One Hundred Dollars a Month

The Tacoma City Marathon with Mavis, Amberlina and Nick

May 6, 2013 24 Comments

If you are looking at this picture and thinking, holy crap, these two looked like they just rolled out of bed, you would be correct.

The Handsome Husband dropped us off exactly 2 minutes before the Tacoma City Marathon started. There wasn’t even enough time to pee.

We hopped in line, then found out we had to run over to a race official and let them know we were starting early, hop back in line and then ask the lady behind us to take our picture.

We turned around as the announcer was saying something over the loud speaker, snapped this photo of a soldier with a backpack on and then we were off.

Amber is a jogger, I am a walker, so after jogging the first mile I basically thought I was going to keel over right then and there. But I didn’t.

Instead somewhere around the second mile and once we were on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, we picked out a couple of “slow joggers” that we wanted to keep our eye on. Or in other words, our carrots. We wanted to try and keep up with them the whole race.

But somewhere around mile 3 they picked up their speed {or we slowed down, not sure which} and we lost them.

And then we found Nick, a soldier from Ft. Lewis.

Amberlina and I quickly went into cougar mode and stuck up a conversation with him.

We each had a different game plan as to how we were going to finish the race. Nick would walk a for a while and then run. Amberlina jogged {the entire time!} I walked fast and then did a little jogging.

We would catch up to each other for a little while then separate, then find each other and give encouragement.

But shortly after mile 12 I lost Amberina and Nick. Then, at a switchback around mile 19 {?} I spotted Nick. “Where’s Amberlina?”

She’s coming… Right around the corner.

I saw her, told her to keep it up and then didn’t see them until they passed the finish line.

Can you imagine running and walking 26.2 miles in fatigues and a 50 pound pack?

I forgot to mention that Amberlina rolled her ankle around mile 8 {ouch!}.

Nick was such a cool guy and had come to the race all by himself, so Amberlina and I took him to lunch afterwards. Even though it was hard, and none of us {even Nick!} had done any marathon training, we had a blast.

Mavis – 5:48:33
Nick- 6:13:54
Amberlina- 6:15:50

Yes, we are all in a world of pain today, but we did it.

Peace Out Girl Scouts,

I need a nap!

~Mavis

Filed Under: Frugal Living, Random photo update Tagged With: Ft. Lewis, Tacoma City Marathon

Money Savings Tip – Buy a Boneless Ham and Have the Deli Slice it For You

May 6, 2013 20 Comments

Noah left a great tip in the comment section of the What’s on Sale in May post the other day and I wanted to make sure everyone read it because it was such a great tip!

Here is what Noah had to say:

“I just discovered this weekend that if you buy a boneless ham at the grocery store, first take it to the meat department. They will slice/shave it for you {I got mine sliced for free} and you can then use it for lunch meat. Ham freezes well. We bought a 3.5 pound boneless ham for $3.99 a pound which was a savings of almost $2.00 a pound from the pre-sliced deli meat.”

Have YOU tried this before? I’m going to totally do this the next time I purchase a ham.

Awesome tip Noah. Thanks!

~Mavis

Check out more of our Money Saving Tips to help you save.

Filed Under: Money Saving Tips Tagged With: Ham, money saving tips

Mondays with Mavis – How to Feed Your Family for $100 a Month

May 6, 2013 10 Comments

Well, it was another major snoozefest in the grocery department this week. All I purchased was 2 gallons of milk, some bananas for some Spinach Power Smoothies and 2 containers of organic baby spinach and baby kale that was on sale for $1 each at my local produce market.

Thanks to a major stock up trip I made at Winco, Costco and the Oroweat Bakery Outlet 2 weeks ago and some freebie snacks last week, I didn’t have to buy much.

I’ve been photographing the meals I’ve been feeding my family over the past week and and will be showing you those soon.

Do you do a super stock up trip on every few months too? I’m beginning to think it might be the way to go.

How did you do this past week? Did you come across any rockin’ grocery deals?

~Mavis

Total Spent This Week $8.35
Total Spent This Year $926.4
Total Spent This Year on Garden Seeds/Supplies $862.57 {I bought a Meyer Lemon Tree, Rhubarb crowns, 6 Fruit Trees , 16 yards of soil}, Walla Walla Onions and 90 pounds of seed potatoes. Plus, supplies to make my own potting soil. I also picked up a boatload of heirloom tomato plants at the Seattle Tilth sale.

Go HERE to read more Shopping Trip Stories.

Filed Under: Weekly Shopping Trips Tagged With: Mavis, mavis butterfield, mondays with mavis, one hundred dollars a month

Mornings with Mavis – Eating Well Magazine, Batteries, Composter, Teva Sandals, Glade Coupons

May 6, 2013 Leave a Comment

Happy Monday! Yesterday my buddy Amberlina and I finished the Tacoma City marathon and are walking around like robots today because of our stiff muscles. I’ll tell you about it in a little bit, but wowza! I had a good time. Well, if you can call walking 26.2 miles in 80 degree heat a good time. Ha!

Here are a few deals I spotted this morning for you. See you back in a bit.

~Mavis

Amazon has a 1 year subscription to Eating Well Magazine on sale for only $5 a year. This is a great magazine with all sorts of recipes and healthy tips.

Today only Vitacost is offering 12% off everything in stock when you use code HAPPYMAY at checkout.

Vistacost is an online retailer that sells over 30,000 products including specialty foods, vitamins, bath & beauty products and more. Vitacost offers FREE shipping on orders over $49 {$4.95 on all other orders}.

If you have not signed up yet you can use this referral link to receive a $10 off your first order coupon code.

One Kings Lane has some unique glass and ceramic beverage containers on sale.

Plus, new One Kings Lane members can get a $15 credit off any $30+ purchase just for signing up.

Go HERE to get a $15 credit of any $30+ purchase.

Already have an Account? Go HERE to start shopping.

Looking for a cool book to read? Homegrown and Handmade: A Practical Guide to More Self-Reliant Living ”shows how making things from scratch and growing at least some of your own food can help you eliminate artificial ingredients from your diet, reduce your carbon footprint, and create a more authentic life.”

Right now you can get the 48 pack box of AA Maxell Batteries for only $11.34 shipped when you use the subscribe and save option at check out.

If you need the AAA size you can get a 36 pack box of Maxell AAA Batteries for only $10.43 shipped with the subscribe and save option. This is a great price for batteries!

Thinking about making your own compost with your garden and kitchen scraps? Amazon has the Soilsaver Classic Composter on sale for $89.99 shipped.

Zulily has deals on Teva Sandals for woman and children on sale for up to 40% off this morning.

Already a Zulily Member? Go HERE to Get This Deal

Amazon Local has some great online deals for Mother’s Day:

$40 to Spend on Flowers for Mother’s Day for $20
$40 to Spend on Mother’s Day Gift Baskets for $20
$30 to Spend this Mother’s Day at ProPlants.com for $15

6pm has Clarks sandals on sale for up to 50% off plus free shipping.

Find More Printable Coupons

Filed Under: Amazon.com, Mornings with Mavis, Online Deals Tagged With: amazon, Batteries, Composter, glade coupons, mornings with Mavis, one hundred dollars a month, Online Deals, Teva Sandals

See What’s New on the One Hundred Dollars A Month Pinterest Site

May 5, 2013 Leave a Comment

If you haven’t stopped by yet, be sure and check out the One Hundred Dollars a Month Pinterest page and look around, there are tons of great ideas over there.

I must admit, my favorite board is Gardening, followed by Trash to Treasure and then all the recipe boards. It’s fun to look back and see pictures of our backyard garden in all different stages and to see all the yummy recipes we’ve made from the harvests.

Don’t forget, you can also follow One Hundred Dollars a Month on Facebook and Twitter too.

♥ Mavis

Filed Under: Pinterest Tagged With: pinterest

Meet Mavis at the Mother Earth News Fair

May 5, 2013 4 Comments

Have a burning question for me that you’ve been dying to ask? Want to pick my brain full of gardening tips and tricks {I can’t guarantee they’ll be useful tips so consider yourself warned}? I’ll be hanging with my gnomies at the Mother Earth News Fair in Puyallup, WA from 9 am to 5 pm on Saturday June 1st. Plus, as an added bonus, my online boyfriend Ryan from Botanical Interests will be there too. So come on by and tell him what a hottie he is!

The Mother Earth News Fairs are family-oriented, sustainable lifestyle events, packed with hands-on workshops and demonstrations on renewable energy, small-scale farming, green building, organic gardening and more.

Come on out and say hi, get all educated and maybe even get in on some charitable giving. Yep, I’m turning the Mother Earth News Fair into gnome man’s land! I’ll be bringing a truckload full of gnomes and you can adopt a gnome right then and there for only $10. 00 and 100% of that $10 donation will go towards the “Send in the Gnome Project” and benefit St. Jude Children’s Research hospital.

So start searching those couch cushions for loose change now, mark your calendars and maybe by June 1st you’ll have scrounged $10 in loose change. Or pocket lint. Could go either way.

See you there!

~Mavis

Filed Under: Frugal Living Tagged With: Gardening, Mother Earth News Fair, Ryan

Gardening in Oklahoma – Raised Garden Beds + a Potato Tower

May 5, 2013 Leave a Comment

Wowza! Check out these pictures Michelle sent in…

Hi Mavis!

I’ve been Oklahoma gardening for four years now. Each year I learn more and my garden grows by at least one box.

My superman husband made me all of my garden boxes and my A-Frame cold frames.

We have a total of six garden boxes so far. Because we have such a small yard we have utilized our driveway for part of them! It was as easy as setting a garden box on the drive, stapling weed block cloth to the bottom inside (to retain the dirt) and then fill. I told my kids that if they didn’t play or ride bikes more on the drive I would start claiming more of it for gardening. Use it or Lose it!!!!

I do square foot gardening. This year I started making seed squares indoors while it was still cold outside. It’s along the same lines as seed tape but on the paper napkins that have been opened full to 12″x12″ (see photo). When the weather was cold and miserable, I was snuggled inside nice and warm making my seed mats.

With the first chance of planting, I just picked up a seed mat and ran out to plant. Easy peasy! Now its a no brainer with staggered plantings. I’ll just grab a mat and lay it in my garden. It takes five seconds. I time it! hah! Plus, this is a fun project I did with my kids. I dotted glue and they sprinkled the seeds. Next year I’m promoting them to glue dotter.

Money is tight and I had to get creative on making trellises for my garden. I made trellises out of bamboo canes from a friends yard, arbors out of tree trimmings for the peas and even a trellis from two old fishing poles with scrap wire in between. I call it my “English Garden” look. It’s a look that I’m really starting to enjoy.

The potato towers are an experiment. So far they seem to be doing well. The real test will be when we harvest. On the very top of the towers I’ve planted bush beans. I read they’re a companion to potatoes. I’m trying to grow in any spare spots of dirt I can find. Space is such a premium I’m thinking of growing squash and pumpkins out front among the flower

But, I think the BEST things we added to our garden this year were the cold frames. Superman husband did a fabulous job making them out of an old redwood swing set that was falling apart. I can now plant out warm loving plants much earlier than normal and start seed outdoors!! I have such beautiful tomato plants covered in blooms already!!

Happy planting!

~ Michelle

April From Santa Cruz, California Sends in Her Garden Photos

If you would like to have your garden, chicken coop or something you’ve made featured on One Hundred Dollars a Month, here’s what I’m looking for:

Your Garden Pictures and Tips – I’d especially like to see your garden set ups, growing areas, and know if you are starting seeds indoors this year. If so, show me some picture of how you are going about it.
Your Chicken and Chicken Related Stories – Coops, Chicks, Hen’s, Roosters, Eggs, you name it. If it clucks, send us some pictures to share with the world.
Cool Arts & Crafts - Made from your very own hands with detailed {and well photographed} pictures and instructions.
Your pictures and stories about your pets. The more pictures and details the better.

If I feature your pictures and the stories behind them on One Hundred Dollars a Month, I will send you a $20.00 gift card to the greatest store in the world: Amazon.com.

Go HERE for the official rules.

Filed Under: Garden Tours, Gardening, Mavis Mail Tagged With: garden tours, Gardening, Gardening in Oklahoma, mavis mail, potato tower, Raised Garden Beds

How to Grow Beans {Start to Finish}

May 5, 2013 5 Comments

I don’t know one person who doesn’t like green beans. My son Monkey Boy will only eat them raw, but everyone else in our family could totally eat a plate full of delicious green sticks for dinner. There is now doubt about it, beans are cool!

Brief description: Beans have long edible pods and beans inside that can also be eaten. They are great for snacking on raw, cooking, or canning.

Where to Plant Beans: Plant in full sun after danger of last frost. Plant in raised beds, garden beds, and even containers if they are big enough.

Planting Seeds: Plant seeds 1″ deep. Most packets say to thin them to every 4 inches, but I think that is crazy and typically space them every 2″ to maximize my crop.

Growing Tips: Beans are awesome for succession planting. If you plan it right, you should be able to get a crop from June all the way through September. I sometimes have troubles with the birds getting to my bean sprouts, so I tend to over plant them to compensate. If the birds don’t get to them, I go back and thin them later.

How to Harvest: To harvest, snap beans off the plant by hold the plant firmly {so that you don’t damage it while picking}. Beans taste better when they are thinner than a pencil, so try to pick them before they get too big.

Are you ready to start your garden but you’re not sure when you should plant your seeds or set out your transplants? Head on over HERE and you’ll be taken to a handy dandy chart that is broken down into what vegetables should be planted {or transplanted} each month in your area.

Anyone can do this. Dirt + Seeds+ Water = Food!

~Mavis

Here are a few of my Favorite Bean recipes:

Green Beans with Sweet Onions and Bacon

Pasta Salad with Green Beans, Tomatoes, and Roasted Peppers

How to Can Green Beans

Fact: Beans have been found in Egyptian tombs–apparently they thought they were easy to grow too.

Filed Under: Gardening, Growing Guides Tagged With: beans, Gardening, gardening with mavis, growing guides, how to grow

Spinach Power Smoothie Recipe

May 5, 2013 6 Comments

If you are looking for a super awesome Spinach Power Smoothie to jump start your day, well then you have come to the right place. My buddy Amberlina and I drank one of these babies last night before we went to bed and we drank another one this morning before lacing up our ~~running~~ walking shoes for the Tacoma City Marathon.

Here is the recipe. It rocks!

Ingredients

2 cups spinach leaves
1 banana
1 apple, cored and sliced
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup water {or juice if you prefer}

Directions

Toss everything in a blender and blend until smooth.

Filed Under: breakfast, Recipe Tagged With: breakfast, recipes, smoothies

Mornings with Mavis – Kindle Books, Wide Brim Hat, BBQ Tool Set, Blueberry Bushes + More

May 5, 2013 4 Comments

My buddy Amberlina flew in last night from Idaho so she could ~~run~~ ~~walk~~ crawl the Tacoma City Marathon with me today. Yee-Haw! We chose the 6 am early start option because neither of us did ~~much~~ any training for this race. The early start is provided for peeps needing more than 6 hours to complete the marathon. Umm, I think that might be us.

Amberlina seems to think we can finish this puppy in 6 hours or less, but because I don’t live in Lala land, I’m guessing it will take us more like 6 1/2 – 7 hours.

All I know is clearly we are total idiots and plan on spending the next week hobbling around our houses hopped up on ibuprofen.

Ahhh the joys of New Year’s Resolutions… and procrastinating.

If you want to cheer us on, we’ll be posting our progress this morning, afternoon, evening {?} on the One Hundred Dollars a Month facebook page as we make our way to the finish line.

Have a great day everyone!

~Mavis

Available Kindle Books I think are cool…
Eat Like A Farm Girl; 3 Ingredient Plant Based Recipes $4.99 {This is Awesome!}
Homesteading {Back to Basics Guides} $3.39
Simpler Living $3.03
31 Days to Clean – Having a Martha House the Mary Way $4.99

The prices on Kindle Books can change quickly, so grab them while you can.

Looking for a nice garden hat to keep the sunshine out of your face? Amazon has the Slogger’s Original Women’s Wide Brim Braided Hat on sale and ready to ship. I think I might grab this one.

Amazon has a 4-Piece Perfect Chef Barbecue Tool Set on sale for $17.29. The reviews on this set are great!

My favorite Soft Brushed Microfiber Queen Sheet Set is back on stock for only $22.29.

Zulily has some great deals on Cottage Garden Flowers and blueberry bushes today.

Already a Zulily Member? Go HERE to Get This Deal

Grab a U.S. Nylon US Flag 3X5 ft – American Made with Embroidered Stars for only $10.13 shipped from Amazon.

Amazon still has a sweet deal on the Presto 23- Quart Pressure Canner and Cooker. I use my pressure canner to can green beans and peas.

How to can Green Beans in a Pressure Canner.

Snapfish has a sweet deal going on through May 10th – Get 100 Snapfish prints for only $10 shipped. Just enter code PRINTMAY100 at checkout.

Discount Mags is offering a 1 year subscription to Digital Photo Magazine for only 4.99 a year when you use code 4531 at checkout.

Discount Mags is also offering a 1 year subscription to Bridal Guide Magazine for only $4.49 a year when you use code 7274 at checkout.These deals will expire tonight 5/2/13 at midnight EST so be sure and grab your subscription before then.

Enter the Rubbermaid Florida Family Sweepstakes for your chance to win 1 of 4 5-night trips for four people to Amelia Island, Florida. Sweet Diggety!