3-4-11

I'm currently studying the paper color
samples I picked up from Sherwin Williams.
I am trying to find photos of people's homes
of where they used these same colors.
I also want to see them in different lighting
because paint will look different throughout
the different light levels of the day.
As I find photos of these colors
I will post them here so I can
make a decision.
(I deleted all the colors I posted
as I was finding I didn't really like
any of them)

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

9:45am

I started painting my $3.99 shelf
I bought yesterday. It's going to take a couple
coats.
I got what looked like a ribbon
bow decorative wooden piece pried off
the front of the shelf.



The little paint trays and
roller that came with my free
Valspar paint sample sure is
coming in handy right now
for a small project like this.
This is where I want to put the shelf,
above our living room window.
It will overhang the sides of the window
some but will give the illusion of
a larger window or space.
Another tip is to hang your
curtains higher than the top
of the window frame. This
gives the illusion that your ceilings
are taller!

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

11:20pm

Just got the 4th coat of paint
put on the shelf, and that's only
on the front!

12:30pm

I'm not done painting my shelf
but I did rest it on top of the window
to get an idea of what it would look like.
I like it!
I think I would like to raise it up more
above the window.
The curves gives the room
a soft touch with all the hard
straight lines.
It looks so much better in person.
Of course I knocked my curtains
down in the process.
Now are waiting for this shelf
to come crashing down also, lol.
Me and curtains or curtain hardware
do not get along well.
I might try to see if I can
find a smaller shelf to use
on the dining room window to match.



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

5:00pm

Finding the right paint color
is gonna drive me crazy!!
So tired of looking at paint colors
that I'm literally getting a migraine.
I've pretty much been out of commission
for the later part of the afternoon
and evening.

I think the color of these cabinets
has been my favorite color so far.
But as luck would have it they didn't post
the paint they used.
If I had to describe this color it
looks like a bisque with a
really light creamy yellow mixed with it.
.


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

6:00pm

This evening we made a run
to Kroger for some pop and milk.
While there Tony found a real good deal
in the cardboard bin area that's marked
10 for $10, why they just didn't put
$1.00 each is beyond me.
But anyway, he found these 1.5 pound
Summer sausage in this area for $1.00 each.
Wasn't a manager special or anything like
that. We were leery about the price
because I know these things run
about $6-$8!!
So we picked up a couple and headed
to the checkout and sure enough
the price was correct and it wasn't
a mistake. So I had Tony take the groceries
out to the truck and I went back and
got some more. I will be giving mom some.
I put the lighter in the picture
to show you the size of these.

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

Trying to find a paint color
that somewhat matches those cabinets above.
This is what I have found so far.
Creme (sherwin williams)





Behr Cream PPOC-42


Benjamin Moore- Mannequin Cream

3-3-11

The best & worst deals at Dollar Stores.
Just because something's inexpensive doesn't make it a good buy at such retail establishments.

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

Was thinking about heading to the
thrift store this morning with mom,
want to see if they have any more
grocery deals. Then might head over
to Sherwin Williams to get some
paint sample cards.
I found out that we get a
20% discount from Tony's work
that we can use when buying paint
from Sherwin Williams.
Other paint supplies we can
borrow from Tony's work like
brushes, rollers and paint trays.
They currently have my hubby
painting apartments instead of
doing punch outs. So supplies
should be easily available :0).

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

We went out to Groveport last night.
Got this persons ceiling fan fixed.
On the way there I noticed gas
has jumped up to $3.49 a gallon!
This is crazy!
We did manage to find a station
that still had $3.29 a gallon.
On the way home we stopped by
the airport so the kids could
watch a few planes land.
Got home around 8:30pm.

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

12:15pm

Just returned home.
Me and mom went out running
this morning to get out of the house.

Our first stop was Sherwin Williams.
I got some paper paint samples.
The guy there said they were running
a sale from today through Monday
for 30% off paints.
I saw that a gallon of paint there
went from $32 up to $50 some a can!
Even at 30% off still made it
a little expensive for my budget.
So I mentioned about getting a
discount at Tony's work.
So he looked up their work account
to see what I would be paying
per gallon of eggshell premier paint.
$14.99!!
That sure is better than any $32-$50!!!!

By the time we left the paint store
it was time for the Goodwill thrift store to open.
They didn't have any more food
but I did get a couple things I've been
needing and one thing I've wanted.
small clock radio for the bathroom $2.99
box of new pencils .29 cents
and an 80" shelf. $3.99.
Should've seen me going through the
store with that, lol.
I've been wanting something
to put above my living room curtains and will
use this shelf as a type of valance topper.
It has some sort of decorative
piece of wood on the shelf which
I plan on removing.
Next we headed to the senior center
to see if there was any food freebies
from Kroger.
They only had a pumpkin pie
which I took.

Next we went up to Henderson Rd.
to see if the VA thrift store had opened
up yet which it had not.
So instead we went over to my favorite
Kroger to look for mark down deals.
So here's what I found there:
spent $18
4 bottle V05 conditioner- .49 cents each
3 bottles White Rain conditioner- .49 cents each
2 large bottles Suave shampoo- .79 cents each
2 packs of deli chicken wings
zesty buffalo- mark down $1.99 sale $3.96 was $5.99
honey BBQ- mark down $1.99 sale $3.96 was $5.99
Veggie tray with dip $2.99 was $5.99
Garlic bread $1.29 was $2.00 something
Blueberry & cinnamon raisin muffins
marked down to $1.49
each package had .75 cent coupons on them,
doubled to $1.50,
made both packs FREE!!

Oddball stuff not marked down.
Cheese $1.67
cinnamon $1.00
tortillas $1.19

I plan to make in the near future
some chicken burritos from some of
the chicken I made in the crock the other day.

1.5 pounds chicken .34 cents
1 cup shredded mexican cheese .83 cents
tortillas $1.19
can of no bean chili .49 cents

Total: $2.85
makes 2 meals or 10 servings
@ .28 cents a serving.

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

Reusing a wooden shelf for a valance.
The homeowner had created a wooden shelf painted to match her decor. She then added cabinet knobs along the bottom of the shelf. She created a valance that had loops along the top which were then looped over the knobs.


Here's what I wanted to do with
the one I bought today at the thrift store.
Paint it a bisque white to match all other trim,
drill out two holes on each end
to insert the curtain rod or wooden dowel through.

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

I finally got my little radio I bought
today put away.
It fits perfectly on my bathroom shelf.
Now if I could only find a scale.
All I find in the thrift stores is
digital scales that don't work.
I want a regular scale that doesn't
require batteries. Will keep looking.

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

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Eco-Friendly Bath Mat – Fun DIY Project

These type of rugs could run you $30
to well over $100 if bought new.
You can make your own with recycled
fabric like towels, socks, clothes and so on.

I found some non-slip rug canvas
at JoAnn's for 24x43" for $3.49.
If you wanted to make a larger rug
you could sew the canvas together.

Don't know if my carpal tunnel
would allow me to work on something
like this.

3-2-11

Yesterday after mom's birthday
dinner we had to stop in Kroger
for some pop and milk.
While heading to the checkout
I found they had solar stake lights
on sale for $1.50 in their seasonal isle.
That's the cheapest I've seen.
Well, other than one time they
had them at Dollar tree for a buck
but they sold out pretty quick.
I priced some that were similar
at Lowes and they go for $3.00 each.
So if you need solar yard lights
I'd swoop up on them at $1.50!

I might buy just one for now
to see how bright it is a night
before I buy a bunch.
I had been wanting to put
them on top of our fence posts
but Tony thinks kids would
knock them off.

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

I hadn't mentioned anything to Tony
about wanting to repaint the living room.
A couple days ago he mentioned
he would like to repaint it.
I was so glad, and told him I
already had a color picked out!

Yellow wall paint is not an easy
color to choose for your home!
It's probably one of the hardest to pick.
I have searched high a low for
just the perfect color so will
now have to wait and see if when
or if we get it, it shows well on the walls.
It's called Blonde by Sherwin Williams.


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

9:00pm

Ahhhh, what the heck is with Capital One?!
I am so sick and tired of them calling!!
Any other company would just send
you a bill in the mail, not them,
they prefer to call and harass you.

Do you think because I sent out
a late payment last month that they
would just send me a bill with the late
payment fee. They called and harassed
us for the late fee payment over the phone!
I'm not paying over the phone.
I don't know who I would be giving
my checking account number to
and if they would abuse it.
Get my drift. I don't feel comfortable with it!
We stuck our grounds and told them
we're not paying over the phone
and to send us a bill which they eventually did
and we paid it. This is what any other
bill company does.

Last week they kept calling and it was
because they said our balance was over
by $43 and wanted us to pay it over
the phone again. Once again said
to send it on our monthly bill.
And the only reason our balance went over
is because they tack on crap like
protection guard or whatever the heck it is,
without our knowledge. We don't use the card
but somehow they balance keeps going up!
I'm never gonna get ahead at this rate.

Why do they have to keep harassing
us with phone calls to pay them over the phone???
Why can't they just send us the freakin
paper bill with the amount on it?
I paid last month's bill and even
gave them a little extra!

I've always paid my bills on time
except just recently when we had an
emergency which was more important.

I'm so tired of it!!!
We told them last week to send
us a paper bill and they said they would.
Now at 9:00am this morning
they are starting to call again.
I don't answer but can see it on the
caller ID. We told them
to call us in the evenings so they could
talk to Tony who has the card.
They didn't listen.

Last month we got down right pissed at
them for the numerous phone calls
saying we hadn't paid our bill
when in all actuality we did and
it cleared the bank a week earlier to say they got
their payment. It finally took calling
customer service to get it straightened out.
Do you get an apology for the harassment?
NO!

I guess you wouldn't understand
the situation we're going through with them
and I don't know how better to explain it.
Each month you get monthly statements
and bills in the mail and you pay them.
If you get late fees or owe a balance on let's
say, your electric bill, they put it on the
next month's bill.
Not Capital One! They are insisting we pay
it over the phone instead of just putting
it on the next bill so we can pay it
with the current payment.

I am once again getting flustered
and stressed out!!!
When it rains it pours and it
doesn't seem to be letting up
around here. It's been one thing
after another and I'm wondering
when this bad luck streak will end.
Because at the moment nothing
seems to be in our favor.

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

11:35pm

I'm watching the 6 days 7 nights movie on tv.
I've seen it before. It's pretty good.
Jogged a half mile on the epilletical then did 2 surveys.
Made $3.50 today so far to add to the pot.


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

12:00pm

What do ya know, I got a Capital One
bill today and it doesn't state I owe
that extra $43 on there.
I'll go ahead and pay it though
so maybe, ha ha ha, they'll quit calling here!
It's all in my favor though. Not like
a fee as it's only going towards getting our
balance down.

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

We're trying to plan something
for this weekend to get the heck
outta this house. Being couped up in
here isn't doing us any good.
Need a breather that's for sure so
thinking about heading to South
Columbus and Pickaway county.
Not sure what we're doing and don't
really care. Might walk around an indoor
flea market or just take a drive.

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

Tonight I guess we're heading out to
Groveport by Ricart to fix someone's
ceiling fan. Yeah at times we do
side work like house repairs for people.
I can't stand this person and he will
feel the burn from my penetrating
eyes on the side of his head
the whole time there.
This is the person we painted walls,
did trim work and whatever else there was
awhile back. They were supposed
to of fixed the transmission in our car
and it ended up worse than before and was supposed to
of paid us some cash as well and didn't.
Not my idea, I'm just along for the ride.
Not responsible for my actions when
we get there though .
I'm tired of being taken advantage of!!
Do unto others as you would have them
do unto you. HA! Too bad they
don't think the same way.

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

Shampoo Warning!

Shampoo Warning: I figured out why I'm so fat. The shampoo I use in the shower that runs down my body says, for extra volume and body. I'm going to start using Dawn dish washing soap. It says "Dissolves fat that is otherwise difficult to remove!"

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

3-2-11

Yesterday after mom's birthday
dinner we had to stop in Kroger
for some pop and milk.
While heading to the checkout
I found they had solar stake lights
on sale for $1.50 in their seasonal isle.
That's the cheapest I've seen.
Well, other than one time they
had them at Dollar tree for a buck
but they sold out pretty quick.
I priced some that were similar
at Lowes and they go for $3.00 each.
So if you need solar yard lights
I'd swoop up on them at $1.50!

I might buy just one for now
to see how bright it is a night
before I buy a bunch.
I had been wanting to put
them on top of our fence posts
but Tony thinks kids would
knock them off.

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

I hadn't mentioned anything to Tony
about wanting to repaint the living room.
A couple days ago he mentioned
he would like to repaint it.
I was so glad, and told him I
already had a color picked out!

Yellow wall paint is not an easy
color to choose for your home!
It's probably one of the hardest to pick.
I have searched high a low for
just the perfect color so will
now have to wait and see if when
or if we get it, it shows well on the walls.
It's called Blonde by Sherwin Williams.


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

9:00pm

Ahhhh, what the heck is with Capital One?!
I am so sick and tired of them calling!!
Any other company would just send
you a bill in the mail, not them,
they prefer to call and harass you.

Do you think because I sent out
a late payment last month that they
would just send me a bill with the late
payment fee. They called and harassed
us for the late fee payment over the phone!
I'm not paying over the phone.
I don't know who I would be giving
my checking account number to
and if they would abuse it.
Get my drift. I don't feel comfortable with it!
We stuck our grounds and told them
we're not paying over the phone
and to send us a bill which they eventually did
and we paid it. This is what any other
bill company does.

Last week they kept calling and it was
because they said our balance was over
by $43 and wanted us to pay it over
the phone again. Once again said
to send it on our monthly bill.
And the only reason our balance went over
is because they tack on crap like
protection guard or whatever the heck it is,
without our knowledge. We don't use the card
but somehow they balance keeps going up!
I'm never gonna get ahead at this rate.

Why do they have to keep harassing
us with phone calls to pay them over the phone???
Why can't they just send us the freakin
paper bill with the amount on it?
I paid last month's bill and even
gave them a little extra!

I've always paid my bills on time
except just recently when we had an
emergency which was more important.

I'm so tired of it!!!
We told them last week to send
us a paper bill and they said they would.
Now at 9:00am this morning
they are starting to call again.
I don't answer but can see it on the
caller ID. We told them
to call us in the evenings so they could
talk to Tony who has the card.
They didn't listen.

Last month we got down right pissed at
them for the numerous phone calls
saying we hadn't paid our bill
when in all actuality we did and
it cleared the bank a week earlier to say they got
their payment. It finally took calling
customer service to get it straightened out.
Do you get an apology for the harassment?
NO!

I guess you wouldn't understand
the situation we're going through with them
and I don't know how better to explain it.
Each month you get monthly statements
and bills in the mail and you pay them.
If you get late fees or owe a balance on let's
say, your electric bill, they put it on the
next month's bill.
Not Capital One! They are insisting we pay
it over the phone instead of just putting
it on the next bill so we can pay it
with the current payment.

I am once again getting flustered
and stressed out!!!
When it rains it pours and it
doesn't seem to be letting up
around here. It's been one thing
after another and I'm wondering
when this bad luck streak will end.
Because at the moment nothing
seems to be in our favor.

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

11:35pm

I'm watching the 6 days 7 nights movie on tv.
I've seen it before. It's pretty good.
Jogged a half mile on the epilletical then did 2 surveys.
Made $3.50 today so far to add to the pot.

3-1-11

7:30am

I'm in a rambling mood today
as my mind is working overtime.
I'm stressed out!! But-
The whole idea of this blog
is to show you how we get by
with one income for a family of 4, right?
So when you see us run into financial
situations, you'll see me write about
it and tell of our plans to get out of it
or what we are doing to get rid of debt.
It doesn't happen overnight and
with bigger amounts of debt will
take some time.

----

Got our taxes done last night.
It still came up about $1400 or so
less than last year.
Damn taxes aren't cheap to have done.
I think it was a little over $300!!

Taxes on prize winnings,
I found out, was about 10% of
the winnings.

Anyway I asked a couple questions
about doing donations and about
Tony using his vehicle for work,
tools, clothes and whatever else
we have to buy for his job.

We decided against keeping track of
the expenses we pay for Tony's
work like mileage and such because
it just didn't sound worth it.
But we are going to do more donating
and keep track of that.
In turn you can claim with those
donations up to 10% of
your taxable income or something
to that effect as I don't know
how to do taxes.

All I know is that we have to cut
back this year and watch
what we spend. I could very easily
stop making extra house payments
and have an extra $150 each month
but there's a difference between cutting
back and being desperate so
at the moment I am not going that route.
The sooner we get the house paid
off the better because at retirement
age I don't think we could afford
the house payments with what
little social security gives you.
You've got to think ahead to your
future no matter how far away it is!!
We did take out a couple extra things
from every paycheck like
401K and life insurance for everyone
on top of over $400 for health insurance each month.
Those things, if I recall, are taken
out of your paycheck and then
the remaining amount is what
gets taxed.

Yeah all this crap is stressful!!
I'm not saying it's an easy ride
with limited funds because it is not!!
I've got the gray hairs and wrinkles
to prove it. At times I don't even enjoy
watching tv. I'm tired of seeing
everyone on tv living the yuppy lifestyles
having whatever they want without
even blinking an eyelash as to how much
it costs. That's NOT the average American!
So why is tv mostly geared for the
upper class American????

Well today is bill day for me
and I am not looking forward to it!

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

9:30am

Got bills all done and started
going through doctor bills.
Depressing, I know.

I'm really hoping Tony's brother
buys this car of ours.
That would help out tremendously!!
Unless I get any more unexpected
doctor bills, selling that car would
pay off most of them.
Then to get the credit card paid off
I could just send additional money
that I can afford each month.
Originally I had it planned the other
way around but think this is
the better option at the moment.
BUT I don't have cash in hand
at the moment for the car
so have to have a backup plan
even if it means paying off the smaller
doctor bills at the moment
and then making payments on the
bigger ones.
You cannot ignore bills!!
They will come after you and
eventually garnish your paycheck
and you really don't want that
to happen!!
It happened to us once long ago
and left us with very very little
money for the month!!
And of course our other bills
got behind because of it.
We had to borrow money to buy food.
But like I said that was many years
ago and we don't let it get that far now.

People think we are nuts for having
so many cars. To me it's like having
a savings account. You can't spend the money
if it's not easily available and by having it
in the bank is too easy to get out!
So by having an extra car or two
the money is always sitting out
in the driveway invested in them.
So whenever we need a larger amount
of money, we put a car up for sale.
Most of the time we get the money
we paid for them back out of them
when we sell. Once in a blue moon
we don't. And every now and then
you get lucky and make a profit
like this car for sale at the moment.
You do have to put the money up
front for the investment though
and maybe a little more to fix it up.
But remember that money
is like a savings account.
Some people invest in houses
and such. We invest in cars.


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

9:45am

What is it with these birds.
Just had another one collide
with our living room window,
CLUNK!
That's the second one in the past
couple of weeks.
Do they have brain freeze or what???

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

10:50am

Got 10 pounds of chicken skinned
and deboned.
Saved the gelled broth for the soup
and skimmed off the fat on top.


Threw the broth, some chicken
and 1/2 of the pasta leftovers from
yesterday in the cleaned out crock
along with other ingredients
for my homemade chicken noodle soup.
No recipe, as I just throw together
whatever I have at hand.
Do what ya gotta do
with what ya got to do it with!!

1 pound chicken- .23 cents
(a 10 pound bag cost me only $2.32!)
homemade pasta- freebie from leftovers
celery leaves- freebie leftovers
2 cans Maryland crab soup- $1.38
(used it basically for the soup broth
and veggies)
basil- free
onion powder- free

Total cost for 2 meals: $1.61
Serves 8 @ .20 cents a serving!!
or .80 cents a meal!


I still have a gallon zip bag full
of chicken for more meals
along with a sandwich zip
bag of leftover pasta.

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

11:20am

Still doing surveys on a daily basis.
Almost up to $91, woo hoo, on one site.
Every bit helps!!

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

Like Chinese?
Skip the expense of take out and
make your own!

Shanghai Noodles

Kung Pao Chicken

Beef & Broccoli Stir-fry

Chicken Lo Mein

Egg Drop Soup

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

4:00pm

Well I got a little good news.
My mom and step-dad's been
going over to the senior center
2-4 times a weeks and just today
was told the center gets produce
and breads from Kroger for free
and could take as much as they wanted.
I asked them to get me some
when they go and they said they would!
I'm not picky as to what we could
get for free, and to a point,
I don't care if something has a little
bad spot that could be easily cut off!
So that would mean some free
fruits, veggies and bread for us!!
That would help us out so much
especially with the cost of rising
food prices due to the gas increases.

I knew a lady when growing up
that went to Kroger once a week
and they gave her bunches of stuff
like that and she filled her car to the
hilt with all the food freebies.
She'd let everyone in the apartment
neighborhood know when she
had stuff and you could
pick and choose stuff that she
had in her car.
Being about 90 years old
that lady did so much let me tell ya!!
That sure helped us out back then.

I am so glad to know that Kroger
still does that and will donate
stuff to people who are willing
to come get it rather than throwing
it all away!! So much food goes to
waste everyday in this country
that could feed many homeless
or poor.

I guess it wouldn't hurt when you needed
food for your family to ask grocery
stores if they could give you
their expired produce or bread.

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

Mom read me a list of classes
they offer at the senior center
and what I don't understand is
why they don't have a frugal living class.
Not every senior citizen has a pension,
a large social security check or had
401K, especially in this neighborhood!
So why not teach them how to live
cheaply? Then again they have probably
lived through depressions and know
how but need a refresher course.

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

I don't remember if I've posted this
before or not but with rising food prices
I've been noticing at stores, I figured
I'd share it anyway.

A gallon of milk at Kroger is
on average $2.79
and a dozen eggs are $1.79.
These are not sales prices
so sometimes you could find them on
sale. But with these staples we
use almost every day we can't wait
for sales.

I have seen on Walgreens advertising
on their sign that they have
milk for $1.99
and eggs .99 cents a dozen.
Those are their everyday prices!
So why not save $1.60 by making
a pit stop in there!

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

5:45-8:45pm

We had a nice birthday party for mom.
Here's some pictures.




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

Once home Christopher had to
work on a project for school,
Kansas of all things.
I helped a little, lol.

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.

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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!