Frugal Friday Wrap Up 7/9/21

 

      Good Saturday Morning!  We have smoke filled skies here from all the wildfires around us but I refuse to let that and some other things get me down. 😊  I had a good chuckle this morning when I found out that my grandson Isaiah specifically requested Grammie's homemade macaroni and cheese as part of his birthday dinner.  It is one of his favorites and only Grammie makes it the way he likes it (I am going to have to teach him how to make it).  When he requested homemade macaroni and cheese, Heather told him that is not something she is good at making...he told her "I know that, I meant Grammie's homemade mac and cheese".  LOL!  Now Heather is an amazing cook and her baked good are out of this world good, but apparently her mac and cheese is not up to Isaiah's standards. 😁  So yes, Isaiah, Grammie will be more than happy to make homemade mac and cheese for your birthday party!  Onto the frugal doings for the week:

Weekend:

~Jeff picked a bunch of cherries off our tree.  This is the tree that we had to cut way back in an effort to save it.  I think the loaded cherries are it's way of saying "Thank you".🍒

~We returned an item that did not work to Goodwill and used the instore credit to buy a new bra (yes, brand spanking new) and a blue Fiesta ware bowl.  Found the bra online... retails for $45.99!

~We had been blessed with a Safeway gift card that I thought was for $40...turned out to be for $50.  We went shopping there to stock up on some sale items and I also had uploaded a digital coupon for a free 3 pack of paper towels.  They were out of the corn on the cob, so I got a raincheck for that.  Once I got home I realized that the Colgate toothpaste rang up at 3 for a total of $1.03.  Gotta love combining sales with digital coupons.  Since I used my gift card, I still got everything for free and I have a nice balance left on the gift card to boot!

~We also stopped by the Dollar Tree so I could pick up a scrub brush with a handle so I can scrub the living room rug down and let it dry before storing it for the warmer months.  We did pick up a few other needed items while were there also like their version of Pepto Bismol, witchhazel facial wipes, and more aluminum free antiperspirant.  

~I picked more raspberries from our bushes.

~We watched the first two Beverly Hills Cop dvds.  

Monday:

~Jeff and I picked another 2 huge bowls full of cherries.

~I cooked burgers for dinner and made a jalapeno and cream cheese spread for my burger.  Just mince up some jalapeno slices and mix with some softened cream cheese.  Easy and so good!  I learned this from our Heather.

~More raspberries were picked.

~I sorted through 2 dresser drawers and found a bag full of things to donate.

Tuesday:

~My cousin Jeremy came over to pick cherries and to pick up the comic books that I had bought for him last week.  I also sent him home with 3 jars of natural peanut butter that Jeff decided he was not a fan of since they did not contain sugar.  Jeremy, being the amazingly generous cousin that he is, brought treats for Jeff and I...  three kinds of specialty Harry and David's popcorn and some delicious cookies.  Yes, he spoils us!

~Jeremy also helped me come up with a solution to trying to host the July family birthday celebrations at our home.  He suggested we just wait until August to do July, August and September birthdays all at once.  Between everyone's busy schedules and now a funeral and celebration of life ceremony that Jeff and I will be going to, it just got way too crazy to try and fit anything else in that would work for everyone.  That really helps take the stress level way down.  I am so thankful that he came up with that wonderful solution and I feel so blessed to have him in our lives.

~I had leftovers for lunch.

~I picked more strawberries and raspberries.

~Some of the strawberries were cut up and frozen.

~I made a chicken alfredo for dinner with things we had on hand and some things from the garden.  Lots leftover.

~I gave some of our cherries to our neighbors.

Wednesday:

~Yellow squash, strawberries and raspberries harvested.

~Leftovers for lunch.

~Worked on my points programs for a bit.

~We had high temperatures and strong winds here.  It brought in smoke from various fires and blew dust around.  I closed up the house and took refuge in my living room with one of the fans blowing for a good part of the day until I had to also turn on the AC in there.

~I pitted and froze 12 cups of sweet cherries.  I also froze a quart sized bag of raspberries.

~Leftovers for dinner.

Thursday:

~It was my birthday and Jeff and I have an agreement that I don't have to do anything I don't want to on my birthday. 😁  Therefore I did absolutely nothing and once Jeff got home I asked him to just relax with me...the clogged up drain in the kitchen could wait another day.  The water had gone down but it took hours to do so.  He will tackle that on Friday.

~Jeff brought home Panda Express food for dinner.  It was really good and it cost a lot less than going out for dinner.  It was what I wanted because I honestly just felt like being home.

~All the boys called to wish me a Happy Birthday and so did my parents.  I got lots of beautiful birthday wishes from friends, family and my hanai kids via Facebook also. 

~We arranged for Steven's first sleepover at Grammie and G-pa's house next Saturday.  Jeff will pick him up after he gets off work at 2 p.m. that day and ring him home.  I think we will make pizza for dinner since I know he loves that and he like to help cook. 😁

Friday:

~I woke up in a lot of pain (dang Fibro) and in a funk.  I had nightmares and today is also my beloved grandmother's birthday.  I realized that I am just 5 years younger now than she was when she passed away.  We were extremely close and I still mourn her loss and always will. So on that note, I will be kind to myself today, take things slow and try to remember all the good times my grandmother and I shared.

~I had coffee out on the screened in porch while it was still cool enough to do so.  We are under a heat watch starting tomorrow so I am trying to enjoy the cooler temperatures while I can.  I really do love our screened in porch. 😃

~Later in the day I felt a "nudge" on my heart to NOT let Fibromyagia take as much away from me as it has.  I know that nudge was from my Grandma because it was one of those "Debbie, get out there and live your life to the fullest" messages which is exactly what my Grandma would have said.  Since I was feeling strong and mentally awake, I decided to drive myself into town to do the shopping.  For most people I realize this is a ??? moment and normal.  For me, this is not normal.  I usually do not trust myself to drive.  Today I did.  Yay me!  After 3 stops at the stores though I was totally worn out and so sore...but I did it!

~I stopped at the thrift store and found a cute board book for my youngest grandson Tate (it's about piggies), some magazines, a decorating book, 2 new bras (super soft and comfy and since I only wear my bras once and then wash them, I needed more) and a beautiful dish.

~My new health insurance made my prescriptions free!  Gotta love that!

~I picked up some things at Walmart including a huge red bucket to store toys in.  Grammie's new rule will be that the grandboys get to pick which toys they want to keep to play with here and they must fit in the basket.  I have way too many toys for them and most are never played with.

~Grocery Outlet had some amazing deals like 4 boxed of Triscuits for $2.97.  We go through these like crazy here!  I also picked up some pork loin roasts, apricots, reduced priced salad kits (quick and easy), more chips and some cookies for Jeff and stuff to make homemade Taco Bell Crunch Wraps.  Oh, I almost forgot, I found turkey bacon for $1.47 a package and got 2 of those and threw them in the freezer for BLT's once my tomatoes from the garden are ripe.

~I picked more raspberries from the garden.

~We received a coupon for a free product at Bath and Body Works, a free Lego magazine for Bradley and Isaiah, and a free Parents magazine  that will go to Rachel.

   Jeff is currently working on fixing the kitchen sink plumbing.  We had a clog in it and he had to take all the pipes out to clean them, remove the garbage disposal and clean that, snake the drain and is now putting everything back together again.  It's a good thing he has lots of experience doing this over the years. 😉

I would hate to think what a plumber would have cost us.  YIKES!  Hopefully the smoky skies will clear a bit so we can get outside and pick raspberries and the rest of the cherries today.  I also have to check and see if my zucchini and yellow squash that I have been watching are ready to harvest today.  I like to pick them when they get to a certain size, no bigger or smaller.  Be blessed all!