4-15-10

Kroger has Easter items 75%. Each Kroger has a different
variety of items. The one on Karl Road pretty much
had decorations while the one on Henderson Road had
decorations, baskets and lots of candy.
They had smaller chocolate bunnies for .25 cents,
Brachs real juice jelly beans .37 cents,
their HUGE rabbits were about $3.00
along with many others.
Those one bunnies were about the size of my
forearm!
You could use those chocolate bunnies
to chop up and put in baking goodies!
Just break up into pieces and put in
a zip bag in the freezer.

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$1.00 off 2 Oreo or Chips Ahoy Cookies at Walmart

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GARAGE SALES Friday 4-15-10

This is for the Westerville area

Church of the Messiah in Westerville
State St.

----------

6476 Tassle Court 9-5 Friday
near Dempsey & Sunbury Rd.

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This next one is for next weekend

Grace Fellowship Church
Paris Blvd.
Friday April 23 9-3

this is a favorite sale of mine
to attend!! Lot's of cheap items!!

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This is for those of you who
shop at Meijer.
This list tells you when certain fruits and veggies
are in season and when they are available at Meijers.




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Tonight's supper

MINI PIZZAS

2 cans of Grands Biscuits, flattened $1.00
Chicken nuggets, cut up in pieces FREE
Tomato & Bacon Dressing, FREE
Shredded Cheese $2.50

Flatten biscuits on two cookie sheets.
Make just like a regular pizza.
Bake 350 degrees for 15 to 17 minutes.

You could make pizza pockets
by adding all ingredients
about 1/2 inch from edge.
Fold over and crimp edges with fork.
Put a slice or 2 in tops.

Makes 16 mini pizzas, about 2 per serving

Total 8 servings @ .44 cents each

NOTE TO SELF:

Do not let hubby and kids do any science
projects in oven!!

Went to use my oven tonight and it smoked
like a freight train from whatever those
three did in there and splattered all
over the bottom of the oven.
I had to turn it off and load my 2 cookies
sheets with pizzas in the truck and down
the street to mom's house to bake!
Need to clean oven now, oh what fun!
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We set a record high today. I know at the moment
it is 83. Record was 82 degrees.
Now time for the temps to go back to 50's and 60's
with some rain. It's a tease to us all! It
sure felt great having the windows open
and a breeze flowing through the house.

__________________________________________________

Trying to teach my step-dad a thing or two of saving
money. For starters he buys tons of yard bags each
year because he bags his grass. That takes too much
time and energy if you ask me along with the
expense of the bags. So we now got his lawn mower
set up to mulch. And instead of taking his mower
to a lawn mower shop each year for a tune up
we went down and removed his blade and Tony
is taking it to work to put on a grinder to
sharpen. And I'm sure Tony could do the basic
maintenance on it for him to save about
$80 each year!

There are so many people out there set in their
ways of doing things that they don't want to cut
back even the littlest things! Even if it means
they don't have the money like they used to.
Cutting back doesn't have to be one big huge item.
It can be many little items! Those little items
add up and can be costly over time. Let's give
an example:
yard bags don't seem like nothing.
Let's say you fill 5 bags each week with grass
clippings. There's about $3.50 each week.
Now times that by 24 weeks of cutting grass.
(May to October)
That adds up to $84 each year! And that's just one little expense
that didn't seem like a whole lot!
Next thing they did was cut back their newspaper
from daily to Wednesday and Sunday. I'm sure
that's even a bigger savings!

So my whole point is even the littlest things
count in a big way when saving money in the long run.

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I've started going through some of my
recipe collections and will be posting
cheap and easy recipes on here.
I mostly have Pillsbury and Taste Of Home
magazines.

Kid's Favorite Chili
4 servings

1 pound ground turkey
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 can (15 ounces) pork and beans
1 can (14 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (10 ounces) condensed tomato soup, undiluted
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon chili powder

In large saucepan cook turkey and onion over medium
heat until meat is no longer pink: drain.
Stir in remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat; cover and let simmer for 15-20 minutes
or until heated through.

-----------

Cottage Cheese Salad
serves 3

1 cup (8 ounces) cottage cheese
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/2 cup chopped cucumber
1/3 cup chopped green pepper
2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon sour cream
1 Tablespoon ranch salad dressing mix

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients.
Serve immediately.

----------

Peanut Butter Cookies
makes 1 dozen

1/3 cup shortening
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt

In a small mixing bowl, cream the shortening,
peanut butter and sugars. Beat in egg.
Combine the flour, baking soda and salt;
add to creamed mixture and mix well.

Roll into 1 1/2 inch balls. Place 3 inches
apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Flatten with a fork.

Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes or
until lightly browned. Remove to a wire rack.

----------

Ready Gravy Mix

Keep this handy in a jar when
you need to make gravy.

3 tablespoons beef or chicken bullion granules
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon pepper

additional ingredients for each batch

4 1/2 teaspoons butter
3/4 cup cold water

In a small bowl, combine the the bullion, flour
and pepper. Store in an airtight container in
a cool dry place for up to 6 months.

To prepare gravy:
In a small saucepan, melt butter.
Add 2 tablespoons gravy mix. Cook and stir
until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
Whisk with water until smooth.
Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 more
minutes or until thickened.

makes 3/4 cup

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Here is my radiator repair on the tracker.
The JB Weld was not strong enough to
hold up to the pressure of the radiator.
So now it looks like $200 going towards
another one :0( It was worth a try though.

4-14-10

Today I went down to the parts store and
picked up a package of JB Weld.
With hubby and step-dad at work
and no guys around to help me, I am
attempting to fix a split radiator
on the Tracker myself. I don't think
my step-dad thinks any woman out there
knows about cars. At least he doesn't
believe half the stuff I tell him and
has it double checked by someone else!
Hubby I think
gave up with it and is calling junk yards
and parts stores to replace the whole
radiator. But if anyone knows me I'm out
to save money!!! $200 to $300 for a new
radiator is very costly!!
I think women have more patience with things.
I've seen guys work on cars and start cussing
and throwing things. So with no one around
I hope I fixed this thing.
Waiting for it to cure for a couple hours.
I put mighty putty on the crack since
mighty putty will work on wet surfaces.
Then once dry I will try the JB Weld
on top of that to reinforce it since
radiators are under pressure and JB
Weld is made for high temperatures.
Hubby already
attempted to fix it with other putty I had.
I had to completely remove all the hardened putty
which was no easy task as it dried rock hard
and needed chiseled off carefully.
Never done this crap before! I think women
should learn a thing or two about cars
and quit worrying about breaking a nail
or getting dirty!! Get over it!!
That nail will grow back and the other
stuff washed off or will eventually
wear off over time.
You might learn a thing or two.
Go to your local library and pick up
a Haynes or Chilton manual. Give it a look
over. It even has PICTURES for those
who can't read! They are supposed to be
based upon a complete breakdown of a vehicle
but I don't believe that for a minute
as they leave out many things.
But just by reading books like that you can
figure out the simplest things.

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Free Dr. Scholl's Shoe Inserts For Her
on Facebook.

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Need some cheap ideas for meals
try Great Depression Cooking
with 94 year old Clara.
She has a whole series of videos
on YouTube! Check it out!

She also has a cookbook called
Clara's Kitchen.
It's available at Amazon for $14.95.
BUT I have been able to locate it
at the Columbus Public Libraries
and already have a reserve on it
to check it out. They have
9 copies available and only 2 are left
to check out, well make that 1 after
my reserve, lol.
I also checked Ebay and there are
none available in the US.

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Here is a recipe mom made today and gave
me a sample of. It was really good!

VANILLA ICE CREAM
(no ice cream maker needed)

2 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup Karo light syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

With electric mixer, beat eggs until light
and frothy.

Gradually add sugar, beating until dissolved.

Add milk, cream, corn syrup and vanilla,
beating until blended.

Freeze about 3 hours, until firm.

Remove from freezer and beat with electric
mixer to break up ice crystals and make
ice cream smooth.

Return to freezer for another 2 hours.

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Tonight's supper will consist of some items
I need to use up in my fridge.

Fried cabbage

-1/2 head of cabbage .75 cents
-onion, diced .10 cents
-2 potatoes, slice and dice .40
-Italian sausage, sliced and cut in half .60 cents
only used one of the two pieces of sausages.
-package mushroom, sliced $1.30
-about 1/8 cup Sweet Baby Ray's
Sweet Vidalia Onion BBQ sauce
diluted with same amount of water.
-Olive Oil
-season salt

Add all to skillet and fry til tender.

TOTAL COST $3.15

makes about 5 servings at .63 cents a serving.

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CELL PHONE TIP

If you should happen to drop your cell phone
in water or some kind of liquid...

-remove from water immediately
-immediately remove battery
-wipe off any water
-place cell phone in a zip bag
of white rice anywhere from
1 day to 3 days or maybe longer.
rice is supposed to remove the water.

And don't ask why I would know this
as I am kicking myself in the ass end right now!!!

4-13-10

So far I have submitted 2 bag designs
for Kroger's reusable bag contest.
Here's one of them:



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Got me a NEW cell phone today, woo hoo.
I have never owned a NEW one before
so this is a treat. Phone was free
after rebate so that was a plus.

We are on my mom's family plan.
So that is how we save money by
having 2 cells phones.
Only costs us $20 a month for both
to use. Nothing fancy that involves
text or web. Just basic pick up the
phone and talk. That's all we need it for.



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Found these coupons at Speedway tonight
so be on the look out for them.

$1.00 off 20 ounce Pepsi Max
2 for $2.22 use 2 coupons
makes it .44 cents for two 20 ounce bottles!!

AND

$1.00 off 2 Dr. Pepper or Cherry Dr. Pepper 20 ounce bottles
(diet or regular)
2 for $2.22
use 1 coupon
makes it $1.22 for two 20 ounce bottles!

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I know for the past couple of weeks allergies
have invaded my sinuses and just recently
got to Tony.

I found this article from NBC 4 about allergy
season this year which is one of the worst on record...
I've taken a few allergy/sinus tablets
that seem to help take the pressure
off.

COLUMBUS, Ohio—“Ah ahhh ahhhhh choo!“

It’s a chorus heard all over Central Ohio in the past couple of weeks.

The pollen is thick… and so is that nasty stuff keeping you from breathing through your nose. Your eyes are red. You’re tired all the time.

Welcome to the spring allergy season.

“We’ve found that this allergy season has been a lot worse this year than in previous years,“ says OSU Medical Center Allergist Dr. Princess Ogbogu. “Allergies are actually an abnormal immune reaction but it’s very common. Twenty percent of the population actually has allergies.“

Ogbogu says her patients have been suffering more than usual this year. She says the first line of defense is a good offense: get tested to find out what your allergies are.

“Once you know what you’re allergic to, you can do a better job of avoidance,“ she says.

And she promises that allergy testing doesn’t have to involve being poked with dozens of needles.

“Most of the allergy testing is done with plastic pricks,“ she says. “So I tell people it’s usually not very uncomfortable. The worst you get is itching if you’re allergic to something and we can handle that
quite easily.“

Ogbogu says pollen levels tend to be highest between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m., so it’s best to stay indoors during those hours. She recommends using air conditioning whenever possible. And she says to be cautious about bringing the pollen into your home and bed.

“When you come inside, you should change your clothes and you should wash your hair.“

The abundance of pollen isn’t from showy flowers, it’s mostly from the bland, non-descript, deciduous trees.

“This oak is a prime culprit,“ says OSU Professor of Plant Ecology Peter Curtis. Standing under an oak tree just beginning to spout leaves, he plucks a small branch to point out the strands of tiny flowers that cover most of the tree. Those flowers are the male parts that produce the pollen that the trees use to reproduce.

“It has to produce lots of that pollen because wind just blows wherever it’s going to go. It doesn’t know where the next tree is,“ he says. The pollen is designed to float along on warm, dry breezes until it lands on the female parts of the next oak. We, literally, are just bystanders in the trees’ reproductive process.

“Your nose is in the way of all of that,“ Curtis says.

As for why the season has been so brutal, Curtis suggests it’s because the blossoms came so soon this year; a good two weeks early.

“A hundred years ago, you’d never see a spring this early,“ he says. It may not be the earliest allergy season on record, but it may be close. “This, actually, is one of a whole bunch of early springs that we’ve had dating back into the late-80’s and 90’s.“

Dr. Ogbogu even has a theory for the early onset.

“We see that as we have climate change, we see longer pollen seasons, a lot more pollen and people who used to be just minimally affected by allergies are actually having a lot of symptoms now,“ she notes.

To fight the symptoms, Ogbogu says many of the over-the-counter antihistamines are very effective.

4-12-10

Kroger is once again having a
design a reusable shopping bag contest.
Enter to win a $1,000 shopping card!
From April 8 to May 21.




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It gets harder and harder to want to leave
to go somewhere! People are rude, drive like
idiots, have no respect or manners, screw you
out of money and the list goes on and on.
It just seems like this whole world is going
downhill. What happened to "the good ole days"
Why do I have to be know as the meanie?
My attitude towards others is changing as I get
older. I just can't tolerate people not being
kind and considerate of others whether it being
in a grocery store or just walking down the street.
I very rarely put myself first!
I just don't understand how others have been raised
to act the way they do.
We get plenty of people who walk by our house
daily. Many I have never seen before.
Today a bunch of probably teenagers walked by
our Cadillac sitting out by the road.
What gives them the right to spit on it for
the hell of it. If I was the law I would have
washed their mouth out with a bar of soap then
handed them a bucket with water and a rag
to go with it and had them wash the whole damn car.
But now a days if you say something to someone
they pull a gun out and shoot you or come
back to cause problems. One year at another
location we had busted eggs all over the cars.
IT'S GETTING RIDICULOUS! Parents aren't allowed
to punish their children the way we were punished
and they get away with so much more crap.
Now this is the result of it.
Us children that grew up back then didn't die
from the punishment, it sunk in our thick
skulls that what we did was wrong.


__________________________________________________

MAIL CALL

Today I got free formula.
Anytime I get those I donate to the church to
give to someone in need.

I also got a free pack of
Stride Mystery gum.
It's pretty good!
And lasts a long while!

And lastly a coupon for a free
bag of Sunchips.

The other day I received a free
catalina coupon for a free 7 pack
of Nescafe coffee. I got those
today while in Kroger.

I'm still not in the mood to do
any big shopping trips.
Taking it easy for awhile and
only buying what is absolutely
needed.

4-11-10

Got up early this morning and went
to the flea market. Didn't see nothing
of interest. I give it a couple more
weeks to see more vendors out their
at the Twin Drive Ins.

Afterwards we stopped in Pick N Pull junk
yard to see if they had any Tracker's
and they didn't. I hope that's a good
thing not finding them in the junk yard!
That means they are still out on the
road.
Will keep checking back as their
stock is different from one week to
the next.

Spent the afternoon cleaning up the yard
and hauling away crap sitting around.
Hoping to get the garden started soon
or at least get tilled and ready to go.
Need to get some kind of fencing to
put around it as we have rabbits.

Hey Kendra is that F150 up and running???
How much would you charge to pick
up a load of free mixed horse manure in Westerville???
Would like to get the dirt in the garden
up to par to be able to plant some decent
veggies this year.

Well time to kick back for a few
before the next go round around here.
Still have some laundry to finish up
and have to give Christopher a hair cut.
He's getting a little shaggy.


THE LEE HOUSE DURING WARMER WEATHER.
This is just a fraction of the kids that
hang out here. I swear the other day there
had to of been about 10 kids in our drive way
and none of them belonged to us, LOL!
When the basketball hoop is available in
the drive way kids come from blocks away to play.
I see it this way, at least they are staying
out of trouble!!!


___________________________________________________


Free box or cup of Kraft Mac N Cheese
Cheesy Explosion

4-10-10

Took a load of donations over to the thrift store.
Feels good when I can haul this crap outta here.
On the way home we stopped behind the Big Lots
shopping center to find more boxes to bring home.
This REALLY irritated us!!
We got stopped by security that had nothing
better to do and was told we could not take
boxes! Now is that a crock of crap or what???!!!
It was obvious we weren't dumping anything
in a dumpster that was overflowing.
And the dumpster was marked cardboard.
So what the hell was the problem?
He could have stood there and watched
us take a few boxes and could have
saw we weren't there to cause trouble.
We were trying to do Mother Earth a favor
by recycling some boxes. But I guess
they would rather see them go to the
landfill. GRRRRR that just bugs the crap
outta me!!!

__________________________________________________

Spent the day working on getting "The Buggy"
(that's my nickname for it) all cleaned up
and an oil change.
She will take some getting used to
as it is smaller than our Explorer.
The boys have to get a little closer
and show some brotherly love.
You gotta do what you gotta do to save
money even if it means getting a smaller
vehicle. Everyone will just have to cope!

Hey at least the spare tire isn't located
underneath the vehicle. Is that the stupidest
place to put one or what? The chances of getting
that bolt or wingnut holding it in place after
years of road debris and salt are slim to none.
Whatever happened to the good old fashioned
putting them inside the vehicle?
Oh well at least I can get to this one if need be!

And I have to add this funny lil note.
The kids keep thinking we are calling it a
Tractor instead of Tracker. LMAO

4-9-10

Here's our "new" buggy, a 2001 Chevy Tracker ZR2 4WD
Needed something better on gas with gas
price rising in the $3.00 range.
I've read anywhere from 18 to 30 mpg
depending if it's city or highway driving.
Bought it off a private owner.

I don't know how we did it as it's very rare,
but this was a one owner vehicle!
Original cost new was a lil over $25,000!! OUCH!!
That's what the title says.
I would NEVER pay a new car price!!

If you are mechanically inclined finding
a vehicle that may need a little TLC
could save you lots off the purchase price.
Just be sure to do your research as some
vehicles cost more than others to repair.