Frugal February -last post

We have company coming and will need extra snacks.  I am trying to use up pantry ingredients.
So,  I made a small batch of homemade buttercream frosting and spread in on a 1/2 of graham crackers for homemade cookie sandwiches- they are delicious and one of my dad's favorites.

Made a new recipe with melted white chocolate chips, pretzels, craisins and pecans.
Sweet N Salty snack Mix

there was 1 1/2 very ripe banana in the banana bowl,  my banana recipe calls for more but I used what I had and baked the banana bread recipe into 15 muffins,  they are fine even with less banana

we had this meatless entree last night, it is really good but next time, I am going to double the veggies to 8 cups.

Easy Noodle Stir Fry

Grocery Budget for February- had $101 left over

Gas Budget- we use a prepaid Walmart card and I don't know how it happened but we had $160 left out of the $200 we budget every month.  It has been so cold and we have stayed home a lot,  but I am wondering if we bought gas a time or two and it didn't get subtracted..... who knows.  I have been keeping records of some things but not that

Not frugal things

Husbands eye surgeries- thankfully his work insurance will cover most of it but it is a new calendar year and we had to pay the deductible.  But he is doing great and can see so much better even with just one eye done so far.  We are thinking his future eye glass prescriptions may be less expensive than his previous very strong and complicated prescription.  

My splurge

I have tried all kinds of things to get my fingernails to be strong and grow but nothing has worked.

So on Saturday,  I got my first ever fake nails and and polish at a salon.  I got short ones as I still want to sew and type and still need to do housework.  

I am very happy with them,  not a break or chip even after a week!  

fake nails are not thrifty and I know about the health questions,  but on this issue,  I plan to just go

with pretty nails, which I have never had before, and enjoy them. 

Joining up with 

Finances on Friday

She has done great in February, only buying dairy and using her pantry and freezer to keep her family of  6 fed. 

Homemade goo -Pinterest #4 for 2014

We tried this pin today - homemade slime - goo- goop, it is made from school glue, water, food coloring and 1/2 t borax. It mixes up really fast.

Pin on Pinterest

Ours was not as solid as others I read about. Maybe our glue was not as fresh as it could be.

No matter, the grandsons had a great time with this easy activity.

Gavin is almost 5 and I think this is more age appropriate for him than for 18 month Braeden, 

Homemade carpet shampooer machine solution

Another idea from Pinterest is this simple cleaning solution to run through a carpet shampoo machine.

I had to make a double batch to fill the tank on our machine. 

I used about 3 quarts of hot water, a half cup of hydrogen peroxide, a good squirt of dish soap and a good glub of vinegar.  The original blogger added essential oil for scent.  My scented dish liquid was scent enough.
 

It seemed to work fine and certainly as good as the expensive store bought kind that is more than $10 a jug.

This dish soap is Meyers Lavendar scent. I really liked the scent for carpet cleaning, but I don't much care for it on the dishes.  I don't plan to buy store bought solution again so this pin is a great money saver. 

I did not take before and after carpet photos. The carpet I cleaned is 14 year old white carpet that is in our 3 extra bedrooms and the big hall that connects them. The carpet is much cleaner after today's cleaning but it hardly looks new. It is better and for now, that is fine. 

 

 Pin #3 done for 2014. 

New chicken recipe - Pinterest #2 for 2014

I cooked a new to us recipe from Pinterest tonight,  Grilled Chicken Tenders, Without the Grill.

It's a simple recipe- just chicken with 1 cup of Italian dressing and a little honey and lime juice. 
As the first blogger describes, it really looks like a mess when it starts cooking but as it cooks, the liquid cooks off and the flavor goes in the chicken. 
My chicken did not get as dark as the first blogger's photos but we liked it a lot and will cook it again. 

2014 Pinterest #1 done!

Paper towel tubes, cut to different lengths, taped to the freezer.

Braeden says it is fun. 

You can't go wrong with pop poms and little bugs. 

51 more to go........