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| When somebody steals your blankie and your spot. |
Well it has been another interesting week. I was doing so well until I made an unplanned trip to Costco. Other than that, I think I did really well in the frugality department. 😉 I had lots of fun spending time with friends and family this week as we celebrated Jaysn's birthday and I got a girls day with my neighbor/hanai sister Shannon. All in all it has been a great week that has left me feeling happy and very blessed! Onto the savings...
~Saturday we decided to do one of the things on our Fall Bucket List and headed to the local Farmer's Market. I was thrilled when I found Poha (ground cherries) there and bought some of those and some pears.
~Our microwave had died on Friday so we dropped it off at the recycling center and they were having a customer appreciation BBQ so we got a free lunch along with free coffee, cookies and hot cocoa,
~We found a replacement microwave oven in great and clean shape that looks like it was barely used at one of the local thrift stores (it even came with it's manual). It is an older model but we have found that they are way better made than the newer ones and the seal is good and tight. We bought that and a shirt that was on clearance there for a grand total of $10.50.
~We found some nice Winter snow boots for Isaiah at the Salvation Army thrift store for $3.98. He is growing so quickly and his boots that he has now just barely fit.
~We stopped at Winco and bought some crackers, family sized brownie mixes that were on sale for .88 each (that is a great stock up price so I bought 4 since I still have a few in the pantry already) , and some celery.
~Saturday night we watched the movie on Netflix, had a "snack dinner" of cheese, crackers and sausage and hot tubbed.
~Sunday, I made us a really nice dinner of lamb chops (that I had bought awhile back at a reduced price), baked potatoes, green beans and acorn squash. I also had a glass of wine with it.
~Monday found me baking more bread for my hubby and making croutons with the leftover bread from last week.
~Monday I also stayed home and Jeff ran a few errands here in town for us. He worked on cleaning out more of the front gardens and hauled off a bunch of yard waste to our free yard waste recycling area.
~I harvested a few rather confused raspberries off our plants and shared some with our neighbor.
~I cashed in my points at Swagbucks for a Cracker Barrel gift card and got it at a discount too. I am trying to alternate Walmart and other gift cards so that we can have some fun eating out and not pay much out of pocket over the holidays or when we find ourselves up in the bog city. 😉
~Dinner Monday night was turkey (previously cooked and then frozen), stuffing, leftover green beans and leftover acorn squash. We also had some ice cream for dessert. Oh yes, I had a glass of wine with dinner too from the bottle that I opened the previous night.
~I watched more of my favorite shows online.
~Tuesday I placed an order at Vitacost going through the link at Swagbucks so that I would get 3 Swagbucks per $ spent. I also hit a buy 1 get one half off sale, got a free product (for circulation and will have Jeff try that and see if it helps him), got $10 off and also free shipping.
~We had soup for dinner on Tuesday night. Jeff had homemade split pea and I had some clam chowder. We finished the rest of the blueberry coffee cake that I made last Friday for dessert.
~Wednesday was our oldest son Jaysn's 30th birthday! 😁Finances are a bit tight and I was racking my brain trying to figure out a gift for him. It finally dawned on me that he loved my banana bread and is always thrilled when I give him some. I made him a HUGE loaf and dug a birthday card out of my greeting card stash.
~After popping the banana bread in the oven to bake, I cooked up some pork shumai for lunch for myself. I was craving Chinese food and found these in the freezer.
~Rachel had the whole family over for dinner to celebrate Jaysn's birthday (after she had worked all day at her house cleaning job).
~Thursday my friend/hanai sister called me and asked if I wanted to go to Costco with her. I knew if I went it would totally blow my October Grocery Budget Challenge, but I am weak and went anyway...what can I say, we were taking her adorable puppy with us and I was craving some girl time. I was good about staying within my set "Costco" budget though.
~Shannon gifted me with one of those gigantic multipacks of toilet paper. She also insisted on buying me lunch. She is one amazing friend.
~We were gifted a bunch of food while Jeff did our volunteer work.
~I made a large salad for dinner on Thursday using some of the Romaine lettuce and some leftover turkey slices.
~Friday I made 2 loaves of bread and some cookies. We are going on a picnic on Saturday so I needed these items for them.
~By Friday afternoon, I was in a big fibro flare so I just pulled some frozen stuff out of the inside freezer for dinner. Tamales and leftovers are on the menu for dinner now.
~I hot tubbed Friday night hoping to ease my tired muscles.
~I found a new series on Netflix called "Land Girls" that I have been enjoying watching". It is based during the Second World War in Great Britain.
As the days grow shorter and the nights are longer I find myself trying to enjoy every minute of the glorious colors of Fall during the day and curling up in the evening in my recliner with a fuzzy throw on my lap along with a very happy Doofy cat cuddling in with me. For whatever reason, my insomnia gets worse during the colder months so I also find myself dozing off during the day at times. Such is my life, but overall it is a good life. 😊
Sounds like you are as busy as ever.
ReplyDelete:) Yes, we have been busy enjoying the beautiful Fall weather, spending time with the kids and grandkids and getting the gardens put to bed.
DeleteGreat finds - especially that microwave.
ReplyDeleteInteresting about your insomnia. I've been challenged lately with waking up at 3 or 4am and not being able to get back to sleep. I hadn't linked that to the change in seasons but that makes sense.
Something I learned this week - per DrGreg, he said low Vitamin A levels will effect how VitD is absorbed. Still have to buy some Vit A. Will go shopping this week. I don't like to shop on the weekends if I can help it.
Take good care - SJ
Hi SJ, that is interesting about the Vitamin A and D connection. With the insomnia, I frequently can't get to sleep until 3 or 4 a.m., like last night. I'm dragging today.
DeleteGlad you got so much family time in.
ReplyDeletegreat deal on the microwave and you saved something from the landfill!
Big box stores are hard to get out of without spending. It's a definite downfall of mine. That is why I hardly ever go.
Hope you have another great week!
Hi Cheryl, we loved the deal we got on the microwave also. :) Costco always sucks me in, thus the reason we do not have a Costco membership and I only go with friends or family. ;)
DeleteGot to love Costco! I'm glad you had fun with your friend, and hopefully got a bunch of stuff you wanted. I can always find more than enough things we like at Costco--love the food there!
ReplyDeleteMy family continued to eat like hungry wolves at the end of winter. Go figure. I can't figure it out, but I cooked a lot this week. Even one of the girls who hardly ever eats or cooks did both:) Boy the pasta/turkey/mushroom dish she made looked great and the few bites I got were super! Then she ATE. THE. WHOLE. PAN. FULL!!! This child is the one that we have to coax to eat, monitor her weight because she loses too much, the one we let eat chips for breakfast to try to put on weight....and so on. I tell you--something is in the air!!
We did a few outside chores yesterday because it was sunny. We did not get the garden tilled, though. Rob planned to do it this afternoon, when we figured it would be dry enough, but it rained unexpectedly again, and so it is now too wet. That may have to wait until spring. I did pull all the hoses and sprinklers, though, in anticipation, so they are out of there.
Have a great week.
Hi Becky, I had to giggle about your daughter eating so much. It sounds like her body needed it though. :)
DeleteJeff has been busy in the garden here as well. He has decided to wait until Spring to till again. It has been a race against the weather just to get all the old plants and weeds out.
You were busy as always!
ReplyDeleteI went to Costco in Florida, when I was in the States. It's huge and it's a temptation! :D
Every girl needs one of those days, every once in a while. Hope you and your family have a great week, Debbie!
:)
Hi Paula, thanks and yes, I did need that. :) We have been enjoying spending time with the kids and grandkids and enjoying Fall!
DeleteGlad you could find a replacement microwave at a good price. And your meals always sound so good!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sandy! I am trying to document our meals so I can look back and be inspired when I get in one of my food ruts. ;)
DeleteI'm curious - is your Costco budget part of your grocery budget? I'm always looking for new ways to manage my money.
ReplyDeleteThe dog and I survived Halloween but I'm tired. Fireworks started up about 9am and went for while. Poor dog -- he was not happy. If anyone came to the door earlier in the evening, I didn't hear them. I had some candy in case some of the younger kids came around when it was still light but no one did. Now the candy is almost gone -hahaha.
Hope all is well. SJ
SJ, I don't go to Costco that often, but I do include it in my food budget when I go. I try to get things there that I need when the prices are really good. For example, I bought a 2 pound bag of yeast for $4.49 and that will last me for at least 6 months! Since I bake our bread, we go through lots of yeast.
DeleteI had no idea that people set off fireworks on Halloween. They do not do that here. I feel so bad for your dog. Caesar is afraid of fireworks also. I did not buy any candy since we do not celebrate Halloween in our family but I am sorely tempted to hit the after Halloween sales for reduced priced candy. ;)
Fireworks are really big here for Halloween, NewYears and Canada Day (July1). Some of the cities are starting to ban them. I hope more join in as the noon news had quite a few stories about fires that had been started. I like the big shows put on by the cities and the professionals. The personal ones, I'm not a fan of. At least none were set off right at my apartment - the closest were across the street in a parking lot.
ReplyDeleteThx for answering my question about Costco - Wow, 2# of yeast for $4 -- that's a deal hard to pass up.
Cheers, SJ
They banned some of the fireworks here during the summer and I wish they had banned them all, other than the professional ones. One of the huge fires, the one in the Columbia River Gorge, was caused by an idiot teenager who threw a smoke bomb over the edge of a hiking trail.
DeleteSounds like another great, frugal week! I let my Costco membership lapse as I felt I wasn't buying enough to make the membership fee worth it.
ReplyDelete