Calling all Mom's Who Can Cook Great Meals for Just Pennies!

I need your CHEAPEST Dinner Menus and recipes, please!

Why?

The Apple Farmer and I are finishing up Financial Peace University. It has been an extremely informative and inspiring experience! We begin using the Envelope System February 1. My Envelope for Groceries is going to be - well - pretty skinny!

When we bought the business we were debt free - except for the business. With the difficulties we have encountered since taking on this venture, we are no longer debt free and that really bothers us. We opted to get some professional help to get us out of this hole - Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University.

We know that there are many adventures ahead in our goal to becoming debt free again!

Financial Peace

A Snowy Day!

It is 8 degrees outside - and snowing! The road conditions aren't safe, so the Apple Farmer has called the church members to let them know that church will be canceled today. This means I have a good chunk of time to catch up on the blog!

When her Royal Highness and I returned from our trip to California, the apple season was extremely intense! We have managed to survive, however, and have spent a considerable amount of time after the holidays, trying to get back to a routine and some sense of normalcy!

Sometime, throughout all of the chaos, the Apple Farmer celebrated his 40th birthday! We had a suprise party for him!

He was definitely suprised!

Halloween followed quickly and we managed costumes by digging through the hand-me-down box, as well as my fabric stash!

November was a whirlwind. A lot of the month was spent on making Christmas gifts for friends and family.

December was a thrill! The Apple Farmer had business on the road which took him to Idaho, Utah and Nevada, so the Apple Farmer put the family on the train and met up with us in California at his parents! It was a thrill to have a break from the chaos of the farm and most of all, to spend time with family! We had so much fun eating Grammies Cookies, teasing Poppa, playing with cousins and soaking up the attention of Aunts, Uncles, Brothers and Sisters!!!! How we miss them all!

We returned home with a day to spare to get ready for Christmas. We enjoyed a quiet Christmas day at home.

Now, we find ourselves in a new year. What sorts of adventures will 2009 bring us? We are disappointed that our huge apple crop didn't pay for what it should have, but we are already looking toward our next season, planning and praying and preparing for what it may hold in store for us this cycle. We are beginning to look at our hatchery catalog and contemplating which chicks we should order for eggs. The seed catalogs have been showing up and I can't help but wonder if this is the year that I successfully grow and harvest artichokes before we freeze this fall! The work crew is curious about joining 4H. The President and I have started music lessons again - he is studying piano and I am studying violin. The Apple Farmer has started pruning and also plotting to tear apart a mower engine with Human Resources and the Attorney. Her Royal Highness seems to enjoy putting up with me as I drag fabric out of my stash and sew dresses for her.