3-31-12

12:40pm


I got most of the fabric hung up along the wall
behind my washer and dryer to give it a little
color in the laundry room and to hide the dryer vent,
wiring and washer plumbing.

My laundry room had two partially finished walls,
a wall of studs, and a wall of concrete in it
and it was painted a peachy color when we moved in.
I also have a window in there which I currently
covered up with a piece of styrofoam because it
gets quite chilly in the basement in the Winter time.
I have made the two curtain panels line up in front
of the window that way if I want a little outside light to shine in
I can pull back the curtains some.

Here are the supplies I used to hang a wall curtain-
2 pkg screw in hook screwed into the floor joices ($1.09 x's 2 is $2.18),
A 1/2" pvc pipe (2 pipes for $2.50) and two matching fabric shower curtains ($5.98).
The clip style curtain holders I got for free from a vacated apartment
at my honey's work.
Total cost- $10.66



BEFORE



AFTER






I still have sooooooooooooooooo much more work of cleaning
and weeding out the whole entire house. Not sure when
everything will get done so that's why I show you bits
and pieces of things and ideas I've been doing.


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


5:00pm


Just back from Kroger on Henderson. You wanna headache?
Go to that place. Nothing and I mean NOTHING other than
produce, bakery, deli and meat counters are where they used to be!!

I probably spent too much but that probably had something
to do with the addition of a book of stamps and a ham
added to my grocery bill. Those two items alone
cost $17.00. But the stamps will pay the bills and the ham
will serves us many meals.

I got my weekly menu planned out.
Here is what I came up with for this coming week.

1. Spaghetti

2. Chicken Pot Pies

3. Fish

4. Homemade Taquitos

5. Stuffed Shells

6. Apple & Sausage Casserole

7. Loaded Baked Potatoes

8. 2 Frozen Self Rising Crust Pizzas

9. Ham

BREAKFASTS

1. Egg Sandwiches

2. Frosted Flakes Cereal

3. Jelly Toast

4. Muffins

Desserts & Snacks

1. Cinnamon Sugar Tortilla Pudding Cups
with peach slices.,

2. Mini Pumpkin Pies

3. Parmesan Popcorn


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


7:45pm


Now that Jonathan is better, only suffering from a mild cough,
the rest of us are starting to feel the signs of sickies
from runny noses, tiredness and aches.
Me, I just have the tiredness and aches.
I never know if I've caught anything new or if it's
the Crohn's flaring up.

It's been feeling like Sunday today.
I got all my laundry done a day early.
All I need to do is put it away.

I know it's early for me, but I'm thinking
about heading to bed to watch a little tv
and then going to sleep.


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

3-30-12

7:25am


Yesterday at Tony's work they did a lottery pool.
They all pitched in $2 towards it, except for my
hubby who said he didn't have $2 on him.
Oh heck no! I see too many stories on the news
where a work place hits the lottery and someone didn't
get in on it that day. So this morning I gave him
$2. (normally we don't have cash on us but I had a little
in my purse for yard sales) I told him to give it to
whoever is running the lottery pool and tell them
you want in on it and have them get an extra two
sets of numbers.

I had Tony get 10 sets of numbers yesterday for ourselves.
So I'm going to guess that between our numbers and work's
numbers we should have about 40 to 50 sets of numbers
for the lottery.


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


This next frugal hint may sound a little gross.
I had a pimple earlier this week. Not your typical one.
One that kind of hangs out under your skin and doesn't
break the surface and leaves a round, reddish and swollen
area on your face. Almost feeling like there's a little
marble hidden under your skin or looks like an insect bite.
I took a cup and added
a little ground oatmeal, vinegar, lemon juice and a
pinch of salt and mixed it all together. I kept
dabbing that on my face several times throughout the day for about 3 days.
It's now Friday morning and it's almost gone.
While this concoction will draw out the yucky stuff
in that pimple you still want to use a moisturizer
on top of it as it starts to heal because it will dry out
your skin in that area.
I tried a couple of things in the medicine cabinet first
that's supposed to clear up pimples and they did not
work. So that's when I researched on Google of things
people used that were homemade. Of course I didn't have
all the ingredients they were using but the ones
I did have I just mixed them all together hoping for the best.
And I could see a difference each day.
It was so much better than looking like you had cooties
or had been sucker punched!


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


12:30pm


Mega Million lottery just went up this morning by $100 million
to $640,000,000!!!!!

Can you imagine how much this will go up to
if no one hits it???

Tony bought two sets of numbers this morning with the
$2 I gave him and he's turning it in with the rest
of the pool of numbers from work.


Me and mom went to a couple yard sales this morning.
At one sale I got 4 Playstation 2 games,
a pair of baseball gloves and
a pair of fuzzy sock type booties all for $4.00.
At the other sale I got some kind of plastic drawer bin
for my crafts for $2. I talked the lady down from $3.

After some sales we went to White Castle for a cheap lunch.
The cashier lady there was very nice and gave us each free drinks
because she thought we waited in line too long.
There was only one lady in front of us!
That shaved $3.00 off our bill.
I didn't think the wait was very long. She must
never go to McDonalds, lol, and wait sometimes
to get the food there.

I stopped in Menards today as well and bought a couple
1/2"? pvc pipes to hang my fabric shower curtains from
in my laundry room. I paid half price because I had
a rebate coupon from another time I shopped there.
So both pvc pipes were like $2.50/2.


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


Still feeling bad today even though I am up and moving around
trying to do things. Body's a little stiff and achy,
still have diarrhea, tired and my stomach are is throbbing to no end.
Trying to catch a break here! Ibuprofen helps lots when it kicks in.


Tonight we went over to my honey's work. A resident left behind
some cleaning supplies when they moved out so I snatched them
up and brought them home.

Stopped in Menards again before coming home. The sky turned
ugly after we parked and were walking to the front door.
I had my camera with me and got a few pictures to show
you what we saw. I think the news said there might have
been a possible tornado touch down in New Albany.
Which would makes sense when you see these photos around
Morse Rd heading straight East in the direction of New
Albany. While walking around Menards we heard what we
thought was tornado sirens. It was very hard to hear them
in there. I called mom from the store to get an update
as to what was going on. We made it home before the rain started.
Oh, I went into Menards because I got the idea to get some
screw in hooks to mount to the joists in the ceiling and
run the pvc through them to hang the fabric from.
We'll see how I feel this weekend or if the boys run
me ragged with things to do to see if I can get it put up.
I still have about 2 more rows to build and cut shelves for.
Like I said I just haven't been feeling good for the past week.

3-29-12

8:35am


Going to Walmart this morning. I called mom to see
if she wanted to go to the grocery store with me
and come to find out she was already wanting to go
to Walmart so I guess that's where I'll pick up a
few groceries.

Tonight for supper I wanted to make mini chicken
pot pies. But in order to make them I need some
biscuits. Last week I found some canned chicken
at Kroger marked down. I've never used canned chicken
before and wasn't sure what to use it in.
Tony made a comment about chicken pot pies in
an advertisement for some fast food joint on tv
so that's where I got the idea to use that chicken
in some homemade ones. Everyone loved my mini pot
pies in the past so it's been a keeper recipe.
I think I've made them about 3 other times.
Once with a beef stew mix, once with potatoes and
ham and once with turkey, peas and carrots.

It's really easy to make.
Press biscuits into mini pie tins to form cups (or could use
a muffin tin). Mix up a packet of Pioneer sausage
country gravy in a saucepan (or you could use
cream of chicken soup). Add in a small can
of mixed peas and carrots (or mixed veggies) and your chicken.
Spoon into biscuits and bake.
If you have enough biscuits, you can also take each biscuit,
roll it out and put it over top your pot pies, pinch the edges
together then cut a couple slits on top before baking.
I like to add some shredded cheddar cheese to the tops.


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


11:05am


Walmart is ok for some things. I usually don't like to
go there because I can't find any clearance or mark down
deals like I do at Kroger or Meijer. Along with the couple of grocery
items I had to get I also found some good deals that I stocked
up on. At the front of the store was a huge bin full of
medicine items all marked .88 cents each. This was
the Walmart on Morse Rd.

-long sleeve t-shirt
was $13 paid $1.00

.88 cents each for

-2 boxes of tylenol like tablets
-2 boxes Advil like tablets
-2 boxes Tylenol PM like capsules
-Tussin congestion relief liquid
-Mucinex type tablets
-2 packs of shoe insoles, 2 pair in each pack
-bag of cherry cough drops
-Gold Bond like medicated body powder
-Gold Bond like medicated foot powder

These are all things I regularly buy so I was stocking
up some at the .88 cent price.

They also had things like cortisone itch cream, ben gay,
fungal foot cream, asprin, vitamins and minerals,
bandaids, ky like jelly, cough and cold meds,
allergy meds, etc etc.


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


Tomorrow morning me and mom might hit a few garage sales.
It will be our first garage sale outing of the season.
So far I have only found 3 sales for tomorrow.
The Suburban News and Craigslist are the best places
to find the yard sales. It's better to plan your
trip than to just drive around with gas prices at
almost $4 a gallon. Sometimes you get lucky along
they way and find even more that weren't posted.


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


2:45pm


I took a nap earlier and got up at 2:00pm.
Now I feel like crap. Stomach is throbbing, I have
diarrhea, still feel so tired and my arms & leg
muscles are shaky feeling like jelly with no energy.

I'm so tired of dealing with this Crohn's Disease
on a daily basis it seems. It's the dealing with
the back and forth, back and forth symptoms.
You can go a week feeling good only to have a week
feeling bad. You can't plan for anything because
you don't know how you are going to feel.
And if you do get out to do things with the symptoms,
you trudge along with family feeling like the
night of the living dead. No one understands what you go through
with the pain and tiredness and bathroom trips you deal with on a day to day
basis unless they've actually experienced it
for themselves. I try to keep up with others and put
on a smile like nothing is wrong but it's a constant struggle.


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


Have you seen or read about the possible new
Playstation Orbis and XBox 720 gaming systems?
I saw this posted on Facebook by Fox28.

The article they posted said they may make these new
gaming systems to where you cannot use any used,
borrowed or rented games. You have to buy all new
games and register them to the game system in order to
play them. If you would happen to use rented or used
ones it will only allow you a trial play time then
you have to register that game and pay for that game
to use it to it's full extent. Sounds to me like
another marketing scam as a way to make more money.
Not everyone has $60 a game to pay so I don't think
if they sell something like this that it will not
have many buyers.

That is the only way we can have game
systems around here is to be able to buy used games
from the game store, yard sales, Ebay or the flea market.
And the only way we even have an Xbox 360 and a Playstation 2
is because these are things residents have left behind
in apartments after moving out and turning in keys.
We got them all for free!! If it weren't for that
we wouldn't have any at all other than the older
gaming systems like the regular playstation.

PlayStation Orbis and Xbox 720 both restrict “used” games


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


I mentioned about buying games at the flea market.
This past weekend we went to the flea market and
the kids and hubby all wanted to know how
it got its name with the word "flea" in it.
So I did a little research and here is how it came about...

From reading I think it started in the 1700 to 1800's when
people came about and sold items at an outdoor market.
These items that ranged from clothing to bedding and furniture
were sometimes infested with fleas.

So yes the phrase flea market actually had something
to do with fleas at one time. I think the name should
be upgraded to the "bed bug market" with all the scare
of bed bugs going around and happening.
So be careful with buying any used furniture at sales.
Carry flashlights and thoroughly try and inspect
all pieces before purchasing for signs of bed bugs,
bed bug droppings, eggs and carcasses. And just because
you don't see any doesn't mean that they couldn't
be there. If it's a hot Summer day I would leave something
outside in the baking sun as long as possible to try to
rid and kill any possible creatures living in these
items. Spray items down with rubbing alcohol also.
It's still not 100% to get rid of these critters but it's worth a try.
Never leave something in a hot car. Bed bugs can escape down
into your seats where it is cooler and you end up
with an infested car as well.

That reminds me of a story where hubby put a bunch of
tree branches and yard waste in my van and it sat in there
a couple days before we could get rid of it.
Once everything was thrown away I kept seeing
spiders in the van. I still have the image in my head
of late one night when it was dark out and glancing
in my rear view interior mirror at the car behind me
with its headlights on. All I saw was a shadow of a spider
starting to descend from the ceiling of the van.
And of course, it being dark, I couldn't tell how close
it was to me. Almost wrecked the van, lol.
Let's just say I pulled off at the nearest exit
available to look for that creepy crawly. I got
goosebumps just writing about it. I hate spiders!!!

Oh yeah I constantly get reminded of that story,
"remember the one time mom almost wrecked the car
because of a spider?"


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


3:30 - 4:30pm


I figured I'd work on supper a little earlier than normal
due to how I am feeling. Thank goodness it is something easy!

I'm making a double batch of chicken pot pies with no
crust tops. This way we can have some for supper
and the other batch will go into the freezer for another time.



2 packages of country gravy prepared in large pot with 2 cups water
and 2 cups milk to make it creamier. I turned off heat
once cooked through to let it sit and thicken a bit. I then added in a small
can of peas and carrots and a regular sized can of mixed
veggies (not pictured) then 2 cans of drained chicken breasts.

I pressed jumbo biscuits into a greased jumbo muffin pan
to form cups.
Of course I didn't have any cooking spray so resorted
to using my hand in a baggie, dipping it into a butter
bowl and greasing the pan that way.
There was 8 biscuits and only 6 cups in the muffin
tin so I used a couple of mini pie tins as well.

After biscuits are pressed into pan, spoon chicken, veggie
and gravy mix into them. Sprinkle tops with some sharp,
shredded, cheddar cheese. Put into a 350 degree preheated oven
and bake for 15 minutes. Allow to cool some before removing
from pan. Run a sharp knife along edges, then using a
spoon, gently push it down the sides and under pot pies to lift it out of pan.





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


Mega Millions jackpot climbs to a world record $540 million


We don't usually purchase lottery tickets unless it
hits really big numbers. I just called to remind Tony
to pick up some tickets before he comes home tonight.
Tomorrow will be a madhouse at stores standing in
line for those getting last minute tickets.

To hit this lottery would mean that you would be one
of the richest people in the US. You would have more
money than any actor, singer, president you name it!!
I couldn't even fathom having that kind of money.
I sure hope it goes to someone in need and that
they share the wealth with their family and those
around them who are in need and give to charities.


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


8:50pm

Tony worked late tonight and didn't get home til almost 6:30pm.
He did remember to pick up some lottery tickets, yeah!
Then we headed out to Groveport to visit his friend.
Between me not feeling well and Tony working overtime
the last two days, it looks like we'll be heading to bed soon.
My body is starting to feel stiff in joints and neck.
My head has been hurting and I am soooo tired.
I just got done mapping out 4 yard sales for tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow it looks like the Westerville area is where we
will be at.


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

3-28-12

Do you ever have this problem?
Yup, that's me. Trying to clean the basement and find
goodies all the time! Like this morning, I ran across
this cool wallpaper border that I forgot all about.
My mind starts wandering away from cleaning and starts
to think about how this border would look in the
laundry room with the pink and green fabric I want
to put in there. Ooooh, 50's retro, lol.




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


Supper and dessert tonight-

Tacos, soft and hard
and for dessert is a cookie I just threw together.
-1 pkg chocolate chip cookie mix
-1 small package vanilla pudding
-1 egg
-1/2 cup butter
-1/4 cup chocolate toffee pieces

Mix everything together and scoop tablespoonfuls
of dough from bowl. Roll only top of cookie dough
ball into the toffee pieces. Place on ungreased
cookie sheet. Bake 350 degrees 10 minutes.
Remove from cookie sheet and onto a wire rack to cool.

So good when you have a sweet tooth.
A little crunchy on the outside but
soft on the inside.



For the tacos I scrounged up a few ingredients.
Fried up a pound of hamburger and a pound of sausage.
That's all the ground meat I could find so I combined
the two. Drain grease. Add in a jar of mild, chunky salsa.

Place hard tacos and/or tortilla shells over the oven rack
bars. Turn oven on to 350 degrees til the preheat
beep sounds then turn off oven. Tacos will warm
while you are preparing your salad and meat.

Spoon meat mixture into tacos, add lettuce, shredded cheese
and sour cream. Top with taco sauce.
When we visit Taco Bell and get one too many taco sauce packets, instead
of throwing them away, we bring them home and collect them
in a zip bag in the fridge.



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

3-27-12

10:45 - 11:15am


I got my laundry room rug made from two chenille pillow shams.
I had to hem along the sides then attach the two pieces together.
If I ever wanted two long throw rugs all I would
have to do is seam rip out the middle. We'll
see as the laundry room comes along.






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


3:05pm


Got a call from the school saying that my son was sick.
I had kept him home yesterday because he said he
didn't feel well. The school said he had a 100.8 temp.
Went and picked him up and now he is resting on the couch.


I got supper simmering on the stove.
We're having chili and cornbread.

1 pkg beef smoked sausage
2 cans pork and beans
1 jar of mild chunky salsa
1/2 cup bbq sauce
1/2 packet of chili seasoning

Slice sausage up then cut each slice into quarters
and fry in a large skillet. Once done add in beans,
salsa, bbq sauce and chili seasoning.

For the cornbread I used a Jiffy cornbread mix.



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

3-26-12

10:50am


This morning I am working on taking apart the seams
on the two chenille pillow shams for the laundry room rug I am
making. .99 cents x's 2 shams is $1.98 for this rug.
And then put some rubber mat shelf liner under it to keep it
from sliding around on the floor. I'm sure I already
have a roll of that somewhere to use for this.
This rug will be 4' x 5'1" when done.

Here is one pillow sham before taking apart the seams
and the one where I took it apart.
I don't have a seam ripper so I used a razor blade instead.
I could add a colorful binding to the edges to jazz it
up some more.





I haven't gotten the fabric shower curtains put up on
the laundry room wall. I need to figure out a way
to do it. I can't exactly screw it into a concrete wall.
I was thinking about getting a long 10' pvc pipe for about $1.50 to $2.00
and hanging it down from the ceiling off the floor joists
with rope and then either using shower curtain hooks
or some pretty ribbon to match to hang the curtain from it.
Or I could just use some power grab to "glue it to the
wall at the top. I'll figure out something.


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


3:15pm


I made up a 5 gallon bucket of laundry soap.


1/2 bar Fels Naptha grated then added with water
in a pot on stove over medium heat til soap has melted.

In 5 gallon bucket add
1.5 cups Borax laundry,
and 1 cup Washing Soda.
I also added in a sample packet of Tide.

Add warm water to bucket and stir to dissolve soap powders.
Pour in your melted soap from stove and mix all together.

Allow to sit til cooled off. You can then use it as is
or fill smaller containers with it. I use old
detergent and fabric softener bottles.

Use about a third cup for each load of laundry.


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


4:05pm


I got this quart of paint below at a yard sale
in a freebie box. It's of a turquoise color.
I tinkered with it and some of my craft paints
to see if I could make the light green color
in the fabric shower curtain to possibly
paint a couple walls with in the laundry room.

I added in some yellow to turn it more of
a green color then added white to lighten it.
I thought I got pretty darn close.
A little lighter than the color on the fabric
but I would rather have the walls a lighter color.
But that was only a sample I made up in a cup
and will sometime try and do the whole can
that way. I have a vision in mind of a Spring time
colored laundry room that is cheerful.
I think of Spring grass and tulips
with these colors.



Don't be afraid to try and make your own paint
colors with paint you already have by adding
in cheap craft paint that is about $1.00 a bottle
for basic colors. I got most of my craft paint
from a vacant apartment at hubby's work
where the residents left a bunch of stuff behind.


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


6:00pm

Supper tonight- Chicken Parmigiana


Boil pasta in pot, drain, add butter.

In small saucepan add 4 cheese spaghetti sauce
and 1-2 tablespoons splenda. Cook over medium
heat til warmed through.

In a skillet add a little butter and breaded chicken patties.
Fry til golden brown on both sides.
Add a slice of american cheese to patties.

Remove chicken patties from skillet.
Add in sliced fresh mushrooms and green bell pepper.
Saute til warmed through.

Add pasta noodles to plate. Top with spaghetti sauce.
Add Chicken patty on top of sauce. Add
veggies on top of chicken patty.

Serve with bread and butter.


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


7:30pm

Well all, I know it's only 7:30pm but my legs are hurting
like crazy in the thigh areas and I'm feeling extremely tired.
I've been having a flare up with Crohns so it all might
be linked together. I get major body aches and tiredness
at times with it. Still taking my Lialda medicine as directed.
I got up at 6am, took a 2 hour nap today, so I can't
explain the overwhelming tiredness at the moment.


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

3-25-12

10:20am


Went down the flea market this morning on the South end.
I found two pairs of new suede mittens for .50 cents a pair.




And I bought 7 plastic popcorn containers .50 cents for all.
These will make great, cheap gifts. Add in a pouch
of microwave popcorn, boxed candy like in the theaters
that are now sold in stores, a dvd or a gift certificate
to rent a movie.




And lastly Jonathan got a Mongoose trick bicycle
for $15. I talked the person down from $20.
I can't see paying $100 for a new bicycle only to have
them stolen. Yard sales and thrift store are your
best route to find cheap ones. I prefer ones that are
$20 or less.




Well, it's time to do some cleaning and laundry.
Not looking forward to it. Maybe I'll get my
fabric hung up on the walls of the laundry room while I
am down there.


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


1:15pm

Got a couple loads of laundry going and one load hung up.
I started going through things in the basement and weeding
stuff out. I think I got about 6 boxes of stuff loaded
in the truck ready to go out. I would like to see if
the church can use some of these items that I have to
give away for free rather than some thrift store making
money off of it.

Tony took the boys bike riding around the neighborhood.
I happened upon a bunch of marigold and zinnia seeds while
in the basement and went outside and raked out a couple
flower beds and threw down those seeds in them and since
the ground is a little mushy I just trampled them with
my feet into the ground. I know, the lazy gardeners way
of doing things, lol.
Neighbors plant marigolds in their flower beds each year
and I ask if I can dead head them and keep the seeds.
And that is how I come about all my free flower seeds to
plant in our yard.
Last year (or was it the year before) our backyard neighbor
decided to dump a bunch of large rocks into our yard.
When I questioned him about it he said it was a flower bed
and it was also to prevent people from driving through
the grassy alley and coming up through our yards. There's
probably no way I can pick these large rocks up and move them
because they looked tacky. So I kept trying to put some of
my flower seeds in them hoping to grow some flowers.
Every darn time they would sprout up (now mind you this is
in OUR YARD) the neighbor behind us would spray weed killer
on them all. Let me tell ya, I know people are going through
hard times and all and I feel sorry for them, but I was kind of
glad his house this year got foreclosed upon and he had to move.
He was not the nicest of neighbors! Anyways he's also a truck
driver who is out on the road most of the time so he's got
a place to live. It's weird, we have five people on our street
that are either truck drivers (3) or train drivers (2) that are rarely even home.
Plus our one neighbor is rarely home because she stays with
her daughter 90% of the time. Plus we have four
houses sitting empty from foreclosures. You wouldn't
think I would have problems in the neighborhood with so
many houses sitting with non one in them but we do.


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


2:15pm

I am making fruit roll ups. We've all decided that this year
we would try to eat healthier and exercise more.
I don't mean jumping jacks and sit ups. More like
bicycle riding, walks, hiking, more playing outside
with the basketball and hoop, throwing football and
yard work. I've pretty much weaned the kids off of
game systems because they don't play it as much as they
used to. Now if I can get them off the computer I'd be
doing good. But I have seen that they are playing outside
more so that's good. Weather providing I think this Summer
we are going to go for morning and evening walks.

Fruit Roll Ups

1 can of pineapple, drained
(I saved the pineapple juice and put it in the freezer.
You can mix it with jello and cakes)
partial packet of a small sugar-free jello, orange flavored

Put everything in food processor and blend away til it
looks like applesauce. Put on tray in dehydrator
for several hours. This is a much healthier snack
than chips and cookies. And it's a great way for kids
to eat fruits they would otherwise turn their noses up to.

I got the idea for a pineapple orange after I just
recently purchase some Seagrams Bahama Mama
which is orange and pineapple flavored.
I'm not much of a drinker so this wine cooler
was a special treat for me.



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


This was pretty interesting to find out.
Click on it to watch the video which aired on
CBS News today.

Columbus, Ohio: Test market of the U.S.A.


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


5:45pm


Supper tonight-

Cube steaks cooked in the crock pot with mushroom gravy.

In a small skillet I sauted up some onions
and mushroom to serve on the side.

I removed the steaks from the crock
and put the gravy in a saucepan with
some cut up velveeta cubes and some
of my powdered cream of beef mix.
(flour, powdered milk and beef boullion)

Cut up and boiled potatoes with skins
for mashed potatoes.




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


7:50pm


I know I have posted this before but I wanted to share it
with everyone again since I have been talking about how
to find storage in a small home. Our home was built in
1958. I'm not sure if walk in closets had been invented
then or was something only the rich had. I see the closets
in these older homes which are tiny and wondered if
people didn't have that many clothes back then or what.
And then you wondered how both a husband and wife
shared just one tiny closet. Our bedroom is small also
so it wasn't like you could fit huge dressers in there.
But anyways, I wanted to show y'all once again how I
addressed the closet situation in our home to make it
bigger. First of all I raised the main bar higher
by attaching it to 2" x 4" board that I screwed into
the walls. Now the second bar I used a shower curtain rod.
I notched out a little section of two 2" x 4" boards
and screwed them on each side of the closet. The notched
part held the shower curtain bar in place.
Now I have two closet bars in one tiny closet.
Pants are all hung up top while shirts are on the bottom.
The left side of the closet is mine while the right is my hubbys.


There was a shelf in the closet at one time.
I put that shelf on top of the bottom rod but lifted
it up a little on each side with screws so it wasn't resting
completely on the rod. I store shoes and boots on this shelf
hidden out of site behind clothes.

As for the sliding closet doors, they are stored in the
basement. I can't stand sliding doors that come off
track and closets I can't see into.
I'm not worried about the closet being open like
that because who's going to really come into my bedroom
other than family? I have all the bedroom closets without doors
because it's so much easier to see what is in there.


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


9:05pm


Sitting here watching Family Guy. Peter takes the whole
family out. As they are driving along the highway
a big overhead green sign says, Columbus, Ohio
Amusement park next exit. I just figured I'd post
it since it had to do with Columbus.
Hey, someone want to fill me in as to when we got an amusement park?
The only ones I know of are Kings Island in Cinci
and Cedar Point up in Sandusky .




------------------------------------------------------------in

3-24-12

We went to the recycling center this morning.
What started out as one five gallon bucket turned
into three that we took due to cutting the
long pieces of metal
and having to sort the copper and brass and sink decks.
Metal prices have shot up since the last time we were there.
Copper $3.00 a pound. Brass $1.50 a pound.
We had 43 pounds of brass and 12 pounds of copper.
Off that little 5 gallon bucket that Tony brought
home from work we made $100.50 !!!!!!!
All of it was free money that would have otherwise
been thrown away by maintenance workers.





Stopped in a couple thrift stores today. I found
me a couple pieces of fabric, actually two identical
cloth shower curtains that I want to hang over the cement wall
in my laundry room that way I won't have to paint that wall.
I paid $5.98 for both of them but loved the Spring time
colors they had on them.

We also dropped off our one push mower in the lawn mower
shop to get a new blade, tune up and rebuilt carb. It started dying
on us last year not wanting to start. That's gonna
cost about $65. Still cheaper than having to buy a new one.


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


2:00pm


I cut up almost 2 pounds of beef chuck shoulder
that I got on a mark down for $5.03.
I marinated it in some bbq sauce (.29 cents)
and a half packet of hamburger seasoning (.05 cents).
I got 5 trays of it on the dehydrator.
Total cost to make $5.37.




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


2:30pm

This next section is for my personal reference to keep
track of neighborhood teenagers. So you can either
read it and view the video or just skip over it.

Troublemaker and another
kid stopped by to supposedly ask to borrow a basketball.
Not buying the story because I told him just last
week that we were not allowing
anyone to borrow anything!! And I stressed that to him.
I think it was just a visit to snoop around some and see
what was in the backyard in daylight. Tony and the boys are working
in the backyard cleaning and is aware that they are at
the gate. I was inside monitoring the cameras on the screen.
I can see angles of them that Tony couldn't see.
And I see them staring too long at the things under our carport.
And I also noticed them prowling the perimeter of the
Suburban looking in the windows. Of course there is no
radio in there at the moment because I took it out
when we got home. It has a removable faceplate.
But tell me that doesn't look suspicious of them walking
around both sides and the back of the truck making glances
inside the windows. I ain't stupid. I am onto them and
it's just a matter of time that I will catch them and have proof.
Troublemaker isn't aware of the cameras. I lied at one time and
told him last year that we did have cameras when we didn't
in hopes that they would leave our place alone.
I think he caught on to my lie as things were still being stolen.
But we do have cameras now, LMAO!
And for Troublemaker to stand right in front of these
cameras today just proved my point of him not knowing.
Troublemaker is the one with the white shirt and necklace.
The coloring of my video sucks because I bumped the cord.
The old printer type cord that connects the DVR to the screen
isn't all that great and makes the screen discolored if bumped.
I know, I still need to find another one, it's on my list.
I documented his and this other teenager on video
just for reference so if I would have any doubts in other videos
of who may be on our property stealing things.
I can now compare height, hair types of clothing worn,
you get the idea.




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


This afternoon we finally got the Pompass Grass cut down.
That was a chore.



It looks so much nicer and cleaner now.



Still have soooo much more to get done around here.
Next weekend we have plans, weather permitting,
to power wash the house and to take down the
shutters and paint them.


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


On our way home tonight (we made a trip to Tony's work
to dump off 8 bags of Pompass Grass) Tony tells
me to turn the truck around and go back around the block
of the area of Oakland Park and Maize Rd.
He said something like, "you've got to see this bench
sign that I just saw." So I did. There was two benches
and of course I see the wrong one at first about Uncle Sam
lending money, and I'm thinking, I went around the block to
see that? LOL. Then I glanced at the second bench advertisement,
and I'll be darned, would you believe it was an advertisement
for a web site called GHOST INVESTIGATORS. I just thought it was interesting and different.
Tony knows I get into the paranormal and ghosts.
But to see it advertised on a bench sign?
Here they are on Facebook, Ghost Investigators.
They are based out of Columbus.
I just thought it was cool to see that. About like the time
I ran into the person who runs the website called
Ohio Exploration Society at my brother-in-laws wedding.
He was there taking pictures of the Bryn Du Mansion in Grandview
hopes to catch a few ghosts. He is also connected
to the website called Forgotten Ohio. That is a very interesting
site about abandoned places and they also have a couple books
out that you can find in the library.


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


Here is the design and colors of the fabric shower
curtains I got today. They are all staying within
the pinks and greens that I like.



I also found two pillow shams for .99 cents each
that look like a chenile fabric.
I was thinking about making a throw rug for in
front of my washer and dryer out of them.

3-23-12

2:25pm

The church sale was ok. I picked up some clothing along
with a few other items. I spent $6 and after getting
home realized they overcharged me by .50 cents.
Oh well, still sooooo much cheaper than buying new!

Here was my bargains-

Bag #1
.25 cents for all.
3 sweaters and 2 pairs of pants.



Bag #2
.25 cents for all

3 sweaters (one brand new with price tag of $17 on it!)
and a pair of shorts.




Bag #3
.25 cents for all

T-shirt, 2 pairs of pants and a button sweater.




Bag #4
.25 cents for all

1 t-shirt, 2 longs sleeve shirts, 2 pants, 1 pair of shorts




Bag #5
.25 cents for all

4 short sleeved shirts and a pair of pants.



9 Christmas wicker baskets.
$1.00 for all.
Thought these would be great to fill with cookies for gifts.




one fitted sheet and one Dukes of Hazzard flat sheet
.10 cents each
(I priced the 1982 Dukes of Hazzard flat sheet on Ebay going for $40!!)




Panasonic 5.9 GHZ cordless phone $2.00
(boys threw our phone. Although it works
it's difficult to see the caller ID)




2 candles .10 cents each
1 candle .50 cents
1 wooden box organizer .10 cents



3 strands of icicle garland
.25 cents for all




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


Tonight we'll probably head over to Walmart and
get a new basketball net. Then come home
and start cutting up a 5 gallon bucket of scrap metal
Tony got from work. He has all his coworkers
save any scrap metal from jobs for him.

If it's not raining tomorrow morning we'll
take the scrap metal over to the recycling center and then
head to the flea market on the South end. I think it opened
last weekend but we couldn't go due to having
the on call pager.


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


5:00pm

Look, a kitty bathtub, lol.
Only kidding, it's a toy mini skateboarding bowl.




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


10:30pm

Went out earlier this evening and bought another basketball net.
No clue as to why one would steal the one we have when they
only cost $1.99 at Walmart. Tony made it a little harder
to steal this time around by adding zip ties all around
the rim and net and he also raised the basketball pole
up. They'll need a step stool and a knife to get it off.

Got all the metal cut up and ready to scrap tomorrow.
I have no guess as to what I think we'll get from it
as I haven't really seen how much there is.
I'll get a photo tomorrow of what we are recycling.
Then let y'all know how much it is worth.
If there's a will there's a way to find
some pocket money for free.


My Crohn's started flaring back up tonight.
Wish I knew why it comes and goes like it does
even on medication. It's got me literally running to
the bathroom and my belly is throbbing and
inflamed to the point it throbs even more
if I talk because of using stomach muscles.
I was just telling everyone how well I was doing.