Frugal In Florida

I love kitchen gadgets. I could almost say that I am addicted to them. I do make the spontaneous purchases, like the magic bullet I've got the at Costco a while back (don't do it!), or how about that stupid whack the top thingy and it chops and dices in a minute? Forget that too...what a pain to clean, and it really doesn't work all that well in my opinion! Then there are the thought out purchases, like the food processor, blender, Vidalia Onion chopper thingy. Or the fryer. And then...you have the Want List. You know, the things you WANT but just can not justify purchasing at the moment for the full price. Things, like, oh the panini press. Or a new waffle maker to replace the one that works so so. A griddle. You know, the big one, 2 feet long and just not practical to put anywhere. Well, the church had it's annual rummage sale over the weekend. I took a stroll down there at 9am on Saturday. Browsed, got caught up in the frenzy of grabbing things to hold JUST IN CA

I am so looking forward to the start of a NEW month. February was hell at work. Granted, like I told hubby, when you work LONG hours, you don't spend any money ... so I suppose there was one good side to the 10 to 12 hour days. I've had it with the way my clothes are fitting, and how I perceive myself now. I've dug out the P90X program. Even forced myself to do 10 minutes of the AbRipper disc ... could not force myself to do the remaining 6 minutes. Go figure. Bring It On. I can't believe it, I bought this set a YEAR ago ... thats how long its been since the gym died on me. Horrors! And can I tell you how much I miss that place? Very very sad. So March 1st. Working out. Daily. 6 of the 7. Something. Anything. Walking. P90X. Shred. Bowflex (if I can kick Sonny Boy off of it ... he's been doing it 5 days a week now, 2 weeks in, and you know, because he's such a thin kid, he is really showing defination already. I don't know if I want to shove him on the grou

Ok, so I'm browsing the net this morning as hubby was up at 3am to catch a flight by 6am ... and I'm going through organizing junkies menu plan monday links because, heck, at 4am, why not look to see what everyone is planning to eat this week!? Anyways. Pictures ... lots of pictures. More power to you folks! I wish I had it in me to dedicate more time to taking pictures. Better pictures. I take horrible pictures ... can't help it. Anyways. Pictures of pots and pans on top of the stoves. Not a big deal. Some of the food look gorgeous. I mean, like, can I come over for dinner tonight? Then others. Well. Yeah the food looked good. BUT. The stove and countertop around it. Grunge. Ick. And not FRESH just cooked grunge. And no, I'm not talking about them little trays around the burners (I have a flat top and boy, do NOT miss those stupid coily things!) ... So my question is: Do you clean your stove periodically. Daily? Weekly? Monthly ? Me? Everytime I cook

Trying to keep the faith here & post! Thanks a ton to the organizing QUEEN for hosting this every single week. If you are stuck for ideas, slide on over and check out 100's of others menu plans! By the way, not a single recipe link this week as everything is staying simple. But check out the other food blog for recipes on different things. I'm trying to make an effort to add a few new ones a week. Hubby is out of town this week Tuesday to Friday. New York. Manhattan to be exact. He will be dining in some superb dining establishments while Sonny Boy and I will be eating non-descript, homemade food ... not an issue though! Princess was here for the weekend. Hopped a ride down with a friend with no return ride. Catching the greyhound bus at noon Monday to the tune of $40. For future reference, need to remember the GMG Transport system for college kids. Cheaper, much more practical. On to the menu for the week: Sunday - Burgers, dogs and fried food from the fryer Monday -

Yup, I'm trying again :) Today I was off. So I ran to some of my favorite thrift stores that have the odd hours of 10am to 4pm and I never get to them normally. Nothing jumped out at me & said BUY ME, thankfully! Hop on over to the Organizing Junkie to see what hundres of others are planning on having for dinner! Hubby will be traveling next week to New York, Manhattan, that lucky dog. Oh well, figured I may as well do a structured meal plan for this week then! Sunday - Hubbys favorite pasta sauce , salad with a viniagrette dressing and garlic rolls Monday - Blackened grouper sandwiches and fries Tuesday - Chicken enchiladas with guacamole (using those free avacados up) and salsa with blue chips Wednesday - soup and salad (green) Thursday - leftovers ... or burgers IF the grill is finally done ... Survivor night is back Friday - I will leave this up to hubby. I'm sure we will go out either this evening or Saturday Saturday - IF we went out Friday, steak & lobster t

Shoes. Amazing what a cool pair of shoes will do f or your attitude. All for $5.99. Sweet. By Karvings, Inc. Wood heel hand carved. So cool! I spent a total of $24 a few nights ago at Out of the Closet thrift. I got another pair of cool shoes (pics to come), 2 tops, a cool jacket for the office and an Anne Klien 2 piece suit which really, I only wanted the jacket. Tops were $1 each, jacket was $4 and the whole suit was $4.50. Other pair of shoes? Even cooler than these little guys (more dressier) and $7.99 Then this past Thursday, had to go to Lowes to pick up the new patio chairs we had ordered, and drop off a few bags at goodwill. Managed to snag a Bamboo Trader's black skort with blue whales on them. $3 ... whoohoo!

Ok, I'm sure you've all heard about this offer today, right? Me. No way. Not going anywhere NEAR a Denny's today. The lines. The wait. The unhappy staff. And so on. Sonny Boy was really wanting to do this today on his way to school. Dude. You would have had to leave the house at 5:30am to get there, get served, eat, tip & get to school on time. Sorry kid. So instead. Being the WONDERFUL mom that I am (hint, someone please tell me this!) I made him a grand slam breakfast that he was able to eat and enjoy in the comfort of his own home. Pancakes. Check. Scrambled eggs. Check. Bacon (2 pieces just like they give you!). Check. Small juice. Check. Glass of chocolate (carnation breakfast) milk. Check. Hash browns. Oops. No. Too many carbs for you this early in the morning. You will fall asleep. Toast. Oops. No. See the note above with hash browns. Do you think I got a Thank you Mom, you are the best? No. He's really not that much of an early morning kid.

Super Sunday - Hot Chicken Wings (hubby made), Sauerkraut and baby back ribs, baked taters, shrimp cocktail, cheese & crackers, piggies in the blanket with a little kick in the butt (chili powder) Monday - leftovers and cooking up some linguine for the rest of the weeks fill in Tuesday - Chicken parmesean with the linguine from last night Wednesday - blackened grouper sandwiches with coleslaw and fries Thursday - soup and salad...still trying to decide which of each Friday - Grilling baby! On the new deck (better be done by then!) Burgers Saturday - suppose to be a BIG Girl's night out for a friends 49th ... but now starting to look like not ... was going to treat Sonny Boy & Hubby to a dinner out to ease my guilt but if I'm home, steak & lobster tails So...considering I'm WAY over budget for the week in groceries, I have everything I could possibly need in the freezers, fridges, and pantry. No need to go to the store. Except bread, milk, and maybe some

Well, because they ARE playing in South Florida. And daily, every single morning, on my way to work, driving down A1A/Ocean Blvd./Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd. I've seen more things out of the ordinary such as: Cheerleaders on the wall Men in beige business suits standing by the bus stop signs Camera men running through the streets (paparazzi folks, they really ARE a danger) Camera crews and tv trucks Blacked out SUV's by the rows Players 'posing' with the beautiful atlantic ocean in the background Players interviewing And some morning show was broadcasting LIVE from Shula's but I could never figure who it was!! So, back to being the Hostess. We are staying home. We have stayed home all weekend long. Sonny Boy and buddy are jamming in the garage (drums & bass) ... There was so much free stuff to do this weekend. But you know what? In the end, it would not have been free. Parking, upward of $15 ... probably more around $25. Beers, $5. Forget a jack 'n