August - finishing the month

hello everyone.
We had a family gathering here Sunday after church.  We had 4 generations of family - my parents, my husband's parents, 3 of our children with their spouses and children.
I did a very simple menu but everyone liked it just fine,
We had grilled hamburgers and smoked sausage dogs.
Side dishes were raw veggies and dip and chips.

Very simple buffet 

4 generations of men

2 year old Charlie wanted to sit with her great grandmother. Charlie had her own plate

 of food but she put it all on RoRo's plate 😍 and they shared. 

Sewing- I didn't sew as much as I hoped but I did finish 3 LoveNotions.com laundry day garments.
I made a white top in shirt length with fabric from my stash.

I sewed a tunic and dress from the same pattern with low cost Walmart fabric. 

I also did a few simple sewing projects that got added to my 100 day sewing challenge. 

My daughter has been doing some organizing projects.  This one will help them have smoother mornings.   She has 3 young children and they each get a hanging organizer and shoe box,  the organizers hold their school outfits for each day of the week.

I happened to be in Walmart one morning when they were doing some crazy clearances.  

All of these socks and boys underwear were clearanced to $1. I got enough for all our grands. 

This store had oodles of these and it was fun listening to other shoppers to call people to find out sizes so they could buy for them.  

When my husband and dressed for church, we both ended up wearing red, white and blue.  We tried taking some selfies these next 2 photos are the best of about 30.

Now, welcome September ❤️

Frugal July part 2 and a challenge

 good morning everyone
From the comments on my last post, it seems a lot of us are watching our budgets so here are a few more of the frugal things from our home

We went to Walmart to get spray paint for our metal patio table set.
We saw pineapples and cantaloupes were marked .97 and since we really enjoy summer fruit, we picked out these.

 But at the register, the cantaloupes scanned for $1.88 each.  We told the cashier and she changed it. 

This Walmart is mostly correct, except the produce department has wrong signage too often,  

So...... I watch prices and watch the register. 

I haven't been in CVS is weeks but I had a few deals I wanted to do,

After coupons and a $2 quarterly CVS ECB,  my total was $1.56 and I paid that with a gift card.

And I got back a $2 ECB.  So I guess this was sort of a .44 money making deal.  

I haven't been to CVS because the deals do take planning and I've done so many deals there in the past,  I am just stocked up on everything at home. 

My parents had some nice candles but they can't burn them st their retirement home. 

So, they gave them to me.  I'm not crazy about burning candles but I do like to scent our home with wax melts in wax warmers. 

Did you know if you put a jar candle in the freezer, that it will slide right out of its container?

I froze this one, un-jarred  it, and then cut it into chunks.  It is highly scented and these wax chunks will work perfectly in my wax warmers.

I read on Patsy's blog  about a 100 day sewing challenge she is doing.  It's perfect for me as I want to sew and have so many supplies on hand.

A Working Pantry
I'll keep track of my progress on my iPad.

My first day of the challenge, I sewed curtains for this front window in the dining room,  the previous  pink toile curtains were nice but they clashed whenever I put seasonal decorations on the dining table.   Pink toile just doesn't work with fall pumpkins or summer Red White and Blues. 

So I put the toile ones on the craft room window and sewed these brown pindot ones with some brown bead trim on the bottom hem. 

End of the year catch up

Hello everyone, I didn’t Blog much in December but that seems to be almost the norm for a lot of bloggers like me.  I’m still here and we’re all fine.  

I am still shopping at CVS.  In fact, one of my plans is to shop for everything a lot more carefully.  

This is what I bought early this Sunday morning, on our way to church....

Before the total was a lot, about $130 ish.  

I had a few coupons, some extracarebucks from previous weeks,  some coupons from the CVS red box and 2 emailed coupons, a $10/60 and 30% off non sale items.  

After all deductions, I paid $32 in cash and got back $32 in Extracarebucks (that was just a coincidence the amounts were the same. ) 

One very easy deal for every CVS card holder is to get the $3.99 toothpaste Coupon from the CVS app and load it to your CVS card.  It makes a tube 100% free. 

Some other careful shopping was how I spent $70 in birthday money.  (My Birthday was a few days before Christmas and I turned 60 😱) 

I shopped sales and used coupons as well as a military discount at Rack Room Shoes.  

The sandals and boots were both originally $69 a pair. 

At Bath and Body Works, the big candles were in sale for $10 and I used a $10/40 Coupon. 

The double wall water bottle is from Walmart and was just $4.94

And I have $5 left

We are having really cold weather right now,  like most of North America, and the boots are really keeping my feet warm and cozy.  

With the New Year,  I have plans to do several home projects, like organizing.  

These are before photos of my laundry room.  I cleaned it all up Wednesday but haven’t had a chance to take after photos yet because.......

......my husband was out of town, 2 grandsons came to stay for a couple days,  we had an impromptu birthday party for my dad and............

We adopted a new puppy.  A friend posts him on Facebook.  He was found in the country and his owners couldn’t be found.  We suspect he was dumped off. 

She told me he was a sweetheart, but her parents couldn’t keep him because they were getting ready to downsize to a motor home.  

So I got him because he looks like a perfect pup for our home.  

He’s been to the Vet.  He weighed 7 pounds, could  be 6 weeks to 9 weeks old,  may be schnauzer or wire hair terrior and some mutt. He had worms and was treated for those and for his first puppy shot like a trooper. 

He’s eating great and doing good with house training.  He was around 5 grandchildren at one time and their noise and noisy toys didn’t bother him a bit.    

 our new puppy Ducky 

So,  I’ll take the laundry room after photos soon and Hopefully lots other before and after was January goes on.  

I’ll update my 100 day sewing challenge too. 

Goodbye for the last time in 2017.  

taco seasoning, some cooking, grands and what's slowed me down

Taco Seasoning  I've been making this for at least 10 years and have blogged about it a number of times but it is good enough to keep talking about it.  And some of you sweet readers asked about it.
This recipe is from AllRecipes.Com and its called Taco Seasoning 1.   The original link is at the beginning in blue.

My spices are quite an assortment, aren't they?  Some are from Aldi, some from Dollar Tree and some from the military commissary.  About most things,  I am not too brand picky.  

I make the taco seasoning just like the recipe except I use a lot less black pepper.

On AllRecipes,  the recipe is just for one batch, like 1 pouch from the store.  You can multiple the recipe on their site to however many servings you like.  Mine is multiplied to 10 I think.  

  

I use about 1 heaping Tablespoon for each pound of meat

This funnel belonged to my husband's granddad and I use it every time I put ingredients in jars.  

I made a double batch (20 pouches worth for our pantry) and I made a batch for our daughter while I had the ingredients out  

It looks like a sand painting before the jar gets shook to mix it all up.  

Several years ago, I put this taco seasoning in little jars and gave it to our local friends as Christmas gifts.  It was very popular.  

There is nothing left growing in my husband's garden except an assortment of pepper plants.  

I didn't take a before picture but he filled up a small bucket with jalapenos, green chilis and bell peppers Monday. 

I sliced the jalapenos (wearing gloves) and put them in a jar with vinegar and sugar cooked together to make candied jalapenos.  I like them on top of a cracker spread with cream cheese. 

My husband roasted the chilis on the grill, then I peeled and seeded them and I put them cups in the freezer for Mexican dishes. 

The bell peppers were sliced, frozen on a cookie sheet and then put in a freezer bag for fajitas.  

It was a lot of work but I'm glad its done and I know will enjoy this batch of peppers all winter.  

We helped with a cookout at our church on Sunday.  I made a couple desserts and this potato salad based on this recipe from Tammys Kitchen Moms Potato Salad
I did use change it a bit and just used 1 T sugar and I topped it with deviled eggs,  like I saw somewhere else online.  We really liked this recipe,  it has mustard, mayo, vinegar and the sugar in the dressing and its tangy but just a little sweet.
Next time, I'll make enough eggs to completely cover the top.

I don't make a to do list every week but I did last week - I put to make an eye checkup appointment for me at the very top.  I even got a quick appointment and have had my checkup and ordered new glasses already.  

I'm still working on the 100 day sewing challenge from Patsy's A Working Pantry 

I'm wearing my first attempt at the Cadence top from LoveNotions.com.
It is made just like a traditional tshirt except it is sized for woven fabric that doesn't stretch as opposed the stretchy knit fabric like other tops.
Mine is a little big but I still like it and plan to sew more with this pattern.

Grandchildren fun
We were gifted a big batch of moon sand and accessories from another family that had outgrown it.
We put it in a water table and keep it on the patio.
It's a lot of fun and all the accessories are fun to have.

See the ground?  That's why the moon sand is staying on the patio....

I'm still shopping at Dollar General with their digital coupons.  Last week,  the summer things were on clearance half off and buy 1 get 2 free.  These giant bubble kits were originally $6 but the sale marked 3 sets down to just $3 total.
They work amazingly well too!

One night the 3 oldest grandsons had a boys night sleepover here.  

They all still prefer to sleep on our  living room floor. 

The 3rd boy is not too visible in the photo but he's on the right under the black/red blanket.  

I have drank lots of diet soda most all my adult life but I frankly just got tired of lugging the stuff home from the store.
So, the last time I ran out,  I didn't buy more.
Its been 10 days and to say I've felt sluggish with diet soda is an understatement.  Apparently,  all that caffeine is what has mainly fueled me.
But as of today,  my 10th day diet soda free, I think I've finally turned a corner and felt more like myself.

I do drink hot tea in the morning and unsweet iced tea at some meals but my homemade tea must have a lot less caffeine that sodas.  I also put Crystal Light lemonade and fruit punch in some drink dispensers and I've enjoyed that when I wanted something sweet.  My husband likes it too.
I'm drinking lots of plain ice water too.
So,  I'm not perfect in my drink choices and but better than I was.

Now that I'm not feeling so sluggish,  I hope to get back to getting things done!

Frugal July (sort of) part 5

Hello everyone,
we've had a very pleasant but busy summer so far.  I'm guessing most of you are just as busy.


A frugal activity with the grands that was a big hit was making "moon dough"

It's very simple. Just stir together any kind of hair conditioner and corn starch until it is a dough consistency.   It's just a little trial and error to get it right,  for us when the dough was too wet,  I sprinkled cornstarch on the table and kneaded the dough in it and that got it just right.
The moon dough molds  very easy and is great for cookie cutters.
I like that it is a soft feeling dough and didn't dry out my hands like traditional salt based Play Dough does.
If you have a mess after,  the crumbs wipe right up.  They don't adhere to the table or floor at all.

Our moon dough is white because I couldn't find any food coloring in my pantry.  The grands were shocked as they think I have everything.  One of them later told Grandpa to please take Grandma to a store that sells food coloring.
And yes,  I have since bought a box of food coloring.


I only did one deal at CVS a couple weeks ago

3 boxes of trash bags,  1 toothpaste and 8 bags of snacks - after coupons was $14.65
I paid with a gift certificate earned from Swagbucks and got back $5 ExtraCareBucks.

I have been pretty faithful about working on the 100 Day Sewing Challenge from
aworkingpantry.blogspot.com
Below is list of the what I worked on each day I sewed.

One completed project was this floor length summer dress for the oldest granddaughter.  

I used a pattern from my stash and just lengthened the skirt.  The fabric is a batik with seashells on it and was in a tub of fabric my dad bought at a yard sale a few years ago.  

I also made this top for me to wear to an upcoming Luau birthday party for our 2 youngest grands. They turned 1 and 2 in July.  This is called a Rhapsody top and the pattern is from LoveNotions.com

The fabric was from my stash and something someone gave me a while back.  

This a shopping deal from our recent military commissary trip.  

The commissaries have a reward card that is just coupons.  You can only use each coupon once but its easy as there are no paper coupons to deal with.  The Tide had a $5 coupon ($7.99 minus $5)
The Downy was $4.34 minus a $2 coupon.
Then I got back $2 for them from a reward app called SavingsStar.
I know most of my readers are not military but many stores are offering these electronic coupons now.  I told you about using them at Dollar General and CVS has them now too.
If your stores in your area offer E-Coupons,  it may be worth your time to check them out.

My son got this really nice treadmill for me a few months ago and I've been trying to walk at least an hour every morning.

This room is supposed to be a bedroom but we keep all the grands clothes and toys in here,  with some stockpile items and the treadmill.  One of the perks of being empty-nesters is being able to use spaces in the home however it suits us.



There is nothing frugal about the next topic - Lice
Lice showed up on some of the grands but its
a mystery as to where they originated as none of the grands are in school right now.
It was all new to us and after a couple of missteps, with products that don't work,  we found a solution.   Using a really good nit comb is key.  All the live bugs and eggs have to be removed.
If you've never dealt with lice,  they are no fun.  But if you have children in your life,  you might want to do some research *just in case* you ever have to fight lice.
This Fairy Tales brand kit comes with a really good lice comb as well as some removers.  It can be bought at Ulta and Amazon.  This kit is a back up that I'm keeping on hand, just in case its ever needed again.  Fairy Tales worked for us and it has excellent reviews on both Ulta and Amazon.
There are other products and methods that fight lice,  this is just what worked for us.

Some surprising lice facts are they don't jump or fly,  they just crawl from victim to victim.
Surfaces do need to be cleaned but lice don't live on surfaces very long.
I learned from a second cousin whose children also had lice that there are professional companies  that do lice removal.  She said the company did lots of nit combing and the children slept with olive oil saturated hair that was wrapped up for several nights.

I hope none of you ever have to deal with lice - eww- but it's good to know facts and what you're fighting if you ever do need to  

DIY children fun, batch cooking and etc:

Hello everyone,
school is back in session for all our grands that go to school and our grown children that work in education.   We are settling into a new schedule and so far,  everything is going pretty smooth.

I am still helping with childcare for some of the grands but I don't have a single grand that is here for any full weekdays,  this is a big change for me as I've been caring for different combinations of grands for the last 8 years while their parents worked.
Whatever will I do with all my free time?
So far,  I haven't seen that much extra free time but I am sure I will stay busy no matter who is here.

Here a few things our grands had end of summer fun with.

This was homemade chalk paint.  Each muffin cup held 2 T of cornstarch, 2 T water and 5 drops of food coloring.
Stir it up well and then paint.  Please look on Pinterest if you want more instructions but that is truly all we did

The grands had a great time stirring it and painting with it.  

It didn't really show up so well on the driveway but it was still lots of fun.  

It also completely washed away  when it rained.


All the grands like to pour and this 2 year old is having a great time with just water and a plastic tea set on a tray covered with a kitchen towel.
The towel controlled most of the spills and it was just water so it wasn't much a mess.

When the bigger grands wanted to have a tea party,  I got out a tea set my mom found at a yardsale years ago.  It is pottery and looks a lot like Fiesta ware.

My parents were here for this tea party.  They had some lemonade for pouring and some Ninja Turtle cookies the grands baked with a mix from Dollar Tree.
They all had a very sweet time and I know the tea sets will be used often when grands are here.

Children love to cook and help in the kitchen.  This 5 year old was helping me roll out noodles.
It costs nothing to have them help and they enjoy it so much.

Today I did some big batch cooking.  

I made a recipe of Energy Balls.  It is based loosely on a YouTube video by Keep Calm and Clean

I make them a little differently.  I mix up the peanut butter, honey and vanilla and then I add the quick oats and either mini chocolate chips or mini M&Ms.  Once mixed,  I use a little scoop and make balls,  chill until ready to eat.  In the video,  she also adds brown sugar but I think these are plenty sweet like this.
These are a favorite of the grands and they are quite filling and hunger satisfying.

If you look for other Energy balls or protein balls recipes,  most have a lot more ingredients.   We really like this simple recipe just fine.

I made a triple recipe of  Freezer Biscuits I've made this recipe many times and they are always good.  They are freezing and will get bagged up with frozen solid.

I also baked a triple recipe of banana bread/muffins and a double batch of chocolate chip muffins.



When everything was cool,  I put it in plastic containers for the freezer and in sandwich bags for school lunches.  We are having company this weekend and will probably serve some of the banana bread and chocolate chip muffins.
I also packaged up some to take to my parents at their retirement home.

I want to mix up a new recipe for a Cajun seasoning but I was out of onion powder.  I did have a couple quarts of the dried onion flakes.  I tried grinding them up a  little coffee grinder,,,,,

and it worked just fine!  I will be using this homemade onion powder for the Cajun seasoning as well as when I make more Taco Seasoning and Rub for smoked meat.
It always a win when you can use what you have instead of adding things to a shopping list, right?

Keeping it real though....
All that baking and cooking used lots of dishes.  The dishwasher was full and running as well as all the dishes I hand washed and have air drying.  (hmmm,  I'm not sure that is a complete and proper  sentence but you get the picture)

I'm still doing bargain shopping in small amounts  This was last week at Dollar General.  

I used just digital coupons on the Dollar General app and website.  

After deducting all the coupons as well as a $5 off $30 coupon for buying Gain products,  I spent $12.71
Before coupons, it was about $35.

I'm still walking everyday and keeping track of my steps with a Fitbit.
They sent me this badge last week.

Way back in 2009,  we canceled out satellite TV.  We've lived just fine without pay tv all these years and got most of my shows through a rooftop antenna.
But the weather has really been blowing that antenna around, and to adjust it,  someone had to go up on the roof.  My husband has no business being a roof anymore and our sons are helpful but all have busy lives.
So I pretty much insisted we get cable tv.   It is through the same company we have had our internet and landline phone with so the TV gets bundled in and the price was not bad at all.
Also,  there is no contract and we can cancel anytime if needed.

My husband really likes TV but I don't watch it much.  I did finally watch my first episode ever of "Fixer Upper"  It was OK but I haven't watched any more.  I thought I might of been really missing something and the show is nice but it turns out  I wasn't really missing anything.

I have only sewed for 3 days since I last posted about the 100 Day sewing challenge

I did finish a new top and have 2 more garments for me cut out.  Hopefully I will show those to you all soon.  

 That's the homemaking that's been going on here- thank you for visiting.