Hearts in Service Blog

I've been busy the past few weeks as I worked on the release of my new book, Simple & Nutritious: 52 Plant-Based, Whole Foods Recipes. You can find that on Amazon and I have published it on all the Amazon channels so my friends in the UK can find it.  But I haven't just been busy with the book release. I was working on a new website and blog to talk about all things related to being frugal, as well as healthy, and sharing tips and tricks on how to save money. You can find that information by clicking on The Frugal Connection link above or by clicking here.   My goal is to also make some short videos, featuring different aspects of my new recipe book, as well as other tips from time to time. So I tiptoed into YouTube and started a YouTube channel. The first video on there was from my very old cell phone and the angle is not great, but it's a start. You can find that link here . I will still continue to regularly do blog posts here on the ways God is speaking to me throu...

I've spent the past 4 days staring at a computer screen for hours each day, feeling like I wanted to rip my hair out and yes, crying a few tears. However, I am happy to say that my new cookbook has been published. You can click on the picture above to take you to the page on Amazon where it is listed. It is available as a paperback, hardcover and Kindle e-book. I'm so happy with how it turned out and yet, never thought writing a cookbook would be that difficult. I would think I was finished and then find something else I needed to tweak. I also included a bit of my weight loss journey in it as well.  I have also created a new website for all things frugal called The Frugal Connection . The link for that is at the top of this blog. I also started a Facebook page for that with the desire to build a community around inspiring each other with ideas to save money in this crazy economy. I'm excited about this new book but had to laugh at the irony of how expensive it is to print ...

March came roaring like a lion and the snow is here to stay for a while. Dan and I went to visit Emily on Monday night and the hour and a half ride home was wild. We had no idea it was supposed to snow like this and the plows had not been out yet. So we had a white-knuckled ride all the way home. It's been a good week to hunker down and get some things checked off my list. The biggest of these was gathering all our tax information and getting it off to the accountant. I don't know what possesses me to procrastinate each year with keeping track of housing expenses, etc., but I do it every time. And then I'm scrambling to catch up on a years worth of paperwork! So I had a different sort of white-knuckled experience on Wednesday doing that.  I tried my hand at homemade yogurt in my slow cooker and it turned out great! This is definitely a new staple here. When I mentioned this to someone on Sunday, she asked, "Why?" and I responded, "Because I can!" 😁  Ser...

“A quiet and modest life brings more joy than a pursuit of success bound with constant unrest.”  ~Albert Einstein It's been a slow paced summer here and as I look back over the month of July, I'm finding it hard to remember how the month seemed to have slipped by without me doing much of anything. I'm not really hating that though. I have a tendency to plunge in to one thing after another and the pace does bring about a certain amount of anxiety. I've been trying to live in the moment and just enjoy what's in front of me. I still have meetings and work to do, but I've also been enjoying puttering around my house and getting it in order. Besides cleaning and organizing, I've also been able to do some of the things I enjoy. I prepped some cucumbers and veggies for relish. The plan this afternoon is to can this. I've made the shift to mostly homemade cleaners since most of the commercial cleaners bother my skin. I've been experimenting with different sc...

I've just spent the past 4 days at our district's family camp in my role as district women's ministry director. It was a great time of fellowship, ministry and praying and chatting with different women. I had a good conversation with a friend about my ministry, writing and blogging and what I could do to bring in some extra money.  I love blogging and the blog posts that seem to get the biggest response are the ones on simple living, frugality and how to make our dollars stretch. The idea that she put in my head is to start a website on those things where I can monetize some of the information in the form of training, cooking and canning classes or downloadable pdfs of tips or recipes, YouTube videos or podcasts.  As I mulled that over, I didn't want to give up the blogs I do where I give words of encouragement or some lessons that the Lord is teaching me because I know that people find those helpful as well.  So I think the place where I've landed is to keep this b...

About 5 years ago I made both lemon and orange extract. It required lemon peels and orange peels and vodka. I made a jar of each and then never used it, because I discovered I don't bake anything that requires those extracts. If I am making something with lemons or oranges, I prefer to use the zest and fresh juice. Fast forward to this week. I was cleaning out some things and came across these two jars. I didn't really want to waste them by tossing them. Then I had a thought.  I use a lot of natural cleaners because they are cheaper and also don't use a lot of harsh chemicals. However, when it comes to the bathroom I tend to stick with commercial cleaners because well.....bathrooms are gross! But the problem with store bought cleaners is they are harsh and bother the eczema on my hands even when I wear gloves. I know alcohol is a natural disinfectant so I decided to make a bathroom cleaner out of these. I strained out the peels and put the extract in a spray bottle. Then I ...

  Dan and I went grocery shopping this morning for the first time in about 2 weeks. Yikes! I knew that prices were going up, but I was shocked at how much things changed in just a few short weeks. Some items were basically the same, but things like butter, maple syrup and coffee have skyrocketed. I didn't even bother looking at the meat since we do have some in the freezer. The butter price has doubled and that made my decision not to bring cookies to the markets this year an easy one. I believe I'm just going to stick to the craft items this year. Anyway, this spurred me on to do a pantry challenge for the month of April. My plan is to use up what I have on hand in my freezers, fridge and cupboards. I am giving myself $20 per week to pick up things like milk, eggs or fresh vegetables, but other than that, I'm going to try to not purchase anything else at the store for one month.  And God is good. No sooner had I started typing this all out that I got a text from someone sa...

Dan and I are on vacation this week even though we are staying at home. We are trying to pick places to go that don't cost much or are free. It's fairly easy since most places are still closed down. The one thing we love to do that doesn't cost anything is hiking. So yesterday we tried out a new hiking trail and ended up hiking five miles. There was a beautiful place to stop and eat lunch with a scenic view of the valley. It was very humid and hot, but a breeze would blow periodically so it wasn't bad. Everyone always tells us to not think or talk about the church when we are on our day off or on vacation. It's such a part of our lives that it's hard not to make it part of the conversation. But we did our best though as we walked in the quiet woods I was able to sort out two church challenges that I have ahead of me so I consider that a good thing. :-) Church ministry is a crazy beast and it amuses me when people say that the p...

  I'm coming to the end of my food challenge and it's getting to be more of a stretch as I'm down to the bare minimum. I did buy meat this past week, and tomorrow I'm going shopping for Christmas eve and Christmas day. I will continue to fill in with items from the freezer and pantry. It's definitely looking bare which was the goal! My Christmas eve and Christmas day menu is centered around some of the items I still have. I'm crossing them off here as I use them.  Here is the plan for this coming week: Breakfasts - cereal, eggs, whatever Lunch - Sandwiches, leftovers Monday Dinner - Will pick up something at the store when we shop tomorrow. Tuesday - Christmas Eve Finger foods - Shrimp with cocktail sauce, cocktail meatballs, bruschetta with capers and black olives on toasted homemade baguettes, stuffed grape leaves, cheese & crackers, veggie platter with homemade hummus, Christmas cookies, eggnog Wednesday - Christmas Day Christmas b...

A few weeks ago I started a "don't want to pack it and move it" food challenge to use up items in my pantry and two freezers. It really will make the move easier if I don't have to try and transport boxes of canned goods and freezer items the 5 hour trip. My plan for last week kind of fell apart in the busyness of the week. But this week is quieter and we aren't going out of town so I should be able to stick with the menu. Here is the plan. Everyone is on their own for breakfast and I'm making homemade granola to have on hand. Lunch is either leftovers or sandwiches. I am going to have to go grocery shopping later in the week for a few essentials we don't have. I'm crossing things off my pantry and freezer list HERE as I use them. Monday Dinner - Fettuccini with bacon, onions, garlic, diced tomatoes and parmesan cheese, Tossed salad. Tuesday (Dan & I will be out with our church board for dinner; making this for the kids) Dinner - C...

There are many things about our financial circumstances that I cannot change. Insurance payments, fixed bills, car maintenance are all things that happen each month and I have no control over them. The only area I really have any sort of control and ability to change is in the food department.  There are days when I'm tempted to just order in take-out, especially on those days when I'm busy with meetings or events. However, I've been trying to do a better job of controlling our food budget. And one way I do that is by cooking and eating in. Some of the meals this week included -  Lemon-garlic chicken with capers Puerto Rican rice and beans Steak sandwiches with caramelized onions and mushrooms Pakistani Kima over rice We eat well, but I'm able to keep my food budget at around $500 per month with 4 adults in the house (3 of them men). A lot of that is because I buy according to the pantry principle which means I always have the same type of items on hand an...

Today was a low key day. We took our time this morning before leaving and then went to a state park we've been to before. There are mineral deposits in the water that make it a beautiful bluish-green color.  It was a pleasant walk and I was able to go 2 miles. My knee does hurt so I have to walk slowly, but at the same time just sitting makes it stiffen up and difficult to move. So I keep plugging away.  One of the reasons I truly missed walking was because Dan and I have our best talks while we walk. So the past few weeks have been wonderful because I feel like we are reconnecting in a way we haven't been able to do in a while. We stopped on the way home and picked up paint so I can start painting Emily's neon green, seizure-causing (not really) room a different color. I came home and spent the afternoon working on my talk and discussion tomorrow. A church invited me to come to their leadership retreat and lead them in some discussion and goal...