8-29-12

3:00pm

I didn't sleep good last night.

My lower back and hip area were hurting

pretty good.   Took some Tylenol this morning

upon waking up and just took the last two

in the bottle just now because I can feel my

legs starting to throb.  Need to run to Kroger

to get some more tonight.  Can't be without

some sort of pain relief when it gets this bad.

 

8-28-12

7:15am

I see gas prices are gonna go up soon due

to the soon to be Hurricane Isaac.

The last I read they shut down 39 oil rigs

in the Gulf Of Mexico which produces

I think 24% of our oil.  

My neighbor called me this morning.

I take her grandchild to and from the

bus stop with my boys each morning

and afternoon so she doesn't have to.

I don't ask for anything in return because

I am already taking my boys.

She is insistent on wanting to give me

gas money every couple of months

now to help cover my gas costs.

I told her she didn't have to and 

I did not expect it from her.

Last school year she sent me a $25

Walmart gift card for doing it.

People look at you so funny now a days when you

want to do things out of the kindness of

your heart and don't need paid for things.

Just like those foreign men that wanted

to pay me for some ornamental grass out of

my yard.  They couldn't comprehend 

that they didn't have to pay me for it.

Same thing with the cake I made for someone.

All I really asked was that they cover

the costs of the ingredients I had to buy

and if they wanted to give me more I totally

left that up to them.

It just makes you feel good to do for others.

I may not have a lot of money so

try to do the best I can with paying

things forward.

Yesterday I gave a neighborhood kid,

about 4 years old who will be starting

kindergarten next school year, two

book bags that were filled with 

coloring and preschool work books.

He loved them and was outside yesterday

playing with them.  One book bag he put on

his back while pulling along the other one

with wheels up and down the sidewalk

all evening long.  It was so cute to watch.

I didn't have any bags for his sisters so gave

them each a frilly scarf for this Winter which

they were wearing around their necks 

yesterday like they were some kind of movie stars, lol.

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2:30pm

I don't remember repairing electronic devices

in my job description of being a parent, lol.

Well there's a first time for everything.

Gonna give it a try and pray to God it

all goes as it's supposed to.

This is so far out of my league dealing

with teeny tiny screws, wires and whatever

else all those other things are jammed

packed in this hand held Nintendo DSI game thingy.

I'm going to attempt to replace the bottom

screen with a new one.

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7:00pm

Supper tonight is pizza.  Didn't think one

pizza would fill everyone so made some

bruschetta on French bread slices found

in the mark down area at Kroger.

I made them by combining olive oil,

garlic, oregano and parmesan together in a bowl.

I then brushed the bread rounds with the

olive oil and placed on a 

cookie sheet.  I took some homemade salsa

a friend at hubby's work gave us and spooned it

onto each piece of bread and topped with

a little piece of swiss cheese and baked

for about 8-10 minutes.

Hubby informed me that on the way home
from work he had to stop and get gas
and it is now $3.95!  OUCH!

8-27-12

12:30pm

Got some spaghetti sauce going in the crock pot.

2 cans mushroom flavored spaghetti sauce ($1.18),

1 pound ground deer burger (free),

splenda (.05 cents),

onion powder (.01 cents),

oregano (free),

garlic powder (.02 cents)

spaghetti ($1.00)

 TOTAL COST $2.26

Will serve with spaghetti and meatballs

I had in the freezer that was leftover

from meatball subs and bread & butter.

Any leftover spaghetti & sauce

will be put in the freezer for another meal.

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1:25pm


In another crock I added the concord grapes
I had prepped along with some lemon juice and sugar.
I'll let this cook on low
for about 10 hours.
Then I plan to strain the grapes,
add in the pectin to the juice and put into
recycled plastic peanut butter jars
and put in the freezer which will
last up to a year.

Earlier this morning I started chopping
up all my bell peppers, banana peppers
and a couple other hot peppers
to make salsa with.  Why do I need reminded to wear
rubber gloves when doing this?!  Burny Burny!
Another day though
as I'm doing things little by little.
I still have some tomatoes that need
peeled and chopped up.
I'll also add in some onions and celery
along with a packet of salsa mix.

I saved all the seeds from the peppers from the garden
and have them drying in little 
tupperware type bowls I got from one of the dollar stores.
Good seeds to save from your garden
are ones from beans, peppers and tomatoes. 
After drying seeds put into freezer for a couple days to kill
off any pests then store in a cool, dry place.

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4:30pm


The Better Than You Know What Cake

I made must of been pretty darn good.

I knew ahead of time I was getting

$15 to make it for this guy.

Tony just called to say the guy threw

in an extra $5 tip, so $20 for my dessert!!

Woo Hoo!  That made my day.

I tweaked the dessert a little to put

my own signature touch on it.

Instead of just putting cool whip on

top of it I did a mix of cool whip and

vanilla pudding with a chocolate cake on the first one and on 

this recent cake did French vanilla pudding

with a Devil's Food cake.

I think if I made another one I would

like to add a little coffee flavor to

the chocolate cake.

This is the dessert that originally

won the Spring dessert contest at

hubby's work.  Funny things is that

I haven't really gotten the chance to 

even try this cake (other than maybe

a bite while sampling it at the contest)

to even enjoy what it may taste like.

8-26-12

9:10am

Tony and a coworker just left to head down

to U-Wrench It or maybe it's Pick N Pull out in Groveport in 

search of a Dodge full sized truck.

Right now we're just searching to see

if  a junk yard has one.  If he finds one then

this coming weekend Tony and my high school

friend will go and try to remove it.

A new steering box would run $400+.

A junk yard one costs $51

so that's why we are going that route.

Our junk yard has warranties that say

if they part does not work return it within

30 days.  I've done the dirty work of trying

to see what years of these trucks are

compatible with one another which will

increase our chances of finding a truck 

in the junk yard.  Our truck is a 98.

We should be able to use a steering box

from Dodge Ram 1500 trucks that are from 94 to 98.

Slowly but surely we're trying to

fix up this Dodge pickup.  Don't have the money

to do it all at once.  Last weekend we fixed

and replaced a gas tank strap that broke off.

With a little macgyvering we found strip metal

at Menards for less than $5 to fix it.

New ones (2 per kit) costs $52 to $56!

So we saved $21 to $23 on the one alone.

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Yesterday we took the boys to the beach.

Me and Tony didn't swim.

I took along umbrellas to keep the sun off us

as it was HOT out there along the

water sitting on the sand.  I think it got to 93 degrees.

 Christopher metal detecting at the beach.

He managed to find and dig up a quarter.

I bought them a handheld colander from

Dollar Tree for a buck so they could

sift sand in it and find treasures.

 Had cooler with sandwiches, pop,

and chips.  Brought along our freebie wagon

Tony found at work to haul everything.

Last night a high school friend of mine

and his girlfriend brought their van over

and we helped them changed their oil.

They were not allowed to change the oil

in the parking lot of the apartments they lived in

so that's the reason for coming over 

and using our drive way.

In return they gave us a 12 pack bottles

of Budweiser beer.  They work at Busch

as security guards and get free beer.

Plus now we may have an extra set of hands

for when we find a steering box at the junk yard 

this coming weekend to help remove it and bring it home. 


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The kids are wanting me to make more breakfast
sandwiches like the ones I made last week.
I found bakery style dinner rolls marked down at kroger
for $1.49 last week.  There was 12 in each bag. 
So for $3.98 I had only 24 rolls.
I was thinking about making my own rolls for much
less than that and ones that probably taste better.
I have always loved the cake mix rolls
I make for Christmas and Thanksgiving.
Jiffy Cake Mix Rolls 

The recipe above calls for a Jiffy cake mix.

You can use a regular boxed cake mix

(Kroger, Duncan Hines, etc)

and make double the amount.

A Jiffy cake mix is 1/2 the amount of

a regular cake mix.

A jiffy cake mix will make 15-18 rolls.

If using a regular boxed cake mix you

can make 30-36 dinner rolls.

I haven't doubled the recipe or know if you can

so when making with a regular cake mix

only use half the cake mix at a time

and make two separate batches. 


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1:30pm


Went to Kroger and did some grocery shopping.
Spent $45 for the week.
Some mark down deals we found-
angel food cake .99 cents
1/2 gallon milk .49 cents
gallons of milk $1.89

Once home I started on laundry.
It shouldn't be as much as last week thank goodness.
I usually don't pretreat clothing for stains
but I had two shirts that needed it this week.
I splurged and bought a small bottle
of originall Dawn dish soap.
In a bucket I added the dish soap,
peroxide and some powdered dishwasher soap
with some water.  I added the shirts
and now have them soaking in it.
One shirt was Tony's new white work shirt
with oil stains on it from changing oil last night.
Another shirt was a nice school shirt of
Christophers.  He got a nose bleed and
some blood down the front of it.
I hope my stain concoction works.

Went out and watered the garden.
I gathered a few more tomatoes,
green bell peppers and hot peppers.
I'm hoping this week to make
some salsa and get some grape jelly made.

At Kroger I got some chicken legs.
I was hoping to get some chicken quarters
for cheaper but I didn't find any even
after asking our friend the butcher, hmmm.
But anyway I tore off the plastic wrap over top
them and left them on the styrofoam tray
and poured some teriyaki over them and
put them in the fridge to marinade.
In a couple hours I'm gonna mix up a seasoning
mix with some breading and coat them with it
and put into the oven.

2:30pm

Got a couple loads going in the washer and dryer.
One child and hubby are out back tidying
up the back yard and have unloaded the truck
from going to the beach yesterday and
have reloaded it with stuff that needs dumped.
Me, well I am getting ready to make
a cake for someone at hubby's work for
tomorrow and make a couple batches of
rolls and make some more breakfast sandwiches
with them for the upcoming weeks.
This time around the kids wanted deli shaved
turkey slices instead of ham.


3:15pm


Got the cake baking in the oven.
While that is baking I mixed together the dough
for the rolls.  I set a wire rack over top
the one burner on the stove which vents
heat from the oven and placed the two
bowls of roll dough on top.
The warmth of the oven will help the dough rise.
I'll let it sit and rise 1 hour.
Then divide dough up into balls,
butter the tops and let rise another
hour before baking.

4:50pm

 

 

Got another 30 minutes to wait for the rolls

to rise then will put into the oven.

Right now I have some chicken legs in there baking.

This is keeping the rolls kinda warm 

on top the oven to rise.  

I used a butter cake mix instead of white.

 

 

While I've been doing laundry and the cooking

Tony and Jonathan have been outside

working under the truck getting the steering

box removed and getting all dirty.

 

Was talking to mom on the phone and they wanted

me to check around to see who might sell

large wedge pillows to sleep on.

These things aren't cheap running from

at least $40 to $80+.

Think, think, think!

How can I make something like this

for free or cheap.  And the light bulbs goes on, lol.

Find some couch cushions at Tony's work

and cut them in the shape of wedges.

Then sew a cover out of some cheap flat sheets.

This is what a pillow wedge looks like.

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9:15pm 

Just starting to slow down.

Got home around 8:30pm from

taking a load of stuff over to Tony's work

to dump.  Once home I finished making my cake.

Sure hope my customer is happy with it. 

Would like to brew up some more

business by word of mouth around hubby's work :0)

Oh and I got 32 breakfast sandwiches made

with homemade rolls.  Some have

turkey, egg and cheese while others

have ham, egg and cheese.

Cost was between $5 and $6 to make.

.15 to .18 cents a sandwich.

Well I got clothes laid out for tomorrow for

everyone and lunch money in envelopes ready to go.

I know not everyone says this,

but I'm ready for Monday to get here

so I can have somewhat of a day off

in between runs to and from the bus stop.

8-24-12

12:30pm

Me and mom went out for breakfast

around 7am this morning then

went to yard sales and the thrift store.

Yard sale finds-

Solar powered shed light $1.00.

Starbucks cake pop kit .50 cents.

The Clapper new in box. $2.00.

Has two plug ins to work two different things.

I'm using this in my bedroom because me

and my honey both climb into bed and forget

to turn off the light and argue who's

gonna get back outta bed and turn it off, lol.

 A bunch of printer paper .50 cents for all.

Wooden bill organizer with pull out tray $3.93.

Thrift store find.

Haley's cleaning hints book .90 cents

thrift store.

Plus I got Christopher about 

4 polo shirts and 2-3 shorts for back to school

from the thrift store.

Some were half price.


7:30pm


Stopped in Dollar Tree tonight to pick up
a pack of 9 volt batteries (2 in a pack) for $1.00.
I guess tomorrow we're taking the kids
to swim at the beach and they want to
take along the metal detector which needs these batteries.
While in Dollar Tree I had my notebook and paper
and jotted down any brand names of items I could
find.  The reason for this was because I heard starting
next week Dollar Tree is going to start
accepting manufacture coupons.
I wanted to have a list to know what kind
of brand name items they carried so
I could try to match them up to any coupons
that might come along.
I think I might make a new tab at the top
of this blog that says Dollar Tree
with all the name brand stuff I found there
to help others to match up those coupons.

 

8-23-12

7:15am

Had a somewhat better morning with the bus.

It was only 10 minutes late today compared

to yesterday at 30-35 minutes late.

It's all understandable to be the first couple

days of school and everything from

classes, school to bus runs are new to everyone.

The bus driver missed their bus stop in the afternoon

yesterday and tried to get them

to get off at another stop.  I don't think so.

If parents are waiting and expecting their

children at a certain time or stop

then that's where she needs to drop them off at.

There's too many weirdos out there

that prey on children for the bus driver

to start making up her own rules. 

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8:00 - 9:15am

I finished taking all the skins off

the Concord Grapes.

I then added a cup of sugar to the food processor

and added 1/2 the grape skins.

I did two batches of skins this way.

Once the skins were pureed I poured them

into a metal bowl (no plastic as this can stain).

Then I pureed up the innards of the grapes

and added them to the grape skins in the bowl

and stirred altogether.

This made roughly 8-10 pounds which will

later on be boiled down with more sugar, strained and pectin added

to start making jelly.

I got supper prepped.  All I have to

do it throw it in the oven this afternoon.

Deer Burger Meatloaf.

2 pounds deer burger

1 can tomato soup

1 packet onion soup mix

seasoning salt

1 egg

seasoned bread crumbs

For the top I mixed

brown sugar and ketchup in a bowl

and spooned it over top the loaf

before baking.

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My youngest son purchased a Nintendo DSI
from a neighborhood kid for $5.00.
He's been saving his money up
in a piggy bank.
It does work but the bottom screen is white.
The touch pad seems to work but nothing
shows on bottom screen.
These DSI's go for $100 to $150 new
and about $50 to $60+ used
and that doesn't include shipping.
I got him (awaiting for it to arrive)
a replacement lcd screen with tools
off ebay for under $10.
Well it didn't really cost me anything
as it was free money I made by doing surveys. 
So are hoping that this replacement screen
fixes it and that will be the best $5.00
my child spent on a hand held game system!!
Well almost the best, lol.
A couple years ago we found a Gameboy Advance Sp
with charger, case and games for $7 at a yard sale.
Teach them to save money, make use of what
they have by using their creativity, be able to fix things,
and to find bargains while they are young! 
Because they can use this knowledge 
when they are older and moved out on their own.

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