Declutter Challenge Day 8 and more

First, let me get the Declutter Challenge Day 8 out of the way. This evening I went through a file cabinet in my office, and found benefits handbooks for Jeff's job that have since been replaced with newer versions, plus information on a pension fund for a job I haven't worked at for three years! Off to the trash it all went... Brayden spent the night last night (in bed and asleep by 8:30 and slept until 8:30 this morning! I tell you, this child is too good to be true!), and we headed off for Ohio's portion of "The World's Longest Yard Sale"... The route we took is the same route the Mary takes to her house after picking up Brayden at the babysitter's (Kelly). As we drove down the highway and came near his exit, Brayden perked up and said, "Umma, turn right here", thinking we were taking him back to his house. I explained we weren't going to his house right now, and he said, "Mama turns right there every day after Kelly's." Not too bad for a 2 yr old! Unfortunately, someone neglected to send out the notice to Ohio that all of Route 127 is participating in the World's Longest Yard Sale. We got on to Route 127 in Hamilton, OH and drove southward, saw a total of 6 yard sales, 5 of which we didn't stop, and one we stopped at but didn't buy anything. We got down as far as the Ohio/Kentucky border, and decided "it wasn't meant to be" and headed to Sawyer Point in Cincinnati instead. They have two GREAT playgrounds, one of which is especially nice for toddlers. Brayden is getting quite brave and will now go down slides by himself and loves to swing. Our weather is gorgeous this weekend, with a break in the high humidity and 90 degree temps, so it was the perfect day to spend a few hours at the playground, and then walk along the river. Of course, I left my camera in the car...sigh. After the playground and a nice walk, we had a picnic in the park, which Brayden also thoroughly enjoyed. As soon as we got in the car, he said, "One more picnic, Umma??" Meaning, of course, "I loved it! Can we do it again SOON?" Bright and early yesterday morning, I went out on the back deck to drink my coffee (enjoying the quiet before Brayden arrived for the day) and this is what I found under the canopy that shades part of the deck. This is one busy spider because I know that web wasn't there 24 hours before. It makes you wonder if early man looked at a spider web and thought...Hmmm..I can weave like that... and thus, baskets and other woven objects were invented. Today, there was a rainbow of colors in the web. If you click on the photo you can see a larger version and a better idea of the fabulous colors involved. Tomorrow Jeff and I are having another go at the Yard Sale -- and hopefully we'll actually find a yard sale or two along the way! If I don't get Declutter Challenge photos up on Saturday or Sunday, I'll post them on Monday. Do you know you can watch the Olympics online?! More than 2000 hours of Olympic coverage that won't be on TV. Just go to http://www.nbcolympics.com to watch. Oh goodie, a new way to waste more hours of the day!

Eating dinner out on a frugal budget

When we decide to live our lives in a more frugal fashion, one of the first thing we're advised to do is limit the amount of money we spend on entertainment, including eating out. Paying as much for one dinner as you normally spend for a week's worth of groceries, just doesn't make sense when you're watching your frugal pennies. But what if you could eat out at one of your favorite local restaurants (or even better, try out a new restaurant) for such a low price that you can't even cook at home for the amount?! THIS OFFER HAS BEEN EXTENDED THROUGH SUNDAY 08/10/08!! YOU STILL HAVE TIME TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS GREAT DEAL! For the first time ever, Restaurant.com has announced a ONE DAY SALE of it's $25 gift certificates -- for just $2!!!! That's 80% OFF their normal GC price!!! At this price, you may want to buy several today -- for upcoming birthdays, anniversary, date night, co-worker gifts, etc.!!! First, check out the web site and see what local restaurants are available to you (you will probably be pleasantly surprised!). Then, with each gift certificate you choose, be sure and read the fine print -- some may have a requirement for the number in the party, how much total you must spend, etc. Some have no requirements at all. Click on the web link below and use the CODE WORD given. For the first time ever, Take 80% off 25 Gift Certificates. Pay $2 when you use the code FIRST.Now valid through 8-10-08.

DeClutter Challenge - Day 7

A quick post - today is a babysitting day and Brayden is due in any minute. The next few days will be just a quick DeClutter Challenge post, as we are headed out to drive some of the 640 mile "World's Longest Yard Sale" from Ohio to Kentucky and probably into Tennessee! I'm excited! But I'm also thinking this DeClutter Challenge mustn't be offset by bringing more clutter back into the house, so I am going with a list of things I'm looking for (an antique bedroom set being the main one), and I'll try hard to stick to the list. This morning I decluttered my lingerie drawer of pieces I don't wear or don't like when I do wear them! The photo is just a jumbled mess simply because I don't want to post photos of my undies (or give a thrill to those folks who end up on my web site because they're googling "housewife pics"...sigh sigh sigh.)!

DeClutter Challenge - Day 6

This morning I went through our coat closet for the Declutter Challenge, and I'm getting rid of two jackets -- one too big, and one too small. If my daughter doesn't want them, I'll drop them off at Goodwill later today on my way to the grocery store. (My theory is that decluttering isn't decluttering unless you actually get the clutter OUT of your house!)

Photos - Declutter Challenge, family visits, more

Several of my family members and family friends visit my blog, so I want to post some photos of JJ and Lisa's visit last week. But first, let me post my Declutter Challenge photo, so I don't forget! (You can get info on how to join the Challenge here.) Today, I decluttered a kitchen drawer. Here's what I'm getting rid of: old yucky potholder that was long ago replaced, a second potholder that I sewed before realizing you needed different heat resistent batting so you don't get burned (ouch!), a salad fork that has no partner, an unknown thing-a-ma-jig, a small strainer that has gotten rusty, and some take-out plastic silverware. Now, on to bigger and better things. My son JJ and his wife Lisa visited last week. We haven't seen them for almost two years, so it was wonderful to have them visit. While they were here, we went to Cincinnati and went on the BB Riverboats cruise on the Ohio River. It was perfect weather -- slightly overcast with a nice breeze on the water. It was so peaceful on the water! Here are JJ and Lisa: And here's my sweetie: And believe it or not, this is my daughter Mary, who celebrated her 27th birthday while JJ and Lisa were here. Does this kid look 27?!?!? I think she looks 12!! She's holding her son -- the notorious Brayden Lee. Brayden thoroughly enjoyed getting to know his Uncle Jeff and Aunt Lisa. He and JJ played soccer and golf in the back yard -- well, JJ hit the balls and Brayden chased them and laughed! Some scenes of downtown Cincinnati -- it really is a wonderful city! Every time we go down (it's about 20 miles away), we wonder why we don't go more often! Cincinnati Red's "Great American Ball Park" -- too bad we don't have the "Great American Ball team" to go with it... After our "cruise" we ate lunch here -- Mongomery Inn's "Boat House". Great food, great sports memorabilia inside, and great view of the river. These are just photos I liked -- the first is the smokestack of the riverboat we were on, and the second is a bridge we went under while on the boat. Cincinnati has some absolutely stunning architecture throughout downtown.

Another hot week - light menu's

This is a fairly quiet week, but we won't be home on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, so no meals are planned for those days. (We've decided to drive the Rt 127 "World's Longest Yard Sale" route). All meals are from what I have on hand, including leftover roast chicken from Saturday. Also, it's going to be another hot week, so meals are lighter with the least amount of cooking possible.

Monday Chef Salad: Mixed lettuce, garden tomatoes, green peppers, leftover chicken, cucumbers, brocolli florets, onion, cheese cubes, croutons Tuesday Egg salad (Jeff), Tuna Salad (me) Bagels Sliced tomatoes Wednesday Steak on the grill Green salad, sliced tomatoes Thursday Crock pot Stew Beef w/ tomato onion sauce Rice, Steamed Zucchini

I honestly don't plan breakfasts or lunches, as some folks do. I do make Jeff a full breakfast every morning. It can be as easy as cereal and toast, or more involved. This morning I made him a very easy Breakfast Burrito, because he was running late and wanted to take breakfast with him. It's another one of those recipes that I use according to what I have on hand. Breakfast Burrito 1 tortilla 1 egg 1/4 cup meat (this can be 2 slices of bacon, 2 link sausages, or chopped ham or leftover steak) 1 slice of cheese Optional: diced or chopped veggies of your choice (mushrooms, onions, green peppers, whatever) Very lightly moisten two paper towels with water. You want them just barely damp. Put one towel flat in the bottom of your microwave, place the tortilla on top, then layer on the second towel. Microwave on high for 30 seconds. This "steams" your tortilla so it's soft and fresh. If using bacon or sausage, cook meat thoroughly in small fry pan according to directions, remove from pan. Drain any fat from pan. Dice or chop meat. Pam Spray (or small amount of butter) the pan, and crack the egg and add it into the pan. Return meat to pan, and add veggies if you desire. No need to add milk, just a bit of salt and pepper if desired. Stir egg mixture gently with fork as it cooks. Lay tortilla out flat. Cut piece of cheese in half, and lay lengthwise down middle of tortilla. Add egg/meat/veggie mixture on top of cheese. (Optional: Spoon a light layer of your favorite salsa over the egg mixture.) Roll up tortilla burrito-style. Wrap in aluminum foil so it holds it's shape if being eaten on the way to work. Obviously the recipe is for just one serving. I have made these two at a time, let one cool on the counter, then wrap in aluminum foil and put in the fridge. Jeff had it for breakfast the next morning and said it was great.

Declutter Challenge continues

I've been doing my declutter-once-a-day to meet the requirements of the Declutter Challenge over at My Simpler Life. And the challenge is "catching"! My DIL Lisa sent me Before and After pictures yesterday of the major decluttering she did in her guest room! To catch up (I didn't read about the challenge until August 2, so I was one day behind), on Sunday I did two decluttering jobs. First, I decluttered my mail slot (a place where uninteresting paperwork goes when you have no idea what else to do with it -- which probably means it should have been thrown out in the first place): And for my "catch up" decluttering, I also cleaned out the magazines on the end table in the Family Room: This morning, while I was getting dressed and ready for the day, I decluttered the master bathroom's medicine chest of old medicine, empty fragrance bottles, and... well, junk! It's amazing how quick it is to complete these small decluttering tasks, and yet how much clutter they are relieving me of!

Frugal medicine?

Over the counter and prescription medicine coupons - pet medicine coupons? I had no idea! But there it is - Internet Drug Coupons, recommended by AARP. In just checking drugs and over-the-counter items my family uses, I can already see that we will save literally hundreds of dollars with this site! No affiliation -- and I've not yet printed coupons from there. If you do, come back and let me know how it went!

Frugal chicken dinner from coupons and sales

I've discovered that "brand loyalty", frugal shopping and clipping coupons are not compatible. For example, I always buy XXX brand Spaghetti sauce (if you're like me, you've bought the same brand for the past 20 years!) for $1.69 a jar. But a recent sale on Ragu sauces, combined with coupons, allowed me to buy jars at .67 each. The new frugal shopper in me kicks in and out goes the "brand loyalty". Two weeks ago, I found several foods on sale that I had coupons for, but they were foods I had never tried. The price, however, made it worth buying. These two items were Patak's (Indian) Tomato and Onion Sauce, and Middle Eastern's Garlic and Parmesian Couscous. Jeff and I had the most wonderful dinner last night -- using both of these new foods. I'd purchased whole chickens on sale at .88 lb., popped one in my crockpot yesterday morning with a bit of water in the bottom (less than 1/2 inch) and a whole onion (quartered) in the cavity, and covered the chicken with about 1 cup of Patak's sauce. I set the crockpot on High, and left it for 6 hours. At the end of the 6 hours, I placed the chicken in a baking pan, added another 1/2 cup of sauce on top, and baked the chicken at 375 for about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, I prepared the Couscous and steamed some fresh green beans. When I took the chicken out of the oven, I added a bit of water to the cooked-down sauce in the bottom of the roaster, to make a bit of extra sauce for the couscous. Everything was wonderful! The sauce was a very mild flavored addition to the chicken - you didn't really taste a tomatoe-y flavor, but more a wonderful combination of very mild spices and a hint of mint! Very clean and light tasting. When I served the chicken, I put some of the sauce and the cooked onion on top of the couscous, and that also added a nice mild flavor to a fairly bland couscous. The green beans were the perfect accompaniment. Because of the coupons and sales, dinner was less than $1 per person, and we have plenty of leftovers. (One full meal, plus another three meals from leftover chicken.) A word about the chicken. I love roast chicken, but the price of it on non-sale weeks can get up to over $2 a pound. Watch your local store for whole frying chickens on sale, almost always under $1 per pound. I usually pick up two or three of the plumpest, fattest whole chickens I can find, and stock the freezer. These whole frying chickens can be tougher than a normal roasting chicken, but if you cook it slowly (the crockpost is perfect) with a bit of steam (water or chicken broth), it is just as juicy and tender as the more expensive roaster. Once it's cooked through, pop it in a 375 degree oven to brown it up, and you'll have a wonderful, tender roast chicken. For two people, you can get almost a week's worth of meals from this one chicken, especially if it's a time of year when you can make soup. This meal has opened my eyes to trying new foods. When we finished our dinner, I told Jeff "I feel like I went out to eat." Of course, he looked at me funny, but I added, "That's a meal of ingredients I never would have thought to buy." So let your couponing and sales open your eyes to new food adventures!