This week I would like to highlight Jack over at the survival podcast. I know this is not going to be quite what some of you expect, but I like the message that Jack spreads. He does get a bit excited on some of his podcasts, and you don't have to agree or even listen to him, but he does discuss getting out of debt, not getting any new debt, and stockpiling. There is even a thread in the forum about couponing and another one about CVS'ing. Some of his ideas won't appeal to you, but I bet some of them will. Go check out the site, the podcasts and the forum. I guarantee you will learn something new. I know I have.
ETA: This is the first time I have featured a guy for the site of the week!
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Thankful Thursday
This week my list looks like this:
1. Found a new to me minivan!
2. Dinner with friends, especially when I go to her house and she cooks!
3. My BIL got called back to work. That is great news for my sister, BIL and their girls.
4. Stockpiled food, No major grocery shopping for me lately.
5. As always, I will end with chocolate. I have been cutting back and not eating candy, but I will always love me some chocolate.
What are you thankful for today?
1. Found a new to me minivan!
2. Dinner with friends, especially when I go to her house and she cooks!
3. My BIL got called back to work. That is great news for my sister, BIL and their girls.
4. Stockpiled food, No major grocery shopping for me lately.
5. As always, I will end with chocolate. I have been cutting back and not eating candy, but I will always love me some chocolate.
What are you thankful for today?
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
New (to me) Wheels
Well, I bought a minivan last night. I have been looking off and on for a replacement vehicle as I have been renting a car for a few months now. I wanted a suburban or Tahoe or something along those lines. I could afford a pinto. I knew if I kept looking I would find a car that would be adequate. I am not overjoyed that I have a minivan again, however a good running car is very valuable to me right now. I stopped on a whim last night at a dealership that normally I ignore as being too pricey. Of course they wanted me to trade in my big van using the cash for clunkers and buy a brand new car. I told them no way. I did not want to participate in that, nor did I want a brand new car. I don't want the car payments. He told me they had a couple of minivans in the back so I went to look at them. The first one I knew would be too expensive. So we moved on to the next one. Fortunately it does not have power stuff. No power windows, locks, seats, etc. I don't have to worry about that stuff breaking. I have had to have all that power stuff repaired in every car I have ever owned. Manual does not break so much. It is bright shiny red and my son will love that as it is his favorite color. It also has a lot of cubbyholes which he will also love. I will have to get the windows tinted at some point as there is no tint on any windows. I like tint. I am not sure what that will cost so it may be a while before I work that into the budget. It certainly is a want and not a need. At least I say that now before we try to sleep in it! All in all I am satisfied, although not jumping for joy. The plan is to use this car until S gets home at which point I can either sell it and get something new or keep driving it and thereby saving as much money as possible. I think we can all be pretty sure we know what choice will be made. At least now I have some new to me wheels to get me back and forth to see my son.
What to Cook Wednesday
Quick and Easy Chicken and Noodles
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp basil
1/8 pepper
2 cups frozen veggies
2 cups uncooked egg noodles
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
Heat the broth, spices and veggies in pan until boiling. Reduce heat to low and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the noodles. Cook for 5 minutes. Stir in chicken and cook until thoroughly heated.
I know it's not as good as the original home made, but this will do in a pinch. Let me know what you think.
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp basil
1/8 pepper
2 cups frozen veggies
2 cups uncooked egg noodles
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
Heat the broth, spices and veggies in pan until boiling. Reduce heat to low and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the noodles. Cook for 5 minutes. Stir in chicken and cook until thoroughly heated.
I know it's not as good as the original home made, but this will do in a pinch. Let me know what you think.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Random Tuesday Thoughts
Stop and visit Keely over at the UN Mom to see her random Tuesday thoughts. And don't forget to check out the other links to all the randomness. So without further ado, my randomness:
I am going to have to start doing my couponing thing again because I miss it. I miss the rush of the deals.
I have been listening to Jack over at SurvivalPodcast for a couple of days. He was recommended to me by a friend of mine. I can't say that I agree with everything that he says as they are his personal views, but I can say I have enjoyed listening to his show. It has been informative and in the forum area, there is even a topic of couponing to stock up! I especially liked that!
I have also been super busy at work. Work, work work yesterday and today. Where is my slow time at work going?
I went to Victoria Secrets this weekend to get a couple of new bras. Mine were broke down, ragged out sorts of things. Old too. I found a couple of really comfy ones that were even on sale. Now I understand why people pay so much for the stuff at Victoria Secrets. All I can say is I wish I had bought bras there before. I will definitely be back for a couple more when I can afford it.
S started school yesterday. I talked to him about it last night. He was really excited because his teacher was nice to him. He said she was pretty nice to everyone, but was really nice to him. I really hope that my talk with her last week was productive and she stays this way, if it is even the reason that she was so nice to him. She is going through a similar situation with her daughter and her ex and I hope that gives her empathy for our situation.
S also has a baseball party this weekend. They are meeting at a waterworks sort of place. I don't remember the name off the top of my head, but he was really wanting to go. I made a deal that I would bring S back two hours later on Saturday and deliver him to the water park two hours earlier than my usual drop off for the party. Because let's face it, the kid is not going to want to hang out with me on the sidelines while there are a bunch of slides and pools to play in. Then S tells me that he wants me to stay. If there seems to be a need for more supervision, then I will indeed stay, but if he is having fun and there are plenty of other parents, we may go a bit early to get a head start home. My guess though is that we will be staying so that someone is there to keep an eye on S. Which means that we ultimately be getting a late start home as the party is not over until six. I just am confused on why the party is now. The ball games have been over for over a month. Almost two months I think. Those people down there just make my head hurt. I can't even think about it.
The good news is my cats are still just as destructive as always. I say good news because if they were suddenly different, I would think invasion of the cat snatchers. They also have fleas. I have been trying to rid my cats and house of fleas for a couple of days now. So far, I don't have fleas. But if I start scratching behind my ear with my feet I will let you know. I also found out that I can get frontline at the store for a whole lot cheaper than the vets office. I did not even know the stores carried it. They learnt me sumthin new -as my son say now. I am totally going to have to work on that, the little hillbilly.
I think that is about all that I have in my head at all today. Apparently my brain is not holding much. But what can I say. I thought that yesterday was the 13th. I even dated all the paperwork that went through my office as the 13th. Even worse, I didn't know any different until I got to work today and looked at a calendar. Wow. To me today is the 14th. Must be almost time for the weekend.
ETA: When I did spell check, learnt is apparently a word. Yikes. I always though it was not a real word.
I am going to have to start doing my couponing thing again because I miss it. I miss the rush of the deals.
I have been listening to Jack over at SurvivalPodcast for a couple of days. He was recommended to me by a friend of mine. I can't say that I agree with everything that he says as they are his personal views, but I can say I have enjoyed listening to his show. It has been informative and in the forum area, there is even a topic of couponing to stock up! I especially liked that!
I have also been super busy at work. Work, work work yesterday and today. Where is my slow time at work going?
I went to Victoria Secrets this weekend to get a couple of new bras. Mine were broke down, ragged out sorts of things. Old too. I found a couple of really comfy ones that were even on sale. Now I understand why people pay so much for the stuff at Victoria Secrets. All I can say is I wish I had bought bras there before. I will definitely be back for a couple more when I can afford it.
S started school yesterday. I talked to him about it last night. He was really excited because his teacher was nice to him. He said she was pretty nice to everyone, but was really nice to him. I really hope that my talk with her last week was productive and she stays this way, if it is even the reason that she was so nice to him. She is going through a similar situation with her daughter and her ex and I hope that gives her empathy for our situation.
S also has a baseball party this weekend. They are meeting at a waterworks sort of place. I don't remember the name off the top of my head, but he was really wanting to go. I made a deal that I would bring S back two hours later on Saturday and deliver him to the water park two hours earlier than my usual drop off for the party. Because let's face it, the kid is not going to want to hang out with me on the sidelines while there are a bunch of slides and pools to play in. Then S tells me that he wants me to stay. If there seems to be a need for more supervision, then I will indeed stay, but if he is having fun and there are plenty of other parents, we may go a bit early to get a head start home. My guess though is that we will be staying so that someone is there to keep an eye on S. Which means that we ultimately be getting a late start home as the party is not over until six. I just am confused on why the party is now. The ball games have been over for over a month. Almost two months I think. Those people down there just make my head hurt. I can't even think about it.
The good news is my cats are still just as destructive as always. I say good news because if they were suddenly different, I would think invasion of the cat snatchers. They also have fleas. I have been trying to rid my cats and house of fleas for a couple of days now. So far, I don't have fleas. But if I start scratching behind my ear with my feet I will let you know. I also found out that I can get frontline at the store for a whole lot cheaper than the vets office. I did not even know the stores carried it. They learnt me sumthin new -as my son say now. I am totally going to have to work on that, the little hillbilly.
I think that is about all that I have in my head at all today. Apparently my brain is not holding much. But what can I say. I thought that yesterday was the 13th. I even dated all the paperwork that went through my office as the 13th. Even worse, I didn't know any different until I got to work today and looked at a calendar. Wow. To me today is the 14th. Must be almost time for the weekend.
ETA: When I did spell check, learnt is apparently a word. Yikes. I always though it was not a real word.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Site of the Week Saturday
This week for my site of the week, I would like to propose that you go visit Precious at Frugal Makes Cents. She is a wealth of information, and her followers share their tips as well. Any kind of financial advice can be found there. She is the first to tell you that she is just a regular person, not a financial advisor, but I am finding that her advice is something worth listening to. Go check her out.
What to Cook Wednesday
True to my word I am indeed catching up on my posts. I should be out cleaning the car out. It is actually mom's car and I need to transfer everything to my car. But I am really tired and will do it in just a bit. I need to rest until my caffeine kicks in here in a few minutes.
I will tell you to not eat the way I am today. I have so far had a handful of M&M's, a handful of raisins and now am munching on popcorn. I feel like such a fraud as I have not cooked in a while here.
Back to what to cook. I think that I will make some comfort food tonight. And to me there is nothing more comforting that potatoes and eggs. Just slice and fry up some potatoes in a skillet with just a bit of oil( I use EVOO or smart balance, but you could probably use canola as well). Just slice up however many potatoes you need to feed the mouths in your house. Cover and cook on medium heat, turning to prevent burning to a crisp. Some crispiness is desirable though. When the potatoes are nearly done, crack in some eggs and gently stir. Stir frequently until the eggs are fully cooked. I often will add chopped onions and peppers with the potatoes. You can also add pepper if you like. I will add that salt is okay to add only because I know that most folks don't have the aversion to salt that I do. So salt those spuds if you want. That is all there is to it. I won't put a number on the potatoes and eggs because I don't know how many per person for your family. In my family, we like to eat, so we make a lot. If you don't eat so much, cook a little less. It also microwaves well, so make extra and have some for breakfast or lunch the next day.
I will tell you to not eat the way I am today. I have so far had a handful of M&M's, a handful of raisins and now am munching on popcorn. I feel like such a fraud as I have not cooked in a while here.
Back to what to cook. I think that I will make some comfort food tonight. And to me there is nothing more comforting that potatoes and eggs. Just slice and fry up some potatoes in a skillet with just a bit of oil( I use EVOO or smart balance, but you could probably use canola as well). Just slice up however many potatoes you need to feed the mouths in your house. Cover and cook on medium heat, turning to prevent burning to a crisp. Some crispiness is desirable though. When the potatoes are nearly done, crack in some eggs and gently stir. Stir frequently until the eggs are fully cooked. I often will add chopped onions and peppers with the potatoes. You can also add pepper if you like. I will add that salt is okay to add only because I know that most folks don't have the aversion to salt that I do. So salt those spuds if you want. That is all there is to it. I won't put a number on the potatoes and eggs because I don't know how many per person for your family. In my family, we like to eat, so we make a lot. If you don't eat so much, cook a little less. It also microwaves well, so make extra and have some for breakfast or lunch the next day.
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