5-23-14

3:05pm

My son is getting good at bartering.

Today he traded a kid a school a cell phone

that we found in an apartment for

a fat boy PS3.  It works!

Now maybe we can use this one in the living room

and possibly get Netflix.

5-22-14

12:25pm

It's been slow going for me today.

I took a nap earlier and that usually refreshes me

but this time I still feel like I could of slept

for a couple of hours more and cannot get it in gear.

I've been having more bathroom trips than normal

and twinges of pain in my stomach and lower abdomen.

I'm hoping it passes because those stomach

pains kinda freak me out after my last hospital trip.

They got so bad they put me on pain medication,

the good stuff, the kind that knocks you out

or makes you talk all weird like you're drunk.

I just got done going through everything I found

last night.  I think I only kept half of what I got.

And who's to say how much of the keeper pile I'll 

keep because I have yet to try some of those

clothes on.  You'd think I would have looked forward

to going through everything and I just wanted

to be done with it.

4:20pm

Ain't feeling with it.  Body is throbbing,

stomach hurts at times and I have no energy.

I've done nothing but lay around and watch tv

since picking up the kids.

I haven't even started supper yet.

Maybe when hubby gets home we'll go

to Kroger to get something easy to make,

pre made and/or can go into the microwave

or oven.

9:15pm

Me and hubby went to his work to round

up some scrap metal to take in tomorrow.

Hubby wants to go to the race track Saturday

and this is the way he plans to fund admission

and food to take.

Let's hope I have a little bit more energy by then.

Ughhh.

5-21-14

12:25pm

Mom's AC wasn't working well.

We had a coworker from hubby's work who is certified HVAC

come over to mom's last night to fix it.

He only charged $75 to replace a valve stem (whatever it's called),

extract the freon, replace and add freon,

run nitrogen through the lines to find the leak,

and test with gauges.

Not sure how much this would have cost

from an actual company to come out and

do all that but I'm sure it would have been A LOT more!

Just to have yearly maintenance tune up on your
air conditioner would run you about $90 to $150!

How much does it cost to repair AC unit?



Tonight me and hubby might go check out
a skip apartment.  Skip means that the person
just left and didn't pay their rent.
Not sure what all is in there but hubby says
the person didn't take their clothes
or they left a bunch of them behind.
How do you not take your clothes with you?
Hoping for a little sun today but with the rain
and all not too sure about that.
This apartment has no power so
will make it hard to see in the dark with
the only light coming in from the outside.


9:15pm


Went for a walk tonight at Hoover expecting
to see some storms.  Just some light rain.
It was a nice walk though.
Got some cool cloud pictures tonight.
Stopped by hubby's work and went through
the one skip apartment.
I got a bunch of bags & boxes loaded in the truck.
Not really sure what all I got because it was
getting dark and there was no power in
the apartment.  So I guess it will be a surprise
to me tomorrow when I go through it all LOL.

5-20-14

Off to a decent start with my tomatoes.

I still have not planted them outdoors

because temps have dropping too low at times.

This way I am able to bring them inside if need be.

Boss man at hubby's work planted his outside

and they are not doing so good.  He says

he'll have to go back to the store and buy more.

Since I don't plan on planting anything other

than 8 tomato plants I've been wanting to

tear apart my Rain Gutter Grow System I made

last year and narrow it down to only one

section of gutter.  Right now I have 3 gutters

connected to one another.

My only worry is a raccoon and an opossum.

This morning I opened the back door

and there was a raccoon on the back step

eating cat food out of a bowl.

I opened the door and he just stood there looking

at me then stood up trying to pry up the lid

of the recycling bin to get into it.

He's a fat sucker.  Now can you imagine

if I get some big, juicy tomatoes growing, ugghhh.

I had problems one year with the opossum 

taking tomatoes off the plants, taking one bite

out of them and leaving them all over the yard.

1:15pm

I'm working on another Eggo recipe for the contest.

I think the contest ends a week from now.

I got this and maybe two more recipes to make.

If you have teenagers you know that they can eat

you out of house and home and that's not good

for the grocery budget.  

MANY times I have to make a return trip

to the store to buy double of things I had just bought

but the kids had gotten into and eaten.

Let's say I buy a package of shredded cheese

because homemade pizza is one of the meals

planned for the week.  Well, by the time I go

to make that meal the cheese is half eaten or gone!

I used to hide packages of cheese in old

butter or cool whip bowls but they caught

onto that.  So now I'm going to try another idea.

I'm in search of a small plastic locking 

tool or tackle box to put refrigerated items

in like cheese, bologna, pepperoni, ham and so on

and it will have a lock on it!

9:40pm

Just returned from Kroger.  Was outta milk.

Oh yeah that was an experience.

As we are heading for the checkout hubby points

out this gals shirt that says in big letter across the front, 

"I Love Vaginas"

Oh...my...goodness!

Ya know I don't care what sex you prefer

but to wear something like that into public is a little much.

You don't see me going around wearing a tee

that says, "I love penis".

What a crazy world we live in.

Have a little respect for others around you,

especially children that may also be in that store

that starts asking questions.

5-19-14

7:40am

Yesterday we sold the car hood that

we listed on Craigslist.

Took a little less than what we asked for it

but hey it was free money.
Time to look for some more stuff to sell.

Hubby is back to work after a week's vacation.
So it's kinda quiet around here this morning
after a week of running around.

I got some ham thawing out.  I'm making
ham and potato soup for supper.  I found some veggies
in the fridge that needed used up like
carrots and celery to throw in there as well.
Soups and casseroles are good ways
to use up any leftovers.

Later on this afternoon I might work
on getting some chocolate ready for the freezer.
My friend gave me a large box full of
chocolate Easter bunnies, chocolate eggs,
marshmallow candies, egg die kits
and some toys.
I'll save some bunnies in the freezer
for next Easter and the rest I think I'll
shred up and store in vacuum sealed
bags in the freezer for baking and cookies.

Yesterday we had to go to Kroger to get 
some bread and some after school snacks
for the boys this week.
I found a pound of fresh broccoli florets for $1.29.
(serve them with ranch dressing dip)
and a large bag of 20 snack chips marked
down to $4.49.  I usually don't buy bags like these
and prefer to get regular bags of chips
on sale and put them in zip baggies myself to save money.

I might ask mom to go to Kohl's this week with me.
In the mail I got not one but TWO
$10 off purchase of $10 or more coupons.


3:30pm


Sitting here chilling til hubby gets home from work.
Got supper in the crock pot already done.
I just got done washing down the tub and shower walls
in the bathroom.  Little wet from that.
I usually like to do that when I'm in there taking
a shower and are already wet, lol.
Now I need to run downstairs and do some more laundry.
I found a bunch of towels at hubby's work this
past weekend and need to get them washed up
and finish washing our weekly laundry.

We very rarely use paper towels for messes or cleaning.
Instead I have a laundry basket under my kitchen sink
full of rags and towels of all different sizes.

5-17-14

10:30am

Got up this morning and started a big breakfast.

I usually make this once in awhile

and for Sunday mornings but had an exception

this Saturday morning with a guest spending the night.

I figured this child spending the night hasn't

seen a good home cooked meal in awhile

so went out of my way to make it.

I peeled and shredded potatoes and fried them

in the skillet with some maple flavored ground sausage

and seasoning.

I served this hash on a plate, topped with

shredded cheddar cheese, a fried egg and 

more cheddar cheese.  Then had a side of toast.

7:30pm


Not liking this cold and rainy weather.
It makes for boring days inside.
For the past couple of hours I've
been laying in bed watching tv
or napping with the heating pad.
I've been having a headache most of the day
starting at my neck and shoulders traveling
up the backside of my head to the top of my head.
I just took a really hot shower with the massage on
and a couple of ibuprofen.
To take hot showers I turn the faucet on in the kitchen
on hot for a couple of minutes then turn it off
and go do whatever for about 5-10 minutes.
This fires up the hot water tank and makes
for some really hot water.  The hotter the better for me
with my aches and pains, especially my hips
and lower back which also have been bothering me.

I'm ready for some warmer weather.
They say we have a frost warning or whatever for tonight
as we're supposed to drop down into the 30's for a low.
I gotta remember to bring in the tomato and aloe
vera plants I took outside.
I hadn't planted the tomato plants yet because
I have been trying to round things up
for when I plant them like epsom salt, egg shells,
coffee grounds, tea bags, aspirin, fish and so on.
All this will go into the holes I dig.
Keeping them inside until I see some heat or sun
because that's what tomato plants like.
Plus I'll fertilize them once every two weeks.
Remember there's a contest to see who can
grow the biggest tomato at hubby's work.



---

5-16-14

7:20am

So I hear on the radio this morning that

Ghost Adventures has been in town for the week

filming for a show at the jail.

Which one, I don't know.  Maybe the Reformatory?

They are doing it because there is a full moon this week.

I just thought it was pretty cool.

(Update: Ok after watching over Facebook I see a lot

about Ghost Hunters being at the Ohio Reformatory

so I think maybe the radio station mistakenly

said the wrong tv show.)

Just chilling and getting things done around the

house and errands done this week.

Yesterday we went to Ollie's to get some freon

for our vehicles for the upcoming hot weather.

Too expensive to take it in to a garage to 

have it done so we do it ourselves.

I'm sure a shop would cost between $50 to $200

to recharge, check for leaks, seal leaks

and probably cause leaks.

I don't trust those places anyway because

I've taken vehicles in to be fixed and 

come out with more problems than I started with!

Ollie's freon is $5.88.  And if you can't find it there

Big Lots has it for something like $6.50 a can.

Pretty easy to do as long as you have the adapter hose.

You can learn just about anything on the internet

and YouTube.  I even learned how to jump

start my truck's air conditioner when it

wasn't working and it's been working ever since.

Got hubby's car fixed the other day.

To do it ourselves it cost $175.

That was for a stabilizer bar link,

rear break pads,

and three newer tires installed.

Got some bites on the car hood we're selling

so if it sells that would cover the cost of those repairs.

Free hood = free money = free car repairs

plus some change in our pockets.

We used to go to Steve's (Sandy's) Used Tires.

We stop in there and inquire about a tire.

They ask if we wanted new or used.

I say used.  This guy pulls a tire off the shelf to 

show it to us and says $60 plus $15 installation

plus probably a tire disposal fee of $2.00 per tire.

Those prices are crazy!

$75 - $77 for one USED tire installed.  I'm going elsewhere.

So I go down the road to another place

where I found really nice tires for $45

and that included installation and old tire disposal.

I ended up getting 3 tires for his car

and saved $126 by going to them instead of Steve's!

PLUS the guy at the used tire place gave us his

business card and said if we take that

to NTB tires we could get 30% off

of a front end alignment.

Still up in the air about getting that done right now.

Hubby tried doing it himself so we'll see how that goes.

4:15pm

Me and hubby went yard saling today.

It sucked.  He got a couple screwdrivers for .25 cents for 2

and a new in package large bottle of cleaner and

microfiber cloth to clean computer and tv screens

for $2.00.

I got my one son a Nike t-shirt .75 cents

and 25 Pillsbury (grocery store checkout type) cookbooks 

for .10 cents each.

My one lovely son decides he wants a friend

to spend the night tonight.  Oh goodie.

This is the friend who is living at a hotel.

Well I was going to have chili I had already made

and was warming in the crock.

Now I think we're having Little Ceaser's Pizza

because of an extra mouth to feed.

So we'll have chili tomorrow night.

5:45pm

Had to run to Kroger before going to Little Ceasers

and get drinks for tonight along with stuff to make

a big breakfast tomorrow.

So we went to Little Ceasers and got our pizzas.

The man behind the counter had reddish orange eyes!!!

I'm thinking we just got served by the Devil!

Freaky looking.  I'm sure they were contact lenses

of some sort.  Why would a company allow

employees to wear something like that 

when they have to deal with customers?!

It's not like it used to be.  Places will hire anyone

and everyone.  I've seen gas station cashiers

which were guys with all kinds of piercings

from ears, cheeks, nose, lips and tongue.

One even had those huge hole earrings in, ewww!

Plus some have a bunch of tattoos,

weird colored hair or hair cuts.

One gal had her head shaved except for long bangs

that were parted in the front.

and dudes are wearing black fingernail polish.

Kinda creeps you out going into places anymore

wondering what you will see.

Is there not a dress code for work anymore?!

8:00pm

We took the boys to a park in Gahanna to walk around.

I don't think this kid spending the night with

us has ever seen real ducks or even a swan before

because he kept pointing and saying, "what's that?".

I think he's 14 years old and just been

brought up on the city streets.

5-13-14

2:40pm

Got most of our running done for today

except for maybe a walk this evening.

After going to Lowes, Home Depot,

Menards and Meijer, we finally 

found 6 packs of tomato plants at Andersons!

I got Super Sweet Cherry 100's

and Beefsteak tomatoes.  I think it was

$1.88 a 6 pack.

Went to the bank also to deposit the money

from the truck and a couple of scrap metal checks.

Slowly building the account back up.

Made about $500 profit on the truck and now

have a couple people interested in the hood for sale.

Lastly we stopped by Kroger to pick up

a couple of things.  If you know me I scope out

any and all mark downs.

This is how I supply the family with meats

for meals at a reasonable cost.  

Cannot afford full meat prices that's for sure.

And meat keeps going up and up.

Even if I'm in the grocery store picking

up a few things on my grocery list

I'll still check out any and all mark downs

to stock my cupboards and freezers with.

You never know what you'll find and when

so better buy it when you find it.

These are all the mark downs I found today.

2 fajita seasoned pork steaks (looks like a tenderloin) $3.49 each

4 packs corned beef .39 cents each

Cheese nut ball $1.79

Purdue seasoned, ground & cooked turkey .99 cents each

Cheddar brats $1.99

2 can Campbell's beef consume .79 cents each

2 cans Swanson chicken broth .69 cents each.

Here are other mark down meats I've found within

the last week or so.

Large pack of cubed ham $2.59

Large pack of pork chops $4.79

2 Large packs of pork ribs (1 not shown and is in crock)

$4.45 each

Turkey sausage links $1.69

Pork cube steaks $1.38

Johnsonville garlic sausage $2.49

Bob Evans 6 pack beer brats $2.79

Here is the last mark down along with

some freebies my mother-in-law gave

me when we were at the lake.

24 pack Kroger citrus drop $2.49

The rest was FREE!

Large package of spaghetti

2 packages of wheat spaghetti

Whole wheat rotini pasta

Egg noodles

Elbow macaroni

2 boxes macaroni & cheese

Bag of pancake mix

Cake mix

large boxes of corn flakes and rice krispies cereal

2 cartons of milk

2 cartons cream of chicken soup

2 cans cream of chicken soup

2 cans vegetable soup

The kids stayed home from school today.

They both had a field trip to the skating rink

and neither one wanted to go.

Also the neighbor kid I take to and from the bus stop

did not attend the field trip or go to school today.

Tomorrow's agenda looks like this...

South end flea market 

and South end junk yard

to find parts for hubby's car.

4:15pm

Made bbq ribs yesterday in the crock.

Today I have them warming, shredded them

and removed any bones.

Got a pot of potatoes boiling to serve

them over mashed potatoes.

Yesterday evening we turned on the air conditioner

and have it on today as well.

After the storms the humidity just became

unbearable for us.  It got to 84+ degrees in our home.

I need to sit down and redo some of my meal menus

I had for 3 weeks plus make up more meal menus for after that

with what I just bought.  I am now on week two

of the three week menu I made.

I had a problem with a couple of chicken meals I had planned.

I think I'm going to quit buying the Kroger FMV

chicken leg quarters for $6.89.

They tend to go bad very quickly!!

I just threw out 10 pounds of chicken yesterday!!

That hurt to do that but what else can ya do.

This is the second bag that's gone bad

in the last couple months!

Sure it's cheap but it's not worth buying

unless you are making it the same day if that.


9:10pm


So with hubby being off for the week we decide
to start taking tires off his car to find where
the creaks, squeaks and groans are coming 
from after this Winter.

I find this rear driver's tire is bald with high and low spots
throughout with steel belts coming through.
The tire on the opposite side isn't doing the same thing
and still has good tread on it.

I spin the rotor on the car 
and it's squeaking.  Hubby comes over and realizes
the driver's side rear brake pads are gone.
Doesn't make sense because they are fine on the other side.

Hmmm, wonder what could be causing all this?
So after a little further investigation
here is the culprit...
a stabilizer bar link is broke, AHHH!

All this along with 2 tires and a front end alignment.
It figures once we get a little money in our pocket.
$20 brakes
$20 Stabilizer bar link
don't know how much for 2 used tires installed will cost
or how much an alignment is.
I'm figuring we're looking at $100 to $200 for everything
if we're lucky.

Well I'm heading to bed soon.
My back/ hip has been hurting me pretty good
since Saturday night.
I slept out in a tent with my son
on the cold, hard ground Saturday night.
I made my way back into my in-laws
home at 2am to sleep because my back hurt so bad.
I have been eating Tylenol and ibuprofen ever since,
rotating them every 4 hours.

5-12-14

7:15pm

I like thunderstorms I just don't like when

we get lightning storms like early this morning.

It woke me up a couple times.

The third strike was really close,

really loud and took out power from about 

4:45 to 6:30.  And yup I've been up since 4:45am.

We had a nice Mother's Day weekend at the lake.

Got up Saturday morning and the people showed

up to buy the truck.  After that we went to Kroger

to get some things for our cooler for the weekend.

We needed gas so hubby goes to Speedway

on Morse Rd.  He pumps the gas and I go into the store with

my one son.  When we came back out I say,

"do you smell something burning"  My son says, "yes".

Didn't think much about it til we got in the truck

at the gas pump and my son points to a 

telephone pole at the BP gas station beside Speedway.

The cross bar at the top of the pole was smoking

pretty good.  We drove around to check it out.

We weren't sitting very far away from it to see

that it started having flames coming from it.

I'm looking around like, doesn't anyone else but us

see this going on??!!

I call 911.  I tell them that the telephone pole is on fire,

making weird noises and has three transformers on it.

It started to make a buzzing and electrical noise

and I ask hubby if we should back up away from it.

The fire department says, "ma'am, you should

get away from it and back up!"  Didn't even

get backed up but a couple of feet and this VERY LOUD

ZZZ-zzzz-zzzzz electric zapping sound emitted

from that pole and KABOOOM!

The sky filled with nothing but a whitish blue flash.

We couldn't see anything in front of our faces

at that moment it was so bright.

I'm pretty sure the fire department on the phone

didn't need me to explain any further after

hearing that and said, "we'll be right out!"

5 minutes later they showed up and by that

time the fire had put itself out from the explosion.

It took out the power to the gas stations and 

surrounding homes.

That...was a little too close for comfort

to see something exploding right in front of us!!!

Photo from the scene.

We were sitting on the left side of the 
4 concrete squares leading out of the BP gas station.

The telephone pole that was on fire

and blew transformers is located

to the right of the white house behind the bush.

You can see the charred wood on top

the telephone pole.

I video taped the fire truck showing up

and me talking to them.

I didn't think to video tape the fire before the explosion

at the time because I was on the phone to 911.

That would have been one heck of a video if I did!!

It was so intense my son in the back seat said,

"I almost said a cuss word!"  LOL.

If you ever saw Storm Chasers on Tv I kept

referring to the show where Reed Timmer

kept telling the crew to put the car in reverse

and "BACK UP!!!!"

I kept telling hubby to BACK UP when I heard

loud electrical buzzes coming from the pole.

I didn't feel as though he was backing up fast enough!
He had only backed up a couple of feet and BOOM!

After all that we finally headed out to the lake.

It was pouring down rain til we got out

of Columbus.  It didn't rain at the lake

at all Saturday and turned out pretty nice.

Sunday morning was foggy but no rain til

about 4:30pm.  We had left around 5:00pm

after the rain had cleared up.  No rain all the way home

but I guess it started down pouring at the lake again

for about an hour or so after that.


Hubby is on vacation this week so we're trying to
get caught up with doing things around the house
and going to a couple of places to enjoy our
quiet time together before Summer break begins.
We are on the hunt for a couple different tomato
plants.  I guess hubby and a couple of guys
at work are having a competition to see who
can grow the biggest tomato.
I'm looking for 4 pack flats not the individual ones
of Beef Steak Tomato plants.
I would also like to find Sweet Cherry 100's
and put them in hanging baskets.
Not having much luck at nearby stores
so are hoping for some at the flea market
in the near future.

I checked back to last year on my blog and
saw that I purchased flats of veggies
at Meijer April 30th.
Well I am here to tell ya that we stopped
by Meijer yesterday and they didn't have
any flats of veggie plants like previous years.
What is up with that.  I can't find them anywhere.
I do not want the single pots of plants
and that seems like what everyone is selling.