Frugal In Florida

So I plan on going home from work on Thursday night, determined that I will eat a real meal for dinner and THEN attack the pantry. The whole thing. Darn it, it needs to be done and I just need to do it. Of course, it's been raining all day. Wind. Lightning. Special Flood Notices. The works. It's the last day of the month. A BUSY month I might add. I leave my office at 6pm. An hour later than normal, 2 hours later than I wanted. Ok, who am I kidding, I would have loved to have left at noon but there was no way that was going to happen. Granted, the last 30 minutes was spent reading a funny, and I mean, funny, as in laugh til your mascara is running down your cheeks funny, email. OMG. It was a goody. Nothing like reading an email at your respective desk and shouting back and forth through the walls (Joseph Mother Ducker) ... but anyhoo.... I get home. I'm hungry. Sonny Boy looks depressed. Princess is heading out to work. Hubby is STILL gone. My truck was giving me a ...

I remember staying home with the kids when they were younger (I've only been working full time since 2002) and the days where I could not wait for Hubby to come home and give me a break. Now days, I can't wait for SATURDAY to come around.  I work HARD during the week, most times, and yeah, it's a law firm and it's a small law firm (meaning no pressure to meet billable hour quotas and such) but the days can be long and mentally exhausting. Plus talking to people on the phone all day long is draining in itself :) So I try to be sure to make time for Myself! Where no ONE will bother me and I'm perfectly content. Enter the pool. Yes. The Pool. If I get my raft out of the garage, and grab my book, towel and sunscreen, the whole household knows that Mom has a 1 hour break ... doesn't take a whole lot of effort, and it's only ONE hour, SIXTY MINUTES ... the world will not come to a screeching halt, trust me! And of course, I need to make sure I'm safe so I u...

I disclosed over here that a Costco trip was coming up this week ... and yeah, it could sort of, kind of, maybe go against the Pantry Challenge BUT there really isn't a whole lot of pantry items. I wanted to list a side by side of my shopping list and my receipt but I believe the receipt made it to the trash to the street already ... I can be too efficient apparently. Ok. Here we go (and remember, everything is COSTCO SIZE): Papertowels $14.99 Sunny D x 2 $9.79 less $3 each Sunchip (24 pk) $8.79 less $2 Kirkland brand Fabric Softner 360 piece plastic cutlery set $10.99 (I've been delaying way too long in buying more and the last bbq we had to use REAL stuff) 3 dz xlarge eggs x 2 $3.69 each 24 pk Kirkland variety beer $18.99 (I've heard real good things about the ales so I'm excited to try) 6 pk romaine lettuce $4.29 5 lbs of large tomatoes $6.49 Organic baby spinach $4.29 Big stack of half steam trays $6.49 (these are party bbqs and part of  our hurrica...

I've been reading rumours about an upcoming Pantry Challenge for July. This should not be mistaken for a No Spend Month, or perhaps, even a Severely Restricted Spending (SRS) month. Ummm. I think I may qualify to do this: (yeah, excuse the crappy pictures ... the kids are messin' with my stuff again and the settings on the camera were all for night shots) This here is the bottom part of pantry. On my To Do List , I've got a shelf to organize ... that would be that 2nd shelf down, which is my baking shelf and the bottom shelf which is suppose to be condiments, salad dressings, etc. but everything else ends up there too...and seriously, I have every shelf listed (and an extra one apparently??) And this here is the top part of the pantry. I think I called for the 2nd (which is really just the middle shelf?) to be organized. Um yeah. I think I need to do the whole thing! Can you tell that I constantly have kids rooting around in here? I mean seriously, Hubby an...

Yeah, I know. It's not the healthiest thing. But I do make it 'better' by using my fresh tomato mix to top it off with. Ummm, I also know it's not a real recipe so much as a process...but hey, I stunned my girlfriend the other night when I told her what I was eating :) Here she thought I had a vat of melted cheese ... uh no! Tortilla Chips (I love the blue ones) cheese of choice, shredded (Ummm, did you forget that we are the CHEESE family?) Lay chips out on a microwave proof plate. Top with cheese, doesn't really take a whole lot to satisfy. Put in microwave on high for 45 seconds. Remove. Top with salsa and sour cream if desired. Best IF you have fresh salsa or tomato stuff that you made (NOTE: I can totally recommend that stuff at Aldi's in the refrigerator section, it's all fresh stuff, no preservatives whatsoever, I'm addicited to the garlic artichoke stuff!) Grab a fork (for scooping) and a napkin. Sit at a table. Eat. Fend...

Hubby is gone all week again. And you know what that means? The BIG To Do List reappears! 1. Closet floor. OMG. Yet again. 2. Closet rack. Ummm, somehow I've acquired a lot of clothes that do not quite fit. I appreciate the gifts from friends but need to make an effort to try on before hanging up. Way too cluttered and tight right now! 3. Garage freezer 4. Guest kitchen freezer 5. Main kitchen freezer 6. Grind coffee (breaking things up here) 7. Garage fridge 8. Guest fridge 9. Main fridge 10. Top pantry, bottom shelf 11. Baking shelf of pantry 12. Canned good corner (these last 3 are needed for inventory purposes, as are the next 4) 13. Top shelf (pasta/rice) 14. 2nd top shelf 15. 2nd bottom shelf 16. bottom shelf (bottom part) And then we move on the rest of the funnnnnnn stuff! 17. Laundry room, dust and mop. 18. Guest kitchen, dust and mop. 19. Guest bedroom: change sheets, dust and vacuum 20. Space bag extra pillows in guest room 21. Organizing goodwill...

Is anyone else freaking out that it's almost July AND the 4th is this weekend? I feel a small case of anxiety comin on! Hubby travels all week, just left, matter of fact. Gets home about midnight on Friday. Uggg. However, this does mean an easy as I want it to be week for feeding since it will be me and Sonny Boy for the most part ... woohoo! Sunday - Grilled chicken breast (marinated in italian dressing) and tossed up some sweet vidalia onions and asparagus on the grill pan (this was the best asparagus I've had yet) Monday - Chicken (leftover) with pasta for Sonny Boy. May make a few garlic bread sticks with the leftover hot dog buns to get them OUT of here. Hoping to get to the gym after work. Tuesday - Baked potato bar . I'm betting the girlfriend will show up for this. (got a 10 lb bag of spuds at Aldi's for $2.99 ... best deal in a while). Hoping to get to gym again after work which means I need to remember to set up the oven to turn on by it's loneso...