Five Minute "Fixes"

Have you ever looked at your "to do" list an been overwhelmed by it?  I tend to be paralyzed when faced with a long list and shut down mentally.  To combat that, I have started doing what I call my Five Minute Fixes.  I will work for 5 minutes on a project and have found that lots of the things on my To Do list take even less time than that. :)  This and physically checking those items off my list really help to keep me on track, get things done and not be as overwhelmed by it all.

Here are a few things that I have found I can do in 5 minutes or less:

~pick peas from the garden
~cut lettuce from the garden
~get the cut lettuce washed and put away to use later
~start a load of laundry
~fold a load of laundry
~service our hot tub
~get something out of the freezer and started thawing for dinner
~get a batch of bread going in the breadmaker
~cut and file my nails
~paint my nails
~dust a room
~do a quick cleaning on the guest bathroom
~sweep the front outside walkway
~water all the potted plants
~make a nice green or fruit salad
~get potatoes all washed and put in the oven to bake
~sweep the floors
~put away a load of laundry
~get a pot of rice washed and cooking
~scoop out the cat box
~purge the refrigerator of things that got shoved to the back and went bad
~work for 5 minutes on my points programs
~check my account activity at my bank online
~check a store ad online to see who has the best deals for things that I have on my grocery and household list
~load or unload the dishwasher
~shave my legs in the shower
~trim my bangs
~do some facial maintenance ;)
~clean off the dining room table that seems to be the dumping ground for everything
~edit some photos
~pull a few weeds
~play fetch with the dog (he is usually bored with the game within 5 minutes)
~play tag with the cat (yes, my cat and I actually play tag...he is strange)  :)
~clean cat and dog fur off the furniture
~wash a few windows
~wash the sliding glass door
~get something going in the slow cooker for dinner
~start some meat marinating
~make a run down to the post office and back (I live a few blocks away from our post office...this is a tiny little town)
~mend an article of clothing
~call and make those appointments we all dread (dentist, doctor, mammogram)
~write a quick note of encouragement
~cut some herbs and get them washed and hung up to dry
~gather up and take out all the trash

    So those are a few things that I have found take me 5 minutes of less and help me cross things off my list throughout the day.  How about you?  What are some things that take you 5 minutes or less that you can cross off your list?

Glimpses of the Garden 7/11/2016

Frugal Friday Wrap Up July 8, 2016

   

   Oh what a week!  I found some amazing deals on things that I desperately needed for my upcoming canning sessions and I am so thankful for that.  I am hoping to get a lot of that done this next week after Jeff and I dig out a bunch of canning jars that are in the garage and get those washed and ready to go.  I have so much fruit in the freezer that needs to be made into jams and jellies and maybe some syrups too.  Onto the savings for this week:


~I finally found a pair of lightweight denim capri pants for $3.99 at the thrift store.
~We did a major stock up at the grocery stores and combined sales and coupons.  I got 12 packs of soda for $2 each (I bought 5), and found some boxes of pectin on sale.  I had coupons for the pectin bringing each box down to $1.48 each.  That is a really great price for around here.  I bought 8 boxes of pectin. There were many other items that we bought that also had coupons to go with it.  My hubby and I figured we saved about $20 in coupons alone even before the sales prices.
~We added more dvds to our collection.  There were some titles that I had on my wish list and were found at Goodwill and the Salvation Army on Saturday.

~Jeff's parents invited us over for lunch on Saturday.  My MIL was craving the pecan chicken salad sandwich from Arby's so I drove her out to get those and a different deli sandwich for my hubby.  She also had potato salad and coleslaw back at the house.  We had a very nice lunch and visit with them and my hubby brought home a project to work on for them. :)  MIL also loaned me a big bag of books to read. :)
~The Farmer's Market had lovely apricots so I bought some for eating and will hopefully make a few jars of jam too.
~Corn on the cob was on sale for .25 so I bought 4 of them and a marked down steak for dinner Monday.  I marinated the steak and Jeff grilled it up.  We had the corn, steak and baked potatoes for dinner.  The cost of our meal was under $5.  Yum and Yeehaw!  :)
~Josh had given Jeff a game of golf at his favorite golf course for Father's Day.  Jeff took advantage of it Sunday.  He did rent a cart since his back has been giving him problems but that was his only out of pocket expense since Josh paid for the golfing and Jeff took 2 bottles of water to drink on the course with him. :)

~The birds have picked the cherry tree clean and have moved on so now I can hang laundry back up on the line to dry.
~Saturday I harvested more snow peas, strawberries, lettuce, a few little Sungold tomatoes and raspberries from our garden.
~My zucchini and yellow squash plants that I planted were not growing very quickly so I picked up 6 more plants of each.  I carefully chose pots that had 3 plants in each one so that I only paid $3.98 for each pot of 3.
~Our Saturday night date at home was watching a movie here and making nachos with some leftover taco meat, chips and cheese. :)
~My computer was acting up and the pointer thingy stopped working.  I was able to go in and fix that problem and a few others.  My FN keys are not working correctly now though so I am going to have my cousin Jeremy, who is an IT specialist, fix that for me since I need to get into the BIOS for that and I am terrified that I am going to screw up my whole computer.
~My MIL gave us a full can of coffee since she is no longer drinking it.

~Sunday my back was really bothering me but I still managed to harvest 2 mixing bowls worth of raspberries.  I had to do it in 2 picking sessions, but I can live with that.  I washed them and put them in a gallon sized ziplock bag.  They will be made into raspberry jelly and possibly some syrup too. :)
~My hubby stopped by the Dollar Tree to get some more Worcestershire sauce.  They have large bottles of it for $1 each.  He picked up 2 of them since we do use this quite a bit in marinades.
~We watched lots of movies here this week.  Since we have an ever growing collection, we have quite a variety to choose from. ;)
~Sunday night we watched a Matrix movie marathon (we had borrowed the movies from our son Jaysn) and I made pastrami sandwiches on hamburger buns that needed to be used up and with some reduced pastrami I had bought previously and frozen from the Walmart deli section.  It made for a fun and frugal evening for us. :)

~Monday found me in the garden with horrible allergies and my ears were driving me nuts.  Even though they hurt and it made me lightheaded every time I bent over, I still managed to plant 4 Roma tomato plants, harvest some snap peas and strawberries and then harvest a huge bundle of oregano and get that washed and hung up to dry.
~Tuesday I spent time weeding in the front garden and then planted 12 more squash plants.
~I seeded in another package of dill seeds into the side garden.
~Tuesdays harvest was sugar snap peas, a few strawberries and a bowl full of regular peas (these are for my hubby)
~Wednesday Jeff and I had errands to run in the afternoon.  We "made the loop" going to two towns where we had things to do and ran all of our errands in one trip instead of two separate trips.

~I had a coupon for a free travel sized product at Bath and Body Works.  They also had some of their full sized fragrances on sale for 75% off.  I found one that I love and got it for $3.17!
~Old Navy had a great clearance sale and I found a dress I liked for 75% off also.  It was cheaper to buy a new dress there than a previously loved one at the thrift store.
~We bought birthday cards at the Dollar Tree.
~Wednesday I also picked a huge mixing bowl full of raspberries.
~We had dinner out on Wednesday and counted it as my early birthday dinner.  Both of us brought home leftover that we had the next day for lunch.

~Wednesday also found me making more bread for my hubby.  We had to leave before the breadmaker started the baking process and we knew we would not be home before it got done so I took the bread dough out of the breadmaker and put it in a metal pan with plastic wrap and a towel over it.  I just baked it in a regular bread pan when we got home later.
~I borrowed 3 more movies from the library.
~Since it rained on Tuesday night, I did not need to water on Wednesday.
~Thursday I did not do much of anything really except work on my points programs.  I did not go anywhere so I guess that would count as saving gas money and wear and tear on my car.
~More rain on Thursday and Friday so I did not need to water the garden.
~My sweet husband, trying to make my birthday on Friday special for me brought me home a bag of Snickers and a sweet card.  Snickers are my favorite candy bar and speak LOVE to me.  He also grilled up some burgers for us for dinner.   Oh how I love that man of mine!

   So those were my savings this week.  Not my best week ever, but ever bit counts right? ;)  Be blessed all!


   

It's My Birthday and My Heart is Heavy

 

   Last night I went to bed with a heavy heart...eleven Police Officers in Dallas had been shot and the number of them dying kept climbing. I watched the videos of the brave officers rushing towards the shooter's location trying to protect the BLM protesters, news crews and innocent bystanders and trying to protect one another and take out the threat.   I saw them shielding people with their own bodies and trying to get them to safety.  As others ran away from the threat, these officers put themselves in harms way.  Five officers have now died and I pray that the other injured officers make a full recovery, as well as the civilian who was shot. 

   We have sadly become a society where people make a snap judgement without knowing all the facts.  We no longer take the route of the justice process but revert to vigilantism and target and kill innocents who had nothing to do with the perceived injustice.  Our leaders in this country are some of the worst offenders of not waiting for the facts to come out and instead whipping up anger and ruining even more lives.  They too need to be held accountable for their actions and for contributing to the violence that is plaguing our country and stop using tragedies like this to push their own agendas.  It irks me to no end when our president makes a speech condemning the targeted attacks but also says we need to wait for more information.  Why did he not "wait for more information" before condemning other police officers who were involved in tragic shootings and instead choose to pass judgement upon them and say the shootings were racially motivated before he had all the facts and thus stirring up more anti police sentiments which directly led to this tragedy in Dallas?  Yes, there are bad cops out there and yes, they need to be held accountable and charged with murder, but the majority of police officers are good people trying to do their jobs and protect all of us as were the officers in Dallas who were protecting those very people who were protesting against their brothers and sisters in law enforcement.  The officers who were killed and wounded died because of misplaced anger being fueled in part by ignorant and irresponsible rhetoric coming from the top on down.

   Why you might ask do I take this so personally?  I have 2 sons that are good and honest police officers who care about their communities and the people in them.  They put themselves in harms way to protect and help people, including people who have helped contribute to the racial division and anger in our country instead of trying to help heal it.  As a mother, I know that at any time my sons may become an innocent target, like those brave officers in Dallas were, just because of the badge and uniform they wear.  I also know that they may be killed responding to a traffic stop, domestic violence situation, or any other scenario.  They know this too and yet they continue to do their job with compassion, integrity and continue to try to make a difference in this world and save lives.  My heart aches for the families of the officers who were killed and injured and for their fellow officers and friends.  Their lives are shattered and will never be the same.  Children will grow up without one of their parents, spouses no longer have their loving partner in life, mother and fathers will have to bury their children and brothers and sister live with the grief of knowing their sibling was murdered.  The other officers who were there have to go on and do their jobs while mourning the loss of their brothers and sisters in blue all the while knowing that they too may become the next victim or this senseless vigilantism.  One of my son's police departments was already a target of a deranged shooter and a brave officer was lost.  So yes, I know that the fear all too well.

   So here is my birthday wish.  On a personal level, please thank a police officer for the dangerous job they do.  On a greater level, hold our politicians who contribute to this toxic situation by speaking before they have all the facts, accountable for their actions.  We need to work together to hold the few bad apples in the law enforcement community accountable and we need to support the ones who are just doing their jobs and find themselves in a life or death situation and have to make that horrible choice to take out the threat before they or someone else is killed.  And finally, we need to work together to help heal our country and stop letting people with their own evil agendas divide us further.

Thank you and be blessed.

   

So Thankful!

 

   Do you have those moments when you look around you and realize just how blessed you really are?  I am having one of those moments right now.  :)  My hubby is off this morning playing golf (a Father's Day gift from our son Josh), I put a new pheromone  collar on Rufus so he had calmed down quite a bit, I have our sheets washed and hanging on the line to dry and I am sipping on a cup of coffee.  There is a nice breeze blowing and the current temperatures are in the high 60's.  We will be warming up later as the day goes on, but it is not supposed to get that hot at all.  Yay!

   My plans for the day are to pick raspberries and strawberries from the garden, do some watering and maybe some planting in the garden.  Later this evening we will grill up a large steak that I have marinating and have some corn on the cob and baked potatoes with that.  Other than that, my day is wide open and I am very content and happy with that.  I truly am so thankful for days like these where I can putter around the house and garden enjoying the cool breeze and reflect on my many blessings!

Silly Caesar and His Stick

Frugal Friday Wrap Up 7/1/16

   


   

All in all, this has been a very good week for us frugally speaking.  We did have one major expense when we had to get new tires for my car, but we even managed to save $500 there.  Yay!  God is so good!  Onto the savings!

~The grandboys spent the night with us on Saturday.  We pulled a large cheese pizza out of the freezer (bought at the Walmart deli previously when it was marked down to half price) and had miniature cupcakes that were marked at half price today for dinner.  The boys had previously filled up on raspberries and strawberries from our garden.
~The grandboys and I picked lots of raspberries and filled a large clean yogurt container full to send home with them.
~Our hot tub is a favorite of the grandboys, so we wore them out playing in it before dinner. ;)

~Our local Ace Hardware store was clearancing out their outdoor plants at 75% off.  We bought 3 tomato plants at $1 each and  2 6 packs of marigolds for .75 each.
~My car got a flat tire so we took it in to get fixed.  That tire was shot and needed to be replaced and so did another one.  They found us a set of 4 previously used tires that were still in great condition for under $300.  We kept the 2 other tires that were still in decent tires to use as spares.  New tires for my car would have run us about $800.
~Jeff found season 5 of "How I Met Your Mother" for $6 at the thrift store.  We also found some great school books for the grandboys, a devotional for new moms (saving this one for my DIL Rachel for a future gift when she and Jaysn have a child), some clothing, and some household goods.  I filled up my store loyalty card.  I will get $20 off on my next shopping trip there!

~I used a coupon when I bought a huge pack of toilet paper.  I got $1 off and will get 10 points from Swagbucks for using it.
~We took the grandboys down to the park to play.
~On Sunday I started a jar of raspberry gin http://www.mountainmamaonline.net/2016/05/the-easiest-thing-i-do-to-prepare-for.html#more that Deborah shared awhile back.  We had a glut of fresh raspberries and luckily I had enough gin left on hand to get a batch of this started.  Thank you Deborah for sharing the recipe!
~Sunday also found me making a double batch of homemade laundry detergent.  I watched videos on youtube while I worked on this out on the back porch.

~I got a sample box from PinchMe.com.  It had a large sample of cat food (we sent it home with the grandboys for their kitties since Rufus can't eat that kind), a coupon for the cat food and a sample of zzzquil.
~Jeff picked lots and lots more cherries!
~We were given a sample of one of Tide's new liquid laundry detergents when we were at Safeway.
~I picked up 4 pound of butter at Safeway while it was on sale.
~One of Jeff's favorite sleeveless shirts that he wears all the time started coming apart at the collar.  I mended it so that he could still use it and wear it out in public. ;)

~I found several things marked down at Walmart including a cheesecake!  I'm going to freeze at least half of it for treats for us later.
~I returned a watering can that was leaking and got a refund on it.
~I stopped at the Dollar Tree and got some sunscreen, aloe gel and some medicated powder that my husband uses. I also picked up some spices and treats.
~Safeway had their brand of 2 liter Seltzer water on sale for .89 but I had a coupon loaded on my Safeway card that brought it down to .69 each.  I bought 6 of them to make more Italian sodas with. :)

~Walmart's clothing clearance can be hit or miss but today I found a really nice and airy shirt for $3.  I was really happy with that
~The heat really hit us on Monday.  It was 93 F in the shade by 3 p.m. Luckily I had already harvested lettuce and strawberries in the morning before the heat got too oppressive.
~I scored 8 sets of coupon inserts from the recycling bin at the post office. :)
~Our dear friend gave us some fresh trout for dinner one night this week! What a wonderful blessing!

~My hubby stopped by the grocery store on the way home and bought 2 dozen eggs @ .49 a dozen.  He is the only one that eats eggs in this house so that will last him for a few weeks.
~I have been working my points programs like a crazy woman!  I need to get another $25 Walmart gift card so I can do some stocking up in July.  July is one of the months where we have major bills come due and we also have my hubby's emergency room visit and lab work bills to pay off ASAP.
~Jeff and I worked together to destem and freeze 2 gallons of cherries.  I did not pit them yet because I did not have the energy to do so...I can do that before I use them later.

~I made Bourbon Honey Chicken salad with lettuce and snap peas from our garden, a carrot and tomato and some previously marked down cooked and frozen chicken.
~I used up 4 leftover hot dog buns to make 3 cheese "breadsticks" to go with the salad.
~It was so hot on Tuesday and I was hurting so I got in the cool hot tub and turned on the jets and bubbles.  It did help ease some of the muscle aches.
~I picked a gallon of raspberries on Tuesday.  Those bushes are sure prolific!

~Wednesday Jeff and I stopped by our favorite thrift store and spent our $20 credit there.  We found some household things, a pair of shorts for Jeff on the .10 clearance rack, a shirt for Jeff, a pair of shorts for me, a cookbook, 2 brand new candles (those went in my gift closet), a large heavy duty bucket, clear plastic drinking glasses in a smaller size that are perfect for the grandboys, some stuffed animal patterns and craft kits (these will go to my DIL who loves to sew), a brand new box of pickling salt (you never know what you will find there) and a large picture frame with a nice mat in it.  I will be taking the picture out of it and relocating the hanger so it hangs vertically and put face shot of my grandmother on her wedding day in it.

~Jeff brought home half his dinner from when we ate out the other night.  He had teriyaki pork and chicken katsu.  I will be adding a homemade Chinese noodle dish to it and it will feed both of us for another meal.

~Thursday night I made a large taco salad for dinner using lettuce from the garden, tomatoes, some grated cheese, venison taco meat, and some crushed up tortilla chips.  I mixed it all up with some thousand island dressing.  We had cheesecake for dessert.
~This week I made 3 loaves of sourdough bread and 4 batches of croutons.
~We took Caesar for walks in the evenings when things had cooled down.

~My hubby built a custom shelving unit in our bedroom for all this clothes.  It holds more than his dresser did.  He used lumber that we already had. :)
~We watched some TV shows online.

~I have been reading stories about how people lived through the Great Depression in a book that I bought at the thrift store.  The stories always inspire me but at the same time make me wonder if people would have the skills and the gumption to make it through another Depression.
~I cashed in some points at Pinecone Research for a $10 check.

   With the holiday weekend upon us, I am still looking for ways to save and will be stocking up at the grocery store on the amazing sales that are going on.  I hope to buy enough of certain items that we use that are at rock bottom prices now to at least get us through the Summer.  We are also planning on going ot the Farmer's Market tomorrow and maybe even hitting a few yard sales.  Be blessed and be safe!