Frugal In Florida

Yeah, many apologies for the horribly bad grammar there, but it serves a BIG purpose in this post. See, the lawyers that I work with, they also do loan documents for non-conventional home owners. Typically, those who have properties that would not withstand a traditional mortgage inspection review, or those who have less than perfect credit. Regardless, yes, we do handle those types of files occasionally. I can do them in good conscious only because the rates are not over the top (8% for 24 months, interest only) AND because I know the people who give the money. Makes a HUGE difference. So anyways, we were working on a modification for a gal who's loan was coming to term and she wanted to renew and modify the terms. Easy. No problem. Here's what you gotta do: 1. New Appraisal $350.00 2. Pay your outstanding, now delinquent property taxes $2500 (roughly) 3. Pay the doc prep fee of $500 4. Pay the lender the prepaid interest ($200 or so) Make the check payable to ABC A...

Like anything else, you have to stay FOCUSED in order to reach your goals. By keeping your eye on the prize, you will succeed ... But of course, just because you reached your goal and GOT the prize, now is NOT the time to become distracted and lose your focus  Yes, the mouse got away. Kitty Kitty doesn't typically kill his catches, just plays forever with them. But my point is: even though you finally lost that 10 pounds or saved that $100, you need to stay on task and not fall off the wagon. That 10 pounds can and WILL creep back on you if you keep eating them cookies that you limited for 6 months. That $100 will be $0 if you keep buying those cute little *insert your downfall HERE* that you know are only $1 but boy, they sure do add up after you buy 100. So STAY FOCUSED and remember what your ultimate goal is. When you reach it, raise your hands in the air, do the fist pump of sweet success and REMEMBER what you did to get there. *This motivational spee...

The Boy surprised me on Thursday and said he was coming home on Friday for a 'few' days. My heart sang as I really miss the kid. So this weekend was busy and I made a LOT of stuff ... and still, need to menu plan! I'm still trying to use what we have, however, there was a few extra stops at The Fresh Market, Whole Foods and Aldis. Oh. And Publix. Yikes. My food budget is shot for the month, needless to say. Sunday - Hoagies - had some super delicious sub rolls from the Fresh Market, shredded up iceburg lettuce, sliced up mini peppers, opened up some pickle slices and banana peppers, pulled out ham, turkey and salami from Costco's previous trip and pulled a bag of pepperoni from the fridge. Cheese from Aldis and we were good to go (I ate mine on a biscuit made with almond flour ... post coming soon, promise!) Monday - Pizza (freezer) for the kids and super salads for me & Hubby Tuesday - Mexican feast night ... tacos with all the fixins and some guac on the s...

We went to a really nice seafood restaurant for my birthday dinner back in May so we could watch the moon (it was the night of the SUPER MOON) ... the restaurant sits on the Atlantic ocean and it was a gorgeous night. Hubby won many points that evening :) Anyways. We had the seafood tower . And a few drinks. And I just wanted something 'simple and light'. Enter: Wedge Salad with Crumbled Bacon and Ranch Dressing. Yes, I actually PAID money for it. Granted, it was applewood thick sliced bacon. And the ranch dressing certainly was NOT from a bottle. And where they found the beautiful head of iceberg lettuce is beyond me. It was good. Good enough that I'm actually making it for a light, summer dinner....that's pretty good. Head of Iceberg lettuce. One of the few times I will tell you to use this. It's very hard to find a good head to nowadays. Whats up with that? Bacon, 1/4 lb or so, cooked til crisp and crumbled Ranch dressing. Do yourself a favor and make...

Princess was home this past Sunday all day long, which is highly unusual. Usually, she works the opening shift at one location (7am) and then works the closing shift at another location (11pm). Yes, she works hard. So Hubby, being the kind and compassionate guy that he CAN be, requested we do something special for dinner ... that sounded like a GREAT plan. But first, I had to do a run to my dad's, Costco and a few other places. And of course, it IS Sunday, and not raining, so I wanted to get a little pool time in ... and I was thinking Chicken Picatta ... she loves that stuff. But then, the floating in the pool, the ice cold beer, Princess had her best friend over, who created these totally awesome cilantro margaritas (I did NOT partake, just sipped), the music, time just got away from us ... so I decided to make Alice Springs/Aussie Style Chicken instead. Easy. Using what I had on hand, here's how I did it ... a very loose recipe, you might say :) bonele...