Like me, you probably have an Amazon Prime membership. I have been using Amazon for over 20 years and I have learned how to use it to maximize my savings from my membership, find the best deals, and read the fine print. MEMBERSHIP Decide What Membership is Best There are three different Amazon Prime memberships: Government assistant/EBT Student Family If you are on government assistance/EBT, or a student, you can receive 50% off your membership. You will need to provide proof

Earlier this year, we were celebrating my niece's 5th birthday. As I was deciding what to give her, I wanted it to be super girly, pretty, and faith-filled. When I came across the book, Princesses of Heaven, I was really intrigued About The Author Princesses of Heaven: The Flowers is a Catholic book written and illustrated by Fabiola Garza. If the pictures remind you of Disney princesses, it is no coincidence. Fabiola works for Disney as a character artist. While I never

If you are looking for a peacful place to grow more intimate with God, check out the Capuchin Retreat Center in Washington, Michigan.

Whether you are fasting from meat, maybe because it is Lent, you are trying to eat more vegetables, or you are looking for more budget meals because meat is expensive, here are some of my favorite meatless recipes. Sandwiches and Tacos 1. Mushroom Tacos I first came across the idea when I was visiting friends in New Orleans. Our friends took us to a local Mexican restaurant and recommended their mushroom tacos. I was a little skeptical because I don't like mushrooms. Wow!!

As you prayerfully discern what God wants you to do for Lent, below are several book recommendations that can help you go deeper in your spiritual life and get closer to God. You can easily find these books online, at your local Catholic store, or through your local library. Contemplating The Seven Sorrows of Mary: A Chaplet With St. Alphonsus Liguori by Joseph Hollcraft and Ruther Berghorst This first part of the book focuses on St. Alphonsus Liguori’s explanation of co

There are many beautiful churches in Rome. In fact, there are over 900 churches in the city. While it might be difficult to visit all of them, I highly recommend that you visit The Basilica of St. Augustine, which is located in the Campo Marzio neighborhood located between Piazza del Popolo and the Pantheon. My friend told me about this church because my husband and I have been trying to conceive for over 9 years. In the Basilica, as soon as you enter you will walk by a s

When I use to hear the word “organic” I use to think premium. In a way, organic is premium, and in my personal opinion, is the usually the better option, but it also depends on what you buy. First, we need to look at the difference between organic and conventional (non-organic) produce. Conventional farming uses chemicals on their plants as a means for fertilizer and to kill off weeds and insects. When I say chemicals, I mean, chemicals like glyphosate, such as that found

Rakuten is a cash back website that gives you a rebate for purchases you are already making. Rakuten has over 3,000 stores listed on their website that includes categories for clothing, travel, gifts, toys, tech, beauty, food, and the home. How Does It Work? Rakuten earns a commission by driving customers to retailers’ websites and they give you a portion of their commission. How Do I Sign Up? Using my link here will direct you to the website to create an account.

Like our birthday, our Baptism is a special occasion and one that should be celebrated. Our Baptism is “God’s most beautiful and magnificent gift” (CCC 1216). In celebrating our Baptism, we are honoring God. Here are five ways to celebrate your Baptism: Celebrate The Sacraments Without the sacrament of Baptism, none of the other sacraments would be possible. The next time you receive the sacrament of Confession your sins are washed cleaned like they day of your Baptism. W

“To Jesus through Mary” is a famous quote by Saint Louis De Monforte. It means Mary is directing us to Jesus through her love and her intercession. “Mary is all-holy. For the community of believers she represents the paradigm of the authentic holiness that is achieved in union with Christ” (General Audience- Mary: Model of Faith, Hope, and Charity, Saint John Paul II September 3, 1997). Mary provides us a model of how to become holy through her virtues. While there are man

When you think of Iowa, you probably think of cornfields and you are right. But tucked in a little city called West Bend, Iowa with less than 1,000 people is a Catholic gem, literally! In West Bend, Iowa, which is northwest of Des Moines about 2 hours and 30 minutes, you will find the largest man-made grotto in the world! It is called The Shrine of the Grotto of the Redemption. History Father Paul Matthias Dobberstein started building the grotto in 1912. Originally from Ge

Cleaning your strawberries will not only make them cleaner, but they will last longer, and it will save you money. What you will need: Bowl Water Teaspoon Baking soda Slotted spoon Colander Drying cloth Optional: paper towel Instructions: 1. Fill a bowl with water and add 1 teaspoon of baking soda. 2. Place berries in the baking soda water mixture and wait and gently mix the berries around. Wait 10-15 minutes. 3. Next transfer the strawberries to the colander. You don’t want

For us as Catholics, receiving the Eucharist is the “source and the summit of the Christian life” (CCC 1324). When we receive the Eucharist, we are as fully united to Christ as we can be. To really embrace this union, we should prepare our body, mind, and soul before receiving Jesus in the sacrament of the Eucharist. The way we prepare and experience a feast at a friend or family member’s house is the way we should prepare for the Eucharist at Mass. First imagine that this

The purpose of Mother’s Day is to celebrate all mothers: spiritual mothers, physical mothers, religious sisters, consecrated women, married women, and single women. We are all called to be mothers. It is innate in women to care and nurture others both physically and spiritually. Those who are married and waiting for physical motherhood can still find this day to be harder that most. My husband and I got married in June of 2016 in our early 30s. Since then we have struggl

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. When I was young, my mom rarely bought valentine cards at the store because they were too expensive. Usually we printed something off the computer and colored them in or made our own with construction paper and doilies. If you are looking for some printable Catholic options, I have scoured the Internet to find free printable valentines. While you can print in color, for a better money saving option print these in black and white

If you have researched natural laundry detergents, natural household cleaners, or even scrolled through social media, you might have heard about Branch Basics. In short, Branch Basics was started by three women, Marliee and her two nieces Kelly, and Alison. Years ago, Marliee’s son Douglas was exposed to harmful pesticides at age 10. The doctors told her that her son experienced brain and immune damage that was irreparable. After Marliee removed all harmful substances fro

Buying books can be expensive, especially new books. There are a lot of digital options that are far more inexpensive, convenient, and take up less space, but we are old fashioned. Over the years, I became very good at finding inexpensive books because as a former elementary school teacher, I had to be very creative in getting books to build up my classroom library. I also buy a lot of books for my husband who loves to read. Here are some of my favorite ways to buy inexpe

Do you remember when you found out that Santa Claus wasn’t real? According to Google, most children find out at 8 years old. I didn’t find out until a couple days before my 13th birthday! It was a very traumatizing experience for me. I can understand why people do it because their parents did it and their parents did it and so forth. Even when I was a first and second grade teacher I “played along” because that is what I guess you were supposed to do. I even went as far

Last year, in 2022 I was listening to a homily from our parish priest about evangelization. While my husband and I are always trying to spread the faith, I got some inspiration to extend our efforts of evangelization to our neighborhood. I decided since October is the month of the Holy Rosary, that I would evangelize with the rosary during the whole month of October. In the past I have given away rosaries to family, friends, and strangers directly. But this time it would

As a woman of faith, I look to up to many holy woman saints. One in particular, Saint Anne, is a saint whom I have drawn close to over the years. No matter your state in life, Saint Anne is a role model for all of us women as we strive to be holy on our path to sainthood. Little is known about Saint Anne; however, we can get some insight about her life from other saints who had private revelations and visions. Public revelation refers to the Deposit of Faith our Lord left