2-7-13

9:35am

Some stores I don't shop at too often unless

I can find some decent deals.

To make it worth my trip to these type of stores I think 

I should be able to find a bunch of deals to even consider a store.

I usually don't shop at Family Dollar

but decided to go to the grand opening

of the one on Morse Rd. this morning

because I felt there were enough deals

to make my appearance there. 

 I spent $20.25 plus tax and got all these items below.

I think I only had 3-4 coupons

one of which was $5 off a $25 purchase. 

Some items were buy 1 get 1 50% off

and another was buy 1 get 1 free. 

Gotta watch them though because some items

were ringing up full price and not the sales price!

3:30pm


Every time my truck gets dirty I can't help but
to doodle on it.
For the last couple of weeks I've drew two big eyes
on the windows of the back doors and a big smile
across the bottom of the doors.
Well after rain and more salt build up
I had a clean slate and had to doodle something new today.

On one back door I put "Wash Me" and a circle
with a slash through it.
On the other door I put "Riding Dirty"
I thought it was cute, LOL!
Hard to take pics of dirt, lol.

---

3:45pm

Cool, hubby just called to say there's a move out

apartment to go through tonight.

People move out and don't take some things with them.

Says there's stuff like a futon (need one bad!),

desk, printer, etc.

Can't wait to check out the free goodies :0)


8:45pm


Back home from hubby's work.
Of course this apartment was upstairs
and down a hallway.
 Here's what we managed to bring home
tonight in the Suburban.
Everything still looked brand new!

2 pole lamps.
One on left is a double lamp
and the one on right has a basket weave shade.

Small wooden end table. For boys room.

Package of toilet paper.

Desk size table.  For boys room.

Double mattress.  For boys room.

Futon with mattress.  For boys room.

Lexmark all in one printer with cords and disc.

My back is broke.  Time to chill for the evening.
Got everything unloaded out of the truck
and sitting under the carport til this weekend.
 

 

2-6-13

 9:00am

CNN is reporting the U.S. Postal service

plans to stop delivering letters and other 

first-class mail on Saturdays, beginning August 1st,

although packages will still continue to be delivered.


2:00pm


Finally a sunny day again.
Got the solar heater running.  It's 165 degrees inside it.
It's 34 degrees out with snow on the ground.

Got supper going in the crock pot.
It was supposed to be BBQ peach lil smokies
but I couldn't find a can of peaches in the pantry
so resorted to making up my own recipe
with a can of apricots.
Usually this recipe calls for an 8 ounce
jar of grape jelly.  I tried to make it more nutritional
by adding canned fruit instead of jelly.
per half cup serving of apricots there
is 35% vitamin A and 2% vitamin C.
I could not find any vitamin value in the grape jelly.

1-2 packages of little smokies
1 can lite apricots with pear juice
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1 tablespoon mustard
3/4 cup honey BBQ sauce
a couple tablespoons light maple syrup

Place everything but little smokies
in food processor and give it a whirl til smooth.
Pour into crock pot and add little smokies.
Set crock pot on low for 2-4 hours.

Serving with baked beans and macaroni & cheese.

Family Dollar is opening a new store
at Morse Rd and Maize Rd. next to Save-A-Lot tomorrow.
I'm thinking about going there and stocking
up on a couple things I've found in the sale's ad.
These are only available at this location. 
There is a limit of 4 on sale items!

Kroger brand tuna fish runs about .69 cents a can.
Not sure how much starkist is.
.50 cents a can at the new Family Dollar sounds
like a stock up price to me!

And they will also have Kraft macaroni & cheese .50 cents a box.
Kroger brand macaroni and cheese runs about .79 cents.
Don't know how much Kraft is at Kroger.

If you are one of the first 50 customers
at the Morse Rd. Family Dollar on Saturday Feb. 9th
you will receive a $5 gift card.
Must be 18 years or older and no purchase is necessary.
Plus there is a coupon in the sales
ad for $5 off any purchase of $25 excluding
prepaid air time, gift cards, cell phones,
tobacco products and beer.

Other sales include-
If I have found coupons I've added those as well
which can be found in the last month or two's
Sunday paper or The Bag

powerade .75 cents
dawn dish soap .88 cents
clorox bleach $1.50
Suavitel fabric softener $2.00
Barilla pasta $1.00

Progresso soups $1.00
(.25 cents off 1 can of the light version)
Sun 61-75 loads detergent $3.00

Any Suave products buy one get one 50% off
(.50 cents off 2 suave kids hair products)
(.75 cents off 2 suave naturals body wash)
(.50 cents off suave 2.6 ounce deodorant)

Gain detergent 31-40 loads $4.00
($1.00 off 2)
(.40 cents off 1)

Lays chips $2.50

Campbells chunky soup $1.00
(.50 cents off 4)

Folgers classic roast coffee 33.9 ounce $8.00

Cheez-It 7 ounce $2.00
General Mills cereal 11.25-14 ounce $2.00

Clairol balsam hair color $2.50
($2.00)

Lady Speedstick or Speedstick deodorant $1.50

15 ounce Irish spring body wash $2.50
 ($1.00 off 1)

Irish Spring 6 pack bar soap $2.50
(1.00 off)

Nature Made vitamins or supplements buy 1 get 1 50% off
($2.00 off any two)
($2.00 off any one Nature Made Vitamelts)
($1.00 off Nature Made adult gummies)

Sun liquid detergent 125 loads $5.00
Purex liquid detergent 40-48 loads $3.50

Charmin basic bath tissue 12 big squeeze rolls $5.00
(.25 cents off)

16 ounce Planters peanuts $4.00
($1.00 on any 1 jar, canister, bag or multipack)



5:00pm


Supper time.  Something simple.
Looks like a picnic type meal.
I put the combined the leftover bbq apricot sauce and baked beans
together in a bowl
and put in the freezer to go towards a chili.

7:45pm

Had to run to Kroger to get some pop, bread,

hubby some baby aspirin, etc.

While there I found Kroger fat free cool whip

marked down to .25 cents each!

I bought me 8 and mom 8.

I had to put them all in mom's freezer.

But here's the receipt to show that they were .25 cents.

 

I think me and mom are going to
Family Dollar tomorrow morning to get a few
of their sale items on opening day.
 

2-5-13

8:25am

I am making rotisserie style chicken in my

crock pot today using chicken thighs.

You'll need a sheet of aluminum foil per piece of chicken.

Spray each piece of chicken with cooking spray

and sprinkle with seasoning.

I used garlic powder, onion powder, pepper and poultry seasoning.

Wrap aluminum foil over chicken.

Next either crumple up some aluminum foil balls.

I use empty aluminum cans.

Place chicken on top of cans.

Set crock pot on high for 2-3 hours
then low for the remaining hours.

Half of this chicken will be used towards

some Hawaiian pineapple chicken over rice with veggies.

The other half I might put in a homemade chicken noodle

soup or a pot pie.


9:05am


Well I just reordered my Crohn's medicine
only to find out it went up $13.
Cost without insurance $1,022.67
Cost with insurance now $204.53
Was $191
I've got a 13 day supply left.
The mail order pharmacy says it will
be here in 7-10 days.  I hope so.


2:05pm


I removed chicken from the crock pot.
It's looking good.
I'll work on shredding it up, the sauce and rice
once I return from the bus stop.

3:35pm


I thought this was interesting to know-
Best foods to buy in bulk that will last the longest.

Pasta stored correctly will last up to 3 years.
It will last long if stored in a mylar food bag.

 Rice if stored correctly will last 2 years.
If stored in mylar food bags will last up to 20 years.
White rice has a longer shelf life than brown.

Grains such as lentils, oats, wheat berries, and other whole grains will last from a year to 8 years in regular storage but can last up to 30 years in mylar. This does not include flour.

Dried beans can be stored up to 2 years in an airtight container, however they will last 8-10 years when stored in mylar.

Dried fruit will last up to 5 years when stored in mylar bags, however its normal storage length depends on how it is stored. Regular dried fruit in an airtight container will last several months.

Sugars will last forever when stored in sealed mylar. When stored in an airtight container, it will last for several years. Honey may crystalize but can be restored by placing in the sun or hot water.

Baking supplies like baking soda, baking powder, arrowroot, salt, etc, will last for years when stored in airtight containers.

Flour can be stored in an airtight container and will last up to 6 months before going rancid. It will last longer when stored in the freezer.

 A cheap alternative to buying expensive mylar bags

is to start saving all your potato chip bags, of course

wash and dry them good first.

Seal the bag ends with a clothes iron

or even a flat iron for hair to heat and seal it. 

Free Mylar Bag Video How To

Free Mylar Bags from Potato Chips Bags

I am also in the process of learning how to make M.R.E.'s.

Hubby says, what are you a prepper now?

I said not a world disaster prepper but

there has been several times now that

we've gone several days to more than a week

without power and it's very difficult to

find stores or even fast food places open 

or try to decide what to make

and eat during that time without power.

We have an electric stove which is useless

during a power outage but we do have a

gas grill with a side burner.

4:50pm

Suppers almost done.

I got the chicken shredded and in a skillet warming

with some canned pineapple, green, red and yellow bell peppers

and onions.

In one saucepan I have white rice boiling

in water with some teriyaki sauce in it.

and in another saucepan I have the sauce.

For the Hawaiian chicken sauce-

In a saucepan stir all these ingredient together

over medium heat.

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon all purpose seasoning

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce

2/3rds cup ketchup

and liquid from a can of pineapple

In a cup of very hot water add 4 Tablespoons

of cornstarch.  Once your above mixture has

simmered for about 2 minutes over medium low heat

then whisk in the cornstarch water to thicken it.

Stir sauce into chicken then serve over rice.

This recipe I used was a combination of

recipes I found. 

5:35pm

Time to eat.

I am actually surprised the kids are eating

something that has a sweet and sour taste like that

and something with vegetables they would

usually turn their noses up to.

My secret was that I cut them up small.

6:15pm


Ewww I just read about Capri Sun having mold in some
of their juice pouches.  And to think I almost bought
a box of them in a mark down bin at Kroger the other day
but decided against it because I didn't think it
was very healthy for the kids and opted for
some 100% orange juice instead.

"WARNING TO ALL PARENTS: my friend Jennifer gave her son a caprisun Saturday and he told her it tasted funny. She took a sip and said it tasted like straight alcohol. Cut it open and it was nothing but mold inside. Evidently, this happens a lot. They say the lack of preservatives leaves them susceptible to fermentation."

If there is any doubt in your mind if a story is true

or not be sure to check it out on Snopes.

This story IS TRUE!

2-4-13

fdsdg

8:55am

We are under a winter weather advisory.

Nothing like going grocery shopping at 7:00am

in the morning.  As soon as the kids got on the bus

I picked up mom to take her shopping.

Can't walk down the isles in the store at that hour

because they were restocking all the shelves.

Then there are no regular checkouts or

cashiers so you have to use

the U-scan checkout no matter how many groceries you have.

Once back home I got all the bills done.

Have had a fun filled morning. 


1:30pm


I just had the school nurse call me to let me know
my one son has gotten a scratch on his face from an
altercation and she cleaned it out. 
Then she said he was getting ready to go see
the school's assistant principal to figure out what had happened.
I said let me tell ya what happened.
He and a couple of his close friends gets bullied all the time
and nothing gets done about it.
He's afraid to tell anyone for fear the the bullies
will retaliate.  I said last week he came home
with a big bruise on his chest from where 
someone punched him because he said someone was bothering his friend and he stuck up for him and in the process got hurt.  When I saw it on him and asked why he didn't tell
he said he didn't want those other kids bothering him.
The nurse said she would pass on the information
I told her to the assistant principal.
You see too much of this crap on the news
to not speak up and defend your child who goes
to school and tries to do good.
A lot of these kids at this middle school don't give
a crap and don't care.  I see their so called
friends on Facebook all the time talking
about fighting one another.  It's ridiculous anymore
that children have to fear going to school!
Sometimes the problem is the parents who
teach the child(ren) to fight.
I try to teach mine not to fight but sometimes
bullied kids can only tolerate only so much that the
urge to fight back comes out.
You should not be the punching bag all the time
because sooner or later that child is going to fight back
no matter how many times you tell them not to
because the schools don't do anything about it.
And when they so your children are the ones to blame
not the bullies.  Columbus City Schools
are not an easy school to go to because of it.
I've been dealing with this same crap for
almost 20 years!!!  I did not go to Columbus schools.
Sure I got picked on in Westerville Schools
but nothing like Columbus Schools where they
threaten to beat you up and injure you!

They need to bring back the paddle.
I remember if you were bad in school
you were sent to the principals office and got paddled.
I was not one of them!  I knew better! 
And when one student would be sent to the 
principals office for the butt whoopin'
the whole class would be silent and have a fear
that they better be good and straighten their butts up!

When you've got children the ages of my children
going around staying out all night
and breaking into people's property
and stealing things, then yeah, there's a problem
with the parents.  I'd say about 90% of the
people who steal things from our yard and shed
are the ones in the 10-teenage years!
Unbelievable!
I have it on security cameras to know
and back up what I'm telling ya.


2:10pm


Here comes the snow.


3:00pm


Roads are very slippery so be careful!

My one son told me that the bully socked/punched
him in the face.  See I wasn't told that by the nurse.
I was only told he got scratched.
Now my son doesn't want to go to school tomorrow
for fear of getting beat up again.
He said the kid that hit him claims to be in a gang
and he even told me the name of it.
I asked if he told the principal and he didn't.
I told him he should of!
Ya see these kids form small "gangs" at school
if ya don't know that already.
That is one reason they are not allowed
to wear red or blue solid colored t-shirts to school,
they are gang colors.
The school is aware of the problem
but isn't doing much about it other than 
telling everyone what they can or can't wear. 

Obviously my son didn't get into trouble
because the principal didn't call me.
That crap about schools sending out newsletters
and having meetings with parents in
the auditorium during open house
or parent teacher conferences talking
about their bullying policies and what to expect
from them is absolute bullshit!  Yeah I said it!
They don't enforce it enough unless
someone brings a gun to school or sends
your child to the hospital! 

Our middle school even has a security officer and
security cameras.  Bullies have it figured out though.
Lots of times fights start in the bathrooms
where there are no cameras.
I just don't know anymore.

I'm done with my rant for today I hope.
Just tired of all the BS! 


4:35pm


Snow is still falling.  They have now extended
our winter weather advisory.
The mailman wasn't parked long
and his windows covered up pretty quickly.
Roads are bad.  I see on Facebook a part of I71 is shut
down in Southern Delaware county from a semi truck crash and 
Logan county has a school bus with children
that has wrecked and rolled over! 
Child struck at school in Westerville
and 2 pedestrians struck by snow plow in Newark.

 Got supper in the oven.
We're having pork chops
that were dipped in an egg mixed with Italian
dressing and then breaded with some 
Oven Fry Extra Crispy pork breading.
Serving with homemade mashed potatoes
with a country gravy cheese sauce and a side of peas.

I don't know if hubby is working late or not
helping with plowing the streets.
I do remember him saying they just got a shipment
of salt in because they were out.
Still trying to figure out an easy way for those
guys to load that salt spreader.
I made a suggestion of instead of the salt
contractor unloading the pallet of salt onto the 
ground to load it directly into the back
of the plow truck.  Then when the guys needed
to refill the spreader they wouldn't have to
pick up those heavy ass salt bags as far
to dump it in.  They are back breakers!


5:45pm


5:30 rolls around and no hubby.
I don't know if he's out on the road or
staying over at work because the last time we had spoke
he says he MIGHT work over.
That's not definite to me.
Don't leave people at home to worry especially
on a day like today! 
I called and confirmed he is staying over and
plowing the roads.
Would have been nice to know!

So I dished up supper for me and the kids.
Those three pork chops were big enough
for six servings!

7:45pm


Hubby finally got home at 7:00pm.
 Me and him went out not long ago and
got all the walks and driveway shoveled.
Whew!   Gonna need the heating pad tonight.

2-3-13

gPeach

12:00pm

Been housecleaning this morning

and got laundry started.

Now time for lunch of leftover salisbury steak sandwiches.


12:40pm


Working on a meal menu for the week.
This is what I have so far.

Hot BBQ chicken wings with seasoned steak fries & ranch dressing

Fish with rice, carrots and broccoli

Peach BBQ lil smokies with baked beans and mac & cheese

Shake and bake pork chops with mashed potatoes

Spaghetti & meatballs with garlic bread

Hawaiian Pineapple BBQ chicken over rice
with bell peppers.

Pork chops with apple stuffing and carrots


Breakfasts

-yogurt
-eggs & cheese on bread or tortilla
-Special K chocolately delight cereal
-frosted flakes cereal 

snacks

-peanut butter banana bread.
I'm going to try and tweak my own recipe
by using whole wheat flour and splenda.
Makes 2 loaves or I could do 1 loaf
and make muffins with the rest for breakfast. 


4:15pm


Went to the grocery and thrift store earlier.
We've been wondering where our butcher friend
has been that works at Kroger.  Come to find out
he and his wife had the flu pretty bad.
And guess what, his wife got the flu shot!
Hmmmmm!

I got some chicken wings going in the oven now for supper.
I rinsed them then dried them then
dredged them through some whole wheat
flour with seasonings added to it.
Put on sprayed cooking sheet.
Lightly spray the tops of the chicken wings with
cooking spray and add more seasoning.
Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
Remove from oven and using tongs 
dip each piece of chicken into a bowl of
Frank's Kicking BBQ sauce coating them completely
then return to baking sheet and bake another
30 minutes.
And during this time is when I put the seasoned
steak fries in the oven for 30 minutes.

I got an order for another cape to make
through my friend's beauty pageant she attended yesterday.
And I also have a request to make a
pillow case dress with ruffled bottom shorts.

I found this fleece poncho at the thrift store
to start making the second cape and use it
for a pattern.  I plan to cut the hood off and use
part of it for a collar instead.
It's a size 2 and was $1.99.
This one is not as large as the last cape I did.

 I also bought a pattern for .30 cents
to use to possibly make shorts.
This is for sizes 2-4.

5:45pm




Time to eat!  Dig in!


Mom and dad's with hot bbq sauce.

The kids with honey BBQ sauce.

I also got a tray of sugar cookies baked for later on :0)

2-2-13

11:55am

Ahhh, it felt so good to be able to sleep in til 9:30am.

My big breakfast I planned on making today

turned out to be a brunch or lunch.

Oh well, all bellies are full.

Not the most nutritional but I couldn't tell

ya the last time we've had a big breakfast on the weekend.

Eggs, toast, bacon, sausage, fried taters and country gravy.

 

2-1-13

5:45am

I didn't sleep worth a crap last night.

It seemed like I was awake every hour.

I got up before the alarm clock at 5:20am.

My eyes feel shriveled up this morning and are burning.

Got the boys breakfast made of eggs, toast & jelly,

a hashbrown with cheese and apple juice.

My back is hurting this morning.

Hurting even more after watching the news just

now and seeing it's 11 degrees out with

a wind chill of -10.

BRRRR! 

I thought I saw the news last night saying

we're supposed to get 3-5 inches of

snow this weekend.  Yuck!

I'm ready for Spring!


12:50pm


Got our running around done.
Also got the taxes done which they
said should take 2-3 weeks to get a refund.
Made less this year than last but got more
with the refund, go figure.
The price to get your taxes done is ridiculous
along with a fee to have the refund direct deposited
into your bank account. 
Somewhere in the $300 to $400 range.
It's like that every year for H&R Block.


I just read on Facebook that Cincy and Dayton area
Kroger stores will stop doubling coupons.
I hope it doesn't happen for Columbus!
If so then we need to look to see if Meijer
and Giant Eagle will stop theirs as well.