Frugal Friday Wrap Up 3/19/21

 

  😉  It is Saturday right now as I am finishing off this post and the weather outside is crazy.  It is sunny one minute and then snowing and blowing the next.  Yesterday it reached 68 F.  Mother Nature is definitely in Menopause. Not too many exciting or earth shattering things to report over the past week...mostly just the usual.  It is the usual though that really does end up saving us the most though isn't it.  By trying our best to just do the little things on a regular basis, it does end up saving us money in the long run.  Onto the savings...

Weekend:

~Jeff and I worked out in the garden and cleared out the back flower beds.  Jeff also cleared out the side garden so it is ready for him to build raised beds in soon and he tackled the very overgrown and messy raspberry patch.

~He ran all of the dead raspberry canes out to the town's composting area.

~I made 2 loaves of bread.

~Leftovers for most of the weekend's meals...really good so no one is complaining.

~We stayed home so no money spent on gas, food out or shopping.

~I watched a bunch of videos on Youtube that we just plain fun!

~The weather started to turn Sunday afternoon with a very cold front coming in which sent me into a massive fibro flare.  Luckily I had the guest bedroom to retreat to where it is very cool and quiet.  I took a 5 hour nap!  Yes, it totally screwed me up for sleep later but I just could not function any longer.  I have made that bed as comfortable as possible and find myself retreating there more and more so that I do not disturb Jeff's sleep.

Monday:

~Cold and yucky day outside and I felt it way down into my bones.  Back to the guest room for another nap it was.  I did not even bother to get dressed for the day....just stayed in my jammies.  I'm calling this a frugal thing because it made of less laundry generated.  That is my justification...LOL!

~Since I was not feeling up to cooking per say, I got a frozen pizza out of the freezer and cooked that up for dinner.  We had homemade applesauce with it.

~I found some good movies on YouTube that are based in England that I have been enjoying.

Tuesday:

~Jeff and I ran into town to do a price check on how much it would cost to get bulk gravel and topsoil delivered to our home.  While we were there, I picked up some potting soil that was on sale so I can start my seedlings of the colder weather crops.

~Our sweet neighbor gave us some fun pop up play tents for the grandkids.

~Jeff and I called Rachel to see if she and Steven were home this afternoon.  They were so we headed over for a nice visit and went to the park next to their house.  Steven was thrilled to have G-pa as his personal playmate. 😊  Jaysn came home right before we left so we got a short visit in with him too. It was so nice to be able to just enjoy a nice afternoon in the sun with family.  It just made my heart smile!

~We picked up dinner from Panda Express and used a coupon for a free extra entre.  I still have half of my meal left and will have it within the next day or two.

~We also went to Winco and picked up a few things we needed there...a very few.  Our pantry, freezers and refrigerator are packed so all we needed was some fresh fruit, a few rice mixes that were on sale (for those days when I really am having a rough time), some plain Greek yogurt, soda for Jeff and some "adult beverages" (ahem) for me.  Those beverages will last a long time in this house.

~I uninstalled some old antivirus programs and installed a newer free one that I have used in the past and like better.

~My hanai sister Shannon and I had a great visit in the evening over the back yard fence.  I am so glad the weather is getting better so we can do that again.

Wednesday:

~Our stimulus check came in and we used some of it to pay off our property taxes for this year.  The rest was banked.

~It was a lovely warm day so I took advantage of that to once again open up the sliding glass door to the back covered porch and aired out the house while the cats enjoyed the freedom to come in and out as they pleased.

~I made a big salad for dinner with a Buffalo Ranch salad mix that I added some canned chicken breast meat to.

~Lunch was leftovers and/or sandwiches.

~Jeff pruned the apple tree suckers.

Thursday:

~Jeff worked on the cherry tree, getting it trimmed up.

~I went through the refrigerator and planned our meals for the next few days based on what needed to be used up ASAP.

~I worked on my points programs.

~We facetimed with Josh while he was on his way to Kickball.

Friday:

~Jeff got the back screened in porch cleaned off and got out my table and chairs for there.

~I had some Sweet Italian Sausage, kale and potatoes that needed to be used so I made a huge pot of Zuppa Toscana soup.

~Jeff headed into work early since he has to do his route and that of another driver (who had a family emergency).  I decided to watch a movie on YouTube since I had slept for half of the day since I was unable to sleep during the previous night.  Yes, it was another one of my "disaster movies"...I have no idea why I love them so much but I do.

   We don't have anything big planned for this weekend with the weather being so crazy.  I think I will try to get Jeff to help me move some pictures around on walls, reorganize the pantry (it got a little messy in there again with all the fibro flares I have had and not being able to keep up on it) and do w bunch of laundry.  Jeff also wants to try out the guest bed this weekend and see if it helps his back.  If it does, we will be moving the guest bed to our bedroom and putting our current bed in the guest bedroom.  We shall see what he thinks and what helps his back the most.  Have a great weekend!

Frugal Friday Wrap Up 3/12/2021

    

   Spring is here and we are enjoying the sunny days, warmer temperatures and even the unpredictable sudden rain and snow showers.  My snowdrop flowers have peaked their cheery heads up and have given us a beautiful show of white booms!  Plans for my garden this year have been swirling around in my head and at this rate I am going to have to call in the kids for reinforcements to help with the work to make it all happen.  I told Jeff that I will just ask them to do this for me as my early birthday gift this year.  I really want to get the raised beds built and filled in soon and then line the walkways with all the woodchip mulch I got for free last year.  Our covid-19 cases continue to rise here again so I am planning on making the most of my time being at home this Spring and Summer with a complete dining and living room set up on the back screened in porch, lots of fresh produce from the garden and more flowers to enjoy.  I really do enjoy just living outside on the back porch when the weather allows and I look forward to the days I am able to do that again.  I have already been able to use my laundry line to dry some things and that has ramped up my Spring fever big time.  LOL!

Now onto the frugal doings:

Weekend:

~I made a huge pot of broccoli cheese soup with the bag of reduced price fresh broccoli I bought last week, some free cheese, chicken broth, half an onion, some seasonings and a little half and half.  So good!

~Jeff and I watched the movie "Support You Local Gunfighter" on YouTube.

~We had a loaf of reduced price Italian bread to be used up so I cut it in half length wise and used the size with the seasonings to make Pizza with and the other side I turned into garlic bread.  Another big win!

~More loaves of sandwich bread were made.

~I absolutely love primroses so I bought a beautiful one at the garden supply center (cheaper than Walmart and so many more varieties).  I will be planting this out in the garden when the flowers are done blooming so it can come up again next year out there.

Monday:

~I whipped up a quick dinner of baked chicken breast slices (from the chicken I cooked and froze last week), mashed Yukon Gold potatoes and a nice big salad.  Jeff and I enjoyed it while watching an old episode of Escape to the Country on YouTube.

Tuesday:

~Jeff and I celebrated our anniversary by going out to a Greek restaurant.  He brought home half of his dinner because it was HUGE!

~I had a coupon for a free product from Bath and Body Works that we used to get a new body spray.

~I had been on the search for a double tiered stand to put my fruit on so I could clear off more space on the counter.  I found exactly what I wanted at Goodwill.  Jeff also found a brand new shower wand there and used a 20% off coupon on that.  I also found a gorgeous dress for an upcoming wedding this Summer, a shirt for half price, a big coffee mug for Jeff, some books for Bradley and Isaiah, and a brand new cutting board.

Wednesday:

~I cooked up 2 pork roasts that I got on discount and now have those ready for future meals.

~My cousin Jeremy stopped by for a visit bringing goodies for a charcuterie board for us all to snack on.  We had a lovely visit with him and he left most of the goodies with us.  He also brought his sweet pittie dog Maggie with him.  It was wonderful to have a dog here in the house again...even if it was just for a few hours.

~Jeff and I had leftovers for dinner.

Thursday:

~I washed and hung the bathroom rugs out of the laundry line to dry since it was a mostly sunny day. 

~We decided to keep Jeff's tracfone for him to carry at work and I reloaded his account today.  I found a bonus code for 60 free minutes, which was added onto the 60 minutes (that automatically doubles on his phone), giving him 180 minutes of airtime.  He only uses this phone when he has to make personal calls and as a way for his bosses to get ahold of him at home.  We keep the straight talk phone as the family phone since it has unlimited minutes per month.

~Leftovers for lunch...I love leftovers!

~Jeff had a doctor's appointment and stopped by the grocery store on his way home.  He surprised me with 2 Snickers candy bars...they are my favorite.

~Dinner was pork roast, homemade rice pilaf, and broiled asparagus.  So good!  I have lots of leftovers for more quick meals.

Friday:

~I took the last of the baked chicken breast and cut it up to use in a  Buffalo Ranch salad. Yummy!

~Jeff and I finally got my hair cut...it was long overdue!  I feel human again.

~We found one of our essentials for our medicine cabinet on sale for half price at Rite Aid.  It was the last bottle they had too!  WINNING!

~We stopped by a local thrift store and I found the last 2 seasons of Downton Abbey for $5.99 and $4.99.  These are the only seasons I  have not watched yet and really wanted to.

~I also found some flannel material to make washable covers for our homemade rice bags and some really nice (maybe worn a few times) Sketchers shoes that will fit when I wear thicker socks when it is colder outside and I want to go for a walk.  These were also found at the same thrift store.

~I was able to SKYPE with Josh, Lauren and Tate.  They are in Utah on a skiing trip this weekend with friends.  Tate is outgrowing all his little outfits that he still fit into while he was here.  Slow Down Little Guy!

~Our hanai son, Ben, was playing a gig at a bar in Montana and he live streamed it so I was able to enjoy seeing and hearing him sing and play guitar again.  He got a call back for the show "The Voice" and we are so excited for him!

~Jeff has been bringing home free lumber this week from on of the places he delivers to.  They told him to take all that he wanted.  We will use this wood for future projects.

   Jeff and I are looking forward to a nice weekend at home.  It is supposed to be beautiful weather wise so we are planning to get some of the garden cleaned up and ready for  more Spring flowers to pop through and get the veggie and fruit beds ready to have the raised beds put into them when they are built.  I need to check my flower seeds and see if any need to be sown in now before the last frost.  Be blessed my friends and have a great weekend!

   

   

   

Happy Birthday Bradley and a Big Frugal Friday Wrap Up Covering Several Weeks!

 

Happy 9th Birthday to our oldest grandson Bradley who started our journey in this next chapter of our lives!  We love you so very much and are so proud of you!

I am doing a big Frugal Friday Wrap up covering several weeks trying my best to remember things so please bear with me.  In no particular order...

~I cooked a large ham spiral sliced ham to feed our crew while Josh and Lauren were home with our newest grandson Tate.  That ham served us for multiple meals and I still was able to freeze two packages of ham slices and the bone (to make soup with later).

~I got lazy and bought 2 family sized frozen lasagnas along with 2 loaves of French bread.  I made garlic bread with butter and crushed garlic slathered on the French Bread and the lasagnas gave us 4 full meals feeding our huge gang and a dear friend multiple times.

~I sent Tate home with a very soft little hat that his uncle Jaysn had worn as a baby.

~We created a changing table on a set of drawers with a soft towel and a waterproof flannel pad.  I also set a kleenex box stuffed with plastic bags next to the changing table for the kids to put the dirty diapers in.  It worked out great!

~The kids bought diapers for Tate when they arrived (so they would not have to pack so many) and all they could find was the large boxes in his size.  They left us with half of the unused diapers and we will be giving those to a friend who is expecting a child soon.

~Bradley wanted to have a pizza party for his early birthday celebration.  I sent Heather home with a 5 pound bag of mozzarella cheese to use for those.  I also helped her make the homemade pizzas when we were there for the party.  Everyone brought something...I brought salad, Jeremy supplied the drinks and Jaysn and Rachel supplied the fruit for the ice cream sundaes.

~Heather brought over a pan full of her homemade huckleberry rolls...delicious!

~I made a large batch of both huckleberry and plain pancakes...we had lots of leftovers.

~We played the game Relative Insanity with our crew and laughed until we cried...so much fun!

~I cooked up 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts and froze them for future quick meals.

~I also cooked up a pot of chicken tortilla soup in the instant pot adding whatever sounded good to it...the lime juice just took it to a whole new level!  We had this for several meals and I varied it up near the end by adding some plain Greek yogurt to it to calm the "spiciness" down a bit.  I also added avocado chunks to mine...YUM!

~Josh requested Cranberry Orange bread while he was home.  Luckily I had bough and froze bags of fresh cranberries and had everything else on hand to make it.  I did a triple batch and made some for Chris, Heather and the big boys along with Jaysn, Rachel and Steven too.

~Jeff wanted banana bread so two loaves of that were also made later the next week.

~I found marked down turkey breast lunch meat on sale so I bought 3 packages at $1 each and froze them for future meals.

~More loaves of my homemade sandwich bread were made and Josh really appreciated having that again.  I did not realize how much he missed that since moving out after he graduated from high school.

~I finally got around to cutting Jeff's hair this week.  It was getting really "poofy".

~We found some things at the thrift store that we had been looking for...so happy when that happens.  They had the exact covered tea cup that I had been coveting and I got it for .99 there instead of the $20 that was the retail price online.

~We also hit up the clothing clearance sale at Walmart.  I got new jammies for the grandboys here for $1 a pair, a shirt for Steven for $1 and several shirts for me for $1.

~Steven fell in love with one of my big stuffed animal dogs so I asked him if he would like to take it home with him.  His little eyes lit up and he said yes!  He happily played with it the rest of the time he was here and hugged it all the way home. :)  I am so glad it made him his heart soar!

~I found a box of Belgium waffle mix on clearance and will be making up the entire box and freezing most of the waffles for future meals.  We can just warm them up in our toaster oven when needed.

~Jeff and I took the wolf print that Jeremy gave me years ago to get it professionally matted.  The guy there gave us a 50% discount since business has been so slow.  He also gave us the wire hanger stuff to put on the frame for free.  Jeff already had made the frame and had the glass cut for it.  It is now hanging up in our living room where we are greatly enjoying it.  It was still not cheap to do at all, but it is a numbered original print and we decided this would be our anniversary present to each other.

~We have been finding some amazing deals lately at the Grocery Outlet.  With covid cases on the rise here, we have been stocking up once again knowing that we are going to have to avoid going into town to do any shopping as much as possible.

~I have been greatly enjoying reading the book "An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace" by Tamar Adler.  I found it at one of my local thrift stores for .98 .

~I was down to 2 pairs of black socks so I finally broke down and bought two 6 packs of them.  I don't like them too thick and these are all the right thickness and weight for me.  I won't have to buy any more for years and years to come!

~I sent Lauren home with some homemade herb salts that I made and also some vanilla beans from my sister's garden so Lauren can make her own vanilla extract.  I had already given some to Rachel and Heather, so now all my girls have some from their Auntie Leonie's garden.

~Our big vacuum finally died (it was free to us) so I did my research and found a good Bissel vacuum for a great price at Walmart.  I was shocked to see how much junk it got out of our carpets!  I'm not sure if I should be thrilled at it's power or mortified at how much dirt was in those carpets!

~By using free online genealogy searches along with DNA info from Ancestery.com for my hubby, I was able to narrow things down down and finally solve a hidden family secret/mystery.  It took me months to find all the info, but I did it!  My hubby now knows the truth about his ancestry, which is valuable information for him and our children going forward.  

~In need of comfort food, I made a nice meatloaf, scalloped potato and salad dinner for Jeff and I.  We had everything we needed here on hand.

~I had a little bit of leftover chow mien and decided to stretch it to make a meal for myself.  I cute up a huge Napa cabbage leaf into small thin strips, added half a thinly cut up zucchini, 4 fully cooked large frozen shrimp and made a sauce from a dash of soy sauce and about a teaspoon of sweet chili sauce.  It all got mixed together and cooked in the microwave for about 4 minutes.  I then chopped the shrimp up into smaller pieces so I could get some in most bites.  It was delicious and filled my hungry tummy leaving me very satisfied.

~As per usual, I watched some of my favorite shows online.

~I found sliced roast beef and hoagie rolls marked down at Walmart.  I used them to make French Dip sandwiches.  I was able to make these for $3.50 total for both of us, including the au jus.  Last week I paid $11.00 for just one of these sandwiches and some onion rings when we went out to eat.

~Broccoli was marked down so I bought a bag and used it to make broccoli cheese soup since 2 pound blocks of Cheddar cheese were also on sale for $4.99 each.

~I stocked up on yogurts at .39 each, cereal for .99 a box after sale and additional coupons, creamers (you can freeze these) and Powerade at .49 each.  These are all items we use on a regular basis.  I know I could have done better just buying the big containers of yogurt, but this way I got a lot of variety, which I love and consider these a wonderful treat!

~The plunger/locking part of our front door lock quit working.  Jeff replaced the whole thing and just had it re keyed with our original keys so that we did not have to buy all new keys for our kids and one of my best friends.  Much cheaper!

  Not a whole lot going on around here now that the kids have gone home.  We are just puttering and doing smaller projects around the house since the weather has once again turned cold and gray.

A Bit of Catching Up

 

  Oh my goodness, we had a wonderful time while Tate, Josh and Lauren were here for a week!  Jeff and I enjoyed those baby snuggles, coos, smiles and his little "snorts". 😍  We were able to get the whole family together one night and celebrate Bradley's birthday early while his Uncle Josh, Auntie Lauren and new cousin Tate were home.  We also had many nights of family here for dinner and even had my sista/other mother to my boys Roni up for dinner one night so she could meet Tate.  We had lots of photos taken, which I will do a separate post on once all of them have been uploaded from the rest of my crew.

   Now that Josh, Lauren and Tate are back home in Las Vegas, life is starting to return to semi normal, but the excitement is not over yet.  Jaysn, Rachel and Steven came out for a visit and told us they put an offer on a house.  A day later, they found out the offer was accepted!  The house sits on 2.5 acres so there is lots of space for Steven to run, climb trees and for Rachel to be able to have a garden.  Congrats to them all!!!  They are even talking about getting a dog, which I think will be a wonderful idea since Steven LOVES dogs. 😊 Oh, Rachel also is going to be going back to SEL where she used to work and Jaysn has been working for years.  She is really happy about that because it will be a lot less stress and the benefits there are amazing!  We are really happy for her and know this will take a lot of pressure off her. 

   Chris, Heather, Bradly and Isaiah are adjusting to Chris being on 12 hours work shifts again, which is also the overnight shift.  It is a rough one and will take awhile for them to all get used to.  Since Chris is a police officer, his shifts change over the year and by the seasons.  He will also most likely be getting more overtime put in which will come in handy since they just bought a much needed new to them car.  They picked up a nice Honda Pilot after seeing how nice my parents' one is.  We are really happy for them since Heather's car was on it's last legs. 😀

   Jeff is also back to work again after being off for a little over a week.  Last night was his first night back and after us both getting used to sleeping at night when the kids were here, it has been an adjustment.  I have a feeling this week will be really rough for Jeff as he makes the switch back and gets used to doing the heavy lifting again that comes with his job.  I'm not doing well sleep wise without him here at night either.  I tossed and turned for much of last night.  I have a feeling that I will be making the switch back to sleeping during the days when he does since that works better for both of us.

   Covid-19 cases are once again on the rise here in our area again with the additional tragic deaths of 4 more people last week in our county alone.  Our town also has seen 5 new cases within the last 2 week period and we only have a little over 600 people here. It is scary to see the numbers going up so quickly and all the despite the increase in people being vaccinated. I know the Kent variation of the virus is in our state and the Brazilian one is in Idaho already.  I am wondering if they have made their way up here to our little part of the world yet since the increase is so sharp and the death rate is picking up. 😢  Looks like that little bit of freedom we had to actually be able to go out to eat and such is coming to an end for the time being.

   Jeff and I have been busy tackling a lot of projects here around the house and have a lot more to do.  We got the back guest bedroom all set up for the kids while they were here and I am hoping to keep it company ready at all times now.  I am finding myself retreating to it for naps also, which is now going to come in real handy with Jeff back to his swing shift.  We have decided that we need to do some painting, replacing of doors and trim, installing a fan in our bedroom and a few other projects when the weather warms up again.

   Speaking of the weather, we went from that polar vortex to temps expected near 60 this week! 😎  I went outside yesterday and found that my primroses are already starting to bloom and that the rest of my Spring bulbs are putting up shoots!  I am hoping that we do not get another deep freeze or killing frost because all the plants now are waking up and I need then to do well this year.  I bought some more flower seeds and want to create an English Garden type bed right off the back porch since we don't have a dog who will be digging it all up this year.  I think it will look really nice there and make the view from the back covered porch even nicer.  We had thought about possibly moving to Idaho sometime this year but that has been put on hold now so I will continue to just enjoy my little paid off home and increase the beauty and productivity of the gardens.  Jeff seems to be more accepting of this also since we really do not want to incur any more debt but rather sock away even more money into savings.  You never know what will happen in the future and I want to be prepared financially.

   As for now, we will keep on living our happy frugal lives and try to stay healthy and avoid the dreaded virus.  With Spring coming, I am even more hopeful since I can once again get out into the garden and grow some more of our own food.  I love seeing things bud out and seedings pop out of the ground.  It fills me with a sense of wonder and thankfulness for all we have been blessed with.  We really are fortunate and having the kids and grandkids all together again just filled our "love tanks" to the brim.  Hopefully we will all be together again in June for a few days...looking so forward to that!  Be blessed all!

   

Family Genes Run Strong!

Uncle Ronnie, Grandpa Duerr, Uncle Gary and my father, Fred Duerr

My father, Fred Duerr, holding up a baby quilt my mother made for the first great grandchild of a good friend.

   The pictures above just amaze me.  The top picture is of my father, his brothers and my grandfather many years ago.  My grandfather passed away years ago and my Uncle Ronnie passed away within the past few years.  That only leaves my Uncle Gary, who is the youngest brother, and my father, who is the oldest brother.  The bottom picture is one taken within the past week of my father.  I did a double take when I first saw it...he looks exactly like his father, my grandfather, did!  My mother agrees!

   This is the one of the many times we have seen how strong the family genes are and how they continue down through the family.  The artist Albrecht Duerer is one of our relatives and there is a picture of him that also made our jaws drop as one of my brothers looks just like him.  So many generations between them, and yet there is no mistaking that they are definitely related.  My mother looked just like her grandmother did as a child. I have a large picture of my Tutu (great grandmother) as a child and every time I look at it I see my mother.  

   We are seeing the same thing in our grandsons.  We can see the family genes coming through strong in Steven and Tate, who look like their daddies did at the same ages.  I can't wait to show Lauren the pictures of Josh as a baby and have her see what I am seeing!  I will get that chance tomorrow and I can't wait!

 

Frugal Friday Wrap Up 2/12/2021

 

   Well I finally got it done!  Jeff and I worked together to get the antique teacup display shelf up on the dining room wall.  My cousin Jeremy gave me display shelf saying that I should have it since it was made in Paris, Maine and we have strong family ties to that town and Maine in general.  When he first gave it to me I did not realize exactly what it's purpose was but quickly discovered it upon a closer inspection.  It is perfect because it finally allowed me to be able to safely display my grandmother's teacup collection.  The ones on the bottom and middle shelves (with the exception of the rose one at the right end of the second shelf) are all hers, as is the little creamer on the top shelf.  The rest are mine collected over the years because my eyes were just drawn to them.  I call this a frugal win since Jeremy gave me the shelf, I had the teacups and they bring me great joy!

Other frugal doings in no particular order:

~I made a nice lemon pasta chicken that fed us for 4 meals.

~I also made a old fashioned boiled dinner with potatoes, sausage, carrots and onions...lots of leftovers that will have corned beef added to make another 2 meals over the weekend.

~We sold the bunk beds to a lovely family that are going to be doing emergency placement foster care.

~Jeff ground up a bunch of bulk coffee beans that we had been given.

~Jeff had a doctor's appointment and they are trying a new medication for his sinus issues.  Luckily the little pharmacy across from the doctor's office had the medication he needed and it was just $10 so that saved him a 45 minute trip one way to Walmart.

~More loaves of bread were made.

~I watched more disaster movies on YouTube...cheap entertainment.

~We got a bigger coffee maker out to use while Josh, Lauren and Tate are here this coming week.  We are all big coffee drinkers.

~I made a detailed shopping list so that I don't overspend and I don't forget anything.

~A menu plan was also figured out for the next 2 weeks since we will have lots of family here for meals.  Luckily I have the makings for homemade mac and cheese, lasagna, a ham dinner and a big turkey dinner all on hand.  I will use the leftover turkey for turkey pot pie and the ham for sandwiches and ham and scalloped potatoes.  I almost forgot, I also have everything here to make shoyu chicken and rice too!  YUM!

~I was able to consolidate all of my seeds for the garden into a large plastic container.  That will make them much easier to sort through and find this Spring.

~I've been having fun learning about the meanings of our family surnames and have learned some interesting things about our family's past .

   Not much else going on in the frugal department.  We have been busy trying to get the house ready for the kids' visit.  I still need to get the guest room finished being set up and get the pack and play all cleaned and ready for Tate.  I have managed to get the kitchen floors and cabinets all scrubbed and just have the rest of the floors to do now along with the dusting and some decluttering.  Hopefully we can get to most of that this weekend.

Be blessed!

 

Godzilla and Country Songs

                                                                     🌎

   Strange title for a blog post...but bear with me and it might actually make some sense...at least I hope so.   😉

   I actually think this whole pandemic dragging on and on and on, along with the dysfunctional political climate is starting to drive me a bit batty.  Seriously!  I also think my husband would totally agree with me on this.  He is used to my random thoughts, fluctuating moods, and yes, even depression but this is a whole new ballgame.

   So the other day I saw a trailer for the Godzilla vs King Kong movie.  Now, I grew up in Hawaii watching the old Godzilla movies where Godzilla battled with the bad monsters who were out to destroy Japan and the world. Godzilla was often misunderstood, but he tried to protect his territory from evil monsters even if the military did not understand that was his goal.  He really was a good guy! 😀  By the time I actually saw a King Kong movie, Godzilla had already won over my little girl heart.  Fast forward to this new movie trailer where, to my absolute horror, they were portraying my beloved Godzilla as the bad guy!  I kid you not, I got so upset!  Poor Jeff just looked at me while I ranted about how Godzilla was a good guy and just misunderstood and how it was totally unfair that they were portraying him this way.  I even ended up having nightmares about all this.  Yes, I did!  After much thought about this, I realized that I had somehow connected my feelings of unfairness about Godzilla being painted as a bad guy to what is going on in our country politically.  Think about it...police officers who risk their lives every day are being vilified by some of the highest ranking politicians in our country.  Even after an officer was killed during the riot on Capitol Hill, we have a certain member of the House of Representatives who tried to paint them in a bad light when they were trying to protect the same said member from being hurt.  She even accused them of possibly trying to send her into harm's way.  Her "story" is falling apart at the seams at the moment so who knows if she made the whole thing up or not BUT it still remains that she is trying to paint the brave Capitol police officers in a bad light even when one died of injuries, one committed suicide shortly after this and many others were hurt.  Yes, I am pissed off, one of my Josh's friends used to be a member of the Capitol police and my son knows many of the officers who are still a part of police force.

   As for the country songs, well have you ever listened to the lyrics of some of them where they talk about just going out and enjoying the simple pleasures in life?  You know, a day out on the river or lake, singing around a bonfire, camping out under the moon with not a care in the world with your friends and family?  Yes, I miss those moments in life!  I miss going out on the boat with my parents in Montana (it's been more than a year since I have been able to see them in person and spend time with them) with the breeze blowing in our face while we explore the lake.  I miss going camping with my kids and grandkids, sitting around a campfire and roasting marshmallows and making S'mores.  I miss having the freedom to just jump in the car and go explore small towns without the fear of catching this horrible virus.  Most of all, I miss being able to just be with my friends and  family and share hugs with them.  I am a hugger and this is killing me not being able to do that.

   Sadly I fear that this virus will remain with us for a long time with all the dangerous mutations that are happening with it.  Restrictions will remain in place for a long time.  Our political climate is getting even more divisive and it will destroy our country if we don't figure out a way to regain some common sense, human decency and start actually following the law and holding everyone to the same standards.  It seems to me right now it is a "I want my way no matter what the cost or harm it might cause" kind of thinking for many people.  What they either don't realize or maybe don't even care, is that they are destroying the country that our ancestors fought so hard for so that ALL of us could have the freedom to pursue our dreams, worship whomever we choose to, and not live in fear of someone coming to lock us up for simply sharing our thoughts.  We need there to be consequences for those who harm others, who steal, destroy property, loot and burn down buildings.  We need there to be consequences for those who lie to further their own agendas.  We need there to be equal standards for what is unacceptable about using racial, homophobic and other hateful and hurtful rhetoric no matter who says it!  Wrong is wrong.  Do I believe people have made mistakes in their past and can learn and grow from it?  Absolutely!  The key is actually learning, acknowledging, growing and changing their behavior.  We all make mistakes in life and hopefully we do learn from them.

   So here is to Godzilla, who is misunderstood and really is a good guy, country songs, campfires, family, friends and common sense to once again come to pass.  May we all be able to hang on for a bit longer and once again be able to hug and gather with our loved ones, and not worry about being called every bad name ending in "ist" because we believe in everyone being treated with respect and dignity and also believe in common sense.