Frugal In Florida

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! This is a repost from 2009 ... sometimes you have to look back on things and realize that for all the bad things that happen in life, good things will generally come of them!  This year marks 15 years   Hubby opted to take this ride in his Charger two years ago and told me about it later that day ... said it was still vivid ... I thank God each and every day for allowing him to be strong and live through this ...  Today is a big day in our home for a totally different reason. 7 years ago today, on a beautiful South Florida sunny Sunday, my life changed forever, as did my husband, my kids, my close friends, and our family. See, 7 years ago today, my husband and his best friend decided to take the Harleys for an afternoon cruise to Miami and back. No big deal, they’ve done it before, many times. After the ride, we were all going to have dinner at their house (my best friend is the wife). So we head over there around 10am. Of course, ...

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! This is a repost from 2009 ... sometimes you have to look back on things and realize that for all the bad things that happen in life, good things will generally come of them! This year marks 12 years ... Today is a big day in our home for a totally different reason. 7 years ago today, on a beautiful South Florida sunny Sunday, my life changed forever, as did my husband, my kids, my close friends, and our family. See, 7 years ago today, my husband and his best friend decided to take the Harleys for an afternoon cruise to Miami and back. No big deal, they’ve done it before, many times. After the ride, we were all going to have dinner at their house (my best friend is the wife). So we head over there around 10am. Of course, hubby wears long jeans, a nice t-shirt and sneakers. As they get ready to leave for their ride, unbeknownst to me, he tried on several different helmets to find one that fit his head comfortably. His buddy also gave him a dif...

I've been in a little funk lately, which made me switch out the flatware ... shop at Costco and now opt to try some new recipes . I've had a little more stress than I'd like to admit, and frankly, I've not always been a joy to be around. When you realize that, you know it's bad . So when Hubby told me Saturday morning to be "sportin' a bikini" within the next 30 minutes for a ride on the boat, I was less than pleased. I had laundry to do. I needed to finish up the menu plan for next week, clean the kitchen, mop the floor, wash the rugs, re-work the budget and so on. You know, a woman's work is NEVER done. But as he went about happily getting everything ready for a little ride on the boat (seriously, no such thing as a 'little' ride on the boat, it's a production and generally 4 plus hours of time), I figured, the heck with it. Sunshine, salt water and just clean, fresh air would be nice. So I got a bikini on (which totally motiv...

On December 7th, 2011, at 10:54 (central time), my mother passed on. It was sudden and so very unexpected. My only consolation is that she did not suffer for a long time. She died from complications of Leukemia. Ummm. She was diagnosed with that at 6pm on December 7th. Apparently, she had been feeling ill for quite some time but just never told anyone as she did not like people poking and prodding at her. They were in the ambulance transferring her from St. Anthony's in Michigan City to Rush Hospital in Chicago. She never made it. I believe she never intended to. I'm quite certain under 'normal' circumstances, my mother would not agree to undergo aggressive chemo and whatever else. Her blood platelets were something stupidly low, like SIX when they should be in the 100s. Her blood could not clot. I spoke to her for a mere 2 minutes that morning. Asked if I needed to come up. Said no (yeah, that's going to work with me mom). Then abruptly asked th...

Oddly enough, was the crockpot, Hubby, and chili. We've had a rainy blustery weekend. As in, nothing is being done outside (til today, late Sunday, finally calming down!) So after we did the new TV and digital cable box installations (um, nothing is easy in this house, ok?), Hubby went and dug out the BIG crockpot, 2 pkgs of ground beef from freezer, a bag of diced onions and a bag of green peppers (also from the freezer), chili beans from pantry, a few cans of tomato sauce from the pantry, a can of roasted tomatoes, and various spices and whipped up a chili in the crockpot. Sweet. And then, texted Princess and told her to be sure to stop at the store and buy a gallon of 2% Publix milk and 2 bags of frito corn chips, ORIGINAL. See, with Princess, you have to be specific, as in 2% and ORIGINAL, otherwise you will get something totally different :) Anyways. That's Sunday's meal. Woohoo. He did that Saturday and I'm set for Sunday. Princess, overload on the frito...

Being married. I've been married going on 21 years (October) and I've been with Hubby since high school, so it's not like we don't know each other. Yet, sometimes, we really don't. Or maybe we DO know each other, perhaps a little too well? I've been being a snob to Hubby the past few days. There. I admit it. Out loud and in writing. And I feel that I was within my rights. He had said something to me the other night. Something totally out of line and for no 'apparent' reason that I could see. It was uncalled for. Hurtful. And I took serious, personal offense to it. And decided right then and there, that he should KNOW that would hurt my feelings tremendously. How dare he? After 48 hours of non-committal responses and just plain not speaking any more than necessary, I finally told him that I was DEMANDING an apology for his remark previously. He said No. That if I took offense, then there was truth to what he said. HUH? I said fine....

Hubby and I go way back to my old high school days. Ummm, that's been quite a long time. For Valentine's Day, we've done everything. Limos. Roses. Dinners. Movies. Special Trips. And so on. But seriously, I think my favorites are right here at home. It's so much less expensive, and honestly, I find it more enjoyable, especially on these holiday weekends. Arg, the crowds! I love my home for the most part. I've got a beautiful view off the back patio. We've got an awesome sound system FINALLY (still working on the various settings of volume with Hubby). AND this weekend (which is when we celebrate the Day) I will be childless, which is a dream come true. Yes. No Kids to interrupt. Nothing for me to worry about. Well, providing that Sonny Boy gets to where he's driving to ok today (Orlando). And Princess gets to work and doesn't have any incidents. So, what are we going to do you ask? Ummmm....we will make a dinner together, preferably EARLY on in t...

I did this post the other day. Don't ask me why but it makes me emotional. As in E. M. O. Ack. I love my Husband. Dearly. He just annoys the crap out of me at times. Probably 50% of the time. I'm sure I annoy him the other 50% :) We've grown together and sometimes, I think we've grown apart a bit. Yeah, it's true. It DOES happen. So I admit that I need to reconnect with the man I picked as a high school freshman to be THE one for me for the remainder of my life. The man who is the father of my children. The man who has put me where I am today. So February will be my dedicated Hubby Love month. I am going to try and do something each and every day to let him know that I love him. Besides the "usual" stuff. Time for me to get creative. I need to start RIGHT now :) ...

Funny, I was reading a post over here about dating your spouse and it rang so true, it could have easily brought tears to my eyes (had I not been in the office, WORKING!) I had a comment all typed up to respond, and then thought better of it ... "the children will all leave and there we’ll be….just the two of us." Years ago, we were having issues, like SERIOUS marital issues and were seeing a counselor. One of the first things the counselor told us is that line above. Of course, as a mom of 2 toddlers, I thought, phff, what does SHE know? Well, all these years later, where my heart breaks at the thought that my babies no longer need me at their age of 20 and 18, I realize, she was right. See, when the kids move out, that will be the true test for us. Do we really like each other for who we are, not just as the mother and the father of the kids? Is it just because the kids were there, we had a common ground/goal? Do we still share the same interest, that has NOTHIN...

The Bed, that is. Do you make your bed every morning? The minute you get up or later in the morning, day or even before you go to bed? I'm lucky. My Hubby makes the bed every single morning. EVEN if I am the last one out of bed (rarely, but occasionally). He smooths the sheet out. Pulls the top sheet tight. Tucks them in snug at the bottom. Fluffs the comforter and both my pillows. And makes sure the palm trees face the right way when he puts the pillows back on the bed. Yes. He does. It's the little things in life that really make it all worth while!

Yesterday was not such a great day. Sure, I went with Princess to the campus to see Romeo and Juliet, but overall, not a good day. I was mad at hubby and held a grudge most of the day. Gave him the silence treatment. Yes, I know, very mature indeed. It all started with me commenting on something that was on television at 8am ... I was a little ticked off that the tv was on already and he was glued to it.  Apparently, I interrupted something he was watching/listening to, and I was shushed. Up go the hairs on my body! That was it. Simple as that. I was shushed. Of course, there's more to it than that. a. The tv is more important that what I have to say. b. You would rather watch tv then have a conversation with me. c. What I say means nothing as you don't want to listen to me speak. and so on. In the end, Hubby won. He was able to watch tv all day without me interrupting him. Of course, in between the tv watching marathon, he vacuumed the bedroom, made a...