Wordless Wednesday

Today is my first Wordless Wednesday.  I imagine that I am not supposed to type too much so I will keep this short and sweet.  I just wonder for a moment, what do you suppose that squirrel was thinking?

Taken By Grace - New Release from PureFlix

I'm pretty stoked because PureFlix Entertainment has released a new movie to DVD called "Taken By Grace." 

Here's a description:
Taken By Grace – On the night that he is released from prison, Lucas Blackstone (Angus Macfadyen from Braveheart) sets out for the town of Trinity to find the man who murdered his son. Armed with a pistol and a past full of mistakes, Lucas kidnaps Shawn Everett (Bradley Dorsey) and his wife, Carrie (Haylie Duff) and holds them hostage. As the trio travels to Trinity, Lucas learns of Shawn and Carrie’s troubled marriage and questions their ability to reconcile their love through their faith in God. But Lucas has no interest in their faith, that is until he discovers the horrible truth about his son’s killer.

You can pick it up at your local Christian bookstore or even online at the PureFlix link at Christianbook.com here.

I'm going to do a little hunting tomorrow at my local Christian bookstore and see if they have it.  It looks really good.  IF I get it, expect a review ASAP.

Starting A New Study!!!!!

My life has been pretty busy, but I am realizing that I am allowing it to be busy but not full.  What I need is to spend more time in the word and more time seeking God's will.  Well, in a plan to move towards that goal I have signed up for the upcoming online Bible study from Proverbs 31 Ministries "What Happens When Women Say Yes To God: Experiencing Life in Extraordinary Ways" by Lysa TerKeurst.  

I have always admired Lysa, and I simply feel like as much as I may be growing in my walk with God, I want to be more focused and I want to see what God wants me to do when I get out of the way (and boy do I know how to get in the way!).

Here is a little blurb about the study from the Proverbs 31 Ministries website:  

Current Study: What Happens When Women Say Yes to God

Through the P31 Online Bible Study, What Happens When Women Say Yes to God, you will learn to:

• listen for His voice and discern what He is asking you
• see how wholehearted obedience honors His presence in your life
• give yourself to Him and let Him affect lives around you in amazing ways

The Proverbs 31 Online Bible Study offers real hope for real life. It’s flexible to meet any schedule. It’s the perfect Bible study for anyone who can’t attend a regular Bible study. Our group is focused on study, but we also have lots of fun. You will receive daily prayer and encouragement by being a part of this active community at Proverbs 31 Ministries.

I am definitely jazzed about this.  I have done several of these studies before on Melissa Taylor's blog.  They are not officially moving to the P31 site.  If any of these goals hit a spot in your heart, you might want to check it out...you can learn more at this link.  And since I am VERY serious about doing this and making REAL changes in my life (not to mention I want to remain accountable), I will be posting about my progress here.   Yep...it is transparency time!

Movie Review - The Perfect Summer

I love that we now h ave  DirectTV because it means with have the UP Channel which used to be GMC.  A few weeks ago I set up the movie "The Perfect Summer" for a little weekend viewing.  The weekend got away from me though.  So here's a ittle review time. 

The Perfect Summer
Swirl Films
Level Path Productions
Word Entertainment
Up Entertainment

Starring:   Eric Roberts, Sidney Penny, Adam Horner, JD Banks, Katie Garfield and Jason Castro.

About the movie (from UP site):

In The Perfect Summer, fatherless teenager Jake (Adam Horner) was happy living in Chicago, until his mother (Sydney Penny) decided to uproot them to a small surfing town where her estranged father (Eric Roberts), Jake’s grandfather, lives. The transition isn’t easy for anyone and it seems everywhere he goes, Jake manages to make enemies, including the town bully, Tyler (JD Banks), who doesn’t like the new interloper or his interest in young surfing prodigy, Kayla (Katie Garfield). Stuck in the beach town with no friends and no knowledge of surfing, Jake has nowhere to turn until Cody (Jason Castro), the local surf shop owner, reveals that Jake’s grandfather is a surf legend. Tired of feeling like an outcast, Jake asks Lou to teach him about surfing. Jake learns to face his fears, push through inhibitions and realizes that winning the respect of his new peers – and Katie’s heart – might mean facing the biggest challenge of his life.

My Review:

I love a good summer movie.  Add a real message, and it gets even better.  There are several messages touched on through various characters in the film.  One of the most important is to keep trying and not quit.  Jake learns this as he battles learning to surf and learning to care about making a life in his new surroundings.  The story isn't all about Jake though.  We also get an opportunity to see a little bit of mom and grandpa's struggles as well.

Jake has moved with his mom from Chicago to Carolina Beach.  Now you might think that this would be a complete dream come true, but it is never really easy being the new kid.  Add the fact that you are leaving all you know and have suffered a pretty strong loss, baby steps are needed as well as lots of understanding.  Jake is not a surly teen, but he is definitely out of his element and not afraid to share that with his family.  Compounding the troubles of moving to a new town is the stereotypical bully who has set his jealous sites on Jake. 

Jake's mom is just trying to get back on her feet.  They are making a new start with her dad, but it is still all new.  She doesn't have a very strong relationship with her father.  Letting go just might be difficult.  Of course the task of just getting a job is at the forefront of her to-do list.

Grandpa has some time on his hand.  He uses that time to volunteer at his church and eventually to teach his grandson the finer points of surfing.

What I liked:  I liked the scenery.  I liked that everything wasn't perfect from the get go.  As a person who has done her own bit of moving, I appreciated the realness of the struggle, but also that things can be worked out with some effort.  I liked that Celebrate Recovery is also featured in the film.  I have friends who are part of Celebrate Recovery.  It is a wonderful ministry that truly helps people with all sorts of hurts, habits and hang ups. I enjoyed the music featured in the film as well with artists I enjoy like Jason Castro, Big Daddy Weave, and Dara Maclean.  

Favorite quote (from Jake's grandfather):  "The man you'll be tomorrow depends on the man you choose to be today." 

Rating:  I would give The Perfect Summer 5 out of 5 stars for a TV movie.  The casting was well done.  The story was told nicely.  There were definitely moments that I could really feel.  

Final note:  Currently I have only been able to watch The Perfect Summer on UPtv.  I do hope that at some point they will release it to video.  It is definitely one to watch. 

Side note:  I was thrilled to see Sydney Penny in a film again.  I remember when she was in "The Thorn Birds" when I was a kid and a Clint Eastwood movie called "Pale Rider" WAY back in the day.  She has always been a favorite of mine.


FREEBIE - Download Jason Castro's song "Good Love" which is featured in the movie by heading over to his website via this link.  No idea how long that will last so head on over.  

Mini Rant

In general I tend to be a pretty happy person.  I try to be.  I think it is far better to choose joy in life rather than look for or even acknowledge negatives.

BUT

Occasionally there are things that rear their ugly little heads and just drive me to distraction.  These things are typically found when I am driving.  What can I say?  I've never been a very calm driver.  That probably sounds bad.  I learned to drive back east.  You have to drive very defensively back east.  You cannot just worry about you because there is a whole lot of craziness on the road.  Like this one time, I was driving in Providence, Rhode Island and there was a truck several car lengths in front of me with several large appliance boxes in the back.  Something told me to move to another lane.  Right after I did, I kid you not, one of the boxes bounced right out and right where I just had been.  In fact you should also really hold on to your God and do some serious praying while on the road too. 

BUT I digress...

Where was I?  Oh yes.  Today I had to stop at Walmart to pick up a few very needed items.  One - half & half.  Half & half is a must for me because without it, I cannot have coffee.  Without coffee, well, let's just say, mama is not a real pleasure to be around.  Not because I am cranky.  Well, maybe a little bit because I'm cranky, but mainly because I get a headache if I do not have at least one cup a day.  Please don't lecture now.  I know that is not a great thing, but there was a time when I was drinking four...yes four cans of Starbucks little cans of espresso in a day (in addition to several pots of coffee).  I feel pretty decent dropping that down to at least one cup of joe.

Did you see that?  I digressed again.

Let's skip over the shopping list because really it doesn't matter anyway.  Suffice it to say that I went to Walmart for some essentials.  Let us also say that Walmart parking lots are filthy with bad drivers.  One such bad driver made an appearance on my way out.  

Scene:
I am driving along the parking lot driving area (not where the cars are parked but the long lane alongside the parking area where we all travel until we see a section that is not overwhelmed with parked cars).  Coming in the opposite direction was a woman in a white car.  She put on her turn signal and took a left into into a section in front of me.  Did she drive down the section to look for a spot?  NO!  Why do I say no with solid caps?  Because she pulled into the section and made a U turn back into the driving lane area!  Instead of driving all the way down the parking area and back up another side, she just pulled a crazy U turn.  The big bummer was, this faboo driver was now behind me.  I like to keep my bad drivers in front of me where I can figure out my best means of escape when en route, so needless to say, this kind of sucked.  

I was on my way out of the lot and to the main street where the signal light is.  This area has three lanes.  Two lanes that go left and one that goes straight or right (this may or may not be important).  I stopped behind a car at the light and then watched in my rear view as the woman in the white car pulled up behind me and BEFORE STOPPING looked away to the passenger seat.  Once her car stopped she looked straight ahead again.  I cursed my bad luck.  I was really hoping she would have taken the far right lane for a turn.  As we waited for the light to change, I watched in horror as the woman bent way over into the passenger side (like maybe she had dropped her phone) until her head completely disappeared!  Every now and then she would pop up to see of the light had changed to green.  I prayed silently that she kept her foot on the brake and that she would locate whatever it was she was trying to grab quickly.

Finally the light changed to green and we took off.  The two lefts take you to four lanes of traffic again with the possibility for two left turns and also leading to a signal light).  I drove VERY slow in hopes that the woman would go into the far left lane and get away from me (again, because as she drove, she was still fiddling with something next to her).  It did not work.  She was stuck to me like glue.  I couldn't take it.  She would pull really close and then pull way back (by the way I was not under the speed limit any more), she would weave a bit in the lane, and the whole time she kept looking about on the passenger's side.  To save myself from losing it, I finally decided to go to another plaza to the Petsmart in order to get the cats a treat and save my sanity and anxiety levels thus relieving myself from witnessing this woman for another moment.  

It worked.  She continued on.  The birds began to sing, my heart felt light, and a weight lifted from me completely.  I did have to take an unplanned stop, but in the long run....so worth it.  

Okay...rant done.

Thrifty Tips for July 25, 2013

RECIPE FOR THIS WEEK'S SALE

Safeway is selling Sanderson Farms whole chicken at just 88 cents a pound.  This means that I MUST share my favorite chicken recipe.  Roast Chicken with Lemons is from Marcella Hazan.  It is perfect inside and out every single time.  Follow this link for the recipe which I have picked up via NPR.  The leftover chicken can usually be halved (if you remove ALL the meat) and makes a great base for Garlic Chicken Lettuce Wraps from Thrifty Fun (I even just make the chicken and scatter it over a salad).  The other half is great on this Chicken Pesto Pizza recipe from Pillsbury.  They suggest jar pesto, but here is a simple recipe from Simply Recipes if you have the ingredients. 

SOMETHING MISSING?  MAKE IT YOURSELF

Necessity is THE mother of invention.  Who said that?  Okay...believe it or not, I stopped to look that up and found that it is apparently an English proverb but it has also been attributed to Plato.  Either way, it is so very true, and I discovered how true the other day when I was trying to figure out how to not buy more groceries.

My son wanted tacos.  I had the main ingredients which included ground beef, cheese, lettuce and soft corn tortillas (way cheaper than boxed brands), but I did not have taco seasoning.  What is a woman to do?  Go on a Pinterest hunt.  While there I found just the perfect recipe for taco seasoning that you can make on your own and not only save some money but save on ingredients that we do not desire like (from a packet I looked up online) Maltodextrin (what is that?), Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil (I cannot have soy), Silicon Dioxide (anti caking), and Ethoxyquin (a preservative).  Pinterest has recipes for massive amounts and smallish ones.  I went for the smallish which should work for at least three batches of tacos when using one pound of ground beef.  I found this recipe at AllRecipes.com. 

3 teaspoons of Sea Salt (I used regular iodized salt)
3 teaspoons of Pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons of Garlic Powder
1 1/2 teaspoons of Onion Powder
1 – 1 1/2 teaspoons Dried Mexican Oregano Leaves
2 teaspoons Paprika
4 1/2 teaspoons of Ground Cumin
3 Tablespoons of Chili Powder
3/4 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes (I just shook the container a few times)

Here are some links to some more great recipes:
Italian Dressing Mix (Great substitute for the dressing packets that you add to oil, vinegar and water. One suggestion, do not add additional salt as it calls for celery salt and garlic salt.  That will be enough)
Dry Ranch Mix
Chili Seasoning Mix


WEBSITE LOVE

Back to School shopping is in full swing, and it can be pretty difficult planning out the best ways to save.  In my opinion, there is nothing more annoying than paying $1.00 for a composition book one day and then finding them at another store for half the price or lower at a different store the next.  There is a site I really like to go to in order to keep on top of those deals.  It is called Passion for Savings.  Follow this link to see a great list of savings by store plus a lot of other great site features.  Before you shop, remember to inventory what you already have.  Spending 25 cents on paper is not a bargain if you already have five packages at home.  

BACK TO SCHOOL

Getting a locker of my own was THE highlight of entering sixth grade.  Finding supplies when I needed them, a rougher time.  Pocket Locker Organizers are so simple to make with directions from Bella Savvy. They are a great way to add a little organizing help while reusing old denim jeans.

Love to Know Crafts has instructions on how to make simple locker caddies out of boxes you may have at home (pop tart boxes and the like).  The same pages has many other back to school craft ideas.

Don't forget to head to Goodwill on Saturday for another 50% off day and perhaps a jump start on school organizing and purchasing.  I picked up some great desk organizers at the last sale. 


FREE EBOOKS (Remember that these were free at the time of my posting.  That can change quickly.  Always check the price before downloading.)

Skip Rock Shallows by Jan Watson (CHRISTIANBOOK.COM) (AMAZON) (BARNES & NOBLE)

Hazardous Duty (Christian Mystery) (Squeaky Clean Mysteries) by Christy Barritt (AMAZON)

The Deuce (Midtown Blue Book #1) by FP Lione (CHRISTIANBOOK.COM) (AMAZON)

Cooking from the Pantry: The Busy Mom's Guide to Creating Fabulous, No-Fuss Meals in 30 Minutes or Less by Tracy Roberts (AMAZON)

FUN FOR THE KIDS

If you live in Prescott, there are still openings for Lowe's Build & Grown Clinics on Saturday and Sunday where your kids can build a Toy Story  RC car for free.  Follow this link to sign up.

FREE MAGAZINE

Three free issues of Ladies Home Journal are still available at this link.  Sign up while they last.

GROCERIES

SAFEWAY

Sanderson Farms Whole Chicken 88 cents lb
Fresh All Natural Pork Shoulder Country Style Ribs $1.39 lb
Lemons 2/$1
Marie Callender's or Healthy Choice Meals 10.25 to 19 oz Select Varieties (excludes steamers) 5/$10
Sweet Red Cherries $2.99 lb
Fresh  Express Spinach or Garden Plus Salads 9 to 12 oz 99 cents

FRY'S

Red Seedless Grapes 75 cents lb
Broccoli or Roma Tomatoes 99 cents lb
USDA Choice boneless Beef Roast Chuck, Shoulder or Top Round 50% off (up to $3.49 lb with card)
Simple Truth Organic Beans Select Varieties 16 oz Can 10/$10
Colgate  Toothpaste Select Varieties 4.6 oz or Toothbrush 1 ct 10/$10

ALBERTSONS

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast $1.88 lb
Extra Lean Ground Beef 85% Lean $2.79 lb
Northwest Grown Blueberries 11 oz Package 4/$5
Sweet Honeydew Melon 49 cents lb
Green Bell Peppers or Cucumbers 59 cents

Dreaming and Planning

*I like to dream in flowers.


This weekend my husband and I took a little day trip up to Pine, Arizona.  It was a wonderful drive. We were surrounded by trees and mountains, and the farther we went the cooler it became.  It reminded me of just how much I miss road trips and just heading out with no real agenda.  Our main agenda was just to get out and about, because my husband had to work the last weekend, and I had to work the two weekends before that. 

Ahhh the absolute joy of nowhere to go and as much time as you want in a day to get there.  It was a total dream.  I'll have to see if I can get some photos from my husband.  The highlight (well there were several) was a totally crazy downpour.  I love a good summer rain storm, especially here in Arizona.  One of the others was getting ice cream at the Gingerbread House.  I don't know if it is homemade or not.  I could have sworn the sign said it was, but I did read a Yelp review that said it was from a company called Lapperts.  Either way...it rocked.


Once we came home, I was travel obsessed.  I made my husband watch an RV show from HGTV that we recorded via the DVR a short time ago.  It was full of seriously fancy models and definitely far beyond our budget.  How far?  Like buying a great house in the country out of our budget. I didn't really have a big interest in the fancy RVs.  As cool as they are with all the modern conveniences, I couldn't imagine driving one around.  I am more into the retro types like a nice vintage Shasta.  My husband is way more into the modern ones, but after watching the show, he decided that my ideal was a far better plan.  Here are a couple of cool ones I saw online that have inspired me and set a new savings goal in motion in order to one day own a little beauty of my own.

I saw this one on Pinterest.

 

This one was at RetroTrailerDesign.com



To be honest, they don't even have to start out all that nice. I'm happy to start low and work our way up. I am just definitely IN LOVE!  Next step is the plan on how to get some pennies saved for one of these cuties.  Ahhh but that will be for tomorrow.

Do you have any absolute dream items calling your name?