Frugal Friday Wrap Up 7/15/16

      
  

   It's been another busy week here.  There were many projects I wanted to get to but never did and then there were projects that we did get done that took longer than expected.  I spent lots of time in the garden and it is starting to pay off.  I've got little cucumbers growing and the peas are starting to really climb the trellis. :)  Onto the savings:

~We had a big family birthday party on Saturday.  Jaysn and Rachel hosted it this time. :) Since we do everything potluck style, we had a wonderful assortment of food.  I brought a pasta salad, roasted chicken and a fruit salad, Jaysn and Rachel made Zuppa Toscana and a wonderful sweet potato dish, Heather made a huckleberry/peach pie and also a Death by Chocolate dessert and my cousin Jeremy made an amazing green salad that also had fruit, cheese and candies pecans in it.  We do eat well in this family! ;)
~I really worked my points programs this week.  I needed to get enough points for another Walmart gift card and I finally had enough to cash in for a $25 one.
~Sunday Jeff and I had planned on going to an auction but ended up staying home instead.  We spent the day watching movies and relaxing.  I figure we saved hundreds of dollars!  HA! ;)

~Monday I finished up making a batch of raspberry gin and got another batch going with more raspberries that I had just picked minutes before.
~Monday I also harvested peas, snow peas, lettuce and strawberries from our garden.
~We got a couple doses of good soaking rain this week so I only had to water twice.
~I cashed a $10 check that I got from Pinecone Research.
~The leftover water from the dog and cat's water bowls at the end of each day were used to water the potted plants and then the bowls were refilled with fresh water.
~I made some meatloaf with crushed up croutons, the leftover half of an onion and some seasonings.  I served it with yellow rice and we also had salads with it.

~I watched some shows online throughout the week.
~More loaves of bread were made this week and more croutons also.
~My hubby hauled home more free mulch from our town's composting site.  Hopefully this will help to lessen the stress on some of the plants in the side garden.
~I washed some Ziplock bags and then hung them up to dry.  My hubby uses these to take sandwiches and snacks in his lunch bag.
~Jeff ate a large bowl of fresh peas from the garden for a snack.  He shared a few of the pods with our dog Caesar who loves them.

~I did some grocery shopping early Tuesday morning.  I found another cheesecake marked way down, along with some marked down bread and some garlic cheese breadsticks at Walmart.  Winco had a marked down deli cheese tray and huge sandwich.  I took the big deli tray apart and packed all the cheese up into smaller bags.  Some of the cheesecake will be frozen for future treats.
~I stopped at Goodwill and found seasons 5 and 10 of Friends on DVD.  I now only need season 7 and we have the complete set. I also found a new Horseshoes game.  I bought that for our upcoming family camping trip.

~I did find some more clothes that actually fit me at Goodwill.  One of them was the half price color of the day.
~I used more coupons to get Ragu pasta sauce for .68 a jar and also to get a discount on more pectin.
~We had leftover deli chicken, leftover yellow rice and leftover fruit salad for dinner on Tuesday night...are you sensing a theme here? ;)
~Wednesday evening Jeff hauled home even more mulch from the town's yard waste and composting site.  Our side garden now has a nice layer of mulch on it which will help conserve water, help the plants not be stressed and also build up the soil.

~I borrowed lots of movies and books from the library.
~I printed off 2 gift cards that I earned at Swagbucks, $25 Walmart and $25 Cracker Barrel.  The plan is to use the Cracker Barrel gift card this weekend when Jeff and I go on our combined birthday weekend present to ourselves. :)
~Jeff and I used a B1G1Free Blizzard coupon that I got from Dairy Queen for my birthday.
~Since it has cooled way down here at night, I am able to just run the vent part of the swamp cooler to get things cooled down.  I don't like to leave the living room windows, which are huge, open at night when I am sleeping since we have a single level home.  It's gotten so cold at times that I have to get up and turn it off.

~We used the $25 Walmart gift card to help pay for a huge bonus sized bag of Pedigree dog food, a gallon of milk and a large package of Cotto Salami.  We ended up paying $4 out of pocket after the gift card was applied.
~We stopped at the thrift store that benefits the disabled in our communities.  We scored big time finding a brand new pair of Aerosoles sandals for Rachel and a brand new dehydrator for Heather.  I was pleasantly shocked to see the dehydrator marked at just $2.99!  I also found a few more clothing items for me and some other things.

~I was almost out of my natural hormone replacement stuff and well, those of you in menopause know how disastrous that is.  Luckily Vitacost is having a B1G1 1/2 off sale.  I ordered 4 bottles for the price of 3, got free shipping and went through the link at Swagbucks so I will get some points for my purchase.
~Friday I had to run errands and pick up Jeff's paycheck.  I stopped at a thrift store in the town that he works out of and found a brand new with tags Talbots fancy dress.  I got it for $1.50 even though it did not fit me.  I am going to resell it at a consignment store.  I also found a pair of shorts and a shirt there along with 2 books.

~I hit a church thrift store and found another shirt, a pair of shoes and some quilting books for my mom.
~Safeway had a few really good deals today.  I found chicken thighs for .89 a pound and bought 3 family packs.  They also had their 12 packs of seltzer or soda on a special deal at .99 each with a limit of 2 per family.  I then found Puffs tissues marked at half price and stocked up on those since we go through tissues like made with both of us having allergies.
~Jeff filled up my car with gas at the gas station with the cheapest prices for me.

~We are packing some snacks to take with us this weekend.  I can't see spending a lot of money on snacks from vending machines at hotels.  I know we will most likely  be hungry after the James Taylor concert since it starts at 8 p.m..  There is a refrigerator in our room so I am going to bring some crackers, fruit and cheese with us.  I'll also bring some drinks.

~Jeff transplanted some sunflower plants and some poppies for me.  They had volunteered in our gravel driveway and our neighbor, Uncle Bob, is going to be spraying the driveway to kill all the thistles for us while we are gone this weekend.  I'm allergic to the spray so he is doing it when I will not be around to breathe it.

~I stocked up on more Aloe Vera gel at the Dollar Tree.  I noticed they are starting to get all their back to school and Fall stuff out already which means they will not be getting any more of the Aloe Vera gel and sunscreens in.  I grabbed it while I could.
~I went through my basket of summer sandals and found a brand new pair that I bought on clearance a the end of the season last year.  One of my older pairs is getting worn out so I will be replacing them with the new pair.
~Friday evening I made breakfast for dinner.  We had sausages and oven pancakes with homemade syrups and fruit.

   I know that I made a lot of trips to thrift stores this week. Confession time...I have gained so much weight between menopause and my hysterectomy.  A lot of my shirts no long fit me and are hugging me close.  I am very self conscience about my weight gain and the way my body is looking right now.  I have mainly been in search of shirts that  will help camouflage my trouble spots.  I'm also still on the lookout for another pair of black boots that will not put any pressure on my foot and where arthritis has set in. I am hoping to maybe find the boots this weekend while we are on Spokane.  Be blessed everyone!