Frugal is the new "F" word

In my house, Frugal is the new "F" word! I decided to follow Mrs. P's decision to be more frugal in the month of February. It is not working so well!

All of us have craved sugar or chips or something non-diet as soon as we say we want to loose weight. Some of us have even found a new love as soon as we decide we are ok on our own. Well, apparently as soon as I said I wanted to be more frugal, things started to go wrong.

Here is a conversation that happened Monday of this week:

Me, "Hey Big, do you need anything from the store?"

Big, "Yeah, I need some shampoo and conditioner."

Me, "Can't you use any of the shampoo and conditioner I have already?"

Big, "No. I need ------ brand. I don't like what we already have."

Me, "But I am trying to be Frugal. You remember that I joined Mrs. P in being frugal. I really want to save some money and she is offering a prize and I would like to be the winner!"

Big, "You know Mrs. P will probably just send you Vegemite! She loves that stuff and thinks you should too!"

Me, "No, Mrs. P promised it wouldn't be Vegemite. Come on, play along with me."

Big, "Hey, you recently spent $50.00 of fabric and $100.00 on thread. In comparison, my shampoo and conditioner is cheap. "

I decided to end the conversation at that point because she was right. (I don't know about you guys, but I don't let her know she is right that often.) I'm just going to tell her there wasn't any ------ shampoo to be found and she will have to use what we already have.

I then decided to go to bed and snuggle up with my book. As I began to read, the side of my face started to pound. It got progressively worse as the night wore on. I didn't sleep much that night.

Tuesday morning, I called in to work and said I wouldn't be at work. I then took myself to the dentist.

After a $167.00 probing from the Dental Hygienist, I was told I have an abscessed tooth and for a mere $1,998.00, I can get a root canal and a cap! The best part of the visit was getting a prescription for Loritab!

The Baby called last night and told me she needed $45.00 to join the honorary organization she was invited to, $200.00 for the application fee for her trip to Argentina and Peru and I think there were some other dollar amounts thrown around, but by that time the pain meds had kicked in and I just can't remember.

Can you understand why I think Frugal is the new "F" word? I am still going to follow along with Mrs. P and try to save some money. I am just not going to call it being Frugal anymore. That word has now been deleted from my vocabulary!!

I hope you all have had a good couple of days. I will post the Thanksgiving Dinner in a Dish photos tomorrow - I need to go get a pain pill!

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First Finish for 2011!!

I have my first finish for 2011! It is the Quilt for Kids quilt that I have been working on for a few weeks. I will put it in the mail tomorrow. I am so excited. I plan to making 5 more "projects" to be donated in 2011. I am not sure if they will all be quilts, although I enjoyed working on this one.



As you know I am playing along with Mrs. P's Frugal February. Check out her progress at Quilting in my Pyjamas. I have only spent $50.00 this month. I do need to run to the grocery store tomorrow, but I only have a few things to pick up. I have my list written and my coupons clipped!

Here is this weeks menu:

Monday - Thanksgiving Dinner in a Dish (we did not have it last week)
Tuesday - Pasta Carbonara, Salad, Artisan Bread
Wednesday - Stacked Enchiladas
Thursday - Pasta with Veggies
Friday - Turkey Burgers with Swiss Cheese and Sauteed Mushrooms, French Fries
Saturday - Hot Dogs, Baked Beans, Chips
Sunday - Roast Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli

I had a few questions regarding "Thanksgiving Dinner in a Dish". I decided to take photos while I was making it tonight. I will post them tomorrow. I was thinking the recipe could easily be made with chicken instead of turkey. Mrs. P said she thought she would substitute leftover roast beef. Yum.

Tonight is my "cuddle up and read a good book" night. I am reading the new Patricia Cornwell book. I really enjoy her writing. So I am off to fill the hot water bottle (thanks again Marg for the cover) and crawl in bed for a night of good reading.

Hope you had a good day and a great evening doing something you enjoy!


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This weekend

This has been a great weekend!

Big and jumped in the car early Friday morning and traveled to Parkersburg, WV. Big had an allergy appointment and we were able to pick The Baby up for the weekend. On the way home we stopped at Las Trancas Mexican Food Restaurant in Clarksburg, WV, and had a wonderful dinner. The Baby slept on the way home and as soon as we got in the house, she went to bed and slept till about 10:00 a.m. Saturday. Most of Saturday was dedicated to her studies.



She came up for air long enough to watch a movie with us and then it was back to the studies! She was able to get a lot of her work done. I love it when she comes home, even if I don't get to see her much. I feel good just knowing she is in the house.

This is what $100.00 worth of embroidery thread looks like.



Joann Fabrics had a 50% off sale on thread, so I stocked up a little!

Big finished a pastel portrait of The Baby this weekend.



This is the photo she worked from. It was taken two years ago.



I think it is really good, she is a bit critical of it. Each time she looks at it, she finds something wrong with it. I guess that is an artist for you. I wonder why we can never be happy with our work.

I am going to brag a little, so bear with me. The Baby has been invited to Alpha Lambda Delta. It is an honorary organization for freshmen with a Grade Point Average of 3.5 or above. I know she is a Sophomore already, I guess it takes a while for the invitation to arrive! I am so proud of her.

I am off to catch up on what everyone has been up to this weekend. I have to put the border on the Quilt For Kids and then it will be in the mail! I will be excited to have my first finish of the year! I am going to spend a little time working on my next weeks menu and prepare a post about my Frugal February! So far I have only spend about $50.00!

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It is late!

It is late at night and my brain is beginning to get fuzzy! I have been stressed out this afternoon because The Baby was on her way home from Washington D.C. and I was worried about what kind of weather she would have to drive through. Luckily, West Virginia and Maryland did not get as much bad weather as the rest of the north. She is safe at school and all is well.

Today, I left work early. I had a migraine and needed to be out of the smoky house that my client lives in. I came home, showered, ate and took a nap. When I woke up, I went to my sewing room and finished quilting the Quilt for Kids quilt. I have to put the binding on and then I will be finished and post a photo!

Yesterday, after work, I went to a quilt shop in one of the towns that is close to us. I received a coupon from them for $20.11 off any purchase. Guess what? I spent almost $50.00 after the $20.00!! I am happy with what I came home with!



Hope you all had a great day and those affected by bad weather were safe at home sewing away!



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Frugal Grocery February

Mrs. P over at Quilting in My Pyjamas, is attempting to clean out her freezers and save some money in the process. She invited all her readers to join her challenge. I decided to play along and see if I could save about $100.00 during the month of February. My usual budget for the month is $400.00, this includes shampoo, toilet paper, etc.

I thought I would start by taking a photo of my freezers. I have two, but both are attached to a refrigerator. They are pretty full. I could probably go a few weeks without purchasing too much.





I usually make a menu for two weeks, so this part of the challenge was easy. Here is my menu for one week.

Monday - Grilled Pork Chops, Baked Potatoes, Green Beans

Tuesday - Asparagus Frittata, Artisan Bread

Wednesday - Turkey Burgers, Tater Tots, Corn on the Cobb

Thursday - Thanksgiving Dinner in a Dish

Friday - Eat Out - We will be on the road to get The Baby for the weekend

Saturday - Calzones (using the Artisan Bread recipe)

Sunday - Chili (this will go in the crock pot) Corn Bread

I have everything I need to prepare all the dishes for the week.

I have not posted breakfast or lunches. Breakfast is usually eggs or cereal for Big (she eats them at work) and I usually eat oatmeal. Big has leftovers for lunch and I usually have soup or cheese and crackers.





Yummm...tonight's dinner!

We are getting rain for the next couple of days. My thoughts and prayers are with all of those who are in this horrible storm.

Take care!

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Nice weekend

Big and I went to Morgantown yesterday so she could get her hair cut. For those of you who are not familiar with West Virginia, that means we drove almost two hours so she could get a hair cut! Are we crazy? Yes!

One of my favorite things about our trip to Morgantown is our visit to TJ Maxx. Yesterday we were lucky enough to hit a big sale. We walked away with 5 pairs of slacks for $26.00. Yes, $26.00 for all 5 pair, not just one pair! I bought myself a new red purse and am excited about getting to use it. I am not sure if I should start now or wait till the weather is nicer. Not sure why I think I have to have nice weather to use a new purse, it just seems logical!

Early this morning the baby left with two fellow students and one professor to drive to Annapolis, MD. Her college was chosen to attend the Naval Academy Leadership Conference. She was one of three students from her school chosen to attend. She is very proud (so am I) to have been asked. She is so excited! A couple of the other schools invited were Duke, SMU, MIT, and Yale.

Everyone was to to attend a big dinner tonight and then they were off to see the town with some Naval Acadamy escorts! She keeps telling me how cute the Acadamy boys are!

I am a bit nervous - we are supposed to get a BIG storm beginning on Monday night. It will reach the Annapolis area on Tuesday and continue through Wednesday. I worry about her trip home and the saftey of all of them. Please keep them in your thoughts this Wednesday. I would really appreicate it.

Today we shoveld the last bit of snow and ice from the driveway. We will only be seeing black top for a couple of days - then more snow and ice!

Hope you all had a great weekend. I look forward to seeing what you have been up to.

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Quilt for Kids

I finished the top for the Quilt for Kids quilt. I really like the way it turned out. The instructions say to make sure the quilting is tight and there is no possibility of IV's getting hung up. The quilts will go through a lot of washing also. I am thinking I want to use a bright variegated thread. What do you think.

I hope to have it finished by the middle or end of next week. I don't think I have any matching thread, so I will have to go shopping!!

I am working on a little Valentines present for The Baby. I will show it when I get it finished. What do all of you do for Valentine's Day?

Big and I have never made it that big of a deal. With her every day is Valentine's Day! (Ok, the wine I had in my mouth just blew out my nose!)

Sorry, I just had to show you one more snow photo! I actually think this one if pretty!



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