this changed my life {and my sanity}

I seriously cannot tell you all enough how much I love E-mealz.  I has revolutionized my life!  I don't endorse or talk about many other companies on this blog... so you know it has to be good.  Please give me five minutes to convince you, too.



I love to be organized and efficient with everything I do.  But I had never gotten the hang of meal planning, grocery shopping, then actually cooking the meals I planned.  It took too much energy and too much time.

Until I discovered e-mealz!  {No one from the company has asked me to write a blog post, I just love it that much.  I'm pretty confident you will at least want to TRY it after reading what I have to say.}

The program is simple.  You can sign up for a 3 month, 6 month, or 12 month subscription.  (of course, you save the most with the 12 month).  Then, you choose the plan that works for you:

Regular
Low Fat
Low Carb
Portion Control
Vegetarian
Gluten Free
or Natural & Organic

There is a plan for everyone.  After paying {which is on the cheap... between $5 - $7 per month}, you can download your menu sheet and shopping list every Sunday.

Here is a sample of the menu sheet:

And the shopping lsit:

I went shopping with my list for the first time last week and it was so easy to follow.  Everything is sorted by section in the store AND since you choose the store you shop at most, E-mealz will plan your menu based on the sales that week!!  This is like couponing on steroids {but without the side effects and absolutely no cutting, clipping, or printing}.

And can I just tell you about the meals?  I've cooked three so far.  And each time my husband has literally praised me for how delicious they taste.  Every meal has taken me less than 45 minutes to prep and prepare including the suggested side dishes to go with each one.  We've had a delicious peach salsa chicken, creamy chicken pasta, and white chicken chili... all to die for.  With the exception of the chili, we always had leftovers for lunch the next day.  And, the site claims they do not rotate recipes frequently, so this gives a lot of variety to my weekly menu.

My only qualm is that I can't pick the meals I want to eat each week, but there is something nice about not having to think.  And if a meal doesn't look good {which hasn't happened yet}, my plan is to just swap it with a previous meal we've had and LOVED.  The shopping list items are numbered to correspond with each meal, so deleting or changing one is easy.

When it comes time to prepare the meals, I have everything I need to make it happen.  No clunky cookbook and no open laptop with the latest Pinterest meal recipe - just one sheet of paper hanging on my fridge with simple instructions.

The best part?  My family is eating healthy AND AROUND THE SAME TABLE.  I don't have to scrounge around to find something to cook.  I know exactly what is for dinner each night {with absolutely no work outside of pushing print to get a menu together} and my life feels so much more in control.  Know what I mean?

Dave Ramsey endorses the program, for heaven's sake!  So you know it has to be good for your budget, too.  Plus, I found a coupon code (NEWYOU) that got me 20% off my subscription.

What are you waiting for?  Make your evenings enjoyable and delicious.  Go sign up!  I'm hooked after one week and will never be going back to another system again. 

heaven has celebrity magazines

The bigger this blog gets, the more I struggle with basking in the fame.  And I'm getting pretty sick of my attitude.  I don't want to care about "followers".  I don't want my heart to do leaps and dances each time the number of my "fans" goes up.  And I don't want to have this sinking feeling when someone unsubscribes.  In fact, it would just be easier if I could delete the following terms from my mind and conversation:

• ~ fans
• ~ followers
• ~ subscribers
• ~ readers
• ~ and stats

I don't want you to read that and think I don't care about YOU.  YOU, the one with blonde hair who sits each morning at her computer with her coffee to catch up on Better Life.  Or YOU, the one with seven adorable kids that clamor for your attention all day long.  Or YOU, the one that comments and emails and encourages.  I KNOW that behind each of these posts are thousands of eyes.

Eyes that belong to people.

And honestly, that makes it all worth it.  If I can encourage your heart and soul for the five minutes it takes to read a Better Life blog post, then I will keep on keeping on.

But I've got to get it out of my mind that I NEED you here.  To build me up.  To encourage me.  To tell me I'm a great person.  I can't/shouldn't get that from all of you.  I can only get that from Him.  Enter my memory verse for the week.  John 12:43...

Remember this post?  I'm so embarrassed I started that lovely, giveaway post off by complaining about lack of comments.  And that I ran that Facebook promotion to get more fans.  Forgive me for seeking your praise above God's.

What do I want to be famous for anyway?  The "reach" of my blog?  My 3,000th follower?  The 400th bag sale?  no.  I can't take any of that with me when I die.

I want to be famous for loving.  For encouraging.  For inspiring other to love God more and love people more.  This blog may have thousands of readers, but I only blog FOR one.  Him.

He must become greater; I must become less. {John 3:30}

{help me remember that.}

So...
I've deleted the little box on my blog that shows how many fans and followers I have.  It seems that Google Friend Connect is going away anyway on March 1st and who knows what Google is going to do to all you lovely readers.  If you want to be sure to get my updates after March 1st, the best way would be to subscribe to the newsletter which will deliver the blog posts to your email.  {But, I'll try not to care if you unsubscribe}.

And I'd delete my Facebook fan number if I could, but you can guarantee there will be no more "I'm only 5 fans away from ...."  {usually someone deletes themselves immediately after I post that, anyway - Murphy's Law}.

It's funny... as I was writing this post I was reminded of a certain vice I had in college... celebrity gossip magazines.  You know the kind.  I'd go to the bookstore to "study" and find my self hidden behind piles of them.  I went on a fast from them once I realized it was out of control.  It was then that God shared something with me.

Heaven has celebrity magazines that are all the rage.  Except, instead of Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson covering every page, there are pictures and articles about us.  Us... people who are doing good.  People who are loving with all their heart.  People who are giving when it seems they have nothing left to give.  People who are doing it all for God and His Glory.

And we are famous.
 

Linking to Journey of Faith Friday.

quiet book page swap

I have been recently admiring Quiet Books.  You know, the soft, interactive, cloth books that promise to make your child sit quietly and be occupied?  (just kidding on that last part!)

I'm determined to make two for my kiddos in the month of February.  But, I in NO WAY want to sit for hours upon end making 10-15 DIFFERENT interactive pages out of felt.  As fun as it would be, I just don't have the time to spend on it.

So... I thought it might be fun to do a...

 
Basically, we would work in groups and each make 10-15 copies of ONE page from a quiet book.  Then, you would ship all of your pages to me by a certain date, I would compile them all and ship a complete Quiet Book back to you with 10-15 different pages!

What do you think?

Here are the requirements if you want to take place (please be sure you can complete it).
1. Make 10-15 copies of one page of a quiet book and have it shipped to me by Monday, February 27th WITH $5 for shipping costs.
2. Page material should be made of the thick, non-fusible Pellon from your local Joann's (I can get you the actual number this week).
3. Pages will measure 11" x 9" (to maximize the use of one yard of Pellon)
4. Nothing can be glued... everything must be sewn on to the page for long lasting results.
5. Use hard felt or cotton for pockets.  The softer felt can easily stretch over time.
6. Leave 1/2" margin on the right and left of the page for binding.
7. Detachable pieces must be sturdy and durable (use stiff felt or double up the soft felt with interfacing in-between)
8. Use sew on velcro instead of sticker kind.
9. Page must be interactive (search Pinterest for "quiet book" or see my board for ideas.)
10. Sew velcro with the soft side on the page to prevent sticking to the opposite side.
11. (optional, but nice and professional... use matching thread when sewing.  This hides mistakes, too!)
12. If you live outside the United States, you MAY participate, but please be aware that shipping costs may be more than $5.  I will email you the estimated shipping cost if you need.

You will be binding your own books after you get the pages.  I thought this would be the simplest way to do it.  So, you will essentially be sent 10-15 loose quiet book pages to bind together in the manner that works for you.  (also lots of tutorials on Pinterest on how to bind Quiet Books).

In case you STILL aren't convinced that you want a Quiet Book, check out the cute, interactive pages!  Many of these sites actually offer the templates for the page to download.  So the work is very minimal!

From my "Quiet Book" board on Pinterest.

Ready to sign up?  If you want to participate in the Quiet Book Page Swap, leave a comment below with your email address.  I will take the first 15 people who comment.  (If there is a BIG interest, I will consider making two swap groups... so go ahead and comment if you want to be considered!)

You have until January 30th (one week from today) to decide which Quiet Book Page you want to make (it will be one 1st come, 1st serve basis, so have a couple pages picked out when you email me in case your idea is already taken).

I'm SO excited! Aren't you?

PS... if you have TWO kids and want TWO Quiet Books, leave TWO comments below.  Remember, though, you will have to make 10-15 copies of TWO different pages... double the work!