Music Monday

Beautiful Star of Bethlehem is one of my favorite songs and no one sings it better to me than Patty Loveless. 

Oh beautiful star of Bethlehem
Shining far through shadows dimmed
Giving the light for those who long have gone
Guiding the wise men on their way
Unto the place where Jesus lay
Oh beautiful star of Bethlehem shine on

Oh beautiful star the hope of light
Guiding the pilgrims through the night
Over the mountains 'til the break of dawn
Into the land of perfect day
It will give out a lovely ray
Oh beautiful star of Bethlehem shine on

Oh beautiful star (beautiful, beautiful star)
Of Bethlehem (star of Bethlehem)
Shine upon us until the glory dawns
Give us a lamp to light the way
Unto the land of perfect day
Oh beautiful star of Bethlehem shine on

Oh beautiful star the hope, the grace
For the redeem the good and the blessed
Yonder in glory when the crowd is one
Jesus is now the star divine
Brighter and brighter he will shine
Oh beautiful star of Bethlehem shine on

Oh beautiful star (beautiful, beautiful star)
Of Bethlehem (star of Bethlehem)
Shine upon us until the glory dawns
Give us a lamp to light the way
Unto the land of perfect day
Oh beautiful star of Bethlehem shine on
Oh beautiful star of Bethlehem shine 

I’m wishing you peace today in these days leading up to Christmas. 
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~

Some of my Favorite Christmas Ornaments

Some of my favorite Christmas ornaments over the years are...

This was a gift from my niece right after Bailey was born. Even though it has my ex’s name on it, I couldn’t part with it. We think it’s cute and put it on our tree each year. My sister bought us a new one in 2006 with just our names on it. 

This red boot is a handmade ornament from my childhood. My name is written on the bottom in my mother’s handwriting. There were three of them all together that we made, one for my brother, one for my sister, and this one for me.

This red basket and the mailbox one below were made by Bailey’s grandmother who we never had the chance of meeting as she died in 1987. Even though we didn’t know her it gives us a sense of her being part of our family. 

Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~

Frugal Friday #3 of December 2021

Welcome to Friday! 
Quote of the Week

Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud. ~ Maya Angelou

My Frugal Week
Our local thrift store had a buggy sale, so Bailey went on Friday and was able to get 24 items for her shops and a couple of things for home. They allow you to fill up a shopping cart for $15.00, so each piece was less than one dollar each. 
We pray for the people In the path of the tornados that devastated areas in Arkansa, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Illinois last Friday evening. I have a lot of family in Mayfield, Kentucky. Two of my family members both lost their homes in the tornado that touch downed there. No one was hurt though and we are so grateful for that. 
Over the weekend I finished processing and steaming what clothing we will do before Christmas for Bailey’s shops. She has all of her inventory from yard sales this summer listed and what remains is from consignment sales. She will definitely have to start sourcing again after Christmas. 
So, I’m feeling excited just like the last day of school before Christmas break. I have plenty of things I want to do In the days we have left before Christmas, which include baking, cleaning, etc. I have all the presents wrapped that I’m giving out and the house is all decorated, so hot chocolate and Christmas music will enjoyed in the days ahead. 
If you’re interested, McDonald's is having special offers on their app from now through Christmas. They are offering 1 free thing daily (with $1 purchase) now till December 24th if you have their app. On Tuesday we went to the post office and stopped in for a free Big Mac with a $1.00 purchase. 
Simple Joy of the Week
Bailey and I were sitting on the back porch one day watching the cats play with each other in the yard and to our surprise several birds came to the bird feeder. It was so fun to sit there and watch them eat.
Avoiding Spending
On Wednesday I went to town for a follow up doctors appointment, but did not spend any money. 

Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
On Tuesday I made a batch of granola in the crockpot. I like making it in the crockpot because it doesn’t have the potential to burn like it does in the oven. I had some dried fruit and nuts that I added to it at the end. I like making my own cereal at home to save money. 

We enjoy this Weber Gourmet Burger Seasoning on our burgers. That and a splash of Worchestishire sauce and they are good. 
Meals This Week
Friday: Beanie Weenies made from scratch with dried navy beans. 
Saturday: Plant Based Vegetable Burgers, Baked Potatoes, Carrots, Green Beans
Sunday: Chicken, Beans & Rice, Stir Fry Vegetables
Monday: Salmon Patties, Basmati Rice, Mixed Vegetables
Tuesday: Homemade Pizza, Salad
Wednesday: Vegetable Burgers, Oven Fries, Peas, Corn & Carrots
Thursday: Better Cheddar Smoked Sausage, Tater Tots, Broccoli 
Recipe of the Week
This is a recipe my friend, Linda Poole, gave to me back when we both worked at Rhea Medical Center in the early 1990s. She said this was her family’s recipe for cheesecake. This is a tried and true family favorite these days as you don’t have to bake this version of cheesecake. 
Cheese Cake
Ingredients:
2 - 8 ounce packages cream cheese1 - 16 ounce Cool Whip1 - 8 ounce sour cream2 teaspoons lemon juice1 cup sugar (may use less if desired, I use 1/2 cup)Vanilla Wafers for the crust
Directions:
Line pan with vanilla wafers.Mix all ingredients, except vanilla wafers, until blended.Pour on top of vanilla wafers and chill well. 
Saving on Entertainment
What I've been Reading This Week
I’ve been reading in the povertyfinance subreddit this week. There was a discussion on the cost of protein rising. Someone mentioned the price of Popeyes chicken. The conversation then steered towards buying fast food verses cooking at home. 
Curious, I checked the Popeyes app and was offered a “deal” on a chicken sandwich, side item, and drink for $10.00. Wow, I wouldn’t want to see their regular prices if that was the deal of the day. 
Another poster made the comment that companies are raising their prices to make up for lost revenue during Covid19. I’m not sure how this will all pan out, but I do know if this continues they are going to price themselves out of serving some of their customers. 
Freebies
That is all the news to report on our frugal week in Tennessee. Thank you for dropping by, you are always welcome here. We would love to hear about your week in the comment section.
Belinda~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree

Menu Plan Monday

We are at the end of the groceries from our last monthly shop, so this is the time of the month to get creative. Last month with the rising price of groceries, I had enough money in the budget for three weeks of meals, so I knew this time was coming. We were able to get some free food during this month, so that definitely helped. 
Here are some meals I can make this week, although they may change up as we will be getting groceries in the next week.
I have one more package of the plant based burgers that Bailey got for free after an Ibotta rebate, so I will make a meal out of those one day. We had them for dinner on Friday and they were delicious. We would definitely buy them again. 
I have two cans of chicken breast meat and plenty of mixed vegetables on hand. I can make a sauce and pie crust from scratch to make a chicken pot pie for one day. If I don’t want to make a pie crust, I can always make a biscuit topping for the pot pie. 
We always have beans on hand. I have pintos, great northern (soup beans), and navy beans on hand. So, we can have beans and cornbread for dinner one night along with some ham or I could make baked beans. 
We have some canned beef on hand that I can make a meal out of as well. I thought about making BBQ sandwiches, but would need to make the BBQ sauce from scratch. I have all the ingredients for that on hand, so that shouldn’t be any problem. 
We can also have a big vegetable stir fry this week, which is one of our favorite meals to have. And another good meal would be to have a baked potato night. 
We have all of the items needed to make breakfast for dinner one night too. I could make a quiche, pancakes or waffles, and/or eggs.
We also have plenty of rice, elbow macaroni and spaghetti on hand for those types of meals. I even have a couple of bean and rice packets I could make one night. 
We also have several cans of salmon to make salmon patties one day. And we have plenty of delicious tarter sauce to make to go with them. 
It still surprises me how many meals we can make from what we have on hand. We wouldn’t have to do any grocery shopping this week and still have plenty of food to make meals. That is what I love about The Pantry Principle. There is always something we can make for dinner. 
How about you? What kind of meals will you be making this week?
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

Self Care Sunday

Abbie Paulhus

When I was married we attended church regularly and referred to Sunday as the Lord’s Day because it was the first day of the week and we would spend that time at church. It was a time of rejuvenation, which gave us renewed hope and energy for the coming week. 
We can still spend Sunday like we did back then taking time to care for ourselves. This gives us the opportunity to stop and take in all that surrounds us, take time to pamper ourselves, and renew our spirits for another week. 
What do you have planned for self care today?
I’m going to pamper myself a little bit. I gave myself a haircut, so I plan on washing my hair and pampering myself a little bit. I also plan on doing some reading and I may watch some YouTube videos on personal growth. 
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree