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| Green beans (free) and BBQed pulled Pork (sale pork loin) on hamburger buns (free). |
If you read my last post before this one, you know that it has been a rough two weeks for me health wise and that really took a toll on my emotions too. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who reached out to me, prayed for me and who encouraged me. It really meant so much to both my husband and I. That being said, I did not do a lot to save money this week other than stay home for the most part. There were things I had planned on doing, but did not have the energy or strength to do and that's ok. I am going to give myself grace. I am hoping to get to them this next week.
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| Jeff changing the brake pads on his car. |
~Jeff worked on replacing the brake pads on his new car. He took the good brake pads off his old car (since they had been replaced shortly before the car died) and used those. I am so glad his new car and his old car are the same model so that the parts can be taken off the old one and used on the new one.
~I put a lot of time into my points programs this week.
~I gave Jeff a much needed haircut on Monday.
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| A loaf of homemade banana bread. |
~We have lots of elk and venison burger in the freezer that needs to be used up. I went through the refrigerator and found some tortillas that were nearing the end of their "usefulness". I made a sour cream enchilada type casserole using plain yogurt in place of sour cream. Very good! 😀
~We watched the movie "Mr. Church" that we borrowed from the library. If you have not seen it, you really should!
~Winco had a great deal on their pork loin for $1.39 a pound. I bought a package of two.
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| Pulled BBQed Pork. |
I cooked up the pork loin roasts in the crockpot with some BBQ sauce and shredded it. I froze half of it for another meal later. I had made enough for 3 meals total but my hubby decided that it was just too good to have to wait for a second meal. 😉
~Three loaves of banana bread were made. I gave one of the loaves to our sweet hanai sister Shannon.
~We borrowed some more movies and a book from the library.
~Two more loaves of oatmeal bread were made.
~Our volunteer work was this week. Jeff went down and did it for us on Thursday because I am still in a tailspin emotionally and physically from this Fibro flare. We got lots of free groceries too.
~I was missing my childhood home and the beauty of the music and sea which has always been healing for me. I found this music and "movie" of Hawaii on YouTube and have been watching it. It has helped calm and renew my soul. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRneht8d2QA
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| Music and scenes from Hawaii to sooth my soul via YouTube. |
~Sometimes a girl just needs comfort food. Artichokes are that for me and I found a great deal on a 4 pack of them at Trader Joe's. I finally cooked them up and enjoyed them both hot and cold.
~Shannon gave me some Starbuck's specialty coffee. Nothing like a good cup of coffee!
~With this latest Fibro flare being so bad, I have been doing more research on it from a supplements, nutrition and gentle stretching and yoga standpoint.
~More homemade Zuppa Toscana soup was pulled from the freezer and eaten for dinner one night.
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| Homemade Zuppa Toscana pulled from the freezer and reheated for dinner on a night when I was way too tired and sore to cook. |
~A dress that I had at a local consignment store finally sold. That was a $22.50 profit. I'll take it!
~We stopped at Safeway to get some Halo mandarins that were on sale and that I also had a coupon for. I spent $2.49 for 3 pounds of mandarins. While we were there I also found a huge bag of Safeway's house brand of dog food for half off so I bought that since we will need more here soon. In addition to that I bought some corned beef from the deli that was marked at half off. I had been craving a good corned beef sandwich and had the rye bread at home in the freezer. This was I will have several sandwiches for half the price I would have paid for one sandwich at a restaurant.
~Jeff and I are both craving burgers so I pulled some venison burger out of the freezer to thaw. I'll make burgers for dinner Saturday night using some of the free hamburger buns that we got.
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| Books and movies borrowed from the library this week. |
~I spent one day this week with my grandsons. I had not seen them in about 2 weeks and it was so nice to be able to play, read with, do school with and just spend time cuddling with them both.
~While in town on Friday to deposit Jeff's paycheck, he asked me if I wanted to go to the thrift store and I told him no. We have a bunch of our bills that come in quarterly coming out of this paycheck and that makes money a bit tight. I have done a lot of thrift store shopping over the past 2 weekends so I am good for now. ;)
~I cut a bunch of coupons that I got out of the free ads paper.
So there it all is, not a huge list this week or huge savings but every little bit counts. I am planning on taking more things to the consignment store to sell since Spring is now here and I have some more dresses and a few purses that I am hoping will sell. We shall see. It doesn't cost me anything to try. ;)
Debbie we had the after effects of a cyclone to deal with this week. My computer had a hissy fit and had to go to the computer Dr. I didnt get a chane to respond to your last post. I hope you are on the mend and that you will soon be back to your bright and cheerful self. Much love and big gentle hugs.
ReplyDeleteOh goodness Jane. I am so sorry about the cyclone and the damage that was done. Praying for you all! Thank you, I am on the mend now and am finding ways to reduce the stress in our lives. Be blessed my friend.
DeleteHi Debbie! Hope you are feeling better. Sounds like you did a lot, in spite of the fibro. Never heard of anyone's comfort food being artichokes before, but it certainly is a nice healthy comfort food, as opposed to mine which is chips. Ha! I can attest to the fact vitamins and supplements can make a big difference in how you feel. Sometimes it almost feels like a miracle.
ReplyDeleteHUgs
Jane
LOL Jane about the chips. ;) That and chocolate are my hubby's comfort foods. I know I am strange with the artichokes but they were such a treat growing up and something that my mother and I bonded over. After my grandmother passed away when I was 20 and so far away from her (she and I were extremely close), artichokes were the only food that even sounded good to me to eat while I grieved for her. My mother also will get them when she is feeling blue and they are in season. My mother and I used to make my father so upset with our artichoke "affection". He managed a resort in Hawaii and they had cold artichokes with homemade mayo topped with a spoon full of caviar. Mom and I would get 3 artichoke halves each, take the caviar off and toss it to the side and then enjoy the artichokes and mayo. Dad was appalled and reminded us of how much that caviar was costing him. ;) We then would put it on his plate and say "You eat it then". LOL! Neither of us liked caviar. ;)
DeleteComfort food always makes us feel better.
ReplyDeleteYour illness is not your fault - you can't help it. Please stop beating yourself up.
You do so much for others and it is OK for others to be good to you too. As much as we all want to be - no one is Wonder Woman - we all need down time and soft gentle hugs and love.
God bless my friend. I hope you are feeling better.
Thanks Cheryl. :) I am starting to feel better and am having a great weekend so far. Be blessed my friend!
DeleteIt just tickles my thrifty soul that your husband has a parts car. How smart of him!!
ReplyDeleteI make turkey enchiladas the same way. I make the filling using plain yogurt to mix with the meat and as little cheese as possible. I top the rolled tortillas with salsa rather then enchilada sauce. I started doing it that way one time when I was out of the sauce but had salsa and actually prefer it that way.
Sorry the fibro flare continues. From what I've read, fibro comes with a lot of actual pain in addition to the fatigue. I'm so sorry you have that. I hear you on the emotional effect as well. Some days I'm just in a puddle from crying.
Pork shoulder is on sale here and I'm planning to pick one up on Monday. This is the week where two of the local grocery stores give 10% the total, so I'll shop on those days. It all adds up.
Two of my community gardens had work days today. So I spent a little time in each. Saw some people, played in the dirt, came home smelling like I'd been in a barn. All told, I was gone just under two hours. A little longer then I had planned for but ok I hope. Didn't want to leave when I did but have learned it's better to leave then overdo.
Cheers, SJ
Your enchilada recipe sounds so good SJ! Isn't it great when we stumble into something even better than we imagined? I'm glad that you were wise to pace yourself and came home when you did. I don't want you to have a crash my friend. Yes, fibro does come with a lot of actual pain and sometimes it can become excruciating. I always thought it was just part of my CFS but later learned that no, it was a separate illness all together. Not fun I tell ya! I hope you do pick up a nice pork roast. I cooked mine on low for 6 hours in my crockpot right in the BBQ sauce and it was perfect. I did get smart and sprayed the inner crockpot with non stick spray first which made the washing up of it later much easier for Jeff. ;) Be blessed and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
DeleteThat food looks really yummy! I'm so glad that you're feeling better, Debbie!
ReplyDeleteGod bless you and your family and hope you have a wonderful week!
:)
Thank you Paula! :) I hope you are having a wonderful week also. By the way, I went to your blog and am able to hit a button to translate the comments into english, but not the blog itself. Is there an easy way to do it so I can read your blog? I would really like to!
DeleteThe translate widget button at the top is not working.
DeleteDebbie, I only saw that now! I've just got the Google translation in the blog, on the right side below the profile. You can try now, but I'm not sure the translated english will be the most accurate!
DeleteGod bless you and your family and believe that God is with you and tomorrow, everything will be better!
:D
Forgot to mention yesterday that I do have a very small pot of mini-daffodils growing by my front door. They're very cheery.
ReplyDeleteJust back from one of the community gardens. Half an hour start to finish from leaving the house until I returned. I wanted to check on my bed and stake up my snow peas 9all 8 of them,hahaha). Sure enough, someone had blessed me with more soil after I had left yesterday. So I raked that smooth and used some twine to encourage my snow peas to grow up their stakes. It's a gorgeous day today.
I'm taking it easy though. Taking the dog to the vet in the morning. And Tuesday I have a new pt appointment with a family doctor. The clinic I had gone to in October closed and I can't find the doctor I had just started with. So it goes. So many doctors don't understand CFS that changing doctors is really stressful for me. I need the help, though, so I've got to keep pressing on and find someone.
Hope you're enjoying the spring weather. Cheers, SJ
Wow, you have peas coming up already? I still have not even worked the garden bed to get anything going. ;) I do hope you are able to connect well with this new doctor and that they know a lot about CFS and can help you. I have not had good luck with finding a doctor in this area yet that is familiar with it. The one doctor that did know about it and fibro that diagnosed me with the fibro was actually a traveling doctor from Boise who is opening his own clinic dealing with these diseases down there. I wish I lived closer but can't afford to make the 6 hour trip multiple times a month.
DeleteHi again. Yes, I have snow peas because I started them inside on a heat mat. The heat mat was a splurge at the gardening center but I think will pay for itself. I used to start all my plants when I lived in my house. It's taken a few years to get organized enough here in the apartment to do it. So anyway, I grew these snow peas inside for about 2 weeks, then kept them under the roof by my front door about a week then transplanted them. No flowers yet but they're growing nicely.
ReplyDeleteYes, finding a doctor who believes CFS, and I would imagine fibro, is real is difficult. Driving 6 hours any where is more then I can do right now. Haven't been farther then 1 1/2 hours from my place in years. Take care, SJ
You are one smart cookie!
DeleteLooks like a great week! A few years ago, we belonged to a gleaner's group where I worked at a warehouse (volunteered) loading up food for teams to hand out, helped haul loads, and also GOT lots to free gleaned food. It was a great program, but was very time consuming for me. I loved it, but had to say "no" when I got Patsy. I just didn't have time for both, but it sure was nice to have the "free" food. (I say "free" because I worked hours and hours for that food, just no money changed hands)
ReplyDeleteI read on one of your comments that you've always done volunteer work, and would not feel like yourself if you couldn't. I get that. I'm the same way. But, I tell myself, everything has a season. I enjoyed that season, and now, I'm in another one. But, I always find a way to give of my time to someone. It's just who I am. So, although the ways you give of yourself may change, I'm sure you will also always find ways:)
Becky, I totally understand where you are coming from my friend. I think you made the best choice pouring yourself into Pasty and not trying to stretch yourself too thinly doing too much at once. I am cutting back on a lot of things and my work with the MOPS program will be done next month for about a 4 month stretch until they start up again in last Summer again. My volunteer work becomes a "lifeline" of sorts in the Summer if that makes any sense. I do plan on spending lots of time with my grandkids this Summer also with the new baby due in May and with my older grandsons who are growing so quickly. :)
DeleteI think you're doing really well, Debbie, especially with all that is going on with you. Give yourself a break, sweetheart. I hope you feel better soon!
ReplyDeletexo,
rue
Thanks Rue, I am working that. ;) Be blessed my friend!
DeleteYour breads sound/look delicious. Right now I am craving breads more than anything. Funny how stress works. Glad you are having a better week.
ReplyDeleteHugs, Jen
HI Jen, stress makes me crave carbs too. ;) That is one of the things that I need to limit though and it kills me. Haha! Be blessed!
DeleteCare to share the name of the doctor who was from Boise? Who knows, I might just jump in a plane...
ReplyDeleteHad my appointment this morning with the new to me doctor. I came out of the appointment feeling like I had won the lottery. She referred me to a CFS clinic at a local hospital - something my other doctor refused to do saying I wasn't sick 'enough'. This doctor listened and I felt like I had her attention. She is also referring me for a sleep study, also something no other doctor has recommended. Both referrals will take a while to get into. Don't care. Oh, and this gal is young and won't be retiring any time soon. Might have to worry about maternity leave but not for today at least. The clinic was a new one as well - easy to get to and free parking. But an hour each way in traffic. So I'm wiped.
Thanks for all your kind words and your writings. I'm so blessed that I found you and your blog. Hope you are having a good week. SJ
HI SJ, his name is Dr. Vance. I am so glad that you found a wonderful and supportive doctor there! What a blessing that is. I'm glad you have a CFS clinic there. I wish we had one closer to me. Please share with me what you learn there when you are able to get it. I've been doing more research online and finding other things that may help people like you and I. I'll share more about that later after I try some of the stuff and see if it works.
DeleteI too feel so blessed that you and I have connected this way. If you are ever down this way again, please let me know, I would love to meet you in person. I think we would have so much fun!