Winnie the Pooh Crochet Along Playlist

 Just popping this on here really quick for those that contacted me and asked for help.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDY94ekqubPTjCkAA47WhRSCDCWg0vAt8

Last Week's Frugal Happenings

Even though we were on vacation last week, I actually still managed to do some frugal things.  In fact, one of the reasons we try to live frugally is so we can travel.  In no particular order:

1.  I packed easy breakfast items, sandwich supplies, and casseroles (freezer assets) for our meals.  We ate out one meal.

2.  We had free coffees from Starbucks each day as part of a promotion for booking toward the end of the season.  I almost fell out.  They gave us free coffee and pastries totaling up to $112.50 for the week. Ironically the coffee was so strong my husband and I would split a cup in the morning and have the second cup in the afternoon.

3. We rode a large Ferris Wheel as a treat, but we were able to use military ID and get a discount on our tickets.

4.  Our first Misfits Market box came (if anyone is interested in a link let me know) and I cleaned and sorted all the produce so nothing would be wasted.  I used the scraps to make 4 quarts of veggie broth, which I canned.  I saved the carrot skins separately to use in a creamy carrot and potato soup.

5.  Even though we were tired from the road trip home, I pulled us together a quick hot meal that evening.....even after my husband offered to go pick us up something so I wouldn't have to cook.

6.  I washed and hung all the laundry with the exception of the towels.

7.  I used up a lingering overripe banana that came back home with us.  I put it and the last handful of my home dried cherries in some muffins.

It doesn't sound like a ton when I type it up, but given that we weren't at home for most of the week I feel like we did pretty well.

Happy Spring!

PHOTO SOURCE

Happy Spring!

Last Week's Frugalities

Last week was one of those weeks where I mostly stayed home.

In the kitchen:

• I did some light batch cooking for the week.  I cooked two meals of chili and what I thought would be two meals of sloppy joe filling....ended up being one LOL
• I cooked 9 hard boiled eggs to make deviled eggs with. Gotta love the Instant Pot for cooking eggs.  
• We had chicken fajitas one night -- using frozen chicken and using up some lingering veggies.
• I cooked a triple batch of pasta sauce with ground turkey and veggies.  I put two meals worth of the sauce in the freezer.
• Saturday night we didn't want to cook and did pick up a frozen pizza for $10.  There's not really any price shopping at the local market -- you get what they have on hand.  
• We ate leftovers whenever possible for the next day's lunch.

On the chore front there's nothing exciting to report.  I did the usual only run full loads, conserve electricity, etc.

I did pay a few bills -- car tags and a medical bill.  Definitely grateful for medical insurance!

I placed an order from Sam's Club and received most of the items on my list within three days.  All of them were food items.  The bonus was that I could take advantage of free shipping with my membership because I am currently 2 hours away.  A four hour round trip is just impossible right now...so savings of time and gas.  

Struggles

I've been struggling for a while with this blog.  Sigh!  I've been inundated with tons of spam comments and the only solution I have been able to find is to set it up where no anonymous comments are allowed.  With that said, I'm hoping all is fixed, and I will be able to get back to actually sharing on here.  If that doesn't work, my next step is to set up a private -- by subscription and invite only -- but I really don't want to have to do that.

Grocery Haul and Menu Plan for the Last Week of February

I think I finally have all the kinks worked out of getting comments and things.  Fingers crossed!

This is the grocery haul and menu plan for this week.  Not a huge one because we really didn't need much.  There are a few items that weren't necessary for the week, but they are to fill a few gaps in my pantry.

February's Travelers Notebook Insert -- Using up more than just pantry items.