Halloween and Clogged Drains

Here are some things we have been learning/doing recently:

1. Zach does not like carving pumpkins (don't be mislead by his face in the fist pic). Below you can see the photos of our lovely pumpkins. Zach's is the one in the back that you can't see because there aren't any holes in it. In fact, most of the insides are still inside. It wasn't his cup of tea.



2. George likes warm laundry. As I was folding this load, I kept tossing the socks over the side of the basket. I noticed a few had landed on him and he didn't move. So I decided to see how many he would let me toss on him. Apparently, the whole basket...


3. Clogged drains are hard to unclog. I'm not talking a little hairball is in the way either. I regularly clean out our tub drain because my hair collects very quickly. I used our little plastic snake thing, and it comes out perfectly clean. We buy an auger. First we try sticking it down the overflow drain: no clog there. Then we tried sticking it down the drain: the auger is too big. Darn. So we resort to stuffing a rag down the overflow drain and plunging the bottom drain. We do this for a while the first night and get some nasty particles but no water flow. We give up.

A few days later, I read a blog about unplugging drains, and they suggested pouring boiling water down the drain. So with renewed vigor, I boil some water that night to give it a try. After one large pot of water, not a budge in the clog. While we debate whether or not to try more boiling water, Dan goes back to plunging. More icky stuff, not a budge in the clog. After plunging for a while, he picks up the hanger that we had used earlier (I didn't mention that trick, but we did try it at one point). He sticks it not 1 inch down the drain, and FLOOSH down goes the water. Where did the clog go? Don't know. But I'm guessing we plunged the clog up to the top of the drain, and the hanger did the trick at the end. Magic.

Then we decided to clean our drain with baking soda and vinegar. Very cool science experiment.


The End.

4. Our dog, George. He is just super cute. This is him watching us unclog the drain.

Race Day and Deals

As some of you may know, Dan and I ran in the Nike+ 10k this morning. The weather was ok, not ideal though. At least it didn't downpour, that's a plus! I finished in 58:28 which was good, but I was hoping to beat my River Bank time of 56 and some change. I blame the weather. :) Dan did AMAZING! This was his first race every and he didn't train a single day for it. Now he does bike and lift regularly, but he doesn't run. He didn't stop once! He finished in 1:04:32. Wow! He is amazing!

Here is lovely us back at our house after the race. I wanted to snap a few at the race, but of course, I forgot my camera!


Another thing I've meaning to blog about is homemade cleaners. Cleaners from the store are stinkin' expensive, and I just can't seem to find good deals to match with coupons. So I decided to make my own.

First, I made a glass cleaner and all purpose cleaner. I am using the all pupose to clean everything that's not glass, even toilets. If I encounter a tough job (i.e. soap scum on the tub) I sprinkle some baking soda and a little water and scrub away. I had no issues cleaning anything in my house so far! Good-bye store bought cleaners!

These are frugal too. I paid:
$2.79 vinegar
$1.99 alcohol
$5.98 spray bottles (probably could have gotten them for a $1 at a dollar store, but I bought them at Meijer instead)
$1.89 baking soda
$1.47 rubber gloves (using $1 manufacturer coupon)

Total: $14.12


I think these cleaners will last forever too. The spray bottles and gloves won't have to be replaced any time soon either.

Next up, laundry soap! I hate buying laundry soap. It is so expensive, and the coupons are ridiculously low value for laundry soap. So I made my own! I got the recipe from the Duggar's book. I haven't tried it yet, so I'll have to update then and let you know what I think.

Total cost: $8.40 for 10 gallons of laundry soap. Yikes! I split the batch with a friend. I will have 5 gallons once it's all said and done. Also I didn't come close to using all the borax or washing soda. I can make several more batches before I'd need to buy more. The bar soap gets used up every time, but it's only $1.40 per bar.

Here are some crazy deals we stumbled up on our spur-of-the-moment Meijer trip. Half gallon OJ for $.56. Wow!!! They did expire in two days, but I think it will last a week or so after that. We'll see! :)

Groceries and Menu Plan

Grocery Haul: I didn't need too many items this week, so I was under-budget which was amazing. I did go apple picking on Saturday and purchased a butternut squash and spaghetti squash. You can see those in the bowl in the center of the table.

Aldi:

Total: $13.82

Meijer:


Milk - $1.75 (Cheaper than Aldi! Unheard of!)
Yogurt - $.39 (Not the best deal ever, but the cheapest I could find)
Potatoes - $1.49 for 10 lbs.
Cottage Cheese - $1.69 (again cheaper than Aldi...so unusual!)
Dried Peppers - $1.69 each
Tuna - $.89 each
Pizza Sauce - $.99
Tomatoes - $1
Brown Sugar (not pictured) - $2.29 for 4 lbs. (cheaper than Aldi!)

total: $24.93

Butternut Squash - $1.56
Spaghetti Squash - $1.17

Grand Total: $41.48

Menu

Breakfasts
English Muffins
French Toast
Eggs and Toast
Apple Bread and Cottage Cheese
Oatmeal & fruit

Dinners/Lunches
Homemade Pizza
Texas Red Chili
Butternut Squash Soup
Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti & Broccoli
Mexicali Meatloaf & Potatoes
Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese

Fantastic Dinner!!!

Unfortunately, Dan was not home when I made this meal. He had to work late, and I didn't think my mushrooms could last one more day. So I made this scrumptious meal for me, myself, and I. I gave it a 4-3/4 out of 5. I thought it was simply fabulous!

I found these recipes in my Rachael Ray cookbook. I by no means made them up myself.

Turkey and Wild Mushroom Meat Loaf

3 T olive oil
8 crimini (baby portobello) mushrooms, chopped
8 shiitake mushrooms, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1-1/3 lb. ground turkey (I used 1lb, and it worked fine)
3 or 4 sprigs of fresh sage, leaves stripped and chopped (I used dried)
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1/2 C Italian bread crumbs
1 egg
2 T butter
2 C chicken or turkey broth
1 t poultry seasoning

Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil, mushrooms, shallots, salt, and pepper. Saute until mushrooms are dark and tender, about 5-6 minutes. Remove to a bowl and return pan to stovetop to preheat to cook patties.

In a mixing bowl, mix turkey, sage, Worcestershire sauce, bread crumbs, egg, and mushroom/onion mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Make a small 1 inch patty and cook for 1 minute on each side. Taste to see if the raw meat mixture needs more spice.

Divide meatloaf into patties 1 inch thick. Add 1 t olive oil to pan and arrange patties in pan. Cook 6 minutes on each side and transfer to serving plate.

Return pan to heat and add butter. When melted, wisk flour and cook 1-2 minutes. Whisk broth and season gravy with poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper. Pour over patties, reserve some for table if you like.

Herb Smashed Potatoes with Goat Cheese

3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
salt and pepper to taste
1 T olive oil
2 T butter
1 shallot, chopped
10 blades chives, chopped or snipped (3 T)
3 or 4 sprigs of thyme, leaves stripped and chopped (again, I used dried)
1 C chicken broth (I only ended up using 1/3 C)
1 small log (4oz.) herb, peppercorn, or plain goat cheese

Bring pot water to a boil, and boil potatoes until fork-tender, about 15 minutes.

drain potatoes and return empty pot to stove. Adjust heat to medium. Add oil, butter. When melted add shallots and saute 2-3 minutes. Add chives and thyme, then potatoes to pot. Mash potatoes, adding broth as you work to achieve desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

Remove goat cheese from packaging and cut into disks. Serve potatoes on dinner plates and top each mound with a disk of goat cheese.

Groceries 9/15/09

I decided to get rid of some of the spaghetti from Betsey's wedding. So I pulled out a pan of that last week. It lasted us a whole week, Monday through Saturday night, 2 meals a day. Yeah, I'm a little tired of spaghetti. But that allowed me to save up some moolah for the next shopping trip. Woohoo!

Here is my most exciting purchase: yeast! My aunt told me that you can buy yeast at Gordon Food Service much cheaper than at the regular grocery store. I was so shocked at the price. For $2.99 you can get 16 oz. of yeast at Gordon's. For $3.69, you can get 4 oz. of yeast at Meijer. Holy Cow!!! What savings!!!

Note: I am using yeast on a regular basis as I no longer buy bread or English muffins from the store.


Aldi:

OJ is reduced to $.99 from $1.25
Pineapple $2.59 (not sure if this is a good deal. I just wanted some fresh pineapple!)

Meijer:

Dannon yogurt $.40 each
Fiber One yogurt $1.19
Campbell's soup $.20 each (that's right!) - use the $.40/4 manufacturer and $1.00/4 MeijerMealbox (Woot! Woot!)


Menu:

Breakfasts
English Muffins and Cottage Cheese
Blueberry Pancakes
French Toast
Eggs and Toast

Dinners
Homemade Pizza
Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup
Chicken Pot Pie
Velveeta Cheeseburger Mac (homemade so slightly better than hamburger helper!)
Turkey and Wild Mushroom Meatload & Herbed Smashed Potatoes
Chicken Divan
Kal-bee & Rice (Korean marinated ribs)

Menu for 8/7/2009

I forgot to attach our menu for the next two weeks:

Breakfasts:
French Toast
Eggs & Toast
English Muffins
Cereal

Lunch:
Leftovers

Dinners:
Grilled Sausage, Potatoes, and Corn on the Cob
BBQ Chicken, Rice, and Corn on the Cob
Chicken Divan
Black Bean Chilaquiles
Pasta Primavera with Sausage
Meatloaf & Rice
Stroganof over Rice

Note:
We will also be bring two items to two different picnics: baked beans and hot dog buns. The ingredients to make these items is included in the loot purchased for the next two weeks.

Edit:
I also bought whole wheat flour because I'm making my own bread and English muffins for the next two weeks. I'll post on how that goes! :)

Grocery Shopping for 8/7/2009

Aldi Deals (on the right side of the picture):

Milk - $1/gallon...that's right...$1
All other prices were normal

Total Spent: $24.30

Meijer Deals (On the left side of the picture):

Eggs - $.88/dozen
Tropicana OJ - FREE (I filled out some pledge to get this coupon)
Barilla Pasta - $.89
Bacon - $1.79/pound
Strawberries - $1/pound
Cereal - $1.99 minus $1 manufacturer coupon...$.99/box
Corn - $.20/ear
Ragu - $1.50 minus $.50 MeijerMealbox minus $.30 or $.60 manufacturer coupon...$.70 or $.40 each
Dannon Yogurt - $.40 minus $.60 on six manufacturer coupon...$.30 each
Mott's Apple Juice - $1.67 minus $1/2 MeijerMealbox...$1.17 each
Suave Lotion - $1.67 minus $1 manufacturer coupon...$.67 each
Northern TP - $11.99 minus $1 manufacture coupon...$10.99 for 24 double rolls

Total Coupon Savings: $13.99
(Actually I saved $16.99 in coupons, but they didn't ring up 3 right. After fighting with customer service, I got a "Customer Happiness Coupon" for $2.50 on my next purchase. I think I'll call someone to fight for my last $.50...we'll see.)

Total Spent: $51.21



(I forgot the katsup in the first picture!)

Grand Total: $75.51

Groceries: $54.68 (real total should have been $51.68 with the correct coupons)
Toiletries: $20.83

So I'm over-budget again. I tried to fit our toiletries into the $50 every two week budget, but I just can't figure out how. The toilet paper this time really killed us. Currently, I do have a Toiletries column in our budget, and I think I'm going to have to keep it that way for now. If you have any tips, please let me know.

Target:

Visine $3.34 minus $2 manufacturer coupon...$1.34
Kotex pantiliners - $2.70 minus $2 Target Kotex coupon minus $.75 manufacturer coupon FREE


Office Max

Sharpies $.01 each

Total: $.03

Day 3

Sorry no picture today...

Summary of Day 3: We woke up at 6:20am with George licking at our faces. We went to the Morgan's house for the day while Emily went to work. Zachary played Game Cube almost all the day. Zach: That's not quite true. We did go to the park for an hour.

Mrs. Morgan made a necklace for Elyse, and Elyse made one for herself. It's not finished yet.

Elyse and Zach got a hot chocolate from Starbucks on the ride over in the morning, and we brought Mr. and Mrs. Morgan a smoothie.

Day 2 at the Beach

George will not stay with his head steady for the hat, so I had to hold onto it (Elyse).


Digging for China!

China!


Zach chowin' down...


Goin' to China! (like a sandwich!)

Day 1

Day 1: Going to Emily and Dan's house and saying goodbye to Mom and Dad. Hugging in the parking lot of Walmart.

Waving bye-bye...


Driving away...


Playing Phase 10 with Dan-o before going over to Luke and Lacey's...


Zach with Luke and Lacey's family. Where is Elyse? She's taking the picture!


Elyse with Luke and Lacey's family, and Zach is the photographer.


Summary of Day 1: We drove to South Haven, MI and got picked up by Emily. We went to Walmart to get water bottles and free water. We ate lunch at Emily's house and played Phase10. Went to Luke and Lacey's for dinner, and we got to sleep at 11pm. Dan and Emily were LATE! (Emily: This is so true. Sorry Luke and Lacey!)

This is written by Zachary and Elyse (Emily as typist).

Grocery Shopping 7-10-09

Due to being out of town for the wedding, we decided to wait an extra week to go grocery shopping again. I like cleaning out the pantry and fridge by doing this every couple months. Truth be told we probably could have gone another week, but with having my brother and sister here all next week, I didn't want to torture them with the weird assortment of food that we might have eaten. :)

Aldi:

Total Spent: $39.70

Meijer:


Total Spent: $28.84

Deals:
DiGiorno Flatbread - FREE
3 Candy Bars - FREE
Kotex pantiliners - $1.29 - $1 coupon, $.29 each
Herbal Essence Shampoo - $2.77 - $1 coupon, $1.77

Now for the super duper deal...Walmart:


I paid $.18 for all three of those! They were on clearance for $1 each, and I had a $1 coupon. I even had one more coupon, but these were the last three at the store.

Meal Plan:

As I mentioned, I have my little brother and sister with me for the week. I bought more food than usual, and I bought more items that I normally wouldn't so that we would be able to pack picnic lunches for all the places we go next week. (I hope to have daily updates of our adventures!)

Breakfasts:
Oatmeal
English Muffins (plain or sandwiches)
Eggs & Toast
French Toast
Bagels
Pancakes

Lunches: (most of these will be eaten out and about)
Meat/cheese sandwiches
PB&J sandwiches
Egg salad sandwiches
Meat/cheese & crackers

Dinners:
Spaghetti
Hot dogs & fries
Pizza
Hamburgers & baked potatoes
Tacos
Spinach Lasagna Roll-ups
Chicken Divan

Snacks:
Crackers & Cheese
Crackers & PB
Fruit (Apples, bananas, grapes)
Carrot sticks
Apple sauce

Strawberries!!

My friend Erin and I went strawberry picking in mid-June, but we didn't pick too many because the price wasn't too good ($1.40/pound). Luckily we didn't because the berries weren't too good either. So we tried and tried to reschedule, but the next farm we were trying to go to closed early on us TWICE! We were less than happy with them to say the least.

Finally on June 30 (typically the end of strawberry season), we made it to the farm before they closed. After picking for about 1/2 hour, the guy running the joint came over to see if we were finished. I sheepishly told him that I'd like to fill the two containers that I brought, if I might. He said, "Well, how 'bout you give me $10, and you can pick as long as you like?" I said, "You got yourself a deal."

Here's where the freakishly frugal/penny-pincher kicks into high gear. He said I can pick "as long as I like." So I picked and picked and picked. My friend ended up leaving me, and after a while, I looked up to find I was the only one in the field. My back was killing me so I decided to call it a night. I picked 20#!!! Haha...for only $10. That is the BEST price per pound I have ever gotten! Woot Woot!

Disclaimer: had it not been the end of the season it would not have taken me very long to get 20#. The berries were sparse and picked over which is why it took me that long.

Here's the loot:

Kmart Double Deals

I'll be hitting up Kmart tonight. I'll try to post promptly what I get. Yay for free stuff!

Betsey & Micah's Wedding

I don't have any really great pictures from the wedding. I was a little busy that day! :) Of course, I should have given the camera to Dan since he takes better pictures anyway, but again, I was a little busy and didn't quite think of that.

Here's the lovely bride at her shower/luncheon the day before the wedding.

Her lovely dress...

The flowers before they were turned into bouquets, corsages, and boutonnieres. Look at my dog! Isn't he cute!!

The bridesmaids bouquets...

Betsey's bouquet...Betsey's ended up looking much better on the day of the wedding because the Stargazer Lilies were opened on that day.

For more thorough posts visit Mom and Lacey.

Baking Day

Goal: Make muffins, English Muffins, and cookies

This is my very first baking day. I'm trying to become Suzie Homemaker here! Really, I do love to cook, but this baking day idea is driven by our need to cut back our grocery spending.

Blueberry Muffins: Using the fresh blueberries that I got such a good deal on, I made muffins for our breakfasts. This will last us 3 meals. Don't they look scrumptious???


English Muffins: I found this recipe on The Happy Housewife, and I thought I'd try it. By my estimation it cost $1.40 total for the recipe, and I made 24 muffins. Now the recipe was only supposed to make 11-13 muffins, but I rolled them out too thin. So the finished product was a bit thinner, but they still taste awesome!

Rising:


Finished!


Cookies: This is part one of doing away with Little Debbie. Sorry Little Debbie, I really do love your scrumptious cakes! I froze most of these in individual packets for easy lunch making. I haven't estimated the cost on these, but I imagine $2-$3. These will last me easily 4 weeks, and it would have cost $4 (at least) in Little Debbies. So not much saved, but a penny saved is a penny earned!

Grocery Shopping 6/15/09

Aldi:


Highlights:
Blueberries - $.69
Eggs - $.85
Milk - $.189

Total: $20.41

Meijer:


Highlights:
Snickers Ice Cream Bars- on sale 50% off, used $1 coupon, $.93 per box
Ground Chuck-$1.99/pound, not a super good deal, but we needed meat
Yogurt-on sale for $.40/cup, used $.60/6, $.30 per cup total
Tabasca-$1.18, used $1 coupon, $.18 total

Total: $35.04

Grand Total: $55.45

Menu:
Spaghetti
Meatballs & Rice
Black Bean Chilaquiles
Spinach Artichoke Calzones
Loaded Baked Potatoes
Grilled Hamburgers and Fries
Pork Chops & Herb Roasted Squash

Dan and I have cut back our grocery budget due to the pay cut, so I am determined not to buy Little Debbie cakes or granola bars anymore. I'm sure I can make them cheaper. I had my very first "baking day" this week. I will post more on that later.

I will try to start posting recipes too so that I can share any good ones I find.

I'm a hick!

My expander on my top jaw was getting harder and harder to turn. To the point where I thought if the key slipped out I'd stab the key through my throat and brain stem and die. :) So I went to the ortho yesterday (YESTERDAY!) and he said that means that the expander isn't working. The ridge of my mouth is fused shut and this method of expanding my jaw isn't going to work. So we create a new treatment plan, schedule new visits, and I leave.

I get ready for bed last night and I have EXTREME sensitivity in my front left tooth. The sensitivity moves to the right tooth...the gums around these teeth start throbbing. I, of course, ignore all of this and try to sleep. I have trouble getting to sleep because it hurts so stinkin' bad. I've had a lot of pain in my teeth though and I'm tired so I'm not getting up to check it.

I wake up this morning and this is what I look like:


AHHHHH! I'm a hick!

So I'm going to call the ortho asap this morning to see if we can countinue with the original plan. FYI: This separation was supposed to happen under normal circumstances. It just looked like mine wasn't going to expand

George is B-A-D

Please walk through my house with me...

We'll start in the kitchen:

Dining Room:


Living Room:


Yep, that's a Bible.


Oh yes, and our super cool guest book from our wedding along with a couple books and magazines.


Our Bedroom:

Close up of Dan's flashlight for his gun. He doesn't know about this one yet. George will be lucky to be alive after Dan gets home. George chewed up the handle to one of his hand guns yesterday.

Anyone care to guess how our un-crate training is going???