The Abundant Wife

Living Abundantly on Less

10 Tips from 2 Amateur Gardeners

March 12th, 2014

Jessica

Brad and I both come from gardening families. Both of our mothers grow flowers, and both of our fathers have a vegetable garden. Our grandfathers also had vegetable gardens, and we grew up seeing our relatives tending their little backyard plots.

Yet when Brad and I moved to Northern California, we knew very little about how or what to grow in our backyard. We have both been very surprised by Brad’s green thumb, and his success in growing all manner of things. So here are 10 tips from 2 amateur gardeners:

1. Designate a compost bucket, and choose a location to empty it in your yard.

2. Compost your leaves, fruit peels, egg shells, coffee grounds, tea, stems, nuts, charcoal, and even hair clippings!

3. Choose a few vegetables to plant. (We have tomatoes, squash, pumpkins, and carrots.)

4. Plant fruit trees. (We have lemon, lime, orange, and peach trees. We also have a grape arbor.)

5. Plant flowers. (We have roses, geraniums, sunflowers, wildflowers, and even a bottle brush tree in our yard.)

6. Try container gardening. (Brad grew carrots in a rubber-maid tub!)

7. Water your garden, and give it lots of space to grow.

8. Enjoy the harvest!

9. Learn to cook from scratch, using your harvest. (Don’t forget to compost your leftovers!)

10. Use your fresh produce for holidays, or share your abundance with others!

As you can see, the main thing you need to do is venture out into your yard, and begin experimenting. Some things will work, and some things will not. Some plants that grow in one place, won’t grow in another. But you don’t need a fancy box garden, expensive fertilizers, or high-end gardening tools. Go outside and get your hands dirty. Plant some seeds, water your garden, and see what grows!

What tips would you give amateur gardeners like us?

Baking Libby’s Famous Pumpkin Pie with Homemade Pumpkin Puree

March 10th, 2014

Jessica

Last year we had a bumper crop of pumpkins grow from our compost garden. As a result, I cook a lot of pumpkin recipes for my family. Surprisingly though, I had never tried cooking pumpkin pie. I guess I thought that pumpkin puree from backyard pumpkins might prove inferior to canned pumpkin when baking. However, when I recently looked up Libby’s Famous Pumpkin Recipe, I was amazed at how simple it was! I decided right then and there to try it.

As I predicted, baking this recipe was a cinch. I did encounter a few problems though. First, I got regular pie shells instead of deep dish. Oops! I had a lot of filling left over, and ended up baking more pies the next day. Second, my pumpkin puree is more watery than canned pumpkin, so my filling was thinner than expected. Finally, the thinner filling also resulted in longer cooking times. Some pies required doubling or even tripling the cooking time on the recipe.

Despite the challenges I encountered, my pumpkin pies have been delicious! Our family and friends have really enjoyed them.

What is your favorite pumpkin pie recipe? What pumpkin recipes does your family enjoy?

The Gift of Curtains: Our Master Bedroom & Dining Room

March 8th, 2014

Jessica

Last year for Christmas (2012) my father-in-law gave Brad and I curtains and curtain rods for our living room, and then helped us install them. It may amuse some of you to know that we’d been living in our house for 1 1/2 years, and still didn’t have curtains anywhere but in the kids’ room. In fact, we still don’t have curtains in our bathroom or office. But, as Dave Ramsey always says, “Live like no one else, so you can live like no one else!” So we were living without curtains. We do have blinds throughout the house, although they did not look nearly as cozy.

Once the living room had curtains, I used some of our Christmas money to buy sheers for the dining room window, curtains for the master bedroom, and rods for both locations. I bought the curtains and sheers at Lowe’s, and bought the rods at JCPenney. I’ve got to tell you, it’s amazing how much more finished a room looks with curtains! Our dining room is still very humble in appearance as you can see below. Eventually we would like to save up for a solid wood dining room set, but for now we’re making due with a folding table and chairs that were a gift from my mother-in-law.

As I look at these pictures, it’s incredible to me how many things we’ve been given over the years. In the photo below, my mother gave us the mirror, and my mother-in-law gave us the wicker cabinet. In the photos above, Brad’s grandfather made our bed-frame and bed-side tables as a wedding gift, and my parents gave us our mattress, box-spring, comforter, and sheets for our wedding. We love to walk around our house remembering all the ways that our family and friends have blessed us over the years, and helped to make our house a home.

What gifts make your house a home?

Freebie Friday!

March 7th, 2014

Jessica

Thank goodness it’s Friday! It’s been awhile since I shared a “Freebie Friday” image, so I thought I’d share this one from back in November. Suffice to say, most of the freebies in the photos have been used up by now! As usual, most of my freebies come from following Crystal at Money Saving Mom. As you can see I receive free magazines, coffee, make-up, stationary, shampoo, conditioner, books, perfume, calendars, coupons, and more in my mailbox! If you’ve never tried requesting free samples, I highly recommend it. It makes going to the mailbox an adventure every day!

From Night Owl to Early Bird: 9 Things That Keep Me Up At Night

March 6th, 2014

Jessica

As long as I can remember, I have tried to stay up late at night. I begged my parents for one more TV show, talked with my brothers and sisters until all hours, procrastinated on schoolwork until the last minute, watched movies with my husband, and refused to be left out of any late-night fun there was to be had.

However, being a mother has changed all that. Not only do my littlest babies still wake up in the middle of the night on occasion, but all of my children are up by 7:00am every morning. So it has become necessary for me to stop being a night-owl, and transform into an early-bird.

During the month of February, I made it my goal to be in bed by 10:00pm every night. I put a pad of paper and a pen on my bed side table, and every night I documented what time I went to bed, and my “excuse” for staying up late. I was not surprised to see that technology (my laptop computer and smart phone) was the #1 culprit keeping me up at night. Here are 9 things that kept me up at night during the month of February:

Watching Movies/TV shows with my Husband
Scheduling (I spent this month learning how to use Google Calendar)
Social Networks
Talking to my Husband
Reading eBooks
Proofreading for Others
Editing Photos
Shopping On-Line
Writing

As I looked over my list, I realized that nothing on my list was bad in and of itself. In fact, many of the things I did late at night were very good. The problem is that I continue to begin new tasks late at night, when I should just call it a day. One of the primary ways that I can make myself go to bed earlier is by turning off my technology. True story; my earliest bed time was the night my iPhone battery died.

At the end of the month I averaged my bedtimes, and found that on average I was in bed by 11:10pm each night. Although I was disappointed that my average bedtime was later than I’d hoped, I was pleased to see that I was going to bed earlier than in the past. It helps to remember some of the reasons why I’m going to bed earlier each night:

I want to be well-rested as I begin each day with my 3 children.
I want to yell less and laugh more.
I don’t want to miss spending mornings with my kids.
I want to get through the day without needing a nap.
I don’t want to depend caffeine to keep me awake all day.
I want to be dressed by a reasonable time.
I want to make it to my morning activities on time.
I eventually hope to get up before my children each day.

One of the things I have been reminding myself of recently, is that “Staying up late is a punishment, not a privilege.” As a child I believed that staying up late was a reward for age and maturity. However, when I have small children, staying up late punishes me (and everyone who has to interact with me) all the next day. I want to greet my husband and children with cheerfulness and gratitude (instead of crankiness and fatigue), so I will continue to work on going to bed earlier each night.

Do you struggle with going to bed late every night? What strategies work well for you? What motivates you to go to bed earlier?

Why You Need to Save $1000 For A Rainy Day

February 10th, 2014

Jessica

16 months ago the “Check Engine” light began glowing on our truck’s dashboard. We paid a local mechanic $40 to run a diagnostic test, and he turned off the light, assuring us that our truck would be fine. However, we would need to have the small problem fixed before our truck would pass its smog test.

In December, we received notification that our truck was due for its annual registration, and bi-annual smog test. We chose a different mechanic this time, but received the same news. The “Check Engine” light would need to be fixed before we could pass our smog test or registration.

Well, the “small” problem turned out to be a very “expensive” problem. Our truck needed a new oxygen sensor, a new fuel/air sensor, and a new catalytic converter. These 3 repairs cost $1109, plus $40 for the smog check, and $126 for the registration. We had been saving for the registration fee, but still we ended up spending $1275 on truck expenses this month.

Some of our friends who know how tight our budget is, wondered aloud, “How did you pay for that?” And we told them, “We used our Emergency Fund.”

When we started learning about Dave Ramsey and following his “Baby Steps” in 2010, the first thing we did was save $1000 for a rainy day. In fact, due to our experience with job loss we later increased our Emergency Fund to $2000 so that we would have a bigger cushion in the face of crisis.

Murphy’s Law states that “Anything that can go wrong–will go wrong.” Your $1000 Emergency Fund is insurance against Murphy’s Law, for the unexpected events in life that you can’t plan for.

Our Emergency Fund kept our truck repairs from turning into new debt, while we are paying off our old debts. This set-back will probably slow down our student loan debt pay-off, but it feels great to be able to pay for our truck repairs in full without any damage to our monthly budget!

Do you have an Emergency Fund? Have you ever had to use your Emergency Fund?

23 Books I Read in 2013

February 3rd, 2014

Jessica

Do you like to read? I love to read, and it’s one of my favorite ways to spend my “free” time. A year and a half ago when I made six goals, I couldn’t believe that I finished 3 books in 3 weeks. I’ve come a long way in goal-setting since then, and I’ve become a regular reader. I’ve made finding time to read a part of my daily routines. In 2013 I finished 23 books, and was still reading 3 more when the year ended. One big surprise to me was that 8 of the books listed below are free e-books!

7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker
Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin, & Monique Tilford
Debt-Free Living by Larry Burkett
Tell Your Time by Amy Lynn Andrews
Frumps to Pumps by Sarah Mae
Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott
Stupid Things Parents Do To Mess Up Their Kids by Laura Schlessinger
Pocket Your Dollars by Carrie Rocha
Your Beautiful Purpose by Susie Larson
Pajama School by Natalie Wickham
Dave Ramsey’s Guide to Budgeting (FREE from DaveRamsey.com)
The Likeability Factor by Tim Sanders
Finding God in the Dark by Ted Kluck and Ronnie Martin
Called to Serve by Max Depree
Sheet Music by Kevin Leman
Quitter by Jon Acuff
Created To Be His Help Meet by Debi Pearl
Bossypants by Tina Fey
168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura VanderKam
These Are the Days of Elijah by R.T. Kendall
The UnWired Mom by Sarah Mae
Secrets to a Happy Life by Bill Giovannetti
You Can Still Wear Cute Shoes: And Other Great Advice from an Unlikely Preacher’s Wife by Lisa McKay

In 2014, I hope to finish 24 books before the end of the year. I have already finished these 4 books (some I started in 2013) which were all excellent:

Loving the Little Years by Rachel Jan Kovic
How to Blog for Profit (Without Selling Your Soul) by Ruth Soukoup
Say Goodbye to Survival Mode by Crystal Paine
7 Simple Choices for a Better Tomorrow by Bob Merritt

What are your favorite tips for finding time to read? What books have you enjoyed recently? Is it time for you to set reading goals for yourself?

In 2014, I Hope To…

January 17th, 2014

Jessica

My blogging buddy Katherine decided to host a second link-up party, this time entitled “In 2014, I Hope To…” I am back in California in the midst of unpacking from two months away, but I DO happen to have a list of 25 New Year’s Goals! So here goes nothing!

Spiritual:

Daily quiet time (read my Bible and write in my journal) 6 days a week.
Finish reading my Bible beginning to end for the 4th time (2^nd Kings to Malachi).

Marriage:

Plan for a “Date Night” out every other week. Schedule regular at-home date nights throughout the week.
Look for opportunities to help Brad with his Youth Ministry work.

Parenting:

Yell less, laugh more.
Begin homeschooling Naomi.
Potty train Oliver.
Read 3 books to the kids each night.

Health (Body/Mind):

Walk each day.
Read a book each day. Read 24 books in 12 months.
No Coffee/Soda.
Go to bed at 10pm each night.

Home:

Remodel the bathroom (spackle, sand, paint, recover back of medicine cabinet, paint inside cabinets & drawers).
Repaint the living room and kitchen cabinets. Repaint doorways, closets, doors, and built-in shelving.
Plane doors. Hang butterfly in kids room. Install new dresser handles on Oliver’s dresser.
Smog test our truck and have the engine light repaired.
Finish repainting bus-stop. Paint gate.

Finances:

Choose new insurances (home, life) and write a will.
Pay off our last $14,000 student loan by August.
Make money by selling items on eBay, Amazon, and Craigslist.

Ministry:

Look for opportunities to be generous.
Look for opportunities to build real-life friendships.

Blog:

Write 1 post weekly.
Learn to use new iPhone and DSLR camera.
Experiment with: What Would Seth Godin Do? Widget, Instagram, Ligit/Blogher, Momitforward, Clevergirls, Blueprint Social.

How about you? What are your goals for the new year?

In 2013, I Learned…

January 3rd, 2014

Jessica

Happy New Year my blogging friends! I have missed sharing my life with you these last 6 weeks. I am still in Maryland for 2 more weeks, but taking some time to reflect on the past year. It’s hard to believe we fit so much life into these last 12 months. My blogging buddy Katherine is hosting a link-up party this week entitled, “In 2013, I learned…” I decided that this was a great opportunity to summarize what this Abundant Wife has been learning this year. So, without further ado:

1. I’ve always loved to organize, but I was surprised to learn that I enjoy cleaning too.

2. Praying and walking make a great combination, especially for this young mom.

3. When Brad and I got married, we agreed that I would stay home with our kids. I love sharing with other moms how we do it!

4. There seems to be a pumpkin theme going on around here. And a compost garden theme.

5. Thanks to a tip from my blogging buddy Jessica in June, I finally received my first $107 paycheck from Google Adsense in December! Apparently, you actually CAN make (a little) money blogging.

6. I learned to edit my photographs on PicMonkey so that they would generate more Pinterest traffic. (Thanks Ruth!)

7. I learned that BHAG‘s (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) inspire me, and they inspire others. (By the way, we’re only $14,000 away from paying off our last student loan!)

8. I discovered a clothing company called Twice, and promptly bought 4 shirts using the money I earned! Then I remembered how much I love new clothes!

9. Once the dust settled later in the summer, I enjoyed trying some new recipes in the kitchen.

10. I read 23 books this year, and got half-way through 3 more. I love reading and always learn a lot from books!

Oliver Andrew’s 3rd Birthday

11. I read all of the New Testament, and read from Genesis to 2 Kings this year. I also managed to maintain consistent “quiet times” and journaling through most of the year. Again, I always learn a lot from reading the Bible!

12. I created a Twitter account, and then linked it to my Facebook page, so that I’d never have to fool with it again.

13. After years spent avoiding a budget that covered anything other than our monthly bills, and little success with cash envelope budgeting, I finally signed up for Mvelopes. I am now a fully converted budget-lover. I don’t know how I lived without one!

14. After reading The UnWired Mom, I experimented with going unplugged, deleting my Pinterest account, deleting all my Facebook friends, and taking breaks from blogging. I’m gradually getting back on the computer again, but trying to find a good balance between computer time and family time.

15. I tried DIY facial cleanser, shampoo, and conditioner, and Brad tried DIY laundry detergent this year.

16. Apparently making money by selling books on Amazon is a popular topic! I wrote a post about it after I got a lot of questions on Facebook. In October Woman’s World magazine called to interview me about it, and I was featured in an article on page 24 of their December 2013 issue!

17. I quit blogging on May 17, and started blogging again on May 28. I had a difficult time adapting my computer habits to our increased family size this year.

18. I really enjoyed the time I spent this year deepening friendships with friends from church, my siblings, my parents, and even other bloggers! I was also reminded again and again, what an awesome man of God I married.

19. I learned again how important it is to set aside my to-do list at times so that I can be there for the people around me.

20. Finally, I learned that I set WAY too many goals for last year! This year I hope to have fewer goals, and to make sure that they are all SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely).

Naomi Faith Making Dough Ornaments

So, what did you learn in 2013? I’d love to hear how you’ve grown this past year!

Holiday Vacation

December 11th, 2013

Jessica

Happy Holidays my blogging friends! On November 20, my family headed back to Maryland to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with our extended family. We’ve had a great time catching up with everyone back East!

Many members of our extended family couldn’t make it to Thanksgiving this year as they celebrated from other locations around the world. Those of us who could be there were thankful to be together!

I am still in Maryland now, and will be in Maryland (with the kids) for 8 weeks total. Brad returned to California after Thanksgiving to work, but will be back again at Christmas to celebrate the holiday with our entire family.

Here in Maryland, we’ve been experiencing all the snow and cold winter weather that we miss in sunny California! The kids have enjoyed novelties like sledding, snow ball fights, snow pants, shoveling the driveway, and warming up by the fire.

As you have probably already guessed, blogging on vacation is a bit challenging! I will continue my blogging vacation until mid-January, when I can return to a more regular routine again.

I look forward to catching up with all of you again in January!

Love,

Jess