Frugal Foodie

In the Peanuts cartoon, Snoopy used to do a happy dance when it was dinner time. Well, if I danced, I would be doing one because it is Saturday. I made it through this week. I'm still fighting whatever it is, but other than returning a book to the library, there isn't anything I HAVE to do today.

I worked on data yesterday for school and two classes really made progress on the practice tests we gave. My email report had one word with the attachment: Celebrate!

I think sometimes we need to stop and celebrate the little things as well as the big things.

So, I'm celebrating it is Saturday, that my fridge and pantry are full, and life is pretty good overall!

After yesterday's pity party, I want to thank everyone who gave me words of encouragement. I think part of it was frustration and part of it is I don't feel well. Plus, I think sometimes when we get stuck in a rut, we get disgruntled.

I had a meeting today and could have gone out to lunch. During regular school days we have 30 minutes so going out during the regular lunch time would have been a problem. We had more time today due to the meetings, but I decided to pack the lunch anyway. I couldn't see spending the money and starting the car to go somewhere. I had an opportunity to eat and get some work done. When I finished, one of the ladies came back from lunch and noticed my lunch bag. She said she thought the duct tape made it look like it was thermal. Isn't it interesting how one person can see something differently than someone else. I didn't feel ashamed of it anymore.

As for the title, last night I couldn't decide what to do with leftover pork tenderloin. I really wanted something beyond sandwiches. So, I looked in the fridge and had part of a bell paper, zucchini, celery, a partial container of mushrooms, and carrots. I always try to keep an onion around. I sauted all these together, tore up the meat, added some chicken broth I had in the freezer, and then added some lentils I had in the pantry and the small wheat elbow macaroni. I didn't have much of the macaroni and the last time I used it, I had such a small portion left, but hated to throw it away. Good thing, because it made it into the pot. This simmered for two hours last night and then I stowed it in the fridge.

Tonight I heated it up, added some leftover cottage cheese in a separate dish, and used some crackers and it was a hearty supper.

Since my fridge was pretty empty by then, I cleaned the shelves and the crispers so it is tidy and sparkling.

I figured by using up all the stuff in the fridge I didn't waste food, we had a fairly nutritious supper, and I know I had plenty to eat. DH will have leftover stew for lunch tomorrow so he's a happy boy.

My fridge may be empty and my tummy full, so I guess I won't mention the overflowing dishwasher! :-)

It's cold and dreary here in Central Illinois. I feel like I have something, but not sure what...I know I'm congested and I sneeze a lot. It could be far worse. Maybe this is why I kind of had a pity party the other day.

As many of you know, I cook a lot. I don't mind cooking. And I try to repurpose leftovers for other things if at all possible. But last week, I just had it.

I take my lunch to work as well as a Thermos of coffee. I also take an extra drink...sometimes it is cold tea, other times it is cold coffee, for an afternoon pick me up. I drink water from another Thermos for lunch. It just seemed more than I can handle anymore. I'm tired of taking my lunch. I'm tired of lugging these things around. Am I really saving money? Plus, there are some folks who just get on my nerves who inform me that they can buy a bottle of water or run down to the service station and get a Polar Pop for less than a dollar and how silly I am.

I have a large lunch bag that is sort of lined and it started falling apart so I took duct tape to it. It looks bizarre, but it seemed to do the trick. Am I being too cheap?

I keep telling myself I'm saving money.

I have been perusing some saving sites and so many have the same things over and over...take your lunch, eat at home...make your own coffee...all of these things I do.

Anyway, I am hoping my downheartedness is simply because I'm tired and not feeling well.

I'm feeling a bit funny...often our students don't pronounce library, and say "lieberry" and a teacher friend used to ask if lieberries were in season. We all would chuckle.

Well, our "liberry" must be in season because I checked out a bunch of things. I checked out magazines and a bunch of different books.

I love looking through the glossy pages of magazines, but I hate the expense and the waste of purchasing them. I would imagine a I save a fortune by checking them out.

DH and I like to look at flea markets, antique malls, garage sales, and consignment shops. I checked out some books on antique values. I don't picture us trying to buy things and resell them, but it is interesting reading up on things. A friend of mine collects Currier and Ives dishes and I have learned that many of the dishes came from detergent and some of the glasses were given as premiums from A and P. It is kind of interesting.

I also enjoy cooking and I'm always looking for ideas on organizing the kitchen. I checked out 5 books on kitchen remodeling and reorganization.

I certainly get my money's worth when it comes to the library -- we pay taxes to support it and I don't resent paying it one bit.

It is interesting because we can tell what part of the month it is. By the middle of the month, there are fewer new books available and by the end of the month, there are hardly any. I think the economy has made library use go up.

So, are liberries in season where you are?

didn't show up again! Imagine me with my nose in the air and humphring..."Good help is so hard to find!"

Well, we don't have a maid or a house cleaner. I usually gripe and say the maid didn't show. She never does.

I kind of wonder if I would even want to have a maid, money aside. I think it is a nice idea to have someone clean, but I kind of wonder if my mindset would keep me from being a good employer.

After all, would I be willing to hand over the house to someone to clean? And would they clean to my specifications.

Well, since I will never have to worry about that, on to better things. Well, at least getting the house clean.

DH made a comment that so many of our friends do not plan. I would agree.

One couple eats out at least once a day. They complain about not having enough money...hmmm...wonder why! Everything is spontaneous and they grouse because they might call and ask us to join them and we often don't because I have already begun the meal or have something defrosted and feel like I need to cook it,

Each Thursday night I figure out what the menu is going to be for the next week. I will admit we are kind of in a rut for Sunday brunch and Sunday supper, but DH is happy and we are eating at home, so there is a comfort in that, I also try to fix things for suppers so we have leftovers for lunches.

Besides meal planning, we have separate accounts beyond our checking and regular savings accounts. We have a Christmas Club, a vacation, and our mad money account that we use to save up for things. In the past we have saved up for a new stove and dishwasher. It means we try to make regular monthly deposits in these accounts,

As for shopping and running errands, we try to plan for that as well. We try to bundle our trips together so we aren't making a lot of extra trips.

We are not, by any means, perfect, but we have seen a substantial savings in the past few years with our planning. Perhaps we are considered stodgy, but I feel the ends justifies the means. I think one has to purposefully plan to succeed.

Today is clean out the fridge day around here. We eat leftovers. DH also went to Aldi so it is also fill up the fridge Friday.

Lunch was a bit different for me...I took leftover meat and had crackers and fruit with it. I hate wasting food plus I felt like I saved money.

Today is my birthday; I turned 52. With it, I wonder if I have become wise or just jaded.

No offense to those who do not live in the US, but I am frustrated that so much of the "stuff" that is for sale in stores is from China. I mentioned to DH today that if we were cut off from China's exports, we would be hard pressed to have anything. DH received a set of WWII dvds, and it talked about industry stepped up to provide so much for the war effort. I don't believe we could do that today.

Then, I think about the Civil War and the fact that the north was industrialized and the south was not, and it certainly hurt the south. I know there was much more than this issue for the war, but it is kind of scary. We, in the US, do not seem to manufacture too much anymore.

My own city has an economy that is hurting. We used to be a blue collar town with many industries. So many of those factories have shuttered and we have so many folks without work or underemployed. This has gone on in the past decade, and the recent recession has not helped. Although factory work is hard and grueling, it almost always included benefits and wage increases. Those folks who had the jobs spent the money at the stores and restaurants that helped the service industry so they in turn could buy some of the things manufactured. The circle has been broken, that's for sure. I know some are embarrassed about the blue collar image, but honest hard work is nothing with which to be ashamed.

So, perhaps my age is making me see the big picture. Or maybe I'm just jaded. I am hoping that it is leaning more towards wisdom.

My dad used to say that when you no longer want things, you are dying. Interesting concept, yes?

We went to Menards yesterday to buy light bulbs since we were already close to them. (Granted, 12 miles from home isn't huge, but we try to cluster our northbound trips together.) We walked around and looked at things and DH asked if there was anything I wanted and I said, "No, not really."

Right now DH and I are saving up for hardwood floors for the family room, dining room, and hallway. I guess I'm thinking of trying to find ways to save money and sock more of it away. This is over and above our regular savings and my retirement account.

So, to one extent I don't really crave anything, except looking forward to new floors. And shopping for the sheer thrill of it doesn't excite me either. But, I'm not sure my dad's idea rings true entirely. What do you think?

DH and I went to the mall today. Not to shop, but because the weather is cold and the sidewalks are icy, so he could walk. Normally, when I'm at work, DH goes by himself, but today, I thought I'd join him and browse. He never worries because I basically am not a spender and I only came so I could walk around a little too.

First, let me say I am a Paula Deen fan. I like the fact she started on a shoestring and worked hard and has been successful. Years ago we went to Savannah and we took the Paula Deen tour. One thing the tour guide kept saying is how she remembered the folks who helped her out when she started and continued to purchase things from them although she has made her way. For example, there was a fruit and vegetable stand that gave her 'credit' each morning when she was running the "Bag Lady" lunches. She would go and get her vegetables and fruits and she would charge them until the lunches were sold and she could pay the bill later that day. A local antique store found her chairs for her first restaurant and let her buy them on time.

So, I love the fact she was an American success story and loyal to those who helped her on the way up.

So, my gripe? Every single thing she now sells is made in China. I saw pots and pans and bake ware and dishes and everything had "Made in China" on the boxes and dishes.

Come on, Paula, you are American so how about helping the American economy and having stuff made in America? Be one of the first of the Food Network stars to show where your patriotism is! Help put Americans to work, because it is, after all, Americans who helped you realize your dream!

Ever notice that some folks complain about this and that and ask for suggestions, but when offered possible solutions, prefer complaining instead of changing?

One friend complains all the time about not having enough money. Yet, she and her spouse smoke, drink, and do not plan for anything. With Christmas coming up instead of hitting the grocery store when the paycheck came, they didn't. Christmas Day came she and she wondered what store was open since they had invited a sibling over for dinner. Each Christmas is a stress because they don't have the money she wishes she had and although I have suggested she open a Christmas Club so they would have something saved, she informed me that is old fashioned, and unnecessary. Often they are out of money before the next paycheck comes in. Any suggestions that have been made on saving money is argued that she already knows how to live with little money. Yet, about every other week is another complaint of being broke.

Another person I know complains about having little money and how the house payments are killing them. When I hinted that we save money by not eating out as much and cutting our spending a snarky remark was made that DH and I have plenty of money. If I came out and said point blank that they should curtail their spending, it would result in hateful words. So, the complaints go on.

Another couple we know eat out at least once a day. Spending is fast and furious, yet there is a gripe that there isn't enough money and a bigger home equity loan is sought.

And yet another couple complains about not having enough money. They too eat out all the time. Every single thing is put on credit cards and we are ridiculed because when we do go out, DH pays with cash. Don't get me wrong, we use credit cards for certain things, but they are paid off each month. These folks are always talking about how they are broke.

One thing these folks all have in common besides the obvious of not having enough money is they are big complainers and instead of taking measures to try and alleviate some spending, they gleefully spend and then gripe. Guess it takes less effort to complain than actually do. I guess this makes me sound kind of cruel, but after awhile, it gets tiresome. I no longer give advice if asked because it is a waste of time.

I have enjoyed my holiday break. Today was a busy day at our home, DH wanted a new watch for Christmas. We had a Christmas Club so I had a good budget. He really wanted one that is solar charged and I bought him one. So today we took it so he could get links removed so the band would fit. While there, I had the band replaced on mine that was a few years old. It was ready to break so I figured it would be a good investment.

We dropped some things to a local food pantry. They not only take food but also clothing and kitchenware. We had some clothes to donate and kitchenware...how I wound up with so many muffin tins is beyond me. We also had a turkey we got free and it was far too big for the two of us. The only thing that irritated me was seeing some if the clients who were waiting for the pantry to start calling numbers for food boxes were outside smoking. I wanted to say maybe you'd have more money for food if you weren't smoking, but I kept quiet. One of the things we like about this place is the clothing and kitchen stuff are given to clients. They do a lot of good.

DH had received a Target gift card so he wanted to stop and see if they had a DVD or CD he wanted. He looked around and finally decided he didn't want anything. I looked at Christmas cards, but I didn't buy any. I really hoped to find some that weren't made in China. I may be looking for a needle in a haystack, so to speak. We then went to Kohls. DH had Kohls cash. He found a shirt on clearance for that. We walked around the mall a little for some exercise. We did see some people we knew so they was good,

We had meal #4 of ham. DH said said he was "hammed out." So, I put the remainder in the freezer to be revisited at a later time. Last night I had roasted a chicken for something different so tonight I used the broth, leftover chicken, and leftover roasted vegetables from Christmas and made chicken stew for lunch tomorrow. I had baked cornbread for Christmas and we finished it up tonight. I still have some honey wheat bread I baked for dinner Sunday so I think I am going to put olive oil on it and toast it to serve with the stew. I am trying to use up what we have and not waste food.

We were going over our finances and since we have curtailed our eating out, we are seeing more money in the bank account. One of the ladies from church was at the mall and we were talking about how much money one saves by planning meals and creating a grocery list. She said her husband takes a loaf of bread, peanut butter, and some jelly to work. For his mid morning break, he toasts a piece of bread and puts a little peanut butter and jelly on it. She said that often his coworkers tell him how much better his toast looks and smells than what they bought out of the vending machine. As she said, it just takes some planning.

I struggle often with do I spend too much or too little? Am I deserving of nice things, or should I do without?

I grew up with parents who were frugal. They had to be. They grew up during the depression and although both worked hard, they never really made a lot of money. More often than not, most of my thinks were used. Don't get me wrong, I did get some new things, but unlike many of my peers, most of my things were what we call recycled nowdays.

I went through a stage in my life where I only wanted new things. I would wait and save and scrimp until I could afford them.

But, as a I age, whether it is new or used doesn't seem to have the significance anymore. In fact, I kind of like buying something really nice that has been used thinking I got a good deal.

Last night we had an early Christmas dinner with my brother and his wife. Most of the things on my table had been purchased preowned. The plates and glasses were bought at flea markets. The table cloth was bought at an antique shop. The centerpiece was picked up at a flea market. The napkins were purchased at a garage sale. All but one of the trivets were bought at resale places. I thought it made a pretty table setting with the blue and white dishes. I thought about putting out Christmas linens, but figured since my dishes are blue and white, why not go with the theme?

I enjoyed using my things. After all, if they had been purchased brand new, I might have worried if we spilled something on them. They just seemed like old friends we could relax with. If something is spilled or stained, well, so be it. We could enjoy the company and the food.

I still sort of struggle with things...but I will say I enjoyed using many of them last night. I think many people save their tablecloths for good or their cloth napkins for company. We use them all the time. I don't have fine china...we have the same dishes we use day to day. Some have become chipped, but I'm not a fancy person, so unless it means hurting someone, I keep using them. I think I have saved quit a bit of money buying used things and I have enjoyed using these items.



Hope you have a wonderful Christmas!

Yesterday we had meetings to discuss English/Language Arts Common Core standards and discussing students. One staff member said she was shocked her students didn't realize cookies could be baked st home, I said that very little true cooking is taking place and the time in the kitchen with mom and grandma has become a thing of the past.

At first some registered disbelief, but then we talked about it and they said it probably is true. I know most of the people I work with rarely cook or bake. One gal said her child won't eat something unless it comes from the microwave.

So, what do you think...has cooking become a lost art?

After work yesterday I decided I needed a facial. I deserve it, right? So, my plan was to stop at an exclusive spa and ....

OK, not really. I used sugar and some facial soap in the tiny closet we call the master bath. It was refreshing.

We often watch HGTV and marvel at how picky some of the homeowners are...they have to have a grand master bathroom. When our house was built in the late 70s, I think the master bath was just for convenience, not an in home spa. Although it would be nice to have a little larger, it is sufficient. It has a shower, stool, and sink. Plus, there's less of it to clean!

I have our menu for Christmas figured out...it is pretty tame and doesn't differ too much from year to year:

Ham (bought at Aldi)
scalloped potatoes (potatoes, onions, and cream bought at Aldi)
green beans (Aldi)
peas (Aldi) -- hubby doesn't like peas and I do so I'll be having two vegetables
cornbread

We will have leftovers for supper and then ham for other meals. I'm not sure what we will have for dessert yet. Maybe I'll bake a cake.

We have been eating at home quite a bit and it is amazing how much money we have been saving. We used to go out for brunch after church, but since we live so close to church, decided to just come home. Fixing scrambled eggs and toast and a breakfast meat isn't difficult and since I always make a large container of fruit salad for the week, having that with the brunch, makes it reasonable and easy.

It's kind of damp and gloomy tonight so I think we are having chili tonight. DH doesn't mine routines and we've been having chili on Sundays lately since the weather turned cool. I guess that is why he likes having ham and scalloped potatoes for Christmas.

So, what's on your Christmas menu?

My heart goes to the families and school staff of the Sandy Hook School in Connecticut where so many children were shot and killed. Prayers for the survivors.

We were talking about food and grocery shopping at work the other day. One teacher asked me earlier this year for some easy, reasonably priced recipes. I shared them and she has had success with them.

Anyway, I was talking about how I try to use leftovers if I can go save money. For example, we have been having sausage patties on Sunday for brunch. We usually have a few leftover. Last week I took the leftover sausage and put it an egg strata. This week I will put it with macaroni and cheese. One person sort of turned up her nose and said I was cheap. Using leftovers?

Maybe I am cheap, but I like to think I am saving money and. Of wasting food.

A calm Tuesday in the Midwest. My kind of day, that's for sure.

Well, calm for me anyway. Seems the boys at my school were riled up and no one knew why. So many were making such poor choices and I don't even think they could verbalize why.

I wonder if that is the problem with so many folks who are unwise with money. Can they verbalize why?

It is interesting hearing this one couple justify buying a new vehicle last week. Both felt they had to buy a new vehicle because the youngest will be driving next year. She said that they got a great deal and $3,000 cash back which just about made up for what they owed on the other one?!?

Their family isn't the only one I knew who trades vehicles while still owing money. It's one thing if you have an accident and you owed money and had to replace the car, but to go out and buy another when you didn't have the original one paid off.

I'm not nosy enough to ask, but I wonder how many cars these folks never paid off and rolled over. Maybe I really don't want to know.

A couple of weeks ago DH and I went to Springfield to venture into a couple of antique malls. We collect Blue Willow dishes and we like to see if there are any good deals out there.

Most of the items we purchase really aren't antiques. I tend to buy things that have already been used because I can usually get them more reasonably.

Anyway, I saw this nice black leather purse. I checked it out and it was in mint condition -- no scratches or tears and the inside was pristine. It was $8. It had three sections and had sturdy straps. DH said it looked like a deal. So, I bought it.

This purse piqued my interest. It had a name plate and I looked it up on google and it is a name brand that is sold by Macy's and Nordstrom's for between $200-400. So, I really felt like I got a deal!

A gal I work with is always talking about her name brand purses and how much they cost. So, I asked her how she liked mine. She went on and on about how great it was and wanted to know where I got it and how much. She is certainly one who has to have the name brand and the prestige of buying it at a fancy store. I finally admitted I bought it for $8 at an antique mall. She suddenly lost interest.

She has made a couple of derogatory remarks about my $8 purse. It doesn't bother me for a number of reasons. I didn't buy the stupid thing to impress anyone, I bought it because I liked it and it seemed like a well made purse for a reasonable price. And I certainly didn't buy it for the name because until I googled it, I was blissfully unaware of this name brand.

And, knowing this gal is deep in debt and is always after the next brand item makes feel realize there's something missing in her life that her buying isn't filling.

So, I feel I am a winner...saved money and found a practical item.

We are in day 3 of the official Christmas shopping season and I'm tired of the ads already. I haven't gotten to the point of frustration as I did with the political ads, but it is just getting to be too much.

I understand that merchants have to sell stuff to stay in business. A healthy economy benefits everyone.

But really, why is it the ads seem to claim you can't be happy unless you have the newest, shiniest, biggest, fanciest...does stuff really breed satisfaction?

Of course the merchants have turned any holiday into a shopping experience. I'm not sure veterans really benefit from my buying some at a Veteran's Day Sale.

And somehow I can't imagine Lincoln and Washington being especially happy if I buy something during the presidents' day sales.

I give and get my share of Christmas gifts. But, Linus was so correct when he spoke about Christmas becoming too commercial.

I picked up a book at the library the other day in the new arrivals section titled, "Brandwashed." I am about half way finished and although we probably think we know how brands determine our shopping, it is frightening to think how we often let them tell us what to buy.

The author says research shows that many companies are trying to get brand loyalty from the womb because change it hard once it becomes a habit. No kidding!

The author worked in advertising and mentioned how certain things in advertising make us crave things.

It is informative and I'd say worth checkiing out.

With that in mind, just coming off of a wonderful Thanksgiving, we were watching the nightly news and how folks started lining up at Best Buy Wednesday night to get in "first" at Midnight this morning. I guess I can't understand the desire for a television to give up a holiday with family. Maybe if it was for a kidney or something...

We tried a new recipe tonight. Saw it in a magazine and I changed it to fit our needs, but it was meant to use up leftover turkey. So, I kept the name, but thought since Thanksgiving is coming up, maybe some of you would like to try it.

Thanksgiving Leftover Casserole
Preheat oven to 350.
4 cups seasoned dressing
4 cups cubed cooked turkey
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
½ cup chopped onion
¼ cup flour
4 eggs
3 cups 2% milk
1 can (8 ¼ oz) cream style corn
½ t salt
½ t pepper
1 T butter
Layer the first 4 ingredients in a greased 13 x 9 baking dish. In a large bowl whisk the flour, eggs, and milk until smooth. Add the corn, salt and pepper and mix well. Pour over stuffing mix. Dot with butter.
Bake covered 30-35 and uncover and bake 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.


The original recipe also had a can of peas and a cup of cranberries. DH likes neither.

I made this for supper tonight and DH loved it.There was plenty leftover for lunches and overall, it isn't super expensive to make and DH claimed it was very filling. I did use up some leftover turkey from the other night.

First, let me say we don't really know Lester Holt.

However, we see him on the NBC news. And it appears this man works seven days a week and does many broadcasts as well as Dateline.

I looked his bio up and it states he's married and has children. I'm not sure when he's with his family because he is often traveling for his broadcasts.

So, I was tickled the other night when DH said, "Hey, it's almost time for our friend, Lester Holt."

Wonder if Lester would be pleased!

All last year we had been saving regularly in our Christmas Club. Since it is the first of November, it was time to get our money. We had over $1600.

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to go to Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg -- bus trip with the credit union where we have the Christmas Club -- $30 each. That is incredibly reasonable for a 170 mile (one way) trip.

DH has been scouring the ads and checking this and that. He knew what he wanted...a new suit for church. He saw one at our Penney's, but not in his size. The great thing was it was marked down a bit yesterday, so he got a suit and a new shirt and I still have quite a bit of money left.

Some friends asked how we could afford to just go and buy something like that and pay cash. I said because we saved all year. In fact, I just wrote a check for next year's Christmas Club tonight. Got to be regular and start saving.

We did some other shopping for other folks and other than a couple of things I need to get closer to Christmas, I think my shopping is done. I usually make baskets with goodies for many of my friends. We are at the point in our lives the last thing we need is more stuff. But food is always a good gift. I have most of the ingredients bought for my Christmas basket food making other than stuff like eggs. I have been finding baskets and found some beautiful napkins to put in them.

Oh, we and splurged! We bought some Godiva chocolates to enjoy in the next few days. Expensive, but rich, and paid for!

Remember the comic strip "Peanuts" where each Halloween Linus awaits the "Great Pumpkin?"

I would say that the person who owns this home must really like Halloween. We saw this in Arthur, Illinois, which is about 28 miles away from us.

It's been a wild week so far at school. Not that it is bad, but I have come home very tired.

Tonight on my short drive home I thought, boy, a nice hot pizza sounds good for supper. Bet DH would go for that!

But, alas, I had already planned and had a chicken and dressing casserole in the fridge waiting to be baked.

Pizza sounded better to my tummy, but the casserole was better for the wallet.

We had the casserole. :-)

Like many of you, I take my lunch to work. Having read so many of the news stories, I attempt to heat my leftovers at school in glass which means my lunch is a little heavier, but I feel safer.

One of the younger teachers has been sitting next to me and comments on my lunch most days. She has been commenting on some of my containers.

Many of my containers are either Corningware or Pyrex containers and if they didn't belong to my grandmother, I bought them used.

Anyway, this teacher said she has been capitivated by my lunches because of the containers...most of the folks bring those freezer read to microwave meals. She has commented on the designs and such and finally the reveal: they remind her of her mom and her cooking and her dishes.

I know some of my cookware was my grandmother's. I often wonder if she would be pleased I'm still using and enjoying these items.

I also wonder if more people would say the same thing if they saw dishes from their childhood and if it would bring back good memories. I know that is my case.

Saturday DH and I had the opportunity to take Amtrak to Chicago for the day. We had a lovely luncheon at the Walnut Room at Macy's and then walked around in some of the stores.

One of the buildings on State Street has escalators that either go to TJ Maxx or down to Burlington Coat Factory. We went to both to look around.

At Burlington there was a Prada purse with the marked down price of $1134.

Not being familiar with Prada, this kind of surprised me. I mean, I know Prada is pricey, but I guess I didn't realize it was that pricey, and that was the marked down price.

Yikes!

I looked at it and it was nice, but I'm not sure it was THAT nice.

At lunch yesterday at school, we were discussing it. One gal we work with is always buying expensive purses. But, the concensus was we couldn't see spending that much money on a purse.

We had a variety of reasons:

1. If we paid that much, we'd have to stuff it with newspaper because we wouldn't have any money left;
2. If we paid that much we'd have to carry it until it wore out and we'd be sick of it;
3. If we paid that much, we'd be sick because we don't like to spend more than $50 (and usually less) on a purse; and
4. Name brands aren't THAT important.

Needless to say I am Pradaless which is just fine.

Dear Abby in her column yesterday had a letter about the home selling parties and how the writer should just say they had other plans! So between the comments made on my previous blog and her column, I feel I have had some validation.

Weather in Central Illinois the past couple of days has been, to say the least, interesting! On Thursday we had a high of 80-82 depending on which weather forecast you listened to. It was warm, whatever the thermometer listed. Yesterday it dropped to the low 40s and we had a little shower of ice pellets. Yikes! Can't say it is boring, anyway.

One of the ladies I work with told me that the people who eat lunch with me always are interested in what I bring for lunch. I kind of laughed and said, "Really?"

She smiled and said it was because I bring such good leftovers. She said the other day I was the envy of the table for my homemade mac and cheese. I'm wondering if this could be a new business for me...making lunches ... after all, Paula Deen started this way! :-)