6-13-11

9:15am

Got a load of dishes in the dishwasher.

Getting ready to finish up the laundry.

Have a load in dryer, washer and

one more load to go.

I really should wash up all the blankets

and bedding this week and

put on the clothesline to dry.

We'll see how motivated and how

much energy I have first.

Breakfast was easy this morning.

Threw some leftover homemade blueberry

waffles in the toaster and served

with cream cheese filled strawberries.

Sugar-free syrup on top.

I don't add butter as that

only adds to the fat intake.

 

------------------------------------- 

For supper tonight we'll have beef stew.

I bought 2 cans of beef stew from 

Aldis last week.  I'll cube up a few

extra potatoes that needs used up.

Maybe add a can of green beans

and a sliced up onion

to throw into it as well to stretch it further.

I'll boil up the cubed potatoes first

then throw everything in the crock

later on this afternoon to warm up.

Lunch will be grilled cheese.

Something simple.

---------------------------------

Family Dollar Father's Day gift idea-
Solid color polo shirts $4.00.

27 Family Dollar Printable Coupons.
I don't think you can combine their
store coupons with manufacture coupons.
I tried it once and it didn't work out for me.

------------------------------
  
3:30pm

Got supper started.
Sherry's Semi-Homemade Beef Stew


Add 2 cans beef stew into crock pot on low.
Stir in a can of sliced carrots.
In a small skillet add one large onion
cut up in quarters along with a couple
tablespoons of butter and steak sauce.
Season with Mrs. Dash.
Saute until tender then stir into
crock pot.
Peel 3 large potatoes and cut into
large cubes.  Boil in water til tender.
Then stir into other ingredients in crock.
I always boil my potatoes separately. 
I've never had luck with them
getting completely cooked in the crock.

2 cans beef stew $3.00
1 can sliced carrots- free from mom
1 large onion- .50 cents
3 large potatoes- .60 cents
seasoning & sauce- .05 cents


Total cost: $4.15
Serves about 8 @ .51 cents a serving

------------------------------


Garden Update


The Daylilies started to bloom yesterday.

bush beans

Pole beans.
Some have climbed half way
up the fence.

Banana Peppers

Tomatoes

------------------------------------


With warmer weather and Summer
almost here keep your eyes peeled
for coupons, especially at
convenience stores.
Here's a little stash I had in my 
purse that I found in the last couple
of days.


-$1.00 off 2 Skittles or Starburst 
found yesterday at Walmart.
Should make for some freebies if
I find them on sale for .50 cents each.

Just tonight I found these at Kroger:
-.35 cents off Weber seasonings

-$1.00 off 2 two liters coke

And today in Speedway Jonathan
found these coupons on the ice cream freezer:
-$1.00 off Bryers pint ice cream.
-.50 cents off Klondike bars
-.50 cents off Klondike Choco Tacos

------------------------


I tried this afternoon to get my new
printer up and running.  Didn't have
much luck.  Tomorrow I might try it
on a different computer.
Whatever works to print coupons.


-----------------------------------


8:50pm


Don't know what it is when the evening rolls
around.  It seems like if I slow down 
my body starts hurting.  Time to pop
some ibuprofen and go lay down soon.
Tony still has his hacking cough.
I'm still blowing my nose several
times a day.  I've been going at this
for over a month now.  Tony's
had his for 5 days now.

Gonna go lay down now,
night night.


---------------------------------

6-12-11

8:35am

I just checked weather.com

and saw that this week the temperatures

are supposed to be 75 to 78

degrees for the highs with no rain

expected til Thursday.

Maybe I could give the air conditioner

a rest and cut back on the electric bill.

I hope the forecasts are correct because

I want to do a couple painting projects.

One is taking down all the shutters

and repainting them.

The other is I want to work on our bathtub.

And in order to do this I need

to be able to have the bathroom window

open for ventilation.

------------------------------------

10:00am

Breakfast-

I had a half can of blueberry pie

filling in the fridge.  I decided

to make up a double batch

of homemade blueberry waffles.

1/2 can pie filling -free

(leftovers I consider a freebie

because they were already calculated

for something else)

4 eggs .32 cents

4 cups Bisquick .10 cents

(got really cheap with sales & coupons)

1 pkg. maple sausage $1.50

4 eggs .32 cents

2 cups milk .25 cents

leftover pork tenderloin- free

(I chopped tenderloin up into small

pieces and added them to the tops

of eggs when frying)

Total cost- $2.49

Serves 13 @ .19 cents a serving.

Makes 4 servings 

with waffles, eggs & sausage.

And an additional 9 servings

with just waffles alone.

Made a total of 18 waffles this morning.

-------------------------------

Walgreens deal this week.

Dial Nutriskin lotion 12 or 21 oz Buy 1 get Free
Buy 2 Dial Nutriskin 12oz lotions $4.99 each
Minus Buy 1 get 1 Free sale = $4.99 for both
Use 2 $2/1 coupons found in the 6/12 RP
(Or use 2 $1/1 Dial Nutriskin coupon found here (must “like” on Facebook) )
Final cost as low as $0.99 total – just $0.50 each!

 -----------------------------------

 CVS deal

*Tic Tac single pack 1 oz Buy 2 get the 3rd one for $0.01
Use the $0.55/2 coupons found here
Plus, use the $1/1 coupon found in the 6/12 RP 

(if you received it)
Final cost ? (If these single packs are priced around $1, you’ll pay $0.46 for all 3 packs!)

------------------------------------ 

 

I have TONS of Koolaid that I got
for very cheap a year or two ago.
I thought about making homemade
snow cones for the boys one day.
Our fridge makes crushed ice in the door.
You could try to put ice cubes in
a blender to crush them.
I would like to make mine from
splenda instead of sugar.


Snow Cone Syrup


1 pkt Koolaid
3/4 cup water
1 cup sugar


Mix together and put into squeeze bottle.
I found plastic condiment ketchup/mustard
bottles at a yard sale for .10 cents each.
Pour over crushed ice.


I also have a bunch of containers
of country time lemonade with sugar already
in it that I could
make up and reduce the amount of
water to make the syrup with.
I think I got these for about .25 - .50 cents each!


-----------------------------


11:40am


Yesterday we bought a pouch of pool
chemicals and put it in the pool last
night.  It seems to be working as it
took out the dingy looking water
and made it more clear by this morning.
There is a pump on the pool
that helps some.
We have a cover that we use every night
over the pool but during the day with kids
jumping in and out it still gets debris in it.
So this morning I made a pool skimmer
to remove leaves, grass and any bugs.
I took a wire hanger and bent it
into a circle.  I then recycled the screen
I had on top of the old gerbil cage and
cut out a circle a couple inches larger
than the wire hanger.  I then hot glued
the screen around the wire.
I used an old broom handle and some
more wire and attached the screen
to the handle.
Wallah, pool skimmer!

------------------------------------


12:15pm


I just turned off the air conditioner,
opened all the windows and have
fans blowing.  
Weather.com says it 70 degrees out.  I've had the AC on for about the last two weeks with
90 degree temps so want
to try and get the electric bill to
stay within reason.
When it's about 84 degrees and above
with humidity
is when I use the air conditioner
or if there will be an air quality alert.
An air quality alert is usually for young kids,
elderly and for those with breathing problems.
Which we qualify for all three
to have to run the ac on those days.
So I'd rather run the ac and pay a little
more then than jeopardizing our health.


------------------------------------


1:05pm


Mama robin with her two babies.


Mama to the front left of tree
and babies on the right of red chair.

Babies
They don't have very long
tail feathers but can still fly.

Mama with each baby 
teaching them how to hunt for food.

-----------------------------


2:30pm


I got my laundry started.
I'm using the dryer today
instead of the line :0(
I know bad me, but I don't feel
like running in and outdoors with
everything I'm trying to get done.
Hubby's been resting on the couch
for most of the day.  He's still coughing
but his cough sounds a little better.


I made about 30 cream cheese
filled strawberries.
These are so yummy!

I also made up some snow cone
syrup out of what was left in
a canister of Koolaid.

And I have a large pot of
catfish nuggets boiling.
I added some seasoned pepper salt
and a little red wine vinegar to the water.
Once done I'll drain, flake and
make like you would a salmon patty
then fry up in the skillet.
2.3 pounds of catfish nuggets was
marked down to $4.17.

----------------------------------


3:50pm


Got all the catfish patties made.
I ended up with 13 of them.

1.5 cups crushed crackers .25 cents
1/2 cup mayo .25 cents
pepper seasoning salt
red wine vinegar
1 egg .08 cents
2.33 pounds catfish nuggets $4.17


Total cost- $4.75
makes 13 helpings @ .36 cents a serving


For supper we just made something
simple like sandwiches with mayo
and cheese.


The remaining patties will go in 
the freezer.
Place sheets of waxed paper
in between each patty and
put in zippered freezer bag.


----------------------------------


7:00pm


Just back from taking the kids
out to McDonalds to get
some .59 cent ice cream cones.
Then we stopped in Big Lots
to get a set of ratcheting straps.


Got home and put the hammock up.
It's not exactly what I thought it was
but I guess it'll work for now til
I find a larger one with the 
wooden dowels going across each end.

Now all we need to do is set up
the cornhole game, pitch a tent,
get out the fire pit ,
(oh yeah, I gave away the fire pit we had, bummer)
and we'd have our own little camp/
vacation resort in our backyard, lol.
If I did something like that I'd
probably never get rid of neighborhood
kids at our house.

-------------------------------------------

6-11-11

9:15am

I have a package of catfish nuggets that

I need to use up today so was searching

for a recipe for them.

I came across a recipe for 

Catfish Cake which are similar to

crab cakes.

Catfish Cakes

It calls for a pound of catfish fillets

but I'm going to use the nugget pieces instead.

Place fish in a saucepan with enough

water to cover them.  Boil until fish

flakes easily with fork.  Drain off water

and mash fish with a fork.

Stir in one medium onion chopped,

1 teaspoon yellow mustard, 

1 tablespoon mayo,

1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning,

(or whatever seasoning you may have)

2 1/2 cups crushed round butter crackers

and 1 egg.

Mix until evenly blended.

Heat 1 cup vegetable oil in skillet

over medium-high heat.  

Form the fish mixture into patties.

Fry in hot oil.

Drain fish patties on paper towels.

I have some red wine vinegar that I might

add a splash to the water when boiling the fish.

My hubby finds all kinds of foods

that residents leave behind in apartments

after they move out.  And that's how

I ended up with red wine vinegar.

Something I'd probably never buy

but now that I got it free I will

find ways to use it up.

When in Kroger I always browse the

marked down areas.  Most meats

I buy are from the marked down area.

Marked down meats aren't always

in the manager special area so be

sure to check others areas like

sausages, packaged chipped meats

(like bologna, lunchables & ham slices),

bacon and the seafood department.

------------------------------------

10:00pm

It's been a busy day.
Got the yard cut and Tony weed
whipped it. Took the kids to Taco Bell for
lunch and then we stopped in Walmart.
Spent what I thought was a fortune there
and still trying to recoop from that but what
can ya do.  We bought a pedestal oscillating fan ($38), a couple bed pillows ($2.50 each), 
inkjet printer ($29) along with
2 pool filters ($10), pool chemicals ($6), 2 pairs
of goggles ($16) and a couple food items.

Did ya see that I got a new printer?
I make sure to buy a basic one
where I can refill the ink cartridges.
Some of the all in one printers
have a computer chip in the ink cartridges
and it won't allow you to refill them!
Once my printer won't take any
more of the refills (it gets a mind of it's own
and the ink dries up) I go out and get a new
printer about once every year or two.
I find refill ink at Big Lots for around $8.
I can refill my cartridges about 6-8 times roughly
with the refill kit.
I set my printer to print basic prints
because that's all I need to print coupons.
Plus I get more use out of one refill that way.
New printer cartridges would cost me
more than what I paid for the printer!
Black ink costs $15 new
and color costs $21.
So it would cost me $36 to buy
2 new ink cartridges.
I refill and print til the ink
cartridges give out and I can't refill them
any more then I buy another
printer.
I haven't printed coupons in awhile now
and need to start back up so I don't
miss out on all the good deals!!
My freezers are stocked but the pantry
is dwindling some.


Around 8:30pm this evening I hurried
and got the food pantry sign done for mom.
Nothing like doing something last minute.
I wanted her to have it when she goes
to church tomorrow morning.

6-10-11

7:25am

After looking at the SNP paper

and checking Craigslist I found

a bunch of church sales for those

that live in NE Columbus to Westerville.

Linden Lutheran Church

1230 Oakland Park Ave.

Fri/Sat 9-2

Westerville Community Church of Christ

 770 County Line Rd. Westerville

Fri/Sat 9-3 

McKendree United Methodist Church

3330 Cleveland Ave.

Sat. 9-2

Church sale
Cleveland Ave between Morse Rd
and Ferris Rd.  Friday 9-?

Redeemers Church

95 Sunbury Rd. Westerville

8-5 Fri/Sat.

Church of the Nazarene

355 Cherrington Rd. Westerville

Fri. 9-3 Sat. 9-1

And the one at N. Hight St. & Henderson Rd.

Sat? tomorrow.

Patio sale.

---------------------------

7:30am

Sitting here watching Good Day Columbus

on Fox 28.

The Duggar family is in Columbus!

This is the family with their own tv show

called 20 Kids and Counting!

Duggars favorite family recipes

from food to laundry detergent.

They are having a book signing tour

and are in Columbus today.

They will be at 

Barnes & Noble

1739 Olentangy River Rd.

Columbus, OH 43212

at 12:00 - 2pm

----------------------------------------

12:30pm


Back home from sales.
I think we broke
a record today
of going to 4 church sales.

 Sign for mom's kitchen

for Christmas $1.00

Large fish tank, I wanna say

around 35 to 40 gallons. $4.00.

I got it for our gerbils which

are currently in a 10 gallon.

We wanted to give them more

space to roam and taller sides

so they can't get out!

Shoe for comparison.

Current tank they are in.

Box of hair frosting kit

and a box of hair color .25 cents each.

Vanilla candle .25 cents

new large bottle of seasoning salt .10 cents

Electric knife $1.00

Tony's been wanting one for

our Thanksgiving turkeys 

and our hams at Christmas.

Black & white polo shirt

for Christopher .50 cents

Yellow polo shirt for Tony .50 cents

And top for myself .50 cents

 Jonathan found himself a pair

of Nike tennis shoes for .50 cents.

He's been wanting another pair of shoes

since his other ones are getting too small.

And lastly something I've been

wanting since we moved into

our own house, a hammock $7.50.

Hammocks, whether new or used

for a good one, are not cheap.

My in-laws bought a used one

for their mobile home up at Indian Lake

last year for $50.

New ones go for $90 to over $150.

 For lunch we went to Dominos

and got the $3.99 large one topping pizza.

While waiting for pizza we stopped

in Aldis which was in the same shopping center.

I stocked up on some ground turkey

and bought 5 pounds of it at

$1.29 a pound.  LOTS cheaper

than hamburger or ground sausage

that costs over $3 a pound!!

-----------------------------------------

3:15pm


Got the gerbil cage transferred over
to the new one we just got.
Gerbils don't know which way to
go with all the room they have now, lol.

Tony just called from work and
he sounds awful!  I told him he needs
to rest and keep taking his medicine
this weekend.  
Everyone has runny noses in this household.
Good thing I bought that 32 pack of
toilet paper from Menards because
we sure are going through a lot of
tissues for blowing noses.
I don't know what the deal is around here.
You'd think with the warmer weather
we wouldn't be sick like in the Winter time.


I don't have to worry about making
supper tonight.  Mom's making up
a big batch of cabbage rolls and will
be bringing us some down for supper.
That's nice of her!


The house is going to pot with all
the sick people around here.
I'm hoping to get caught up some with
cleaning it this weekend.
I just haven't had the energy to keep
up with it.
I was wore out after a couple hours
of church saling this morning.
I tried to come home and rest
my eyes and bod for a few only
to hear a chain saw revving right
outside my bedroom window.
The neighbor was having a small tree
cut down in between our houses.
And of course he hired a friend of
ours that lived down the street
so we all went outside to chat
to them while they were cutting
away at the tree.  It was a father and his
kids that are friends of our kids
doing the work.  The kids got
invited to their birthday party next
Wednesday.  


---------------------------------


4:25pm


I finally got around to work
on the food pantry box for
mom's church.  She asked me like
two weeks ago to do it.
But between being sick and trying
to collect materials for it
I just got the letters cut out for it.
Now I need to put them on a poster
board.
The old box.

What I've gotten done so far.
I cut all the letters out of
food boxes and packages.
I think I'll put each letter on
a darker background before
putting on the posterboard
so that way they will pop out.

--------------------------------

6:40pm

Took a sneak peak at Meijers ad
for next week.
Here's some cheapie on sale items-


John Morell sausage $1.00
Meijer pasta or whole grain pasta .79 cents
Meijer canned beans .69 cents
V05 shampoo or conditioner .79 cents