Thru November

FINANCIAL
1) Save 9-10% of your annual income in a savings account- we currently have not met this goal. We were able to put some into savings but not as much as we would have liked. This will definitely be a big goal for next year.

2) Save $1000 to go on a honeymoon/5-year anniversary- We finally got money together to go on a honeymoon/5-year anniversary trip. All we have to do now is figure out where and when. Any suggestions?


3) Make 1 extra house payment- We also completed this. My small additions to each payment added up to ~1.5 house payments. Yea us!!

4) Spend less that $3000 on groceries and household needs for the entire year (does not include baby things but does include toiletries and cleaning products)-

5)Never use a credit card - We did have to use the credit card a few times this year for some of the many breakdowns but we have all of the credit cards paid off in full and will go into the new year with only a house loan.

6)Save enough money to buy Aaron a new chainsaw- WE DID IT! Aaron bought his new chainsaw on Mar 4th. He has already used it a couple times.

7) Save enough money to buy a new lawn mower- We still are just using the push mower. This Will be a goal for next year. We hope to buy a new one in April or so.

8) Save $500 to buy a 1/2 cow or a pig for the freezer- Not done.. this maybe could have happened.. but them someone (who is 14 months, cute adorable, and shall remain anonymous) unplugged the freezer right before our trip making us loose everything in our fully stocked freezer. I guess life happens.


9) Have no debt (other than the mortgage) by the end of the year. Replaced by 9b.
9b) Pay off minivan in 12 months- We did it!! We paid off the mini van in less than 12 months. YEA!!!!!


10)Pay off all medicals bills from 2009 (Thanks a lot kidney and face)- DONE in February

11)Make $500 from selling things (yard sales, craigslist, etc)- We did well in this category. I think all in all we made about $300-400 selling things at yard sales and on Craigslist.


12) Start a savings account for a new car- well we were able to put $1000 down with the money that we started to save. but this goal is now complete


FAMILY

1) Go on two weekend family vacations- We only made it on one.. but we were able to see both families one in the summer and go home for both holidays. All in all a job well done.

2) Visit both families at least once- Completed July 1-13th


HOBBY
1) Make at least 2 batches of beer- Completed in July
2) Make at least 1 batch of root beer- completed in May and July


3) Grow a successful garden- We did ok.
4) Can 6+ months of corn, green beans, pickles, spaghetti sauce, stewed tomatoes, salsa, etc. - We bought a ton of tomatoes from a local farmer and were able to can lots of spaghetti sauce, salsa, bruschetta, etc. We have really enjoyed it. We hope to can even more next year.

SALLY
1) Get back to pre-Hannah weight- Not quiet there, but I'm getting there.

2) Make two dresses for Hannah- Completed in May
3) Learn a new hobby-
4)Make 2 books on picaboo-I have Titus's baby book completed. If I can only figure out how to get it on our new computer, I will order it. The second book has not occurred.. but I am still really motivated to do so.

5) Read the entire bible- I did awful at this. i made it thru Deuteromety with audio books and haven't made it any further.

6) Get more involved at the church- I am still praying and waiting for this.
7) Read 7 books - Ive read 4 or 5 books this year. I should be getting one more from my book review club and i borrowed one from my grandmother I hope to finish. So this one may still happen.

AARON

1) Hunt something- Completed in May
2) Process one animal - Completed in May

3) Make a rocking horse - nothing yet.

OTHER

1) Make our own breads (so my real goal is to not but any sandwich bread or breakfast breads for an entire year)- We have done this so far. We will not be continuing it next year. (Aaron dreams about store bought bread). I think we will still make it often but I would like to have some on stock so making bread all the time isn't the burden it has become.

2) Make 52 new recipes- Completed. (see posted before this one). I hope to post all the recipes this month.

July

FINANCIAL
1) Save 9-10% of your annual income in a savings account- So i have come to grips that this will probably not happen this year. But i still want to save some. We'll see.
2) Save $1000 to go on a honeymoon/5-year anniversary- Waiting on the reimbursement.. still.. grrrrr insurance company.

3) Make 1 extra house payment- This month I did an additional ~5%. Total ~50%

4) Spend less that $3000 on groceries and household needs for the entire year (does not include baby things but does include toiletries and cleaning products)-

5)Never use a credit card - Only work expenses that I will get reimbursed for

6)Save enough money to buy Aaron a new chainsaw- WE DID IT! Aaron bought his new chainsaw on Mar 4th. He has already used it a couple times.

7) Save enough money to buy a new lawn mower- Waiting to see what happens with the insurance reimbursement. Right now the push mower works and could get us through his summer if needed.

8) Save $500 to buy a 1/2 cow or a pig for the freezer- This one might not happen either. Its still something we want to do but realistically, $500 isn't enough to purchase either.
9) Have no debt (other than the mortgage) by the end of the year. Replaced by 9b.
9b) Pay off minivan in 12 months- Slow and steady wins the race. I have set up a way of doubling the payment. Unfortunately i didn't realize it until now. The bank has a weird way of depicting their payment schedule. I hope to have an automatic payment taken out biweekly to help this.
10)Pay off all medicals bills from 2009 (Thanks a lot kidney and face)- DONE in February

11)Make $500 from selling things (yard sales, craigslist, etc)- Nothing this month. We are going to re post everything in August.
12) Start a savings account for a new car- well we were able to put $1000 down with the money that we started to save. but this goal is now complete


FAMILY

1) Go on two weekend family vacations- No vacations this month
2) Visit both families at least once- Completed July 1-13th
HOBBY
1) Make at least 2 batches of beer- We started out second batch at the end of the month. It is in our guest bedroom bubbling away.

2) Make at least 1 batch of root beer- We have made 3+ batches of root beer. We are still struggling with carbonation so i will try a few new things in August.
3) Grow a successful garden- We are restarting the garden in August
4) Can 6+ months of corn, green beans, pickles, spaghetti sauce, stewed tomatoes, salsa, etc. -
No more canning in July. Hopefully some in August

SALLY
1) Get back to pre-Hannah weight-July was not a good month for me. But i am at the same point... no loss.. no gain.. i guess its better then gaining.. but still frustrating.

2) Make two dresses for Hannah- Completed in May
3) Learn a new hobby- I have decided Soda making is going to be my new hobby. I love doing it, and I really enjoy the blend of cooking and science.

4)Make 2 books on picaboo- I am up to June in Titus's baby book and still have no idea what other book i want to make. Working on it.
5) Read the entire bible-

6) Get more involved at the church- i signed up to help with the children's ministry. hopefully they will call me soon

7) Read 7 books - 1 down, 6 to go ( i have started the second)

AARON

1) Hunt something- Completed in May
2) Process one animal - Completed in May

3) Make a rocking horse - nothing yet.

OTHER

1) Make our own breads (so my real goal is to not but any sandwich bread or breakfast breads for an entire year)- We did it. We are doing really good on this goal

2) Make 52 new recipes- I am up to 32. Recipes will follow.

BBQ Dog Treats

Seeing that i currently have a ton of BBQ sauce in my house (8 bottles from house party + ~8 bottles of Kraft I got free with coupons earlier) and Job needed some more doggie treats, I was excited to find this recipe that would take care of both.



BBQ Bone Dog Treats are nice. They make the house smell like good BBQ and Job really likes them. I would reccomend. It doesnt make quiet as many as my old recipe, but its a nice treat for Job and a way to use up some BBQ sauce.

June Update

FINANCIAL
1) Save 9-10% of your annual income in a savings account- life's unexpected things are making this hard. It is still a goal but is starting to look unachievable this year.

2) Save $1000 to go on a honeymoon/5-year anniversary- Still waiting on insurance money

3) Make 1 extra house payment- This month I did an additional 10%. Total ~45%


4) Spend less that $3000 on groceries and household needs for the entire year (does not include baby things but does include toiletries and cleaning products)-


5)Never use a credit card - No credit card use in June

6)Save enough money to buy Aaron a new chainsaw- WE DID IT! Aaron bought his new chainsaw on Mar 4th. He has already used it a couple times.

7) Save enough money to buy a new lawn mower- Still using the push mower. Maybe when the insurance money comes back we'll upgrade

8) Save $500 to buy a 1/2 cow or a pig for the freezer- After watching Food Inc and King Corn, Aaron and I both motivated to start eating more grass fed meat and supporting local farmers. This will be a huge change to our food budget so we are doing it slowly. This is still a priority of mine.

9) Have no debt (other than the mortgage) by the end of the year. Replaced by 9b.
9b) Pay off minivan in 12 months- Slow and steady wins the race.

10)Pay off all medicals bills from 2009 (Thanks a lot kidney and face)- DONE in February

11)Make $500 from selling things (yard sales, craigslist, etc)- We have had a couple people interested in buying some more stuff, but nothing yet. Hopefully in July.

12) Start a savings account for a new car- well we were able to put $1000 down with the money that we started to save. but this goal is now complete


FAMILY

1) Go on two weekend family vacations- We leave July 1st to visit family

2) Visit both families at least once- See above.

HOBBY
1) Make at least 2 batches of beer- Aaron is enjoying his first batch and plotting his second.

2) Make at least 1 batch of root beer- We made a batch of root beer and ginger ale this month. Both were successful failures. The root beer tastes great but did not carbonate (i let the activated yeast sit out too long). The ginger ale is very fizzy but taste strange. We need to tweak the recipe some. Hopefully we will get a second batch in on both before the trip up north.
3) Grow a successful garden- Its in partially. I will call it a work on progress.
4) Can 6+ months of corn, green beans, pickles, spaghetti sauce, stewed tomatoes, salsa, etc. -


SALLY
1) Get back to pre-Hannah weight- I'm getting there. I have started my EA sports Wii game. Right now I am really sore.
2) Make two dresses for Hannah- Completed in May
3) Learn a new hobby-

4)Make 2 books on picaboo- I am up today with May for Titus. I need to focus on what I want the other book to be. I have a couple half started
5) Read the entire bible-

6) Get more involved at the church- Still searching for my place.

7) Read 7 books - Well I have ten great books i want to read. Again, its just finding the time. I hope to be better about this.

AARON

1) Hunt something- Completed in May
2) Process one animal - Completed in May

3) Make a rocking horse


OTHER

1) Make our own breads (so my real goal is to not but any sandwich bread or breakfast breads for an entire year)- We are doing really good on this. Its hard to remember that we need it, but Aaron and I have both become expert bread makers.

2) Make 52 new recipes- With 6 months left, I am right on track.

Another Goal Complete: Root Beer

Last weekend Aaron and I tried making a batch of root beer and ginger ale. Both were semi successful and semi failures. The root beer taste great but I let the yeast sit out too long before mixing it in. So, the root beer did not carbonate. The ginger ale carbonate up very nicely but it has a funny taste. I'm not he biggest fan of the recipe. It has a nice ginger taste, but the lemon added is over powering. I think next time I would reduce the lemon amount and only add the juice, not the entire lemon.

This coming weekend we are planning on making another batch of root beer. Hopefully we will have some to bring home while visiting family. Pictures will be posted soon.

Book Review: Lies the Goverment Told You: Myth, Power and Deception in American History by Judge Andrew Napolitano

This book is about the 17 top lies the government has passed onto the American people including that "all men are created equal", "its only a temporary program", and "I'm the government, and I'm here to help." He discusses how the men and women in government have warped the government to be self serving instead of selfless. He gives many real examples of how laws and authority have been abused and covered up.

I thought the book was eye opening. I always new there were problems with our government, but he did a wonderful job putting face to some of the issues. While I may not feel as strongly about some of the issues as he does, it does show you how some kind of government reform and accountability is necessary.

Overall i enjoyed the book, mostly. I did find the book a little hard to read at times, but that might have just been me.

Note: I was given a complimentary copy of the book to review. this review is my own opinion and I was in way compensated for a good review.

Recipe #24- peanut butter oatmeal cookies... with fiber

So, I had a box if All bran bran buds that I wanted to use up. After some searches, I came across a couple recipes. The first one I tried was this... Fibertastic Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies.

The cookies turned out pretty good. They are a nice chewy oatmeal cookie.. not the flat gooey kind. The peanut butter is subtle and the all bran can not be tasted at all.

We will definitely make these again. They are a good and they contain very little refined sugar.

Enjoy!