7-18-10

Yesterday while at Henderson Kroger I got
70 sheet 1 subject notebooks for .15 cents each.
I don't know if this is at all Kroger stores
as I did not see it in their ad. It
was not in the clearance section as I
found it in the seasonal isle with
the school supplies.

In today's paper in the USA Weekend section
there is a coupon to get a FREE
12 ounce Smoothie or Frappe.
Jonathan's all excited because he's
been begging me to get one and I wouldn't
because of cost.

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11:20AM

Just got up not long ago. I feel like I have
a hangover and I haven't been drinking!
Race tracks will wear you out! We were at
National Trail Raceway 6-7 hours yesterday.
It was warm out there but at times we'd get
some cloud cover which was nice.
I think the best idea I had for keeping
cool was the spray bottle filled with
water. We used it in the bleachers and while
walking around. I'm gonna add some photos
and videos from last night but I will keep
them at the bottom of the page to not to
interfere with other postings I make today.

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1:00-1:30PM

Sewed up a few more smaller rags for
around the house. I used and old holey
bath towel. I got 7 rags made from it.
Could have been 8 but the last part
was too holey to do anything with.


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Here's an easy recipe to make pickles.
I like recipes with videos.
The recipe is also written below
the video.



Refrigerator Pickles Recipe

8 cups sliced unpeeled cucumbers
2 cups sliced onion (optional)
2 cups cut bell peppers (option - can also add banana peppers)
1 Tablespoon salt
1 and 1/2 cups white vinegar
2 teaspoons celery seed
2 teaspoons mustard seed
2 cups of sugar

In a large Plastic or Glass Bowl (do not use metal bowl) combine cucumbers, onions, and peppers. Sprinkle them with salt and mix them well so that the salt covers as much of them as possible. Cover with towel/paper towel and let stand for 1 hour. After that drain off the juice that forms in the bottom of the bowl.

In another bowl combine your sugar, vinegar, celery seed and mustard seed. Stir that until sugar is completely dissolved.

Place cucumbers in a bowl or large gallon jar and pour vinegar mixture over them. You may want to stir them just a bit. Cover and put in refrigerator for 24 to 48 hours. These should be good for up to six weeks
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So much to do around here and so many
To Do lists to accomplish.

Will start working on fence this week.
Still need to call the "call before you dig"
people to mark the ground.

I still have the basement and pretty much
the rest of the house to clean and weed
out, which is gonna be long and tedious
task.

Then yesterday I twerped up and said
that I would paint my mom shutters like
I have nothing else to do. But I figured
I'd lend a helping hand down there
so they don't have to worry about doing
it or paying someone to do it.

I was asked to help pick out a color
that will go with the house.

Here is an approximate house color.
I call it a medium green.


And here was some suggestions
I had for the color of shutters.

A pale yellow or pale yellow green
since these colors sit next to
one another on a color wheel making
them analogous colors.






Or how about a cedar color to
go with the deck color.
Cedar is a reddish tone
and is a complimentary color
on the color wheel.





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3:30PM

I have decided today to start doing
closets. Starting with Jonathan's room.
I yanked off those sliding doors and they
will go into basement storage!
I've got to get the clothes better
organized around here. The kids each
have large closets in their rooms
while we have a smaller closet.
In our closet I took out the shelf
and now have two hanging bars for
clothes in there.

If you're not handy enough to install
a second bar in your closet they make
bars you can hang from the one already
in there.



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5:30PM

Getting ready to head to Newark.
Going to check out a 1974 Charger.
Tony's been wanting another MOPAR
so bad. I'd be willing to get
rid of 3 cars to replace 2 of them.
(One Dodge muscle car and another Explorer)
Any old Dodge muscle car is VERY hard
to find for cheap. It's almost like
a Cadillac of all muscle cars!
So can't wait to see this one, LOL,
at $1250!! Probably one of those
you want to run from. But ya never
know and it doesn't hurt to check out.
Here is what a 1974 Charger looks like restored.


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8:15PM
Just returned home from Newark
and driving through thunderstorms.

My anniversary gift to hubby. (see pic below)
Told Tony if I could get some money
knocked off the price I'd have the
car towed home. I got $50 knocked
off the price which is better than
nothing and can be applied to the $80
tow bill to tow it from Newark
to Columbus. Even the tow will be discounted
due to Tony knowing someone who has his
own Tow company. Will get it next week
since Tony is on call at work this week
and it would be too difficult with the pager.

To get a Dodge Charger for $1,200
is like finding a needle in a haystack,
especially in the condition like this one!

Tony has always been a Mopar man.
But since me and him have been together
he has only been around Pontiacs thanks
to me. So now I feel he deserves to have
another one to play with after all these
years. He's like a little kid all over
again! Anything to make my honey smile,
just as long as it doesn't cost too much,
LOL!

Will now sell the blue Trans Am for
anyone interested $2,500.
I sold it for that amount once before.
And I know it's worth it after
checking out other Trans Ams for
sale in the same price range that
were pieces of crap!!





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Me watching the second round
of the jet cars. VERY LOUD!


Snakebite, we have this car
as a friend on Myspace.


Both kids got autographed frisbees from
the FasLube driver.




Jet 4 wheeler




Jet Truck



Coolbus was a wheel stander.



Blastro, the world's fastest mini van.


View of the track from bleachers.


This Trans Am is ALWAYS at the track.
I learned about this car 4 years ago
when the people bought some chairs
from us off of one of the Yahoo
groups I belong to.
We are parked in front of them
just past their tents.



This was the jet truck. Check out the
windows of the building shaking from the
pressure of the jet blasts!!


Cool Bus Wheelstander

7-17-10

Anyone for Zucchini, lol??
This big bubba came from a
friend's garden. I wanna
know what she's feeding these things!



8:30-9:00AM

Moving a lil slow this morning til
I can get all the kinks worked out
of my back.

Today we need to stop by Kroger
and get stuff packed up for the
racetrack later on today.

Last night we shopped around
for one of those pop up shade tents
to take to the track.
We had one a couple years ago but
due to down force winds in a storm
in got crushed. Kind of like
when you stomp on a pop can.

It pays to shop around and be able
to save money. We originally got
our one tent from Marcs years ago.
We stopped in there. They wanted
$100. Stopped in Big Lots and their
cheapest was $150. Last stop was
Walmart where we found one for $49.
So we saved $50 to $100.



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9:30AM

So I am sitting here trying to fill out
all this paperwork from the contest.
I probably shouldn't do it this early
as I am screwing up a few areas.
Tony also has to fill out a paper
since he will be traveling with me.
Then I have to find a photo to send
with everything.
One part I don't understand is that
they give you transportation from
the airport to the hotel. Ok then
how to you get from the hotel to
their office building???
We will be responsible for meals
and any baggage costs.
Then I have to figure out how
to have Fed Ex come here and pick
this envelope up to express air mail it.
I have never done
this before so am clueless.
When I did the Betty Crocker contest
all we did was fax everything to them.

I am still sooo nervous about everything.
It's probably a once in a lifetime thing
to do so don't want to back out now.
I have panic and anxiety attacks so
this whole ordeal will be very interesting
if I get through it all.
And that is the main reason I won't
enter the Pillsbury contest as everyone
encourages me to do. I wouldn't be able
to handle the traveling and tv publicity.

It would be soooo nice if they would just
let us drive down to Cincinatti since it's
not too far away! Because the thought
of getting on any airplane makes me sick
to my stomach!! I know it wouldn't
be a very long flight from Columbus
to Cinci

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I know I am a sucker to buy all sorts
of cream soups in a can to keep in the pantry
for all sorts of meals.
These soups can run .50 cents
to over a $1.00 a can depending upon
manufacture. Here is a dry mix that
you can store and keep on your shelf
til needed.

Cream of Whatever Soup Mix

Make this mix up in advance and use in casseroles and other recipes calling for canned cream of whatever soup. This makes the equivalent of 9 cans of soups.

2 cups powdered nonfat milk

3/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup instant chicken bouillon

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. dried thyme leaves

1/8 tsp. sage

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. paprika

Mix all ingredients together well and store in an airtight container.

To use

To make the equivalent of one can of cream of something soup:

Mix 1/3 cup of soup mix with 1 1/4 cups of water. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook for a few minutes until thickened. Watch carefully and stir constantly to prevent sticking.

You can add celery flakes, mushroom pieces, small shredded bits of chicken, for what ever kind of soup you are using. This has no fat like purchased soups. The sodium content is much less than the canned soup also.

This can also be used in casseroles by just mixing the soup and the liquid and not cooking it before hand.

When mushrooms are on sale or marked down get them slice them thin and dry them for use in soups like this.
This is a heart conscious recipe.

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Here is another fabric softener tip of mine.
Instead of buying a bottle of Wrinkle Release,
I put a tablespoon or two of fabric softener
in a small spray bottle filled with water.
I mist it on clothes and gently pull the
fabric. I do this while wearing the clothing.
Then stand in front of a fan for about
30 seconds to dry.

Double duty purpose, I also use this
same bottle to spray in my hair
as a detangler.

It costs about $3.00 for a bottle
of wrinkle release and $3.00
for a bottle of detangler.
Now imagine how many homemade spray
bottles you can make with some of
those cheapie fabric softeners on sale.
Like the Suavitel, Walgreens sometimes
sells for buy 1 get 1 free.
That one bottle would last you for
years to make these 2 things!

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2:30-3:00PM

Just back from Kroger and grabbing a bite
to eat before heading out in a lil bit.
It sure is warming up there!

For those of you who like the Topsy Turvy
planters they are in the clearance section
at Henderson Rd. Kroger.
$2.99 and they have peppers, strawberries
and tomatoes. I didn't get any
as I don't like the upside down method.

I made up 8 ham and cheese tortilla
roll ups to take for our supper
tonight at the race track.
Kids love these things! I usually
put softened cream cheese mixed
with ranch powdered dressing on them.
This time around I used ranch chip
dip to save some time (and money).
Used about half for the roll ups
and the rest can be used for our chips.

Here's another handy tip I do.
When visiting these fast food joints
we usually pick up too many napkins.
Instead of throwing them out I
tuck them in my purse for car rides.
You just never know when kids will
have messy hands, faces,
a runny nose, or in my case recently,
decide to pick a scab off and bleed
everywhere.
Here they are inside a zippered
makeup pouch in my purse.

You can see a bunch of papers below
my pouch. A lady at Kroger was giving
out free Excederine samples, Fiber One
samples and a bunch of coupons, yeah me!



To save even more money when traveling
we also carry a cooler in the truck
full of drinks. Much cheaper than buying
drinks at a gas station or fast food.

We buy Kroger's (store brand) pop in cans
and water to save even
more money. Then get Kroger chips and snacks
so there is no one hungry on the car ride
and no unnecessary stops along the way.

And as for little kids having to go to the
bathroom constantly I carry empty pop bottles
with lids! Of course this may not work for
little girls with different equipment.

So we wouldn't have to buy ear plugs at
the track (because jet cars get extremely
loud) we borrowed some head phones from
Tony's work and from my step dad.
So there's another savings.
In the past we've bought these foam ear
plugs at the track for ridiculous money.

To keep cool we purchased a portable
shade tent with carrying case.
I will take along hand towels to wet
down in the cooler and put around
our necks. I also will be taking along
a milk jug of tap water and a spray bottle
to mist off if need be. So there's more
savings because we won't have to sit
in the truck with the air conditioner on
guzzling gas.

Talking about gas. I've been seeing it
for $2.70 to $2.75 a gallon.
Happened upon a Kroger gas station last
night on Olentangy which still had gas for
$2.44. Used my Kroger card and got
an extra .20 cents of making
it $2.24 a gallon.
So be sure to use to fuel savings
from grocery stores!
I saved .55 cents a gallon by keeping
my eyes out for cheaper gas and using
my Kroger Plus card!

So there you have it, my thrifty
savings for today.

Tomorrow I will have a run down
from all the sales adds I received today.
There seems to be good deals at both
Meijers and Kroger this week!

Well it's 3:30PM so should be getting
things in gear to head out within the
next hour.

7-16-10

WALGREENS Week of July 18th

BACK TO SCHOOL SALES

.09 cents each
wooden 12 inch ruler
2 pocket folder
large highlighter

.29 cents each
1 subject notebook 60-70 sheets
10 pack sheet protectors
2 pack erasers

.49 cents
3 pack jumbo glue sticks
5 pack bic bright liner highlighters
school box

$1.99
400 sheet printer paper
limit 2 w/ Walgreens coupon

.19 cents each
Pilot G2 2 pack pens
after instant coupon in store

.99 cents
Kleenex 78 or 110 pack
limit 6

.99 cents
Dawn 10.3 ounce Dawn dish soap
limit 3 w/ Walgreens coupon

.39 cents
car eraser
5 tab dividers
15 pack cap erasers
3 ring binder

.59 cents
liquid paper (like white out)
clip-on sharpener & eraser
dual pencil sharpener
limit 6 w/ Walgreens coupon

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DRYER SHEET HINTS AND TIPS

-Put one in your pocket to repel mosquitoes

-Put one in car for fresh smell

-rub on clothes to reduce static cling

-use old dryer sheets to dust with

-place a sheet in vent to freshen home
and filter dust from air.

-dissolve soap scum from shower doors
by cleaning with a dryer sheet.

-baked on food? place a sheet in pan,
add water and soak.

-place in bottom of stinky trash can.

-put in stinky shoes.

-clean pet hair from furniture.

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FRUGAL FABRIC SOFTENER RECIPES & TIPS

-Use 1/4 cup vinegar in your laundry’s rinse cycle keeps clothes soft.

-In a pail mix 1 gallon of water and 1 cup concentrated liquid fabric softener. Dip a sponge or washcloth in the liquid, squeeze out excess and toss in the dryer with your laundry. Seal pail when not in use.

-Pour liquid fabric softener and hot water in a spray bottle (50/50 mix) and lightly mist wet laundry before starting the dryer. Two or three good shots should do it. You could also just spritz a clean washcloth and toss that in the dryer.

-Cut dryer sheets in quarters, thirds or halves, use one strip per dryer load.

-Mix equal parts hair conditioner and water and store in spray bottle. Mist a washcloth or sponge and toss in dryer with wet load.

-Use about 1/4 to 1/2 of the liquid fabric softener that they recommend on the bottle.

-Use a Downy ball if you have one–just use vinegar instead.

-Homemade Fabric Softener Recipe

1 part Vinegar
1 part Baking Soda
2 parts Hot Water

* Place a pail large enough to hold double the amount of ingredients in the kitchen sink or bathtub. Mix the baking soda and water in the pail, stir till the powder is dissolved. Then add the vinegar.
* Remember that baking soda and vinegar reacts with fizzing, so use a big pail to account for this. Once it’s stopped fizzing, pour into clean bottles, cap, then use 1/4 cup per rinse cycle.
* Updated Info: The baking soda won’t be completely dissolved, just shake the bottle to mix the batch up before adding to the rinse cycle.

-Reusable Homemade Dryer Sheets

Flannel pieces
4 TBS liquid softener
10 TBS water

* Cut fabric sheets from old flannel pajamas or leftover flannel fabric from sewing and cut into 3″ x 5″ strips (approximately).
* Stack flannel strips in a cleaned margarine tub (large size) or plastic container (cleaned baby wipes container works well too). Mix the liquid softener and water together, then pour evenly over top of stacked flannel strips.
* Seal container and shake well.

You can use several dozen strips with this mixture. Leave sealed for 2 or 3 days, then use one flannel strip per load–squeeze out excess if necessary (it should be just damp). Keep container sealed at all times. Wash strips after use, then use again to make another batch when needed.

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8:30AM

Hi-ho, hi-ho off to yard sales we go!

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12:50PM

Just returned from yard sales.
Boy is it getting humid out there!

So here goes the goodies I found today at sales:

GAMEBOY ADVANCE WITH GAME
lady gave it to me FREE because
she said she didn't know if it worked
or not. I put batteries in it and
IT DOES!! This is great because
the games for this and Nintendo DS
will fit one another, yeah!



NICK NACK SHELF .50 cents



16 SPICE RACK $2.00



MINI SPRING FORM PAN .10 cents



Tint $1.00



LARGE SHELF $1.00
(scooter is for comparison)



SET OF 4 WIRE PANTRY RACKS $3.00



2 DOWN PILLOWS $1.00
I swear I just saw pillows
similar to this on HSN that
were expensive.
HSN Price: $39.95 EACH!
Retail Value: $49.95
Shipping & Handling: $6.21



HOME & GARDEN 4 CD COLLECTION $1.00
-Garden Problem Solver
-Western Garden
-Best Home Plans



2 JEFF GORDON CARS $1.00 each



SCHOOL SUPPLIES & SUNGLASSES .10 cents each
INTRUD ALERT ALARM SYSTEM .25 cents



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2:00-2:45PM

Decided to paint the shelf I bought today.
It had either been primed or painted to
look like a white wash. I painted a couple
coats of a bisque color on it to match
the cupboards and trim in the house.





Also put my spice rack on the back
of the stove. I needed more room
for spices and this double decker
spice rack did the trick in the
little space I had.
Ever price the cost of spices?
They can be expensive! I needed
mustard and celery seed for canning
and other things and that was on this
spice rack. Those would probably run
at least $3 each at the store!

This should dry in no time.
Now time to take down my ugly
shelf with pegs in the hallway
and put this one up.
Since this new shelf had big
gaps between the pegs I
took the hooks off the old
shelf and put them on the new one.
Now we will have a place to hang
bookbags along with jackets and
a place to store umbrellas, hats
and gloves.

I know I have a coat closet, but
it is used as a storage closet.
Plus it is much easier to get
the kids to hang coats on
pegs than on hangers.

Remember I only have about 930 sq. feet
in this house so I look to every
nook and cranny for storage!



BEFORE



AFTER




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BIRTHDAY PARTY TIP FOR YOUNGSTERS

For a kids birthday party make cupcakes.

Then make up a table with all the fixins
from frosting to all kinds of toppings.
Allow the kids to frost and decorate their own
cupcakes.

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PIZZA DOUGH DOUGHNUTS

I can mix pizza dough in a bread machine.
Or you could also buy the mix or premade
pizza dough to make these even quicker.

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4:35PM

Been brainstorming again. I've told ya I haven't
had much luck with finding shelves
or a cabinet for the kitchen wall because
everything is too deep for the space I need it in.
So I got to thinking about all these wire racks
I got today and where I was gonna put them.
They are the perfect depth I have been looking
for to hang on the wall where I wanted
to hang shelves or a cabinet.
They are large enough to hold 2 liter bottles
of pop.

Wonder if we could take some scrap
wood and put a frame around the
shelves and add doors to the front?
Could find some wood, hinges and
knobs at Habitat for cheap.
Just a thought.

Plus I found another wire shelf in the basement
that would fit perfectly beside the fridge
in that little nook.

These wire shelves run about $20 new but
I have been liking the .75 to .90 cents
price of finding them in the thrift stores
and at yard sales!

Just showing you it would fit between fridge
and wall. Would mount further in.


My idea with building a frame
around the wire shelves.
There would be solid wood
door fronts but I made it
clear to show how it would
look inside. About like a
medicine cabinet but a bit larger
but for food storage.




In all reality if I had time, money and
lots of patience this is what I would love
to do to my kitchen...
Knock out the upper corner wall
to make a more open floor plan.
Add an angled counter like this instead

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Just for the heck of it I decided to
look up Proctor and Gamble headquarters.
It's HUGE!! Kinda scary looking for little
ole me & Tony that has to visit this place!
Check it out below!
Or take a small
P&G Headquarters Tour.




If I could have chosen a career I would have
chosen advertising. Tony says it's never too
late to go back to school and he would be all for
it. I don't know. I just can't see that happening.
Some people accidentally happen into situations
that get them started. If it was meant to be
then this would happen to me is how I see it.
Guess I'll just keep entering contests when I can.