Frugal In Florida

That the day is going to be a rough one. For instance, a quick run to Walgreens at 6am to get these is a very BAD sign. See, Hubby left the house at 5am to catch a flight. I laid there, twitching, as I was still tired and not quite ready to get up for the day yet ... I've enjoyed sleeping in til 6am during the week. But I kept hearing something. REMEMBER: I'm hard of hearing, so for me to HEAR something while dozing is unusual. Finally, after 20 minutes or so, I call for Kitty, thinking he's out in the living room playing with his toys or whatnot (hey, he does these typical cat things occasionally).  No responding meow or a hop up on bed. So I keep listening and finally get up. I peek around the door from the bedroom into the living room, flip on the track lightning ... because you just never know what you might see in the morning ... And there, I see Kitty's toys ... he's got 3 favorite little mice that he tries very hard to keep from getting los...

I myself have never purchased Febreeze for personal use, but when Princess was in boot camp, she begged me to send some for her boots and such. Apparently everyone used it during boot camp. So of course, being the good mom, I packed some up and sent it to her. Between the actual cost of the bottles (I bought 4) and the cost of shipping (the weight) it was probably the most expensive freshening stuff around! Too bad I didn't have THIS recipe back then... 2 tbs fabric softener 1 tbs baking soda (gosh, have I said how much I LOVE baking soda??) 2 cups warm water Squirt bottle (16 oz size or larger) Ready? Ready. Dump all in bottle. Put on the top. Shake, shake, shake, shake shake shake, shake your bootie bottle till all mixed up. And well, here's where I learned that the lid needs to be a cap as a little bit of pressure will build up and the nozzle will spray all over the laundry room (thankfully the wall and not my face!) ... so keep that in mind :-) Go a...

I've had some super wonderful comments and wishes and prayers come with regards to my dad, and I really really REALLY appreciate everyone taking the time to relay their thoughts and feelings :) ... amazing how sometimes the simplest thing makes everything seem ok. So here's a few things that I wanted to note for you all: Assisted Living Facilities are NOT nursing homes. The residents maintain individuality and are still somewhat self sufficient ... they need to be able to get up out of a chair or bed on their own, and pretty much dress themselves and bathe/shower with minimal assistance. Most offer medication management which I have a feeling is the primary reason alot of people opt for this with their parents. My father is heavily insulin dependent and is starting to become forgetful (short term memory loss) and I believe he's messed up a few times and refused to tell me ... because he KNEW it was a serious oops to be making. There are three meals a day provided, alo...

Really, Week 19?? Wow, the year is flying by! Hubby travels this week, Tuesday, returns late Friday. The Boy heads back to Orlando Wednesday am ($29 for the Greyhound Express, non stop ... that's a pretty good deal!) So, really, it's ME and perhaps an occasional visit from the Princess. I may head out to see my dad on Wednesday, maybe even Tuesday as no one will be home....and of course, I'm on a little Grocery Challenge this month so I need to use what we have...not a problem! Here's what I'm planning .... easy way out! Sunday - leftovers: pizza, sandwiches, salad, Hubby made a good attempt to reduce the food waste options we were facing! Monday - tacos IF I get home early enough ... we've not celebrated the Fiesta yet so why not today! Sonny Boy and Princess will have real tacos, Hubby and I will do taco salads ... Tuesday - me and the Boy ... really have no clue ... if we run to Costco to do his cash card (so he can shop at Costco in Orlando) we...

Did you all notice something missing earlier this week? Ummm... the weekly Menu Plan? That sort of went on the wayside ... between the Air Show Party, the rain, the hangover, the attitudes, dealing with my dad, ummm... and the LEFTOVERS ... I just didn't plan a menu for the week. Trust me, even with ALL the leftovers, I'm still standing in the kitchen at 7pm looking in the fridge asking myself  "Whats For Dinner?" ... good grief! Menu Planning really is the way to go, trust me! So, here's what we've been eating and what I anticipate the remainder of the week to bring: Sunday - fend for yourself on the leftovers ... I was slightly hungover and believe I ate some chips and a chicken salad sandwich on a potato roll. Monday - Pasta salad and cabbage salad Tuesday - chips ... then nachos (with salsa, cheese and sour cream) ... I was in quite a foul mood and wanted Hubby to cook up the remaining burgers but he didn't Wednesday - burgers ... addi...

May not only brings flowers ... but we also have: My 48th birthday (uh, yes, really) Cinco de Mayo (same day, yes, really) Mother's Day (which this year will be sad as both Hubby and I have lost our moms since last year) Memorial Day So, with all those holidays thrown in this month, I figured, heck, let's do a GROCERY CHALLENGE! Yes, really. See, on May 1st, I took my dad to his new Home Away From Home and had to stroke a check for $2,600.00. Yes. Really. This is killing me as it's wiped out the savings account AND any free money I had hanging around. But that's ok, it is what it is, and it needed to be done (um, he forgot he did his 40 units of insulin one morning, so did it again. Saw the syringe that he used earlier, AFTER THE FACT and realized what he did, said it was time to move on).  And I will have to stroke $1,000.00 every month until such time the VA Aid and Assist program kicks in (which man, I'm keeping my fingers crossed its sooner tha...

When the kids were little, as "punishment", we would make them peel a 3 lb bag of garlic. Horrible, I know. Abusive. But hey, we got the garlic cleaned in a hurry! And it really was a family thing as we all sat at the dining room table, chatting while we smashed, peel and chopped. We all shared in the garlic infused fingertips ... Anyways, now that the animals are grown, we ask them nicely to help us. And that's when Sonny Boy sarcastically pointed out that you can buy garlic already peeled so why didn't we just buy it that way. Uhhh...BOY, it's expensive that way! Not really, so we found out at Costco. Then Hubby was doing his cooking classes and the Chef insisted that everyone STOP buying the garlic with the paper stuff still on and buy the stuff in the container that was already peeled. Said it was fresher. Hrmp, not so sure about THAT but we did buy it that way.... And then we tossed it in the food processor And then filled two small jars to...