All State Track kid #2

 

She got to stand on the first place podium her freshman year as an alternate for the girls 4x400 and as the 2nd place team in state. Her sister was a first place medalist in the girls 4x400 that year.  All the girls did so great that year and after the Covid break the year before it was tough for everyone. 

This year, now a junior, she was back in 8th place medaling in the girls 4x800 in the state.  She ran great and had a great time for herself and she’s hoping her senior year will be even better. We will be trying some incoming freshman out on the team as two left as seniors.  This team has gone to state for the past several years and only not placed one year. So we hope to keep that up. So proud of the grit!

The little things in life are the best

 I love these notes the kids have written over the years. Tooth fairy notes beat all. Literally her tooth fell in the heat vent under her window and she was was so upset. And J did. It like it when the tooth fairy missed his tooth for a little bit. And the toilet paper?  What mom doesn’t like leaving work to find a wad of toilet paper under her windshield wiper saying her kid had come by?  These are some of my favorite things. 

#favoritethings #goodmemories #lovemykids #itsthelittlethingsinlife

Not my style. Do you like it?

 

I wasn’t a fan of the fit on me.  Its a cute top but probably better suited for someone with a longer torso. Loved the buttons on the sleeves. And it was a very pretty color.

Get the top here

 #affiliate #amazonfinds #buttoncuff #springtop

Cutest summer top!

 I got a few new shirts from Amazon, for the summer, since I haven’t found anything locally.  And this top is one I love so much I’m going to order another in a different print and color. Great fit. Versatile. So cute! 

Buy this too here

 #amazonfinds #cutesttop #summerstyle #bringonsummer #affiliate

Last day of school yet?

 Little by little they’re growing up. And people ask if  I’m sad to have my last one go to high school.  I am not. He’s the last of 5. I’ve had kids in school since 2003. That’s 20 years of kindergarten through high school and I still have a ways to go with the remaining 2 in high school and then post high school.  

I’m proud of the 5 kids.  My heavy equipment operator, my wildlife biology grad, my college kid and now my two high schoolers.  As long as they strive to be hard working, decent, unselfish people that pay their way in life and do what makes them happy without trying to keep up with society I’m a happy mom. They make me happy but I’m also learning my time with them is shrinking and I’m trying to find who I am now.  I’m not who I used to be. I hope I’ve grown but it’s time for mom to be Lisa. 

#schoolsout #lastdayofschool #momlife #findmyself #lovemykids

The best wok I’ve ever had!

 

Do you ever worry about the chemicals non stick pans leach into your food and into your body?  I do?  And I did research and found carbon steel is a great solution.  After a couple of good seasonings this thing is NON STICK!  I even got the utensils. It’s been awesome to stir fry and fry on really high heat without worry about the chemicals or the food sticking to the pan. I love this thing. I’ve been using it for almost 6 months now and it’s fantastic.  Find the links on Pinterest  

Or

Carbon steel wok and Wok utensils

#woksrock #nonstickwok #carbonsteelcookware

The BEST battery pack out there!

 Get your battery pack here

I can’t believe I haven’t shared this here.  I have had this battery pack since 2019. 

I loved it so much I bought some for the older kids when they needed them. I can usually get at least 3 full charges off of this one fully charged pack.  And it charges faster than the car or an outlet does. It’s the first thing I grab when I need a little more juice.  You’ve got to have one of these for everyone that needs their devices charges. 

#affiliate #bestbatterypack #keepthephoneon

My mom is the best…no really

 

These ladies are the reason, for better or worse, I’m the mom I am.  But, my mom is the best. 

She was always there to nag us when we needed to do something that made us better humans. She was there for us to lean on when our lives were falling apart.  She was the person who single handedly taught us financial frugality and that even if we had the money for something doesn’t mean we needed the item. She set expectations and boundaries and we learned to to exceed them when we wanted something. She said no and wasn’t our best friend so we learned what life was really about and as adults is now there in a best friend capacity. She made my childhood fun as we learned fun was coloring on rocks and playing tag in the dark and rolling down the hill and made adulthood better as she is still teaching us and there for us when we need it and steps back when we need it. She always knows.  Not that we always agree.  We’re still her kids and follow our own paths but we know she’s there.   

Best mom ever!  We are lucky adults. 

#greatmoms #mymomrocks #growinguphappy #thankfulmom 

Parents of athletes and the long days

 This is what parents do with kids in sports. This IS track and in this case even the college kids drove 1.5 hours to watch little sister run and little brother tagged along to cheer the track team on with other track siblings his age.  But 8 hours of actual track on a HOT day took its toll and mom and big sis took a nap on the bleachers.  Yes we put on sunscreen and reapplied multiple times.  We pack lots of sandwiches and snack and water.  There wasn’t enough water in the world for how hot we were.  But our girls relay took first in both events so we were super happy.     

Anyone else have track and field kids?  What do you do to pass the time when none of the kids running are your kids let alone even from your school?  We walked around, stretched, napped and watched other events.  

11 hour day and that shower was amazing!   Hope everyone’s track kids are doing great!  

#tracklife #trackparents #trackandfield #moneysavingtips #packalunch

Best produce storage ever!!!

 

This is the last storage container you’ll need for salads, spinach etc.  Seriously!  Don’t waste money letting your produce go bad quickly ever again!  You can either get the link in Pinterest or below. The Amazon one is slightly smaller than the Walmart one but the Walmart keeper is pretty big for our large family.  

Amazon link to produce keeper

Walmart link to produce keeper

 #smartmoneyspend #amazonfinds #affiliate #moneysavings #producestorage

Work hard…sometimes means work more

 There’s the saying of work smarter not harder and that is VERY true.  You can do thinks that make your money work for you. For instance, if I have my money locked up in a CD making 4% and we need a new car and the loan is .9% (true story) then why would I cash out money from making 4% when I can just borrow .9% and then pay off when the CD comes due or it financially makes more sense?  That’s an example of making my money work for me. 

But sometimes you have to work harder too. Sometimes, especially in the beginning, you don’t have money to work for you yet. You have to get there. The marathon has just begun. 

@rachelcruze has a great reel explaining working extra jobs  and putting in the budging effort. Young adults need to do this even if not in debt. We weren’t in debt when we got married by much. A home loan and one car loan but I was always afraid of the next appliance breaking down or car repair bill so we always tried to stay ahead of the game. My husband also got paid every two weeks which meant two months in the year he got one extra paycheck. That always was earmarked for savings.  Most of our vacations were inexpensively planned and we’re using rebates, cashback from credit cards etc but never did we carry credit card debt or medical debt. I have another reel on the medical debt scenario and will eventually make a better video explaining that.  But yes. Work your butt off. The peace of mind I’m having a savings is amazing. 

Check out and follow @rachelcruze and my Instagram @mindful_frugalista for more financial ideas.

#peacefulsavings #moneysavingtips #workextra #sidegigs #putintheeffort

Cash back links fixed!

 I fixed the credit card referral links and Upside gas cashback links.  These are apps/credit cards we live by (of course all credit cards are paid off monthly).  They really do incentivize. My husband alone can bring in $50 from Upside for gas!  We have to buy it anyways and it’s at plenty of convenient locations and super easy to do. Check them out!

Get Upside app

Almost done!

 Middle school track is done for J.  He missed a couple of the last meets between walking pneumonia and then a strained hamstring from the triple jump. He got back just in time for conference but the first event was the triple jump and he found out his muscle was not better as he’d hoped and had to scratch from the 4x100 and his 2 jumps. But he PRd in the one he got in so maybe that made the pain a little better. It was a rough night of decisions for him.

Now, he has to fight through the pain and try to recover as he gears up for football so we’ve armed him with a little massage gun and inexpensive stretching strap from Amazon.  All for $30. When you’re weightlifting in the morning and running in the afternoon you really have to stretch those muscles that are compacting in weights. He learned it the hard way. I sadly have no pics of him running. It was finally warning up enough to chase him with a camera and then he got hurt. 

Stretch by yourself with this stretching strap

Massage all your sore muscles away with this massage gun

High school track is almost over. Hopefully it’s all the way to state again. We shall see.  As any parent in track knows, a lot can happen to prevent a team or individual from making it to state. She’s doing well, just needs to find a little more push now. 

Her boyfriend is always at a corner to encourage her if he’s not busy throwing. 

Best fire for me outdoor tables!

 

We bought both items from @target.  The table was around $130 and the table top fire pit was $70.  My husband cut out some of the aluminum table top so we could insert the attachment to secure the table top fire pit to it.  We bought some fire glass and replaced the rock it came with for some pretty color.  It works perfect and is the perfect height to put your feet up and enjoy being outside.  

#targetfinds #outdoordecor #outdoordecoronabudget  #readyforsummer