• Fist: 1 cup. You can use your fist to portion out your carbs, fruits, and veggies.
• Palm: 3 ounces. You can use your palm to portion out your meats, and poultry.
• Handful: 1 ounce. You can use your hand to portions out nuts.
• 2 Handfuls: 2 ounces. 2 handfuls will portion out finger foods like chips or popcorn.
• Thumb: 1 tablespoon. Use your thumb to help you know how much peanut butter, hummus, or any type of dip to intake.
• Thumb Tip: 1 teaspoon. Your thumb tip will help you know how much cooking oil, butter, and sugar to use.

Hope this tip helps you guys out on portion control!

Until next time, stay So Healthy.

So we did the best with the time we had. We shot our entire Frugal Finale video at the convention while we were on our way to sessions or about to eat a meal. I cannot specifically pinpoint the main point of this video; there really is no point to it. We used this video as kind of a wrap-up for the entire year. While we don’t really teach you anything new about being frugal, you do get to see the “frugal bond” (as we like to call it) between the two of us.

Throughout this school year, the two of us have grown to be very close friends. When we filmed our first video, we hardly knew each other. I (Meredith) had wanted to write a blog for The Feather and had been looking for someone to write one with. I found out Hannah was interested in doing a video blog so we decided to team up even though we hadn’t really talked very much before.

Frugal Teens has drawn us closer together. Filming and editing our videos (though sometimes stressful) always ended up being fun for us. We’re very sad that this is our last post but hopefully we’ll be able to have a Frugal Teens reunion at some point in the future. We hope that we’ve taught you a thing or two this year about being frugal. Thanks for watching our videos throughout the school year; we appreciate your support!

xoxo

Frugal Teens

P.S. Follow us on Twitter at @han_avila and @meredithmonke and check out our very own hashtag on Instagram that features photos of the two of us on our adventures: #frugalteens

Fun Frugal Finale from The Feather Online on Vimeo.

It has always been a part of who I am, it has also made people very uncomfortable talking about it. Why? Because of the overwhelming emotions and incredible bad choices I made, I ended up with a severe case of depression. It was so bad that I tried to end my life and spent my senior year in a mental hospital.

I realized right away that it was a topic that made people uncomfortable and scared people. No one wanted to be around me because they didn’t know how to relate to me and didn’t want to trigger sadness in me. I have lived my life with this depression. I have learned through therapy, medications and letting myself not be ashamed of my problem how to deal with my depression and how to notice the things that push me towards being depressed.

It is so hard for me that it is never ok to talk about. The only times people want to talk about mental illness is when someone does something horrible and we blame it on the mental instability of that person. The stigma that comes with suffering from any mental disorder is really embarrassing.

I am not embarrassed by who I am; I have overcome so much and have become successful in my life. I have raised three kids who have accomplished so much in their lives. I didn’t let a title define the rest of my life. I overcame stereotypes to raise a family and have a job and to love and laugh and to give back. I talk to a lot of teens, and I am so sad when they confess to me that they hurt themselves or think of dying. And that they feel like their parents won’t understand and think that they are being silly or stupid.

I get it, I felt the same way. I know that sometimes it seems like things will never get better, that it feels like you will never know happiness again. I want you to know that this too shall pass. I also want everyone to know that you should never be embarrassed to seek help, to talk to someone, hopefully your parents, but if not them, then someone!

And parents, we need to be open to our kids and to our kids’ pain. They need us, they need to feel heard and understood. Mental illness is a taboo subject, but it shouldn’t be! There are so many options to help now, it would be a shame to be too embarrassed to seek these options out. I am not ashamed of my past, of what I went through, it made me the person I am today. And today I like who I am!

Workout:

• Leg Lifts
• Side Leg Lifts
• Standing Leg Lifts
• Lunges
• Jumping Lunges
• Squats

All of these exercises will target your gluts, thighs, and even your lower abs. Do 3 sets of 20 for each exercise after your cardio workout and you will see big improvements in your lower body in no time.

Hope you all enjoy these exercises!

Until next time, stay So Healthy.

For our final video, we’re going to explore the possibilities of enjoying summer break while saving money. With college fast approaching, we don’t want to spend our money on costly movie tickets or other activities that take our money. We don’t live in a city that has a lot of places to go; we instead have to make our own fun. Some teenagers in Fresno often complain that there is nothing to do, but we’re going to prove them wrong!

We are so happy that we decided to write and film this VLOG together this school year. When we first thought of doing a blog, we hardly knew each other and had no idea what our blog would be about. With the help of our advisor, Mr. Stobbe, we came up with the idea of being frugal teenagers, which is something we hadn’t really thought about before. We’ve learned so much this year through this VLOG and working together has brought us closer together as friends. The two of us have a lot of school activities and trips coming up, so we won’t have very much time to film our final video. However, we will do our best to make it our best video yet!

We’re going to keep the activities that we do a surprise just to add to the great suspense that there already is for the last Frugal Teens video. Tune in, in 2 weeks to see our final video!

Having a husband who is one, a police officer and two, prone to all the dangerous hobbies on the planet such as hunting and rock climbing, I truly never have a moment where I feel completely at ease as to whether or not he is returning home each time he leaves. My son, is 1,000 miles away at school, there are so many scenarios in his daily life that I am not even aware of. I have two beautiful daughters who are involved in several activities in school and church away from home for hours each day. And truthfully, in these times, school doesn’t ensure safety anymore.

So, what is a wife and mother to do? Sit at home and stress to the point of insanity? I don’t think that is God’s plan for any of us. What I do try to do, is the hours or even minutes I am with my family I let them know how much they mean to me, how proud of them I am, how much I care when they are hurting. Technology also helps, I am able to text my son whenever I can and even the girls and I now send a silly photo through SnapChat. Seems trivial, but I realize that at the moment they see my goofiness they know that I was thinking about them at that moment.

I try to the best of my ability to not let frustrations or disagreements go without resolve. Sometimes, for no reason, I will surprise a member of my family with a small token, something that only has meaning to them. It makes them smile and most of the time we laugh and create a small moment that we can both look back on.

Each day, at some point my husband and I will text each other these words “Love your guts.” we have done it for 21 years and it holds meaning to us. It is simple, perhaps stupid, and yet to this day, a smile brightens my face each time I read it as well as each time I send it.

I don’t know what tomorrow holds, I really don’t want to know. But, I am convinced that if tragedy struck my family I would have peace-of-mind that they knew they were loved. To me, it is a gift to have this knowledge. Live each day as if it is your last, let those who matter the most know they are loved by you each day, and let yourself be loved as well.

Nutritional Information:

• Calories: 1/3 cooked quinoa= 160 calories
• Fat: 2.5 grams of fat
• Fiber: 3 grams of fiber
• Protein: 6 grams of protein

How to Cook Quinoa:

• Cook quinoa as you would cook rice
• In a bowl add water and let it boil
• Into the boiling water, add quinoa
• Let it cook for about 15 minutes until quinoa is soft

Where to Find:

• You can find quinoa at almost any grocery store, for example, Fresh and Easy, Whole Foods or Trader Joes

How to Eat Quinoa:

• You can eat quinoa on its own
• You can put it in salads
• Quinoa and chicken
• Quinoa and fish
• The list goes on and on

If your trying to eat healthier or trying to eat less carbs, I really suggest you try out quinoa. Your getting similar taste that you get from rice but with way less calories. Hope you all found this interesting!

Until next time, stay So Healthy.

Helvetica is a documentary about a font that does all these things. Now, when I say “documentary about a font,” believe me when I say that I know that sounds like the most boring thing in the world. However, it’s exceptionally intriguing because it explores something that we take for granted. Most people never stop to think about what fonts actually do. This is a film about the people that do.

Helvetica is a wildly appealing font. It’s simple, and that’s what makes it so friendly. This is why so many graphic designers are drawn to it. It’s why it’s the font that all of the New York Subway signs use.

However, there are some designers that are vastly against it, saying that it was a good font in its time, but now it’s overused and played out. Both sides have a point, and their disagreement is what makes this film so deceptively entertaining.

Saying that you don’t believe someone can cause trust issues. It can make others feel as if they are viewed as liars or at the very least someone who stretches the truth. Recently I have experienced two situations that made me realize that a simple phrase carries a lot of weight.

First, my youngest child who is the joy and laughter in my home, but not known for her studious nature asked me to go somewhere, I said maybe after her homework was done she could go. Her immediate response was, it’s done. Now knowing that this is not a typical thing for her, to do homework unprompted, I said, “I don’t believe you.” Those four words did not have the reaction I had assumed I would get. I thought she would laugh and say you’re right and go do it. Instead, she went to her room for the remainder of the day, when I went to check on her, I could tell that I had hurt her deeply. She explained that she has been trying to be more responsible and that she has been working hard to keep up in school, and my comment felt to her like I was comparing her to her sister, who is known for devouring school work. My comment was not meant to demean or compare and yet in essence I was calling my daughter a liar. I felt like a worm!

The second situation is an ongoing shadow of doubt that is cast on my middle child. For a year and four months she has suffered from debilitating headaches, fainting spells and seizures. We have had countless tests done, gone through several different rounds of medication and yet, there has been no relief. The people around her have told her that they don’t believe that she has a headache, that they think it is for attention. She shrugs it off and tries to put on an attitude that it doesn’t bother her. But, tears have been shed, she has felt crazy, she has felt alone and she constantly has to deny her health problems because others don’t believe her. It breaks my heart! She feels left out, and almost punished. Do I think that people are trying to be cruel when they tell her they don’t believe her? I hope not! Do I see the effects of that one little phrase affecting her self esteem? Absolutely!

I am going to try to watch the catchphrases that are so casually thrown. Try to filter myself from blurting something out that could really hurt someone I love. I ask that you all do the same, think of the innocent sounding things that we say that might, on further reflection be really hurtful.

To give you a glimpse of Battistelli’s song, here are some of the lyrics:

I don’t know, I don’t know
What tomorrow may hold
But I know, but I know
That You’re holding it all
So no matter what may come

I’m gonna fix my eyes on all that You are
‘Til every doubt I feel
Deep in my heart
Grows strangely dim
Let all my worries fade
And fall to the ground
I’m gonna seek Your face
And not look around
Til the place I’m in
Grows strangely, strangely, strangely dim.

Three themes stick out to me in this song: #1 As humans, we tend to make our own plans. #2 We don’t know what tomorrow holds, but we can know that He (God) holds it all. #3 When we fix our eyes on all that Jesus is, our worries fade and we can rest in His power.

With college just around the corner, it’s so easy to get caught up in where I want to go and with what I want to do. Most of the time I think people immediately make plans without really considering the purpose behind their decisions, and without allowing God to direct their steps.

I can safely say that no one ever can know what tomorrow will bring. We can anticipate what a day may be like, but we can never know the events that will actually take place. We are not God, and therefore, we only waste our time with thinking that we can know and control the future.

When we are able to recognize that we are not all-powerful, all-knowing and all-present, we can find peace and rest in all that God is, and that we are not. The pressure is released and we can fix our eyes on the only one who holds our futures.

According to 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, when our focus is on what is unseen we maintain an eternal perspective, but when we concentrate on earthly troubles, we spend our time focusing only on what is temporary.

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

You can live with the full assurance that God will work all things for the good of those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). We may not see the bigger picture of life right now, but our awesome God is using all circumstances for His greater purpose.

I encourage all of you to fix your eyes on the One who holds it all.

Below is Maddie’s eighth podcast, click on the link to listen to the audible version of her blog.