12-22-09

MEIJER

Mom just called to say she found 10# bags of potatoes for $1.19 at Meijers.
That's a great price so you better stock up!!

I already boiled up the last of my potatoes I had and plan to make potato
soup today. I wanted to put some maple sausage in my soup.
I found a 1 pound roll for $4.00, OUCH! I didn't want to pay that price so looked around. I ended up buying
2 packages of maple sausage patties just short of a pound each. They were $4.00 BUT buy one get one free! So it was like I doubled the amount of sausage I got for the same amount as a 1 pound roll. I'll crumble up and cook the patties like regular ground sausage.

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Only had 2 more gifts to get! Woo Hoo!
Got one today and still need to get a McDonalds gift card for the in-laws.

The kids wanted a game system for Christmas and I'm not about ready
to fork over $200 to $300 for one when they have a few game systems with
a ton of games.

We did get them a cheap system though so they feel like they got one.
I had been back and forth between Walgreens and CVS looking at Wireless
Zone 40 (CVS) and Wireless Sports (Walgreens). They both were $30.
The zone 40 only has 11 games that can be used like Wii. The rest of the games
looked stupid and are played like a regular game.
The Wireless Sports has about 21 games that all play like a Wii and looked more fun.

So I decided to get the Wireless Sports Plus from Walgreens.
It was regular $50 then marked down to $38 then to $29.99.
But when I got the register it rang up as $25.
Hey I'll take it, an extra $5 off!!
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I'm done spending money! Now it's time to start wrapping everything! AHHHH!
Nothing is wrapped yet. Hey this is early for us. We're usually wrapping everything
Christmas Eve staying up half the night.

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Had to go to Kroger to drop off Tony's prescriptions.
While there I checked their mark down bin. Love the Kroger on Henderson Rd!! I think they have the best manager specials out of all the Kroger stores I've been to (and I have been to many!!). The one on Olentangy ranks second. My hint to shop for manager specials is to shop the perimeter of the store. That's where most can be found.

Anyways I found 3 twelve packs of Kroger Big K pop marked down to .99 cents each just
because the boxes were ripped. Each kid will get one of those for Christmas.
That's pretty cheap for their pop! Most of the time if a box breaks open they sell the individual cans for .15 cents each. These 12 packs were cheaper than buying those which would have cost $1.80. Not much cheaper than a 12 pack that costs $1.99 at regular price right now.

Then I picked up a teriyaki marinade, no a mark down but something I wanted for tomorrow's supper.
I'm going to marinade some chicken leg quarters today and tonight in the fridge.
Then tomorrow will skew them up inside the rotisserie. Yummy! At least it sounds good anyway. I'm trying to use my $2.00 rotisserie when I can. I even have a basket that I can put fish or pork chops in to bake. That will be another day though.

I dug around in the freezer and found some chicken breasts. I opened up each freezer bag and poured in some teriyaki marinade with pineapple juice then zipped them back up.
They will go into the fridge til tomorrow afternoon.



Oh my goodness I just thought of something else I could make in the rotisserie.
How about kebobs? Ohhh that's sound yummy and I can't wait to try them.
I found this video that looks simple enough to do. Instead of using skewers
I can put them on the forks of the rotisserie. Here is the video link: http://www.vitalrecipe.com/view/vh1d0r0w1/betty-s-brown-sugar-soy-sauce-marinated-chicken-kebabs-recipe/
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It's now 8:08pm and I just completed the second robe. This one I made a little different. You pull it over your head. It has no sides and is open for the arms.



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This next photo was from yesterday early morning. I had just gotten out of bed and came in the dining room to pull up the blind. I see a cop car sitting at the end of our driveway and the cop was just getting out of the car and glanced at me. Scared the crap outta me! I thought what the heck is going on! Come to find out he had a car pulled over along side our house, WHEW! He put the lady in the back seat of his cruiser which couldn't have been good. Then a flat bed came and hauled her vehicle away. The kids said they saw the police man let her go and made her walk to wherever she was going.



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2010 Census, Time to Get Counted


The 2010 U.S. Census has begun,
and identity thieves are already impersonating Census Bureau workers.

The 2010 Census is creating an opportunity for thieves to use a legit reason to attempt to gather your personal information. The big question is - how do you tell the difference between a U.S. Census worker and a con artist? The Better Business Bureau offers the following advice:

1. If a U.S. Census worker knocks on your door, he or she will have a badge, a handheld device, a Census Bureau canvas bag and a confidentiality notice. Ask to see the worker’s identification and badge before answering any questions. Additionally, you should never invite anyone you don’t know into your home.

2. Census workers are currently only knocking on doors to verify address information. Do not give your Social Security number, credit card or banking information to anyone, even if they claim they need it for the U.S. Census. While the Census Bureau might ask for basic financial information, such as a salary range, it will not ask for Social Security, bank account or credit card numbers. Census workers will never solicit donations.

3. Eventually, Census workers may contact you by telephone, mail or in person at home. However, they will not contact you by e-mail. If you receive an email from the U.S. Census Bureau, it is most likely a scam. Never click on a link or open any attachments in an e-mail that is supposedly from the U.S. Census Bureau.

12-21-09

Me and Tony did some shopping today and visited Santa. You know what really gets under my skin is just yesterday the sales ad came out. You drive all over town, have a shopping list and when you get to the store they tell you they are out of the things you want. Bull crap! I was upset! The store salesman told me they had a limited stock. The sales ad didn't mention anything about a certain amount per store! I asked if they had something compatible that they could sell me for the same price. Of course they didn't. What happened to stores doing this? If they were out of something they would use something else at the same price. Then the salesman tries to sell me something similar but was DOUBLE the cost! I told him I drove a ways to get to this store and wasn't happy to be told this. Then he says well you can try our Sawmill store. HELLO that's clear across town!!! Why? to be told the same thing wasting my gas and time!! Do you see a scam here or what!!!
They lure you into the store then try to sell you other things!! Ok I have now agreed to not go back to HH Gregg again!!

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We did notice that with 3 days before Christmas stores were starting to mark down things.

Khols had a lot of items marked down 50-60% off.
A non electric charger that winds up to charge cell phones and any portable USB
device such as MP3 players was originally $30 marked down to $15!!

Big Lots MP3 Players originally $30 rang up at $20!

Guitar Hero is everywhere on sale for $50 with a guitar and disc.
We found them at Big Lots for $15. A savings of $35!
Not all Big Lots has them.
Morse Rd. doesn't but Olentangy does.

Kmart has a calendar out. On the calendar is coupons. We used one
for $5 off $50.

I see all these board games on sale from $8 up to around $15.
Do you know you can find these games at the thrift stores for a fraction of that!
I got Junk Yard Jalopy, Trouble, Operation Shrek and a few other for only...
.60 cents each!!!

I can't wait til after Christmas sales start.
Christopher's birthday is the first week of January.
While we buy some presents for him we usually give him $20 to $25
and take him to the store to pick out a gift.
We have found toys marked down 50% to 75% off.
So if there was a Christmas gift he had wanted that he didn't get
now is his chance to possibly find it marked down.
One year he did this. He kept seeing this tv commercial for a toy
he wanted so bad. We couldn't afford it as it cost $50!
A week after Christmas it was marked down to about $20 to $25!

Good things come to those who wait!!

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Anyways onto better things. We got another whole ham at Kroger for .77 cents a pound yesterday. Tony had a great idea of putting it on the rotisserie. That sounds so yummy. So here is a recipe if you have a rotisserie...

Ingredients
-10 pounds ham of choice, bone-in, fully cooked
-1 1/2 cups orange marmalade
-1/2 cup brown sugar
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours

or around 13 minutes per pound if you have a smaller ham.

During the last 30 minutes start to brush ham with orange marmalade and brown sugar mixture every 10 minutes.
Remove and allow to rest before cutting and serving.

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Here is another one I saw on Food TV's Barefoot Contessa's show that looked so good!

1 (14- to 16-pound) fully cooked ham, spiral cut or whole, unsliced
6 garlic cloves
8 1/2-ounce jar mango chutney
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
Zest of 1 orange
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the ham in a heavy roasting pan.

Mince the garlic in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the chutney, mustard, brown sugar, orange zest and orange juice and process until smooth. Pour the glaze over the ham and bake for 1 hour, until the ham is fully heated and the glaze is well browned. Slice, if necessary. Serve hot or at room temperature. Serves 35 for dinner, 50 for cocktails.

"The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook"

12-20-09 VISIT TO SEE SANTA

Today we took the kids to see Santa. Oakland nursery had Santa's house decorated in a Sesame Street theme which was very cute. They even had a kettle of chili brewing over a fire for all to eat free while waiting. Photos were free if you brought your own camera. If not they were $5 each.
Afterwards we went to Kroger. It was like we all had a free lunch today. First the bowls of chili which they would let you go back and get more. Then Kroger had samples of crackers & dip, cheese cubes, cheese ball and crackers, sausages, raisin & chocolate chip cookies and lastly ham.

12-20-09 SUNDAY

I'm up late. It's 12:39am in the morning. I have 5 days before Christmas to do things. I did sleep in a little late yesterday morning and took a nap, something I haven't done in awhile. So it explains the reason for not being as tired as I should.

I have been working on making a Snuggie. Well I did make one from the directions online but found I did not like it and the way the back bunched up and was open. Plus Snuggies don't stay on you too well.
So for about the past week I have been trying to come up with ideas to make my own. Tonight I sat down and drew up some patterns. I used taped together newspaper and cardboard boxes from pop. I don't have money to waste on patterns from the store as they cost too much. I got the fabric cut out and sewn together. The fabric was a large flannel sheet I purchased at the thrift store for $2.99. I am hoping to get two of my "Snuggies" made from it. I was so amazed at myself that it came together with no problems! I have tried to make clothes before without much luck and that was with a pattern off Ebay. So something is working in my favor and I can't believe it! So here is my idea. I haven't a name for it yet but am trying to think of one. It's part Snuggie, meaning it has room unlike a typical robe, where you are able to lounge around without being bound up. It's part poncho that has a rounded bottom. And I want to incorporate some sleeves into it. I haven't got that part done as kids are in bed and I can't measure the length of the arms for it til later on.
Well I am off to bed. Will get pictures posted when it's all done.

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It's now 8pm Sunday evening. Been busy most of the day. I didn't get back to making my robe til this evening. I didn't want it to look too girlie so I added more fabric (light blue and white stripes) to the bottom then added a binding down the front and hood of the same fabric. I made the sleeves but am working on getting them attached. Those also have the same striped fabric around the cuffs.
The blue and white fabric was about .99 cents and I only used half of it so total cost of that fabric in this project would be .50 cents. This fabric was a bed dust ruffle I had in my fabric stash.

TOTAL COST FOR THIS ROBE:
1/2 flat flannel sheet $1.50
1/2 a dust ruffle .50 cents
so my homemade snuggie robe cost me $2.00 to make!!

12-19-09 SANTA CLAUS COMING DOWN OUR STREET

It's 10am and Clinton Township just rolled down the street with Santa Claus passing out candy boxes. This is a yearly tradition. Last year we forgot when he was coming. We were asleep in bed and the sounds of firetrucks were blaring so loud. It was a heck of a wake up call when you don't expect it.

So here is the video of our own mini Santa Claus parade. It was cold so the camera was shaky. At one point the camera looks at the ground. I didn't expect them to throw me a box of candy which landed in the snow beside me. Look at the newly fallen snow that started last night. We are supposed to get 1-2 inches this weekend.



Got a pot roast in the crock pot. Put in a chopped small onion, a package of dry beef onion soup mix about 2 cups of water. Then I had a half pound of bacon left over from making the bacon wrapped smokies. I chopped the bacon up and threw it in there also just to use up leftovers.

For lunch we are having an extra package of smoked weenies I had. I take a regular can of biscuits and cut each biscuits into quarters. Take each quarter biscuit and wrap around smoked sausages. Place on baking sheet and bake until golden brown.
Serve with ketchup, mustard or ranch dressing.



Before going grocery shopping make sure your stomach is full or not hungry. We are eating lunch now then heading over to the store. The reason being is because people tend to buy more things on a hungry stomach. You need to be able to stick to your grocery lists to save money. And when you are hungry anything and everything looks good!

HINTS AND TIPS

I always save bread twisty ties or those plastic clips. Here is an example of reusing the plastic clippes on on other plastic bags. This is my bag of opened marshmallows. You could also use wooden spring clothes pins to keep bags of chips and other things closed.

If you are worried about marshmallows going bad put them in your freezer. This
will keep them fresh!



The kids just came in from playing in the snow. Of course coats, clothes and boots were wet. I hang the coats on a chair over the vent to dry. Or if I happen to be baking I would hang the coat on a hanger on the oven door handle.
Sometimes on a very cold day I'll throw the coats, hats and gloves in the dryer for a few minutes. There's nothing like that toasty warm feeling when heading out in the cold.
When you have wet shoes, boots, hats or gloves that need to dry, try putting them on a register and use the warm air from the vent to dry them.

If you have to be outside for a long period of time like at a bus stop, reusable, microwavable hand warmers come in handy. I made these last year for all the maintenance men at Tony's work. Directions found here:
http://craftsanity.com/?p=1551

How can you tell if your attic is well insulated? Take a look at this picture
below and tell me if you can see anything wrong with one house.

Did you find the problem?
If your attic is not well insulated, warm air will escape through the attic and roof.
So the next time it snows check your roof. Snow on top is good. No snow means your warm air is escaping, bad.


Today I got a freebie in the mail. It was a fabric Red Gold Tomato reusable shopping bag. Really nice. This is where I got it from but the contest has already ended. http://www.redgold.com/redgold/contest-details.aspx?contest_id=16
This just goes to show that you really can get freebies. Just be careful what web sites you try and get them from. My tip to you is to make sure the name of the product is in the url. For example redgold.com.

12-18-09 SEWING

The only sewing experience I have was from home economics in high school. I have taught myself how to sew. I am no expert but get by with what I am able to do by doing simple things and reading directions carefully. Sometimes I'll go out on a whim and create things myself. I don't go out and buy fabrics off the bolts. Instead I usually go thrift store shopping for my fabrics. Sometimes you can find leftover fabric from someone elses project. But my favorite reusable fabrics to use are:
-pillow cases
-table cloths
-sheets
-curtains
-blankets

Here I wanted to share some easy sewing patterns.

I'll add to this list as I find more.

Slippers made from a blanket
http://www.nativeaccess.com/ancestral/seal-adv.html

Slippers
http://primprettys.blogspot.com/2009/04/tutorial-make-your-own-ballet-slippers.html

Hooded Scarf
http://www.instructables.com/id/SB7FVZJFQWVUQNG/

Sweatshirt Jacket
http://www.allcrafts.net/f.php?url=www.sewabration.com/htm/article.ns.html

Reversible sweatshirt jacket
http://www.allcrafts.net/f.php?url=www.whitesewing.com/PDFs/jan05ReversibleJacket.pdf

Mittens from sweaters
http://www.earthheartdesigns.com/Pages/Patterns/All%20Patterns/sewn_mittens.htm

Fingerless gloves from sweater
http://www.savvyhousekeeping.com/?p=159

Fingerless gloves from socks
http://www.rufflesandstuff.com/2009/10/tutorial-fingerless-glovesfrom-socks.html

Sweater leg warmers
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Leg-Warmers-from-Old-Sweaters

T-Shirt dress
http://www.allcrafts.net/f.php?url=buy-tees.net/2008/05/how-to-make-a-t-shirt-dress/

Tiered t-shirt dress
http://www.allcrafts.net/f.php?url=www.craftstylish.com/item/13039/how-to-restyle-a-t-shirt-into-a-tiered-tea-dress

10 minute one piece fleece hat
http://i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto/Articles/5307948/myfleecehat-main_Full.jpg

12-18-09

Was way busy with baking yesterday to post anything. I thought I was going to spend
my morning and evening baking but it didn't turn out as planned. Took the kids to school then came home and finished a batch of cookies and started wrapping some of them up. Mom called up and wanted me to go with her to the South end of Columbus to her friends to drop off cookies and gifts. Ahhh already pressed for time! Then we went out to eat at Frisch's. Then Tony calls and wants me to pick up a gift for his bosses little girl. He needed that for Friday. Another ahhh moment. Went to Walmart and Big Lots. By the time I got home it was time to go pick kids up from school. Got them picked up, started supper, made some fudge and 2 batches of cookies by the time Tony got home. We ate then had to go to a musical the kids had from school. That was about an hour to an hour and a half. It's around 8pm by the time we get home and settle down and get kids ready for bed. Then it was rush hour for me to get another 2 batches of cookies done, fudge cut up, cookies wrapped, 2 baskets made, Christmas cards written, Tony's bowl of cookies done for work and his bosses Christmas gift wrapped. I'm whipped!



Today I took the kids to school, stopped by the bank, took mom out to Tee Jays. Then we went to 2 thrift stores. I made it home by noon. Thank goodness I don't have any more cookie baking to do!

Today I found these gifts for the boys:

Box of trains for Christopher

Baseball picture, stuffed doll and a bunch of plastic ball caps for Jonathan.

Then for Damien I got 4 pairs of boxers, a pair of slippers and a fleece jacket.

I am making Damien a food box, a toiletry box and a box of clothes that he can keep here. I still need to buy him some new socks to go in that box.

At the thrift store I found a huge snowman flannel flat sheet. I am hoping to get 2 child size snuggies made out of them. I'm going to try and start them this weekend providing everything goes well.

I've gotten excellent feedback with my cookies. So far brownies covered with fudge at Tony's work ranked #1 and from the school the Caramel Coconut Bars #1. Cool because those bars are the ones I want to enter in the cookie contest.