Frugal In Florida

AND ... Week 20 of Hubby's Unemployment Adventures. I have to say, if nothing else, this unemployment stuff is making Hubby a little more frugal minded, and I'm proud of him for that ... but it's a little upsetting in some ways, such as: "You can wash that tin pan out and we can reuse it" ... I say NO, because we have 50 of them, and there's a reason I buy them and use them (when we have bbq's with a group of people, it's just easier to NOT have to worry about washing big bulky dishes, in my opinion) OR "Put the leftover pizza in the ziploc that held the cooked chicken" ... and again, NO, because I shudder to think about cross contaminating foods like THAT, even though both are cooked ... just doesn't fly with me. Of course, going grocery shopping has taken on a whole new meaning for him too ... which is a HUGE bonus ... before he'd pick up things that "looked good" and now he's thinking twice ... but I also need to

I'm very upset. Publix has suddenly changed their coupon policy. Only one $5 off $30 coupon per person/transaction. I had $61 worth of stuff. Handed over my coupons and the 2 $5 off $30. The cashier didn't say anything, but when I looked at the screen, I asked if she got both $5. That's when she informed me that they no longer accepted more than one. My first thought was: "when are you going to hand that other one back to me" and then "when were you going to tell me?".  So I said, fine, we can split up the order (it was Tuesday night, 7pm, store was not busy or anything) and the bag girl said they wouldn't allow that either. Know what I did? Went to the customer service desk, inquired if this was indeed true, and then proceeded to return $26 worth of stuff. Sorry. Had I known that, I would NOT have purchased $60 worth of stuff that night. Trust me, the last thing I want to do is make a scene at my favorite grocery store. So ... this weeks spend

Week 19 of Hubby's Unemployment Adventures. Yes. It's getting a little wiggy around here. I'll just keep making these yummy Cinnamon Roll Smoothies and pretend all is well in Paradise   Grocery shopping would have been fairly minimal this past week on my side ... Hubby stopped at a little gourmet Italian market, only because he REFUSES to give up the favorite things in his life, good food. I don't believe he spent more than $20 but still, I spent about $115  ;-) I had to do a run on Saturday and stayed very conscientious on prices and what we really needed...this week I will stay even more focused, I promise. Hubby made a whole slew of chicken on Saturday night so we will be chicken heavy a few nights, along with a few extra burgers that were patted out but not cooked. Sunday - leftover bbq chicken with spinach dip on the side. Odd, I know but still yummy Monday - Bacon blue cheese burgers that Hubby made in the cast iron skillet Tuesday - walk nigh

It's been a few weeks since I gave a breakdown on the shopping trips ... you know, busy, life, etc. :)  I also just realized that I had the previous weeks dates ... ooops! I was out two days this week ... and Hubby fended for himself. How? The easiest way possible, he went to his favorite Italian restaurant, sat at the bar and had mommas sauce with a side of garlic rolls ... I'm pretty proud of him, actually :) So, I ended up running to the store at 3pm on Saturday afternoon ... not because we NEEDED anything, but Hubby had requested bone in, skin on chicken ... and since Sonny Boy was here for dinner with a few friends, I said, of course I'll run to the store. Bad idea! First stop was Target ... I had these 50 cents off coupons for eggs, but they were NOT $1.59 like a certain website said, the organic eggs were $3.59 ... even with 50 cents off, out of my price range so I passed. However, then I saw $3 off coupons on the chicken thighs and thought BINGO! Nope, it wa

Gosh ... I look at the bottom of the recipe printout and see that I've had this since late 1998 .... wow! I've made this specific recipe a few times, but then I get distracted with a newer recipe and try that ... and ALWAYS have to listen to Hubby ask why I don't just stick with the first one I have... he's right. So, Saturday, it was a nice, sunny, BEAUTIFUL day, high of around 86. But the nights are getting a little cooler, and this morning it was 72 when I went outside at 8am ... hence, it's FALL TIME in Paradise, time to make soups! The sprinkler dudes were here making repairs, and since they were digging up in the back yard, I didn't really want to toss on the ole bikini and jump in the pool to float ... just not my idea of cheap thrills, you know? ;-) So, again, I made soup.  AND I used what we had on hand ... it's a miracle, don't you agree?! Here's what you need .... 3 lbs of onions, make sure ONE is a sweet onion, and O

Hubby is entering Week 18 of his Unemployment Adventures. Fun fun fun. There were a few shops this past week and honestly, I should could have stayed out of the store. Spent a total of $137 ... I really thoughtI had stayed under $100 but then forgot about the last minute run Saturday night for the boat trip ... THIS WEEK WILL BE BETTER! My dad went back to the hospital again on Thursday because he "couldn't breathe" again. They hooked him up to a BiPap machine which he really hated as the mask is huge, it's strapped on your forehead and around your chin AND forces air down your air passages. Kept trying to tell me that if he could get some nose drops to clear out his nose, he'd be fine. Insisted that it was his stuffy nose. No, Dad, it's COPD. That's the sad truth about it all ... As many times as I've been to the hospital with him, this is the first time I was really scared for him and the first time in the Cardiopulmology ICU ... Anyways. Needl

I've been on a small smoothie kick recently ... probably in my attempt to use what we have and to fix my sweets craving ... You do know that I try to Use What We Have, right? For the most part, I'm fairly successful, other times, not so much. But now, as we enter in to Week 16 of Hubby's Unemployment, I'm becoming much more conscious on where my dollars are going ... Which is what prompted me to finally make this smoothie, which I've had pinned forever under my Vitamix and Smoothie board ... It's fairly simple, and YES, I had all the ingredients on hand. Even the DATE. How on earth is that possible? Ummm, ALDI, baby. Must have had a recipe (this one even?) that needed, I must have spotted them at ALDI dirt cheap (of course) and picked up a bag. Trust me, I was thinking I would need to add something else to sweeten it up. Ok ... here's how I did it: 1 cup almond milk (I use plain, unsweetened) 1 frozen banana 1 date, pitted and cut in half 1