It's all about ME and my friends!

This post is about ME. All me. Me Me Me. Well, and my friends. And my family. Ok, let's start with the ME:

1. I am a creature of habit, very much so.

2. I am a tightwad, yet I can certainly be a spendthrift too. This definitely needs to be looked into further, just not at this very moment.

3. I like to cook, but sometimes, just don't have the energy, ambition, drive, motivation, etc.

4. I love my family (most of the time).

5. I enjoy staying home and having everyone over to MY house :)

So, what does this all have to do with a Frugal Friday post?

Well, I've learned a  few things from those 5 points ... I am a tightwad WHEN I continue to stick with my method of thinking myself as such ... doing things consistently becomes a "habit", and cooking for myself, family and friends in the comfort of my home is definitely a Frugal Friday tip (not to mention, skipping that huge bar tab is a bonus!)

I've started back up with the hosting Happy Hour Fridays in our home. We used to do it every other week several years back. BYOB and I would provide the appetizers and such. Then, the economy tanked, quite a few of my friends became unemployed (and unfortunately, unreachable as some people become when they suddenly have their world turned upside down, no matter how much you reach out).

I realized that there are a few friends I need to really felt the need to be in touch with. I did that on my trip North at Christmas ... it was very very good to see my very best friend from all those years ago, realizing that yes, we did go different paths and lifestyles, but OMG, we are in exact SAME businesses. Amazing ... and it was like we just talked the previous day. Now we have been talking daily.  Another old friend recently requested to be my "friend" on FB ... not that I'm a very big FB person, but still, it was a definite door opening, and a signal that her life is finally (perhaps) settling down. Another just recently left me a voice mail message letting me know that she's now living in NY, but planning on coming for a visit soon (and yes, my guest room is available for your short stay!)

So how do we do a Frugal Friday Happy Hour? Easy:

Friends bring their own beverages of choice. We provide the snacks and appetizers. Sometimes it's simply chips and dip or cheese and crackers or a veggie tray. Other times it could be shrimp cocktail, meatballs, snausages or whatever. But regardless, it is ALWAYS what I have on hand. Rarely would I shop specifically for this event.

We are fortunate that we have a terrific back patio that has nice lighting and speakers hooked up to a sound system that can play satellite radio or an ipod if desired.

It's all about getting together and enjoying each other's company, not about how spectacular the food is, or how clean the house was or any of that stuff. A lesson to remember!

Linking up to Life As Mom Frugal Fridays ... go on over and check out some of the other ideas!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Smelly Shoe Fix!

Image
Honestly, we have real good hygiene habits in my house, I can assure you of that! But, lets face it, living in paradise with 125% humidity can be a little trying sometimes ... my running shoes (which have NOT seen much running action for quite a while) get a little ripe smelling ... and oh man, you should smell the shoes that Hubby wears outside in the yard, patio, garage and boat that constantly get wet ... enough to suck the oxygen right out of your body ... whew! Then you have the Boy ... who works out pretty darn hard and doesn't always wear socks, nor does the Princess ... I mean, seriously, I've had to throw shoes away because you could smell them just sitting there. No one wants to be the person that people are wrinkling their nose at when they are walking by you! So when I saw the featured post for the Smelly Shoe Solution (and dang, I'm still trying to find the original post because I had no need to bookmark it, such a simple fix!) Yes. That's IT!
Read more

Non Toxic Mosquito Spray

Image
Let's face it, living in Paradise does have a few drawbacks with the #1 complaint being ... BUGS. Yeah, bugs.  Mostly mosquitoes that can just ruin an evening of relaxation on the patio ... those pesky little guys can really do a number on you quickly!  Heaven forbid if you are one of those who are very sensitive to the bites (the Boy), you will have welts in no time. So Hubby always decides to spray AFTER everyone starts swatting the air and scratching. We have to gather up our drinks and appetizers, go indoors and wait for 20 minutes or so for the toxic fog to flat away ... only to be swatting and scratching AGAIN in 30 minutes. After seeing THIS tip a few too many times, I figured, what the heck, $5 at Walmart is worth it to try, right? Guess what?  It seems to work!!!  I need to do a few more nights to say for certain but I say it's WAY better than that can of toxic stuff ... and cheaper to boot! You must use the ORIGINAL flavor, and yes, it nee
Read more

Rice Cooker - Hard Boiled Eggs

Image
One of the things I picked up at Costco was a new Rice Cooker. The one I have, well, I gave that to the Boy when he went away to college (so he could make his macaroni and cheese), not to mention, it was small as heck, like mini size! So, I figured, you know, Hubby likes to make rice occasionally. The Boy makes brown rice in the microwave every other day and leaves the bubbly residue behind for ME to find when I go to heat something up (I hate a dirty microwave, totally wigs me out and sends me running for the windex!) ... so I grabbed the rice cooker ($29.95), a 10 pound bag of organic brown rice and a 20 pound bag of Basmati rice. I'm asking myself now, a whole week later, what the hell am I going to do with 20 pounds of Basmati rice? Anyways. Then I was reading the recipe booklet that came along with the cooker. They had one recipe that said to add the eggs, unshelled, to the steamer basket.  Ok. That made me re-read it a few times. Unshelled? Did they mean out of the shell?
Read more