The Abundant Wife

Living Abundantly on Less

Freezing Lemon Juice & Lemon Slices

June 3rd, 2013

Jessica

If I haven’t mentioned it recently, our family moved to Northern California in September 2011. After living in Maryland, Michigan, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, China, and Minnesota, I was unprepared for the availability of fresh fruit on the West Coast! It is not unusual to see fresh citrus fruit falling off the trees in our neighbor’s yards, nibbled on by squirrels, or brought to our home by a generous friend.

When we have a pile of fresh lemons on our counter top, we usually slice them and freeze them in bags. Then we drop them in glasses or pitchers of water, or in a cup of tea throughout the year. The kids like to eat them with a little sugar sprinkled on top, and some of our friends think frozen lemons make a delicious treat!

Brad also likes to juice our lemons, and freeze the juice in the freezer. At this rate, I’ll never need to buy lemon juice again!

Last year Brad froze some of the lemon juice in cubes, so that he could add to his beverages with ease.

Brad also slices and/or juices the other fruit that we receive, including oranges, limes, and grapefruit!

What would you do with an overabundance of fresh citrus fruit?

Pinterest Inspired: Frugal Bathtime Fun

June 1st, 2013

Jessica

Recently I spotted this Pin on Pinterest, and decided to try it with the kids. We filled our ice cub trays with water and then added a drop of food coloring. That night, we added the multi-colored cubes to their warm bath. The cubes didn’t last for long, but the kids had fun chasing and chewing on them. As you can see, it also changed the color of the bathtub water!

Have you tried any fun Pinterest-inspired ideas recently?

(If you’d like to follow me on Pinterest, click here!)

DIY Facial Cleanser

May 31st, 2013

Jessica

You may remember my November book review of Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider. I really enjoyed the book, and have also enjoyed her blog and subsequent articles. Recently a friend of mine mentioned that she was trying a DIY facial cleanser, inspired by Tsh’s Simple Mom blog. I was almost out of face wash anyway, so I thought I’d give it a try.

You can read more about Tsh’s Oil-Cleansing Method at her blog. I mistakenly used 100% Olive Oil instead of Extra-Virgin Olive Oil as Tsh suggests. It was too late by the time I realized my mistake, so I’m using it anyway. I got the Olive Oil at the grocery store, and the Castor Oil at Walgreens. I used one part Castor Oil to three parts Olive Oil. So far I’ve been pleasantly surprised. My skin felt a little more oily for the first few days, but I haven’t had any break-outs. I may try a little more Castor Oil next time. I scrubbed the label off of the Olive Oil bottle to have a prettier way to store my new cleanser.

Now obviously I messed up the Olive Oil, but there is a pretty big price difference between the two methods. The Clean & Clear above costs about $5.63 for 6.5 oz ($0.87/oz) while the 100% Olive Oil and Castor Oil costs about $9.42 for 16 oz ($0.59/oz). However, Extra-Virgin Olive Oil will most likely cost you more than the 100% Olive Oil. All of these numbers could vary greatly depending on whether you used coupons or other savings methods.

Have you ever tried making a DIY facial cleanser?

DIY Homemade Laundry Detergent

May 30th, 2013

Jessica

My husband, Brad, has been urging me to try a recipe he found for DIY Homemade Laundry Detergent for some time. We are not only a family of five, but we also cloth diaper our children, so we go through a lot of laundry. I was able to pick up all three ingredients (yes, only three!) at our local Win-Co grocery store in the laundry aisle. Brad shaves the bar soap, combines the ingredients in a plastic storage container, and then adds 1-2 Tbsp per load.

DIY Homemade Laundry Detergent

1 Bar (4.5 ounces) of shaved bar soap (Ivory, Zote, Fels-Naptha)
1 Cup of Borax
1 Cup of Washing Soda

Directions: Stir together for 5 minutes. Add 1-2 Tbsp per load.

Have you ever tried making homemade laundry detergent?

Pruned To Be More Fruitful

May 29th, 2013

Jessica

Our Grape Arbor

“He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” John 15:2

On Sunday Brad was asked to preach at the first and second service of a local church. Between the services we were invited to sit in on a Sunday School class. Our teacher led a class discussion of John 15. I was especially struck by John 15:2. “Every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”

The last 8 months have not been easy. We’ve been on reduced salary 3 times. I had an undiagnosed infection for 4 months. We had a baby. We went to Maryland for 2 weeks. Brad had training in Florida for one week, and a mission trip to Mexico for one week. We hosted family from Maryland for 5 1/2 weeks. We live 2700 miles from our families for most of the year. I underwent surgery 3 weeks ago.

But if I look at this passage, Jesus pretty much guarantees that if I’m producing fruit, then I will be pruned so that I can produce more fruit. Instead of feeling sorry for myself when hard times come, I can recognize that I am being pruned for future fruitfulness. I can be grateful and hopeful knowing that God can use my struggles for His glory.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22

It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over

May 28th, 2013

Jessica

10 days ago I wrote about how I was quitting my blog. As you can tell from the past week of blog posts, I’m having a difficult time letting go. For one thing, my husband and parents are encouraging me to keep blogging, even if I can’t do it as often or as well as I would like. For another thing, I can’t seem to stop taking photos and mentally composing blog posts in my head. As I began to purge my computer of anything related to my blog I found more pictures and notes that I didn’t want to waste. I mean, who else will celebrate with me if I read another book, find another freebie, or do another diy project that I found on Pinterest? So here I sit again, writing on my laptop on the couch while my 3 babies are napping.

So for now, instead of quitting, I will be changing things up a bit. I will be doing my best to ignore the voices in my head that compare me to other “better” blogs with better Google Analytics, Pinterested images, Photoshopped photographs, Facebook “likes”, income generated from advertisements, and more. Instead, I will continue to photograph our daily life, and share what is on my heart. Due to my other responsibilities, my articles may be shorter or less frequent than in the past. You may have already noticed that my pictures have been smaller, which also saves me time. I hope to be on the computer less when my children are awake, and more when they are asleep. This will take better time management on my part, but I think I’m up for the challenge.

Thank you for sticking with this wife, as I attempt to live abundantly. Thank you for encouraging me when I feel discouraged.

Love,
Jessie

How To Be Generous When You’re Just Scraping By

May 27th, 2013

Jessica

Last November I read 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excessby Jen Hatmaker, and I loved it. I highly recommend that you all read it. However, it is not the kind of book one can read without acting on it. Shortly thereafter I was watching The Muppet Christmas Carolwith my kids (a family favorite from my childhood), and I felt convicted yet again. I have been a frugal person since childhood, but as I watched Scrooge I could see the other side of my penny-pinching ways. I longed to be generous like Jen and give out of my excess, and I longed to leave a legacy of generosity instead of legacy of stinginess.

Then, in December, Brad’s salary was reduced by 25% and I became fearful that we were returning to April 2010, when our salary was reduced and we were eventually laid off. I was angry at God for convicting me on generosity just moments before taking away a portion of our income. But as I read my Bible each day, I saw Paul celebrating those who gave despite their poor circumstances. So I began to look for ways to be generous, in spite of our deficit. For all I know, we will always be scraping by, and I don’t want to wait around the rest of my life in hopes that someday I’ll have enough of a surplus to be generous. Here are a few ways that I have found to be generous, even when you’re just scraping by:

Give a meal: Our church uses the website Take Them A Meal to organize meal deliveries for families in our church.
Give your freebies: We had a surplus of freebies in our medicine cabinet, so I found a friend who needed them.
Give your time: My husband took our Young Life kids Christmas Caroling around our neighborhood, and made a lot of new friends.
Give your talents: I’ve been helping my husband with the administrative chores of his job so that he can focus on the other things that need his attention.
Give your knowledge: My sister was fundraising for an 11-month mission trip, and was selling items on eBay and Amazon as a fundraiser. I was able to help her with my knowledge of these two websites.
Give your home: Our family often hosts Young Life events, but we also host friends and family when they visit.
Give your transportation: When a friend’s car broke down recently, we offered a ride.

Last week I was again lamenting that we didn’t have enough money to give as much as I would like to give. Minutes later, a friend showed up unannounced and asked to borrow an item from our garage. I enjoyed God’s sense of humor. We’re on 75% salary again this month and next, and yet God keeps giving me opportunities to give. I was thrilled to be able to give my friend exactly what she needed, and God stopped my complaints. If you long to be generous on a limited budget, I challenge you to start looking around for creative ways to be generous. You may find there are more ways to be generous than you ever imagined!

What ways have you discovered to be generous when you are just scraping by?

Pinterest Inspired: Crockpot Barbecue Chicken

May 25th, 2013

Jessica

One of the ways that I save money is by “shopping from my pantry.” Recently I noted that I had all the ingredients on hand for Barbecue Chicken. I remembered an easy recipe that I’d spotted on Pinterest.

Crockpot Barbecue Chicken

4-6 Pieces Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

1 Bottle BBQ Sauce

1/4 c Vinegar

1 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes

1/4 c Brown Sugar

1/2 – 1 tsp. Garlic Powder

Directions: Mix all the ingredients (except for the chicken breasts) in a bowl. Place chicken in crockpot. Pour your sauce over the chicken and cook on LOW for 4-6 hours.

The recipe was just as easy as promised. We had more than enough Barbecue Chicken for 2 meals. Thank you to “Stick A Fork In It” for the delicious recipe!

If you’d like to follow me on Pinterest, you can click here!

Freebie Friday: Photomontage

May 24th, 2013

Jessica

What free stuff have you received recently?

Freezer Cooking: Burritos

May 23rd, 2013

Jessica

Before Evelyn was born, I filled our freezer with a lot of meals so that I could rest as much as possible. As you can see, I prepared about 3 burrito meals in advance. If you’re looking to save yourself time, freezer cooking is the way to go!

If you’re looking for some tips and practical help for freezer cooking, you should check out my friend Jessica’s website, Loving My Nest. She’s done all the work for you!

Have you ever tried freezer cooking before?

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