Frugal In Florida

Sometimes you post things and later on realize, OMG I should NOT have done that! Yes. This is one of them! Sorry.

So I have a birthday in one week. 4. 5. Ok, that's not so bad, but holy cow, that's only like FIVE years away from my aimed retirement age. And can I tell you? It IS NOT happening at this rate. So. I turn 4. 5. Then I have an AUDIT 2 days later at work. Not a big deal BUT a little freaky in the sense that I do not know exactly what they are looking for, what they want to see & don't want to see. In years past, I've had nothing to do with them. This year, it's all me (and well, the accounting girl if she can get here on time that day). THEN TWO days later, (and the weekend), I have JURY DUTY. I have not been called on for jury duty since the kids were so little that I had to ask to be excused since I was their primary care giver & had no one else to watch them (we didn't, and still don't have family close nearby) ... at the time, I was a stay at home mom (oh joy!), hubby worked hard to provide for us, all my friends worked full time jobs, and I d...

This evening, I want to have 2 other couples over for dinner. The one may or may not bring their 2 kids (one is sonny boy age, the girl is in elementary school). Regardless, I am making brats and sauerkraut in the oven with a cool southwestern layered salad. I'm baking sugar cookies that will be frosted once cool. This is kind of a big deal for me, in a way. See, these 2 couples do not drink. One is health orientated and just don't. The other couple has a spouse who has been in & out of rehab for alcohol. I suggested that we have these 2 couples over for a 'non drinking' dinner to hubby. Not quite sure how he feels about that but he hasn't said a whole lot about it. He is the one that was just telling me the other day that we need to make new friends & reconnect with old ones. There have been a few things that have happened in the not so far past that may or may not have contributed to our lack of staying in touch with old friends. Of course, everyone...

Well, I decided (again) that it was time to try and get in a routine. Really. Again. Yeah, yeah. I konw. It's really really hard to get back in the routine. But it also ticks me off that 6 months of hard work & results disappears within 2 months. Monday – did the Pyro P90X dvd. Only did ½ hour. Could NOT keep up with it. Geesh. This is what happens after 2 months?? But I really like this dvd and the moves. Tuesday morning, did the AbRipper P90X (at 7:15am). It’s only 15 minutes or so but good lord! Can not do the v extension thingy, still. Tuesday (later) morning, my legs are little tender. From the Pyro thing. I know I said that the last time too. So that should be motivational enough to keep me going. Tuesday night – grabbed the dvd for arms & shoulders. This is probably one of my favorites that I can do & keep up with. Not sure what tonight (Wednesday) will be but something. Need to pull out my booklet & peek at the next dvd I am suppose to follow. Just a...

Been a little while since I've posted. Not that long, but longer than I like. Life gets in the way sometimes. I've been having 'issues' with princess. Issues that I just don't feel I'm equipped to deal with. Issues that make ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE to me. Drama. Grrr. Long story short. Thursday to Sunday, never came home. Kept saying she would be later. Never did. Finally said coming home. Said she was staying elsewhere for a 'while'. At that point, I was fed up, angry, miffed, pissed off and so on (get the point?). Stayed calm. Sat on her bed while she packed her 3 duffle bags. Made her give me car keys. Made her give me house key. That didn't get the look of love, that's for sure. She was going to g/f. Then turned out that she can't stay there and is staying with another friend, who, ironically, is a boy, former very very brief boyfriend, fellow National Guard soldier who she goes to her monthly drills with (they drive up together). Hmm...

Uhh. Hmmm. Maybe it's because I haven't done an ab routine since the gym closed? Well, not a real one anyways. I kept up with this thing BEST I could yesterday morning, which honestly, says a lot as it's a kick ass 15 minutes. Today, dead center, between the last ribs, oh boy. They are tight. Hurts when I cough. Hurts when I laugh. Aches. Good news! Right? Hope so. And as a side note, the arms are better today, but think I really need to do a cardio or leg workout this evening!

Ok, so really, these numbering of the days is sort of like telling a fib. Did not work out Tuesday night. BUT did wake up this morning at 5:30 and had the damn Ab Ripper in the dvd player by 6:15am. Nothing like starting your day off with 15 minutes of a grueling, cruel ab workout. Gag. My arms, triceps particulary, are feeling a little vulnerable today. Hmm. That, I take as a good sign. My abs, at this very moment are wimpering. Hopefully the will feel a little more tomorrow. Seems whenever I've done the ab workout, I'm able to keep up for the most part but don't feel a whole lot (or SEE a whole lot). I think tonight, no, I KNOW tonight I will workout when I get home. Workout. 6pm. Living Room. Kick out ALL the kids. Send them off to the other side of the house. Nothing like a bunch of teens walking by, giving you a freaky smile and shaking their head. Is it the color of my face? The frizzy hair? The gasping of air? The sweat? The mumbling under my breath that this is f...

Well, really, I should have started from day 1 but there was NO desire to do chin ups, pulls up and pushups for an hour on a Monday evening. So I went to what would have been my next set had I been sticking to it, Shoulders and Arms. Woohoo. I used 5 lb dumbbells. Probably should see if I can’t find 6 lb ones. I think 8 may be too much. Don’t get me wrong, the 5 were getting a little heavy at the end, but not feeling a burn like I kind of felt I should. This really could become my favorite session. AND I think hubby would like it too. I felt good afterwards. Fatigued. I hate the last thing that we did (can’t remember the name but where you lay on your side and push up with your arm, works them tri muscles real good). This morning, I feel a little tired still, but not sore. We shall see tomorrow on the 48 hour mark. I can tell I worked the muscles differently than we did in boxing class. Pretty neat. OH – my neighbor, Mr. B., he does a kickbox class 4 times a week. Hardcore (he’...

And $9 later. I went to get Easter stuff. This, after I spent $20 at Target for Easter stuff (oh, and a jar of peanut butter for 56 cents and 3 cans of pumpkin for 64 cents each) … Been a little while since I’ve ‘browsed’ the Dollar Tree aisles. So, here’s what I got: 2 super huge cans of spaghettios … I do not consdier this a stock up as sonny boy will eat them all while on spring break this week, I’m sure 2 packages of 10 count tortillas. THIS after spending $1.89 AFTER a $1 off coupon last week 2 cotton candy bags for easter baskets 2 smartie pills for easter baskets And gee, what is the other thing I bought? Hmmm. I know it’s candy related but darn if I can remember. So anyways, pull out the foody stuff & put away. Leave the rest in bag on bed. Hubby peeks & steals a bag of cotton candy & a bag of smarties…his downfall. I guess I wasn’t thinking when I didn’t but in 3’s. So I don't know, does this kind of set the wrong tone for my Pantry Challenge? I don't...

So I’ve decided (again!) to try and clear out the pantry & freezers. Seriously, I have NO room in either. Yet, I still hear “there’s nothing to eat”. Amazing. I am NOT setting a limit on the grocery spending each week. Why set myself up for failure on the very first rule?? That’s just the way it is. I am however, setting a limit on what I will buy/stock up on. Actually, I say NO STOCKING UP (no room) but if it’s one of them deals where I just can’t say no (free, almost free) then I will still buy it. I will still buy fresh produce, dairy products (I think I’m set on cheese for a few months) and bread stuff. Meat, as needed, on great sale (no room in freezer). So my question is: do I want to post our daily intake of food or not? Do I want to post my daily/weekly shopping trips & cost, or not? I think YES to both (not to bore anyone but maybe it will keep ME accountable!). So keep an eye out … and wish me luck. Of course, feel free to link up if you want to participate!!

So we owe IRS AGAIN (??!!) it looks like. The kids have a week off for spring break, starting at noon today. Easter is coming up (and there is no Easter Bunny in my neighborhood) My friends from Colorado come back (his biopsy came back negative which is GREAT news). I have big car insurance due. Homeowners insurance is due in May and we KNOW it’s going way up as our current carrier has failed to renew us (thanks a lot). Soooo….here we go again. My feeble attempt to save even more money. Pantry Challenge! Here’s my rules (meant to be broken occasionally): No canned goods (unless to die for rock bottom price) No meat (unless to die for rock bottom price, see a pattern here?) Produce as needed Dairy (milk, eggs, sour cream) as needed Kids snacks as needed (I will be the one to determine this) I think to reduce my spending splurges/habits, I will have princess stop at the Walmart Neighborhood Market on way home from school this month to get the produce as needed. She needs to lea...

So I get home from work around 6ish. Stayed a little later than normal at the office to try & finish typing up this long @ss legal description ... Decided that I really needed to get back to exercising now that I feel better. Because you KNOW how it is ... there are always plenty of reasons and excuses NOT to work out. You just gotta do it. So I change into a tank & shorts. Grab the Ipod. Skip the shoes & socks. Grab my gloves. Don't bother wrapping hands (reflex bag is NOT like a heavy bag when hitting it). Get my stop watch and go to it. 2 minute rounds, 30 second breaks. Start off jumping . Then one two punches on bag Then boxing footwork (which I really need to be practicing) which cranks up your calf muscles Then jab jab punch (whew, right about now, I'm getting warm) Then round house kicks Then jab jab punch cuff Then straight leg kicks Then one two punches Then side/back kicks Then air fight Ok. I'm done. Whew. About 25 minutes total. Whew. I really ...

The weekend garage sale was a success for me. I didn’t have a lot of stuff, but what I did have, I sold ALL of it with the exception of a few magazines. Amazing. I’m not sure how much $ I really made, how pathetic is that? I had to make change for 2 $50’s and was able to do that so …. My only problem is that I had to mix that money with my other money to make the change & got me all messed up (my change jar along with my singles & fives that I keep in there). All in all, I have a total of $172 in bills. I am quite certain that I made at least $100. So, not so bad for two 4 hour days of sitting with 6 other neighbor ladies that I never get to spend much time with. They are all older than me & retired but we have all lived here for 10 years plus so we call it our little annual get together … it’s fun. I had hubby make a pasta salad to go with lunch on Saturday. Sunday morning I made my cinnamon rolls, AFTER clearing with all the ladies that no one had any sugar issues (...

Hey all, I've posted a few more recipes over here this morning. Just salad dressings and a salad, but still, I'm slowly working up my recipe list there (in the end, hopefully, it will get ME more organized!)