Celebrating Christmas without any money

Here are some of my favorite links for celebrating this joyous holiday with little or no money:

Goshen College -wonderful Advent devotions - subscribe to have them emailed to you daily

How to celebrate Christmas without any money

39 Frugal Tips for Saving Money at Christmas

Dollar Stretcher –Christmas articles

Toymaker –lots of free beautiful Christmas printables along with printables for other holidays & toys

Homemade Christmas Cards

How to make a 3D paper snowflake

Free and Low-Cost Christmas Gifts-Homemade Christmas Gifts that Won't Break the Bank

My Frugal Holiday: Clue Gift

Christmas Gifts that don't cost a dime - Dollar Stretcher

Giblet Jog

Thursday morning was quite a bit colder(22 degrees) than I had planned and actually a tad bit colder that I like for running but after the first 1/2 mile when the numbness in my fingers wore off-I rather enjoyed the experience. I ran in a local Thanksgiving day 5K which was held on a small town high school cross country course. It was not easy, but it was enjoyable. There were less than 150 people running which I liked and it was a beautiful morning on an interesting course. I enjoyed the after race chit chatting and I met some nice runners and their families.

I finished in just a few seconds past 34 minutes. I do not know my official time yet and I forgot to turn off my watch for several minutes after finishing. This finish was not a personal best or even a great time by my own standards. However, considering I had just recovered from an 48 hour intestinal virus earlier in the week and I had not been able to exercise at all for the 5 days prior, I was happy with just finishing in under 35 min. I will probably not run another race for a while now because there are not that many in the winter and to save on cash. I will continue running through the winter as I do love running best in 30-40 degree weather. I would love to do this jog again next year.

Thrifty and simple holiday -freebies from Oprah

This Wednesday on her show, How to Have the Thriftiest Holiday Ever, Oprah has some great suggestions and freebies. (Click here for the link to get to her site about this show.) She has a free holiday album that you can download for the next 24 hours-HURRY--along with a CD cover and label. Among many other ideas she has downloadable notecards for making gratitude notes for loved ones. I love this idea-take the time now to tell those you love what you love about them, what you are thankful for and for what you wish for them! Thanks, OPRAH!

late 11/28/08 UPDATE: The free album is no longer available but you can still get the free notecards for gratitude box gifts.

Hummus - a toddler's delight!

My toddler is a picky eater but he LOVES eating hummus. Making hummus is one way I ensure that he gets enough protein and at least some green veggies. He calls hummus, "Thomas" and he has been known to eat 3-4 servings! (I love it too! If it were less points, I would eat half a batch myself.) We serve it on crackers, pita bread, raw veggies like cucumbers or carrots, or as a spread for sandwiches. Hummus is high in iron and vitamin C and chickpeas are a good source of protein and fiber.

Hummus is SO EASY to make and you can adapt it to add whatever flavors you like. We like it with spinach, but I have used roasted peppers or dill.

Hummus with tahini & spinach
POINTS® Value: 3
Servings: 8
cost when using dried peas: ~ $1.35 per batch, ~ $ 0.17 per serving
cost when using canned peas: ~$1.55 per batch, ~$ 0.19 per serving

Ingredients:
* 2 cup(s) cooked chickpeas
(I use 5 oz of dried chickpeas-see prep note below, but you can use a can of prepared chickpeas to save time.)
* 1/4 cup(s) water
* 1/4 cup(s) lemon juice, canned or bottled
* 4 clove(s) garlic clove(s) minced
* 1/2 tsp table salt
* 3 tbsp canned tahini
* 1 tbsp dried parsley
* 1-2 cups fresh spinach
* 3 tbsp olive oil

Instructions:
The day before soak the dried chickpeas in water for 8 or so hours. Then cook for 1 hour or so until tender. I soak them in the crockpot with the pot turned off and then cook them for a few hours in the crock pot.

Place all ingredients in the food processor or blender and puree to a fine consistency. Add more liquid if necessary. Serve with pita bread, crackers, or fresh crunchy veggies.

FRUGAL / SUBSTITUTION NOTE: To pinch pennies or if you do not have tahini on hand you can use 3 TBL. of peanut butter instead of tahini. It does change the taste. My toddler doesn't seem to care which version I make.

Peanut butter version is
POINTS® Value: 3
Servings: 8
cost when using dried peas: ~ $1.10 per batch, ~ $ 0.14 per serving
cost when using canned peas: ~$1.30 per batch, ~$ 0.16 per serving

Family, healing, Thanksgiving Day race & budgeting

I have had an odd week. My husband has been very ill and I have needed to take sick leave all week to care for him and our toddler. I am thankful I have the days to take and I am praying that he is healed SOON!

I just registered for the Giblet Jog instead of the Turkey Trot. Some gals from Weight Watchers are running in the Jog and plus I did not feel like facing the hills of the trot. At this point, I am just hoping I can make it to the race since my dh is not recovering at this point. Also, I am out of the training loop with being in the house mostly. I have tried to do some workout videos but it is just not the same as running.

Also, I regret that I am going to have to end my membership in Weight Watchers due to budget constraints. My last meeting will be the one after Thanksgiving. I could not have made it thus far in my weight loss journey without my local WW unit. Our Saturday leader is the MOST wonderful teacher and a positive influence. She inspires me to continue. I love the WW e-tools (point tracker, recipe builder, etc.) Maybe sometime next year I can rejoin.

Long recovery, new race

I have had a dickens of a time with recovery since the 10 miler. My hamstring continues to bug me and I just feel like I am running so sluggishly. I am planning to run in the Turkey Trot 5K on Thanksgiving day. I have not prepped for this race like I have others I have run. I can't seem to get into a regular routine of running with the cold temps, rainy weather, and since the time change. I have not been getting in miles each week like I was doing a month or so ago.

I have gone to the Y on several occasions in the last week or so to do speed drills on the treadmill and also to do work on the elliptical to give my knees a break. I still feel sluggish. This past August when I ran my last 5K before the 10 miler, I was pleased with my mile pace of just under 10 minutes. I am just hoping to get even close to that for the turkey day race. (esp. since the upcoming race seems to have a fair number of hills.) I think I just lack a little race "fire" and drive for competition---or maybe I just need some good old-fashioned Jamie Summers/Bionic Woman "music" when I am running!