Organized to save money, energy, and time
Ringing in 2012 with my husband and two older children snuggled on my bed watching Ryan Seacrest and Dick Clark for the countdown. My children are giddy with excitement waiting for the ball to drop. It is a special time for our family as we look forward to what the new year will bring.
Wishing you and your family a fantastic 2012!
Photograph Credit: Flickr (Kenny Teo)
Photograph Credit: Flickr (Rick Post)
As I began writing my thank you notes from the events this month, I was amazed at the blessings poured out upon our family. The encouraging words, helpful assistance, and extended visits invested in my life and the lives of my family leave me feeling overwhelmingly blessed.
Though a personal thank you note from me will not arrive in your mailbox, I am truly thankful for each of my readers.
This initial year of blogging has been a roller coaster ride. As I learned and conquered one task, I found that I disrupted another. Your patience and continued support has encouraged me as I continue to find my own writing style and work to keep the posts appropriate, timely, and accurate.
With the conclusion of 2011, I have no regrets. This year has been a fantastic learning experience, and I look forward to forging ahead in 2012. Thanks for taking this journey with me. Your support of Using Time Wisely through your readership, comments, and posts continues to warm my heart. May you finish your 2011 with no regrets.
Photograph Credit: Flickr (Artizone)
The Using Time Wisely countdown has built up to this final reveal for the #1 post, viewed by you, my fabulous, patient, and appreciated readers, in 2011. Thank you for spending your time at Using Time Wisely this year. 🙂
By Tracy on March 17, 2011
A little over two years ago I learned about bone-in split chicken breasts from reading a blog post by Erin Chase. Before reading her explanation I had seen this cut of chicken on sale, but I really did not have any recipes or ideas of how to use it. Since I had no clue, I bypassed the great sale.
Today I hope to let you in on a secret that saves our family lots of money on chicken. For the most part, I cook and bake only boneless chicken breasts and tenderloins. But on sale chicken breasts can still be over $2.00 per pound – OUCH!
Without a sale, bone-in split chicken breasts run about $2.50 per pound, but you are still paying for the bone. But with a sale – a great sale, I find bone-in split chicken breast (a/k/a split chicken breast with ribs) on sale for $.99 per pound. At this great price, I stock up!
In fact, three weeks ago I purchased 7 lbs. of split chicken breast with ribs, which was two packages, at Bi-Lo at $.99 per pound for a total of $6.95. I then brought the chicken home and cut it. The result was 6 boneless chicken breasts, 6 tenderloins, and 8 cups of chicken broth!
Do you want to know how you can snag this deal as well? Let me share how you can do the same:
1. Look in your grocery store sales ad and wait for split chicken breast to go on sale for $.99 per pound. If you live near a Bi-Lo, you can snag this sale Friday – Sunday, March 18-20, per the weekly advertisement.
2. Purchase what you need to last you about 6 weeks. Since sales usually run in cycles about every 6 weeks, I stock up on items when they are at their rock bottom price to last me until the next sale. In this case, the chicken sale repeated in 3 weeks. I will still be going to Bi-Lo this weekend to stock up!
3. Read this post by Erin Chase a/k/a the $5 Dinner Mom. Erin walks you through skinning and cutting the chicken. I love the picture explanations!
4. After watching Erin take the chicken and remove the breast and tenderloin from the bone, go try it! Erin does a great job in her post, but she is a pro at cutting the chicken. I am not! I have learned along the way, so I will include what has worked for me.
How about you? Are you ready to save some money? This process used to take me quite some time – about an hour – from start to finish. Having perfected my system, I can accomplish cutting and freezing the cuts in about 30 minutes. Is this time well spent? It is for me. I try to work on the chicken after dinner or while dinner is cooking. This little bit of time saves me so much money. I hope you find the savings worth your effort as well!
My precious 4-year-old’s Strawberry Shortcake birthday party hit the top of the list at #2. 🙂
By Tracy on August 23, 2011
Last week I shared my system of keeping event notes, and how I took my daughter shopping for Strawberry Shortcake items for her party. Having the guest of honor included in the decision-making process made planning the party simple. Knowing my daughter’s personality and those of her friends, I enjoyed my daughter’s help in coordinating a fun event for her birthday party.
After weighing the cost, I allowed my daughter to choose the order of the party. Of course, I gave her options:
With her help, we planned this 2-hour afternoon Strawberry Shortcake birthday party:
Greet each guest as she arrives and bring to toy area to play until we begin the games.
Games
1. Pass the Orange (In honor of Orange Blossom, a friend of Strawberry Shortcake): A version of Hot Potato, but instead of passing a potato, the players pass an orange. The children sit in a circle, and hand the orange to the person on their right while the music plays. When the music stops, the player holding the orange leaves the game to receive a prize (Strawberry Shortcake hat). Continue play until only one child remains.
2. Strawberry Spoon Race: Relay race consisting of two teams where each team has a spoon and a plastic fruit (strawberry and lemon). One team represented Strawberry Shortcake and the other Lemon Meringue (another friend of Strawberry Shortcake). Teams race down and around a designated item and come back to their team. The player then passes the fruit onto the next teammate’s spoon. If they drop the fruit, they must stop, pick it up, and then continue. The first team to have all players cross their line is the winner. All girls will receive a Strawberry Shortcake bracelet for participation.
3. Strawberry Strawberry Shortcake: The game Duck Duck Goose with Strawberry’s name. The players sit in a circle with one player being “it.” The “it” player goes around the circle patting each girl saying “Strawberry.” Then she chooses one person by saying, “Shortcake.” The player tapped, then chases the patter back to the tapped one’s spot. Then the tapped player becomes “it” or the new patter. 🙂 Each player then receives a pair of Strawberry Shortcake sunglasses.
4. Musical Strawberries: The girls walk around on colored strawberries cut from paper. (The colors represent Strawberry Shortcake, Orange Blossom, Lemon Meringue, Apple Dumpling, Blueberry Muffin, Plum Pudding, Raspberry Torte, and Angel Food.) When the music stops, a color is drawn from a basket. The child on that circle is the winner and proceeds to the dining room to get her cupcake and ice cream.
Food
Strawberry Shortcake cupcakes, strawberries ‘n cream (white with strawberries) or strawberry (pink with strawberries) ice cream, and water or pink lemonade.
Open gifts
Allow each girl to bring her present to my daughter. While sitting with her friend, my daughter opens that gift. This arrangement offers great photo opportunities.
Thank you
Thank each friend for attending her party and for all her gifts.
Goody bags
Give my daughter the goody bags to deliver to each of her friends. Each goody bag contains:
- Pink, purple, or clear nail polish
- Pink, purple, or clear lip gloss
- Strawberry Shortcake fun sheet
- Strawberry Shortcake stickers
- Strawberry Shortcake top
- Pink kaleidoscope
- Pink ring
Play until friends’ parents arrive to pick up their children.
With our itinerary set, my daughter and I (with additional help) gathered the materials, decorated the space, prepared the food, and waited for our guests. Our plan included time for play, games, food, gifts, gratefulness, and goody bags. Next week, I will conclude this event’s activities with a post on our execution of our planned itinerary.
Question: What is your favorite childhood birthday party game? Please add your answer by clicking on the Leave your Comment button.
Photograph Credit: Flickr (Tinely)
By Tracy on June 14, 2011
Do you get inspired from magazine articles? Though I do not read many magazines, I scan pages for ideas. One magazine I enjoy skimming is “Martha Stewart Living.”
Now, I do not have my own garden, bake from scratch, make my own spices, entertain each week, sew, or make my own centerpieces and décor.
However, I am a homemaker, event planner, and organizer, so I love picking out tips and tricks that will save me time, money, and energy.
While browsing the latest issue of “Martha Stewart Living,” I was inspired by a party trick I can adapt for my style. The author suggested:
I loved this idea. I often serve colorful, accessible vegetable trays at small parties. With a little adaption to my style and my budget, this event trick can be useful. I am thinking of events where many attendees need to be served in a limited amount of time. For this type of event, a buffet line works well. With about ½” ranch dressing poured into the bottom of each clear plastic cup and a handful of veggies placed upright, event attendees can quickly pass through the buffet line, pick up a veggie cup, and continue to the next station.
For a sit-down event, having the veggie cups prepared on the serving trays would make the delivery to the table quick and efficient. For more formal events, the container would be upgraded to fit the occasion. Click here to view Snack Girl’s detailed instructions with a photograph showcasing her Veggie Shots.
Just taking a few minutes to glance through a magazine has inspired me to use a new tip at my next party. What tip or trick have you discovered that can be adapted to your style?
