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Archive for February, 2012

$8 for popcorn and $6 for soda....

February 27th, 2012 at 05:09 pm

I mentioned that we were going to see a movie yesterday. We decided to just do the movie experience and buy treats there..OMG. Its been a looooong time since I did that, and it will be a looonger time before I ever do again. SERIOUSLY. $8 for popcorn and $6 for a soda that the hub and I shared. All in all, tickets, popcorn and soda = $29. (this was for the early matinee) And I didnt even like the movie!!!!

Argh.

Oh well, relearned that lesson.

Afterwards, we stopped at the resort pub for a drink. It was fun to just sit and visit and we enjoyed it. I paid for the tab = $28 (inc tip) Then we came home and I cooked up a dozen of the eggrolls I bought at Christmas (from a single mom- I pay extra for them so she can send money to her family in the Phillipeans and they are AWESOME)...everyone loved them.... and the hub made yummy tacos. Finished off the night with a couple more rounds of dominoes and a soak in the hot tub. Slept soooo well last night.

This morning my friend is cooking breakfast and then we will pack up and head home. It has been a super fun weekend. Very relaxing and lots of laughs with good friends.I hate to leave this beautiful winter wonderland!! (its snowing again this morning)

Tomorrow is back to work...but I'll think about that later...

For now, just enjoying the last couple hours of a great get-away!

The perfect Sunday morning

February 26th, 2012 at 05:56 pm

Today is our day for meals. The hub LOVES to cook. So I am sitting in the living room, enjoying the smell of bacon and coffee cooking in the kitchen. We have a fire in the fireplace and the sun is out glistening on the snow. This is such a nice morning.

It snowed all day yesterday so there is a beautiful white blanket on everything. We had a domino tournament which lasted all afternoon and was great fun. Last night we enjoyed the hot tub and lots of laughs.

Today we are going to head into town and catch a movie. I think we decided to go see The Grey. What a relaxing fun weekend.

I checked my account and the reward deposit showed up already. It was a little more than I expected so I moved $2920 into my ING account. This brings the savings up to $7500. YAY!! My hope is to just let this money ride...and watch it grow.

Well, breakfast is ready...time to eat! Life is very very good!

Day one of the weekend get-away...and we have SNOW

February 25th, 2012 at 04:22 pm

We arrived at the vacation home yesterday afternoon. It was great to get here. Last night we just ordered in pizza ($30)and soaked in the hot tub. The hub had been awake for almost 36 hours from traveling back from Alaska and then not being able to sleep- and i was worn out from this darn cold..so we went to bed early. Got up this morning to about 4 inches of snow- GORGEOUS!


The hut tub..just off our bedroom...


For the rest of the weekend, we will be cooking in. Each couple takes one day of meals/cleanup. Most likely the rest of the weekend will be a no-spender.
The hub LOVES to cook, so he will do the lions share on our day and I will take the cleanup. He planned a tasty egg scramble for breakfast and a taco bar for dinnner. The other couple is making a bbq tri-tip for dinner (uh-yum).

We brought dominoes, Monopoly and yahtzee for fun. But mainly we are enjoying the awesome view this morning!!

This is the weekend I get my reward bonus at work. It should post to my account tonight or tomorrow. Once it does, it will go straight to my ING account. I managed to save all my bonus $ from last year and hope to continue the trend. It is a nice emergency-emergency fund to have.

Well, off to enjoy the company and scenery...and coffee. Life is good!


I had no idea....

February 23rd, 2012 at 03:39 am

My Dr is an angel. She is the kind of Dr who really cares...asks questions, helps where she can. She has always offered my samples at each visit for my inhaler- over the past two years I have never had to fill a prescription. Today, I needed a new inhaler, so I called in and asked for a prescription. Oh if only I knew then what I know now. I stopped and picked it up after work SEVENTY DOLLARS later! And that is after insurance paid over $200...and it lasts ONE MONTH. Holy cow!! I have a new appreciation for how well my doctor takes care of her patients (ie ...me!) I will need to either get samples, or find a less expensive solution. That is crazy. Thankfully, I have a prepaid medical card, so it wasnt a hit to the budget...but it will be if I have to refill this darn thing every month...ouch.

I finally slept last night, but still ended up having to take a nap at work. I am blessed to work somewhere that there is a sick room for days like today. I used my lunch break to sleep for a bit.

I had my last bagel at work today- so I need to figure out breakfast for tomorrow...then I have a four day weekend. Big Grin So excited about the hub coming home tomorrow night and a long weekend getaway!!

Today was a no-spender!

February 22nd, 2012 at 03:51 am

Today was a no spend day. I had two bagels left over at work from last week, so that was/is breakfast for today and tomorrow. I had leftovers for lunch. Dinner was just some pasta and sauce that I had in the cupboard.

Like Baselle, I have been sick since Friday. It started with waking up in the middle of the night to a nasty sore throat and has progressed into congestion in my lungs...my least favorite ailment because of the asthma.

The hub comes home Thursday at midnight and Friday morning we leave for a 4 day trip to the resort we like to stay at. (We rent a house there that has a hot tub-) We usually go with another couple- which is what we are doing this weekend. Each couple takes the meals for one day and one night we dine out. We play games, go for walks, sit in the hot tub, and just relax. We always have a great time. I am so looking forward to it!! Its supposed to snow...which I am excited about! (Of course, the hub sees plenty of snow, so its not as exciting for him anymore.

Lots to look forward to!



Weekend with my son

February 21st, 2012 at 01:14 am

I had such a great weekend. Went to Sacramento with my daughters and their kids to see my son and his family. We went to a fun pizza parlor, the zoo, fairytale town. I absolutely loved it. Here are som pics of the weekend:

Flamingos:


Getting around the zoo


Giraffes: (thats DD3 holding the little one)


Coming down the slide... Watch Gramma!


Dinner after a fun day...
thats my DS and youngest GS


We slept on air mattresses at my sons, so the weekend was relatively frugal. The kids enjoyed playing together and I LOVED having all my chicks under one roof for a couple of days. Im a happy gramma!!


$5k down!

February 17th, 2012 at 02:38 am

The hub and I have officially paid off $5k in debt since the first of the year!! WOOT. It feels so good to FINALLY be making progress!

This work week was a no spend week except for Valentines day. I went to my daughter and SILs for dinner (he made us girls chicken piccata) and I stopped and bought wine to go with dinner. But other than that, it has been a no spender.

Tomorrow all the girls, grandbabies and I are heading to Sacramento to spend the 3 day weekend with my son and his family. We will be going to the zoo and just letting all the cousins have fun playing together.

Next week, the hub comes home for two weeks. Next weekend we have reservations at a resort that we love to go to. We have rented a nice home that has a hot tub, ping pong, bikes, etc. Should be a great weekend.

Lots of fun to look forward to. And so greatful to be making a dent in the debt finally!!

Life is so good!

Work Potluck

February 14th, 2012 at 05:06 am

Today was a no-spender. We had a potluck at work with our new team, so lunch was potluck food. I always love the variety...and seeing what others bring. It was mexi themed, so I brought a 7 layer dip with chips. One co-worker brought a spinach-artichoke cheese dip. It was so yummy! There was shrimp cocktail, tacos, deviled eggs, veggies and dip, cake and sodas. An interesting mix. But it is always fun to join in a collaboration like this. And, we have lots of left overs for tomorrow too.

My SIL sent me a text invite for dinner tomorrow at their house. This is a first..and I thought it was really sweet...but my daughter told me tonight he is making chicken picatta (my favorite) because he knows the hub is in Alaska this year for Valentines Day...talk about brownie points!!..Its looking like tomorrow will be a no-spender too!!

Wed, I will have dinner at work (free) because I have to make a presentation at the board meeting and they provide dinner at the meeting.

So, that just leaves dinner Thurs...and I have a chicken in the fridge thawing to cook up in the crockpot...

So dinners are all planned for the week until we leave for Sacramento on Friday.

Can I make it to Friday with no spending?? Thats my plan...we shall see!!

Fun Girls Day

February 13th, 2012 at 02:23 am

I have a good friend who owns a salon that is struggling. This is my friend who lost her son (21) to cancer 8 months ago. She has had a tough year. I have another friend who is soon getting her massage license- and trying to buy a home.

I wanted to figure a way to help them both, and also wanted to do something for my girls. So this morning- we went to the salon with mimosa makings and each of my daughters was treated to a haircut/ stle; gel nails and a chair massage.

It was a way to help my friends with some business, while giving the girls a treat. Not the most frugal day Ive ever had, but definately a feel good for everyone involved. The girls left feeling pampered and my friends made some extra money... And I felt it was a great "investment" for all. It cost me about $60 (plus tip) per daughter for a wonderful time.

Otherwise, I had a fairly frugal weekend. Yesterday I read a loaner book on my kindle - The Hunger Games. It was dark, but well written. I got a nap in, did some housework, enjoyed an amazing rain storm - where it literally poured for about a half hour.

Next weekend is our trip down to my sons new home. We havent been yet, so the girls, the grandbabies and I are going to go visit. Should be a fun time!

In the meantime, it is back to work tomorrow!

What a deal!

February 9th, 2012 at 02:49 am

I have been having upper back pain this week. Right between the shoulder blades. So I decided to adjust my chair at work and then I put a rolled up blanked behind my back for support and put a couple of books on the floor for a foot rest. By lunch time, my back was feeling better. (Was it the new ergonomics or the ibuprofen??) I decided to go look for a back support. The first store I went to didnt have anything...so I stopped by Staples. I walked all over the darn store twice...and finally found a support that straps to the chair. But there was no price. It looked like a nice one, so I decided to go and get a price check.

The girl scanned it, and it rang up for fifty cents. She looked surprised and said it was closeout clearance price. SO I BOUGHT IT. It worked like a charm, supporting just where I needed. This is what it looks like:



These kind of deals dont come along very often..especially when you go to the store to find a specific item...but I am so glad it did!!

Dinner tonight was simple pasta and sauce. Total cost about $2. (Breakfast was toast and coffee, lunch was the last of my lunch meat- turkey sandwich)

Repaid!

February 7th, 2012 at 02:17 am

As promised, DD2 repaid us today when she got her tax return. She had borrowed $2k for a couch and to have some dental work done...I put the entire amount towards debt repayment!

DD2 also paid every bill she had and put some into a savings account for emergencies. She has always been fairly frugal so I encouraged her to just stick the extra she had received away for a rainy day.

Today was a no spend day. I took breakfast (toast/coffee) and lunch (turkey sandwich) to work and then made lemon-rosemary chicken/potato and broccoli for dinner. Meals for the day = $5.70, plus I will have left over chicken for lunch tomorrow.

I still have not heard about my merit raise. My boss has to get approval from the CEO, who is on a extended (3 week) vacation. He comes back next week...so I hope to hear then. My annual increase (5.25%) will be on the paycheck I get Friday- Then, at the end of the month we find out what our rewards check will be. (If we hit certain predetermined goals, we are eligible for a bonus after the first of the year.) We hit almost all of the goals last year, so I am anxious to learn how much the reward check will be. Last year, I saved all gift and bonus money and have that tucked away in my ING account. I have done the same with the safety, loyalty and thank you gifts I received during December and will add the rewards $ to it when I receive it. Smile

I feel like we are truly on the way to financial soundness!

Big Grin

Funny story about the grandkids...

February 5th, 2012 at 10:44 pm

Waiting on the Superbowl to start. I consider Green Bay "my team' of choice, so I am not overly excited about who wins today...but over the past two years I have just developed a love for watching the game. And I do love the commercials. Big Grin

My teen houseguest went to the store for the broccoli I needed to make the chicken divan...and we ended up getting some game foods. She spent $27, but there is extra of several things because of the 2 for 1 deals (she didnt realize she could just buy one and get it for the half price..lol) Salsa, refried beans, etc...none of it will go to waste. I also needed olive oil.

The chicken divan is prepared and in the fridge to cook for dinner either tonight or tomorrow (depending on how much we snack.)

So a funny story to share...

two of my grandkids (cousins) were here yesterday (7 and 6). I think its because they are both oldest at home, but they argue CONSTANTLY...to the point that I dont have both of them at the same time if possible. My daughter and I took them to Costco, which was a huge err in judgement since it was the first weekend of the month, Saturday at noon, the day before superbowl...CROWDED as heck.

So, by the time we got back to the car, my nerves were pretty shot. The two of them got in the back seat and instantly started arguing. My daughter stopped them and said ok...you have to tell me ONE THING you like about each other.

DD2: DS, tell me one thing you like about her...
DS: NOTHING
DD2: No, you have to say something. One thing
DS: Mom, I cant think of ANYTHING
DD2: OK GD, what do you like about DS:
GD: Ok....I like that I moved away from him so I dont have to see him...

lol...classic.

Lunch today is using up the last of the black bean and chicken soup that I didnt freeze...yummers. And soon, let the game begin!!!

Chicken leftovers

February 5th, 2012 at 05:28 pm

I made a chicken (with curry) yesterday. Once I deboned it, I had lots of leftover chicken, so today I am going to make chicken divan with curry. I use to make this alot but haven't had it in years- kinda like meeting up with an old friend...I dont have any broccoli on hand so I will have to run and get some, but I have everything else. So it will be inexpensive and last for a couple of days.

Finally we are having nice, sunny weather on the weekend. It is gorgeous out! I plan to get outdoors for a while, before the game starts this afternoon.

My son and DIL called this morning..their little girl (4) had an earache a couple of days ago and this morning she has no pain, no fever, but there is a dishcharge. They werent sure if they should take her to the dr- insurance has not kicked in yet...I suggested calling the dr and asking the nurse. I will be real surprised if they arent encouraged to take her in. This is something none of my kids experienced as children, so I am not sure. But Ive always been one to err on the side of caution.

Their little boy (2) has really started chatting the past couple of months...he actually talked with me on the phone and I could understand him. it was so stinkin cute. I cant wait to see them in two weeks.

A nice low key day ahead. A GORGEOUS low key day.

Some decisions are better than others...

February 5th, 2012 at 03:45 am

The curry chicken came out so yummy tonight. Cooked the whole chicken in the crockpot with dabs of butter, a sprinkle of garlic salt and about a teaspoon of curry powder on it.

Served with baked potato and green beans. Meal was $5.60 and I have PLENTY of leftover chicken for a couple of days.

Earlier today, DD2 asked if I would go to Costco with her. So I did. We took her son (7) and my GD (6) (cousins) who argue worse than any brother and sister Ive ever known... + a very crowded superstore = a very cranky gramma when we were done. Not the best decision ever. However, I did restock my lemon juice, black beans and got a couple of watermelons. Then, DD2 took the kiddos home with her, so I snuck a nap in!! Not real sure I will tackle Costco again with those two...especially on the Saturday before superbowl. lol

All in all, a great day. Tomorrow I am just hanging out at home and watching the superbowl.

All in all, a great day on a wonderful weekend!!



Date with GD and the weekend ahead

February 4th, 2012 at 05:07 pm

Last night I took my oldest grandaughter (6) to the movie We Bought a Zoo. It was cute, and she enjoyed it...although it was a fairly long movie, she did really well. Its been a while since Ive been to a movie I guess...or maybe I just always go during the early bird shows...since we went to the 7pm movie on a Friday night, my ticket was $8 and hers $5.75. I had a gift card so no out of pocket.

Before the movie we went to Red Robin for dinner- her mom joined us, and DD2 happened to get wind and was free for dinner (funny how that happens if moms buying!! lol) $65 for the four of us.

The shopping I did last week is going to suffice for this next week too. I will need just a few things (perishables) but have enough chicken, pasta, etc to last the next week.I am going to make a chicken in the crockpot today. Super easy...put the bird in, sprinkle with curry add a few dabs of butter and let it do its thing. I will serve the chicken with some green beans and rice or potatoes. Smile

Going to get outdoors some today..the sun is out, which is fabulous!

So far, the weekend is off to a fabulous start.