1-31-12

Yesterday mom took us all out for Tony's birthday
to Texas Roadhouse. Can you say, mmm mmm good!!
Me and Tony were so stuffed considering
earlier that morning we went to Tee Jay's.
I had a Half Yard, half of a Barn Yard Buster.

Today I'm chilling, taking it easy.
The house is quiet again. Well almost, lol.
I wanted to fire up the sawzall but need a heavy
duty extension cord. There are two very large,
heavy duty, homemade shelves in our basement
that was here when we moved in. I want to move
them around and in order to move the one I need
to cut off some of the four posts sticking
up at the top. Where I want to put the shelves
is a vent and I can't move it under it without
cutting the posts.
I have been getting so many ideas off Pinterest
and jotting things down in my idea notebook.
This will be so helpful when trying to clean
and organize the basement!
Check out my Pinterest Boards here to get some ideas for your home and crafts.
I think I spend more time on Pinterest now
than any other website!


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


2:45pm

The truck said the outdoor temperature was 60 degrees!!
Can you believe that for January in Ohio!!


3:00pm

Got the 4 posts sawed off the shelf.
I'm half deaf now, covered with saw dust
and have saw dust in my eyes. Couldn't
help it as I had to hold the sawzawl
above my head to get to the posts.
It's a start. Now I can move it to another
wall. Won't be today though as there
many more items to move away from it
just to be able to move it. Soooo much work
to do to the basement!! One day in the future,
and I ain't saying the near future, I would
love to get to the point of putting in carpet
and painting the walls and making it look
like a rec room down there. Right now
it is the wreck rooms!



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


Supper tonight- teriyaki chicken, rice & veggies.
I was going to make it the other day but we ended
up having something else.

Boil minute rice in water mixed with soy sauce. (free)

Boil veggies in saucepan, drain. ($1.50 mark down)

Cut up package of cheap chicken nuggets
into strips.
(kroger extra value is $1.25 a package)
Stir a little teriyaki basting sauce
onto the chicken strips.

Layer onto plate-
rice, veggies, teriyaki chicken.

TOTAL COST $2.75
serves 5 @ .55 cents a serving.


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

1-30-12

I bought me another printer today from Walmart.
When I can't refill my ink cartridges anymore
or get them to work I'll opt to get another
printer rather than buy new ink cartridges
which would cost around $50 for black and color.
A new HP printer with ink cartridges cost
$29.00 at Walmart. I saved $20 by buying
the printer instead of the ink!
It should take no time to recoup
(probably one shopping trip) this $29
with the printable coupons I will be able print
and use to save money on groceries.

Walmart also has an HP all in one
scanner, printer and copier
$24 online site to store ship.
And I saw Canon all in one's in the store
for $29.
I don't do these all in one as they get
too complicated or you can't refill
the ink cartridges in them.

1-29-12

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO TONY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!


This morning I made stuffed french toast for breakfast.
I tried to make it all sugar free.

Dip bread into egg beaten with milk,
1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg and 1 tsp vanilla.

In another bowl or food processor I mixed
up about a half pkg cream cheese, grated orange zest,
vanilla, 1/2 pkg sugar free vanilla pudding,
about 1/3 cup milk and a couple tablespoons of splenda.

Then in another bowl I added sliced strawberries
with some splenda, some sugar free strawberry jello
and a little water and mixed in some sugar free
syrup.

Grill french toast in skillet with spray.
Turn one piece of toast over and spread cream
cheese on top. Place other piece of french toast
grilled side down onto cream cheese. Grill up
both sides.

Top with strawberries and strawberry/maple syrup juice.


Tonight for supper I'm making chicken teriyaki
with veggies & rice.

Tony has tomorrow off. He took it off for his birthday.
We plan to see a movie tomorrow morning and
then go out to either breakfast or lunch.
It's not too often me and him get out to
do anything by ourselves.


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


Here is my next idea I came up with for
my Idea Notebook. I think it's a great idea
for organizing some of my craft/sewing supplies.
I'm sure the supplies to do this can be found
cheaply at yard sales or thrift stores because
they are probably considered outdated items.
But repurpose them and put them to good use.

Reuse plastic video rental vhs cases to store your craft items in like lace, ribbon, thread, sewing notions, glue gun and sticks & scrapbook items in then store them all neatly and organized on a vhs rack. You can then label the sides of them
as to what is in each one.




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


9:15pm

Between working on a few loads of laundry I have
left to finish I have been working on making
a shirt dress. This is what I have done so far.


I used a man's dress shirt and attached two strips
of eyelet curtain pieces to the bottom.

I found an easy way to ruffle fabric.
Take a piece of string or yarn and zig zag
stitch it around the yarn on the fabric edge you want to ruffle.


Once done with zig zag stitching then you can pull the
yarn and bunch up the fabric to make ruffles.
either sew a stitch across the ruffles and pull
the yarn out or do like I did and leave the yarn
in place when stitching the ruffled fabric
onto the shirt.




I still have to add an extra button to the bottom of the shirt.
There's usually extra buttons sewn on the inside of men's
dress shirt but this Tommy Hilfiger shirt doesn't have any.
Then I would like to take the dress in on the sides a little
and shorten the sleeves to be able to wear during the
warmer weather. It's a start!


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

1-28-12

12:00pm

I've told y'all that I've started keeping an
idea journal. Any ideas I come up with
I'll jot down, draw a picture or attach
a photo or magazine cut out. I like to repurpose things from
clothes to furniture to everything in between
and if I get an idea I jot it down in my book.
I make a list in another smaller
purse size notebook of things I'm on the hunt
for while at yard sales, thrift store,
flea markets or things I can find along
side of the road or dumpsters.

Here is my idea for the day- A Hutch Tv Cabinet.
I think I would like to remove the old one we
have in our basement and put it into the laundry
room and make something like this from it.
I think I would remove the bottom shelves and
put one brace in the middle that way two
laundry baskets could fit sideways in those areas.
And the top area I would remove all boards
and insert one long hanging rod in there.


Then in the place of the old entertainment center
I would like to find an old china hutch
or dresser with hutch and turn it into a
tv console. Now picture the furniture below
with the upper shelves removed from the top
but the frame of the shelving left in place.
This area will be used to put an LCD TV.
Then remove the upper drawers and sliders
and add in a piece of wood to make two shelves
for your cable boxes and dvd players.
Then use the drawers or cabinets to store
dvds, games, games systems & such.
Paint the hutch if really ugly looking.






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


Wanna take a sneak peak into my Idea Journal?
Here are a few things you will find there:


Turn an old cassette holder into a place to
store ribbons for your craft room.



To hold you wrapping paper together when not in use
try using cardboard toilet paper or paper towel
rolls cut down the middle. Wrap around
wrapping paper to hold in place.



Use a wall mounted letter holder to store fabric on.



Use a curtain rod with curtain clips to store your fabric.


Desk organizer used to hold cookie sheets and cutting boards.



How to fill up something that doesn't fit in the sink... use a dust pan.



Wire CD rack to store lids in cupboard.



Muffin tin under shelf swing out storage.



Wall hooks mounted at bottom of wall for shoe storage.



Turn old cabinet into laundry basket clothes storage.




Measuring spoons/cups inside cabinet door.



Paper towel holder- remove fake drawer front
by kitchen sink cupboard and put in a paper towel holder.



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


3:00pm

Just returned from the thrift store.

I got these items-

2 wire desk letter holder .90 cents each.
I plan to use them for my cookie sheets and pizza pans.


2 dishwasher bottle cap, ring and nipple holder .50 cents each.
I plan to use them to store writing utensils,
scissors and paint brushes in the holes.
I can also add tape, pkgs of thumb tacks and rubber bands
to the inside compartment. Put a piece of
cardboard in the bottom so nothing falls through.


Check out this knitted sweater vest I got for $1.99!!
I thought it was so cute and has football buttons on it.
I found one on Ebay for $23 with shipping.



And another favorite thing I found that I though
was so awesome was this large leather & vinyl waterproof type
Mary Kay bag for $2.99. It has a handle, carrying
strap, outside zippered compartment,
very large 3 rings on the inside along
with 4 more pockets. I'll give you three guesses
as to what I'm using this for, LOL.
Can you say the most awesome coupon binder!!!
Talking of coupon binders I actually saw the second
person I've ever seen using one of these binders
at the Karl Rd. Kroger last night. She was trying
to match coupons up to items on the mark down shelf.
I had a .50 cent Kroger coupon for a bag of lettuce
last night and found a bag of lettuce marked down
to .99 cents. The coupon wouldn't go through and
the cashier tried to tell me I couldn't use it
because the item was marked down. My comment was,
"since when". A manager got called over and made
the cashier push the coupon through. YOU CAN
USE COUPONS ON MARKDOWNS JUST AS LONG AS
IT DOES NOT MAKE THE ITEM FREE!!!
Of course I didn't have my coupon binder with
me with the letter from where I wrote Kroger's
corporate office about running into this
problem sometimes. And it does state you
can use coupons on mark down items.

It's about 7 fingertips wide!



I did buy a couple other items like
3 women's dress shirts, and
3 bed skirts for .99 cents each.


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


4:10pm

Getting ready to head out to Blacklick and visit
Tony's friend/co-worker. The boys are all getting
together to play videos games and have some pizza.
Sounds like fun huh! Not my cup of tea but I'm
going along anyway. I plea bargained with Tony
and the boys, if they wanted to go play video
games then we can go to the thrift store
and do something mama wants to do!!
Oh yeah, there was a few moans and groans in there
but ya know, I am the only female out of the 4 of
us in this house, 5 if you include the cat.
I do boy things ALL THE TIME,!
Every now and then I want to do girl things
and I don't want to have to call mom up and
ask her if she would go with me. Now darn it, the
boys can all go with me to thrift stores,
yard sales and quilt shows!! LOL I always
threaten them with quilt shows. Every time
I'm drug along to a car show or race track
I'll tell Tony, if I go to these events
then you can tag along to a quilt show with me.
Not that I really want to go see quilts but
you get the idea that I want to do some
girly things too.


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


11:35pm

Hmmm, the warning label only said to keep
plastic bags away from babies and children,
nothing about cats, lol.

For some reason kitty likes to lay on my fabric stashes.
This is the bag of bed skirts and shirts
I got today from the thrift store.

He looks possessed! Maybe I should keep him
in there a little longer. Only kidding.
I put the bag up soon after taking the picture.

1-27-12

11:00am

Tony had to stop and get gas this morning
at Speedway. It was $2.98 plus another .03 cents
of with his Speedy card. That was around 7:00am.
He just called to say his boss said gas jumped
up to $3.49!! Come on now, this is ridiculous to
have gas jump up that much!!


I have spent the last week or so studying
all kinds of pictures of tops, skirts
and pants that I like trying to figure out
how to recreate some things by upcycling
clothing, remaking it into another article
of clothing.

I really like the kerchief skirts and tops
with the sides that drape downwards.
It's taken me a little bit but I think I
have finally figured out how to recreate it.

Here is an example of a kerchief dress
with the pointed and longer sides.

While I have nothing cut out or sewn together
I wanted to show you how you can recreate that type
of bottom on a skirt or dress, in this instance
I will add it to the bottom of a man's dress shirt
to make a shirt dress.

I found an eyelet lace curtain panel,
I'll fold it in half to the desired width
and cut off the remaining fabric.
Here you can see the line of the remaining fabric
that will need cut off so imagine that cut already.
Next line up the fabric and center it to the
middle of the shirt. Find the middle and cut out
a half circle, a little bigger than the size of your waist area out of it along the folded edge. This will be the area you will sew to the shirt
and as as the skirted area below.


Like I said nothing is sewn yet but to give you and
idea of how this fabric will drape off the bottom
of the shirt I have posted a picture below.
I also found some fabric ribbon that I thought
went well with the light blue and white pin
striped shirt. I want to take a large strip
of this ribbon, find the middle and line it up
to the front of the shirt between the shirt
and the skirt area. I'll only sew it to the front
of the shirt. The back ribbon will be the ties.


I'm still debating over how to make the shirt.
Either cut off the sleeves or make into a halter
type top like the one found here.


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

1-26-12

8:50am

I have spending a lot of time on Pinterest
getting ideas for the house. I have lots
of ideas already posted for different types
of home storage that are really neat!
Come check out my Pinterest page with all
the storage ideas I have found.

I am sooooo loving Pinterest!!
Any ideas I found before I would have to
bookmark and then they would get lost with
all the bookmarks I have and nothing
was categorized. Now when doing
searches and finding things of interest
or projects or recipes I would like to
make I can pin it to Pinterest and keep
it all in one place making it much easier
to access and go through. When you
"pin" a picture it also attaches the
link of the website of where it is located.
SO COOL!! And SO ADDICTING!!
But oh SO HELPFUL for getting ideas of
how to organize a home, crafts to make,
recipes to try, gardening, home decor ideas,
you name it.

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


Here's an idea I came up with-

I have empty diaper wipe containers and I think
I'm going to start using one to put rolled
trashed bags in. Would make storing and using
them so much easier.
The wipes were in a container similar to the one
below only a little wider.



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



For supper we are having breakfast.

Omelettes

1 dozen eggs $1.29
leftover diced ham .83 cents
leftover tomato .25 cents
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese .75 cents
and
I have some small baggies of frozen
onions & celery with seasoning that I got after Thanksgiving
marked down pretty cheap. It was a huge tub that was used
for making stuffing so figured why not throw
it in there as well. .10 cents
1/2 container of mushrooms .30 cents

I will serve some potatoes fried in Italian dressing
along side of the omelettes. - $1.00

TOTAL COST TO MAKE- $4.52


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


Here's another storage idea I had and posted
on Pinterest.
Check it out here. It's for those who
have small homes and need extra storage
space like I do. I don't have a craft or
sewing room and have to drag things into
the living room when working on a project.
I thought I could make a hide-away craft "room"
under the basement stairs. This could
also be used as an office space.


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


9:10pm

Here's a video I just did for all you NASCAR fans out there.
NASCAR season is just around the corner!
If you wonder what beeped it was the preheat on my
stove from where I was baking a few cookies.



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


10:55pm

Everything is starting to look up somewhat.
Yesterday I found out I don't have to pay $600
towards my colonoscopy and it was only $245.
Monday I paid off 2 different doctor bills
from the money mom gave me. That was $610 worth.
Today the billing company returned one of
my checks saying that the bill has been paid!!
For some odd known reason the two bills I paid
were two different amounts, off by about $33
between one to the other. I thought they were
two different bills because of that and don't
know the reason for the two different amounts
but anyway I looked a little further and they
each had the same account number meaning they
were the same bill. They took the payment
for the lesser amount one and returned
my other check for the higher amount one.
So this whole ordeal saved me $339.
Add that to the $245 saved from the colonoscopy
and that's $584.
And you are not going to believe this but
I just got my emergency room bill today from
my recent St. Ann's ER visit and it was $578.
(it would have been $4370.00 without insurance)
The money I have saved from the colonoscopy
and the other doctor bill can now be applied
to pay off the hospital bill.
What I am trying to say is I thought I was going
to have to pay $600 colonoscopy, $628 for
the 2 doctor bills and the another $584 for
the hospital bill for a total of $1812.00.
And now I am only paying $1112.00.
A difference of $700 that can stay in the bank
or some can be applied to smaller doctor bills!
I have been totally freaked out about paying
all these doctor bills and now knowing I don't
have to pay as much brings me some relief.
I still have forked out a big chunk of change
though last year and the start of this year though
but the doctor bills are starting to dwindle down.
It's taken me awhile to get back on track
and are finally starting to see a light at the
end of the tunnel!!


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

1-25-12

4:25pm

Well I had some good news concerning my colonosopy bill.
It was originally $2644.00.
We were told by the endoscopy place that we would
be charged $600 for it with our insurance and
they asked for half the amount up front
the day of the procedure so we paid $300.
Yesterday I got a statement from our insurance
saying we only owe $244.00 total for the
colonoscopy. They OWE us now $55.
Thank goodness this worked out in our favor
because we were thinking we owed $600 out of pocket
and only ended up owing $244- a difference
of $356 that I no longer owe, whew! That can
now be applied to another bill to be taken care of.


Supper tonight-

Homemade McRib sandwiches with french fries.
I'm adding sauted onions and mushrooms on
each sandwich along with american cheese.


This evening a person from the bank is coming
over to go over our home loan with us.
NOTHING is wrong with it as I have never had
a late payment or have been behind any payments.
I'm a little iffy about the whole situation
because the banker just showed up at our
door yesterday wanting to discuss our home loan,
probably wanting to refinance us at lower
rates, blah, blah, blah. I never asked or called
the bank to have this person come to our home
nor did I contact them about wanting to discuss
anything about our loan. But the guy comes to our
door yesterday asking for us by our names.
Tony was not here at the time so I had him
come back today when Tony was home.
I told Tony it won't hurt to listen to what he
has to say but DO NOT sign up for ANYTHING!!!
If we need or want anything we are not doing
it through a banker that comes to our home
unannounced! We will go to the bank in person
and talk to someone there. If interested
we'll get the information in writing but NOT sign anything!
Then if we want to do something further we'll
take that to the bank. I know our mortgage lender
has sent us several things about how we could
refinance or go on an every other week payment
plan to cut down our interest. I did not respond
to them because I wasn't interested. Are banks
so hard up for business that they have people
coming to your homes now??!! I just find the whole
thing a little fishy.


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


7:00pm

Well we had our meeting with this person this evening.
The meeting was about getting disability or
death coverage with our home loan.
Sure it's something we need but still cannot
afford at the moment. We had already talked
to State Farm about it right after getting our
home and it was still too high for us to get back then.
We are trying very hard to get the things we
need by taking baby steps. I mean we have car insurance,
health insurance (dental, vision and medical),
life insurance, 401K and now a savings account starting up.
I'm pretty glad to have gotten
this far in life because back when we first started
out 13 years ago I don't recall having any of the above!

I did ask this person about how refinancing a loan
worked. I thought I knew about how much it cost
but every time I would tell Tony or mom about it
I don't think they believed me. I wanted
someone to hear it from the horses mouth that
when you would refinance a loan you would have
to pay closing costs all over again along
with whatever fees there are to add to it.
and it would cost about $3,000,
maybe more, to refinance our loan. I WAS RIGHT!!
I am happy with our interest rate and where
we stand at the moment. At an extra $3,000
to refinance to save $75 a month off our loan
would take 40 months before we start seeing
any savings after considering that $3,000.
Plus when you refinance I think they start
you back at a 30 year loan if that's what you had
before. I don't want to start all over again.

I look at it this way-

In 40 months (3.33 years) I will have saved $3,000
and already applied an extra $6,000 in principal
with around 12 extra house payments made!! Because if I had to of
paid an extra $3,000 to refinance, that money
would have come out of the extra principal
money I would have used towards the house.
I know others have a hard time following
the way I think so just as long as I know what
I am doing is all that counts.

Ok, gotta go, head's spinning trying to think too much.
Got laundry going and need to get that done.
I know I should have had laundry done Sunday
and I'm a little late with getting that done.
Well I won't have that much to do this Sunday
coming up :0)


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


9:30pm

I now have a spiral notebook that I have been using
to jot down any and all ideas from house organizing
to crafts. I have been trying to design a plan
for redoing storage in my basement and have
been looking at all kinds of ideas.
Tonight I think I found my inspiration for what
I would like to do to my storage room, maybe
even for under stair storage.
Check out the video below of how you can build
a pvc storage rack for totes. I think I could
make this in a "U" shape to wrap around the walls
in my storage room and have it all connected in one
piece. Is it not the coolest and simplest
storage idea that you can customize to your space.
I'd have to price the pieces first to see
if this would be an option we could do.

PVC Bin Storage Organizer




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

1-24-12


With breakfast this morning we are having
pie crust cookies spritzed with a little
butter flavored spray and cinnamon sugar.
These were the leftover pie crust pieces
from making pot pies last night.



To jazz them up even further add
a little jelly to the tops.
OR sprinkle or dip in powdered sugar.



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


Me and mom went to Aldis this morning.
I spent $24.32 for a cart full of things.
Your money definitely goes further at Aldis.
I love going there to get produce much
cheaper than the other main grocery stores.

I got-

2 large stalks of celery .69 cents each
2 three pound bags of onions .69 cents each
2 8 oz containers of mushrooms .59 cents each
1 one pound bag baby carrots .99 cents each
1 four pound bag of oranges $1.69
1.44 pound bananas .63 cents
2 gingerbread house kits marked down to .99 cents each!
2 bags potato chips $1.39 each
1 bag cheese crunches .99 cents
1 canister Italian bread crumbs $1.19
1 jar spaghetti sauce .99 cents
1 block cream cheese $1.19
1 bag of bagels
3 cans tuna fish .59 cents each
3 cans cat food .29 cents each
1 dozen eggs $1.39
1 box instant mashed potatoes .99 cents
1 Italian dressing $1.39

I showed prices of items for people who have
never shopped Adlis to get a price comparison of things.

I got a bunch of celery and onions due to the price.
I plan to chop them all up, blanch them and
put them into freezer bags. Don't buy the frozen
bags at the store with them already diced up
when it is much cheaper and you get more when
you do it yourself! No need to run out to the store
when making soups and what not when you can
just pull one of the many bags of your own
frozen and diced veggies from the freezer.
Frozen and fresh produce is much better for
you than canned anyway.

After Aldis we stopped in Dollar Tree hoping
to get some canned apple pie filling which
they usually have for $1.00. But today they
didn't seem to have any in stock.
I bought these items for $1.00 each.

-16 oz jar salsa
-4 pack of mini spiral notebooks
-3 pack of super glue
-butter toffee sunflower kernels
-20 count stick on pain relief patches

Some things are not always cheaper to buy
at the dollar stores while some things are.
Some of the things I like to get there for
cheaper than the grocery store is-

-apple pie filling
-baby powder
-hot patches for muscle aches
-trail mix or bags of nuts
-batteries
-powdered oxy clean
-cards


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

1-23-12

10:30am

Just got home from the bank and post office.
I got some money deposited and paid off
2 of the larger doctor bills I have at the moment.
While in the bank I also decided to open
up another savings account. We had one before
but it had run dry and the bank closed it out.
Now I have it set up to direct deposit a little
bit of money from Tony's check into it each time
he gets paid. I did it this way because if
you just open a savings account without
direct deposit of any kind into it then it
requires to have a minimum of a $400 balance
at all times. But if you direct deposit any
amount of each paycheck into the savings account
then there is no minimum balance.
Any money, no matter how small the amount may be,
put into a savings account is good. At least I think
so because you'll always have a little bit of
change set aside for emergencies, repairs
or extra needed money for other bills or Christmas.
I don't have much but over time, maybe years,
it can start to build up. Something is better than nothing!!


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


2:00pm

I just popped my head outdoors to check the mail
and it feels like Spring out! I checked the
temperature on WBNS and it says it's 60 degrees out!
Can you believe that for a January in Ohio?!

Tony just called and said he saw tulips?
sticking their heads/leaves out of the ground a couple inches.
This weather I'm sure has a lot of plants confused.


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


2:25pm

I noticed the rain was letting up and a burst of
sunlight came out for a few moments so I grabbed
my camera and headed outside in search of a rainbow.
Sure enough I found one. Can you believe there
was a rainbow, in Columbus, in January??!!
When's the last time you seen a rainbow in January?
Ummmm, NEVER!



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


4:05pm

Supper tonight-
something I made up and will call-
Potato Soup Pot Pies.

I found Pillsbury double pie crusts for $1.00
with $1.00 off 2 coupons on the packages
making them .50 cents each. ($1.00 for 2)
I am using these crusts for the pot pies.

Here are my other ingredients-
1/2 can carrots, diced up (free)
1/2 cup diced ham, about 1/3 pkg (.83 cents)
1 medium to large potato diced up into small cubes (.25 cents)
1 packet sausage flavored country gravy mix ($1.39)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, not pictured (.75 cents)


1. Unroll the pie crusts and using your mini
pie pans, trace 4 onto each of the pie crust dough
for a total of 8.
Place 4 circle crusts into the bottoms of
4 mini pie pans. Set aside.


2. In a small sauce pan mix up a package
of sausage flavored country gravy mix.
Heat til it starts to thicken then remove
from heat to thicken some more.

3. Boil up potatoes til softened, drain.

4. Add diced up carrots, potatoes, cheese and ham
to gravy.

5. Spoon gravy mixture into mini pie crusts.

6. Place a circular pie crust on top.
Press down around sides to pinch together
tops and bottoms of dough to make a seal.

7. Cut slits into tops of crusts.

8. Bake in 350 degree oven for ?
Still waiting on a time to see how long
it takes to bake.

TOTAL COST TO MAKE 4 POT PIES- $3.72
or .93 cents a serving.


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


5:20pm

Tony is all the time complaining that I get
the truck so dirty to the point it looks
like I've been out mud running.
I don't know what he's talking about, LOL.



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1-22-12

10:00am

Breakfast this morning before doing taxes,
a .99 cent can of Kroger marked down cinnamon rolls.


After taxes we're heading to Menards and maybe
Buy Backs. I noticed yesterday that the Goodwill
thrift store wanted $1.99 for cd's. I think
Buy backs had TONS AND TONS of cd's for $1.00
or less. I guarantee you'll get a backache
walking through that store looking at cd's
there are that many!!
I think the last time we were there it was like
$1.00 for cd's or 10 for $5.00.
They also have vhs & dvd movies
and video games along with other items.
Dvd's look like they start at $1.50 (on their
special deal rack buy 10 for $15) on up and
vhs tapes are .49 cents each or buy 2 get 1 free.
Buybacks on Facebook
to watch for any upcoming deals.


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2:30pm

Lunch- Chili Bowls.
A quick and easy lunch made with
a can of Grands Biscuits pressed onto the
backside of a cupcake pan and baked.
Fill with canned no beans chili
and top with diced onion and cheddar cheese.




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1-21-12

10:21am

Oh my goodness, the tips of my shoulders are
flared up this morning and hurting pretty good.
This is the second or third time I've had this
and don't know if it is of any relation
to the Colitis and inflammation. I'm not quite
sure if I can take ibuprofen with my Lialda medicine.
I searched it online and I get mixed reviews.
I think if we are in Kroger this weekend
I'm going to stop by and talk to the pharmacist
to see what otc pain medicine I can take.
Hopefully it's ok to take ibuprofen because
tylenol does nothing for me for muscle or joint pains.
It feels like someone has punched me in both
shoulders really hard. I was reading another web site
and it seems that Colitis can cause joint pain
in different areas. I have noticed since having
IBS in the past year or more I have had joint pains
in my hips, shoulders and just recently lower
back pain with pain down both legs.
This totally sucks because it sounds like something
I'll always have with the colitis. And it doesn't
sound like Colitis ever goes away it just goes into
remission and will more than likely return
several times for the rest of your life.


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I got The Bag on my door step last night, the sales ads for the week.
I was looking over the ads and saw that Menards had a few
things on sale that I might get that I thought were a good price.
I don't think the sale starts til tomorrow though.

-Scotts toilet paper 8 pack for $4.95

I'm usually paying around $4.50 or so at Kroger
for a 4 pack. That sounds like a lot for toilet
paper but these are big rolls, 1000 sheets per roll.
One roll will last us about a week. $1.12 per roll.

I think I saw at one time that Roses had the 4 packs
for $3.75 which was a better deal. .93 cents a roll.

With this Menards 8 pack of Scotts toilet paper
for $4.95 it would make each roll .62 cents a roll.
So that the best deal I have found so far.
Might pick up a couple packs to last us for
about 4 months at $9.90.

Menards also had quarts of Quaker State oil
for $2.50 each. That's a REALLY good price.
I knew oil was a little high and just checked
Advance Auto and it is $4.69 a quart.
OReilly's $4.79 a quart.

So by getting some at Menards would save you
$2.19 on each quart!

So if you are changing oil and need about 5 quarts
it would cost you $12.50 at Menards as opposed to $23.45 at
other stores. A savings of $10.95.

But you have to watch places like Menards and Pep Boys
because they like to give you deals but they have
rebates with them. I didn't see a rebate offer
on this oil deal. We got an oil change deal at
Pep Boys a couple months back and just got
our rebate check yesterday. I don't like doing
rebates and would prefer to just pay a sales
price right then and there at the store without
having to mail a form in and wondering if
the rebate check will ever come.


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Aldis has a few sales next week that I might get in on.

-3 pound bag of onions .69 cents per bag.

-8 ounce container of mushrooms .59 cents

-celery .69 cents

If you ever need fresh veggies I think Aldis
has the best prices when compared to Kroger or Meijer,
MUCH cheaper!


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I was laying in bed last night when I came
up with this next idea of something I can
do with one of the men's dress shirts I got
yesterday. I had already posted a picture
about making an apron from a men's shirt on Pinterest.
So why not run with this idea and maybe trying
making a Summer time halter dress with
the same idea or maybe a halter top.
Here is the men's shirt dress apron-
(directions to make it found HERE)

And here are photos of halter dresses
and halter tops that I think could
be made similar to the apron with a few tweaks.
Take the 70's look and use more modern
fabric to bring it up to date.




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


12:50pm

Running slow this morning with sleeping in til
about 10am. so we kinda missed breakfast.
So here is what we are having for lunch, a BET,
Bacon, Egg and Tomato sandwich with cheese on toast with mayo.



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2:15pm

I save old toothbrushes to use as cleaning tools.
They are great for using around the sink drains
and faucets, stove knobs, car interiors,
getting dust out from between keys on keyboard.
Today I found another use for one-
If your bagless vaccum has removable accordian
type filters the toothbrush easily get down
in between the grooves and cleans the dirt out.



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


Ok I got another idea for clothing.
I saw this handkerchief style of skirt
and had the idea that maybe you could
find a tablecloth, lace or embroidered
with a pretty design, and use the four
corners for the point of a handkerchief skirt.
Not really liking the bandanna print so
that's why I thought up the more feminine
and frilly one with a more delicate fabric.

Ok, now picture the above made with tablecloth
corners like below.


I so loved this idea I found about how
to make a dress out of a tablecloth.
I always see tablecloths and curtain panels
and wonder what I could make from them.



I keep telling mom I can't wait for garage sale season again.
Thrift stores will have to do for me for now.
Oh, and talking of thrift stores,
the Goodwill thrift store on N. High St.
that used to sit across from the Giant Eagle
store now has moved and opened a new store up
at Hudson & High St. in I think the old
Hollywood Video store. Today is grand opening
of the new store!. Their old store was kind of
small so now I hope they will be able to offer
more things in the newer store.


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8:30pm

We went out earlier to Henderson Rd. Kroger
for our weekly weekend little shopping trip.
I found some packages of John Morrel smoked
sausage that was reg. $2.69 on sale for $1.00 each.
I bought the 4 packages that were left.

After leaving Kroger I told everyone I wanted
to go check out the grand opening of the
Goodwill store. Today was the first day
open at this store. I got a couple good deals
I thought. Jonathan need another pair of Winter
boots. The last pair lasted him about 3 years
but I paid about $25 maybe more new for them. Amazingly,
considering the time of year and the snow on the ground,
we were able to find a pair of boots. And Jonathan
found a pair of DC shoes he wanted.
There was no prices on the shoes/boots so I was
asking people how much they were. One lady
said the tennis shoes were $5.00 and I asked
another lady behind the display counter how
much the boots were and she also said $5.00.
They were nice shoes and boots and looked almost
new and I was ready to pay $5.00 each as opposed
to about $20-$25 I would have spent on each pair new.
When I checked out the guy rang up each pair
for only $1.99! I was more than please and ran like
the wind! While in the store I was also
checking out the purses. Goodwill stores have one
set price on all their purses, $2.99. All the other
thrift stores have a price on each purse.
So I'm wanting to get another purse and was looking
through all the purses they had. I wasn't finding
anything. Then here comes Jonathan with this
fancy purse in his hand saying, you ought to get
this one, it's pretty nice. Who'd of thought
my son would have picked out my next purse, lol.
It's a Sienna Ricchi purse if that means anything
to anyone because I haven't a clue.
Tony also found a metal travel coffee mug for .99 cents.
Those with the metal insides are really nice for
keeping coffee nice and hot.
I ended up spending $8.00 in the store and thought
I did really good. I could have very easily spent
$40 to $50 on a couple pairs of shoes at Kmart
if I had to buy new. I have a hard time finding
the boys shoes at the thrift stores so I got really
lucky this time around.








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


9:00pm

My shoulders have hurt non stop today.
I did ask the Kroger pharmacist if I could
take ibuprofen with my medicine and he said
I could. Thank goodness because I just took
two to help the pain. I had found a box of
hot patches for muscle aches in my bathroom closet.
I took one, cut it in half, then put one on
each shoulder. I usually keep a couple of boxes
of these on hand. I get them at Dollar Tree
for a buck each. That's a pretty good price
when compared to other name brands at other stores
which can run $5 to $7.00 a box.
Dollar Store brand-



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