In case you were wondering what a green smoothie might look like, I've added a picture. This is from today, which is very green because the orange didn't change it colors. The ones with raspberries tend to have a more brown color. I'll try to take a picture of that one tomorrow!



These generally taste very good if you have a sweet fruit in them that dominates. Raspberries and other berries do a great job. Today, mine is still sweet, but a bit more bitter, which I believe is actually the parsley I'm tasting.

Today's recipe was:

1c water
1c spinach
1/4 c parsley
1 orange (without peel)
1 banana (without peel)
1 TBS chia seeds

Total calories for about 24oz is 246.

Anyone ready to try a green smoothie yet?

I met the $500 purchase minimum on the Citi Dividend card yesterday when I got the girls hair cut. I even went about $20 over. Now to pay it off, and wait for the statement to cycle be awarded my $200!

I did make my smoothie for lunch today. This recipe made about 16oz and equalled 254 calories. I might need a little more for lunch, but right now I'm full!

1c vanilla almond milk
1c kale
1T peanut butter
1/2c frozen raspberries
1T chia seeds

Have you tried chia seeds? Very bland, but high in Omega 3's and has more antioxidants than blueberries. Sixty calories per tablespoon. Oh, and they are suppose to be good for staying hydrated!

I was able to fit my green smoothie in as part of my lunch. It was 313 calories and very filling!

1c water
2c kale
1 banana
1/2c frozen raspberries
1 kiwi
1 TBP chia seeds

Most of my recipes make about 24 oz and I drink the whole thing. Yummy.

I received another $3 payment from Pinecone and a sample in the mail to try. More Christmas Fund money!!

I made my smoothie this morning. I even surprised myself, but the blender was out and it helped I was out of coffee!

Today's smoothie was similar, but different than yesterday's:

1c. water
1c. spinach
1c. kale
1 banana
1/2c. frozen raspberries
1 peeled kiwi

Total calories: 227. I was going to call this breakfast, but I might need some oatmeal to tide me until lunch. I could be wrong, green smoothies can be quite filling!

Green smoothies are a great way to get more fruits and vegetables into the diet. The blending breaks the food down more which makes it easier for your body to absorb and digest the nutrients in the vegetables and fruit. Let me know if you try one this month!

I did have my green smoothie today for a late afternoon snack. I made mine in a traditional blender. This is what was in it:

1 c. water
1 TBS chia seeds
2 c. spinach
1 banana
1 c. frozen raspberries

Total calories = 249

Right now I think I'll have my smoothie in the morning tomorrow...but really it depends on if I'm motivated to make it when I get up. Otherwise later in the day. It may or may not be a different combination than today.

Have you ever had a green smoothie?

...to the desire for Girl Scout cookies.

My daughter's friend is a girl scout and she asked if we wanted cookies. Really, who doesn't love a GS cookie? Why do they hve to have so many flavors we like? I bought 5 boxes! At $3.50 each. The math on that is $17.50 for cookies. Eek.

They come around once a year. It's for a good cause. The cookies will taste fabulous. I'll likely eat less since I'm on diet. Oh my I'm on a diet with GS cookies in the house!!

In good financial news, I earned enough Swagbucks to redeem another $5 Amazon.com gift card. I'm up to $25 now! Did I mention how it is a bit addictive? Would you agree?

I have gone two entire weeks without drinking diet soda!! It's my new years resolution not to drink diet soda in 2012. I haven't had any regular soda either. That's pretty easy for me since I don't want to drink most of my calories.

It will save me money, about $5 per week. And I will save time, since I no longer have to return the cans for get my deposit back. Yipee! Oh, and I think it is good for my health, too.

If you made a new years resolution, how are you doing on it?

The regular monthly payment on the truck loan hit the account yesterday. We paid $37.48 in interest and $291.65 towards principal.

Our new balance is $12,705.74. I love less debt!

In other news, I did get a $100.39 check from my parents. See how my dad added $0.39 for my age. He's been doing that for a few years now. Kind of clever don't you think?

I have no immediate plans for the money. I will deposit it and keep track of it as birthday money. I might need new jeans soon, if I keep losing weight!

It snowed here last night after the temperature dropped and turned the rain to snow. At least two inches of very heavy wet snow. Ugh. That means labor intensive shoveling!

I looked up the 40 minutes of snow shoveling at My Fitness Pal to learn that I burned 306 calories. I'm calling that my exercise for today, since my neighbor did the same thing. (We ususally hit the gym together)We are going to the mall later for smoothies with a buy one get one free coupon. We will probably walk around while we drink...so more exercise there. I should remember to bring my pedometer.

We are need of tires for the van. I think we are going to get a set of Goodyear tires. They have a rebate offer right now, which will help bring the price down. I'm now looking at three different quotes for three different tires. Decisions. Decisions.

I began another weight loss journey over two weeks ago and I've already lost 6.6 pounds! It's crazy. It seems like the weight is just falling off. I'm not hungry often, so it seems pretty easy.

I'm using a free tool that can be accessed online or even on your smart phone (which I don't have). It is called

My Fitness Pal. It is basically an online diary to track your calories and exercise. There is also a forum to share information, as well as blogs to read about the journey others are taking.

It is completely free to join. I don't get any points or compensation for mentioning the site. I'm just excited to find something that is helping me on my weight loss journey.

My goal is to lose 25 pounds. So I still have many weeks to go. I don't have a deadline, but I'm excited that I might actually be thinner during the holidays for once! I think counting calories now is a good way to keep pounds of during the holidays, too. It might be the first year that I don't have to make a weight loss resolution. I'll just keep doing what I have been doing. I'm so looking forward to that.

If you join, and want to be friends on the site, leave a message on this post with your user name on that site and I'll friend you and cheer you on. I do have a different name there, so don't expect to see creditcardfree.

What is your best tip for losing weight? I'd love to hear about preferred exercise, or a great filling low calorie snack.

I have a simple recipe for black beans that I often eat at lunch, sometimes with a tortilla or chips. The recipe is enough for two people and of course, could be doubled. My sister adds tomato to her version.

1 can black beans, drained
1/4 c. feta cheese
1/4 c. chopped red onion
2 TBS of chopped cilantro
1 TBS olive oil
1 1/2 TBS balsalmic vinegar

Mix it all together! Easy, healthy and fairly inexpensive.

Yesterday, I went through my kitchen cabinet where I keep my baking supplies. I tossed out at least 10 expired spices. I had no idea I had that many!! I also moved the cookie cutters and two cookbooks to other cabinets. It is still a full cabinet, but it looks so much better. I am not replacing the spices, until I see a need to replace. I rarely use paprika or cardamon.

I found I had many slips of paper with recipes on them. I recycled the ones I won't use or didn't like. I typed the ones I still use into my Evernote account for future reference. I did this while watching a movie with my daughter, so it was painless.

I also found some expired vitamins in another cabinet. Those were tossed, too. Do you think you have any expired items? If so, toss them today!! It only takes a few moments of your time.

I did end up with one expense yesterday. A health item I decided I needed before the end of the month. Cost $5.06.

My parents are visiting for the weekend. My mom is bringing some food. I'm making us homemade pizza for dinner tonight with items already on hand. We will probably eat out for lunch tomorrow to celebrate my oldest daughter's upcoming birthday. It will be their treat. We are visiting a free museum, too. I think I might get away without spending any money until Sunday. It's been a good spring break with minimal expenses. I noticed I still have quite a bit of fuel left in the van that I hope can make it through most of next week. Yipee!!

Beginning Balance: 457.89
Groupon Purchase: (15.00)
Grocery Purchase: (45.59)
Fuel Purchase: (54.49)
Grocery Purchase: (24.13)
Ebay Birthday Purchase: (3.65)
Toaster Purchase: (26.37)
Grocery Purchase: (19.37)
iHerb Purchase: (1.68)
Grocery Purchase: (4.62)
Gift Purchases (19.36)
Grocery Purchase (34.93)
Account Interest $0.07
Cat Food Purchase: (28.61)
Fuel Purchase: (52.21)
Coffee Purchase: (4.99)
Addition of Funds: $500.00
Grocery Purchase: (83.55)
Ebay Purchase: (0.94)
Previous Balance: $538.47

Health Purchase: (5.06)
New Balance: $533.41

Ugh. I really have trouble not spending, don't I? Today's expense really isn't too bad. I actually got a good deal.

I went to iHerb to purchase a supplement that was $12. Shipping was $1.68. I have ordered from them before and apparently I have earned rewards!! More than $20 in rewards. The $12 purchase became zero. I only paid for the shipping. Yipee!!

FIN012 for $5 off your first purchase.

Beginning Balance: 457.89
Groupon Purchase: (15.00)
Grocery Purchase: (45.59)
Fuel Purchase: (54.49)
Grocery Purchase: (24.13)
Ebay Purchase: (3.65)
Toaster Purchase: (26.37)
Grocery Purchase: (19.37)
Previous Balance: $269.29

iHerb Purchase: (1.68)
New Balance: $267.61

It's a snow day here in Iowa. I think we probably got at least five inches and it blew around and drifted.

It was nice to wake up with my neighbor already working on my driveway with his big snowblower. I have a snowblower, and have used it on some of the last storms, but it does still take awhile to move large drifts. It is nice that I don't have to go out. If I don't go out, I don't spend money!!

The only bad thing about the storm. I didn't set out the trash and recycleables for pickup this morning. I thought it would be delayed. Nope. I missed them both. It is okay, we don't accumulate too much trash. The recycleables will be another two weeks before pickup and likely an overflowing bin by then. It is what it is, right?

I lost 2.6 pounds in my first week counting calories. It wasn't too bad for the first week. I'm being very gentle with myself this time around. I want to establish better eating habits, not just starve myself to a thin weight. I made a salad last night with bulgar wheat, which I have never made before. It was pretty good.

No. I have been receiving that comment yet? How about you?

Turns out I have lost two pounds since January 5th. I only started counting calories three days ago. I have been to the gym all week and was getting there a couple days each week since the first of the year.

I have at least 20 pounds to go. How are you doing on your weight loss? Any tips that are working for you that you want to share?

Oh my gosh what a crazy day! I went to a gym with two neighbors that aren't currently gym goers. We ALL signed up for memberships. I even signed my husband up, even though he has not visited!! What am I doing?

Actually, we are all really excited. In fact, we are going back up to actually work out!! Can you tell we like to be together and are excited?!

I paid an upfront membership fee of $79 for my husband and I to have a metro membership. This means we can visit other locations, including one with a running track, sauna and pool! I don't pay anything again until January 1st! I think our rate is $69/month. This seems a little high, but we are getting some extras with the ability to go to mulitple locations. I also can adjust my membership anytime to single...like when you know who gets deployed. Nice of them to work with us.

So excited!!

Payday is Friday. Unfortunately, I don't think I have extra for our home equity loan!

Turns out our gym membership is about to expire on November 14th. We paid in full for a 3 year membership...well, three years ago! We need at least two more years. So, the extra cash needs to be held until I figure out the gym membership costs.

Darn.

Um...it's snowing here today. Well, it's not sticking to the roads and the green grass is still visible. But the flakes are still flying.

Yesterday, we ran to Home Depot and purchased a blanket for our hot water heater. Our basement, where it's located, isn't heated. We also bought some insulation for the basement. There was 6 foot section where the frames meets the foundation that didn't have ANY insulation. We didn't notice it until this summer and we lived here nearly 3 years!!

I also bought some caulk and sealed up a few areas on the outside of the house. I did this last year, but found a few more areas that need sealing. I will also use some clear caulk inside to seal where our windows meet the window frame. There are a few gaps.

We also picked up some more energy saving bulbs and a new outdoor light fixture. Our total cost at Home Depot was about $75. I think the light fixture and bulbs were the most expensive! Best thing is we completed most of those projects yesterday when it was warmer. Yipee!

P.S. I made to the gym on a Saturday. That is a miracle!

I've noticed that I really need to exercise daily to help my stress levels. It makes a HUGE difference.

I usually try to get to the gym on the days the girls are in school. I'm hit and miss on the weekends. I didn't do anything yesterday because my husband was working. He is working again today and i really needed a workout. So what to do?

We made our own workout here at home. We had six stations which we hit for a minute each. Every minute we changed stations for 30 minutes. Our stations included: sit ups, push ups, trampoline, jumping jacks, stairs and a hand weight station. We worked up a sweat and I feel much better! Some stations needed revision as we went along...because I can't do push ups for a minute!! I did try, but as a result I can barely type this.

I'm thrilled to have exercised and involved the kids. Even better it was free!

I thought I'd just give a peek into the financial things happening in our daily lives the last day or so. I hope it is not too boring!

The girls and I had dentist appointments yesterday. Since we are military the girls and I pay a premium monthly in order to have dental coverage. The premium is $30.29 per month. Because we go to an approved dentist, we pay no money out of pocket for regular cleanings twice a year.

This money does cover 50% of orthodontic work...with a $1500 max. I think I only have $1100 left of that max. I hope I don't need it all. DD1 will be getting braces, hopefully before school starts up again. She has one more baby tooth that needs to fall out.

After the dentist appointment, we picked up McDonald's. I spent about $15. I wish that I didn't eat the fries or second cheeseburger!! I didn't need it. I even had a drink in the car.

I picked up food because the car was packed up for a mini trip. I drove the girls to meet my mother a little over an hour away. The girls went to spend about 48 hours with their grandparents. Free time for me!! Of course, I spent a little money in gas for the trip.

After I arrived back home...I had to decide what to do. Well, I went shopping!! I needed shorts for vacation. I mean I'm going to Florida in July! I spent $50 for 3 pairs of shorts. Not bad.

Once DH was home, we went to the gym. I was still thinking of those fries I ate! Great workout followed by DH's desire for chinese food and beer. Ugh. I'm having trouble with food today can you tell? We spent about $20 for this meal. It was really good. I had sesame chicken.

We watched a movie called What Happens in Vegas. It was from Netflix and really good and funny. Okay it was predictable, but still good.

-------

Today, I have to spend my free time getting my Dad's gift for Father's Day. I have a plan and hope to spend about $25.

My parents are bringing the girls back tomorrow and they are spending the night here. I guess I need to clean in preparation for that and buy groceries. Fun...more spending.

Have a great weekend fellow bloggers and readers!

Yes, we saw UP today at the movie theatre. We saw the matinee and paid $25 for the four of us. It was pretty good. Although my 8 year old did mention that it was kind of sad. And yes, it was, I almost cried. We went right after lunch and skipped the snacks. Even DH, skipped getting a diet coke! Trust me, that is a miracle.

This evening we went for an hour long bike ride. That translates to about 7 miles! We can't ride any faster than smallest one in our party. I think DH & I could go about twice as fast. Oh, well. It was some exercise and free entertainment!! Gotta love that.

Today, I went to lunch with friends that were visiting from out of town. I took the girls with me. We ate very well for $17.40 including the tip. My oldest didn't really qualify for the kids menu, but that is what they charged me for. I saved about $2!

We walked from our restaurant to the state capital building. It was a least a mile, mostly uphill. Of course, at the end we were able to walk back down! Free entertainment was welcome by me as well as our friends. Parking was even free!!

The local farmer's market was ending as we arrived, the girls and I received free samples of organic lip balm. We took 6 tubes and gave some to our friends! Can't beat that!

DH is on his way home from working on a Saturday morning just to catch up on things. I think we will go bike shopping for our oldest daughter. We sold her bike at the garage sale on Thursday and have promised her an upgrade.

By upgrade, I mean, quality. The last $50 bike was not quality. The chain shouldn't keep falling off. We had BIL look at since he know a lot about bikes. He said you get what you pay for.

DH and I bought bikes that were over $400 a piece last year. They are perfect. So, our oldest daughter may just be getting a matching bike. I'm hoping to spend a little less, if possible.

I have the cash set aside for this purpose, I hope we can find a nice one that will be under my budgeted amount of $400.

I'm really motivated to get this home equity loan paid off this year. It can be done. I REALLY like looking forward to mini milestones, such as nice round numbers.

We just surpassed the $9,000 mark. Now that I'm there, I'm focused on getting as close to $8K as I can by the end of the month. Then after that I will be looking at $7K and so forth.

In order to get under $8K this month, I need to be careful with spending as usual. I need to be aggressive in finding things to sell. This will also require convincing my daughters they no longer need their My Little Ponies and other such toys they no longer play with!! That can be the most difficult part.

I hope that my Global Test Marketing check for $50 arrives this month,too. That would sure help a lot. I have almost accumulated $25 in debit rewards and should be able to redeem those by the end of the month, too.

I have a queen metal bed frame hanging out in my basement that would bring $10-$15 if I can get it listed on craigslist.

I already have 1 bid for an item on ebay. There are still 8 waiting for bids with a few of them being watched. They don't end until Sunday.

When I think about all the monetary possibilities out there, I feel pretty confident that we can meet this months goal. A big portion of it will come from the next pay check in about 10 days.

I'm sure I'll spend the month scrounging around to make a few more dollars here and there. I just love this, stuff!

---------
Just a side note: I'm finally back on the exercise bandwagon. Two days in a row at the gym. I do feel better.

It started when I decided to sit down and value all the donations we've given to Goodwill and other various thrift stores this year. The value of our donations was $560! I've had years where our values were much higher...like over $1500 one year!! This year they were lower because I've been selling quite a few things on ebay.

So, once I was done with that I started calculating the amount of our auto registration fees that could be deducted. Next thing I know, I have estimated our entire tax returns. Both Federal and State.It's possible I missed a couple items, but I've been doing our own taxes since I had my first job at 16, so I don't think so.

Expected Estimated Refund Amounts:
Federal $602
State $1413

Total $2,015

Nice to have a more concrete number in mind. I'm anxious to have all the forms in my hands, so I can actually file. I'm being a little impatient about it right now.
-------
No, I did not go to the gym today. I didn't want to go out...since it is only zero degrees. I will try to get some resistance exercises in while I watch the Biggest Loser. I'm only 20 pounds overweight, but it is a motivator!

Yesterday, I received our 1099-G from the state of Iowa for the refund we received last year. I also saw our 1098 is available from our mortgage company. It is online and can be printed off. No need to wait for it in the mail!! Love it.

I have a folder that I started last year, for items related to filing taxes. So, I will drop these two items in. As the rest arrive they will go there, too. I will be all ready in a couple weeks to get started. Are you this organized, too? If not, is there something you can do now to start getting organized? I would at least be looking for donations you made in 2008, if you itemize.
-----------------
We received about 6 inches of snow overnight. They predicted up to 3 inches. A little off. The girls and I will stay home, since DH is working. They are already having a good time playing. I just need to figure out how I'm going to work out here at home today.

So, I just finished the first two chapters in Suze's new 2009 Action Plan book. She is explaining the whole mess of how the economy got where it is today. I sure couldn't agree more. It has been amazing to me for several years how banks could lend some people money to afford homes, that I never thought they could afford. These are people in my own extended family. They are struggling to meet payments on rising ARM's. They can't refinance. Uggh...just so frustrating.

I did watch Oprah yesterday so I do know that her book has some good action steps. The first is to pay off all credit cards! One woman had 27 cards with a total of $79K on them. She also had a $33K 401K loan to pay back! I'm sure if she starts to follow Suze's advice, she will pull herself out of the hole she is in.

Read the book...even if you think it doesn't apply to you. You might be able to use the information to help someone else you know. I sent out an email to everyone I know with the link to the book. I don't know everyone's financial situation, but the book might be just what they need to get on the right track.
--------

I worked out at the gym today. I made it five days in a row!! I burned 501 calories on the elliptical, treadmill and rowing machine. I lifted weights and relaxed in the sauna.

Tomorrow DH has to work the weekend training soldiers. I will find something active to do with the kids. It might be a good day for roller skating! We'll see.