Frugal Friday Wrap Up 12/3/21

 

Goofy G-pa and Tate

   Hello again and yes, this is a Frugal Friday Wrap Up!  I really do like doing these to not only remind myself of how I saved money and be able to look back and glean ideas again when my frugal mojo is waning, but to help others find inspiration as well.  Part of our time for this week's frugal doings was spent in Montana where we had Thanksgiving with our son Josh, our Lauren, grandbaby Tate, my brother Fritz and my parents.  It was so wonderful to be able to be together again and see my brother after 2 years, spend time with my parents and of course enjoy time with our Josh and Lauren and to be able to love on our little man Tate.  Oh my goodness, has he got personality plus!  So many precious memories were made and I will cherish them for the rest of my life.  I did forget my camera at my mother's house (she is going to mail it back to me), so there will be no pictures this week. Now onto the frugal doings...

~My mother made turkey and rice soup with the leftover turkey.  It was so good!  I have not had it in years since Jeff prefers turkey noodle soup, so that is what I usually make with any turkey carcus that I have on hand.

~Mom sent me home with some more of her homemade pot scrubbers.  I love them!  She also gave me a beautiful Winter hat that she knit in a lovely teal color...so pretty!

~My mother and I went through her fabric stash and picked out material for 3 cobbler style aprons and 4 sets of 6 napkins.  This is what I really wanted since my favorite apron is now threadbare.  I will be sending it to my mother to use as a pattern to make the new aprons.

~We found matching Montana shirts for Bradley, Isaiah and Steven on sale.  They will get those on Christmas.  We will have them all open them at the same time.  They love to dress alike so this will be fun!

~I found a shirt for Steven, a Chico's sweater and dress for me and a thirty one brand Christmas bag at the thrift store in Bigfork Montana.  I spent under $10 for all of them.

~My mother saw all my pill bottles and how I had to remember what to take in the morning and what to take at night.  She had an extra AM and PM pill case that she gave to me so I can just fill them up at the beginning of the week and not have to worry about it.

~Josh treated the whole family to brunch at our favorite restaurant in Montana the morning that we were leaving to come home.

~Josh also gifted Jeff $60 for gas money for the way home.  He knows we are on a tight budget and wanted to bless us.

~My mother made us our traditional Christmas crepe breakfast while we were there.  I have missed having that on Christmas morning so very much and it was so sweet of her to do that for us!  There were so many crepes left, along with 4 fruit fillings, that she was able to freeze them to have ready when my brother Eric, sweet SIL Christie and my nephews Cade and Eli spend Christmas with my parents and brother Fritz.

~We stopped at the Dollar Tree in CDA on our way home and got lots of 4-packs of plastic containers for me to be able to package up Christmas treats in.  They also had one of my favorite teas that I cannot find at our local Dollar Tree, so I bought several boxes.

~We also stopped at the Winco up there and I found my almond bark that I needed on sale along with some Andes chocolate mint chips that I am thinking of using to make fudge with.  We picked up some bread and milk while we were there, along with apples, bagels, and a few other items.

~Jeff made us grilled cheese on Sourdough bread on Monday night while I unpacked us after the long drive home.

~Tuesday found me at home for the day getting caught up on the mountain of laundry and having my Telemed appointment with my doctor.  I got some meatballs going in the crockpot and added some onions soup mix along with a can of cream of mushroom soup.  Later I added some Chardonay wine to it, along with some sour cream, cooked up some egg noodles and added those to the meatballs.  It made for a delicious and easy meal and yielded lots of leftovers for Jeff to take to work the next day and also for me for lunches for 2 days.

~Wednesday I ran down to the library to pick up a book that was on hold there for me.  They had free enrichment activity kits so I picked up one of those for Bradley and Isaiah since it was at their age level.

~I ran into Pullman to pick up my prescription at Walmart and do some shopping.  I found some lovely plush bath towels and hand towels in someone's favorite on sale and picked those up as a Christmas gift for them. I also found the outdoor solar light stakes for .97 each, some butane lighters, a candle and a silicone small brush on sale.  They also had refrigerated crescent roll dough for .50 a tube and cinnamon roll double packs for $2 each.  I bought some of each. Walmart also had the best price around on canned green beans and cream of mushroom soup.  I bought a flat of each (a dozen cans) because we go through a lot of these.

~Of course no trip would be complete without a trip to the Grocery Outlet.  I found ham on sale there and got a nice one for a little over $8!  Everywhere else that I had seen them they were $20 and up!  I bought one for Christmas and Jeff was thrilled!  He loves his ham on Christmas and this year he will have it. 😁While there I also picked up a big bag of oranges, some sweet potatoes, a large 3 pack of smoked sausages (I will divide these and freeze 2 of them for future meals), chips and cheese balls (huge container and bag) as treats, specialty cheeses (again treats), huge boxes of Jeff's favorite cereal, and more.  

~Jeff and I had agreed that our trip to Montana was our Christmas gift to each other, but I still wanted to get him something small to open on Christmas morning.  I bought Lindt dark chocolate bars in 80%, 85% and 90% dark chocolate for him to try to see which is his favorite.  He loves dark chocolate, so I thought this would be a huge hit with him.

~Speaking of chocolate, my amazing Uncle Gary and Aunt April once again sent us a large box of Esther Price chocolates for Christmas.

~I made Crescent Roll Calzones for dinner on Wednesday night.  They were so easy to make and Jeff loved them.  He took the last one to work for his lunch on Thursday.  I had leftover pizza sauce that I will use in another upcoming meal.

~My mother needed new almond colored switch plates and dimmer switches.  She could not find them anywhere in her area.  Jeff was able to order some for her through his connections at his job.  I know she will be thrilled to get them and this will be a "just because" gift from us to her.

~I had found mixed nuts in shells on sale so I got some and put them out along with a nut cracker and nut picks.  I remember my grandparents always had these out at Christmas time and it was so much fun to crack those nuts and eat them.

~Christmas music has been filling home via YouTube.  Christmas candles have also been lit at night to further that warm and cozy feeling.

~I changed out some of the Fall themed pictures for Winter themed ones and also added some Christmas /Winter themed throws and Christmas pillow shams that my mother made on out pillows.

~I called my mother on Friday morning to chat and tell her that Jeff had found those switched at one of their other stores.  He had mentioned that there were a few more in stock there, but that was it.  My mother wants him to buy up all they have and send them to her so she has them on hand.  They are not being made anymore from what Jeff and my mom have seen, so when they are gone, they are gone.  I sent a text to Jeff telling him to order them all!

~My mother also told me about a former student of her's who bought some old books and noticed in one of the little children's books that it had an inscription that said "To Debbie from Lynn".  My name is Debbie and my mom's name is Lynn.  She got ahold of my mom and sent it to her thinking it must have been one of the ones my mother had sold years ago before moving to Montana.  My mom thought it was odd that she would have signed it Lynn, but upon further inspection realized that it was a Christmas gift to me from my old babysitter when we lived in California before moving to Hawaii when I was 3 years old!  How cool is that?  Mom is sending it to me. 😀

~We have a deep freeze and snow coming so I harvested the Swiss chard, some green onions and some kale from the garden. I cut up and froze most of the green onions and I used the kale as part of dinner Friday night.

~With Winter and the Christmas season here, I swapped out some of my regular coffee mugs for my Winter and Christmas themed ones.  There is just something "cozy" about having Christmas and Winter themed mugs this time of year to drink my coffee, tea, hot cocoa, spiced cider and hot mulled wine out of.  It really is the little things that can make life more special.

~We are still having tomatoes that we harvested when they were green ripening.  Friday I used several on Avocado Toast for lunch.  It was so yummy!

~Jeff called and told me he was able to get an appointment to have his knee checked (he is way overdue to have his knee replacement checked) half an hour after we have our Covid boosters.  The offices where we need to be for both share the same lobby and are next to each other.  I will get my labs done before we get our shots.  I am so glad we can combine them all together on the same day and back to back since they are all in the same complex.

~Jeff got a great deal on some materials from work.  He will definitely be using them to build things for us and our kids.

~I have really enjoyed going through my Christmas books and getting new ideas for decorating, crafts and recipes.

   

   I should probably wrap this post up and actually get it up online.  The sun is starting to get lower in the sky and I will have to turn on some lights here in the house soon.  Praying that everyone who reads this has a wonderful weekend!

The Creeping Crud Caught Me and Catching Up

Zion National Park

    Last week the Creeping Crud (virus that is going around) caught me and has laid me up pretty good.  Today was the first day that I have been able to really leave the house in about a week.  We needed more groceries and I was looking for some cold weather snow bibs for Steven.  No snow bibs found but we did get some great marked down deals on meat and baked goods.  A few hours out of the house and I am now happy to be back home in comfy clothes sitting beside the warm pellet stove and listening to some calming music.  I am one worn out sick chic. 😉

   Before I go any further on this post, I would like to ask for your prayers, good thoughts and anything else you can do for the people in California that have lost their homes, livestock, pets and friends and family in the terrible fires.  The devastation is heartbreaking.  We have a family friend who lives in Paradise and he escaped with his life.  Within the last day or so found that his home is one of the few left standing and they say the only reason it was is because he had a large swatch of defendable cleared space around it.  The pictures of how close the fire and what all is charred shows a clear circle around his place.  David is one of the lucky ones.  Many others have lost everything and the loss of life, which is the hardest thing, continues to climb.  I am praying that our friend Bless, who is also a blogger down near the other big fire, is okay also.

   It has turned really cold here and that is affecting my Fibromyalgia and making me flare more often.  My body reacts to the cold by stiffening up big time and it can be quite painful.  The  weather patterns also get me every time.  I'm also experiencing new symptoms that can pop up with Fibro.  I am now up to 168 symptoms with the latest being feeling like you have bugs crawling on you.  YUCK!

   My mind is also slowly releasing bits of information about my past that I have kept locked away because they have just been too much and too painful for me to deal with.  I now understand why I have kept these things tucked away for so long.  If everything had come out all at once, I would have had a total mental breakdown I am sure.  It has brought back all those old feelings of insecurity, feeling unwanted, used, terrified and a hurt that is so deep that you can get pulled down into the depths of the whirlpool of despair if you do not have a loving support team around you as you process it all.  With each new morsel of information being released though it is like grieving for the childhood me and for the effect that it still has on my life today.  It is an exhausting and extremely painful process but one that is necessary and that I hope will help me to heal.  It really has helped me to realize why I am the way I am and why I have Fibromyalgia, Anxiety, Depression, PTSD and OCD among other things.   I am praying that I can overcome many of the things that are going on with me...it would be nice to not have to deal with so much all the time.

   Even in the midst of all of this there are still moments of great joy though.  I've been able to spend time with Jaysn, Rachel and Steven (who were also sick) and get lots of little boy cuddles, smiles, laughter and still feel very needed.  Jeff has been helping Chris and Heather build their home and apparently Isaiah could not get enough time with G-pa and wanted to be his helper this past weekend so he did.  That made Jeff so happy and filled his "love tank" to overflowing.  Evenings spent cuddled up under fleece throws usually find a purring cat (or two) on my lap at any given moment.  Lots of hearty meals have been enjoyed like homemade stew and split pea soup with ham followed by ice cream with homemade huckleberry topping.  I'm finally back to being able to make bread again for Jeff and I am enjoying that.  Some of my favorite Fall themed pictures have once again found themselves back up on the walls so I can enjoy them and the more Summery ones are put away until it is time to switch things out again.  It's funny how little things like that can mean so much to me, but they do.  I need to end this post now and try to convince Caesar that it is time to come in from the cold since the sun is getting lower in the sky and the temperature is dropping quickly.  Be blessed!

   
   

   

   

   

Pushed that "Reset Button" and Doing Better Emotionally

 

   Sometimes we all need something big to happen to help us push that reset button and sometimes it is a series of smaller things that lead us to that moment.  I recently had both.  

   It is no secret that I have been struggling emotionally and physically for some time now.  I have been taking needed steps to try and get into a better place in both areas but was still having trouble "letting go" of an ongoing and very unhealthy extended family issue that has been taking a huge toll on all of us.  There was still a place in my heart that wondered if there was any hope that there would be a softening of hearts and accountability taken for hurtful personal choices made by others that have been made to cause great emotional pain to my husband, kids, grandkids and myself.  I learned within the past few weeks due to another incident that things are beyond hope and that the lies, "playing the victim and martyr", etc. are just getting worse by the ones causing the issues in the first place and that they are definitely not going to change.  Strangely, that has brought some relief because now my husband and I no longer play the "what if" game, as in what if his parents were hospitalized or on their deathbed, would he even be allowed to see them.  Now we know that we would be blocked from seeing one of them (and they would be told that we did not want to see them which is NOT true) and that the other one does not want to see my husband (and especially not me) at all and that, as usual, it is all my fault for even breathing.  Yep, apparently they are still using me as the scapegoat for all their bad personal choices in life.  It is interesting to me though that they exposed exactly what they are doing to the one person in my immediate family that they still had a relationship with and that person called them out on all of it.  It really hurt my husband to the core to find out what they were still saying and doing, but I think the not knowing if he would be allowed to ever see them and if he would be turned away on the spot hurt more than now knowing for sure that even if they were dying, we were not to be told anything.  It is just another way to drive that knife deeper into his heart and to again play the martyr on their end.  That is their choice and they have to live with the consequences of it.  There is nothing we can do to change things when the other party/parties, just use whatever they can to continue to try and cause pain to our family.  We refused to continue to stupidly "invest" and participate in the head games they were playing and that made them angry.  So yes, as hurtful as it is, we can now have some closure on that issue and hopefully put it all behind us.

   The other thing that happened that really helped was being able to totally get away for awhile and experience new things with no responsibilities whatsoever.  We just got back from a wonderful vacation in Las Vegas where our son Josh and his beautiful future bride Lauren generously hosted us.  We stayed at their home and were able to meet up with some of my childhood friends, were gifted a beautiful cd that my friend Gary and his family just recorded, had one of my hanai sons over for lunch, reconnected with one of my cousins, checked out another cousin's new restaurant, ate way too much good food, and got to explore both Red Rocks Canyon and Zion National Park.  Josh and Lauren built in days of rest for me in between our big outings, which I really appreciated, and allowed me to be able to do as much as we did.  Traveling there and back was difficult for me and caused me high levels of pain that even Hydrocodone was not touching, but it was so worth it!

   As much fun as we had, it was also wonderful to return home and be with our fur babies, see our Jaysn, Rachel and Steven waiting for us with open arms at the airport and to know that we will be seeing the rest of our family, including my parents who will be here visiting, in a few days.  We will be celebrating our oldest son's birthday too! 

   All of this has driven home the point more than ever that real family is based on the love and respect you have for one another even if you have differing opinions.  Our hanai (adopted by love) family is so important to us and mean the world to us also.  We have chosen to be "family" to one another and invested in those relationships and to be honest, I would be lost without them. 

   So here I am pushing that reset button while I putter around my home once more and being oh so thankful for for both the good and the bad that has led me to this moment in time.  It has given me clarity, peace of mind on some issues and a deep appreciation for real family and share experiences with them.  Yes, I am doing so much better emotionally now. 

Frugal Friday Wrap Up 9/16-9/29 2017 Two Week Edition

 

   This is going to be a 2 week wrap up.  Our lives have been busy and on a major rollercoaster of emotions, very little sleep and trying to spend as much time as possible with loved ones for the past 2 weeks.  Josh was home on leave and he and Chris just left this morning to fly back to Washington DC early this morning.  I had wanted to go to the airport with them but was hit with a major Fibro Flare, so I stayed home and Jeff drove them up to the airport that is a little over an hour away.  I was so sad to see Josh go but excited for Chris since he will be spending a week with Josh and getting to see and do so many wonderful things!  Onto the savings...

Week 1:
~Saturday was a busy day for us.  We ran into friends, former students and even our Hanai son Sam!  It was so wonderful to get so hug them all and get caught up on their lives.
~We stopped by Bath and Body Works where I traded in a fragrance mist that did not agree with me for a wonderful apple scented one.  I love the Fall fragrances that they have, but the apple ones are my absolute favorite.  I got the new fragrance for free since I traded in an older one.  I love their trade in policy...if you don't like a fragrance, you can trade straight across for another one.
~We also stopped at Goodwill and found several things on our list that we have been searching for.  I love being able to shop thrift stores and get things at a fraction of the cost of retail.  It was there that we ran into our hanai son Sam.  He shared with us that he had gotten a job teaching art at his old college in Bend, Oregon!  He is an amazing artist and we are so proud and happy for him! 😊

~We enjoyed some family time at the fair.  This is the last fair in our area that does not charge for admission so we were able to enjoy free entertainment.
~There was a yard sale right across from where we parked when going to that fair.  I found a nice windchime and a brand new sleep shirt for $1 each.
~Sunday we went up to the apple orchard here in town and picked apples.  They were .50 a pound.  I got some for us and some for my parents.  I am hoping to pick more on Friday when some other varieties, along with the pears, are ready.
~We used our hot tub on Sunday night since it was cold outside and enjoyed listening to the rain on the roof too.
~Monday I did not get anything done at all.  I was sick and dozed on and off most of the day.

~Tuesday I tried to play "catch up" around here.  I dehydrated a bunch of roma tomatoes, froze cherry tomatoes and made more homemade applesauce.
~Since we live in a rural area with farm fields all around us and the weather is getting colder, the mice are looking for warm places to call home.  It is at this time of year that we start to get bad mouse problems so I spent time getting all the cereals, cat food, crackers, etc. that are opened into mouse proof containers.
~Wednesday I dehydrated 2 packages of mushrooms.

~Jeff had picked up some coupons from the recycling bin at the post office.  I was able to match some of them to a half price sale at a local grocery store for the cereal that I like.  Jeff stopped by on his way home Wednesday morning and picked up 4 boxes of the cereal for $1.49 after coupons along with a few other sale priced items that we needed like peanut butter.
~I made 5 loaves of banana bread.

~My amazing parents loaned Josh their truck so that he could drive directly over here once he got off the plane in Kalispell, MT to be with our dear friends/family that lost their husband/father/grandpa.
~We had so many of our hanai kids here along with all of our family.  I made a huge bowl of popcorn for people to snack on as they came and went.

~I made a veggie fettuccine alfredo with squash and tomatoes from the garden, some broccoli, wine and lowfat cream cheese.
~Josh helped me harvest all of the celery from the garden since it was going to freeze overnight.

Week 2:
~My parents spoiled us rotten while we were at their home in Montana.  Staying with them is like staying at the best bed and breakfast ever!  The food is great, the company is wonderful and the view looking out over the lake can't be beat!
~My parents took us out on their boat...it was just what I needed to finally relax after 2 very stressful weeks.
~Jeff and I stopped at a thrift store (surprise) in Bigfork, MT and found a vest, jacket, sweater, shirt, lots of cds, a dvd, jewelry (sterling silver earrings and a designer bracelet each for $1), books for .50 hardback and free for kid's books and a pair of Seven for All Mankind jeans ($2.50)

~My mother gifted me some jewelry...my grandmother's locket, my great grandmother's gold necklace, a beautiful silver necklace that my father bought her years ago, and another necklace that my mother had made.  All are precious to me.
~I stocked up on wine from my favorite winery in Montana direct from the source.  They also gave me a bag full of wine corks when I mentioned that my Heather was using corks to craft with.  They are so very sweet!

~Mom sent us home with lots of goodies and another bottle of wine.  She also gave me a pair of jeans and a very soft scarf.
~Josh and Jeff went golfing on Thursday (it is their special thing to do together) morning using up the last of a gift certificate balance that Jeff had to cover the cost of Jeff's golf fees.
~We got lots of free groceries while Jeff and Josh did our volunteer work.
~I was able to track down tickets to the sold WSU vs USC game for our Josh at a much lower cost than we could get them at big name online ticket places.

~I hung out a load of towels on the line to dry Thursday.
~We were given free groceries when we did our volunteer work.
~We happily discovered that our new car gets way better gas mileage than my old car.  It cost us about $55 dollars round trip to go to my parents' place where it would have cost us at least $85 round trip in my old car.
~Josh bought us lunch on Wednesday.

~I picked up some things at the Grocery Outlet store when we made a quick stop there on our way home from Montana.  They have sweet potatoes at half the price there than I can get down our way.  I bought 2 bags of them, some artichokes ( 2 for less than the price of one down here), 2 big jars of artichoke tapenade, pot stickers, lettuce and a few other items.
~We found a fun game for Chris, Heather and the little boys for Christmas.
~I raided the gift closet for a wedding gift and a birthday gift.
~I used coupons for free products and to save an additional $4 off some of our favorite candy which I was able to find at the Dollar Tree and $8 off of toothpaste at Winco.

~Jeff's work laundry was hung outside to dry on the laundry line.
~Josh filled up Jeff's car with gas since he has been using it this week.
~Josh stocked up on beer while he was here and ended up not drinking only one so I have lots of beer to cook with now.  I foresee roasts and beer cheese soup in the near future. 
~We received lots of free magazines in the mail.

   The plan for this week is to try and rest and recover.  I do plan on going up to the orchard to get some pears and apples at .50 a pound and to make a huge batch on homemade chicken noodle soup.  it is going to be a cool week here so I want warm and filling meals. :)

Upgrades, The Fall of the Shaw of Iran, and a Fire

 

    Jeff and I went on a much needed short getaway on Sunday and Monday night up in Spokane.  We stayed at the RL at the Park once again because we had a voucher for a free night after the previous 2 stays where we had very poor service there.  They say that the third time in the charm so we thought we would give it one more shot.  We got up to Spokane around lunch time so we thought we would have lunch downtown.  We soon discovered that the restaurant we wanted to go to did not have free parking anymore and that you had to pay $8 for 1 1/2 hours just to park...NOT HAPPENING!  We ended up going to the food court at one of the malls and having food from Panda Express there instead.  

   Upon check in at the hotel, we were very impressed that they had upped their game.  There were people there to hold the doors open for you and greet you.  The check on process was in yet another new area in the lobby, but it was fast and done on Ipads.  The very enthusiastic guy checking us in took our voucher and said he would make sure it was applied to our bill and then sent us off to our upgraded room with a balcony overlooking the pool and the river.  It was a much bigger room than we had on our 2 previous stays and had a wet bar which was very handy for setting up our little coffee maker that we brought with us since the hotel no longer has them in the rooms.  Everything was nice and clean this time too, which really impressed me.

   We quickly loaded some things into the mini fridge since we bought things to have for snacks and dinner in the room and then changed into our swim suits and headed down to the pool since it was still in the high 90's.  We met 2 couples, one from Alberta, Canada and another from the Portland area and had nice visits with both of them.  I quickly learned from the Alberta couple that they are having some of the same issues in their province as we are having down here in the USA dealing with healthcare, immigration, the economy, and their Prime Minister.  That couple left to go to dinner and the young couple from Portland took over their lounge chairs.  Oh this couple was fun and we had so much in common.  We soon realized that we were "neighbors" with our rooms right next to each other.  

   The next morning we got up, had breakfast and headed out for a walk along the river so I could take some pictures of it.  Along the way we saw a building about 5 blocks away that looked like a old beautiful church with spires and towers, so we decided to check it out.  Upon our arrival at it, we realized it was the county courthouse and I began to take some pictures of it.  An older lady stopped to chat with us about the building and gave us some history on the area.  She then asked about our family and we told her about them and about our son Josh, who is in the Air Force and where he has served.  This is when things got fascinating.   She told us she live in Iran for 10 years, when she and her husband were raising their 5 kids.  He was an electrical engineer and worked for Pan Am Airlines who was bought by the Shaw of Iran at the time.  They got to know him well and they became friends.  When all the political upheaval happened there and he was overthrown in part from trying to bring Western Culture to Iran, they all had to evacuate quickly.  She told me they were only allowed to bring 300 pounds of luggage per family and that having 5 kids meant that most of their luggage was clothing.  Everything else had to be left behind.  She clearly remembers seeing the shaws plane take off and his family following in another plane.  She told us that 28 planes took off that day one after another evacuating all the American and other foreign  workers and their families.  She said it was hard to leave all their Iranian friends behind.

   On our way back to the hotel, we happened upon a really neat store filled with fossils, rocks, gemstones and all kinds of fun things.  It was great to explore and there was always something new and fascinating to see!  We found some cool toys for the little boys there and will give them to them at Christmas.  We decided to go and do some shopping and have lunch while our room was cleaned.  Upon our arrival back at the room I quickly noticed that the problems with room cleanliness were again happening.  There were 2 different sized towels in the bathroom and I recognized that one of them (because of the logo on it) was from another upscale hotel in that town.  The towel was also badly stained.  The bath mat was also stained and the top sheet on the bed had a stain.  UGH!  I decided to just make the best of it though and we headed down to the pool and again met some lovely people, including another family from Alberta and a family from Minnesota who homeschooled their kids and had a set of triplets.  Later that evening we had dinner in our room and I went out on the balcony to enjoy the view while my hubby watched some TV.  It took me awhile to fall asleep and it was after midnight when I finally drifted off.  At about 3 a.m., we woke up to an awful LOUD noise.  It was the hotel's fire alarm!  We quickly got dressed and then the fire alarm stopped in the tower we were in but I could still hear it in other parts of the hotel so I called down to the front desk to see if it was a false alarm or if we needed to vacate the building.  We were told to vacate, so we did.

   By the time we got downstairs, the fire trucks were there and the firefighters were going into the main building.  We could smell something burning at this point.  Hotel guests were all milling around outside and many people said that their relatives had not come down out of the building.  There was no one from the hotel out there giving us any information or checking with people to see if they were missing family members or friends who might still be in the building.  Finally half and hour later, it was the firefighters who were giving people information and telling people there had been a kitchen fire but it was now out and we could go back int he buildings and go back to sleep. Of course, I had trouble falling back to sleep after all that.

   We got up a few hours later to find our bill slipped under our door and saw that they had not deducted one of the night's stay as had been promised when I gave them the voucher.  I made a phone call down to the desk and they said they would take care of it and I could pick up a new receipt when we came down for breakfast.  We got down there and they had no clue what we were talking about but finally got it taken care of and gave me a new receipt.  Since there was a fire the night before in the kitchen, they were giving everyone there a free breakfast (our's was actually included in our room deal) that they had brought in from another one of the hotels in the same chain that was next door.  Wow!  I have never seen so many rude hotel guests in my life who were pushing others to get to the food and filling an entire plate with bacon leaving very little for all the people in line behind them.  The hotel quickly ran out of food due to people piling their plates high with things and making multiple trips back, pushing others out of the way who had just gotten in line for the first time.  I also felt bad for the poor staff that was trying to keep things stocked and having to tell people that they had run out of much of the food already.

   That brings me to today.  I checked my VISA statement and guess who put a small but unauthorized  extra charge on my card.  YEP!  👿  I will be getting ahold of them and letting them know that they will be reversing that charge today and I am also getting ahold of their corporate office!  I guess the third time is NOT the charm with this particular property. The next time we go up we will be staying at a different property that is tried and true.

Spokane Getaway Last Weekend

   I thought it would be fun to share some pictures of Jeff and my spur of the moment Getaway weekend last weekend in Spokane.  The river pictures are of the Spokane River and Falls.  It was running really high on Sunday when I took these pictures and by Monday morning it was another 3 feet higher and touching the bottoms of some of the bridges.  They ended up shutting down all the pedestrian bridges later that day across the river.  Sadly, someone jumped into the river, committing suicide Monday afternoon from one of the bridges also.  

      These next pictures are from the Red Lion Hotel that we stayed at.  They had just finished remodeling their hotel and I love the way the main lobby area turned out.  So much fun!  I did not take any pictures of our hotel room because frankly, it was just a standard room and we had multiple problems with it and the housekeeping service.  They did give us a voucher for a free deluxe room for our next trip up there.

      This is our breakfast on Monday morning.  Oh so good!  Our waiter, Daniel, was amazing and so kind, attentive and courteous.  When talking the to manager about our other issues with our hotel room and showing him in our room what those issues were,  I was sure to tell him about the great service we got from Daniel and that he really helped turn our morning around after the other issues.  I know that Daniel was a new hire but I sure hope they give him a raise.  He deserves one!

   I wish I had gotten pictures of the time we spent with our friends but we were all having such a good time and totally spaced off taking any.  It was great to get caught up with them and to play with the toddler and the baby.  My friend Robyn is totally in Grandma heaven with those two little cuties and my goodness they adore her. :)  All in all it was a good trip with lots of shopping, good food, time with friends and being able to just relax with my hubby.  Hopefully the next time we stay there our room will be clean and not missing things.

Frugal Friday Wrap Up 3/18-3/24 2017

 

Brand new Columbia brand fleece jacket for $3.97.  Yes, this is the second one I have bought within that last dew weeks.  I am definitely set on fleece jackets now.

   It's been a mixed bag for frugalness along with some splurging.  We did go away for the weekend and tried to keep it as frugal as possible, but we did spend money on eating out a few times.  The rest of the week, once we got home, we pretty frugal though in part because I was just too worn out to go anywhere or do anything for several days and my body was in crash mode.  Onto the savings...

I loved the pattern on this lightweight sheer top and it was only $1.50!

~Saturday we took a swim and used the hot tub at the hotel.  We also had some snacks in our room that I had brought along.
~We took a long walk and took pictures of the Spokane River and Falls.  It was roaring and so pretty!
~Our hotel provided a free latte each day and free coffee all the time to all the guests.

More thrift store finds.  I was tickled to find the matching baby shower themed napkins to the dessert plates I had bought last week at another thrift store.

~We did more thrift store shopping at several thrift stores. Many of the store had great deals and I found some clothing items for .25- .99 each.  I also found a new leather purse that is perfect for Spring at half price, a leather key case, napkins and cups for the baby shower that match the plates I had previously found at another thrift store last week, some jeans, a caftan, a dvd, another brand new Columbia fleece jacket, a few things that Jeff wanted (I can't remember what all he found), some books, a small leather wristlet purse and some prepared microscope slides for the little boys to use with their microscope.  At the Union Gospel Mission they had done away with their rewards cards but honored mine so I was able to get $10 off my purchase there. 
~Sunday we spent the afternoon with one of my closest friends from college and her beautiful family.  I got to meet her newest grandbaby, Evie and get caught up with her oldest daughter who I used to babysit when she was Evie's age, played with her almost 2 year old grandson Blake who I had not seen since he was an infant and get caught up with her middle daughter, the husbands of the girls, her son, who stopped by and her hubby.  We made plans to go camping over Memorial Day and to go to a few college football games in the Fall.

The purse  and the key case were both half off and the little wristlet was only .99 since all yellow tags were .99 at the store where I found it.

~Jeff and I stopped by the Grocery Outlet on our way back to our hotel and grabbed some things for dinner there and had that back in our hotel room.  We hit another Grocery Outlet the next day to pick up a few things there also and ran across some great deals including big cans of coffee for 2.99 each.  Jeff grabbed 4 of them.
~We enjoyed watching HGTV at the hotel since we do not have it here at home anymore.
~Trader Joe's had some good deals on produce so we grabbed a few things there.

Coffee for $2.99 a can from the Grocery Outlet store.

~Due to some problems at our hotel with our room and poor service from some of the staff, I talked to the Front Desk Manager and we were given a voucher for a free night at the hotel in a deluxe room at a future date.  The manager told us he would even try to upgrade us further and to contact him directly so he could make it happen.  Yes, the problems were that bad!
~Tuesday I stayed home from work because I was having trouble with my stomach and was just worn out.  The upside to that was that I did not spend money on gas or in another thrift store.
~Tuesday's dinner was something that I threw together trying to use up the kale I bought last week.  I sauteed up some thinly sliced chicken pieces with the kale in some butter, added some lemon juice, salt, pepper and a bit of water.  When that was all cooked, I added some diced frozen red peppers, turned the heat off and let that sit covered for a few minutes.  I also made some Cheesy Broccoli Rice and served it with some cherry tomatoes.
~The leftover coffee was put in the thermal container to keep it warm throughout the day.

Dinner on Tuesday night.

~I renewed a dvd that I borrowed from the library since we did not get a chance to watch it over the weekend.
~We got a coupon for a free protein bar in the mail.
~Wednesday I was still out of it and had done something to my neck so it was really stiff and sore.  I decided to go easy on myself and not worry about making bread.  There was still enough for sandwiches for Jeff for work.  I remembered that I had some homemade par baked pizza crusts in the freezer so I pulled them out, defrosted one and put a thin layer of mozzarella cheese on it and stuck it in the microwave to melt the cheese.  It was quick, easy and satisfied my carb cravings.
~I worked on my points programs.
~Jeff drained and cleaned the hot tub and then refilled it so we have fresh water in it again.
~Thursday I cooked up some pasta and added the leftovers from Tuesday to that along with some cherry tomatoes, garlic and some more kale to it all.  It was really good!

Leftovers from Tuesday's dinner were turned into a pasta dish with a few additions for dinner on Thursday night.

~A dear friend called me Thursday to check on me and see how I was doing.  It was just what I needed and so sweet of her.  It sure lifted my mood since I have been struggling this week.
~I made 2 more loaves of bread, much to my hubby's delight.
~I scored 2 more free magazine subscriptions for magazines that my son Chris and my grandsons love.
~Insomnia hit again several nights this week so I spent my time rehabbing handbags, looking up cruise information and putting all the things away in the early morning hours that Doofy cat was knocking off  things and then batting around.
~Friday night's dinner was another comfort food meal using items that needed to be used ASAP.  I threw some elk steaks in the crockpot along with a can of mushrooms, some Cream of Mushroom Soup, onion soup mix (I buy that in bulk), some dehydrated onions, and some leftover red wine.  I served this with brown rice.  I then cut up the leftover steaks, threw that back in with the leftover gravy and will serve this over baked potatoes sometime this weekend.
~There was an email from Petco for free cat treats.  I will be printing this off and picking some more up.  Doofy will be a happy camper.

   This next week looks to be a busy one for me with work Tuesday, helping to homeschool my grandboys on Wednesday and they volunteer work on Thursday.  Depending on how I am doing Thursday, I may or may not spend the full 6 hours doing volunteer work.  Be blessed!

Camping Weekend

   We went camping over the weekend and I only got a few pictures because we were so busy having fun!  The first few pictures are of Isaiah and Rachel and the bunny that Isaiah name Star Wars.  The middle one is of my sleep deprived hubby. ;) The last two are of our time up shooting in the rock quarry.   I only got a few shots there too before Rachel and I left to go and get more ice. :)  We really did have a great time swimming in the creek, sitting around the campfire, visiting, taking walks and of course eating way too much!  I wish I had gotten pictures of everyone else there too!  There were a few "hiccups" such as 2 in our family not feeling their best, but still being troopers, leaking air mattresses, my hubby's snoring and us hitting a deer on our way home and causing some damage to our car, but I still would do it all over again! ;)