Frugal In Florida

I seem to have hit a wall, or something like that. The savings account has a grand total of $50 between the two (gasp). (NOTE: the Textbroker stuff is going to the no spend account). The checking account has a total of ... um, I don't even want to say, but its substantially lower than what is acceptable to me (but not negative, thankfully). All bills are paid for the month (which only has 3 more days left) and I will be getting another 3 checks on Friday, so no need to panic. I have a few credit cards with BALANCES on them. And I'm not talking $100, but rather, add another zero and change the first number (gasp). Everything that I am against is happening. Its not anyone else's fault, but mine. My inability to tell Sonny Boy NO, that he must buckle up and get ready for the bumpy ride, to GET A JOB, no matter if it's something that interest you or not. Also, I need to stand up to Hubby and say NO, we don't need to do this or that, and buy new rugs (??!!) f...

I apologize well in advance if this post is scattered. See, I am fighting a cold (nerves? stress?), new medication (taken at night and puts me in a haze for a bit in morning) and the fact that today is  ... Well, today is THE day. Sonny Boy heads off for his next Big Adventure. College. Whew. How did I get here? I can only imagine what he's thinking too! I'm excited yet so very nervous. I'm trying NOT to be a mother hen. I realize he needs to step up and out and just do it. Which is not the subject of today's post, by the way! Today's post is about Decluttering/Dejunking and Frugal Friday ! Also known as Shopping At Home. Wow, so many topics fall into one single heading! Yes. Now that Sonny Boy has moved 90% of his personal belongings to the back of the Tahoe (thankfully he's riding with a friend up because there is no room left for him in the back) I can take inventory of what is left and what is really still needed. No. I'm not getting ri...

I have an excellent macaroni and cheese recipe but its time consuming and has a gazillion steps and THEN it goes in the oven. Not exactly a week night friendly recipe. And with Sonny Boy leaving in a few weeks, I've been trying to find some easy, boy friendly recipes. So I made it a point to definitely get the recipe tried and see how it works before handing a rice maker off to him for food purposes. A HUGE thank you goes out to Lynn for her sharing of the Rice Cooker Macaroni and Cheese . You can bet I was skeptical. And I had to halve the recipe because I've got a puny rice cooker. But wow! It was good. Click here for Lynns original recipe. Below is how I made mine... 1 cup chicken broth (although I would say 1 cup of water would be just fine) 1 cup of quick cook noodles (if you've been stocking up on the good sales and coupons to get it almost free noodles, you will LOVE this recipe) slightly more than 1/3 cup milk 1 cup shredded cheese of choice Put...

Seriously, I sometimes think these other kids don't have food in their house. I say that jokingly but then again, maybe not. Anyways. Summertime is upon us. That means kids are in the house. And for me, that means older teens. Teens that should know how to prepare something healthy to eat instead of a bag of chips. I do try to make it a little easier. Afterall, I am a full time working mom AND dedicated to being healthier with trips to the gym (although not as consistently as I'd like) ... so here are a few things that I try to keep on hand: Fruits  - strawberries, blueberries, grapes, melons, whatever is on sale. I don't do a whole lot of apples (most kids don't like them "as much") ... if I get good oranges, they will be devoured, but we are picky on oranges around here. Veggies - lettuce (if I'm ahead of the game, shredded/sliced thin for sandwiches encourages them to use it), sweet peppers, sliced, celery, carrots (sticks), pickles and other...

I'm still not quite sure what we were "celebrating" but I had a house full of teens Saturday with a little advance notice (thankfully!) The Rock Stars did a photo shoot at noon and were to be back in a few hours. Umm, teenspeak means we don't know how long that really is. Regardless, I headed to Aldis early and wanted to stop at Walmart and GFS too ... but midway into the trip at Aldis, Hubby called that he needed me to stop at the auto store on the way home. Crumb. That meant he was at a standstill doing work on my truck. So I didn't do Walmart (jalapeno plant shopping, that's all, honestly) and rushed the Aldi trip (forgot coffee and a few other things, oh well). Stopped at auto store and picked up what he needed and rushed through GFS and got 2 bags of precooked and seasoned buffalo chicken wings ($9.99 each, which think about it, cooked weight is 5 lbs for $2 a pound?!) and a 5 lb bag of oranges for $5.99. Came home, gave Hubby his part to finish h...

We decided (again) to let the kids invite friends over and have a BBQ on Saturday in honor of the last weekend of Summer, technically! Sometimes I ask myself why we subject ourselves to this ... then think that its often better than trying to entertain adults. After all, with teens, simply give them food, healthy refreshments, a pool, and some music and they are all set to go, and perfectly happy. Sure, I know, alot of adults would be happy too, but some not so much :) So, we have a houseful of teens coming over on Saturday. Maybe like 20 or so? There will be a couple of adults, like our friend from Colorado, Sonny Boy's g/f mom and aunt & uncle, maybe my neighbor. But really, it's for the kids. And I'm excited. Here's what I'm thinking of having for the food stuff: Layered Bean Dip Oriental Salad Layered Southwestern Salad Pasta Salad Baked Beans (I'm sure Hubby wants to make some) Burgers (with tomato slices, lettuce, onions, pickles) ...

Sonny boy goes back to school in, oh, 10 days? Princess starts her next semester in oh, 2 weeks? And Hubby? Well, he decided to F.I.N.A.L.L.Y. put the Seadoo in the water and let it sit on the lift at the dock. Oh gee. We are all thrilled to be able to have 5 full days left to play (best to play in the intracostal waterways Monday through Thursday when boat traffic is minimal). Sonny Boy, the G/F and Hubby put the Doo in the water last night and Sonny Boy and G/F brought it back home. They actually beat Hubby home which means they were flying. Sonny Boy said oh, about 59 mph peaked. Uhhh...Dude. G/F never been on anything like this before soooooooo..... They asked if they could go play some more and of course we said absolutely, off with you! Good to see them having some fun besides sitting around watching tv, playing games and talking/texting on the phones. Well, they do float in the pool, go to the beach, cook, eat, clean. Ok never mind. Good to see them doing something NEW!

Well, it's officially here. Summer. Sonnyboy finished up on Wednesday and he's a SENIOR. Last year. My baby is growing up! Princess is still finishing up her classes on line for the local college BUT she had enrolled in the summer courses on purpose. Sonnyboy needs to finish up his resume we put together for him and take it over to the mall and see what's there. He's an 'odd' boy, so it will be interesting to see what happens. I say odd, as in he does not conform to his surroundings. He is who he IS. Not in a bad way :) Princess has been working for oh, 3 weeks now, at a little store in the mall. She was doing ok with hours, about 20 a week. But this week she only works one day, 4 hours. Huh. Told her she needs to keep looking. Suddenly I've become cash poor. It seems with two teens back home, it's a little more expensive. I know its the $5 here and $5 there, which is why I have a cash jar. But still. So, what are the plans for the summer for the ...