The Budget Pie: The Present

October 30, 2011 By 1 Comment

Remember July’s post on The Budget Pie? Here is the second of three detailed posts about The Budget Pie … The Present. If you missed the first slice of the pie, check out The Past and The Future.

Here is The Budget Pie to remind you …

Back in July’s post I left the present for last so that is the topic for this post.

The present is what you need to spend right this minute to get through your daily routine and all of your extras. This category is your groceries, gas for your car/transportation costs, and clothes. Your extras are eating out, the dessert that calls your name as you walk through the grocery store, that fancy purse that your girlfriend just bought and now you must have too … anything that isn’t a monthly expense but you spend money on right now is your present spending!

The present is full of questions which is why the present is so hard to look at in my opinion. Some present questions are … Do you need it? Do you have money for it? Why are you buying this? What would happen if you didn’t buy it?

Sometimes limits work good for the present. We like limits like eating out once a month is a limit we have used. We will only use cash for some purchases. If we don’t have cash, it doesn’t happen. That makes some decisions really easy!! We also have a limit to what we will spend without asking each other. If a purchase is over that limit, we wait and ask. If it can’t wait then we must not need it.

When you think about the present, don’t be afraid of the questions and also don’t be afraid of admitting something really isn’t need right now.

The Present finishes the details of The Budget Pie but don’t fret this won’t be the last post about The Budget Pie! We have noticed all of the keyword searches for “The Budget Pie” so we will keep talking about it. Feel free to leave us questions and comments as we want to make sure we are answering them!

Filed Under: Budgeting Advice, SimplySaving Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Just in Case You Ever Wonder

October 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Just in Case You Ever Wonder

 Details …

A timeless children’s classic by best-selling author, Max Lucado, that reinforces the love of a parent.

There are certain words that every child longs to hear . . . affirmation of unconditional love, promises of support, and words of encouragement.  Just in Case You Ever Wonder wraps your children in its tender message of love, comfort, and protection, showing them that as they grow and change, you’ll always be there for them-whether it’s “monsters in the closet” or hard times when other kids are mean. Beloved author, Max Lucado, helps express unconditional love for a child-simply, powerfully, and forever.

My Thoughts …

I read this book tonight to the kids at bedtime. Matthew was not into story time (which is common at 2 years old). Sophie and Grace were really happy to get  a new bedtime book though! I didn’t really know what to expect from this book but I really loved it. Sophie is almost four years old and loves to ask “why?” I just kept reading tonight when she would ask and she would smile when she heard the answers to her “why’s”. I can see this book staying on our bookshelf for awhile. It is a book the kids can grow into for sure. It might be a little above them right now but they get that mommy and daddy love them and so does God. My favorite part was actually the end of the book when it talks about Heaven because we have been talking about Heaven lately so it was nice for the girls to see and hear that mentioned again in another way!

You can buy this book at Amazon right now for $10.87!

 

Have you read this book or other children’s books by Max Lucado? We love Max Lucado’s One Hand, Two Hands book too. Leave us a comment and let us know if you love this book or what your favorite book to say “I Love You” is!

NOTE: I was sent a copy of this book in support this review. No other compensation was received. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

 

Filed Under: Kids, Promotional, Reviews, Simply Family Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Great Harvest Bread Company

October 29, 2011 By 1 Comment

  Details …

(Taken from GreatHarvest.com)
It all began back in the 1970s. Our founders, Pete and Laura Wakeman, were just a couple of college kids who baked amazing scratch-made whole grain bread to help pay their tuition at Cornell University. Newly married in 1975, the adventurous couple hiked the entire north-south length of Montana. They never left and they established the first Great Harvest Bakery in Great Falls.

We love whole wheat bread. It’s what made us famous and continues to endear us to a broader array of happy customers. That’s because we think whole wheat bread, when it’s made with fresh-ground flour and pure-and-simple ingredients, tastes incredible. There’s just something about the way that nutty, rich taste of wheat combines with honey, yeast and salt that keeps customers coming back.

Our Thoughts …

I had a chance to visit the Charlottesville, VA location of Great Harvest Bread Company. I had Sophie and Matthew with me and it was lunch time so we got lunch while we were there. The sandwich I got was one of the best sandwiches I have had in awhile. Why? It was simple with quality ingredients. That is all it took to make a great sandwich!

I was really there to get a loaf of bread though. I came home with a loaf of Dokata. It was a hard decision between this bread and the High Five. We had this bread with our dinner that night and it was beyond good. Beth and I both had a couple of sandwiches with this bread and the seeds on the top made it even better for a fall sandwich!

We can’t wait to head down near the local Great Harvest Bread Company again so we have an excuse to stop for another great loaf of bread.

If you are in the Charlottesville area you can find the Charlottesville location on Facebook and Twitter. Not in Charlottesville?  Find a location near you here!

 Have you tried Great Harvest Bread Company? Leave us a comment and let us know!

NOTE: We were provided with a free loaf of bread coupon to provide this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are our own.

Filed Under: Charlottesville, Promotional, Reviews, Simply Food, Simply Local Tagged With: , , , , ,

Friday Favorite: Giordano’s (Chicago Pizza)

October 28, 2011 By 10 Comments

Friday Favorites is another almost weekly feature here at Simply Budgeted. The whole point of this feature is to share some of our favorite finds. Anything is game. Food. Cleaning supplies. Kid stuff. Garden favorites. Recipes. Anything that I really like and want to randomly post about. Reminder/Disclaimer/Whatever: Everything in Friday Favorites is something that we use and bought on our own.

Up this week …

 

Giordano’s Pizza (Chicago, IL)

When asked a former Chicago resident what do while out there the Architecture Foundation River Cruise which I already wrote a post on and Giordano’s Pizza. I decided to have Giordano’s Pizza my last day out there. I ordered their Baby Pepperoni which is their stuffed pizza in an individual size. I have been to Uno’s chain resturant before but I don’t remember those pizzas being like this. I got this pizza and thought they left my pepperoni off. I wasn’t going to complain because  I was hungry.

I pulled it apart and found my pepperoni though. ahhh. Yeah now I remembered these pizzas were build with toppings, cheese, and then sauce. Brian couldn’t believe I forgot about this … come on … like I have room in my head to remember stuff like that in my brain these days!

The pizza was really good. The crust was way different than the pizza crusts I know and love. I am really glad I gave Giordano’s a try while out in Chicago. I would go there again for sure. If you are in Chicago, take my friend’s recommendation and give Giordano’s a try!

Do you like Chicago style pizza? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Filed Under: Friday Favorites, Memes, Simply Food Tagged With: , , , , ,

Barber Foods Rescue Box

October 27, 2011 By

Details …

Preparing dinner can be such a pain, especially when you and your family are starving and tired but don’t want to submit to the regular “dinner monotony” of pizza or take out. Thankfully, Barber Foods can help.

Barber Foods has been creating uniquely satisfying stuffed chicken entrees for more than 50 years. They highly recommend their NEW and improved Chicken Parmesan and their classic Cordon Bleu breaded stuffed chicken breasts as a rescue from boring dinners!

Our Thoughts …

We were sent a really great rescue box that not only feature Barber Foods but also DennyMike’s! We were sent Barber Food coupons to try out their new Chicken Parmesan and classic Cordon Blue breaded stuffed chicken breasts, a $25 Visa gift card and DennyMike’s ‘Cue Stuff gift set, including award winning sauces and rubs. I tried out the Chicken Magnet rub on a smoked chicken and it was really great. The best part is that I still have more of it to cook that next smoked chicken!

 

We have loved Barber Foods at our house for years. Beth and I have different favorites though. Beth really likes the Cordon Blue while I love the buttery Kiev. These are wrapped individually so if we have a shift style dinner, we can each make a fresh one. Pair your Barber Foods breaded chicken breast with a pasta side dish and some fresh steamed veggies and you have a yummy dinner in no time at all!!

We are super excited to giveaway a rescue box to one of our readers!!

Details:
This drawing will end Thursday, November 10th at 11:59pm EST. The winner will have 48 hours to reply with their address. You must include your email address in the comment form so you can be contacted if you are a winner! You must complete the Mandatory Entry for the additional entries to count. This giveaway is open to US residents only !

So how do you enter?

Mandatory Entry: When do you need a rescue box at your house?

Additional Entries:

1) Follow us on Facebook HERE. Worth two entries so leave two comments here! (Psst … we love comments on Facebook so maybe you can leave us one!)
2) Follow BOTH SimplyBudgeted and This_Cookin_Dad on Twitter. Leave THREE comments with your twitter name.
3) Tweet about this giveaway with this tweet:

RT #Win a Barber Foods and DennyMike’s BBQ Rescue Box @This_Cookin_Dad http://bit.ly/sRCqgN ends 11/10 #giveaway #rescuebox #barberdads

Leave a comment with the URL for your tweet. (One Tweet per day until end of giveaway!!)
4) Follow us publicly through the Google Friends Connect in the footer. Leave a comment with your name that you subscribe with.
5) Subscribe to the daily email here at Simply Budgeted. It is at the top of the sidebar!;) Please leave a comment. (worth 5 entries!)

NOTE: We were provided with a review product to provide this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are our own. All prizes are mailed by the PR company or actual company.

Filed Under: Giveaways, Promotional, Reviews, Simply Food Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

ZAGGmate for the iPad

October 27, 2011 By

Details …

The perfect companion for your iPad 1. The ZAGGmate for the iPad 1 has a thin, eye-catching design that gives your device durable protection, added functionality and style. You’ll wonder how you ever used your iPad 1 without one.

The ZAGGmate for iPad 1 is made from aluminum with a high-grade finish, matching the design, look and feel of today’s hottest tablets. Its simple yet innovative hinge provides multiple angles for viewing and typing in both portrait and landscape mode. A built-in physical keyboard allows for fast, responsive typing.

Sleek and stylish design with unique and useful features makes the ZAGGmate the essential accessory for your iPad 1.

Our Thoughts …

Take warning … have a ZAGGmate for your iPad makes you a walking and talking answer person. Everyone person that sees you using this will ask you about it. I recently took this on my trip to Chicago. I was asked about it several different times at the airport. I had two people during the trip comment about my “mini-computer”. I pulling the iPad off the keyboard and turned it around to show them it was an iPad not a netbook. I loved the look of shock on their face.

This keyboard has changed how much we use the iPad. I can write up emails in a reasonable time. I can write on message boards or Facebook … it isn’t just for playing games!! I find the keyboard to be a perfect fit. Brian has to adjust his typing slightly because he big guy fingers but he loves the keyboard and uses the iPad for more than games now (he uses to just use it for games because he couldn’t stand the on screen keyboard!)

Would we recommend this? ummm … YES! The one catch is you need to make sure you order right keyboard. There is one for the iPad and a different one for the iPad 2. I am sure you know which one you have but make sure you order the right keyboard so you can use it immediately!

We are beyond excited to giveaway a $25 gift card to ZAGG to one of our readers!!

Details:
This drawing will end Thursday, November 10th at 11:59pm EST. The winner will have 48 hours to reply with their address. You must include your email address in the comment form so you can be contacted if you are a winner! You must complete the Mandatory Entry for the additional entries to count. This giveaway is open to US residents only !

So how do you enter?

Mandatory Entry: What would you get from ZAGG with the gift card?

Additional Entries:

1) Follow us on Facebook HERE. Worth two entries so leave two comments here! (Psst … we love comments on Facebook so maybe you can leave us one!)
2) Follow BOTH SimplyBudgeted and This_Cookin_Dad on Twitter. Leave a THREE comment with your twitter name.
3) Tweet about this giveaway with this tweet:

RT #Win a ZaGGMate $25 Gift Card from @ZAGGdaily @simplybudgeted http://bit.ly/umDBnn ends 11/10 #giveaway #iPad #bluetooth #giftcard

Leave a comment with the URL for your tweet. (One Tweet per day until end of giveaway!!)
4) Follow us publicly through the Google Friends Connect in the footer. Leave a comment with your name that you subscribe with.
5) Subscribe to the daily email here at Simply Budgeted. It is at the top of the sidebar!;) Please leave a comment. (worth 5 entries!)
6) Follow ZAGG on Twitter @ZAGGdaily! Leave two comments with what you did!
7) Follow ZAGG on Facebook HERE. Leave two comments with what you did!

NOTE: We were provided with a review product to provide this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are our own. All prizes are mailed by the PR company or actual company.

Filed Under: Giveaways, Lifestyle, Promotional, Reviews, Simply Life Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Daring Baker: October Challenge – Povitica

October 27, 2011 By 6 Comments

The Daring Baker’s October 2011 challenge was Povitica, hosted by Jenni of The Gingered Whisk. Povitica is a traditional Eastern European Dessert Bread that is as lovely to look at as it is to eat!

Jenni described Povitica to be like Kalachi. I was able to grasp an idea of what it what it was from that comparison. My mom learned to make Kalachi from someone in Eastern Ohio where she grew up. She has been making it for as long as I can remember around the holidays. This is one of her standard holiday gifts that she has on hand to give to neighbors if they show up with a surprise gift. If she lucky … or I should if family was lucky, she would get in an extra batch and include Kalachi as part of our gift to other families in our extended family.

Jenni’s recipe for Povitica used walnuts. I exchanged the walnuts for pecans in my version of Povitica. The main reason I did the exchange was that I have a mild walnut allergy. I love walnuts but I can only eat a bite or two before I regret it for several days. I knew I wanted to eat the Povitica so I went with pecans. The advantage to using pecans was that I was able to compare the Povitica to my mom’s Kalachi which uses pecans!

Here are the four final loaves …

 

These pictures didn’t show up exactly like I wanted so I am going to just show both of them since they do show the rolls and nice crumble when they were cut!

 

So I see why Povitica is compared to Kalachi but they are pretty different. The dough with a filling is a similar but the process is different as the Kalachi is a long roll (like a really rustic jelly roll.) My mom’s comment that this dough even ended up different. I do have to admit I after all of this, I really want some of mom’s holiday Kalachi because it is so yummy even it does go straight to your hips!

Special thanks to my mom for letting me take over her kitchen for make this! I left her two loaves as payment!! My October has been has been crazy and the only solid block of time I had to make this recipe was when I took the kids to visit my family last Saturday so … thanks mom!

Filed Under: Daring Kitchen, Simply Food Tagged With: , , , , ,

Wordless Wednesday: Daisy Girl Scouts

October 26, 2011 By 17 Comments

Tomorrow is the first meeting for Grace’s Daisy Troop. See I am practicing saying Grace’s Daisy Troop not my Daisy Troop. I am her Girl Scout leader and have been blessed to find three co-leaders for the troop. YAY!! Being the first meeting for the troop and for me as a leader, preperations tonight took much longer than I expected! oops! It didn’t help I signed up for snack duty too. (The best picture is last for sure!)

Grace’s vest … Brian practiced his Army trained ironing skills and ironed on her patches! YAY daddy!

 The Troop board with Promise and Law on it! The empty space is for the girls to fill this year!

 

The first snack … Daisy Cupcakes. I love them. (I did take out the one Matthew tried to steal while they were cooling. Bad little dude!)

Thanks for visiting! Let us know where your Wordless Wednesday post is so we can come by and comment!

Filed Under: Kids, Memes, Simply Family, Wordless Wednesday Tagged With: , , , , ,

Halloween the Milky Way

October 25, 2011 By

Our Thoughts …

We were sent a gift pack that includes a trick-or-treat tote bag, two bags of the new Simply Caramel Fun Size, as well as two bags of the classic Milky Way Fun Size to give out to our trick-or-treaters! Who is coming to our house on Halloween?!  This is the first time I tried the Simply Caramel bars and oh my were they good. If you don’t come early on Halloween, there might not be any left because I might be eating them while I wait for trick-or-treaters!

We are excited to offer to TWO of our readers the same gift pack we received!

Details:
This drawing will end Tuesday, November 8th at 11:59pm EST. The winner will have 48 hours to reply with their address. You must include your email address in the comment form so you can be contacted if you are a winner! You must complete the Mandatory Entry for the additional entries to count. This giveaway is open to US residents only !

So how do you enter?

Mandatory Entry: Who loves Milky Way at your house?

Additional Entries:

1) Follow us on Facebook HERE. Worth two entries so leave two comments here! (Psst … we love comments on Facebook so maybe you can leave us one!)
2) Follow BOTH SimplyBudgeted and This_Cookin_Dad on Twitter. Leave a THREE comment with your twitter name.
3) Tweet about this giveaway with this tweet:

RT #Win a Halloween the Milky Way at @simplybudgeted http://bit.ly/tiNsRR ends 11/8 #giveaway #kids#candy #Halloween

Leave a comment with the URL for your tweet. (One Tweet per day until end of giveaway!!)
4) Follow us publicly through the Google Friends Connect in the footer. Leave a comment with your name that you subscribe with.
5) Subscribe to the daily email here at Simply Budgeted. It is at the top of the sidebar!;) Please leave a comment. (worth 5 entries!)

NOTE: We were provided with a gift pack product to provide this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are our own. All prizes are mailed by the PR company or actual company.

Filed Under: Giveaways, Promotional, Reviews, Simply Food Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

itty bitty HeartBeats

October 25, 2011 By

Details …

itty bitty HeartBeats™ …we do things from the heart

Leonardo Da Vinci believed the best way to learn is by discovering truth from the inside. So he invented the expression “learning by heart.” This is the inspiration behind itty bitty HeartBeats, an animated musical television series designed to entertain and educate young children in a magical world called Heartland, where everything is done from the heart. Through colorful animation and irresistible music, children will experience the adventures of the itty bitty HeartBeats, featuring CoolHeart, his sister SweetHeart, and their little brother BabyHeart. Every week, these tiny, adorable, multi-hued characters face their problems, learning that love is an action, and that positive thinking will solve any problem. And to help them on their journey, they can always count on the sage advice of WiseHeart, the encouragement of MamaHeart and PapaHeart, and the antics of their colorful friends, KookyHeart, GiggleHeart, HeartAche and DreamyHeart. Half-hour episodes will consist of two eleven-minute “adventures,” each based on an original song. These songs are the “heart” of the series, as they help reinforce an atmosphere of fun, learning, and interactive participation. Children ages 2 through 5 will love the music, and parents will love that they’re absorbing and learning positive lessons about honesty, sharing, and caring for others.

Our Thoughts …


We were excited to get a gift pack that included 1 itty bitty HeartBeats DVD, 1 plush doll – CoolHeart or SweetHeart, 5 sheets of stickers, and 7 download links to the original songs from the shows! We get to share the the Choo-Choo Trian song with you at this link! Sophie really loves Sweetheart character. Matthew’s favorite character seems to be CoolHeart.  The characters  in itty bitty Hearbeats are friendly and make the shows fun to watch! If you looking for a kid-friendly show that is parent approved, be sure to check out itty bitty HeartBeats!

 

We are excited to offer one of our readers the same gift pack minus the songs!

Details:
This drawing will end Tuesday, November 8th at 11:59pm EST. The winner will have 48 hours to reply with their address. You must include your email address in the comment form so you can be contacted if you are a winner! You must complete the Mandatory Entry for the additional entries to count. This giveaway is open to US residents only !

So how do you enter?

Mandatory Entry: What your favorite itty bitty HeartBeats character? (click here to view them)

Additional Entries:

1) Follow us on Facebook HERE. Worth two entries so leave two comments here! (Psst … we love comments on Facebook so maybe you can leave us one!)
2) Follow BOTH SimplyBudgeted and This_Cookin_Dad on Twitter. Leave a THREE comment with your twitter name.
3) Tweet about this giveaway with this tweet:

RT #Win a itty bitty HeartBeats gift pack at @simplybudgeted http://bit.ly/tZ3t3c ends 11/8 #giveaway #kids#DVD

Leave a comment with the URL for your tweet. (One Tweet per day until end of giveaway!!)
4) Follow us publicly through the Google Friends Connect in the footer. Leave a comment with your name that you subscribe with.
5) Subscribe to the daily email here at Simply Budgeted. It is at the top of the sidebar!;) Please leave a comment. (worth 5 entries!)
6) Like itty bitty HeartBeats on Facebook HERE. Worth two entries so leave two comments!

NOTE: We were provided with a gift pack product to provide this review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are our own. All prizes are mailed by the PR company or actual company.

Filed Under: Giveaways, Kids, Promotional, Reviews, Simply Family Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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