Frugal In Florida

AND ... entering Week 16 of Hubby's unemployment. Whew. It's ok. Really. It is. Just NOW a little nervy, that's all ... but it will be just fine. This past week shopping wasn't so very bad ... my dad was taken to the hospital on Tuesday morning for chest pains and shortness of breath. Umm, dad, you've had that cough, and yes, even the doctor agrees, the pain is most likely from coughing. They kept him and he gets to go home today, almost a whole week later. Want to know why they kept him?? Because he was given breathing treatments to loosen up the phlegm in his THROAT which has steroids, which caused his blood sugar to go sky high. How HIGH you ask? One reading was 621. Um. Hello. That's considered quite dangerous. So he got a few of them treatments and then they had to switch him out to something else. I suppose if that's going to happen, probably not a better place to be than in a hospital, right? Back to the shopping ... Whole Foods on Tuesday...

I mentioned over here that I am not a huge pumpkin fan ... but once in a while I find something that makes me think .... Hmmmmm, not so very bad after all ... And this is one of those times! Original recipe comes from Civilized Caveman and of course, I have to do my own things to make it more ME! Here's how I did it ... 1/2 cup pumpkin puree 1/2 cup almond milk 1/4 cup apple juice (I used cider, it's what I had) 1/2 frozen banana (I used a whole banana, will do half next time) 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice 1/2 tsp hemp heart seeds (these are so tasty and loaded with something healthy, I just know it and impart a nutty flavor) 1/2 cup (more or less) ice small handful of pecans or walnuts, chopped, for garnish if desired. Guess what you do? Toss all (except walnuts/pecans) in blender and let it rip til smooth. Pour in glass and garnish with pecans/walnuts. I didn't have the nuts, so used more hemp seeds and a sprinkle of pumpkin spice ... hit ...

Entering Week 15 of Hubby's Unemployment Journey ... This week we need to finalize the new insurance with Florida Blue ... I have to take 20 minutes of quiet time (AKA private time) to call them so they can do a phone screen on me. In other words, ask me, how it's possible that a 49 year old woman takes NO PRESCRIPTION DRUGS. I'm curious to see if anything comes up on the false reading (IMO) for Lupus or other inflammatory issues, arthritis, etc. Did you know that there is a database of sorts that insurance companies can go review your past history? Does that rub anyone else the wrong way? I mean, seriously? I have issues with that! Managed to get to the eye doctor last week. He suggested readers at 1.25 ... then asked if I'd ever considered contacts. Really? That's when I realized it was all about money. Good grief. We also met with our financial girl about doing a monthly draw til Hubby gets a paycheck again. Not a lot, but enough to see us through with the ...

I can't believe it's FALL ... I mean seriously, where has the YEAR gone already? I have a confession ... I'm not a big pumpkin lover ... sure, I'll eat them yummy pumpkin bars with the creamy cheese frosting slathered all over the top ... but other than that, no thank you, very much. Until I made this recipe last September when Hubby was traveling ... and I had made it a few times since then ... but it's been a little while now ... so in honor of FALL arriving, I am re posting the recipe and making this as part of the Sunday morning breakfast for Sonny Boy before he heads back home ... The original recipe is from the Practical Paleo cookbook. I've been picking up the pumpkin at ALDIS because it's 99 cents a can and it's all pumpkin ... Oh ... I just remembered, it's time for Pumpkin head beer (and the newest one we tried, UFO Pumpkin Beer) ... and really, I know it's not "pumpkin" so to speak, but still...it gets my FA...

AND ... entering Week 14 of Hubby's unemployment adventures ... I had skipped a whole week of grocery shopping, which felt pretty good ... but certainly made up for it this past week with a stop at Costco and 4 more stops on Saturday ... but at least there wasn't any junk food brought into the house ... So, moving forward for the week ... I'm pretty excited in that it should be somewhat quiet at work, meaning I can maybe get home shortly after 5pm every night and COOK!  Yes, Hubby has been doing a fine job, for the most part, of having dinner prepped and ready ... not necessarily following the plan, but he does pretty good, I'd say. For which, I am most appreciative! BUT I like to cook and try new recipes and you know, I buy things for specific recipes! :-) ... I am thankful that I have a Hubby who LIKES to cook and even more grateful that he KNOWS how to cook! He's pretty darn good, actually! So ... I tried to work with him for the upcoming week to see wh...