4-7-10

For anyone interested in giving square foot
gardening a try I saw that Lowes
sells raised garden beds.

They come in
4'L x 4'W x 9"H $69.00
AND
4'L x 6'W x 9"H $79.00

Made of rot resistant cedar.
Slide and lock brackets make assembly
quick and easy.

Square foot gardening is being able to plant
many things in a small space.

So let's look at the dimensions above.
for a 4 x 4 bed you get 16 squares of planting
and a 4 x 6 bed you get 24 squares of planting.

Depending on the mature size of the plant
you can plant anywhere from 1, 4, 9 or 16
seeds per square foot!

I'm sure you could make your own square
foot garden cheaper without buying a kit.
Be sure to buy untreated boards though.

Here's a pretty simple guide of how
to build your own from Frugal Dad.

I'm getting excited with garden season
coming up as if you couldn't tell, lol.

I've always wanted to try the square foot gardening
technique. Last year I went with a hanging
garden and while it did produce fruits
and vegetables it was too hard to keep
watered constantly.

__________________________________________________

My money saving tip for today...

My mom came for a visit today and told me
they were getting Direct TV. My jaw about hit the
floor! She said it was so they could cut back
and save money. My first reaction was ohhhh
you aren't gonna like it and it won't be saving
you money at all. Actually you could be paying
more!! She originally had Wow advanced phone
and basic cable.

Direct TV also wants a 2 year
contract so they can suck you in at an excellent
price for the first year then double it the next!!

So for 2 years contract would cost
$34 a month for first year
then $68 a month for second year.
They you would have to add an unlimited
long distance phone plan by another
company that costs $55.
So now we're looking at
$89 a month for direct tv and a phone
for first year
$123 a month for second year


They currently pay $92 a month
for advance phone and basic cable bundle.
There is no savings by switching
to Direct TV and I am soooo
glad they were able to get out of
ordering it!!!


With a wow bundle you get unlimited long distance,
with an independant phone service it could
cost you upwards of $55 for a plan with
unlimited long distance.
Luckily for my parents they were able to
call and cancel their order for Direct TV.

My advice to help them try to cut back with
their cable and phone was this...

1. Call your cable company and tell them
you are unhappy with their prices for basic
cable and phone. Tell them you are considering
switching providers and see what they say.
Sometimes they will lower your bill to keep
you as a customer!!

Heck I pay $30 more on my cable bill
and receive digital cable, advance phone,
internet and dvr. I would think
they could give them a cheaper rate
for some basic things and for being
an excellent customer with no
late payments!!

2. If you haven't been with another cable
company for awhile give them a call.
You would be considered a new customer
and get new customer rates!!

__________________________________________________




Got the Suburban Newspaper today and am
looking forward to the first yard sales of the year!!
Wooo Hooo. I love church sales the most
and see one going on this weekend.

I think I will add a garage sale section on
my blog for my friends in Columbus
that might be looking for some good deals.
I'll post what sales I am able to find.
Most will be from North, Northwest and
Northeast Columbus area only though,
maybe add in some Gahanna and Westerville
from time to time.

CHURCH SALE

Friday April 9th 9-5
Saturday April 10th 9-12am $2.00 a brown bag Sat. only

Maize Manor United Methodist Church
3901 Maize Rd.

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

Tree Of Life Christian Schools
Community Garage Sale
Sat. April 10th 8-3
935 Northridge Road
Cols,Oh 43224

These sales are just down
the road from the church sale above.

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

Huge Multi Family Garage Sale
Sat. April 10th 9-2
67 East Pacemont
Clintonville 43202
4 blocks south of EN Broadway
East of High St.

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

Saturday April 19
9am - 4pm
5967 DARBY LANE COLUMBUS, OHIO 43229
(161 & Karl Road)

_________________________________________________

I am still working on my Spring cleaning.

I find that these little tips helps get
me through it...

1. Take small breaks.

2. It's easier to throw out or donate
things rather than finding a place to store
them.

3. I find it easier to get rid of things
knowing I am donating those items rather
than letting them go to waste by throwing
them out.

4. Less things in your home means less
clean up!

5. A less cluttered home is less stressful
and more relaxing!

__________________________________________________

I have a question. Please help me figure this out.

If you purchase a sofa and get the warranty
and have it treated, how do you know if they
actually treated the couch with Scotchguard
or whatever it is they use???

Value City screwed me around with the purchase
of my sofa and now I want to know if it
actually got the treatment on it.
I don't know how to tell or what to look
for. So how does one know if they've been
screwed out of money or not.

How do I know they just didn't pull the couch
out of the showroom and put on a truck
and bring to my house????

Christopher slopped a little juice on a cushion
and before I could get a rag it soaked up
into the couch. Shouldn't scotch guard
make the liquid sit on top of the fabric
long enough to grab a rag.

I did do a test spot with drops of water and
it seemed to sit on top for a few seconds.
But when Christopher spilled his juice it
sure didn't give me enough time to grab
a rag before soaking in.

Oh well with microfiber it seems to clean up
well once dried so maybe I shouldn't worry too
much.

__________________________________________________




Still car shopping. Don't rush it that's for
sure or you'll be unhappy.
I recommend you research any and all cars
you are interested in. It has helped me
tremendously when looking at cars and making
decisions. If I like a car I will go home
and think it over. I won't make a decision
on the spot! Car salesmen don't like it
but who gives a hoot! If I go back to purchase
something and it was sold, oh well, it wasn't
meant to be. There are millions of cars
in this world.

I recommend this site when researching cars
as it gives reviews from everyday people
like me and you.

CAR SURVEY

So far Toyotas and Hondas seem to be the best.
Ok that doesn't include the ones they recalled
with a sticky gas pedal.

Here are some cars I have researched.
I will add to the list as I research
certain cars. That way I along with
others can always use this list in the future.
Maybe some years are better than others
I don't have time to research all years.
I don't recommend buying a car the first
year it came out on the market. It will
be known for all kinds of bugs the
manufacture hasn't been able to work out yet.



NOT Good...

Chevy Malibu
Geo
Kia- many have replaced it's engines!
Dodge Caravan- transmissions & misc.
Ford Escort
Ford Taurus
Volkswagon Jetta
Pontiac Grand Am
Hyundai

Ford Expedition- electric problems, can't work on
yourself, costly repairs, fuse and GM box goes bad.

2000 Pontiac Montanna- manifold gaskets, electrical problems

So So cars...

Neon
Stratus
Volvo
Explorer- I love mine, but there seems to
be lots out there with transmission problems.
Choose wisely.

Good...


BMW
Toyota
Honda
Mitsubishi
Nissan
Chevy Corsica
Chevy Suburban

4-6-10

We spent some of yesterday car shopping. Didn't find anything.

I can't stand car salesmen!! If I know we're going
to a car lot I put up my armored shield. They will
say anything and everything to try and make a sale.
I know how they work, the sly lil devils.
Pushy car salesmen are the worst and are so annoying!
Stay away from Airport Car Sales! That guy drove
us nuts! He had nothing but junk. Cars falling
apart with bald tires. If you are gonna sell
cars don't leave jumper cables or car parts
on the seats! Big turn off. Hell he was ready
to sell us a 98 Jaguar! What part of good
on gas did he not understand? That was a sport's
car. I'd hate to see how much parts were for it.
See that's another thing I consider when purchasing
a vehicle, what do the parts cost and how much
it will cost to maintain it.
We'd point out major flaws on cars at this lot
that scared us on almost all his cars.
Oh but he said he would fix those problems
in order to sell it to us. I don't believe him
for a minute! Why weren't these things done
before putting them on the lot to sell?
He started telling me what some cars needed like
I didn't know what they were, like it was a simple
fix. He shows me a car saying it only
needed an idler sensor. I say hmmm doesn't sound
like something I want. The idler sensor controls
your idle and when it goes bad your engine
will race up and down and not at a steady
idle. Well let's just say he was shocked that
I knew what he was talking about and knew
what these parts were that needed replacing did.
I said I am not your average woman your going
to screw and tell them anything to make a sale.
I know about cars!

I think Tony is at the point that he lets
me deal with car salesmen. I get soo good
with treating them the same way they treat me.
You ain't pullin no wool over my eyes!
The older I get the more pissed off I get
with sales people of any kind. I'm sick of their
lines that I start feeding the same crap right
back at them! I can make up stories too just like
they do. I have gotten so good at it that Tony
has believed what I was telling the salesman at times,
LMAO!! I'd have to pull him aside and tell him
just play along.

I realize these sales people have a job to do
to make money. This is our hard earned money
their messing with! It doesn't grow on trees
like it does for some of these yuppier people.
I don't have money to blow on just anything!

Next stop Auto Direct on 161. A more
fancier dealership with a fountain
and a partial moat around the place.
They had cars on Craigslist
but no price! So we went to ask about a few.
More like the ones in the back row as those
are usually the cheapest. The first one
was a Suzuki Sidekick. Rust bucket
and it looked whipped. Door handles
missing, couldn't open door from inside.
Let's just say this Sidekick should have been
kicked to the curb and put out of it's misery!
Oh but he wanted about $1600 for it. I flat
out told him it was priced too high and I wasn't
interested in it. Oh but his comeback was he
could get that much out of it at auction.
Well go for it and good luck with that I said.
Then he shows us a Dodge Avenger. It ran pretty
good. We were almost sold on this one. But ya
know a car salesman and his attitude could blow
the deal for me. He started telling me I couldn't
find a better deal on a good running car at
another car lot. I said well I don't want to
make an instant decision right now and will go home
and see what the reviews have to say about this car.
He says with the money you're looking to spend
this is as good as it gets. I said I realize
with what little money I had to spend I didn't
expect a miracle car. I just wanted to know
what kind of repairs to expect on this vehicle
while owning it. You know those things that
could go wrong with certain vehicles, some
end up with known transmission problems
or even engine lock ups. He was getting more
irritated with me. I said I also have a Corsica
to look at the next day. Oh he says, "that's an
old car!" Oh really I say, it only has 69,000
miles on it and to me that's a pretty new motor
in it if you ask me. It probably would be more
dependable than this one I was looking at.
I did reviews on the Corsica and they came
out really good. I should have told him if
he thought the Corsica was old he should see
the 1981 car I had at home! Sometimes I feel
like the older cars are built better than
the newer ones. No computers, no fancy
gizmos and electronics to go wrong. No plastic
and styrofoam body parts and real metal bumpers.
Think about it. We got rid of a fancy Expedition
for a Suburban! I'd trust a 350 motor over
the Triton motor any day!
But anyway I don't think any car salesman
should judge what cars I look at!! Compared
to the Sidekick he showed me that was a piece
of crap he should of just shut his trap.

Last stop was a private owner off Craigslist.
This was a road trip for us considering it
was in Marion. It was a minivan that this guy
was selling for a friend. He claimed it was
really nice inside and out and it ran so good.
It needed nothing he says.
Let me just say this. One persons version
of very nice and the next persons version
are 2 different things! While the van did
look nice inside and out I found many problems
I was not happy with, ones he failed to mention
on the phone before making this long drive.
The hatch wasn't able to be opened as the lock
look like it was mangled. Next we smelled exhaust
fumes so crawled underneath the van to investigate.
Someone had removed the catalytic converter and
attached another pipe in it's place. So it
ran kind of loud. We took it for a test drive.
The thing had a shake and almost died on us
as the rpms dropped really low when coming
to a stop. And lastly the front end creaked
and popped. We left and didn't look back.

So that's how yesterday went. I was so wore
out from being on the defensive with car shopping.

___________________________________________________

Our sofa is supposed to come sometime this morning.
Getting out my magnifying glass to give it
a thorough inspection after all the crap
they put me through.

Oh did you hear that they finally banned
texting while driving in Columbus. They really needed
that. Not that it will stop people from
doing it but it's a start if they start cracking
down on it. I think the more you get
caught doing it the fine or punishment should
be more severe. Confiscate their phones,
and ban them from their phone services.
But that won't stop them if they use someone
elses phones or services. If there is a
will their is a way.
I myself can't punch in
seven digits to dial a phone while driving
so you tell me how people are typing out
messages??? It annoys me. I see people driving so
slow and under speed limits tying up traffic,
they go left of center, sit at a green light
and so on.

Well I am off here to give one of the bedrooms
a Spring cleaning. I don't look forward to this
at all.

Why is it I have a hard time getting kids
motivated and up during a school day at 7:30am
but during vacation they are up and adam
at 7:30am on their own and raring to start
playing and carrying on. Any other day
it's like they have broken legs and can't
crawl out of bed and walk.

__________________________________________________

My first ever new sofa!





___________________________________________________

Called the vet today. Had some concern that this
dog is still drinking lots and lots of water!
She had this symptom when we took her in.
Obviously they didn't resolve this problem
and now wants us to bring her back in for
more blood work and MORE FREAKING MONEY!
I THINK NOT!!!
They did blood work and xrays already!!
I think at $1700.00 that she should be
good to go. I am sooo tired of this damn
vet and I've only been there once!
Never go to Anhurst Vetrinary Hospital
in Westerville!!! They'll try to suck
any and all money out of you. They did
not figure out why this dog drinks
bowl after bowl of water the first time
around. They gave me the excuse she was dehydrated
from surgery. She had this before we took her
in AND after. It's over a week later!!
I can no longer let this dog roam my house
because of drinking so much and using my
carpet as a bathroom. As soon as I fill her
water bowl she will drink the entire thing
and lay on the floor staring at the bowl
wanting more!! She will get to the point
of puking water! I have to cut her water off
for a couple of hours or I'd be letting her
outside every 15 minutes or cleaning up puke.
Before going to bed at night I let her out to
pee. Then I can't give her water over night
or she'll drink the whole thing and pee everywhere.
I then give her a bowl when I get up and about
every two hours there after. This morning
she went outside to pee and then I caught
her drinking from mud puddles, something
she does not normally do. I think we are to the
point that the dog is eventually going to need
a new home as we can't keep up and give her
the constant attention she needs. Plus
my allergies have kicked in pretty good
and with dog hair, dander and what not
I have felt like crap since getting her.
I think without animals in the home
would help tremendously.

4-3-10

Busy day today.

We have an Easter Egg Hunt to go to
at 11am. Taking the neighbor with us.
Taking along the camera so will be sure
to post some pics later on.
Then have to borrow mom's truck to go
pick up our sofa then head over to Marc's
afterwards with the truck to pick up some mulch.

On average mulch costs around $3.33 for
a 2 cubic foot bag. We found it for
$2.50 at Marc's but they only have
black and the light blonde color mulch.
Fine by me as this yard has needed mulch
for the last 2 years and we've kept putting
it off.

Then we have a couple cars to go look at.
Well one is a car (Volvo) and one is a
mini van (Toyota). Not much of a foreign car
person but at the rate gas prices are going
I really don't care as I need something
with much better gas mileage.

___________________________________________________

Ok I am tired. It seems only half the day
went as planned and well the other half
let's just say didn't go as well.

The kids had fun at the Easter egg hunt!








Then we went to Kroger afterwards to pick up
a few things like pop and milk. Then I decided
a couple pans of lasagna sounded good in the near
future and picked up a few of those ingredients
while they were on sale.

Next stop to look at the Volvo and Toyota Previa.
Didn't like them but do have this to say.
The Previa is the most weirdest looking van
on the inside I have ever seen!! I heard people
call them spaceships but thought they were
talking about the outside appearance.
It's the inside's dash shape. I wouldn't
know if it would be considered cool or
weird looking to drive one of those!

When we asked the guy to pop the hood so we
could see the motor and instead he reached
in and reared the driver's seat back to expose
the motor under the seat, I thought run Forrest run!
That does not look like something any backyard
mechanic could work on.

__________________________________________________



We returned home to grab a bite then went down
to borrow mom's truck to go pick up our couch.
This is where my afternoon did a complete turn
around and put me in a pissed off mood!
And when I am pissed off I let people know!
I'm tired of getting screwed and getting
no enjoyment out of it!

We get over to Value City to pay off our couch
and to bring it home. We put it in layaway
about 3 weeks ago so we could get our
living room painted then bring it home
once we got done.
Get to the counter
and the guy does some tapping on the computer
and tells us THERE AREN'T ANYMORE COUCHES!!!
You could have probably heard me across the store
yell , "WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE AREN'T ANY MORE!!!"

He says they sold out of them and they no longer
carry it anymore.
I put this damn thing in layaway and already
put money on it I told him.
We don't have a layaway he says, we have
what's called a price freeze. You are guaranteed
to get the couch at the price it was on sale
for.
WHAT THE HELL IS HE TALKING ABOUT????
THIS IS A CROCK OF SHIT!!!
I tell him the sales lady who sold it to us
said you did have layaway and that's
just what we did so we could do some painting first.
We painted our
freaking living room to go with this couch!!!
I was very loud at this point accusing them of
telling customers what they wanted to hear
to be able to make a sale. This sales person
3 weeks ago told me I had up to 6 months to pay this
couch off if I wanted.
I said I even
borrowed a truck to pick the sofa up.
I said you better find a compatible couch
like the one I paid on at the same price then!!
He taps away at the computer again when a sales
lady walks up to see what's going on.
He explains everything to her.
Out of the blue we conveniently have
the last of these sofas BUT IT IS A FREAKIN
FLOOR MODEL!!
I am getting louder and more pissed. I say
I bought a NEW COUCH NOT ONE THAT IS A FLOOR
MODEL THAT'S HAD EVERYONE'S ASS TESTING IT OUT!!
And yes I said it exactly like that!!
She says you can still get the warranty with this
floor model couch. I say, I ALREADY PAID FOR MY
WARRANTY WHAT DO YOU MEAN I STILL CAN GET IT???

While waiting for them to do paper work I was pacing
the front of the store bitchin up a storm! I told
them for the first time in my life I get a "new"
sofa and this is the bullshit I have to go through.
I WILL NEVER BUY ANYTHING FROM THIS STORE EVER
AGAIN! I used to work for Schottensteins
(all associated with Value City at one time)
and even though I got a discount back then
I never shopped their junk in the stores.
So they better consider theirselves lucky
that I even walked through the front doors.

While pacing I did not know Tony and the guy
behind the counter worked out a deal for them
to deliver it free. Delivery is normally $100
a flat fee. He's lucky I was no where near them
or I would have laid into those sale people again!
First off I live 5 minutes away and have a vehicle
to pick up the damn couch! Second I would have
told them I wanted a discount on a damn floor
model couch not A FREAKING FREE DELIVERY 5 minutes
away! Now I have to wait til Tuesday to get my sofa.
And who knows when it will show up that day but
you can bet your sweet ass I will go over it with a
fine tooth comb. I told the sales lady I wanted
it cleaned up and all traces of lint and fuzzballs
removed!!!

I told the sales people before leaving, "if this
is how you treat your customers when selling them
something, then I can't wait to see how well you
hold up to the warranty if I should have a problem!"

It's a no wonder they gave us free delivery.
They sure as hell didn't want me coming back
chewing them another asshole! My face and ears
felt so hot. I knew my blood pressure
was up!

VALUE CITY PEOPLE SUCK ASS!!!
THEY ARE JUST AS BAD AS CAR SALESMEN!!

Ok so we leave Value City empty handed
and start to head to Westerville to pick
up some mulch since we had mom's pickup.
We got as far as Iron Pony and the damn
pager went off.
Needless to say we did not get the mulch
nor sofa today as evil forces would not
allow such a thing to happen.
And I think Marc's is closed on Sunday.

I am home now and am very wore out.
Why is it when there is a holiday
the parents seem the most wore out
the day before. We still have to color
Easter Eggs tonight and I have baskets to
make and eggs to fill and scatter
all over the backyard.

CALGON TAKE ME AWAY!!










Well I am ready to hit the sack. Got everything
done for Easter and watched a little news.
Did you know we had wind gusts up to 54 MPH
today? Not a good hair day!
I hope tomorrow goes better.
Need to go shoe shopping with the kids.
Don't that sound like fun?
Good Night! ZZZZzzzzzzzz

4-2-10

Spent today at home getting the living room area
ready for our new sofa. I also got 2 valances
made. Oh yeah and I made 2 pillow covers
for sofa pillows I had because I'm not
sure if our sofa will come with pillows.
These were made with a fabric shower curtain.

My living room looks so bare.
We've had only 2 chairs in there
for 4 people to fight over.
Fine by me as I just go to bed, lol.





Here's a view from living to dining
and my other valance I made.
You can also see my unpainted wall
under the chair rail. One day I hope
to get this painted a red color.

Ya know what's funny is that when I view these
photos most everything I see in the way
of furniture or tables and what not
has been freebies I found.
So you see why I am excited to finally
get a new sofa after 39 years!!

Don't ask what the kids are doing.
They have lost their minds as usual
wrestling around on the floor.




Tonight we went and looked at a car. Looking
for something that is good on gas. This car
was only $1199 and has only 69,000 miles on it!!
The first thing I looked at on the car was to see
if it had the extra digit on the odometer and
it did meaning it was actual mileage.

With as many cars as we have bought over the years
you would think I have heard and seen it all.
Well here is another one of those stories to ad.

We get there and the wife comes out and starts up the
car. Then she says her husband owns the car and he
is out of town til next Tuesday. She said
we could not drive it or be able to buy it until then.

WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU POST A CAR ON CRAIGSLIST
IF YOU AREN'T ABLE TO SELL IT FOR ANOTHER WEEK
OR EVEN BE ABLE DRIVE THE DAMN THING!!

So in other words this was a wasted trip for us
since they are not able to sell it for another week!

Crazy, crazy, crazy.
Lot's of crazy people out tonight.

We're heading down the road tonight and hear
sirens off in the distance about a half mile
up the road. The person in front of us comes
to a dead stop in the road because of it.
Can't say that I have ever seen someone stop
that far away for lights and sirens.
We're sitting there and cars in the other lane
are still going by us.

Anymore I don't try to figure out stupid people.
They surround us everywhere and we have to just
deal and cope with them!

__________________________________________________

I can't believe I am saying this on April 2nd,
it sure is warm in here! The house is reading
a steady 79 degrees. No air flow so I pulled out
all fans and opened windows up at 10pm!

Oh the joy during the day to have the sun shining,
hearing a few lawn mowers and seeing people out
and about. The birds have been coming to the
feeder just outside the window singing away.
Well they were screeching earlier this morning
when we looked and saw a hawk after one of them.
Viscious bird that is! He was standing on the ground
below one bush out front on one leg. The other leg
he was trying to reach in the bush for a sparrow.
They outsmarted him though and he flew off and he
left them alone and they once again returned
to the feeders.

__________________________________________________

I just learned this info from the news this eve.
If you go to Spokeo.com and type in your name
you would be surprised of how much information
can be found on you. There is a link at the bottom
of the page where you can have it all deleted.
You have to enter your email address so they can
send you a confirmation email to delete it.

This web site said who my family members were,
what my house cost, credit score, my address and phone number
along with many other things!
You need to erase personal info like this!
It's just no elses business to know!

4-1-10

Almost Spring break time for the kids.
They get out a half hour early today
then have tomorrow and all week off.
That's when I plan to get my Spring
cleaning completed (not including basement).

Today I stopped in the thrift store
looking for more fabric to make another
set of curtains since the other ones weren't
the right color. I needed something brighter.

I bought a plaid valance with reds, yellows
and greens in it. Then another patterned
fabric (actually a shower curtain)
that had a cream fabric background but had yellow
and red florals on it with greenery.
They compliment one another well.
Then I bought a light yellow flat sheet to line
the backsides of the curtains with.

Total spent was $5.00 because 2 items were half
price. I would have bought them at full price
so that was a bonus!

The colors on the computer are a little
different in real life.
The yellows in the plaid are yellower
and all one color yellow.

So I will probably spend this evening
or tomorrow working on the curtains.
It will sure help to break up all the
yellow that is in here at the moment on
the walls.
We plan to get the couch this weekend
so it's coming along together slowly.




________________________________________________

I can't wait to get up our new privacy fence!
If you've ever had something stolen or broken
into you would know where I am coming from
by feeling your place would be more secure
if you had a 6' or more fence completely surrounding it.

Last year I had been home all day and just stepped out
to go one block to pick the kids up from the bus stop.
While at the bus stop I saw the helicopter hovering
low in our neighborhood. Didn't think nothing of
it as it flies around here all the time.
I get the kids and round the block to come
home and there are a couple police cars out front
of our house! I guess these three younger guys
had been scoping out our house and stole a nice,
new bicycle out of the driveway underneath the carport.
The neighbor lady saw them do it and called police.
They in turn sent out the helicopter to try and
hunt them down. Still can't get over that!
We never got the bike back. But it makes you keep
an eye and an ear out lots more as to what
might be taking place around your home!

So today I am sitting here by the window
with the window open and the blinds drawn.
I see three younger guys make a pass by our
house 4 times within minutes, once even resting on a large
rock in the neighbors yard, about the end
of our drive way. Never seen these three
characters before but they sure were making
me nervous making continuous glances down
our driveway. I even called Tony at work
to say I wasn't getting the right vibe with them.
I told him to make sure everything is locked
up tight tonight and nothing left out of
any value! That's how they get ya! They
scope out your place first then come back
later on!

So in the near future I am hoping to get our
fence up to keep intruders out!!
There are a lot of shady characters I don't
trust around here, especially ones I have
never seen before!

__________________________________________________

I've been on the hunt for some Home Depot coupons.
I checked Ebay and found Home Depot coupons
BUT every auction says it's NOT good at Home
Depot but good at Lowes only. This doesn't make
sense to me!

I found Lowes coupons on Ebay and it seems
like every auction has bidders on them.
WHY WHY WHY???

Go down to your local post office and
get a change of address packet. In there
are the 10% coupons for Lowes!!!
Don't pay for them!!!

I'd really like to find some Home Depot
ones as their dog eared fence sections
are a couple dollars cheaper than Lowes.

__________________________________________________

Yesterday I bought a large bag of bird food
from Big Lots for $1.50.
I took my double shepherd hook and stuck it
in the ground right out our front room
window and hung two bird feeders from it.

The sounds of birds chirping and singing
away eating from the feeder just fills the
house. It's so soothing and relaxing.
Heck it didn't even scare them away
when I was running vacuums and carpet
cleaners. Must be some hungry lil birdies!


__________________________________________________

I'm thinking chili sounds good this weekend
so I have been looking for a copycat version
of Wendy's chili. These would make great
freezer recipes. I don't see why you couldn't
throw it altogether in the crock pot.
I'm sure most these ingredients could
be found at Aldi's to make a cheap version.

Here are a couple versions I found:

Wendy's Chili Recipe

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 can onion soup -- 10 3/4 oz
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons cocoa
2 cans kidney beans - undrained
6 teaspoons tomato paste
15 teaspoons tomato sauce
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon vinegar
6 cups v8 juice

Brown the ground beef in the vegetable oil. Break the beef into tiny rice size pieces.

Place the onion soup and half of the cooked beef into a blender and process on high speed until it resembles cement mortar.

Combine the blended beef with the unblended beef into 2-1/2 qt saucepan. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer until flavors are blended.

This Wendy's chili recipe should serve 6 to 8 people.

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

Or Here Is Another One

1 pound 97% lean ground beef or turkey (Vege Version: 1 pkg Morningstar Crumbles)

Salt and black pepper

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 cup diced celery

1/2 cup frozen diced green peppers

1/2 cup frozen or fresh diced red peppers (I’ve not found frozen in my neck of the woods)

1 cup frozen diced onions

2 tablespoons chili powder

1/2 tablespoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

One 15-ounce can petite-diced tomatoes

One 15-ounce can tomato sauce

1 1/2 cups water

One 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

One 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

In a stockpot, over medium heat, brown the meat with a little salt and pepper. Add water, just to cover by 1/2 an inch, and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse.

Return meat to pot – medium heat – and add the olive oil, celery, green peppers, red peppers, onions, chili powder, cumin, salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. Cook for one minute.

Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, and beans. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for one hour, stirring occasionally. Makes approx ten 1-cup servings.

Per Serving: Calories 164; Protein 13 g; Fat 3 g; NET Carbs 13 g; Sugar 3 g; Sodium 512 mg

3-30-10

Still not having a good day and it looks
like another early bedtime for me.
So since I have a piss poor attitude
I decided I'd write my gripes down
to maybe feel a little better,
yeah right.

My one leg still hurts and I about
fell at the store (was getting some pop)
when my knee gave out. Tony caught my
arm before falling.

You ever have one of those weeks? Well
this week is one of those for me.
So you will probably hear me just bitch
about life and what not.

Tony put the for sale signs in the 99 Cadi
this evening. For the price of the Cadi,
if it were to sell, is lower than the vet bill.
Is that sad or what???!!!

Not even sure if we are going to get the
Suburban repaired from where the snow plow
hit it. We deposited the money from it
and now wonder if we should keep it in the
account to help build it back up.

I made curtains today and they look like
crap. Neither I nor Tony liked them.
So I have to hunt for something to hang
up in the living room since I threw out
the nasty blinds. They are hanging
temporarily to keep peeping Tom's from
looking in at night. What the heck kind
of curtains do you hang in a bay window
that looks right?

My cell phone took a crap. So now I have
to hunt for another one of those.
I looked on Ebay for something cheap
and my eyes started crossing.
Who knew there was so many
phones to choose from. So being confused,
I abandoned that search til another day.

I'm still trying to get used to the yellow
walls around here. They turned out a little
more yellow than what I would have liked.
I hope when I start adding our new couch
and pictures on the walls it helps tone
it down some and not be the total focal point.

Tony has the pager this week. And as I type
away it decides to go off. Now, if you have
on call and get more than 10 hours over time
they send you home instead of wanting to
pay that over time. IT SUCKS taking away
much needed money like that.
Does that lady who made the emergency call
really need to be let back in her apartment
after locking herself out on a balcony patio?
You know what is funny? This happens a lot
with residents! I think they need to
include emergency rope ladders out there
so they can climb down when they do this, lol.
Maintenance men have much better things to
do!
Why are we out there, in the dark at 9pm
to begin with???

Well the cat's meowing and it's getting
annoying. It jumped up in the window sill
and started clawing at the curtains!
It's gonna spend some time out in the
basement so I can get some sleep tonight.
Some days I just feel like choking the
crap out of the meower in that thing!
No I really wouldn't do that!
Tony said he wondered if there
was such a thing as shaken cat syndrome,
LMAO.
It wants outside soooo bad. We are in
the process of seeing about getting it
fixed so it would hopefully lose that desire.

Earlier this morning one of my sweet
children decided to let the dog out of
the kitchen. We have to keep her barricaded
in there for the time being until she heals
per vet orders.
Anyway about that sweet child. He lets the dog
out into the living room. Wasn't in there
for more than 5 seconds and left a big pee
spot on my carpet I just cleaned this past
weekend!! So I had to haul back out the
carpet cleaner tonight.

Today I stopped in the thrift store in hopes
of finding a baby gate to put in my kitchen
for the dog. I knew it wasn't gonna be a good
trip when the parking lot was totally packed!
It was a complete madhouse because it was
50% off entire store day. No carts, people
running everywhere losing their minds! You would
have thought they were giving away everything
for free. I wasn't about ready to stand in line
for anything when people had shopping carts
overflowing with clothes!

Well I am off to bed but FIRST I have to
escort this cat off to the basement.
Solitary confinement for her meowin' fuzz butt!!
While down there I'll throw the clothes
in the dryer as I am trying to make up
for not getting the laundry done this
weekend. I have felt like crap and not
moving too swiftly. When my mom can do
laps around me in the store and I can't
catch up, that's sad. It's not fair
older people get the good stuff to take
the pain away!

3-29-10

Today I think I will head over to Habitat
to see if I can find a small can of reddish
colored paint for my dining room wall.
Then over to Big Lots to get 6 tension
rods for my curtains so I can start sewing
them soon and get them put up.
I can't wait to remove those dusty old
blinds! I'd replace them but they are
a custom made blind meaning they don't
sell the size in the stores.
Redoing some rooms and Spring cleaning
sure is a lot of work! It's a slow
process and I hope I can survive as it
makes your home look wiped out!

We have even given it some thought to possibly
pull up the carpet in the dining, living room
and hallway. I think we might have hardwood
floors underneath the carpet but who knows
the condition. I'm not one for hardwood floors
but considering how much dirt is trapped in
carpet over time that could make people sick
and how much time I spend cleaning carpets,
it sure is a possibility of something we might do.
When I get time and more patience I'll have
to see if I can pull up a corner of the carpet
to take a gander. I tried yesterday and the carpet
is tacked down really good that it wouldn't budge.
I can't afford new carpet and this light gray carpet
is driving me nuts because it shows all the dirt.
Who in their right mind has light colored carpet
installed. The last place we lived had light
cream colored carpet that almost looked white.
AHHHHH!!!

__________________________________________________

Didn't have much luck at Habitat today finding
red paint. Mom wanted to stop by Meijer's
so while there I picked up a couple things.

.50 cents 2 pound bag of mini carrots

$1.00 for 2 bags of oranges 12 oranges total

$1.49 for 10 pound bag of potatoes



__________________________________________________

I'm in no mood to talk, to shop or to coupon at them moment!
I am very irritable and have no tolerance for anything!
Why you ask???
I am still trying to get over a vet bill at the
moment due to a dog getting surgery.
She had gotten an infection in her female organs
and had to get fixed and the infection removed.
If you know me and how tight I am with money
and had to of spent this amount of money then
you would know it would make me depressed at the
moment. Vets sure know how to drain you
of money you have in your savings that's for sure.
Yeah I still have "some" but this was a big chunk.
How much you ask??? Figure I'd kind of put that
in here since I don't feel like talking at the
moment, want the phone ringing or people asking
101 questions.
Well let's see I could have gotten a top of the line
stainless steel refrigerator, I could have
bought another Explorer to replace mine
that is limping along, how about groceries
for the next year!!! That's how much!!
I am happy to say that the dog seems fine
from surgery and is recovering well.
But I am still blown away at how much
a freakin' (putting it nicely here) vet costs!!
I still have to pay to have stitches
removed in 2 weeks. Don't want to know
how much they charge for that!
You have to do what you have to do because
that's why we have savings accounts for
those emergency situations.
But to me it's like having an earthquake
dealing with the aftershocks.
I'm so in la, la land and not in my right
mind that when I signed the vet papers
I signed my maiden name. I cannot figure
out why as I have not signed my maiden name
in 23 years!!! Thank God it was not
my previous married name as that wouldn't
have went over well with Tony, LOL!
I still have to pay my doctor bills
from my emergency room and doctor visits.
I still need testing in April to see if I have
cancer in the female organs.
I can't win at the moment so am heading to bed
early tonight! I didn't sleep well last night
as I was awoken with an acid reflux attack
that had me running to the bathroom getting sick.

So there you have it. That's my story and
I'm sticking to it. I'll post
what's going on around here for friends/family
but as for sales and coupons I don't see much
of that happening
right now with no desire to do it.
I feel the need to cut back for now.
I have my stockpile and freezer to eat from
for awhile and will do that instead of
shopping, other than the basic stuff.