2-28-11

7:20am

This will be an interesting day
with little sleep thanks to the storm.
High winds, rain that I could hear
pelting the roof and windows
and thunder and lightning
that sounded like it was just
outside my bedroom window.

I was up at 5:30am looking out the window
and saw a fire truck go down the next
street over with it's lights on.
Got some cranky kids this morning
as well who didn't sleep too good.
I'm just glad it's settled down now
for people to go to work and school.

Well time to pop some ibuprofen so
I can get the day started. My body
hurts probably from doing too
much yesterday but hey the housework
is pretty much done. I hate starting
off my week with everyone back to work
and school and the house in shambles.

Starting today the bus will
be coming about 9 minutes earlier
due to an extra stop on the route.
And Jonathan has after school tutoring today
and won't be home til around 5:30pm.
The we head out to get our
taxes done.
Somewhere in there we will
have supper and get homework done.
Ahhhh!

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

10:00-11:30am

Whew it feels so good to sit down!
I got 2 lasagnas made,
one of which I already baked
and the other is going in the freezer.

10 pounds of chicken in the crock,
and made 3 more batches of
pasta which I crumbled up
when boiling. I want to use
this for some homemade chicken
noodle soup.
I added water and some
chicken bullion cubes
to the crock with the chicken.

So as you can see I've
been pretty busy for the past
hour and a half!

If I feel up to it and have time,
later on this evening I want
to make a couple loaves of
peanut butter banana bread.
If not then tomorrow morning.

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

3:45pm

Just put some jumbo banana muffins in the oven.
Didn't have all the ingredients
the recipe called for so used
what I had on hand.

I used pancake mix instead of flour,
1 six ounce container of pineapple yogurt
instead of cream cheese, &
Cinnabon instant oatmeal
in place of the cinnamon
I was out of.
It still has the peanut butter
filling and topping.
Usually I only put the chocolate
chips in the middle but I only
had a handful and just threw it
in with the rest of the crumb
topping and filling.

Going into oven.
------------------------------

4:45pm

Ended up making a dozen
jumbo muffins.

2-27-11

8:30am

I made mini strawberry shortcake
waffles for breakfast this morning.

Last night I sliced up the strawberries
and topped them with sugar-free
jello and about a teaspoon of Splenda
and let them sit overnight.
This morning I added a little hot water
with them and stirred.

I took 2 cans of biscuits and put
them on the waffle maker for
about 1-2 minutes,
2 at a time.

Top with strawberries, whipped
cream and a dash of cinnamon.

1/2 container of strawberries- .83 cents
2 cans biscuits- $1.00
whipped cream- free
cinnamon- free

Total cost for breakfast $1.83
serves 4 @ .45 cents a serving.

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

Snack that I made up
today for a contest.

Celery filled with:
1/4 cup honey peanut butter
1/4 cup granola
topped with chocolate covered raisins

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

12:15pm

Made up 12 breakfast sandwiches.

12 dinner rolls- .25 cents
12 turkey breakfast patties- $1.89
2 slices cheese divided into 12 pieces-.32 cents
4 eggs divided into 12 pieces- .32 cents

TOTAL $2.78 for 12 mini sandwiches
6 servings (2 each) @ .23 cents a serving

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

Well it's only 12:25 and I've
made breakfast for today,
made breakfast for the next couple of days,
made snacks,
got 10 pounds of chicken thawing
out to put in the crock,
got 4-5 loads of laundry done,
put all the laundry away,
mopped the floor,
done all the dishes,
cleaned up my pantry area in the
basement and put bunches
of food away,
brought up a bunch of trash
and emptied laundry trash,
and loaded up the entire
back end of the truck with
stuff to donate.

Ain't it amazing how much
energy you get when
someone upsets you!
Ain't going into to it
just burning it all off.

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

12:15-3:40pm

Got mom's birthday gifts wrapped.
Going to do our taxes Monday eve
then have mom's birthday Tuesday eve.

Me and Tony tagged teamed Jonathan's
bedroom and got it all cleaned up.
Went out on a call for a kitchen sink
leak. DD'd by the shop and found me
a pair of camo capris and a cute vinyl tablecloth
that I thought I could make some bags out of.
They would be water proof!
I could never have too many bags, lol.
Got the repair fixed at work then headed to
the thrift store to donate some stuff.
When donating things be sure to
ask for a receipt because they
don't automatically give you one.
I asked if they take appliances
and they said yes. I have our old
dishwasher that I want to donate as well.
We also donated a large tv
and a huge area rug that I was going
to put in the basement but
decided to go with carpet instead
when I get to that point.
When keeping records you are
responsible for keeping track of what
you donated and the fair market
value for it.
I found more information
about donating items.

Guide to donating items- Goodwill

The rules governing valuation, substantiation, record keeping and reporting can be quite complex, however. We therefore recommend downloading here IRS Publication 526 and IRS Publication 561 from the IRS website and/or consulting a tax advisor if your situation so warrants.

I plan to reuse an old photo album with
pocket pages.
I'll put a photo of the items donated
in one trip
in each pocket and the receipt
behind it so it is viewable from
the backside.

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

4:45pm

Supper

2 boxes creamy broccoli tuna helper- $1.00
2 pouches tuna fish- free
1 cup milk- .17 cents
4 slices of bread- .08 cents
butter- free
couple tablespoons parmesan- .10 cents

Total cost: $1.35
makes 5 servings
@ .27 cents a serving

I grilled some bread topped with
BestLife butter & parmesan.

To cut back and make this more
affordable:
2 boxes of tuna helper called
for 3.5 cups of milk.
I only added 1 cup of milk
and used water in place of the
rest of the milk.
2 boxes of tuna helper called
for 4 cans of tuna fish.
I only used 2 pouches which
equals one can.

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

8:30pm

It's thundering and lightning outside!
So muddy and yucky to the point
I don't even put my mop away.
I've probably mopped about 4 times today,
washed off shoes 2-3 times
and have mud prints on my carpet.
Guess it's better than snow.

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

10:15pm

Tomorrow will be a busy day for me.
I have two lasagnas to make.
I have read a tip about making lasagna-
make it the night before and bake
for 20-30 minutes then allow to cool
and put it in the fridge overnight.
This gives it time to rest and
absorb the flavors.
Bake again about 20 minutes
before serving.

Oh yeah and it's almost the
first of the month so that means
time to do bills again. grrrr!

2-26-11

7:00am is too early
to get up on the weekend!!
At least this morning I can
see the sun coming up and
hear the birds chirping.
Got an appointment at
H&R Block this morning at 10am.

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

11:00am

Well the H&R Block appointment
was a complete waist of time,
gas, and the cost of a pack of cigs.
Tony bought a guy at his work
a pack of cigs if he would
take on call for him while
we did our taxes.

Anyways we get there and
the secretary told us the
person we had an appointment
with wasn't there today.
I told them it would have been nice
to of gotten a phone call ahead
of time to tell us!
Then I proceeded to tell them
that we got a recorded phone call
last night from H&R Block
to remind us of our appointment today!!
And ya know when we went in
during January and originally
had an appointment with
one lady they told us it was
not on their schedule that we
even had the appointment!!
This crap is getting old real quick.
Now we have to go to another H&R Block
and do the whole paperwork thing
all over again from scratch.
But I guess I can't get too upset
because maybe it's Gods way of
saying we needed someone else
to do our taxes since I had so
many questions and concerns
about the guy that started ours.
So for now the taxes are postponed
til Monday evening after work.
Can't do it now with Tony being on call.

We stopped in UV Kroger on our way home.
Had to pick up some more cheese
for my lasagna I'm making for mom's birthday.
We decided we wanted
to have some garlic bread with it.
I priced garlic bread at $2.00+ a loaf.
But found some Texas toast bread marked
down to .89 cents and figured I'd
make my own with a garlic butter
spread, parmesan and grill it up
in a skillet or a george foreman.

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

12:15pm

If I think I'm having a bad day I think
that there are others that are much worse
off than I am.
I see this by looking out my window
at a suv that just rolled up in front of our
house. The guy gets out with his
gas can and starts walking in the
direction of the gas station.

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

Sugar Free Strawberry Jiffy Jam

Ingredients

• 2 cups strawberries
• 1 cup cold water
• 1 (3 ounce) package strawberry flavored gelatin, sugar free

Directions

1. In a large saucepan crush strawberries. Add water and gelatin, mixing well.
2. Over medium heat bring mixture to boiling, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 minutes.
3. Pour into jars, allow to cool and then cover. Can be stored in refrigerator for 1 week, or frozen for several weeks.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 17 | Total Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 0mg

You can replace strawberries with
a different fruit and another
sugar free jello.

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

I've made this low calorie pop corn
before with a hot air popper.
After popcorn is made
lightly spray popcorn with
butter flavored cooking spray.
Put popcorn into a bag with
a 4 serving size packet of dry
sugar free jello any flavor.
Shake to coat.

2-25-11

6:55am

Tony called on his way to work
to say he saw that gas now was at $3.39 a gallon.
Roads are crappy. He said he had to
put the truck in 4x4 to get to work.

7:15am

This weather sucks!!
It 29 but feels like 17 degrees with the wind.

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

7:45am

Got my pasta dough made
and resting til after the kids
get on the bus this morning then
will work on raviolis and
lasagna noodles.

Columbus City Schools are
still open today!

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

9:10am

Got 2 batches of lasagna noodles rolled out
and another 2 batches of dough resting
for the ravioli.
I'm taking a short break then going
to work on the filling for the ravioli.

10:50

Just finished making 32
large sized ravioli.

There's about 2 meals here.


2 cups flour .14 cents
2 eggs .16 cents
salt- free
1 pound sausage- $2.29
1/2 cup ricotta cheese- .75 cents
1/2 cup mozarella cheese- .50 cents
1 cup bread crumbs- .23 cents
2 cans spaghetti sauce- $1.38

TOTAL: $5.45
2 meals
serves 8 @ .68 cents a serving

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

Preview Walgreens ad for next week.

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

Preview Meijers ad for next week.

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


I started saving those crisper sleeves
from Hot Pockets.
I plan to use them on
egg rolls and those cheapie
burritos. Trying to find ways
to make things fast without
having to use the oven.

I even save some from those cheap
microwave pizzas.
If you get the Kroger 3 minute
microwave pizzas you will notice
they are smaller than
other cheap frozen pizzas.
Now I can buy larger, cheap
pizzas at the same price and are able to nuke them
in the microwave and get
the crispy crusts.

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

Here's an idea to reuse and old sweater
and make an ear warmer out of it.

I don't see why you couldn't also

cut off the arms and use them as

leg warmers or even make some

mittens out of it.

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

4:15pm

The other day I picked up a bunch

of marked down bananas from Kroger.

Today I whipped up some

yummy banana bites.

I had a baggie of leftover

cinnamon and brown sugar mixture

from where I made cinnamon rolls.

I cut bananas in half then in

half again and sprinkled with

the brown sugar mix and baked.

Yummy!

Time for a short break then

I get to start making pork chops

for supper.

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

Search for elderly couple underway in Lowndes County, GA

Breaking News

Reports: Search Underway For Missing Logan Co. Couple In Georgia

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

Tonight's supper-

6 Pork chops- $2.79
3/4 cup fried onions- .42 cents
1/2 cup bread crumbs- .25 cents
ranch dressing- .10 cents
2.5 pounds potatoes- .50 cents
jar of turkey gravy- .50 cents

Total: $4.56
serves 6 @ .76 cents a serving

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

Wow cable will be going all digital
starting about the middle of March.
They will give out 2 free digital
boxes for tv's so you can view cable.
After that you have to rent
the boxes at $1.99 a month.
You have to have these
boxes to view any cable
other than your local channels!
This totally sucks.
I have 5 tv's with cable
(3 bedrooms, living room
and rec room in basement),
one with DVR so no box needed there,
then 2 free boxes, I still need
2 more. And to get them will
cost me an additional $4.00
a month or $48 a year!
It's always something
or someone with their hand out
for money. And in this case
no one gets a choice!

I was wondering if you could
use a digital converter box
instead or if you have to
use the cable companies box??
I would rather outright pay
for these stupid boxes than
have to pay a fee each month.
It's costing me $120 a year
just to rent the DVR box!!!
I need something that I can
buy that will easily record
programs from tv, sometimes
more than one at a time.
I've lost count now at how many
times they have increased
our bill in 2.5 years time!!
We've discussed possibly getting
rid of the house phone.
But with kids on the phone to their
friends and Tony on call needing it for work,
and other people, it would
just rack up time on the cell
phone so that wouldn't be any
cheaper!
Plus long distance is free
with our house phone.
So we're screwed there.

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

7:05pm

Well I might go take me a hot bath
then watch either
Ghost Adventurer at 8pm
or Gold Rush.
Gotta get up early tomorrow
morning to go finish doing
our taxes.
I got a few questions and paperwork
for H&R block to see why
we are getting back $1400
less than what we've been getting
back the past couple of years.
We file jointly, have 2 kids,
claim our home and
claim 0 dependents,
so they take out the highest
taxes each paycheck like they
would for a single person.
It does not make sense to make
about $2150 more this year
only to get back $1400
less in our refund.

H&R Block has a free
second look at your prepared
tax return. Wonder
if they'll do it if you used
them to begin with and
then go to another one
to have another person
check it out?

Then the tax preparer
at H&R Block told us
he's not going to worry
about turning in our city taxes?
Do what???
Why wouldn't you do that???
I don't understand taxes and
all but that just don't sound right to me!

2-24-11

9:45am

I made up a bunch of
Belgian waffles this morning
to put in the freezer.
I like to give the kids something
warm for breakfast when I can
when it's cold outside.

2 cups pancake mix- .10 cents
1 1/2 cups milk- .16 cents
2 eggs- .30 cents
1/4 cup chocolate drink mix- free

Total cost: .56 cents
for 12 waffles @ .04 cents a waffle!!
Compare that to a box of frozen
waffles in the stores
and see how much you save!

I used a powdered chocolate breakfast drink
mix that had 17 vitamins and minerals
in it to make chocolate waffles.

Now all I have to do is put the waffles
in zip bags and put in the freezer.
Then for breakfasts I can take them
out and pop them in the toaster.
I got Kroger sugar free syrup to put on them.
I skip putting butter on them.

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

Later this year mom's church is
having a blanket drive.
Most blankets I find this year will
go towards that before people start
asking for them.

I am trying to get our income tax
bracket down this year by donating
things to charities, churches
and thrift stores.
It's amazing that to make $2,150
more than last year will be
$1,400 less in your refund!!

You can claim some donations made
to your church on your taxes,
from offerings, donations and
even fund raiser dinner tickets.
It cannot exceed more than 50%
of your annual income.

You have to keep track of everything
you donate along with a receipt
from the charity and what things
are worth.
Here is a value guide from Salvation Army.
Just to give you an idea,
you can write down blankets
and comforters, depending on
the quality and condition
for $3.00 up to $28.80 each.
I would say an average of about
$4.00 each so as to not go overboard
with it.

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

When dieting, soups are great
for eating. There are many that
offer low calories and fat.
Here's an example of a soup I have.
Campbell's Select Harvest Light
Maryland-Style Crab soup:
1/2 of a can
-0.5 grams of fat
-80 calories
-no added MSG, a food additive to
enhance the flavors, artificial flavoring.

You could even eat the whole can
if you wanted for 1 gram fat and
160 calories.
I could burn that off with jogging
less than a half mile.

Always check your labels on foods.
Just because something says
light or fat free it could be higher
in carbs or sugars!

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

10:25am

Well here we go, the credit card
company called for the first time today.
Will be keeping track of all the calls.
I don't answer because I know
they won't deal with me.

Called again at 1:15pm.

Called again at 4:35pm.


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

Gas prices suck! Now up to about $3.29
a gallon. They say we could see around
$4.00 a gallon this Summer!
This will put a damper in a lot
of Summer traveling that's for sure.

You know what really sucks
is the last company that owned
the property my honey works at,
gave them a mileage money
for using your vehicle at work
everyday.
The newer company will only
give you $20 for the week you
are on call. With $20 we're lucky
to get a quarter tank of gas!!

Can't wait for this Winter weather
to go bye bye so we can put the
Suburban up for only weekend driving
and use the Lexus instead for work
and evening drives.
We haven't been able to put regular
tires on it at the moment because
it needs lug nuts for the other tires.
The ones from the 20's won't work.
In a parts store it would run
well over $100 to purchase them
so we are looking into ones from Ebay.
And it could stand to use
some newer used tires.
Not in the budget at the moment.

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

I really need some more counter
and storage space in the kitchen.
I saw this ideas for making a
kitchen island from a dresser
that I thought looked nice.
Might have to keep my eye
out for a free dresser.
I could paint it the creamy
white and I still have some
leftover oak contact paper
to make everything match
in the kitchen.

So just for kicks I browsed
dressers on Craigslist.
I found a genitally used one, LMAO!
It literally says it in the ad.
Any dresser used for genitals,
ahh I'll have to pass, LOL!
People y'all need to learn to spell correctly,
it's spelled gently!!

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

7:00pm

Had to go to Kroger tonight
to get prescriptions.
While there I found mom a Kroger bakery
birthday cake for $$3.99 marked down.
I think they run about $8-$10 normally,
maybe more depending upon size.

Mom's birthday is tomorrow but we
will be celebrating it with our family
next Tuesday due to Tony being on call.
We were gonna splurge and take them
and us to Hometown Buffet but
are reconsidering that due to price.
It could cost $60-$70 for 4 adults and 2 kids.
Don't think we can afford that at the moment!!
So do I spend money to eat out
or try to make something homemade for
a lot less??? Tony suggested going to GFS
and getting a large family entree.
I know that would cost and arm and a leg
also at about $15 for one and that's a guess.
It really sucks cutting waaay back!!

So I think I have decided what to do.
Since tomorrow I would like to make
some homemade raviolis, why not
make some homemade lasagna noodles
as well since I'll have all the ingredients
out. I can make a
lasagnas for her birthday dinner.

So let's do a break down all
the ingredients to see if it would be cheaper.

Lasagna noodles:
2 cups flour- .30 cents
2 eggs- .24 cents
1 teaspoon salt
3-4 Tablespoons water

Sauce:
1 can spaghetti sauce- .69 cents
2 containers of cottage cheese- $4.00
2 pkg shredded mozarella cheese- $3.40

Meat filling:
using bread crumbs to stretch it out further.
Make it up like meatloaf
and crumble the meat mixture
to use in between layers.
1 pound sausage- $2.29
bread crumbs- free
1 egg- .12 cents

Total cost to make lasagna:
$8.99
plus a bakery cake for $3.99
for a grand total of $14.98

Going out to eat & cake $69
Getting 2 pizzas & cake $24

So I would be saving
$10-$45
and would have enough cake and lasagna
left over for another meal.

I know I am rambling and my mind is working
over time at the moment.
You gotta be able to figure things
out to see where you stand with money.

2-23-11

Here's some mark downs I found
at Kroger this week:

8 hamburger patties $4.22
1 can of crispy fried onions $1.59
1 can of seasoned bread crumbs .79 cents


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

Top 14 Foods for Improved Health and Wellness

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

10:00-10:35am

I had an early lunch today
of Green Giant's steamed rice, broccoli & cheese
@ 240 calories for the whole bag.
I then found myself in front of the
tv watching a Ghost Hunters marathon.
It then dawned on me that I was sitting
on my butt when I could be running
on the exercise machine.
I found a show on TV called
I Used To Be Fat on MTV.
This is what I watched through
my whole workout and it kept
me motivated to keep going.
They lost 100 or so pounds in
90-100 days time.

I ran a mile non stop.
I burned about 408 calories
which more than burned off my lunch
and then some!!

When working out and trying to lose
weight you have to set a daily goal to
go by. Don't just jump on a machine
and do it for a couple minutes and give
up!! Reach that goal each day
whether it's a certain mile or
amount of time.

I did my mile this morning because
I would like to do .60 miles this evening.
Yesterday I only jogged .40 miles
and want to make up for that loss.
My mid back was hurting is why
I didn't accomplish my goal.
I don't think it was from exercising
but from lifting 50 pound salt bags
the other day.

It's only February and before
you know it, June and July will
be here, shorts and swimsuit weather!
I would like to lose some weight by then,
4-5 months away.
18 weeks 3 days til July,
129 days which could mean running
129 miles by then.
About 410 calories a mile x's 129 miles
is 52, 890 calories burned.
divided by 3,500 calories in a pound
should total 15 pounds lost
just from the jogger exercise machine.
That doesn't include any other calories
burned doing other things.

I really need another scale.
Not sure how accurate the one we
have is. It says I have lost 2 pounds
so far which is expected.
I'd really like a weighted scale like
what you see in a doctor's office.
When I mentioned that to Tony
he said there was one in one of
the storage rooms at work.
I would like him to ask if we could borrow
it or even have it.

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

10:45am

I got a loaf of cinnamon raisin
bread cubed up and sitting on the counter.
You want it to get a little dried out
and lose some moisture before
making bread pudding.
I've never made it before nor
have eaten it before. I'm trying
something different for a recipe contest.

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

I wanted to say that my hubby
finally said something last night
about the paint in the bathroom.
It took 12 days for anyone to notice.
And I only think he noticed because there
was a stop line from where I painted
and where the other wall paint
was, in the shower area.
I could've painted the whole thing
and no one would have noticed.

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

Ain't this a cute idea for a cupcake?


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

3:40pm

Just got my bread pudding in the oven.
This is my recipe.
Can't wait to see how it turns out
considering I've never eaten or
made this before, lol!

1 loaf cinnamon bread cubed
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 4 servings sized instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
3 cups milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chocolate covered raisins
1 Tablespoon vanilla

1 Tablespoon light brown sugar
1 Tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 cup granola

In large bowl combine the below
with a mixer-
butter, pudding mix, eggs, milk,
cinnamon & vanilla.

Fold the bread cubes into pudding,
then stir in the chocolate covered raisins,
set aside.

In microwave melt 1 tablespoon butter.
Stir in brown sugar then stir
in the granola until coated.

Spray casserole dish with cooking spray.
Pour bread & pudding mixture into dish.
Sprinkle granola mix over top.

Bake 350 degrees for 1 hour.
GOING INTO OVEN

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

3:50pm

Must be doing something right, lol.
The kids just got off the bus, walked in
the door and hung up their coats
and immediately jumped on the
jogger machine!!

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

4:30pm

Got supper started.

-4 hamburgers $2.11
-4 slices cheese .44 cents
-8 slices bread .16 cents
-crispy fried onions .40 cents
liquid smoke .10 cents
BBQ seasoning- free
Sweet Vidalia Onion BBQ Sauce- free

Fry burgers in skillet with
a little liquid smoke.
Season with BBQ seasoning.
When almost done
pour a little BBQ sauce on them
and fry
til caramelized somewhat
and flip and do the same on the
other side.
Top burgers with cheese while
still in pan til melted.
Put on bread and top with
onion chips and favorite condiments.

Cost for 4 cheeseburgers: $3.21
or .80 cents each.
-------------------------------

4:40pm

Bread pudding removed from oven.


-----------------------------------------
6:30pm

Well I don't know what is up
with the credit card company
but they've called 3 times today.
They better not be asking for anymore
money til the next bill! I have
paid them everything I have
owed up until the next bill
that comes in March
and some extra.
They must be wanting something
to start calling more than once a day.
I'm just sitting on edge waiting
for them to call back to see what
they want. Tried calling
the customer service number
and that's a joke. It says to say
or punch in your account number,
and we did both on several tries
and the computer still doesn't understand.
Why don't they just have a freakin
person answer the phone!!!!
We tried to answer the phone
the last time they called but our
phone died.
Why is it you can be a loyal customer
but screw up one time due to
an emergency and they harass you
like crazy!

2-22-11

6:00am

There's got to be light at the end of
this tunnel, along with some
green grass and warmer temperatures!
Earlier wake up calls comes
with being on call.

Tony got one more page last night
but we didn't go with him
due to it being about 10:30pm.
The answering service will tell you
what the problem is, the address
and phone number of the resident.
What I don't understand is
if you make an emergency maintenance
request why can't you answer your
phone when we call!
Sometimes by calling the residents
you can weed out if it was something
that needs repaired immediately
or can wait til the following day.
And of course this situation could
have waited.
Sure he gets paid to go investigate the problem
but to have to go out in the crappy
weather puts lives at risk.
So needless to say neither me nor Tony
got a whole lot of sleep last night.
I wasn't sleeping til I knew he was
home safe and sound.
Then we got up at 5:45am because
he had to go in early to plow and
salt again. And I always get up
when he does.
I flipped on the news and did not
see Columbus schools closed so
it's a go for today.

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

7:30am

Whatchya think of Jonathan's new hat?
He's been wanting this hat since before
Christmas but at $10, I don't think so.
In the past month or so, Henderson Rd.
Kroger has all their OSU merchandise
marked down to 50% off.
So with only 2 hats left, I got him
the hat and told him it was an early
birthday present.


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

Breakfast all wrapped into a quick bread.
Hey it's got bananas, oatmeal, walnuts,
eggs, pancake mix and maple syrup.
I did a maple syrup glaze on top
of the banana bread.
Warmed up in the microwave- Delish!!


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

Our elementary school is offering
free tutoring to selected children.
One of my children got picked for it.
It's 2 days a week for 1.5 hours each day.
They even furnish bussing after hours
also which is a plus for me.
It goes til April.

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

Here in the near future I'm thinking
about making some ravioli.
Maybe a crab and cheese filling
with an alfredo sauce?
Or a sausage cheese filling
with spaghetti sauce I just got
from the thrift store?
Video to show you how
to make homemade ravioli.

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

Forever foods:

10 cooking staples that can outlast you

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

2-21-11

9:00am

Took a jog on the exercise machine.
Only did a tenth of a mile then
had to get breakfast for the boys
which was blueberry muffins
I made yesterday.

10:50am

Working on the last 2 loads of laundry.
Also just put in 6 mini loaves
of banana bread.

The banana bread was just something
I threw together and didn't have
a recipe for.

PUMPKIN SPICE BANANA QUICK BREAD
WITH WALNUT STREUSEL

1/2 cup butter- free
1 pkg Pumpkin Spice pudding- .25 cents
1 cup sugar- .25 cents
2 eggs- .28 cents
2 medium bananas mashed- $1.00
1 tsp vanilla- free
2 packets of bananas & cream
instant oatmeal- .10 cents
2 1/4 cups pancake mix- .25 cents

Topping
1/4 cup brown sugar- .10 cents
1/4 cup sugar- .10 cents
1/2 cup chopped walnuts- .50 cents
2 Tablespoons butter- free

TOTAL COST TO MAKE
6 MINI LOAVES:
$2.83 or .47 cents a mini loaf

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray foil pans with cooking
spray and dust with dry pancake mix.

In a medium bowl add everything
for bread except pancake mix.
Beat with a mixer until combined.
Stir in pancake mix.

Put about 3/4 cup of bread batter
into each muffin tin.

In a small bowl combine
sugars and walnuts.
Cut in butter with fork.

Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons
of struesel topping over
bread batter.

Bake 40 minutes.

Going into oven-


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

Borders on Henderson Road is closing.
At the moment I think things are
15%-20% off. They had someone standing
on the corner waving a sign.
Don't know if you can use these coupons
below but it's worth a try.
Printable coupon for
free silly bands with purchase of
a children's book.

Printable coupon for 33% off
any item list price

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

11:30am

Banana Bread fresh from the oven!


Just completed another survey.
Now up to almost $84.
I'm trying to do as many surveys
with Opinion Outpost so I can
save up money for Christmas time.
Gotta be sure to request the money
by sometime in September because
it takes 6-8 weeks to get.

Recently I got another $25 Gamestop
gift card from another survey site.
I will collect these throughout the
year also to use for Christmas time.
I should be able to get another $50 to $75
with them by then.

Yeah I know it's only February
and I'm planning for Christmas already.
Better to plan now than
to be broke at Christmas time
wondering where money will come from!
Come Spring I'll be hitting
the yard sales looking for
and stocking up on Christmas gifts.

Well time to go get the last
load of laundry out of the dryer.
Kids don't have school today
and they are slowly starting
to make messes so need to
stay on top of them as well
to keep things picked up.

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

11:45am

Just called Tony at work but he couldn't
talk saying there was a fire.
I have no other details at this time.

12:00pm

The fire started when a lady turned on
her oven forgetting she had stored
things in it.
The fire department with hook
and ladder came out as usual.
Tony, the man on call, got it pretty
much put out before they got there.
I had just cleaned Tony's
work jacket last night and now
will have to rewash again
due to smoke smell, ahhh.

Why does it seem that every time
my poor honey goes on call
there is a fire???
A couple weeks ago
he had the fire where squirrels
chewed wires in the attic.
Another time was where people
didn't put out their cigarette butts
on their upper wooden patio.
And back at UV he had a major major
fire the first night he was ever on call.
Destroyed half the building with
about 9 apartments in it.

One time he was paged out due
to an apartment that flooded
real good and I mean
the whole apartment up past your ankles
with water rushing out the door.
Tony and my oldest son
hurried out to find the people weren't home
and had to go in to stop the water.
Well the people came home while
they were in there and had called
the police saying someone was
trying to rob their apartment.
So the police tried to apprehend them, lol,
until they could prove who they were
and show them the water in the apartment.
Yeah those resident felt a little stupid
and embarassed afterwards but
it was better to be safe than sorry
with all the break ins.

It's always something!!

Just finished all my laundry.
Ya know what sucks is
I have 4 more things to hang
up and have run out of hangers.
Time to go match up all the socks.

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

Iced Vanilla Latte

In a tall glass, fill halfway with your cool coffee, stir in sugar to taste
(about 1 tbsp), then add 1 tsp vanilla, milk and ice cubes.
I find you have to stir it well so that the sugar dissolves, so I don't add
the ice till last.

Here's some more coffee recipes
from Taster's Choice for cold & hot coffee
and baked goods.
---------------------------

If you have a Kroger or Kroger-affiliate card bonus card, you'll get a $5 off ecoupon loaded directly to your card when you enter a recipe in the 45th Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest!

Be sure to use the email address associated with your bonus card when you enter, and watch for a link in your confirmation email to load the coupon to your card.

Limit 1 coupon per household. Expires 5/15/11.

I have a recipe idea in mind

and have searched my idea and

didn't find anything.

Don't have the ingredients to

make it at the moment so will

have to wait til I get back to the store.

I've never entered because I don't

want the publicity or traveling,

even with a million dollars at stake!

If I didn't have panic attacks

I wouldn't mind.

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

6:30-9:15pm

by 6:30pm I had jogged .80 miles
on the exercise machine. I did two
.10 miles earlier today so a
total of a mile today.
6:30pm we headed out to Tony's work
to plow and salt.
What a mess the roads were!!
Do not go out unless you absolutely
have to!!!
Don't know what we were thinking
to try the Cooke Rd hills.
Got to the top of the first hill
and right before cresting could
see cars down in the bottoms of
the hills spun out to the side,
some in the middle of the road
and others that couldn't climb
the hill due to ice.
Right before we reached the edge
of the hill Tony hit the brakes
causing the ABS to pulsate.
We made it safely to the side of the
hill near a driveway before sliding
down the hill. Scared the crap outta
me I was shaking so bad.
He backed out of the driveway but
not in the direction of the hills,
he backed down Cooke Rd.
on the opposite side of the road
til we found a driveway to turn around.
There was no way we were backing
out hiny end facing the hill
for fear of sliding down backwards.

So we gets to his work only to find
the plows salt hopper empty.
Oh yeah just what I need after jogging
a mile, a workout with some weights.
Me and Tony loaded ten, 50 pound
bags of salt into this hopper thingy
that was up higher than the bed of the
truck. Got that loaded up and
the truck has no gas in it.
So he had to get the gas card and
go to Speedway to fill it up.
$75 and it still was not sitting on full!
He plowed and salted while
me and the kids waiting in our truck.
When we came home we went
down High St. to Morse Rd.
At almost 9:30pm the plows are still
out on the highways and have yet to
see any other roads. Morse Rd.
was at a crawl at 20-25mph when
it's normally 45mph.
9:30 we are finally home and the first
thing I did was pop some ibuprofen.
Neck, shoulders and back
are starting to ache from loading
the salt. Got a slight headache as well.
For better or worse, right!

Now will wait and see what tomorrow
brings and see if the kids have school.

If anyone saw the news at 6:00pm
where they showed Marion county
getting hit pretty good, well
that's what it looked like here
on the North end of Columbus.
Wet snow, ice and rain.
When we left at 6:30pm is
when it was snowing pretty
good that visibility was getting bad.


Well y'all it's been fun but
I think I'm gonna go collapse
somewhere. Hopefully my bed with
the electric blanket on!

2-20-11

10:50am

Looking forward to an exciting
day of doing laundry and
watching the Daytona 500.

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

12:30-1:30pm
Kroger trip to get prescriptions.
Found these mark downs.

5- 8 ounce packages Hormel Pepperoni
was $3.99 each
I paid $1.00 each

15 count Ziploc gallon bags
was $3.19
I paid $1.59

4 count AA batteries
.88 cents
was ?

Ultimate Caesar salad kit $1.99
was ?

8 count strawberry Toaster Treats
was $1.31
I paid .69 cents

4 boxes Kroger macaroni & cheese
I paid .33 cents each
was ?

2- 4 pack pudding snacks
was ?
I paid .50 cents each

4 loaves Kroger wheat bread
I paid .39 cents each
was .88 cents each

We also went around the store
sampling many things from
cake rolls, meatballs, pears, blue tortilla
chips with salsa, salmon and
jumbo shrimp with sauce!!
Gotta love Henderson Rd Kroger
on the weekend!!

1:55pm

Today for the NASCAR race I am
making appetizers.

40 Kroger Value Crackers .50 cents
3 cheese slices .36 cents
40 pepperonis .25 cents
lil bit of horseradish .05 cents

Total cost $1.16
serves 4 (10 crackers each)
@ .29 cents a serving

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

My tip when storing dry mixes,
flour, sugar, rice
or even pasta in the pantry for
long periods of time is to
put them in zip bags to keep
out any critters or bugs.
This is the reason I got
the ziploc bags today.
While I don't see any critters
or bugs I'm not taking any chances with
loosing food that might not
have an inner bag inside
it's box.
Or you could reuse coffee cans
or plastic bowls to store them in.

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

With Spring, hopefully in the near
future, the mud and stains
on children's clothes will be appearing
more and more.

Try these things on clothes stains
instead of buying the more expensive
stuff made especially for clothing treatments.

-Dawn dish soap
-A mixture of 40% mean green
and 60% water in a bottle.
-hand sanitizer removes paint from clothing.
-vinegar.
-1 cup hot water

1/2 cup baking soda
1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide

Directions:

• Mix ingredients then store in spray bottles. Spot treat stains then soak overnight.

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

2:40pm

Time to start my laundry.
I go around each room and gather
the laundry and throw it down
the basement steps.
Then I go around with a large fabric
grocery bag and collect all the hangers.
I take the bag to the basement, hang
up all the hangers on the bar
for the hangable clothes.
Then reuse the bag to bring up
all the items that I don't fold in it
like socks & undies and put them
in their drawers.

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

3:50pm

Boy, boys, boys!
What in the world are they doing
to their clothes that I am constantly
finding rips, some even in the backs
of their shirts???

Today I found a sweater that
had a long rip down the sleeve
with strings hanging off.
They wouldn't let me throw it
away so out came the thread and needle.
BEFORE
There was even a small frayed
spot in the red part of the fabric
near the cuff that I fixed also.
where the black thread overhangs
the red area.
AFTER

5:20pm

And yet another shirt with
a large hole, ahhhhh!
I don't have money to keep
buying clothes so out comes
the needle and thread again!

Here is my mending kit I got
at a yard sale many years ago for $1.25.
It sure has come in handy with
all the different colors of thread!

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

This week's Meijer
coupon & sales match ups.

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

This week's Kroger
coupon & sales match ups.

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

6:00pm

Did 1/4 mile on the jogger machine.
Upped it to level 4
which is a little more strenuous
with more resistance.
Oh yeah my upper legs feel
like mush at the moment with the burn.

Now working on supper
and tomorrow's breakfast
in between loads of laundry.

Everyone's watching Unstoppable again.

2 boxes Hamburger Helper's cheesy ranch
$1.00
2 pouches tuna fish- free

Total cost: $1.00
Serves 6 @ .16 cents a serving

Breakfast

Real blueberry muffins
mix
with homemade glaze.
I don't remember how much
they cost as they've been sitting
in the pantry for awhile now.

No school tomorrow due
to President's Day.

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

Tomorrow I'm gonna work
on some banana bread
made from pancake mix.

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

Beat Inflation By Buying These 7 Food Staples

You can also request a free subscription
to Financial Highway! I did.
No spam or sharing of your email on there!

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

7:30pm

Ran another 1/3rd mile on the jogger
machine for a total of .58 miles today.
Plus the running up and down basement
steps doing laundry and carrying clothes
up to put away.

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

OSU Container gardening.
Tells you what pot sizes to use, how
much and what kinds of soil
and all the vegetables that can
be grown in pots.

Our Ohio Vegetable Container Gardening

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

10:15pm

Decided to get my butt up
off the couch and ride the jogger
while watching Titanic.
I did another .42 miles for
a total of 1 mile today.

If I could do this for 30 days
it would be like going 30 miles, whew!
Or like fast walking to and from my
honey's work near Upper Arlington
three times!
Not noticing a weight difference yet
but I didn't expect it this early.
It takes time, even a couple months.
You have to burn off 3,500 calories
to lose a pound!
At the moment I am only burning 400
calories per mile which would only
be a little more than 3 pounds a month.
I'd like to get up to 2 miles a day
but will do it gradually since I
am just starting out.
2 miles a day would be
almost 7 pounds in a month.

2-19-11

11:55am

Got up this morning and made
everyone some blueberry pancakes.

Then got started on lunch
and supper.
Boiled up a big pot of potatoes.
Peeled then cubed.
Took about 1/3rd of the potatoes
and mashed them up with a fork.

In another large pot I fried up
a pound of maple sausage with
a small chopped up onion.
I then added 1 can of chicken broth,
2 packets country gravy and 1 cup of
water.
I then stirred this soupy mix
into the cubed potatoes
and then stirred in the mashed
potatoes.

Optional: add broccoli
and cheese.

2/3rds a bag of potatoes $1.86
1 pound maple sausage $1.49
1 small onion .20 cents
2 packages country gravy mix $1.00
1 can chicken broth .49 cents

Total cost: $5.04
makes about 10 servings
@ .50 cents a serving.

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

We're sitting here discussing
possible vegetable & fruit shortages
this year with increases in prices.
This is due to the colder weather
in the Southern states & Mexico.

So now's the time to start planning
your garden and stocking up
on seeds if you didn't collect them
last year from your plants.

My garden area is now a parking place
for car(s). I have been talking about
doing container gardening in
5 gallon paint buckets,
this way I won't have to dig up
any of the yard.
Plus buckets you can move anywhere
you want unlike a garden once
planted.
Here's a picture to give you an idea
of what tomato container gardens
look like.

You could use any kind of pot for
container gardening from flower pots,
flower boxes, pails, hanging baskets and what not.

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

3:00pm

Went out for a few.
One of the places we visited was called
Buybacks Entertainment
2600 East Dublin Granville Road,
Columbus, OH 43231
(614) 891-1265 ‎ .
I haven't visited this place
before because I thought it was
something we couldn't afford, I was wrong.
It's in Columbus Square Shopping Center.

DVD's were an average price of $3.99.

CD's were $1.00 but
buy 10 and they are only $5.00
or .50 cents each.
They have TONS!!

VHS movies were .49 cents or $1.00.
I think it was buy 2 get 1 free.

We got 2 Nintendo DS
and a Playstation 2
games for $1.99 each.
When you buy 2 you get 1 free.

They have what they call
a bargain section where you can
get things cheap.

More recent movies, games or CD's
do cost more!

This will be someplace I will
shop this year for Christmas
that's for sure!!

We found an Xbox cord in a mark
down box for .50 cents but
the guy gave it to us for free!

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

5:30pm

Colored my hair again.
My last color was almost washed out.
It's a non permanent color,
washes out after 28 shampoos.

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

8:50pm

We just got done watching the movie
Unstoppable.
We rented it earlier from Blockbuster.
We wanted to go to the theater last
weekend but couldn't because of
Jonathan's cough.
Then when I checked the listings
this week, Friday was the last
showing for it in the theaters.
I checked the Blockbuster Express
website and it wasn't in one those
machines yet. But I was able to find
it in the actual store to rent.
$3.29 to rent til Tuesday.

This was a really good movie
for anyone looking to rent a movie!!
It kept me on the edge of my seat
the whole time!

A good movie for train enthusiasts
like my son.

My son now no longer wishes
to be a train conductor, LOL!!

Made our living room like a theater
with the lights off and the surround
sound up. Sounded awesome!!



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

In tomorrow's coupon inserts I read
that there might be a coupon
for a free McDonalds
Fruit & Maple Oatmeal.

2-18-11

12:15PM

Me and mom went to a couple
more thrift stores today.

The first thrift store I found
a large bag full of Space Bags
for $4.99!!

4- Extra large
1- Jumbo
2- Large
3-Medium
These would have cost around $40!

Next store was Goodwill.
I spent $42 on everything
listed below including
clothing, food and tax!

I thought I was doing good to find
2 pair of pants at buy 1 get 1 free.
2 pairs cost $3.49

As I was browsing around
I saw an end shelf full of grocery items
that caught my eye.
I started going through stuff,
throwing things in my cart.
A worker brought over another cart
full and started putting those on
the shelf also.
I was grabbing stuff left and right, lol.
The worker brought out yet
another cart full of stuff and
just left it there for me to go through.
My cart was full!!

I never would have imagined doing
my grocery shopping in a thrift store today!

I asked if this was something
that they were going to start doing
and the lady told me this was more
than normal for some grocery items
that they get. She said it was all
donated from Target.
Nothing was outdated!!
Most still had a year or more
left before expiring!!

You should've seen the line
behind me when I was checking out, lol.
I had so much stuff to check out
that the line went to the back of
the store. The cashier asked me
if there was any food items left
on the shelves. There was plenty left.
I only took things I know we use.

So here goes with what I got at Goodwill.

7 boxes Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix
(this can be used like a Bisquick!)
.49 cents each
(this runs about $3.00 a box!)

2 Powerades
.49 cents each

1 Gatorade
.49 cents each

2 Four Cheese Hunts Spaghetti Sauce
.69 cents each

1 Garlic & Herb Hunts Spaghetti Sauce
.69 cents each

2 large cans Hunts petite tomatoes
.69 cents each

2 large cans diced tomatoes store brand
.69 cents each

1 small can Hunts diced tomatoes
.49 cents

1 tomato soup
.49 cents

7 cream of celery soup
.49 cents each

4 cans cream of chicken soup
.49 cents each

1 cream of mushroom soup
.49 cents

2 large cans Select Harves crab soup
.69 cents each

3 large cans Chunky broccoli & cheese soup
.69 cents each

1 large can Campbells Chicken Noodle soup
.69 cents

1 large can Progresso clam chowder soup
.69 cents

1 large can Select Harvest Sausage & vegetable soup
.69 cents

1 large can tomato soup
.69 cents

1 large can Bush's baked beans
.69 cents

1 Wolf no beans chili
.69 cents

3 macaroni & cheese microwave cups
.29 cents each

Noodle Express microwave meal
.49 cents

4 cans Archer Farms sugar free energy drink
.99 cents

1 box of Triscuits
.99 cents

1 Betty Crocker triple chunk brownie mix
.49 cents

2 cans chicken broth
.49 cents each

1 can sliced peaches
.49 cents

1 can tropical fruit
.49 cents

4 large cans Starkist tuna
.69 cents each

6 packages teriyaki beef jerky
.49 cents each
(I priced the beef jerky at Rite Aid
and it's normally $4.99 each!!!
So it's like I got it for 90% off!!)

1:00pm

Well I am tired, my back is broke
and I'm gonna take me a nap
before the weekend starts!
Then this evening work
on putting the groceries away.

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

Mail Call

Today I got a free pack of
hearing aid batteries in the mail.
I gave them to my step-dad.

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

I turned in some points from
one of my survey sites
to get a free 2 year subscription to
Cosmopolitan.

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

4:30pm

Decided to give my hall closet
a $4.99 makeover with my Space Bags
I got today.
My closet is jammed packed
with blankets, bed linens
and extra curtains!
To the point you open up the
door, grab what you need,
then shut the door really
quick before something falls out!
Used 7 bags and still have
2 large and 1 jumbo left over.
My guess is that there is about
10 or so full sized comforters
and blankets in this closet
with everything else!

BEFORE

AFTER
Ahhh, I can open the closet
door once again without
fear of something falling out.
And I ended up with extra space!!
Woo Hoo!

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

4:50pm

Well time to jump off here
and figure out what to have
for supper.
Also I need to chase a few kids
out of the yard that thought
it would be cool to bring
TWO Pit Bulls over, NOT!!

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

9:30pm

I'm so proud of myself.
I made it 1 mile on the jogger
machine! It said I burned
almost 400 calories in 32 minutes.
Whew, time for a breather,
a little fan, some pop and a
towel for the boob sweat, lol!

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

Full moon tonight.


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