Food
Fast Food
Gas
Credit Card Payments
Animal Supplies
Fun
Household Supplies
Utilities/Rent
Medical
Gifts

You can add or remove any categories you don't need to use. January is our 2nd full month of doing this and we are finally getting the hang of it.

Do you have a way to  keep track of expenses? I'd love to hear about them.

Boyles has a Huge Rug Selection on sale up to 80% off! And there is so many to choose from! If you are looking for a new rug Boyles is the place to look!

**The links in this post  may contain affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link. For more information see my disclosure policy. 

Menu Mondays- Week of 1/5-1/11

Here is this week's menu. I am looking into new recipes with cheap ingredients cause lets face it we are on a limited food budget. Do you have any ideas? If so please leave a comment below. I always only plan out the main part of the meal. The sides I figure out while I'm cooking dinner. 

I like to print menu's off from $5 Dinners. You could make your own calendar or even use the one on your wall. Here is the weekly menu I use from $5 Dinners. 

My menu for this week consists of

Monday

Breakfast: cereal

Lunch: sandwich

Dinner: soup and grilled cheese

Tuesday

Breakfast: oatmeal

Lunch: Mac and Cheese

Dinner: Pancakes and Eggs

Wednesday

Breakfast: cereal

Lunch: tuna sandwich

Dinner: shrimp

Thursday

Breakfast: toast

Lunch: soup

Dinner: Crock pot meal

Friday

Breakfast: cereal

Lunch: Sage's choice

Dinner: spaghetti

Saturday

Breakfast: oatmeal

Lunch: FFY

Dinner: hot dogs

Sunday

Breakfast: eggs/toast

Lunch: FFY

Dinner: crock pot

I always look at our schedules to see what is going on before planning out meals. Sage has Awanas, we do Girl Scouts, and other homeschool activities during the week so we try and plan around these. My crockpot meals unless planned out are normally chicken, or a freezer meal I just have to throw in there to cook.

**The links in this post  may contain affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link. For more information see my disclosure policy. 

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Frugal Fridays- Credit Cards With Living Crazy in Montana

Frugal Living- Credit Cards

With Living Crazy in Montana

I read 75% of Americans have one credit card. Sadly I have more than one. But this "new" year I'm actually cutting mine up! I'll have one froze in the freezer for emergencies, OK not really froze in the freezer but sounds like a great idea. One put "up" so it can't be used expect in emergencies. 

I am also deleting everything but my debit cards from my paypal and amazon account. Two of the places it is so easy to use a credit card. 

I'm sure for most of us its so easy to think we have a little room on our card go ahead and use it. We did use the credit card for a bigger present for the child this year. She got a small and I'm talking small TV for her room. There is motive behind this though. She LOVES watching educational movies. She will now be able to watch them in her room. She also loves to listen to music and will be able to stream Pandora in there. 

Anyways back to credit cards. Those things you pay on that never seem to go down. This year I'm determined to get my cards paid down if not paid off! Here's to a new year, being more frugal, and getting out of debt. 

**The links in this post  may contain affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link. For more information see my disclosure policy. 

1. 

Resolutions? Or Life Style Changes?

What do you plan for? This year I'm going for the life style changes. For the last how many years I have been saying I need to lose weight. I have started many diets only never to get anywhere after a few months. This year Im going for a life style change, healthier eatting, more exercising, and getting off my butt.

As a family we are working off paying off bills. We are hoping to evenually move out of this trailer as living in a trailer sucks for us. Some people are fine with it, us we'd rather have a yard where the dogs can run, where sage can play and have normal stuff in her yard like a pool.

So step one is eatting better and exercising. Step two of my life style chaning plan is to spend money more wisely, cut costs, ect.

I know a lot of people arn't going to be happy with us when we say we can't go places. Even with gas prices going down we still will NOT be going anywhere we dont have to. Multi tasking while out running around, not eatting out, thinking ways to use left overs differently, these are all ways we will be working on saving to pay off bills.

What are your New Years resolutions or life style changes?

A lot of Yesterdays...........

There will always be yesterday. Or yesterdays. How ever you want to put it. Today is step one of my life style change to lose weight. I have my menu written out for the family for the next 5 weeks. Some days I will not be eating the same as them due to its something so high in calories it wouldn't be good me.

Not saying I'm not going to slip up along the way. I'm climbing back on the ride and ready to go. I am using My Fitness Pal to track my calories and exercise.

I am also looking into different things to eat, we eat a lot of the same things over and over because they are cheap and easy. But we all get tired of eating the same things all the time.

This year is my year! One way or another I will succeed this year. I'm so tired of one step forward three steps back.

**The links in this post  may contain affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link. For more information see my disclosure policy. 

Love Bedding? Check out these AWESOME bedding sets!

If you love bedding you need to check out Beddinginn! I seriously fell in love with some of these bedding sets! Some are so realistic! They have baby blankets, pillows, and so much more! Right now they are having sales up to 80% off!  nd there is the  New Year Coupon, 10% Off for Orders Above $99, Coupon Code: 4NEWYEAR

Fancy Red Roses and Petals Print 4-Piece 3D Duvet Cover Sets


**The links in this post  may contain affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link. For more information see my disclosure policy. 

Top Class Lifelike Gold Leopard Print 4-Piece 3D Duvet Cover Sets 

100% Cotton Lovely Ships and Sea Print 4 Piece Bedding Sets

Colorful Petal Bow Knot Pattern Baby Quilt

New Style Ancient Egyptian Cotton 3D Bedding Sets