September Frugals

The install on our new furnace was completed Friday morning. Yeah! It runs so much more quietly than the old one. And the heat did seem more even which will be nice during those cold winter days. However, they still need to come back and do the vent cleaning. AND Saturday morning we realized that the pipe that they moved the water heater from (it had to be moved & properly vented) is dripping like crazy. So I'm waiting for them to come fix that.

Also on Friday I drove down to pick up Ian in AA. Used up some salsa for dinner by making Mexican chicken. And then I worked at the concession stand for the football game which gives us another $15 off the cost of Tyler's Disney trip. The band is performing at Disney on spring break.

Saturday had an early morning XC meet. I took one box of the fruit snacks and made some no bake cookies as my contribution to the team. We had sandwiches & brought some water from home for lunch. It was a beautiful day!

Took the boys to Kohls to get them their winter coats. The coats were on sale & I had a 30% off coupon. Ended up getting Ian a cute faux leather jacket with a sweatshirt hoodie. And Ian got 1 new shirt and Tyler got 2. Tyler couldn't find a coat he liked. So we spent $97 and saved $183. Plus I got $20 in Kohls cash to use later this week.

DH was taking a nap so Ian started the grill & grilled some hot dogs for dinner. It was his first time grilling. After dark he made a fire in the fire pit and grilled marshmallows and sat around talking for quite a while.

Sunday we had a picnic lunch in the back yard. Pulled pork sandwhiches - yummy! So we had some nice FFF moments. Forgot another FFF - Ian wanted funnel cakes so he made us each one.

Visited DMIL. Had white pizza for dinner. So good besides being easy & inexpensive! Then took Ian back to school.

So today I am waiting for the furnace man. Doing dishes & laundry. Think I'll use up some leftover rice in crockpot caramelized rice pudding. I know DH likes that. Not sure what's for dinner yet, though.

On the down side DH's father is getting out of control. They had to call in a social worker for an emergency visit. And they may be taking him to the hospital for a psych eval & to get his meds changed up. I may be going to sit with MIL for a while today.

Went to the NYC Honey Festival this weekend. Bought $20 in raffle tickets (it was for a good cause!) and won $75 in gift certificates! Brought home 3 loaves of fresh bread from the bakery that we didn't end up using at the honey festival. It was supposed to be for the honey tasting contest, but we ended up using dipping sticks instead, so we got to keep the bread! Used a loaf to make up what we affectionately call "ghetto" pizzas (slices of bread covered in pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese and put under the broiler for a few minutes). The pizza sauce was homemade from the last of the tomatoes from our garden plus some peppers. I added in some garlic and some rosemary that I found in the refrigerator. Overall, a tasty and relatively cheap meal.

Spending today catching up on some housework and relaxing. Had a meeting this morning about an etiquette dinner that I am giving for the local university. They are paying me a sizable amount to teach students proper dining etiquette for formal situations. Should be a lot of fun!!!

Need to figure out what to do with the grocery bag of apples that I have. Likely they will be made into applesauce or fruit leather. Just haven't decided which one, but should probably get that project done today as the rest of the week is going to be busy!

Thanks Siouxz! I like their imaginations too. I think a good imagination is one of the best frugal resources one can have.

Dh's birthday - dd and I took a free introduction to leathercrafting workshop and made a bookmark and money clip. I found him several excellent books at a library book sale (.50 each) and made him a card with my new skills in Calligraphy.

Made a feast of roast vegetables (sweet potatoes, various other potatoes, carrots cooked in honey and apple cider vinegar) and tofu burgers. Very tasty and affordable!

We saw friends the other night and bought through them a 50 pound bag of yukon gold potatoes and about 35 pounds of winter squash for just $24. They have a friend who goes out to the agricultural area in the state and buys directly from the farmers. We were telling them that the wild grapes were ripe and we picked some for jam making. Our friend brought us out to her back yard and she had tons of wild grapes and told us to take as much as we want! This couple now has a kid in college and are now feeling a financial pinch that they never had before. I was proud when they told us how much they admire us for our frugality and willingness to grow and preserve our own food. We will bring a loaf of DH's fabulous artisanal bread to them and their friend as a thank you.
Other frugals made baked beans and pressure canned them for our pantry. Planted a cool weather crop of swiss chard and hope it will be big enough to eat before the frost kills it. Pulled up all the green beans and beets.

Frugal plans for today - finish defrosting the chest freezer. Walk to the library to return a book. Wash sheets & hang outside to dry. Start working on the menu plan & shopping list for next week so I'll be ready to go on payday Friday.

And the biggie- which is all about state of mind, is to stop focusing on what I'm running out of and figure out what to do with what I have until payday. I'm worrying because I only have 1 trash bag left until Friday and I need to put it in the trash can today. And the milk will probably run out. And the laundry soap. And we're out of eggs. Nothing that's really a big deal but it stresses me because I hate to say to DH that we're out of things. I think it makes him feel poor. Last night we spent money we should not have due to the stress of the family situation. Again nothing big but I need to put a stop to it. A large can of veg. beef soup & a brownie mix on my part. And ice cream & chocolate syrup on DH's part. I just hope he doesn't ask me for gas money! :0!

I have some sirloin defrosting for dinner but I'm not sure how I'm going to cook it. Need to make sure I have a good mix of quality protein & carbs so Tyler will be ready to run for tomorrows meet.

Sooo, I may not be running out of laundry soap before Friday. I can't get the basement door open to get to the washer. lol

The furnace guy came yesterday and put a clamp on the leak and said it will seal itself in time. But if it doesn't in the next few days call them back. I think it is actually leaking faster now. But I can't get into the basement to empty the water bucket! I hope it seals up before my water bill goes through the roof. Those old pipes are a real pain in the behind.

DH called me yesterday to come and sit w/MIL. When I got to the house there were 2 ambulances out front. But they paramedics said they couldn't take FIL in because they could find no organic problems with his health and he was answering questions appropriately. The cops came and said the same thing. So even though he had threatened his daughter with his cane and was being a total bully and inappropriate he is still at home. But we packed up MIL and moved her to SIL's. Haven't yet heard if anyone has checked on FIL this morning. By the time I got home I was starving so I bought the soup and made grilled ham & cheese & soup for dinner. And brownies. We NEEDED brownies. DH got home and said we really do NEED brownies. But they are missing ice cream. So he went to the store for ice cream and chocolate syrup. I'm sure I slept better because of it LOL

Sorry for the novel, but I do feel better now lol

OK, guess I'm adding cleaning the pantry to my frugal to do list. Looking for WD 40 for the door hinges and discovered a few things that I'd forgotten we had. oops Guess this job is waay over due

I am using the leftover roast chicken from last night to make chicken wild rice casserole for dinner. I'll use the carcass for stock.

I am in such a good mood today! My friend who helps me clean helped me finally get my laundry room, craft room, bedroom and dressing room cleaned up and organized! Now I can easily sort through the clothes and change things out for winter.

We've also discussed starting a monthly craft group with some other women we know. We'd have potluck appetizers and wine or tea and work on our craft stuff while we talk. I think it would be fun and it would definitely be frugal.

The kids got the rest of their older friends' Lincoln Logs. Wow! There are so many Lincoln Logs! They have already had hours of fun with them.

Paid off another bill this month!! Got some coupons in the mail because it was my birthday month - one was for a free watch battery replacement, which I needed, so that saved me approx. $8.00. Another coupon was for a buy 1, get 1 free pizza buffet, so one night last week, DH and DS used that. It's the little things in life! LOL.

Decided to not drink so much soda. I'm not going to purchase any liter bottles or cans to bring home anymore. I never did buy cans, and the liters always were purchased at less than $1 each, but it'll be healthier and I'm all about the little things these days.