Tuesdays With Traci

This recipe is not one I created. I got it from a coworker when I was living in Turkey. Since that time, however, I have become known for these cookies. They are amazing. I thought I'd share the recipe with all of you since you live far from me and can't invade my territory. *wink, wink*

The story behind the name: I gave this recipe to a friend who was getting married. Her husband, as it turned out, had a great love of oatmeal cookies. The next Sunday he came to me at church and thanked me profusely for giving his new bride this recipe. I hope you enjoy them too!

"Your Husband Will Thank Me” Oatmeal Cookies

¾ c vegetable oil
1 c brown sugar
½ c sugar
1 egg
¼ c water
1 t vanilla
1 c flour
1 t salt
1 t cinnamon
½ t baking soda
3 c quick oats
Nuts or raisins (if preferred, I don’t)

Mix all ingredients together and drop by teaspoonfuls to cookie sheet. Bake 350 F for 5-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Yield: 3 dozen (The most I've ever cooked at one time was 18 dozen.)

Note on cook-time: If you want soft cookies, cook 8 minutes, this is how I prefer them. Some people like their oatmeal cookies harder. If so, cook them 10 minutes. They get hard quick so be careful not to overcook.

Are You Kidding Me?
Mom is perhaps a little too busy with her own stuff (laundry, meal prep, facebook)...I had my very first play date with my new very best friend Rebecca a couple of weeks ago and she still hasn't gotten around to putting the pictures up yet. I'm seriously not ok with this. I took matters in to my own hands and here they are.

Rebecca is a sweet gal; she's a few months younger than me and still a little immature but we got along famously. Rebecca still takes a bottle and doesn't crawl to eat cat food yet but I see some real potential in her. I think we'll be painting each other's toes and trading clothes real soon.

Me, Rebecca and Samuel, who is already hitting on my friends

Me, looking adorable...

Later on that day I discovered a wonderful thing:
pulling toilet paper off the roll.
What glorious, glorious fun.

Tuesdays With Traci

Having a blog which is dedicated, in part, to saving money allows me to receive a lot of e-mails and websites from people who are also interested in saving money. One sent to me recently was Hillbilly Housewife. While I’m all for saving money on my grocery bill there are some things I just will not do. Making my own sanitary pads is at the very top of that list! My first thought when I saw this was, “Can you not cut something else out of your budget to afford pads?!” My second thought was, “Has no one taught this poor woman how to cut coupons?!” I did read her website and understand it’s a moral decision for her but for the rest of you I want to give you the tools so you will never have to download her pattern for sanitary napkins. Ewww.

First, check out this link to read how I simplified coupons. If you are not brand loyal, you will never have to pay for toothpaste, shampoo, razors, or sanitary pads again. Think about how much this would cut from your monthly budget!

Second, know your resources. I had Jen send me a list of the grocery stores in your area. She gave me the names of several stores. I could not find a couponer for Winco or Roth’s but here are some sites to check out the others.

Safeway – Mommy Making Money
Target – Attention Target Shoppers

Walmart & Fred Meyer – Frugal Living

Rite aid & Walgreens – I use and recommend Southern Saver

Let the ladies from these blogs do the hard work for you. Check out what is on sale (or free!) this week and stock-up! It may be a little overwhelming at first but once you get the hang of it you will be kicking yourself for taking so long to start.

One final thing. There are several sales for Progresso Soup this week. Walgreen’s has it for 4 for $5 ($1.25), Target for $1.40, and Roth’s has it for $0.99. If you email me I will send you a link for a $1.10 coupon. (Hit the back button to print twice.) If Roth’s allows overages that means you would make $0.11 on each can. See how this coupon thing is so fun?! My e-mail is: raffertys at bellsouth dot net.

Pics of the Week (from last week...oops)

Rockin' and Rollin' on the Alphabet train...

Mama said she had never been prouder than when I came

to her and said, "Look, I Elton John"

Roo through the window...
not enough "o's" for sooooooo cute

Perhaps there is something I'm not understanding in regards to this potty training thing?? I've got the seat, the stool, the flushable wipes, hmm... something still seems a little off kilter.

Tuesdays with Traci

Hello everyone! Jen hatched this plan that we would take a day to write on each other’s blog so I thought I’d take a moment to explain my blog to you. Actually, I have two blogs. One is for my kids, written from their prospective, and is humorous. It actually gets more hits than mine. Find it here. The other blog is about the things I’m excited about: gardening, couponing, cooking, etc. This is largely what I’m going to share with you each Tuesday. I’ll start by explaining why I do the things I do.

Why garden?
* It’s a great hobby. I love to see things grow out of the dirt. Last year was my first time gardening and when my carrots began to sprout I ran out in the mud and squealed, “I’m a gardener!”
* It’s a great education tool for your kids.
* It’s fabulous to grow your own veggies and know what chemicals are on them (or hopefully, NOT on them).
* Cheap! Once you have the initial investment of setting up the garden it’s very minimal cost. I grew roughly 40 peppers last year. At $1 each in the stores that is $40 I saved. Not to mention all the other veggies I grew.
* It limits your dependence on others for your food.

Why coupons?
* I was introduced to the underground world of coupons in June. From July to November (the last time I totaled my savings) I had saved $1,500. I joke that it’s an underground world because before someone showed me the ropes I was just clipping one or two coupons and not really saving much. Then I learned there are hundreds of websites devoted to coupons and deals. Other people find the deals at the grocery stores and tell you the coupons which match. Check out BeCentsAble’s Grocery Gathering to find couponers explaining the deals in your area.
* I get so much stuff for free, or super cheap, using coupons that I actually get a surplus. I’ve started challenging others to donate their coupon deals and together we make care boxes for our church. More and more people are coming to our church requesting assistance and it’s nice to meet a part of their needs by giving them food and toiletries.

What about cooking?
* I like to share tried and true recipes and those which have been requested by more than one person.
* I started a meal swap with some ladies from my church (we have been swapping for almost a year now). It has been a wonderful time AND sanity saver! I highly recommend it for any family who does not have picky eaters. For example, here’s the menu for this month’s meal swap: Chinese Pork Ribs, Chicken Taco Sandwiches, BBQ Chicken, Chili, Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole, Cheese & Pesto Manicotti, Joes to Go, and Oriental Chicken. Yummy!
* If you don’t want to swap with other women I would suggest you getting a frozen meal cookbook and put away at least a few frozen meals each month. It’s so nice to pull out a meal for someone who just had a baby OR a friend who’s having a bad day OR for your own bad days!

Finally, I have started sharing devotional thoughts which have made an impact on me. This is a new thing I’m doing but haven’t been as consistent with it as I want to be. I guess it’s kind of a fear of man. I think, “I’m a Christian and I should have Christian things on my blog every other day.” But honestly I don’t feel I have that many spiritually profound things to say! How’s that for honesty! I guess if you see me put something spiritual on there you should take note because it’s not going to happen again for awhile! Ha!

So that’s it for me for this Tuesday. I’m just going to challenge you to think about one of these three areas. Would you like to have an abundant supply of fresh veggies for your family? How about cutting your grocery bill in half? Maybe you need to plan your meals better so you are never caught without a meal come five o’clock. Feel free stop by my Fruitful Labor blog. The first time you come, leave a comment so I know you’re Jen’s friend. If you miss Jen on Tuesdays you can find her on my blog (Fruitful Labor); she will not, however be talking about coupons but I think I've almost got her convinced to try a garden this year!