New Music Monday

Deal Junkie

I have to admit, I am a self proclaimed "deal junkie". If I can find it cheaper, on sale, or use a coupon, I get pumped. Two recent websites that I have found are www.scoringdeals.com (@ScoringDeals) and www.frugalupstate.com. The websites offer advice on saving money, but also announce freebies and deals on giveaways, contests, and discounts. Right now, check out the contest at frugalupstate for a lunchbox giveaway.

I follow @ScoringDeals on twitter, and have taken advantage of some fun free stuff. If you are like me and are a "deal junkie," then check out these websites. Also, if you know of any other good ones, let me know so I can follow them.

Once a Month Cooking

So, today I went over a friend's house to watch and learn how to do "Once a Month Cooking or Bulk Cooking". I know some other people that do it and have heard of it before, so it always intrigued me on how it is done. Being more of a perfectionistic personality, this type of cooking seems like it would be difficult for me because I would want everything all evenly distributed and not just that but the mess it would create. But then my logical side says, "Hey if you have to make a mess, then just do it once and get it over with." Also, I have heard it saves money and time, so I thought I would want to try it out. The way my friend does it seems like it works and makes a lot of sense. I know there are different methods where you actually cook everything, freeze it, and then just have to reheat stuff, but she explained that the way she does it is more than just reheating a frozen meal; so she actually cooks it fresh when it is time to eat the meal. This seems more appetizing and appealing to me. So today, she had all the utensils, bowls, ingredients, and stuff needed out and ready to go. I have to say I was really impressed by the flow, ease, and time it took to make the meals. I was able to do 3 meals for a trial run, but she made 19 meals in about 4 hours. I only caught the end after I got off work and it probably took only about 90 min for me to make 3 meals because we were talking and she was explaining things as we went, and also I was asking questions a lot. I think the most work will be in the planning, shopping, and organization of it. I am looking forward to my teriyaki chicken tonight with sticky rice and steamed veggies and egg rolls. We'll try the herb buttermilk chicken and nacho chicken later this month when I need a quick meal. I would love to cook more, but the time factor always gets me after getting home late from work. It may be something I do occasionally or who knows, maybe I will really get the hang of it. (Anyway, thanks Lauren for showing me and hanging out today. I had a great time!)

Do Hard Things by Harris Twins

I just finished an awesome book, "Do Hard Things" by the Harris Twins. It is a book written for teens, and it really revolutionizes the idea of how society has low expectations of teenagers. In fact, nowhere in the Bible is the word teenager mentioned. One goes from being just a Child to an Adult-with no in between. If I remember from the book correctly, the term teenager is a fairly recent reference that was made up around the 1940's I believe in a Reader's Digest article. I would say more, but you will just have to read the book and check out their blog: www.therebelution.com