7-25-12

1:30pm

Trying to do things while I have some energy

and the throbbing and pain is at tolerable levels.

Got the dishes loaded in the dishwasher and going.

Jonathan was bored so I decided me and 

him would go into the basement and work

on it some more.   Also got a load of laundry done in the dryer and

one going in the washer.  I'm trying to plan different areas

of the basement for specific things as I go.  

One area I really need is a place

to store seasonal clothing.  I used to store some

under the beds but that is not the best option anymore

because Jonathan now has a futon and you can't

get any totes under there for storage.  So 

I was thinking about putting a few bookcases

along one wall in the laundry room to store

folded seasonal clothes on along with my laundry detergent & supplies.  Me and Jonathan managed to

get 3-4 totes full of crap to go out.


It's true when people say that they always
find things after they go out and replace something.
After missing for almost a year Tony
bought another ear piece for his cell phone this
past Sunday at the flea market.
And would you know that me and Jonathan
found it in this basement today, 3 days later 
after purchasing a new one.
It figures.  The replacement was only $5.
Now he'll have a backup when he loses this one, lol.

3:15pm

Got some pizza dough going in the bread machine.

Have been wanting to make some calzones for supper.

Was thinking of a calzone crossed between

a reuben sandwich and one of those

sausage, onion and mushroom sandwiches

that you find at the fair.

Then add in some swiss cheese

to hold it altogether.

-pizza dough 

-sauerkraut

-smoked sausage

-onions

-mushrooms

-swiss cheese

In the pizza dough I also added in

-garlic powder

-onion powder

-oregano

-3 packages of Splenda

--------------------------------------------------


5:00pm



Got the calzones done.
I made the kids different ones because
I knew they wouldn't eat sauerkraut,
onions or mushrooms.
I added homemade spaghetti sauce
to their smoked sausage along with swiss cheese.
With ours I added a combo of mayo and ketchup 
with a smidgen of mustard to mock 
a thousand island dressing you would typically
find on a reuben.
I made 12 calzones with the pizza dough recipe,
rolled each one out, topped with desired
filling, suace and cheese then crimped the edges
together with a fork.
I placed on an ungreased cookie sheet
then brushed an egg wash over top 
and sprinkled with parmesan cheese.
Baked 350 for about 15 minutes.

--------------------------------------------------------------


I forgot to tell everyone I discovered
the newest thrift store Sunday, woo hoo!
We were eating at Taco Bell on Henderson Rd.
and when we went to leave we noticed
a Grand Opening sign in the shopping center
behind there which caught our attention.


Ohio Thrift
1824 W. Henderson Road
Columbus, Ohio 43220
(614) 442-0065

Store Hours: 
9 a.m. - 9 p.m. Monday-Saturday
Noon - 6 p.m. Sunday


-----------------------------------------------------------



9:00pm


We took a truckload of basement stuff over
to Tony's work and dumped it. 
From there I took everyone over
to check out the new thrift store.
For being a thrift store there was many new
things from furniture to clothing
and even the prices of the used things were high.
We did get a few things.


box of Vanilla wafers .99 cents
60 Freesia flower bulbs $2.99
Yankee Candle lilac petals plug in air freshener $2.99
(putting this back for mom for Christmas.
She loves lilac scents)

Laptop fan $3.99

 

Black patent high heel shoes.

Was $4.99 but got them 50% off for $2.50.

 

7-24-12

1:35pm

Just got back from Meijer.

I haven't been there in a long time.

I got the meat deal where you buy 7 packages

of specific meat on sale and

got $7.00 off at the register.

I did 2 of those deals so

14 meat with $14 off.

Total cost spent on 14 packages of meat-

$17.36

That averages to $1.24 each.

I got-

7 packages John Morrell Applewood Smoked Bacon

1 Eckrich skinless polska kielbasa

1 Eckrich skinless smoked sausage 

1 package Eckrich sausage grillers

2 packages Eckrich bologna

2 packages Eckrich cheese hot dogs

I also got-

2 packages 24 count Stayfree maxis for free with coupons

6 yellow bell peppers for $1.89

a 2 pack of raspberry plants

was $4.99 I got them for $2.00 marked down and

7-23-12

Store Deals

Walgreens 

Stayfree Ultra Thin Pads with Overnight Absorbancy

$1.99 for 14 count. 

There's a $2.00 off any Stayfree product coupon

in this week's paper or door ads.

If the store is out of stock make sure to

ask for a rain check.

The coupon is good til Aug. 31st.

Walmart Coupon Policy.

Aldi

8 ounce mushrooms .59 cents

Green bell peppers .69 cents per pack

10 ounce grape tomatoes .69 cents per pack

Cucumbers .29 cents each

2 lbs red onions $1.29

1 gallon milk $1.99

Meijer

Buy 7 Eckrich or John Morrell products listed below

and get $7.00 off instantly at checkout.

Limit 2 offers per transaction.

 (prices are for if you purchase 7 products)

John Morrell sliced bacon 12 ounce $1.49

Eckrich Smok-Y links 8.3 ounce $1.49

Ekrich Meat or cheese franks or bologna .79 cents

Eckrich smoked or polish sausage grillers (excludes beef) $1.49

 Scenario

If you made three trips to the checkout

to purchase 14 of these items each time

getting a total of 7 of each item

it would cost you $52.78.

That would get you a total of 42 items.

averaging $1.25 per package of meat.

I can make 42 meals out of this meat

which to me is a great deal!!

Time to stock up at these prices!!

By the end of this year and next year 

expect to pay MUCH more

for meat because of the drought!

If you don't plan ahead now it'll come 

back to bite you in the rear end.

Meat can be kept in a freezer

6 to 12 months.

------------------------------------------------------------


2:30pm


Even though I feel awful today with
the pain and throbbing I am pushing
myself LOTS to get a few things done.
I gotta keep my mind off the pain
or else it will drive me crazy!!



3:00pm


Today I got two "best customer" coupons in the mail from
Kroger for a free Digiorno pizza
and 10% off my total shopping trip.



6:50pm


It's 6:50pm and 92 degrees with
a heat index of 100 degrees, YUCK!
I sat outside for 15 minutes earlier
to soak up some sun without sunscreen and get some
free vitamin D.  I try to do this daily
if I feel I'm inside too much.
It can prevent colds, flu and other types
of sicknesses.  That's why many people
tend to get sick in the Winter because
of not having enough sun exposure and loss of vitamin D.
I sure as heck don't want any other sickness
on top of Crohn's!  That time of the month
on top of Crohn's just makes me want to
rollover and die.




--------------------------------------------------------


 8:30pm


Went to Kroger to pick up a couple items.
I also got a cat flea collar.  I've been wanting
a stress phermone collar but can't afford
it at this time.  The cat totally flipped out
when I went to put the collar on him.
Just the sight of it made him run before
I got close to him.
It's been awhile since he's worn one.
Once I caught him I putit under and around his neck where
it wasn't visible to him.  He's calmed
down somewhat but acts like I put
a thick chain around his neck, lol.
I tried the drops on his neck before
and didn't like the way he acted after putting them on
like he wasn't with it so didn't get those anymore. 




9:05pm






Going to help Tony study to become
a certified air conditioning and refrigeration technician.  
If he can pass this test they will up his
pay at work $1.00 (hopefully more.)
If it were me and I passed this test
I would want the $1.60 
they docked him off his hourly pay years ago because
of not being certified!  


I bet that after I help him study, and 
by study I mean for days or weeks,
I could probably pass this test because
I will have to study and learn it first
to translate it to him in people terms
to understand it better.  I say people terms 
because it's like a doctor/scientist writing this book.


Need to learn laws, dates, violations, ozone depletion,
recycling, reclaiming, recovering, clean air act,
leaks, safety, shipping & transporting ,
substitute refrigerants, dehydration, equiptment
types of refrigerants and what they contain
and which ones are hazardous to the environment
and what it can do if released into the air reaching
the ozone layer.  

My goodness I haven't had to study for a
test in a long time.  Back when I was a preschool teacher
we were required to have many training hours 
each year from colleges, hospitals and certified people.
Major classes like first aid/cpr, child abuse, 
communicable diseases and prevention along with others that
I cannot remember. Each of those classes was 6 hours long and 
you had to retake 3 hour refresher course every so often.
Then on top of those you had to take additional child education
classes for a total of 15 hours each year.
That was a lot of hours of training
in the 6 years I was a preschool teacher.

 

























 

7-22-12

10:30am

Just got home from the flea market on the South end.

We haven't been there in awhile due to the heat and work.

I splurged and bought this 

orange Firebird made by Tootsie Toy for my collection.

$1.00

 4.75 ounce onion powder seasoning .33 cents each.

(Kroger has FMV brand 1.75 ounces for $1.00 each)

2 boxes instant mashed potatoes .50 cents each

(I'd say instant potatoes run about $2 to $3 a box

at Kroger)

Betty Crocker cookie mix .50 cents

(runs about $2 to $3 in the stores)

7-21-12

2:00pm

Went out yard saling this morning.

It was too nice a day to sit home all day.

Got all these clothes for the boys for $2.00.

Need to find some back to school clothes.

-3 pairs shorts for Tony

-2 long sleeve shirts

-5 short sleeve shirts

I've been collecting books about

the history of Ohio or Columbus.

I found this book called Columbus The Discovery City

at a yard sale.  It had no price and when we

asked how much the lady gave it to us FREE!

This book is big and heavy!!

I thought for sure she was going to say

between $5 and $10 for it.

While driving around in Westerville we found

a car show and stopped in to check it out.

Pretty cool.  They even gave you a ride

to and from your car on a golf cart.

This was pretty cool to see as we've

never seen one before.

Kinda like the first air conditioning for a car.

Here was another interesting car,

a Dodge Coronet with a leather top!

And since it was a nice day out

and I wasn't feeling too bad we ventured

out a little further to the boardwalk up at Hoover Dam.

We did find a yard sale along the way in

some hidden cove areas right off the water.

Check out this mailbox we saw, lol.

The water was down.

Lots of Herrings out wading.

Saw this nest of sticks and could

hear the screeching from these birds

which I think are a male and female Falcon.

Someone moved in an apartment at my hubby's

work and they drive a Lamborghini!

Just bought it as it has a 30 day tag on it.

Looks so out of place there, lol.

Saw it last night for the first time after

but it was too dark to take a picture.

Oh the roommate of the other guy living 

in this same apartment drives a Beamer!

Must be nice. 

--------------------------------------------------------

6:20pm




Supper tonight-
Breakfast Hash


-1 pound roll of maple flavored sausage
-1 pkg shredded hash brown potatoes
-6 or so eggs
-sharp shredded cheese




Fry sausage in skillet til browned then drain.
Return to skillet and add in your hash browns.
Add butter or I like to add Italian dressing to fry my potatoes 
in for a little more flavor.  Once potatoes are browned
add in the eggs and fry some more til those are cooked.
Serve with cheese sprinkled over top
and some hot sauce :0)


8:00pm


I got my belly full and I'm so ready for bed.
I am so tired and have been running on empty
since earlier this afternoon and kept pushing forward.
The tiredness has finally got the best of me.
My inflammation and pain has gotten 
somewhat better while the tiredness has not.
I am also experiencing a side affect from
the new medicine which is a bad, bad taste
in my mouth!  Yuck!  Almost to the point
I want to get sick.  Afraid to even get near people
for fear I have really bad breath.
Last night I awoke at 2:15am because of
the horrible taste in my mouth and had
to go wash it out with mouthwash.
Today I got some peppermint candies
to suck on to help. 
Whelp, I'm off here and heading to bed
before I fall asleep at my chair.
My family will have to wake me up
to take my medicines.
I have to take the one antibiotic three times a day
and my last dose it at 11:00pm.
It's a slow released med and you don't want
to miss a dose of it because if you interrupt
it by not taking it you can relapse and start back
at square one.  Don't want that to happen
and only want to get better.  Been dealing with
this flare up for over a week now.
One day is more than enough to tolerate this!

7-20-12

10:25am

Today is mine and my honey's anniversary.

Don't have the money to go out to eat

at a fancy restaurant.  Decided instead

that we'll pick up some Papa John's pizza

and go sit by the pool tonight with Tony's co worker

to celebrate it and let the kids swim afterwards.

I also got a 12 pack of Kroger diet cola

to save money by not having to buy something

to drink at the pizza place or a convenience store.

It doesn't matter where we go or what we do

as long as we are together.

Still not feeling the greatest.

I've been taking my new medicine

for 1.5 days now.  You feel crappy to begin

with then ya throw in side affects from the medicine.

The medicine gives you a bad taste in your mouth/bad breath

and feels like there is fur on your tongue

making food and drinks taste funny,

it makes your stomach feel queasy

even if you drink plenty of fluids with it

or try to eat something before taking it

and lastly it makes you feel light headed

or have a dizzy feeling.  I'm going to try to take it

(if I can tolerate it that long) for the next 12 days until gone.

I still feel sooo tired and experience the

pain and throbbing at times. I did get some eye drops

last night for the dryness in my eyes I've

been having but that is something I had

before taking the medicine Flagyl.

I try to document everything pertaining

to the Crohn's Disease in my blog

so I have it for my reference.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Here's a little tip I read from Farmer's Almanac-

Fill a salt shaker with flour and store it

in your freezer.  Use it to sprinkle flour onto baking

pans or in gravies to keep from getting lumps.

I cannot afford all these fancy, high dollar

face creams and cleansers so have been

making homemade ones with things from my pantry.

This one was recommended by Dr. Oz-

Aspirin Face Mask

Put about 6 or so aspirin in a bowl.

Add a little lemon juice and crush

aspirin into the lemon juice.

Let sit 10-15 minutes until aspirin has dissolved

then apply to your face.

Wash off after about 15 minutes.

Then I did not want my skin to be

too dried out so I made a mixture

of oatmeal that was ground in my food processor,

a tablespoon of yogurt and milk.

If it was too thick then I added some water

to it and then applied to my face and let

it sit til dried then wiped off.

Don't know what it is lately but it seems

like my face has been getting oily

and breaking out so will see if all

these home remedies will help.

12:45pm

I got a bunch of ripened tomatoes from

the garden and even though I don't feel good

I don't want them to go to waste.

It's not like anyone else in this house

knows what to do with them other

than slice and eat them and there's

too many to eat all at once.

So I'm pushing myself today to get

them boiled, put into a cold bath,

peeled, chopped and then into the 

crock pot to make a meatless spaghetti

sauce to put in the freezer.

1:45pm

Spaghetti sauce is now in crock pot, whew!

I added in some onions, garlic, 1/2 packet ranch dressing mix,

basil, oregano and splenda. 

I'll probably get a can of tomato paste

and add in there to help thicken it up.

-------------------------------------------------------------- 


2:15pm


Oh here we go again.  I had another person
come to my door (which was open so it wasn't
like I couldn't pretend to be home) that wants
me to change suppliers for my electric now.
He was very nice and understanding when I tell him
NO compared to the one rude and obnoxious person
from a gas supplier.  I couldn't locate my electric
bill to even compare rates.  He said we don't
guarantee a certain rate we give you a discount
of 5% off your bill.  5% isn't a lot of a discount
if you ask me.  I'm thinking that once they add in their
fees and things like that it would be like not
getting a discount at all.
For example 5% off $100 is $5.00. 
5% off of $50 is $2.50.
Woo hoo, said sarcastically.
They are gonna have to show me
a better deal than that.




-----------------------------------------------------------


10:00pm


Just got home.  After Tony got home
from work we stopped by mom's for a few
then went to order a couple pizzas at Papa Johns.
From there we hung out at the pool at Tony's work.
There was the four of us, Tony's coworker
and Damien and his girlfriend that all showed up
and hung out.

Tony got me 2 dozen beautiful roses for our anniversary!

 

Well it's almost time to take both my
medicines.  I sure don't look forward to the
one and the way it makes me feel.


Nighty Night.

7-19-12

7:55am

Yesterday I was trying to figure out what medicine

the gastreonologist gave me earlier this year

that I was taken off of because of

it caused stomach pains.

I wrote about it back in February 2012

but failed to mention the name of the 

medicine for my records so I want to make

a note that I think it was a prescription called CIPRO.

 I am currently taking 500mg of Metronidazole

which is Flagyl.  

The prescription I had

to turn down yesterday because of cost 

($1800 without insurance and $200 with) 

was for 3mg Budesonide.

Still noticing a symptom of dry eyes.

I started getting this earlier this week

before taking any prescription medicine.

I am feeling the dry eyes again this morning.

Possible eye conditions typical with Crohn's Disease.

Dry Eye

Also known as keratoconjunctivitis sicca, dry eye causes annoying sensations of grittiness, itching and burning in the eye. In people with Crohn's disease, vitamin A deficiency from chronic diarrhea and malabsorption may lead to dry eye. Vitamin A supplements and artificial tears help decrease the discomfort caused by dry eye.

I found this prescription program and

are researching it to see if there's 

a little light at the end of the tunnel

to get help with paying for my prescription Lialda

which costs over $100 a month with insurance.

Without insurance I think it would cost

somewhere in the range of $600 to $800 for a one month's supply.

Once I am out of my samples then I would

need to turn it over to my mail order prescription

company which requires that I get a 90 day

supply at a time which would cost over $300

just to get my medicine.

Shire patient assistance program.

Shire Cares application.

---------------------------------------------------


10:00am


I just gave myself a facial because I noticed
my skin being oily and starting to break out.
I applied lemon juice all over my face
as a home remedy to clear blemishes.
It's also good to use if you have uneven
skin tones.  The lemon juice will lighten
any dark spots.  You can also apply lemon juice
to your hair and sit out in the sun to
lighten your hair.


Got supper in the crock.  
I just threw something together to resemble chili
with what I had on hand.

-1 can tomato soup .90 cents
-3/4th jar of salsa $1.50
-1 pound deer burger free
-1 can light red kidney beans .59 cents
-1 can pork and beans .10 cents 
-Kroger bakery garlic pull apart bread $1.49


TOTAL COST $4.58