National Spaghetti Day, and PB Pretzel truffles!

National Spaghetti day is January 4th (today).. I didn't know until about 10 minutes ago, but I can make spaghetti tonight!  

And although I don't have an amazing recipe (or any recipe) for spaghetti, I just guess and mix stuff together and taste and add more so I rarely use a recipe! But to make it a little more special I think I will make some Ravioli Truffles!  I saw THIS recipe on The Capital Baker and sounds yummy! Chocolate with Peanut Butter and Pretzels?!  Yes please!  But I want to make them go with the spaghetti a little more, so I am using my Ravioli Chocolate mold, which you can get HERE, but I got mine on ebay.

I am going to use white chocolate (only so they look a little more like ravioli) 

Hopefully I remember to take pictures before they are gone!

Happy Spaghetti Day!

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HMB re-do section 1

I decided to grab supplies before everyone else starts with the organizing too, found some cute paper and a big binder!  I use folders instead of page dividers because some of the folders I just don't need all year, like one that has Christmas ideas, gift list and sizes for kids in it.. I don't need that in my everyday binder until about October, so using the folders it's easy to just pop the whole folder in when the time comes.

This is my first section, the financial section of the HMB. It holds a LOT of info and it is one of my most used sections!  First I have our paycheck plans, hubby gets paid every 2 weeks so I like to have stuff split up as close to even as can be while everything gets paid on time. 

Then a list of all our monthly bills and the approximate amount for each month and the due date, this chart makes planning what to pay with what paycheck SO much easier! I have them sorted by due date, with the name and amount.

Next is all of our account numbers and phone numbers for the companies we use, just in case something did happen, it is all together and easy to find. Everything from insurance to credit cards, these are not in any specific order, but maybe they should be!

This is new and I am hoping it will work ok. I just used a page protector and these small colorful envelopes I found at the Dollar Store. I labeled one for Groceries, Gas, Savings, Fun and leftover (which gets paid straight to some debt). So after I pay the bills, I will be using the envelopes and cash with the amount set for each thing, I am so used to using the debit card this will be a bit of a adjustment, but I hope the adjustment helps us eliminate our debt!

It's not too much different then last year, but there are FEWER lines on the page with all our accounts.. I think that is a good sign!

And here is my pencil pouch. Cleaned out for the new year, going to try to keep it clutter free! I keep my checkbook and register in there, a couple dry erase pens, some regular pens and a calculator!

The next section I will be working on is groceries and meal planning! Since using coupons better this year is one of my goals I have to find a way to fit a easy way to use them in this folder.. Hopefully it only takes me a couple nap times to get it set!

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2011 Home Management Binder re-do!

Over the last few days I think I have gone through every cupboard and drawer making sure we don't start the new year with stuff we aren't using or that doesn't fit. It feels SO good to be done with it and starting out fresh for the new year!

Decided I need to work on my Home Management Binder while I am sprucing stuff up around here and re-organizing. There are some pages that are just not relevant anymore and there are a few pages and sections I need to add to work on my goals for the year.  I don't want to rush things or make it feel like a chore because I love and use my HMB everyday!

I posted about it before HERE, but that has been almost an entire year ago! It sure doesn't feel like it has been a year!  We have been getting more and more busy around here lately and I am definitely going to need a calendar page that is big and easy to read! Tomkat Studio has free monthly printable calendar pages that are CUTE! I will for sure be using the calendars to plan when we need to start some seeds, and HOPE I can keep a few plants alive!

I said before we are working on eliminating our debt.. I am thinking of trying the envelope system and see how that works for us. Using a 0 balance budget will be a hard adjustment but I think we can make it 

work, at least try it for a few months and see how it goes. I need to make a spot in my HMB for our envelopes!

Using coupons more and matching with the ads is also one of my goals! I need to find a way to organize coupons/current ads in my HMB to save the most combining them AND not taking up a ton of space!

I'm going to do a HMB post once a week (maybe twice) until I'm done.. but supplies are a must.. and the prettier it is, the more likely I am to use it everyday the way I want to! When I make it into town again I will be looking for these things (well the ones we don't already have)

~A binder, probably a 3" one, our 2" is about to tear into 2 pieces and it's too small!

~pencil pouch 

~dry erase markers

~pens, pencils

~some cute scrapbook paper and stickers

~Page protectors

~paper.. you can print everything out, or hand write it

~folders or page divders, whichever you prefer

Things I will need to keep in it..

~calculator

~pens, pencils

~envelopes

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Planning for the new year, but shopping now!

I started a list a while ago of things I wanted to do in 2011, some things I just want to do better than I did in 2010 and others are entirely new things, not resolutions just things I can do better, like use coupons and NOT kill some plants this year! Lots of people make resolutions, they aren't for me, but I WILL take advantage of all the sales on organizational stuff the next couple of weeks!

The sales will probably have a few things I can take advantage of for my list. I do have a little organizing to do, but it's not big stuff it's all small and debt related. Reading the Dave Ramsey book gave us some great ideas and I think for my to take full advantage of it I need a few small office type organizational items and clear out what we aren't using.

Also plan on heading to the 2nd hand stores like Goodwill and St. Vincent DePaul over the next couple weeks, since it seems like some people wait until the last minute to donate and make it count on the taxes. I really enjoy 2nd hand shopping, there are always neat things I *could* use but I am sticking to my list while there and ONLY shopping for

~a food dehydrator

~Good canning supplies

~Cast Iron 

I am sure we will end up with a couple more things on the list, 

but for now those are the 3 I am really hoping to find!

We are looking for the food dehydrator and canning supplies because we really want to take advantage of the local u-pick places and whatever I can keep alive this year. 

BUT first I am going to go through all the rooms in the next couple days so I can get our last minute donations together!!

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