Two Week Frugal Friday Wrap Up 3/31-4/13 2018

   


   Jaysn and Rachel are finally totally moved, their old house is cleaned and they sign the final papers this Wednesday.  It has been a long process and they, along with Jeff and I, are all exhausted.   We have been trying to take care of Steven as much as we are able to have been having the kids up for meals also.  Today Heather, Bradley and Isaiah stopped by and Jaysn, Rachel and Steven came up so we could have some family time.  Chris was at home sleeping after a very long overnight shift at work.  This afternoon I went down to take care of Steven for a bit while Jaysn and Rachel got some things moved into storage.  Poor little guy was beyond exhausted and could not fall asleep until Mommy came back to hold him.  Hopefully, now that they are getting settled in, Steven can get back on a regular schedule and that will help everyone, but especially him. 😉 Yesterday Jeff and I rested and watched movies for the most part.  We did have Jaysn and Steven come up for dinner since Rachel was finishing up at the old house and I knew that Jaysn would not eat a good dinner without her since he was so busy with Steven.  Steven managed to escape the baby gate so keeping him corralled is getting harder and harder.  We sure are enjoying having them close and it was so good to have all the grandboys here earlier and watch them thoroughly enjoy each other. 💓  Now nto the two weeks of savings...


WEEK ONE:
~Saturday I was not feeling well so I stayed home while Jeff went in and worked on Jaysn and Rachel's house getting some things done there that the home inspector said needed to be fixed.
~I sent a bunch of the pasta salad I made on Friday in for Jaysn and Rachel.
~We hot tubbed later that night.
~Easter Sunday we both stayed home and rested for the most part.
~I did make 2 loaves of bread that day and Jeff worked on some laundry.
~Monday Jeff and I headed into help Rachel with a few more items on the fix it list.  I watched Steven while they ran into town to get some supplies.
~Jeff picked up 2 discounted foot long sandwiches from Walmart's deli and I cut them up into 6 pieces.  Rachel and I only had 1 piece each so Jeff was able to have some for lunch and also took the rest for his "lunch" while he worked overnight.
~Rachel gave me a beautiful tortilla press.  She and I will be experimenting this Summer with making flatbreads with it and adding garden veggies to the dough.
~I found some marked down seeds at the big hardware store.  They were clearing out that line and going with a new vendor so I got 10 packs at .25 and 6 packs at .50 each.  These were all things that we love!
~Monday early evening, I finally got the taxes done and filed.  That is a huge relief. We are able to file for free since we are under the income guidelines.
~I froze the leftover taco meat for a future meal.
~Dinner Monday night was another sheet pan meal of sweet potatoes and Italian sausage served with crisp Fuji apple slices.  I put the leftovers away to have for my lunch tomorrow.  I have really been working on cutting down my portion sizes.
~More free magazines came in the mail  including the Lego magazine I get for Bradley.
~Tuesday I worked on my points programs.  Swagbucks had their I Spy extra points that day and I try to get as many of them as I can along with running some of the other point earning programs in the background.  I find the point earning programs work better for me in Microsoft Edge rather than Chrome, which is what I mainly use.
~A menu plan was finally done based on what we have here and needs to be used up ASAP.
~Leftovers were my lunch today and boy did they taste good.
~I managed to get 2 loads of clothing, sheets, towels and all the throws washed.  I am debating on putting away most of the Wintery themed throws away and breaking out the more Spring looking ones but the cats have been kneading on the Winter ones and making little pulls and I really don't want them doing that to the afghans that usually come out at this time of year.
~Jeff told me that I needed some more supplements so I again went through the link at Swagbucks to Vitacost, got in on a B1G1 half off for one of them and was able to use a code for 12% off and get free shipping.  I should get point for my purchase that will translate into more swagbucks.
~Dinner was Lemon Chicken Pasta made with one chicken breast (cut up into bite sized pieces), one bell pepper, half a zucchini, whole wheat linguine, garlic, butter, fresh lemon juice, olive oil, mushrooms, salt and pepper.  I thought I had made enough to have leftovers but Jeff was very hungry and had 2 large servings of it.
~Jeff built a kitchen drawer to replace the one at Jaysn and Rachel's that had fallen apart and Rachel threw out.  He thinks we have the right color paint to match the cabinets here on hand also.
~Wednesday I borrowed 3 movies from the library and bought 4 children's books @ .25 each from their book sale.
~Jaysn and Rachel fed us dinner since we went in to help them get the rest of the home buyers list of fixes done (well I played with the baby and Jeff did the work).
~I got some homemade smoked turkey soup out to thaw.
~Thursday was another "at home day".  Jeff did pick up some milk and bananas on his way home from work in the morning for me.
~I had some coleslaw mix that I needed to use up so I made a large Asian style salad for my dinner.  Jeff had bowling league so he had something to eat before he left for that and took and extra sandwich in his cooler bag to have before he reported for work later in the evening.
~Friday we celebrated Rachel's sister Michelle's birthday and while we were there got the official word that their house was now under contract!!!  Rachel's mom Joyce came up too and it was wonderful to visit with them both and to see Steven enjoying his Grandma and Auntie. He got really wound up and silly with all of us there and was going as fast as he could back and forth making sure that everyone got some snuggle time with him. 😊
~I raided my gift closet for a beautiful smelling candle and a nice birthday card for Michelle.
~Jeff and I went to Safeway and got a free roasted chicken from the deli, a free candy bar, a free yogurt, some Romaine lettuce, a can of cream of mushroom soup (marked down to .50), some dog food, cottage cheese (used a .50 off coupon) and 2 huge cantaloupes at $1.50 each.
~Dinner was homemade smoked turkey soup that I had previously made and frozen.
~I worked on my points programs.

WEEK TWO:
~Saturday Jeff and I stayed home and rested after a busy week and to make sure we had the energy to help Jaysn and Rachel move the next day.
~I made meatloaf, brown rice and sliced apples for dinner.
~Sunday we helped Jaysn and Rachel move.  She made pulled BBQed chicken and a nice salad for everyone that was helping.  Baby Steven spent most of the day with me at his old house or up at our house.
~We had leftovers for dinner.
~Monday Jeff and I took Steven for a walk in his stroller that we have here.
~I kept Steven at his apartment for the afternoon while Jeff slept here.  I managed to get him to nap and I was able to get some rest too.  Poor baby has been a bit confused with the move.
~I started reading a book I got at the thrift store.
~Dinner was the free chicken I got at Safeway on Friday served with leftover rice.
~Tuesday I made a chicken salad and some homemade chicken and rice soup with the leftover chicken and rice.
~Rachel was at the old house taking care of a few things and Jaysn was at their apartment getting things unpacked there.  I invited Jaysn and Steven to come up for lunch because Jaysn got so busy and forgot to eat.
~Jeff picked up some pastrami at the Grocery Outlet when he headed up to get my car back fromt he dealership where it was being repaired.
~Dinner was the soup and/or chicken salad.
~I renewed some things that were due at the library the next day since I planned on just resting on Wednesday.
~Wednesday I did not have Steven here for the day so I was able to rest.
~I've been working my points programs on the few days that I have actually been online.
~I cleaned out the refrigerator and made a menu based on what I have on hand that needs to be used up ASAP.
~With University of Idaho's Mom's Weekend happening this coming weekend, Jeff and I decided to go ahead and get all of our running around and shopping done so that we could avoid the crowds and chaos Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
~We stocked up on .87 a pound chicken thighs and now have enough to feed our huge family at our family reunion next month.  My chest freezer is packed!
~We found more huge boxes of the Honey Nut Cheerios at the Dollar Tree along with Amope pedicure kits.  We also picked up large boxes of Scotties tissues, applesauce, a .25 bag of jelly beans, sausage, crackers, snack bars, and Q-tips.
~Walmart has the cheapest unscented kitty litter so we got some there along with a phone card for Jeff, and some baby food items for Steven.  I also found a 3 pack of chain extenders for necklaces on clearance and I had been needing some.
~Winco had some great deals on produce so I stocked up on apples, strawberries and bananas.
~Thursday I made scrapple.
~I watched Steven in the afternoon for a bit and we had a great time.  Rachel brought up the large baby fence with gate and we now have it across the opening to the kitchen so we can keep him out of the dog food and water, the cats can escape from a very curious little one and it keeps Steven safer.
~Jaysn used our hot tub to try and ease his sore muscles.
~Friday was a major crash/flare day for me so I put on a soothing video that I found on YouTube that helped me get to a more calm state.  Here it is if you want to check it out...Stunning Aquarium & the Best Relax Music.  It reminds me of the magic of the underwater world when I would go snorkeling as a child growing up in Hawaii.
~I managed to get 2 loaves of bread made.
~I pulled another bottle of creamer and some pork chops out of the freezer to thaw.  I love having a fully stocked freezer so that I don't have to make so many trips to the grocery store.
~I ordered Jeff and TENS unit from Amazon that had really good customer reviews to see if that will help with the pain he is having in his hands and back.  I want Jaysn to try it out too and see if it helps him.  If it does, I will buy him one also.  I got the unit for under $30 with free shipping included.  I'm going to see if it works for my fibro pain too.


   My plans for this week include making a Costco run with Rachel.  Her mother gave her a membership there so we are heading down to pick up a few things.  I was very blessed to see quite a few items that I was planning on buying going on sale the day we are shopping there.  She is driving so I will buy lunch for us.  I'm not sure if we are taking her car or mine yet.  It will be nice to spend the day with her and Steven.  Here's to a great week for everyone!