by kathilipp | Aug 26, 2012 | Relationships |
For six days, we are letting our husbands know that we love ’em.Let me know what you wrote in the comments below and you’ll be entered to win one of my six books. Huzzah.
Post-It Note Challenge – Write Something Fun or Flirty for Your Man!
Ladies- are you ready to show you man a little love today? If so, here are your instructions:
- I want you to grab a Post-it (cause you know how much I love a Post-it!)
- Write something, fun, flirty, or a little scandalous on it – I give you permission…
- Put that Post-it somewhere where only HE will find it
- Tell us what you wrote on it (or if it’s Too Hot to Handle, just write TMI in the comments below)
“A simple word can renew hope.”
Lois Mayday Rabey
It can be words of encouragement, something flirty and sexy, sweet whispers and so on. Leave the post it where only he will find it. It can be in his briefcase, wallet, on his car steering wheel, underwear drawer, tool box, whatever he is going to open or use today. Below I listed 21 ideas to get you started thinking. If you need to use one from the list below or make up your own Post-It greeting.
21 Post-It-Sized Encouragements
- I’m praying for you today.
- Those jeans are really working for you…
- I love you.
- You are the best dad!
- You’re the kind of husband that makes the other wives jealous.
- You rock my world!
- Can’t wait to see you tonight – meet me upstairs…
- Thanks for working hard to provide for us. I appreciate all that you do.
- You make me feel beautiful.
- I thank God for you everyday.
- How did I get so lucky, being married to a guy like you?
- You’re great!
- You make everyday more fun.
- Have a great day.
- You’re hot!
- I feel so safe with you.
- Smart and good looking – I’ve got the whole package in you!
- You can be very distracting, you know…
- Our kids are so blessed to have a dad like you.
- That smile I wear – it is all because of you.
- God have blessed me in big ways by letting me be your wife.
Remember, you have more power than you know to change the direction of your husband’s day. Go grab that Post-it right now!
by kathilipp | Aug 23, 2012 | Home |
In my Focus on the Family interview for THE WHAT’S FOR DINNER SOLUTION apparently I mentioned My Recipe for Chicken Cacciatore three or four time. So sue me – I love it! So here it is in all it’s tomatoe-y glory:
My Recipe for Chicken Cacciatore
1 pound Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 T Vegetable Oil
1 ¼ cup Onion
2 cups Mushrooms
1 t Minced garlic
1 28 oz can Crushed tomatoes in puree
2T Parsley
¼ t Pepper
2t Italian Seasoning
1t Basil
Parmesan Cheese
Preparation: Cut chicken breast into cubes. Slice onions and mushrooms. Chop garlic.
Cooking:
In a large skillet, saute chicken in vegetable oil until no longer pink in the center. Remove chicken from skillet and saute onions, mushrooms and garlic until the onions are transparent. Add chicken and remaining ingredients except for Parmesan cheese. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Serve over penne pasta or garlic mashed potatoes.
In Addition to the My Recipe for Chicken Cacciatori – Here are some free goodies!
If you want the freezer instructions for this (and nineteen of my other favorite freezer recipes,) check out my Facebook Page and download the free ebook: Six Chicks Freeze and Fix – How to Start a Freezer Meal Co-op (look at the “Tabs” at the top of the page.)
And wait – there’s more!
Sign up for my monthly newsletter (filled with great tips about keeping your life in order!) and you will receive my free ebook THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO MAN FOOD filled with great recipes to keep that man in your life extra happy.
by kathilipp | Aug 21, 2012 | Relationships, Uncategorized |
Are you willing to take The LOVE YOU Challenge?
You will be required to:
- Encourage Your Husband
- Get a Little Creative
- Show Off Your Mad Money Saving Skills
If so, I would love for you to take the Love You Challenge.
All you have to do is do something, anything to let your husband know you love him, however, it needs to 100%, completely free.
That’s right. No money may exchange hands in the loving of your husband.
Here are a few, totally debt-free things you could do to love your man:
- Make him a cup of coffee and bring it to him when he gets out of the shower.
- Leave a post-it in his boxers with a racy message.
- Text him something flirty.
- Take him out to dinner with that gift card that has been in your wallet since 2009.
- Do a chore that he normally does.
- Bake him cookies.
- Brag on him on Facebook.
- Call his mom.
- Give him a massage.
- Spell out “Love You” with Scrabble tiles.
Tell me what you did (or will do!) for your man here in the comments on the blog, and you will be entered to win one of my six books (I will give away one a day over the next six days.) I’ll be picking one winner each day from August 23-28th.
I’m off to make some No=Pudge Brownies for my man.
by kathilipp | Aug 19, 2012 | God |
Are You Satisfied?
Are you satisfied?
We are a family who loves broken animals. Zorro, the black and white cat I brought into our marriage, is what you might call “Socially Maladjusted”. In other words, he lives to beat up other cats. Ashley, the kitten we found out behind our neighborhood church, had to be nursed back to health with an eye dropper. She is now about eight weeks old and is still on medication, twice a day, because her breathing sounds like someone is letting the air out of a bicycle tire.
And then there’s Jake. And Jake? He’s got issues.
Jake is our six year old rescue puggle (pug/beagle mix) and we may have some clues as to why he was dropped off at the shelter.
He can’t stand any man with a hat or jingling keys. He can’t be in a room by himself. (I’m just like all those MOPS moms who haven’t been to the bathroom by myself in YEARS…) He won’t go into our back patio unaccompanied. But the weirdest thing is his food. He will only eat his wet food downstairs, and his dry food upstairs.
I told you it was weird.
But there is something else he does with food that is really strange. We feed all the animals at the same time, and Jake, even with food that has been served to him, that is sitting right in front of him, will be way more interested in what we are serving the cats.
He can’t take his eyes off of the cat food. He whines and complains that they are getting food, even though his food is sitting right in front of him. He is way more interested in what someone else has, than what he has.
And when I think about it, it’s not so weird after all. ‘Cause I do the exact same thing (not with cat food, of course.)
I see what other women are getting to do, (go on missions trips, write best-sellers, travel the world,wear a size eight,) and I can spend so much time focusing on what they have, that I miss the great stuff that is sitting right in front of me.
Usually the dissatisfaction starts subtlety. Maybe it’s a magazine pic of a kitchen that I would love to have, or my neighbor gets a new car and parks it near my 13 year-old beater. There are so many little things can trigger that dissatisfaction.
God has blessed me with a life that, when I really look at it, is pretty awesome. I have a relationship with God that is filled with grace, every single day. I have four kids that I love. They are not perfect kids, but they were raised by a not-so-perfect mom and dad, so that’s to be expected. I have a ministry that while not huge, is what I love and is a huge blessing to me (and some other people and their marriages.) I’m married to a great man, who I adore and who loves me back. All in all, not a bad life.
But it is so easy to get into that place of not being satisfied when I start to look at my sister’s plate.
Practicing Gratitude
One of the projects I’m working on this week is a Gratitude Board. Pictures of the things in my life I’m grateful for. It sounds simple and I’ve done the reverse (a Dream Board), but I really want to have a visual reminder of all that God has trusted me with and done for me.
I went to a site called www.photovisi.com that can help you create a photo collage. I’ve just taken picture off of my computer of gifts – my kids, Roger and I on trips, my mom recovering in the hospital after her cancer surgery – and have put them on one board. When I’m reminded of what God has given me, it’s a lot easier to not sit in that place of discontentment.
Putting My Heart in the Right Place
Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be.
When I’m feeling unsatisfied, I can usually trace it back to busyness. When I’m busy, and not spending time with God, my focus is on my world, instead of God’s plan for my world.
It usually takes a couple of days, but when I realize that I’m in that stinking place, I know I need to be back in the God place and put my heart squarely where He is.
Q4U – When do you feel that discontentment rise? Is there something that you do to not look at your neighbor, but sit in your own place of godly satisfaction?
by kathilipp | Aug 13, 2012 | Home, The "What's for dinner?" Project |
The World’s Easiest (and best!) Whole Roasted Chicken
I just got home from the MOPS International Convention in Dallas Texas. I shared this recipe with the audience and since then I’ve had a bunch of requests for the recipe. Well here is the deconstructed recipe for the the best Whole Roasted Chicken I’ve ever eaten that is so easy I now have it memorized and make it at least once a week.
My family loves it, and the leftover chicken makes a great topping for salads, or is wonderful in some tacos.
The only secret is to use a meat thermometer to get the internal chicken temp to 165 degrees – enough to be cooked, moist enough to eat right off the bone.
The World’s Easiest (and best!) Whole Roasted Chicken
1 Whole chicken – giblets removed, rinsed and patted dry
6 garlic cloves cut in half
½ stick of butter
Garlic salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 425
Put the chicken in a roasting pan breast side up
Salt and pepper cavity, put garlic in cavity
Chop up butter into pats and place all over the top of the chicken
Sprinkle the top with garlic salt and pepper
Roast until chicken’s internal temperature is 165
Let set 20 minutes and enjoy
by kathilipp | Jul 25, 2012 | Home |
Exactly why I wrote The Get Yourself Organized Project…
by kathilipp | Jul 12, 2012 | Home, The "What's for dinner?" Project |
For the longest time, I was asking you for your Meal Planning on Mondays for the week.
OK that’s just crazy.
On Monday, it’s just too late. The damage is done and the pizza has been ordered. I thought – why not do it on Friday for next week? So I’m here to share my meal plan, as well as ask for yours (and one of you will win THE WHAT’S FOR DINNER SOLUTION just for submitting your plan!)
This way, not only will you have the chance to come up with your menu, but the time to shop for your ingredients!
Since I will be traveling all next week, I thought I would share what we did this week for meals. I’d love for you to tell me what your dinner plan is for next week (Monday through Sunday,) and give me one great tip that we can all use to make meals easier.
Here is my menu from last week:
Monday Pizza (Our favorite place does 50% on Mondays. An extra large pizza for $9? And I get my busiest day of work off from cooking. Sign me up…
Tuesday Salsa Chicken (Freezer to Slow Cooker) , Spanish Rice, Vegetarian Re-fried Beans, and Roger’s Homemade Guacamole
Wednesday Chicken Cacciatore (Freezer to Stove Top), Microwave Baked Potatoes, Salad
Thursday Brown Rice and Chicken Casserole with leftover chicken
Friday Leftover Brown Rice and Chicken Casserole (made from leftovers…) 
Saturday On the Road
Sunday On the Road
I know – no fair – I get almost a week off of cooking… But if it makes you feel better, I’m going to Missouri where everyday it’s 93 degrees for our entire trip. (And my Texas friends give me no sympathy…)
But to make up for it – if you tell me what you’re having for dinner next week (Monday through Sunday!) I will enter you to win THE WHAT’S FOR DINNER PROJECT. But you really win by not being in a panic every night for dinner next week.
And now – two recipes that are no-oven required
Salsa Chicken
Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
32 oz. salsa (2- 16 oz. jars)
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained
condiments:
flour tortillas
sour cream
guacamole
lettuce
tomato
cheese
salsa
Directions:
Place all ingredients in your slow cooker.
Cook on low 6-8 hours.
30-60 minutes prior to serving, remove chicken, shred and return to crock pot
Serve over Mexican rice or let everyone prepare their own tortillas using the chicken mixture as filling inside tortillas.
Add desired condiments.
Chicken Cacciatore
1 pound Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 T Vegetable Oil
1 ¼ cup Onion
2 cups Mushrooms
1 t Minced garlic
1 28 oz can Crushed tomatoes in puree
2T Parsley
¼ t Pepper
2t Italian Seasoning
1t Basil
Parmesan Cheese
Preparation: Cut chicken breast into cubes. Slice onions and mushrooms. Chop garlic.
Cooking: In a large skillet, sauté chicken in vegetable oil until no longer pink in the center. Remove chicken from skillet and sauté onions, mushrooms and garlic until the onions are transparent. Add chicken and remaining ingredients except for parmesan cheese. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Serve over penne pasta or garlic mashed potatoes.
by kathilipp | Jul 11, 2012 | Home |
- Take an Inventory Figure out what you already have, and then build your menu for the week around that. Every time veggies expires, Paula Deen dies a little inside.
- Go Online Before I make a meal plan or list, I see what I have, and then I see what’s on sale to decide what we’re going to eat.
- Make a Meal Plan If you go into the shopping trip knowing what you need for the week – and not guessing – you’re going to save a ton of money.
- Make a List Again – don’t guess. If you don’t make a list, you will forget things you need, and buy stuff you don’t.
- Buy in Bulk – But Only When It’s Really Cheap Just because it’s bulk, doesn’t mean it’s cheaper, However, each week I put aside a part of our budget to stock up on cheap bulk items. Eventually, this will reduce your overall bill because your shopping in your pantry and freezer and not in the grocery store.
- Shop Two Stores – or Three I check the weeklies (or websites) of a couple of different stores each week. Some people would think it’s a waste of time to go to two different stores, but most of us are doing it anyway, and different things are on sale at different stores.
- Do a Seasonal Stock Up The only time I can get canned pumpkin on sale is October and November. So I stock up for the year (I use it as a substitute to oil in muffins.)
- Sing up for the Store’s Loyalty Card
- Beware of Prepared Food Don’t buy those little packages of pre-cooked chicken – It’s much cheaper to throw a few frozen chicken breasts into the over and make your own.
- Try One Store Brand a Week
- Plan for Leftovers – and then Eat Them
- Use Your Food Processor I use it to grate cheese, and slice up veggies as soon as we get home from the store. Don’t ever, ever, buy precut veggies at the store.
- Double Your Batch When you find a sale on chicken breasts, double the recipe of whatever you’re cooking and freeze the second dinner for another night.
- Plan a YOYO Dinner Once a week, have a You’re On Your Own night where everyone can eat up leftovers.
- Buy Cleaners in Concentrate Mixing your won will save you tons. Just purchase (or repurpose) a spray bottle and label it properly.
- Make Stew Stew is a great way of stretching your ground beef or turkey into a satisfying meal.
- Make Your Own Salad Wash your greens in a salad spinner and store them in a Ziploc with a paper towel to absorb excess moisture.
- Challenge Yourself to reduce your food bill by 5% a month for six months. Just by paying attention, you could be spending 30% on my bill in less than half a year.
- Learn to Make Marinades They are super easy, and when you find meat on sale, stock up and throw it into a Ziploc with the marinade and you have a meal in minutes.
- Make Your Own Croutons Chop up leftover/dry bread into crouton sized pieces, and then toss about four cupfuls with ¼ cup melted butter, and some grated Parmesan cheese and bake for 12 minutes at 350.
- Plan One Meatless Meal a Week
What’s your favorite way to be a savvy shopper?
by kathilipp | Jul 8, 2012 | Home, The Get Organized Project |
I know it seems like a weird question, but hear me out.
There are a lot of stories I’ve told myself about being organized:
- Other women come by it so easily.
- My family actively works against me when it comes to getting organized.
- I could get so much more done if I could just get organized.
And to some extent, those are all true.
So let’s break them down. Today I want to tackle the first one.
Other women come by it so easily. Yes- I would say that most women are naturally more organized than I am. Their natural response is when they pull something out, they put it away. Not me. My natural response is to leave it out in case I need it later.
But just because something comes more easily for someone else doesn’t mean that I should give up on it – that it’s any less important for me to achieve it. When I use the excuse “It just comes easily for her.” what I’m saying is that the things in my life are not as important to accomplish as the stuff in her life.
You do a lot of things that don’t come naturally: I get being a mom didn’t come naturally at first. Or cooking dinner. Or figuring out Facebook. But you stuck with it – and now you can.
It was the same for me. Putting things away. Not natural – but now I do it. Keeping my living room picked up. Not natural, but I’ve set myself up that I do it for 15 minutes a day, and it stays mostly picked up.
Is there someone in your life that you compare yourself to when it comes to organization? What do you tell yourself about why you are not as organized as you want to be? I want to deal with the issues that keep us from being all that God wants us to be.
by kathilipp | Jul 1, 2012 | Home |
Quick Clean Your Living Room 15 Minutes
I said that I was going to help you get organized every Monday, and my intentions were good. But then this happened:
Looks harmless enough, doesn’t she.
This is Ash. And Ash is 9 oz. of cute high maintenance.
I will be doing a full blog post on Ash in the near future, but let’s just say she did not come to us looking like that. She was a hot mess and we’ve spent the last week nursing her back to health. And last Saturday, when I was supposed to write the blog post, was a day of having her on me for about 20 out of 24 hours.
But now I’m back. And we are going to get your Living Room organized.
Get Ready
Get Your 3 Boxes and 2 Bags together (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, go read this post all about it.)
Get Set
Figure out what area of your living room you’re going to quick clean. Now is not the time start alphabetizing your DVDs. I just want you to put 15 minutes on the clock and pull out only what you can put back in that amount of time. Maybe you need 15 minutes to clean off/out your coffee table. Maybe 15 minutes to attack underneath the stairs. Awesome. Pick an area and work on it for 15 minutes.
Go
Spend 15 minutes a day for the rest of the week cleaning and putting stuff away in your living room. You will make a huge improvement in the next six days (yes, you get Sunday off!)
Win
Every day this week that you clean your living room for 15 minutes, lave a comment on this post and I will enter you to win my book THE 
WHAT’S FOR DINNER SOLUTION. (I will do anything to help you have more sanity in your life – including bribery…)
21 Post-It-Sized Encouragements 
