9:15am
What's on the agenda for today.
-laundry
During the Winter months I try to tame down the laundry.
Kids aren't playing outside and getting as dirty
so if their tops and pants don't smell
or look too bad I hang them back up in the closets.
Same goes for me sometimes, but with holiday baking, my clothes look like I rolled in the flour, lol.
Now as for Tony's work clothes, I do wash them.
He does wear his pants a couple times before
tossing them in the laundry.
By doing this it helps cut back on the cost
of water and electric usage. Also saves me time
for something else to be doing around here!
-Work on my Christmas shopping list.
Trying to get a game plan together as to what
we'll be buying and where to shop.
So will give the Sunday paper a look over today.
I have also gotten together some coupons
so we can eat out for breakfast and/or lunch a couple days
this week. It's not too often that me and him
get time to ourselves without kids.
So this is like a special treat for us.
Got a couple buy 1 get 1 free McDonald's breakfast
sandwiches and McCafe coffee.
Also plan to visit Tee Jayes. It's a tradition of ours
to go there. Gotta have that barnyard buster.
I usually get the Half Yard which is half of a
Barnyard Buster for a buck or two cheaper.
-Cut up and scrap the copper & brass
that Tony's been collecting at work from
different maintenance jobs that otherwise
would have been thrown away.
That could mean an extra $100 more or less for free
from the scrap metal place!
-And the last thing I have on my list for
today is to start working on some cookies
for Christmas goody bags.
---------------------------------------------------------
Harbor Freight
For those looking for cheap items
to get little boys started with
collecting tools.
Has a coupon for a free pair
multipurpose scissors with steel blades.
in separate ad with all other ads.
coupon for free 1 1/2 in super bright
nine LED aluminum flashlight.
(in Smartsource coupons)
Don't forget about the voltage tester
also that was in the paper last week.
There was a coupon for a free one!
20% off anything coupon.
12" Ratchet bar clamp
$1.99
reg. $6.99
--------------------------------
TEENAGE BOY GIFTS IDEAS:
Last year for my oldest son I started
buying a bunch of snack items that were cheap
or found in the mark down bin.
In a large box wrapped up for Christmas
I put in canned pop, bags of pretzels, chips,
cheese puffs, cookies, popcorn, cereal, beef jerky and so on.
Teens are always hungry and looking for snacks
so this was a great present for him.
And if you're like me and use coupons you
can find some good deals on these items.
It's a gift they are sure to use and not
turn their noses up to!
Those Kroger Christmas cookies are known
to go on sale after Christmas for about .25 cents a box!!
So stock up this year for next with the after holiday sales!!
He also likes skull things, like biker stuff.
I shopped after Halloween sales when things
went to 50% to 75% off.
I've been known to buy him skull mugs,
fake tattoo sleeves for the arms,
temporary tattoos.
This year he is getting a couple strands of lights
with skeletons on it, lol.
Picked up for about $1.50 a box 75% off.
I also picked up a skull candle holder
at a yard sale for probably .25 cents
along with a biker wallet with chain
for a buck.
I love shopping yard sales for Christmas
gifts at a fraction of the cost!
Trying to come up with cheap gift ideas
for boys, whether young, teenage or older
is difficult. That is why I am throwing these
ideas out there.
We have enough points accumulated on
our Speedway card to get my oldest
son a $100 Speedway gift card which
he can use to buy gas. He's always saying
he doesn't have enough money for gas.
So this cost us nothing to get
and he can have $100 in free gas!!
And earlier this year I found a nice
surround system for about $15 at a church sale.
He's always admiring ours and said
his regular stereo he hooked up for surround
quit working.
It has everything from wires,
to 5 or more speakers and a subwoofer.
The only thing it did not have was
the stereo componant to run it all.
And as luck would have it, we found
one this past Summer with all the college move outs!
So total cost for a very nice surround system
was $15!!
Total cost for all his gifts:
2 boxes skeleton lights,
skeleton candle holder,
biker wallet
$100 gas card &
surround sound...
$19.25!!
You don't have to spend allot to make it look like you did!!
I still might shop for a couple nice shirts/pants/shoes at the thrift store.
---------------------------------------------------------
12:30pm
I just got done making clay chocolate candy.
This was pretty easy to make and mold.
I am tying it in the tool box & tools mold.
I tried the melted chocolate in this mold
and it never worked out so I am hoping this works.
I always thought this would be a neat, unique gift
for the maintenance guys at Tony's work.
I used gel food coloring to make the different colors.
Which was pretty cool because I've never
been able to make chocolate different colors before.
What was funny was when I started mixing
in the red gel into the chocolate it was turning pink.
I thought, oh gosh a pink tool box, can you imagine
the guys faces if I gave them that, lol.
But I kept adding the red food coloring til
it reached a red color, WHEW!
My guess is that about 2 packages of white
bark chocolate will make about 3 of these.
--------------------------------------------------------------
2:45pm
Getting ready to work on supper
and a batch of mini peanut butter cookies.
Doing mini cookies because I can only get so
many varieties of cookies into a brown lunch
bag and it also takes less time to bake
and more cookies can be baked on each
cookie sheet.
.
.
Tonight's Supper with my changes
Instead of French onion soup I will used
a small can of beef gravy.
I will dice up a small onion and add to
the meat mixture.
Instead of ketchup I will use a can of
tomato soup.
Not adding worcestershire sauce or dry mustard.
Will use beef bouillion instead.
I will also add some fresh, sliced mushrooms
to the sauce.
4:30pm
Served with a side of lumpy mashed potatoes
with skins on,
creamy shells & cheese
& bread and butter.
----------------------------------------------
Tomorrow morning I'm fixing the kids
something different for breakfast,
fried bologna sandwiches on toast with cheese.
With OJ to drink.
I found Tropicana 6 packs at Kroger marked
down to $2.09.
I know it sounds odd but think about it,
people are eating steak or pork & eggs.
Hardees serves fried bologna on biscuits for breakfast.
My mom used to give us soup for breakfast on
a cold Winter's day. That sure made you feel
warm and fuzzy before heading outside!
I don't know who made the rules to decide what
were breakfast foods. I think you should eat what
you want. It's better than nothing. And breakfast
is the most important meal of the day to get you going!
Another mark down I found at Kroger was
heavy whipping cream for $1.00. Reg. $3.00!!
And loaves of bread marked half price at .49 cents each.
Well it's going on 5:00pm and I need
to finish up my laundry. Hubby asked why
I wait til Sunday to do laundry.
I said why not. I said if you do them Sunday then
you know you are guaranteed clean clothes for
a whole work & school week. I really don't feel like doing
laundry in the middle of the week anyway with
too much stuff going on.
-----------------------------------------
6:20pm
Just got done making my Christmas shopping
ideas book. I took a regular spiral notebook
and taped cut out sections of sales ads with
items of interest in it. I have it divided up
by stores and have coupons in there as well.
At least I'll have some clue as to what we're
shopping for this week and will keep a list
in this book also of what we got and for whom.
I'll also tape a zip bag or envelope in there
for all the receipts.
.
.
.
------------------------------------------------------
You wanna see kids flip out and about
crap their pants!!
Send them a personalized video from Santa!!
He'll even call them by name and say a few
things about them!!
Try it! I bet your kids or grand kids
will be believing that there is really a Santa
after seeing this!!
.There is a GREAT freebie offer for a message from Santa to your children or even to an adult! Go to portablenorthpole.tv and create a awesome e-mail/Video message from Santa to your kids. It is FREE and it not only very realistic but also customizes to your children..
-------------------------------------------------------
from hip2save
.Got mine printed and put in my
Christmas ideas book!
-------------------------------------------
also from hip2save
I was able to sign up for one for me
and mom.
This is for a coupon to be snail mailed to you.
Once you get it watch Walgreens ads for store
coupons for Excederin so you can combine that
coupon with a store coupon.
For example this week at Walgreens they
have a $4.00 off Excederin coupon 250 count.
------------------------------------------------------
Gingerbread Butterscotch Cookies
Can't forget these cookies at Christmas time!!
Don't know why it is, but Taste of Home's
pictures of my recipes look awful!!
I'll show you what they are supposed to
look like after I make them.
I usually like to use snowflake
stamps to make them.
Then I'll fill in the indentations with white melted
chocolate with a little whipping cream mixed
in.
Here's a tip for getting those crispy, over baked
& hard cookies to become soft again.
In a zip bag or plastic container with lid, place the cookies
inside with a couple pieces of bread.
The cookies will absorb the moisture from
the bread. I do this all the time and works
like a charm!
What's on the agenda for today.
-laundry
During the Winter months I try to tame down the laundry.
Kids aren't playing outside and getting as dirty
so if their tops and pants don't smell
or look too bad I hang them back up in the closets.
Same goes for me sometimes, but with holiday baking, my clothes look like I rolled in the flour, lol.
Now as for Tony's work clothes, I do wash them.
He does wear his pants a couple times before
tossing them in the laundry.
By doing this it helps cut back on the cost
of water and electric usage. Also saves me time
for something else to be doing around here!
-Work on my Christmas shopping list.
Trying to get a game plan together as to what
we'll be buying and where to shop.
So will give the Sunday paper a look over today.
I have also gotten together some coupons
so we can eat out for breakfast and/or lunch a couple days
this week. It's not too often that me and him
get time to ourselves without kids.
So this is like a special treat for us.
Got a couple buy 1 get 1 free McDonald's breakfast
sandwiches and McCafe coffee.
Also plan to visit Tee Jayes. It's a tradition of ours
to go there. Gotta have that barnyard buster.
I usually get the Half Yard which is half of a
Barnyard Buster for a buck or two cheaper.
-Cut up and scrap the copper & brass
that Tony's been collecting at work from
different maintenance jobs that otherwise
would have been thrown away.
That could mean an extra $100 more or less for free
from the scrap metal place!
-And the last thing I have on my list for
today is to start working on some cookies
for Christmas goody bags.
---------------------------------------------------------
Harbor Freight
For those looking for cheap items
to get little boys started with
collecting tools.
Has a coupon for a free pair
multipurpose scissors with steel blades.
in separate ad with all other ads.
coupon for free 1 1/2 in super bright
nine LED aluminum flashlight.
(in Smartsource coupons)
Don't forget about the voltage tester
also that was in the paper last week.
There was a coupon for a free one!
20% off anything coupon.
12" Ratchet bar clamp
$1.99
reg. $6.99
--------------------------------
TEENAGE BOY GIFTS IDEAS:
Last year for my oldest son I started
buying a bunch of snack items that were cheap
or found in the mark down bin.
In a large box wrapped up for Christmas
I put in canned pop, bags of pretzels, chips,
cheese puffs, cookies, popcorn, cereal, beef jerky and so on.
Teens are always hungry and looking for snacks
so this was a great present for him.
And if you're like me and use coupons you
can find some good deals on these items.
It's a gift they are sure to use and not
turn their noses up to!
Those Kroger Christmas cookies are known
to go on sale after Christmas for about .25 cents a box!!
So stock up this year for next with the after holiday sales!!
He also likes skull things, like biker stuff.
I shopped after Halloween sales when things
went to 50% to 75% off.
I've been known to buy him skull mugs,
fake tattoo sleeves for the arms,
temporary tattoos.
This year he is getting a couple strands of lights
with skeletons on it, lol.
Picked up for about $1.50 a box 75% off.
I also picked up a skull candle holder
at a yard sale for probably .25 cents
along with a biker wallet with chain
for a buck.
I love shopping yard sales for Christmas
gifts at a fraction of the cost!
Trying to come up with cheap gift ideas
for boys, whether young, teenage or older
is difficult. That is why I am throwing these
ideas out there.
We have enough points accumulated on
our Speedway card to get my oldest
son a $100 Speedway gift card which
he can use to buy gas. He's always saying
he doesn't have enough money for gas.
So this cost us nothing to get
and he can have $100 in free gas!!
And earlier this year I found a nice
surround system for about $15 at a church sale.
He's always admiring ours and said
his regular stereo he hooked up for surround
quit working.
It has everything from wires,
to 5 or more speakers and a subwoofer.
The only thing it did not have was
the stereo componant to run it all.
And as luck would have it, we found
one this past Summer with all the college move outs!
So total cost for a very nice surround system
was $15!!
Total cost for all his gifts:
2 boxes skeleton lights,
skeleton candle holder,
biker wallet
$100 gas card &
surround sound...
$19.25!!
You don't have to spend allot to make it look like you did!!
I still might shop for a couple nice shirts/pants/shoes at the thrift store.
---------------------------------------------------------
12:30pm
I just got done making clay chocolate candy.
This was pretty easy to make and mold.
I am tying it in the tool box & tools mold.
I tried the melted chocolate in this mold
and it never worked out so I am hoping this works.
I always thought this would be a neat, unique gift
for the maintenance guys at Tony's work.
I used gel food coloring to make the different colors.
Which was pretty cool because I've never
been able to make chocolate different colors before.
What was funny was when I started mixing
in the red gel into the chocolate it was turning pink.
I thought, oh gosh a pink tool box, can you imagine
the guys faces if I gave them that, lol.
But I kept adding the red food coloring til
it reached a red color, WHEW!
My guess is that about 2 packages of white
bark chocolate will make about 3 of these.
--------------------------------------------------------------
2:45pm
Getting ready to work on supper
and a batch of mini peanut butter cookies.
Doing mini cookies because I can only get so
many varieties of cookies into a brown lunch
bag and it also takes less time to bake
and more cookies can be baked on each
cookie sheet.
.
.Tonight's Supper with my changes
Salisbury Steak
Ingredients
- 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed French onion soup
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
- 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
- 1 egg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
Directions
- In a large bowl, mix together 1/3 cup condensed French onion soup with ground beef, bread crumbs, egg, salt and black pepper. Shape into 6 oval patties.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown both sides of patties. Pour off excess fat.
- In a small bowl, blend flour and remaining soup until smooth. Mix in ketchup, water, Worcestershire sauce and mustard powder. Pour over meat in skillet. Cover, and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
a small can of beef gravy.
I will dice up a small onion and add to
the meat mixture.
Instead of ketchup I will use a can of
tomato soup.
Not adding worcestershire sauce or dry mustard.
Will use beef bouillion instead.
I will also add some fresh, sliced mushrooms
to the sauce.
4:30pm
Served with a side of lumpy mashed potatoes
with skins on,
creamy shells & cheese
& bread and butter.
----------------------------------------------Tomorrow morning I'm fixing the kids
something different for breakfast,
fried bologna sandwiches on toast with cheese.
With OJ to drink.
I found Tropicana 6 packs at Kroger marked
down to $2.09.
I know it sounds odd but think about it,
people are eating steak or pork & eggs.
Hardees serves fried bologna on biscuits for breakfast.
My mom used to give us soup for breakfast on
a cold Winter's day. That sure made you feel
warm and fuzzy before heading outside!
I don't know who made the rules to decide what
were breakfast foods. I think you should eat what
you want. It's better than nothing. And breakfast
is the most important meal of the day to get you going!
Another mark down I found at Kroger was
heavy whipping cream for $1.00. Reg. $3.00!!
And loaves of bread marked half price at .49 cents each.
Well it's going on 5:00pm and I need
to finish up my laundry. Hubby asked why
I wait til Sunday to do laundry.
I said why not. I said if you do them Sunday then
you know you are guaranteed clean clothes for
a whole work & school week. I really don't feel like doing
laundry in the middle of the week anyway with
too much stuff going on.
-----------------------------------------
6:20pm
Just got done making my Christmas shopping
ideas book. I took a regular spiral notebook
and taped cut out sections of sales ads with
items of interest in it. I have it divided up
by stores and have coupons in there as well.
At least I'll have some clue as to what we're
shopping for this week and will keep a list
in this book also of what we got and for whom.
I'll also tape a zip bag or envelope in there
for all the receipts.
.
.
.
------------------------------------------------------You wanna see kids flip out and about
crap their pants!!
Send them a personalized video from Santa!!
He'll even call them by name and say a few
things about them!!
Try it! I bet your kids or grand kids
will be believing that there is really a Santa
after seeing this!!
.There is a GREAT freebie offer for a message from Santa to your children or even to an adult! Go to portablenorthpole.tv and create a awesome e-mail/Video message from Santa to your kids. It is FREE and it not only very realistic but also customizes to your children..
-------------------------------------------------------
from hip2save
.
Woo Hoo! I have some great news for all of you that didn’t receive the *HOT* $5/1 Hasbro game coupons in the 12/5 SS. There are 2 new printable coupons now available online…
*Save $5/1 Sorry Spin, Twister Hoopla, Bop It Bounce or U Build Battleship game
*Save $5/1 Elefun, Gator Golf, Hungry Hungry Hippos or Pop Goes Froggio game
And the best part – both the coupons above have NO size restrictions!
(Thanks, My Frugal Adventures!)
Here are a couple deals you can score with these coupons:
Target
Hasbro Fun on the Run Hungry Hungry Hippos Travel Game $4.99
(Can be found in the Stocking Stuffer Section)
Use the $5/1 coupon found in the 12/5 SS or here
Final cost FREE!!
(Thanks, Totally Target!)
Walmart
Hungry Hungry Hippo Travel Game $5.24
Use the $5/1 coupon found in the 12/5 SS or here
Final cost $0.24!
(Thanks, Dealicious Finds!)
Christmas ideas book!
-------------------------------------------
also from hip2save
I just wanted to give you all a head up because I didn’t realize it when I first posted the Excedrin FREE product coupons… but you can head back on over there and scroll down to the bottom to request a coupon valid for $3.50/1 Excedrin PM product. This will be sent via snail mail and should arrive within 2-3 weeks. I’m guessing this will easily make for a FREE product when paired with a sale.
and mom.
This is for a coupon to be snail mailed to you.
Once you get it watch Walgreens ads for store
coupons for Excederin so you can combine that
coupon with a store coupon.
For example this week at Walgreens they
have a $4.00 off Excederin coupon 250 count.
------------------------------------------------------
Gingerbread Butterscotch Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 packages (3-1/2 ounces each) cook-and-serve butterscotch pudding mix
- 3 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs. Combine the flour, pudding mixes, ginger, baking powder and cinnamon; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with lightly floured cookie cutters. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets.
- Bake at 350° for 6-8 minutes or until firm. Remove to wire racks to cool. Decorate as desired. Yield: about 2 dozen.
Can't forget these cookies at Christmas time!!
Don't know why it is, but Taste of Home's
pictures of my recipes look awful!!
I'll show you what they are supposed to
look like after I make them.
I usually like to use snowflake
stamps to make them.
Then I'll fill in the indentations with white melted
chocolate with a little whipping cream mixed
in.
Stamped by Design Cookies Recipe
“I was afraid if I frosted cookies to give for gifts at Christmastime, they would stick together when stacked in tins,“ relates Sherry Lee of Columbus, Ohio. “So I came up with this idea to use a foam stamp to create an indented design for the frosting. ”
- 72 Servings
- Prep: 25 min. Bake: 10 min./batch + cooling
Ingredients
- 1 package (18-1/4 ounces) chocolate or white cake mix
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- Sugar
ICING:- 2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 2 to 3 tablespoons milk
- Assorted food coloring, optional
Directions
- In a large bowl, beat the cake mix, eggs and oil until blended. Roll into 1-in. balls; place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Flatten with a glass dipped in sugar.
- Bake at 350° for 6-8 minutes or until tops are set. Lightly press a 1-1/2-in. cookie cutter onto cookies making a slight indentation. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.
- In a small bowl, whisk the confectioners' sugar and enough milk to achieve a drizzling consistency. Tint with food coloring if desired. Place icing in a small heavy-duty resealable plastic bag; cut a small hole in a corner of bag. Carefully pipe icing into indentations. Yield: 6 dozen.
Here's a tip for getting those crispy, over baked
& hard cookies to become soft again.
In a zip bag or plastic container with lid, place the cookies
inside with a couple pieces of bread.
The cookies will absorb the moisture from
the bread. I do this all the time and works
like a charm!
