In Case Your Family Could Use the Assistance

Angel Food Ministries provides monthly food distributions to anyone who needs it.  There is no income requirement. Everyone qualifies.  They are a non-profit, non-denominational (Christian) organization dedicated to providing grocery relief to communities throughout the United States.  They work through churches and community organizations in over 32 states. Their site estimates that they helped feed 1.6 Million families in 2005.

They put together monthly boxes that strive to feed a family of four for a week for only $30 (food itself is “valued” at around $65 according to the site).  Each month’s box is comprised of different food and you must pre-order your food by a specific date (mid-month) and pick it up again by a specific date (the end of the month).

There is no purchase limit for boxes of Angel Food. There are no applications or qualifications necessary to purchase.  They also accept food stamps.

See what they’re serving this month.  See if there is a location near you.

Unfortunately none of the locations are particularly close to me, an hour (or more) round trip.   But if there is a location near you, and money is tight, please consider taking the help they provide to tide you over.

Blessings

Mama Kelly

PS  In the meantime I plan to keep sharing “freebies” and other ways to stretch your dollars and pinch your pennies. 

UPDATE: here three more helpful links submitted by one of our readers, Jan at Rosemary Cottage

http://cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com/.

http://the99centchef.blogspot.com/.

http://www.retailmenot.com/coupons/food.

Written by Mama Kelly

We here at 2Witches are in no way affiliated with these offers.  We just thought they might be of use to our readers.

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Generally, free offers are only available to US residents.

Expect 4-8 (can be up to 12) weeks for delivery and understand that supplies can and do run out.  But, these can help stuff a Winter Holiday stocking or fill a hole or two in your pantries and cleaning closets.

However, sample requests generally require an email address.  I suggest creating a secondary email on a free service like yahoo, hotmail, or aol in order to avoid filling you primary inbox with unwanted emails.

Additionally keep in mind that free samples are generally good for 1 per household (1 per mailing address).  But, you can place your “orders” and then run back through the list ordering for a friend or relative who lacks the time or the internet access to allow them to do so simply by plugging in their info instead.

Enjoy!

Blessings

Mama Kelly

Written by Mama KellyTags:freebies

I am grateful that my class this semester seems to be an easy one.  Something I was pretty much counting on.

I am grateful that I managed to go to work all week, in spite of being sick, and that I only lost a couple of hours pay.

I am grateful that, thanks to my friend coedine, I have actually gotten some good rest the last couple of nights and feel like I’ve offset some of the sleep defecit I’ve been running under the last couple of weeks.

I am grateful to be employed, as much as I hate my job.

I am grateful to be able to afford my bills, even if I live paycheck to paycheck.

I am grateful for the faith in the future I cannot see that allows me to hope for a brighter tomorrow.

Blessings

Mama Kelly

Written by Mama KellyTags:gratitude

So its Saturday again and in my house that means its Once-a-Week cooking day.  Since life is busy and I don’t want to have to reply on feeding my family lots of take-in or convenience foods the way I have found to serve “real home cooked meals” every night is to simply cook them all at once and then simply reheat each night – perhaps boiling pasta, baking some potatoes, and cooking a vegetable to fill in the blanks.

Today found me making:

• roasted chicken breasts 1
• roast pork loin
• mashed apples and onions 2
• chicken gravy – jarred stuff enhanced with onions and herbs
• pork gravy – from scratch
• roasted garlic mashed potatoes 3
• marinara sauce

I am exhausted!!  But it is worth it.  Taste tests have been done and from the groans of delight I think it will be a good week, at least at dinner time.  The only problem right now is deciding which meal to serve tonight.

My plan for the rest of the day is to work on the new domain.  There are still a few hundred posts to move and pages to edit and tweak. This evening I will be dying my hair – the official summer is over lets get rid of the blonde routine.  Later tonight GamerDude and I will finally get around to watching the season premeire of Heroes. 

Other than that the plan is to surf the couch and force lots of fluids and try and get over this upper respiratory infection by Monday.  The way I was feeling last night and this morning I was definately backsliding and I can in no way afford to get sicker.  So I will drink until my eyeballs float and take all my meds as scheduled and prescribed and I will even try and go to sleep at a reasonable hour tonight.

In the meantime it is off to the land of … cut …. paste …. edit.

Blessings

Mama Kelly

1 Cooked on a bed of onions, drizzled with a mix of balsamic vinegar, honey and seasonings, the onions and pan drippings became the base for my pork gravy.

2 This was made up on the fly.  I cooked the pork loin on a bed of apples and onions which turned into mush.  I through in a little butter and some brown sugar and cooked it some more and it is wonderful.  It is sweet and savory and rich and earthy and it will be so good scooped up on each bite of pork.

3 Five pounds of potatoes (skins left on), way too much butter, salt, pepper, parsley and a whole head of garlic cooked in the Electric Garlic Roaster that Lady Rose got me for Yule a couple of years ago.

Written by Mama KellyTags:once a week cooking

I cast out all the impurities
From my body, heart and soul
I do my best to fill myself with love
I expect a miracle with relaxed anticipation

I am my own best doctor and advisor
I am a catalyst for healing
I am a producer of health
I am a creator of happiness

Thank you for my healing body
Thank you for my gentle soul
Thank you for my strong spirit
Thank you for the chance to heal

excepted from Prayer for Healing by Darina Stoyanova

found on WorldPrayers.org

I am grateful for Princess Nibbles pulling everything out of the downstairs hall closet.  Not only did I use the opportunity to get rid of a HUGE lawn and leaf bag full of garbage (old back packs – lots of school papers, etc.) but we found her Nintendo DS – which has been missing since the Spring.

I am grateful for Lady Rose coming to visit as it always fills the holes in my soul back up and renews my faith and motivation. I am grateful for the knowledge of our upcoming trip to the PA Renn Faire, for the grand opening of our new domain, for the more than 2 decades of friendship we share.

I am grateful that I only have to work for six hours today as I woke up sick, having finally succumbed to a sinus infection I’ve been trying to fight off all week long.  Odds are tomorrow will find me leaving work early and heading to the Doctor, not only losing money in my paycheck but having to fork over money as well for the visit and the meds.

I am grateful for having medical insurance, which so many Americans don’t, which (although I pay through the nose for it) allows me to be able to afford said Dr. visit and medication. While in many cases I am more than willing to self-medicate, once I have a sinus infection I have a small window to treat it before I wind up with bronchitis on top of it.

Blessings

Mama Kelly

Written by Mama KellyTags:prayer

I swear I feel like it must be Friday.  It is only halfway through the week and I am already fried.

Most of the problem is my continued insomnia.  I get about 6 hours sleep a night, but it is broken by multiple awakenings.  So all told I’m probably getting closer to 4.5-5.  Unfortunately I am a long sleeper in that, left to my body’s own rhythym I am on the high end of the scale and tend to “need” an actual 8 hours of sleep.  So I run on a sleep deficit all week long and, if I am lucky, play catch up on Friday nights.  I have tried herbs, OTC sleep meds, prescriptions, Benedryl, and so on.  Nothing allows me to actually sleep straight through the night.  I don’t think I have since prior to October ’07 when Miss Artistic ran away. 

The rest of the problem is my job.

I asked for a raise a couple of weeks ago and not only was I denied but some of my priviledges were taken away in that I was taken off of of other projects and now most of my week is spent cold-calling.  Something I haven’t done this much of in over a year.  The result is a much higher stress level and an increase in headaches/jaw pain from the constant talking.

Hello my name is Kelly … SLAM

Hello my name is Kelly … SLAM

about 5-700 times a day.

Anyway, I have gotten much less accomplished than I wanted to by this point in terms of switching posts, etc. from this site over to our own domain.  Hopefully this weekend with Lady Rose I can pound out quite a bit. 

The girls are okay.  They both have nasty colds but are doing well otherwise.  Princess Nibbles started Taekwondo (reduced price for first month trial – free uniform) and loves it.  Miss Artistic is finding it a little easier to get through each day at school.

GamerDude is okay.  His pain levels have been consistantly high for the last couple of months and it is starting to wear both of us down.  Him from simply being in pain and getting more and more frustrated and me from having to pick up the slack.

That’s about it from this front.  Hope you are all well!

Blessings

Mama Kelly

PS Please keep a good thought.  One of my cousins is in the ICU for heart issues.  He is only in his early 50s and has 3 young children.

Written by Mama KellyTags:bitch

I so wish that Glen and WIllow lived here in New Jersey, but then I’d probably want to hang out with them so often that they would get very sick of me, LOL.

I recently placed a small order from them for a couple of gifts. One of which is being held for Yule and the other will make a fine birthday gift for a certain Lady Rose. I wish I had been able to spend more, but with my job eliminating overtime, and not knowing when (if) it will be coming back I have to be rather frugal.

But, I am determined this year to buy at least a few things from some of my blogging buddies. In this economy which find even the big business feeling the pinch, small business owners are being hit hard!  I ask that you consider this when planning your own purchases for the upcoming holiday gift-giving season.

They have so many really cool offerings:

• custom wands – choose your wood, add a stone, add some extras
• cloaks and capes – for kids and adults
• ritual robes
• jewelry
• stoneware chalices and cauldrons
• altar cloths
• spell kits
• so much more

On her blog Willow talks about her own frustrations:

Glen and I put all our eggs in one basket with Goldentree Wands, and it’s served us well so far. We don’t have anything to fall back on and that is why it’s so important for me to be patient. To let things move forward at it’s own pace as the Universe wants. 

When planning your holiday shopping for your own friends or family consider hitting Goldentree Wands instead of your local chopping Mall.

Blessings

Mama Kelly

Written by Mama KellyTags:shopping, video

A while back I posted about how I ordered a necklace for a dear friend of mine, “E”, as an early birthday present.  I had wanted to get her a rose quartz based piece of jewelry to help her both to heal a broken heart and to help draw a healthy love to her.

I wanted something beautiful enough to lift her spirits, classy enough to wear in a very professional work environment, and resonating with truly healing energies.

I knew exactly where to get it.  I contacted Fox, of Shades of Midnight, and comissioned her to work on a custom piece of jewelry for my friend.  I knew her work would be exquisite, having purchased items from her in the spring for Lady Rose. 

We sent a few emails back and forth talking about my friend, her situation, her tastes.  She worked on this necklace wanting it to be perfect for my friend.

How do I know?  Because she had it all put together, sent me pictures and everything, and then decided the energies weren’t quite right.  She disassembled the necklace and put it back togeether again with a slight tweak to the original stone choices.

It surpassed all of my hopes.  It totally blew me away!

The piece she crafted is, no holds barred, simply beautiful.  My friend loved it!  She immediately put it on and almost 48 hours later when she pulled out of my driveway it had still not left her neck.  I hope that wearing it reminds her of how much we love her and of how wonderful we all think she is.  I hope that wearing it fills her with healing energies to soothe her spirit and mend her heart.  I hope that the sight of it upon her neck makes her smile!

Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!

If you are considering buying jewelry for someone this upcoming holiday season, consider turning to an individual craftsperson, such as Shades of Midnight, instead of opening a catalog or hitting your local shopping mall. 

Blessings

Mama Kelly

Gemstone Energetic Properties
- copyright, Shades of Midnight

Blue Calcite is a Fire, Air and Water Stone associated with the third eye and throat chakras. It is an incredibly calming stone especially when emotions are involved. It can help protect one from being overwhelmed by the emotions of others as well. Blue Calcite can help one to tap into deep creative wells and it can also help one when doing dream work by making ones dreams more vivid and easier to recall. For those having difficulty communicating, it can help one to be clearer when expressing what is important.

Rose Quartz is a Water element stone associated with the heart chakra. This is the ultimate stone to connect with the pure essence of love. It helps to bring about unconditional love and helps to heal wounds of the heart, allowing one to trust enough to love. Rose Quartz is a very soft, calming and soothing stone. It can help to release negativity and open one to all beauty, both inside and out.

Spinel is a Water element stone that is associated with all chakras. It is a stone of inspiration and energy and is great for helping to focus that energy towards achieving your goals. Spinel is a great stone to help one release the stressors that prevent one from being able to relax and enjoy the beauty that is life. It can also help one to find new ways of thinking. For those that have a low self-image, Spinel can help let go of that mindset to bring about a new attitude towards self.

Written by Mama KellyTags:birthday, shopping

I am grateful for sunny blue skies with white puffy clouds.  I am grateful for cool breezes.  I am grateful for Fall being right around the corner.

I am grateful for Miss Artistic who, aside from having a rough time reintegrating into school after a long unstructured summer, seems so much better than she did this time last year.

I am grateful for Princess Nibbles who reminds me that it is possible to be happy more often than not.

I am grateful for GamerDude who supports me in my efforts to go to school on top of everything else I have to do.  He is one of my biggest cheerleaders in that regard.

I am grateful for MrGrumpy who, however grudgingly, allows me and my family to live here in his house.

I am grateful to be making progress through the dark tunnel that my life often feels like, even when I stop believing that there is a light at then end of it.

Blessings

Mama Kelly

* easily replaced, if desired, with “Mother”, “Goddess”, “Lord and Lady” or a specific Deity

Written by Mama KellyTags:prayer

Princess Nibbles and I attended the orientation meeting for her gifted program last night.  Unless we pull her out she will remain a part of it for 3rd grade through 5th.  Her first unit will be focused on mythology specific to the Norse, Roman and Greek pantheons.  We were pleasantly surprised to see one of her best friends “J” had been accepted as well.  As “J” will be moving away within the next couple of months this is a great way for the two of them to get a little extra quality time before that occurs.

Despite the fact that she apparantly had a good “day off”, Miss Artistic saw her therapist last night and came home in a simply awful mood.  A mood that does not necessarily seem to have improved for her nights sleep.  I am nervous and anxious about sending her back to school today.  Right now our focus is for her to simply “make it to 3:00″ each day.  If you could send a little white light her way it would be appreciated.  Because, as you and I know, each day she makes it through will make it that much easier to get through the next.

Tomorrow GamerDude and I are going to his pain management doctor.  This will be the first appointment I have attended with him in quite some time.  The goal of this visit will be to discuss whether or not to take the leap into the land of Spinal Cord Stimulators.  I am dead set against it, for myriad reasons, including my lack of belief in their ability to work long term and the fact that our home life is rather unstable now.  We walk on eggshells every day with the issues my eldest is having, adding the stress of multiple procedures (including surgery) for her father is not likely to help that situation.

As for me?

Right now I am off to work, a place I loathe with every fiber of my being and which I hate with the intensity of the fire of 1000 suns.  LOL

Blessings

Mama Kelly

Written by Mama Kelly