Wild Squirrel

Woot! Woot!

2009-08-19T08:24:00.003-04:00

I realize I haven't posted here in what seems like forever, but some things just must be shouted from the mountain tops!

I have posted about Woot! before here (here and even here) so you may already know if you've been following this blog that it is one of my favorite online retailers. They have now added a Kids.Woot!

I knew you would be excited, too! Woot! Woot!

Tax Day Freebies

2009-04-15T13:55:00.000-04:00

Look here for some Tax Day freebies!

Cannibalistic Vegetarianism...or Something Like That

2009-04-08T13:16:00.004-04:00

Yesterday I picked up some beautiful, fresh green beans that I decided to save for Easter dinner. I thought I should blanch them before I freeze them--I heard that's how you keep them from turning an ugly black color between now and then. Anyway, I saved the water from last night when I blanched them to water my tomato plants today. It occurred to me later...does that make my tomato plants sort of cannibalistic?

Tissue Paper Dyed Easter Eggs

2009-04-07T22:37:00.001-04:00

I saw this Easter egg craft on The Crafty Crow's blog...looks like fun!

Menu Plan Monday

2009-04-06T01:06:00.003-04:00

Meatless Monday (self-explanatory...)

Breakfast: Cheese Grits

Dinner: Waffles, fresh fruit

Tried and True Tuesday (family favorites)

Breakfast: Pumpkin Muffins

Dinner: Sausage and Rice Casserole, peas, homemade rolls

Work less on Wednesday (not too much effort or thought goes into this meal)

Breakfast: Eggs and salsa

Dinner: BLTs, baked fries

Thanksgiving Thursday (named after traditional post-Thanksgiving menu planning): Leftovers!

First Time Friday (something on the menu must be new--change is good!)

Breakfast: Baked Donuts (these were on my menu forever and a day ago...I never tried them, so I am determined this week)

Dinner: Beef Stew over rice

Simple Saturday (again, self-explanatory!)

Breakfast: Cereal

Dinner: Tacos

Slow Cooker Sunday (lovin' that crock pot!)

Breakfast: Crock Pot French Toast Bake

Dinner: Celebrating Easter with family...

For more menus, visit Orgjunkie.com!

My First Guest Post

2009-03-31T09:14:00.003-04:00

Michelle at Scribbit graciously opened up her blog to guest posters a while back and, given my love of sharing great deals, I jumped at the chance to talk about some of the low-cost, fun options for families in the north Florida area. I know there are tons of places I didn't cover, so feel free to comment here or at her place to give everyone a chance to know about your favorite, cost-effective family-oriented activities!

Menu Plan Monday

2009-03-30T11:32:00.003-04:00

Well, I've been out of pocket with Menu Plan Monday for quite some time. And, for quite some time my dinner hour has been hectic! I didn't realize how much easier it made my life to know what is for dinner each day. I could just write it down on our family calendar, and maybe I will start to do that, but I'll try posting it each week again first to see how it goes. I used to try to incorporate lots of new things into my menus, but since my husband has been off work (and, therefore, home in the evenings) I don't experiment as much. Kitchen experiments do not make him excited like they do me and the kids! We normally made Mondays meatless, but during the transition we are still figuring things out. This week it's Thursday, but that just doesn't sound catchy--"Meatless Thursday." It's not working for me. I'll have to change that next week back to Mondays. It's hard to get into a new dinner groove when you're husband has worked nights for the last 12 years!

Monday: Hamburgers, home fries, fresh fruit
Tuesday: Chicken and rice, peas, homemade rolls
Wednesday: It's So Easy BBQ Ribs, baked beans, garlic bread, green beans
Thursday: Blender Whole Wheat Pancakes with blueberry or raspberry syrup
Friday: Homemade pizza with lots of toppings
Saturday: There's no telling....maybe take the kids out to eat
Sunday: Beef stew in the crock pot with potatoes and carrots and a fabulous dessert of some kind that I'll figure out later...suggestions anyone?

Thrift Thursday: Mastering Coupons

2009-03-26T18:31:00.003-04:00

Since this time last year, I have spent a considerable amount of time trying to master the coupon game. At first, I tried to do it all--I tracked deals at CVS, Walgreens, Publix, and Winn Dixie, as well as several online deals. After several months, it became overwhelming. To solve the problem, I started focusing on one store at a time. I mastered that store's policies and developed a general strategy for getting the best deals. Then, I added another one. I have found this is much easier! So, my advice to you today if you are new to couponing is to begin with one store and add on others as you become more proficient. Below are links to a couple of sites that will help you get started with CVS.

Couponing 101 - CVS
iheartcvs.com - CVS for Newbies

Website Wednesday: LDSJournal.com

2009-03-25T23:51:00.004-04:00

So, a blog is sort of like an online journal, I guess. But there are just certain things I'd rather not publicize to the world. I've seen some of the online journaling sites and always felt like they were too vulnerable. I guess I still think they are. But, I recently attended a Time Out for Women event in central Florida and learned about LDSJournal. I poked around the site tonight to see what all the hype was about. The thing that caught my eye the most was the beautiful bound book on display at the conference. It was gorgeous and seemed very reasonably priced; a great way to preserve memories for future generations.

Now, I know I'm starting to sound like a commercial, but I can promise you that's not the case here. I haven't made the leap into hawking products or making money from ads on this blog. I just think modern technology is pretty neat and sometimes I can't help but tell other people about the cool sites I visit.

While I'm still not sold on the whole journaling online thing (I don't care how secure the site is, I don't think anything is really "private" online), I do like how easy it is to use. I have to admit, though, that some of the neatest things I have in my possession are samples of my deceased grandparents' handwriting from old letters and recipe cards. All of that nostalgia is lost in online journaling. Maybe one day I'll be converted, but not today.

An Article that Sparked My Interest

2009-03-24T08:17:00.003-04:00

I came across an article today on Pioneer Thinking that caught my eye. I could have saved the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute a lot of work on their study about how tracking your calories and exercise helps you lose more weight! I had no idea I was letting everyone in on a secret when I posted this the other day. I love SparkPeople! (By the way, this is not a paid advertisement!)

Life Imitating Art

2009-03-23T23:39:00.003-04:00

This is what happens when you leave your husband in charge of the kids for 36 hours (and this was after soaping up). Do the words 'The Dog' mean anything to you? Take a look here.

Ugh...My Appetite is Ruined

2009-03-22T23:45:00.003-04:00

I mentioned several weeks ago that our hamster had two babies. Unfortunately, one died due to a wound on its back and the other was apparently consumed by its mommy. I've heard of something being so cute you wanted to eat it up, but this was ridiculous. We reunited mom and dad hamster shortly after this incident due to dad hamster constantly escaping and winding up in mom hamster's cage any way. And, what do you know!....now we have seven baby hamsters. A week later, I am happy to report that all are accounted for and appear to be doing well! We finally figured out how to keep dad hamster away, and I think it will remain that way forever. And ever.

Transportation Tracker

2009-03-22T23:11:00.003-04:00

I recently joined SparkPeople at the recommendation of a friend. I mainly used the fitness tracking feature to keep up with my daily exercise, but decided I would get a lot more out of it if I would use the nutrition tracker to keep tabs on my calorie consumption each day. WHAT AN EYE OPENER! I think I cut my consumption by around 1/3 to 1/2 after only a few days of using this feature. No wonder I was gaining weight these last several months! I've lost a few pounds (in conjunction with also starting a regular exercise program that includes two BodyPump classes each week) since I joined.

So, what does this have to do with transportation? My household was recently selected by the federal Department of Transportation to participate in a one day survey of our travel habits. No biggie, I thought. I'm game. (The small monetary incentive certainly didn't hurt.) So, for one day I wrote down every bit of travel for our household for a 20-hour period including bike rides and walks. Let me tell you--it was another eye opener! In one typical Friday I made 17 stops, only one of which included a short walk and there were no bike rides to be had among any of us. The bike riding part wasn't the shocker though, as we live on a fairly busy street. But, the number of stops seemed completely ridiculous! By the end of my 1.5 hour call with the DOT representative where she recorded all of my information such as miles between stops and time it took to drive there (this 1.5 hours didn't even include my husband's or kids interviews), I was completely embarrassed. I was told it typically only takes about 20-30 minutes.

This got me thinking--while I do not consider myself a particularly "earthy-crunchy" person, I am sure I can do better than 17 trips per day where 16 of those involved cranking up my car. I got tired just talking about all of those trips. So, SparkPeople...are you listening? Could you possibly add another feature to your site that helps me track my car mileage? It'd be nice to have it all in one place so I can work on trimming that as well!

The Great Sunflower Project Begins Again!

2009-03-06T10:53:00.001-05:00

Click here to sign up!

Another Mouth to Feed

2009-03-01T00:04:00.002-05:00

As many others are feeling the crunch of the economy, it finally hit close to home this past week. My husband's employer has decided to put everyone on lay off for a period of time with hopes of bringing them back in several weeks, but at part-time status. He has suspected this was going to happen after a major lay off occurred last year, so it wasn't a complete shock. We are disappointed but not devastated.

All in all, we try to be prepared for the unexpected or inconvenient circumstances. For instance, how could we know that in this time of semi-crisis, we would have another mouth to feed? Earlier this year the girls used their Christmas money to buy some hamsters. While we asked the gentleman at the pet store to kindly give us two of the same gender, we learned quickly from the look of things that he had not. Our suspicions (and fears!) were confirmed on Thursday of this past week when the 8 year old started screaming, "Baby hamsters!!" Two baby hamsters, actually. Here Charlie is seen holding mommy hamster, Brownie.

And, who can resist taking in this little guy? Or is it a gal? I suppose there is only one way to know for sure. Hamsters anyone?

Feeling a Little Guilty...

2009-02-03T23:23:00.003-05:00

Why? Because I just made $4 off hubby being sick! He's had an awful cold/congestion and finally broke down and went to the doctor today. He came home with THREE prescriptions. I quickly tracked down some KMart new Rx coupons (thanks, The Bargainist!) that my local CVS will accept, used a $20 off coupon for one of the medicines given to us by the doctor, and by the time all was said and done (including paying our co-pay for the visit)...I made $4! I probably could have found a better coupon for the scripts, but as I was typing away on the computer looking for one, I could feel sickly eyes boring into the back of my head...I didn't need any more guilt on my hands, so I cut the search short and headed out the door.

Moral of the story? If you are sickly right now like so many others, don't forget to inquire about samples or patient discount coupons for your medicine at your doctor's office and check around online for some pharmacy coupons!

Thanks, honey! Though I do hope you feel better soon. :)

I Can Can!

2009-01-17T01:34:00.002-05:00

Last year, I learned how to can meat in a pressure cooker. I had some wonderful friends walk me through the process. Tonight, I went solo! I canned 18 lbs of chicken and prepared several jars of hamburger for canning tomorrow. I look at the jars and get all giddy. While I hope we never have to use them in an emergency situation, it's nice to know we have a little something on hand just in case. While there are some really good blogs with canning instructions and tutorials, be sure to also check out the National Center for Home Food Preservation, as it includes gobs of information that is updated with current food safety handling information.

FREE Christmas MP3 Downloads!

2008-12-07T02:41:00.000-05:00

I read about Amazon.com's free Christmas mp3 downloads on this Houston frugal blog and was so excited to have access to free AND legal downloads! Enjoy!

Christmas Book/Activity Advent

2008-12-01T14:20:00.003-05:00

Call me crazy, but I am going to try to do this Christmas Book/Craft Advent with the kids this year. Luckily, our library system has most of the titles. For the others, I have requested them through the interlibrary loan system. I just hope they get here in time!

Edited to add:

Thanks to The Crafty Crow for bringing the Christmas Book/Craft Advent to light.

I saw Twilight!

2008-11-21T08:32:00.000-05:00

Okay - I did it. I went to a movie at midnight on the opening day, something I don't think I've ever done. I'd like to say it was for my 15 year old's sake, but actually she backed out and I still wanted to go! Then, at the last minute, she changed her mind. (I wasn't gonna let her miss school to do so, so it was a tough decision--we came to a compromise, she is sleeping through first period and off to school after that!) Here's some background, and here's some reviews. Like one reviewer said, don't go into it comparing it to the book--you might be disappointed. And, overlook a few corny (IMHO) scenes. Then, you just might enjoy it!

Buyer Beware!

2008-11-15T11:13:00.000-05:00

Homeschooling and Frugal has a great article posted here about how product prices aren't necessarily changing, but the amount of product you are paying for is. I always shop by the price per unit--this is one way to catch them in the act! In fact, by doing so, I realized this weekend that the Walmart brand of lemon juice concentrate is now more expensive than buying the name brand in bluk at my local Sam's Club. A few months ago it was just the opposite (by a large margin).

Letting It Go

2008-11-11T00:07:00.000-05:00

It's been real, and it's been fun...lately, though, it's not been real fun. I enjoy posting about great deals and how to save money, but I've found an even more rewarding blog theme--my family! I've started a new blog to chronicle the lives of my favorite people, and, well...something has to go. I will post here now and again when I see something really worthwhile, or if I decide to enter one of Scribbit's Write Away contests. Most of my blogging, however, will be reserved for my family. Thanks to everyone who stops by to comment--I'll still be here, but probably not nearly as often. See you 'round the blogosphere!

Freebie Friday: FREE Mason Jars

2008-11-06T19:49:00.002-05:00

Now that the big harvest is over, Mason jars are hard to come by. When you do find them, they are a bit more pricey than when you bought them back in the summer (unless, of course, you got them at clearance prices at the end of the summer or from a garage sale or friend). In any event, you can obtain jars for FREE from the grocery store by scouting for goods sold in these gems. Okay, so they aren't free, but it's like getting them for free if you have a need for the goods sold inside of them anyway. For example, at Walmart the store brand salsa is bottled in a Mason jar that accepts a regular size canning lid (but not the ring). After you empty the contents, you can use these jars to vacuum seal your leftover Halloween candy! Or maybe store some rice, pasta, or raisins. The possibilities are limitless! Note: The threads do not line up correctly with the rings to use them for traditional canning (water bath or pressure).

How Many Cups in a Pound of...

2008-11-05T02:13:00.001-05:00

Check out this helpful website that lists a variety of goods sold by the pound and approximately how many cups are in a pound of that product. I found it very useful when planning menus and calculating how much I needed of something. It's also good when trying to compare prices.

Menu Plan Monday - Get Real Edition

2008-11-03T11:46:00.001-05:00

I'm trying to mostly use what we've got on hand this week, and I'm "getting real." You know what they say about the best laid plans. My menu is no different. There are many do overs this week....again.

On to this week's menu:

Meatless Monday

Breakfast: Cheese Grits

Dinner: Tomato Cheddar Mac and Cheese

Tried and True Tuesday

Breakfast: Triple Berry Muffins

Dinner: Steak Pitas with green peppers and onions (not a do over--we just really like these!)

Work less on Wednesday

Breakfast: Eggs and salsa

Dinner: BLTs, baked beans, salad (do over from last week)

Thanksgiving Thursday (named after traditional post-Thanksgiving menu planning): Leftovers!

First Time Friday

Breakfast: Baked Donuts (Totally forgot about Halloween! Definitely a do over this week.)

Dinner:

Simple Saturday

Breakfast: Oatmeal

Dinner: Tacos (No, I'm not kidding--we still haven't had tacos)

Slow Cooker Sunday

Breakfast: Absolutely Delicious Bran Muffins (another do over)

Dinner: Roast, carrots, potatoes, salad, rolls (another do over)

For more menus, visit Orgjunkie.com!