Updates

I'm still on my month-long spending fast, and doing fine. The only money I spent this week was budgeted money for grocery shopping. I managed to use $11.73 in coupons this week! When I got home I got online and transferred that money from my checking account to my savings. We have a Home Improvement loan I'd like to get paid off soon, so on the day that loan payment is due, I will add the money saved by using coupons to the principal of the loan. It might not be much, but it will help!

Today I wasn't babysitting and didn't have a particularly full day, so initially thought I'd drive to Ikea to see what there was to see. Talk about impulse buying! I decided the most frugal thing to do was just stay home and get caught up on some projects.

If you want to join the Spending Fast, you can read about it on The Simpler Life blog.

I'm really surprised at how many of my books have been ordered from PaperBackSwap.com . I currently have 7 credits to use (which translates to 7 free books to order), even after ordering two books. I just think this service is such a great way to get rid of books I've read, and get in new books to read! Then I discovered their sister-site SwapaDVD.com, which works on the same principle! I joined right up and went straight to our family room and pulled about 30 DVD's that we've watched several times and will never watch again, posted them, got orders within 15 minutes, and now have credit for 8 DVD's that I can order. How cool is that?!? I've spent about $20 in shipping, and for that $20 I can now order a total of 9 books and 8 DVD's.

Today is another rainy Spring day in southwestern Ohio. At this rate, I won't be able to get into my vegetable garden to plant until the end of May. Weeds are growing faster than I can pluck them out! I've transplanted all my tomato plants and green peppers to larger pots, but they may need to be transplanted again if I can't get them in the ground soon. No complaints though! This has been a wonderful Spring in Ohio, still staying in Spring-like temperatures (60's and 70's) instead of diving right into the 80's and 90's like it often does.

I purchased a small fryer chicken when I went grocery shopping, since they were on sale for .89 a pound. Today I put a layer of onions and layer of celery on the bottom of the crockpot, put the chicken on top and sprinkled it with poultry seasoning and black pepper, then put in just enough water to cover the bottom vegetables without touching the chicken. I let it cook on high for two hours, then turned it down to low for the afternoon. When it was well-cooked, I popped it in the oven at 325 degrees to brown it up a bit, and mmmmm... it was so good! The chicken was so moist and flavorful! This may be my new favorite way to roast chicken.

Brayden's here tomorrow. He's still recovering from last week's illness, but doing a lot better. There's a huge puddle in front of my house, so if the weather is warmer, I'm pretty sure that's where we'll be most of the day! That child does love splashing in water!

If you've never seen it, stop by Brayden's blog to see his life photographed by him.