Use what you have

Hello everyone

We shopped at the commissary last Saturday and I haven't been to any grocery store since then.  While our pantry and freezer are still pretty full, I knew we had used all the bananas, grapes, melon, leaf and romaine lettuce.  Grand children will be here today and maybe more family for supper so I wondered if I should go shopping. 

I looked to see what was in the fridge.  I found about half a pound of strawberries that were still fresh so I washed and quartered them.  

Then I found 5 nice oranges so I peeled and separated them. That will be plenty of fruit for today. 

There was only a quarter head of iceberg lettuce and I knew that would not make a family sized salad but when I added half a bell pepper, 4 shredded carrots, some purple cabbage, red onions and tomatoes, it turned out to be a very nice sized and delicious looking salad.  

So,  I don't have to go the store today!  

I also mixed up pizza dough in the bread machine.  It will hang out in the fridge all day until I make pizzas for supper.  

I'm sure I will shop for produce tomorrow to get through next week but I feel so thrifty using what we already had for today's meals. 

I've been looking through this recipe book.  One of the authors is Mary Berry.  We have become a big fan of hers by watching The Great British Bake Off on PlayOn on Roku.  I think it is in the 6th season now.  Some of the episodes are also on YouTube.  Australia and Scotland also have versions of the Bake Off and they are good too - much better than the American version that aired here in the summer of 2014.  

The British version focuses on the baking skills and the history of different baking traditions.  It is also a family friendly show.  But it will make you want to go in the kitchen and whip up some scones or croissants. 

Yesterday,  baby Jackson was my laundry folding helper.  He was happy while I was moving all the laundry around as I folded it but by the time I decided to take a photo, he was tired of it all.  

How yesterday went

These 3 little cousins spent all day with me.  Two are 3 years old and one is 2 years.  

After they got here,  we went for a long walk in our neighborhood and they climbed on some rock piles.  Exercise and fresh air are good for children,  I think it helps them sleep better, eat better and just be healthier.  

After that walk, they played on riding toys in our driveway.  

We came inside after 2 hours of outdoor fun.  We washed up and then it was time for play dough.  

Then we had lunch and watched one episode of Daniel Tiger.  

Nap time!  They all slept at the same time but only for 90 minutes or so.  

They moved on to doing some art.  Little ones love stickers and I have a good supply of them, much of them are from my Mom's downsizing.  

Snack time - apple slices, string cheese and juice drinks.  

A couple of selfies from our walk - the grands picked these beautiful flowers for me.  Shhh- don't tell them they really just picked some Oklahoma weeds.  

It was a fun day, and I slept quite well last night.  I expect the 3 little cousins did too.  

grands coming today!

3 preschooler cousins will be here today.  I think the weather will be pleasant enough for lots of outdoor play.  

Indoors- I set out 3 babies, all with their own blanket and bottle.  Toddlers are not fond of sharing but we are working on it.  

Stickers, big crayons and poster board for art time 

An assortment of spill proof cups so they can each choose - and a dry erase marker so Grandma can remember who's is who's.  

The planes, motorcycles and construction vehicles are ready for play!  They will be flown and driven all over the house by the little boys.  

Yesterday. I did some food prep- cooking 4 pounds of ground beef into taco meat filling.  Some will be for supper tonight and 2 meal size containers went into the freezer for future meals.  

And I got some fresh fruit ready for either lunch or supper today.  

It will be a fun and busy day.  It will be easier with some preparations done ahead.  

This week's to do list

Hello everyone!  I didn't mean to stay gone so long.  July and August have  just been busy.  I spent lots of time with my 7 grands.  The 2 new babies are so precious and the 2 oldest are now both in public school full time when the new school year started last week and the 3 in the middle are wonderful and keep us all on our toes.  

July was also doctor appointment month as I saw my doctor, eye doctor and dentist.  I needed a filling, my first in many years, and I needed new glasses.  I am glad all my appointments had good results but they sure use a lot of time.  

The other big event is my parents just moved to our town into a brand new and beautiful retirement home.  They grew up in Oklahoma but have lived in East Texas for more than 50 years.  So they are happy to return to Oklahoma and especially happy to be so close now to their grands and great grands.  They are still unpacking and decorating but I hope to post some pictures when their apartment is photo-ready.  

This is my first pretty to do list after a 3 week break.  

The purple polka dot fabric tape is from Dollar Tree.  The designs are made with rubber stamps. 

I did a little CVS shopping over my blog break but not much.  Frankly, we are stocked up on most all drugstore products.  But I may go this week for a few things and I will sure blog about them if I do.  

Have a good week everyone!  I not only didn't blog for the last 3 weeks,  I have not read many blogs either,  now I hope to catch up with you all.  

Last week of July's to do list and CVS - a good week for beginners

Hello everyone - here is this week's list.  It's all black and white

Designs are made with rubber stamps,

The utensil washi tape is from my daughter, she got it in a PickYourPlum surprise box years ago and the floral fabric tape is from Dollar Tree.  

CVS - all of these things were bought with coupons from the July 26th newspaper and with coupons from the CVS red box where you scan your card before shopping.  Anyone with yesterday's coupons and a CVS card can do this same deal.

The Suave shampoo and conditioner is on sale for $3.99 for the 1st one purchased and $1.99 for the 2nd.  Sunday's paper had a buy 1 get 1 free coupon that automatically subtracts $6.99.  Also when you purchase $12 of Suave, you get a $4 ECB.  

The Irish Spring 3 packs of bar soap and Gear deodorant are all $4.  The Sunday coupons were for $2 off the soap and B1G1F on the deodorant.  When you purchase $20, you get a $10 ECB.

After coupons, I owed about $14 and I paid it with some prepaid Visa rewards cards I get for doing weather surveys for a University research project.   I think the price before coupons and sales was $49

Several of you have commented you would like to start doing CVS deals.  This is a great week to start! 

As always, if you want more CVS info, look at IHeartCVS.com or look on Facebook for CVS groups. 

Grand #7, this week's to do list, and CVS

First, I am so happy to introduce this little cutie, Charlie Katherine. She is the youngest of all our grands and by far the biggest at birth, almost 9 pounds!  She also has the thickest head of baby hair I've ever seen.

She is just a few days old and so far, she mostly sleeps and wiggles.  

We are all in love with her and so thankful for her uneventful birth.

  Her sister was a preemie and was air flighted just a few hours after her birth to a big children's hospital.  Big Sis is fine but we all feared that same possibility for Charlie.   So we sighed a big sigh of relief and prayed a prayer of thanksgiving after she arrived.  

Here's my to do list for the week

The fabric tape is from Dollar Tree, designs are from rubber stamps and colored pencils.

CVS

Last week's sale - the Physicians Formula products were all giving big Extra Care bucks.  $7ECB for every $10 purchased.  I got these 3 and used some ECBs and a CVS coupon and spent just over $20 and got back a $21 ECB

Then this current week's sale, I used that $21 ECB and newspaper coupons to get 2 big packs of Charmin tissue and a bottle of a new product called Jergens wet skin moisturizer. 

 I spent $1.97 and got back $6.  

I read on IHeartCVS.com that the Physicians Formula will repeat next week as buy $12 get $8 ECB back. 

Hope you all have a good week!  We're planning another visit to Charlie and hope to see all our other grands this week as well. 

This week's list ....... A day late

I made this list Sunday night and worked on it quite a bit yesterday, but I am just now getting around to blogging about it.

I felt like yesterday was very productive - including an eye check up for me, laundering a huge amount of laundry for us 2 people and sewing 4 new pillows for the living room.  

This week's list is decorated with polka dot fabric tape from Dollar Tree and I found the stickers in a drawer that I cleaned out last week and decided to just use them.  Use what you have when possible! 

Hope you all are having a good week so far.  

It is HOT here, I plan to stay indoors as much as possible and drink lots of ice water and iced tea.  

Shopping and sewing

It's been a much quieter week here.  I've did a little shopping today and some sewing earlier,  

I bought a few produce items (red grapes, strawberries, carrots  celery and bell peppers) at Aldi.  I always wash produce and let it air dry- then I store in Tupperware or zipper bags.  I think it lasts longer and is crispier than if just kept in the crisper drawer.  

Yep, I stopped at CVS.  I got all this for $7.78.  When I was home and was organizing my receipts,  I found a $2/$6 Listerine coupon that I neglected to give the cashier.  Oh well!  I still spent less than $8 and got back $11 ECBs.  

At Dollar Tree, I only bought 5 bags of my very favorite dishwasher soap pods. There are 10 in a bag for $1, much cheaper than any other brand of dishwasher soap pods and I think they work better than any brand too.  

My favorite thrift store, and the only one I ever seem to shop at anymore, was having a $10 a bag women's clothing sale.  I filled up my bag and I think I got several things I will wear often, including 2 tops and 2 long skirts that will be cute outfits.  I also ended up with a few odd things that I wondered why I thought I would want them.  They may just go back in my next donation :) 

Sewing - I sewed up matching curtains for these 3 windows and our 2 living room windows several years ago.  They are still in good shape but I was tired of them and wanted something lighter.  

So I looked in my fabric tubs and re used this pink toile to sew some valances.  

Years ago, when this was actually a breakfast room, this pink toile was in some lined curtains that covered the windows.  But when I laundered them, the lining shrunk like crazy, and the curtains wouldn't fit those windows anymore.  I cut them apart then and I am glad I saved that pretty fabric.  

For the living room, I used some muslin curtains I had sewed up several years ago for my son's old apartment.  I added white ball fringe and the burlap pennant tie backs are from Baby Jack's shower decorations.  

These photos are really bad and I will attempt to retake them when the light is different.  

I am really happy with the new looks and glad I spent no money or time shopping to get them. 

I've got some pillows cut out and hope to sew them this weekend.  

I got lots done this week but the most fun day was the day these 5 sweeties were here- 

We may need to look for a bigger chair :) 

Monday list, CVS and catching up

Good morning everyone,  I'm back after a busy and fun week.  My parents stayed with us for a week and everyday they were here, my siblings or my children or my grandchildren were all here too in different combinations.  I think we all enjoyed visiting and seeing the sweet little ones.

Needless to say, I did not do all my regular cleaning last week so today I'm doing a lot of catch up.  We did part of it yesterday and I've already got quite a bit done this morning so it won't be too hard to have a clean, orderly home again.

I took this photo last night and have already checked off several.  

No Spend July is not No spending at all but spending as little as necessary. After paying our yearly home insurance, bi-yearly vehicle insurance, baby gifts, upgrading our child car seats and many Spring birthdays,  our bank accounts could use a boost.  So husband and I both agreed that July will be very limited spending.

CVS this week - I used lots of ExtraCare bucks from previous weeks and rewards so my out of pocket cost was very low.

The Charmin was $9.99 with a $10 ExtraCare reward for buying $30.  I had .75 coupons on each pack too.  Their are quite a few other Proctor & Gamble products on this deal.  

Propel water was $1.25 with a $1.25 ECB reward

The 2 Gatorades were $2.00 with a $2.00 ECB reward.

After coupons and $30 ECBs,  my OOP was .97 and I got back $13.25

A few scenes from this week

No, they are not all on their cell phones.  The adults are working on the Transformer toys that I got at a yard sale a few weeks ago.  If you look close in the lower left corner, Gavin has about 5 of transformers  that are back in their original state.  

My daughter had a deal she wanted to do on a Thrity One Gifts diaper bag.  She needed another purchase to get a lower price so I ordered this very large tote- it's big enough to hold 2 2 year olds! 

All 6 grands!  And Grand baby #7 will be here any day.  

Some delicious and much appreciated home grown vegetables from my brother.

JJ helping my mom and dad make a Rhubarb pie.  He had so much fun helping put the ingredients in the pie shell and my parents really enjoyed the rare treat of Rhubarb pie.

This week looks be a bit slower than last week.  For now,  I'm off to get housework done.  

93 cent CVS haul

Just a small CVS haul this week.  

The Revlon nail polishes are on sale for $3.99 and $5.99 this week.  Sunday's paper had $3 Revlon coupons. I also had a CVS $4 off $15 on Revlon coupon. 

The Schick razors are on sale for $5.99 and there were $4 coupons also in this Sunday's paper.  

I also used 2 $5 ECBs from previous week's to bring my out of pocket (OOP)  total to just 93 cents.  I didn't earn any ECBs on this purchase but most of it tracks on CVS beauty club and that earns a $5 ECB for every $50 (before coupons) purchased.  

Today is the day CVS credits their quarterly rewards.  It is 2% of all quarterly purchases and you can get yours by signing in to your CVS app or by scanning your CVS card at the store,  my rewards were $7. 

Another Monday list

Good morning everyone.  Sorry for no posts last week but I helped my daughter 3 days and took a little relaxing time on days our home was empty.  I also spent a good deal of time organizing and listing the freezer contents, making a shopping list and doing a huge shopping trip to our favorite commissary.  

This week, we have company all week so my standard to do list is much shorter. I will just keep up with house cleaning as it needs done and I have time to do it. 

To answer a few comments from last week

Lilac Dreams Tracey - I stopped doing Swagbucks a couple months back, I may start back in the future but not now.  

Vickie - I kind of have a love-hate relationship with THM desserts.  My favorite is the no bake chocolate version cookies that I think originated with Sheri Graham.  I made a double batch of them, using half oats and half coconut.  I keep them in the fridge and they always taste good to me.  

I did get some the new THM baking blend and I made a half recipe of a shortbread cookie but I didn't like them one bit.  In fact, I threw them away.  

I want to try the cowboy cookies in Mrs. Criddles site and hope to do them tomorrow. http://mrscriddleskitchen.com/cowboy-cookies/

 I'll let you know!

Have a good week everyone!  

Monday list

Good morning everyone.  

This week's list seems shorter and I am probably forgetting something but I'll do what I can and then add things if needed.  

Instead of rubber stamps, I used some fabric tape from Dollar Tree and stickers to decorate this week's very simple list.   The fabric tape is cute and cheerful, but it seems to have a mind of its own which is evident in my wonky stripes.  I like it but will be looking for small short projects to use it.  

My Dollar Tree had 6 different designs and it was on pegs with the stickers and labels.  

I'm off to get stuff done! 

Feeding the grands

4 of the grands are here for the day.  I made oatmeal pancakes and oven baked bacon for breakfast.  

There were leftovers and they went in the freezer for future breakfasts.

Last night, I boiled eggs and sliced cheese and made the fruit tray. This was today's lunch with milk and crackers.  After we ate, all the eggs and fruit were gone. 

 It was much easier planning this ahead and doing the prep last night.  

Now it's nap time and almost miraculously, all 4 are asleep! 

What are we having for supper? At the moment I have no clue.........

Supper is cooking

It's almost noon and I just started supper.  

I put a whole chicken in our bigger crockpot- spray it first with something nonstick, season the bird however you like and I like to cook birds breastside down. 

In the other crockpot I put foil wrapped sweet and white potatoes.  They don't have to be wrapped but sweet potatoes tend to drip and caramelize when they cook and I am hoping to avoid that mess.  

Both the chicken and potatoes should be done after about 5 hours on high.  

I made a big salad last night and we will have it too.  

I cooked a chicken just like this last week and planned to make chicken salad with the leftovers.  Four of the young grands were here for that meal and they liked that chicken so much, there was none left!  

A whole chicken makes an easy, low cost and healthy crowd pleasing meal around here. 

Do you have any other meals that work for a group?