Yesterday in nonfiction at our library was a book by Kevin O'Leary entitled, "The Cold Hard Truth On Men, Women, and Money." I read the book jacket, sounded good, and so I checked it out.

Let me preface this with I had no idea who Kevin O'Leary is. He is a business man who sold a company that I was familiar with since I'm in education. But I didn't realize he was on the Shark Tank.

But, after reading his book, I felt like we could be friends. He's similar to Larry Winget...he doesn't hold back, but he isn't as crude as Larry.

Most of what he had to say was common sense and I am, of course, kind of partial when he said women usually make the best investors.

One thing he pointed out, which most of us on SA already know, is people who spend Monday consistently on things like fancy coffees, lunches out, will have problems come retirement time. He said the folks in their 20s and 30s who have to spend big money on fancy coffees and lunches every day will probably be working pouring coffee or serving lunches into their 70s and beyond.

I finished the book in a couple of hours so it was an easy read. Nothing earth shattering, but good validation, especially when we sometimes need that in a society that is always pressuring us to keep up with someone.

Speaking of which, we were watching HGTV today. I said to my husband shows like Love it or list it and House Hunters probably make more homeowners dissatisfied with their homes than people who don't watch them. I know I've mentioned it before how frustrating it is to see these people who never ever want to compromise and have to have everything now. I really like my house. We have spent money to fix it up. I could have lived with some of the things, but we did update and remodel. But, we didn't take out loans to do it. We did it as we saved up for it. O'Leary mentioned that in his book too...people shouldn't be borrowing money to remodel if they don't have the money available to pay it back if something comes up. He said not to look at one's home as an investment because so many times the market fluctuates and one also has to figure in moving costs, closing costs, taxes.

School is back in session and the garden is going full guns. After work and a small trip to the grocery, I made tomato sauce with some of our surplus tomatoes. Today we had brunch out, went to the library, and hit a thrift store and a flea market, and came home. DH worked in the garden and yard and I continued my quest to dry some of our herbs. Right now I have rosemary, basil, oregano, and scallions dried and in jars. A friend of mine gave me some of her half pint jars and I had purchased some small jars at thrift shops to store them in.

It was difficult going back to work after a break, especially so early. Hopefully the temps won't be too miserable in the next few weeks. Most of our schools do not have air conditioning.

I had some very ripe bananas so while I was in the kitchen, I baked banana bread. Supper was pork loin roast, rosemary potatoes, green beans from a friend's garden, sliced tomatoes, and homemade no knead bread. We went to an Amish bulk food store and I like buying small packages of different kind of wheat. I bought a small bag of buck wheat flour and used that with all purpose flour to make the bread. It was pretty good. I just cannot get over how easy no knead bread is and how reasonable it is to make...one just needs to plan ahead.

A quiet evening here...reading and watching PBS.

Over the weekend we went to eat at a fancy restaurant to help family celebrate. Although more money than we preferred to spend, we had the money and it wasn't an issue.

What bothered me was the lack of manners displayed by a couple other guests. One person demanded refills and extra bread from the server, no please, no thank you, and did not even acknowledge the server. The server was attentive so there was no reason for this.Another was just like this...and between not talking to people around them, but too busy checking their phones and chewing with open mouths, I was appalled by this behavior. I know these people were raised better than this.

I didn't think it was my place to point out the lack of manners, but I will say it did spoil a good meal sitting across from these people.

Supper tonight manifested a "big problem" for my husband. We stopped at a farm stand and bought some locally grown sweet corn. I fixed that with DH's tomatoes (sliced) and I roasted some of his squash with his onions and we had turkey tenderloin for supper. DH said he had a big problem...he wasn't sure what to eat first!

Seriously, it was a good meal and it was great eating fresh produce. If only all our problems were such.

We took a drive today and thought we would visit a small town and buy a couple of peach muffins at the local bakery. We used to buy them years ago. Seems the bakery has closed. There was also an antique shop we liked to peruse as well. Seems it also is shuttered. Kind of a sad situation, but not unheard of down in Central Illinois. Our own city has the highest unemployment rate for the state. So, I imagine small towns less than 90 miles away are part of the ripple effect.

We have a couple of farmer's markets near us on Saturday, but one of them I don't trust. It was begin before the other, but one of the vendors told me he grew the green beans. When I bought some, he reached underneath and got a box to fill up his stand...it looked identical to the box and packing that a local grocery store chain used. The place we went today is open every day and is grown right there by the family. So, although it was a bit of a drive, it was an added benefit of our little day trip. It was a beautiful day weatherwise and as I grow older, I enjoy seeing old barns among the corn and soybean fields...far better than a shopping mall any day!

Stupid commercials are getting on my nerves.

Marie Osmond’s Nutrisystem ad is like fingernails on a chalkboard (wonder how long I will be able to use that simile?). She states that one day she discovered she was 50 pounds overweight. Really? She didn’t notice it before? How stupid does she think I am? I am overweight and believe me, it isn’t something I just discovered. Sheesh!

The ad about someone checking their credit score is about as ignorant. The father said he cosigns a credit card for dear daughter and her not making payments has messed up his credit score and now he can check it. Let’s see, daughter dear didn’t pay so he’s worried about his credit score and not the fact daughter can’t handle money? Dear dad must not be too bright to cosign anyway and possibly he didn’t raise daughter to handle money.

I understand the concept of commercials…they pay for time so we can have programs and they hope they entice us to buy what they are selling. Persuasive writing at its finest.

I have a real problem with Fred Thompson and Henry Winkler using their “credibility” to sell reverse mortgages. A lot of people know these actors and consider them trustworthy. Personally, I feel like they are selling out for buck. I get the need to make money, but I wonder how many people because they like these personalities are getting these reverse mortgages?

Same thing with some actor pushing silver. He goes on with the scare tactic of how nothing is safe, but silver is and what a great investment it is. Hasn’t silver dropped lately?
I was thinking back at some commercials I didn’t dislike like the “I’m a Pepper” and Coke’s “I’d like to teach the world to sing.” Both were to sell products and I imagine they got on people’s nerves too. I used the first one as part of a persuasion lesson with some classes a year or so ago at school and every staff member informed me they held me responsible for not getting that song out of their head that day!

Well, I’ve ranted. Best way to stay away from commercials is to turn media off and go read a book!

Ever notice how things seem like a good idea at the time? We went for a long bike ride today. I've been wanting a bike for a long time. I used to ride one for pleasure years and years ago, but between moves and this and that, my bike disappeared. My parents may have sold it.

Anyway, I have wanted one and DH and I bought bikes and helmets Friday and went for our first ride together. He was worried he wouldn't remember how; he said he hadn't been on a bike for over 50 years.

Fortunately he did and no training wheels needed. No ride last night because it started raining yesterday afternoon.

My husband is a walker and everyone is asking him if he's giving it up to ride his bike, but he said no, just to add to his exercise. I have an exercise bike I have been using, but it isn't the same as riding the real thing on rises and pavement.

Could we afford them? Yes. It wasn't an impulse buy. And we think that the exercise will also be beneficial. I don't regret the purchase.

As for the morning, we may be sore and may regret the longer ride tonight.

Is it just me, or does it seem there are a few new blogs that don't make sense? It seems like they have been copied and pasted from other places and one had an incomplete sentence at the end. If so, what is the purpose of this?

Happy Memorial Day!

How blessed we are to live in country that appreciates our veterans and the sacrifices our veterans have made to keep us free.

It has been a beautiful holiday weekend. Yet another blessing.

We took flowers to the graves yesterday. At my husband's dad's, a local veterans' group puts flags on each grave site of veterans so it was pretty heartwarming to see all the flags blowing in the breeze. Where DH's parents are buried, I think the cemetery didn't sell them a very nice plot. It is under the tree, uneven and the soil is very claylike. Grass doesn't grow there and when it rains, mud splashes up. We try to keep it clean, but we don't go out after every rain. I guess it was just a matter of taking advantage of someone when they were in grief.

There is something so satisfying about cleaning house and having things put away and orderly. I just finished cleaning and I like sitting here admiring how nice it looks.

DH is out working in the yard. We had some radishes and green onions from his garden last night. We are going to have some tonight too with our salad.

Speaking of radishes, how do you eat yours when you eat them raw? Both our families always ate them with salt, but a friend eats his with butter.

Hope you had a wonderful holiday.

There's a little ditty going around through email talking about an older person going through a grocery check out and how the young cashier told her she didn't know about being green and then it talked about growing up reusing stuff and returning bottles, etc.

Ah, gone are those days.

I saw on Facebook last night where someone posted about how could it be easier to have petroleum products mined, refined, sent to a manufacturing plant, and then the product sent to store where on buys it, uses it, and disposes of it...and the question was is it truly easier to do this than to wash the metal spoon and put it away.

Amen.

As many of you, I take my lunch. I take my utensils too. I have an old set of flatware I use just for that purpose. We bought a new set a number of years ago simply because we had so many spoons and knives go missing it was difficult to set the table.

DH and I were talking about what we do to try and save things, not only for frugality, but because it makes sense for the environment.

I go through a ton of kitchen towels to save on using paper towels. I often use dust cloths and I bought one of those mops that you can put the liquid in and reuse the pad by washing it.

We use cloth napkins for our meals. We use our dishware and I store stuff in glass. I take my coffee in a Thermos and do the same with water and iced tea. (My lunch bag gives me a work out with the glass and Thermoses, but oh well.

We try to use cloth bags for groceries.

We recycle as much as we can. Our city eased up on some of the requirements and take more types of plastic. The other night DH said he wasn't putting the garbage out because it was so windy and we had so little because so much had been recycled. The recycled bin, on the other hand, was pretty full.

I have a love affair with Mason Jars. There, I've said it. I have bunch of them. I started buying them at thrift shops reasonably priced and buy new lids. I use them for a ton of stuff. Right now I have two outside for sun tea. When I have leftover coffee I put it one and put it in the fridge for the makings of iced coffee. When I make chicken broth that I know I'm going to use within a day or two, in the Mason jar it goes.

I think I'm torn between trying to do what is right for the environment as well as save money. Why would I want to waste things?

So, are you green?

Where, oh where, is the weekend? It seemed like it was just Friday night with the anticipation of the weekend showing ahead. It is aleady Sunday night and I'm preparing for work tomorrow.

My dad used to quote this to me: "Saturday night is my delight and so is Sunday morning. Sunday noon comes much too soon, and so does Monday morning." I have not looked it up, but what a very accurate saying.

Our weekend flew. It was fun and the weather was delightful so that made it even better. We went to Arthur and Arcola where are small towns by us and looked around. We stopped at the Amish run bulk food store to stock up on a few things, and we browsed some different shops. Other than the bulk foods, we didn't spent a lot, but had a delightful time. We ate at a buffet called Yoder's which I don't believe it totally run by Amish, but it does have some Amish cooks and the food although not a huge selection, is quite tasty. We met another couple and had a nice time eating and visiting.

Today was church and then home to eat brunch. I had enough leftovers for two lunches. We had sausage, pancakes, and scrambled eggs and fruit salad for dessert. Last night I had snapped green beans, made a fruit salad, and made sloppy chicks because we planned to run around today. It was nice coming home this afternoon knowing all I had to do was heat up the sloppy chicks for supper and making a salad. While I was heating it up, I chopped vegetables and added my homemade chicken broth and some stew meat to the slow cooker. I have an eye doctor appointment tomorrow after school and I wanted to make something in the slow cooker so it would be ready. DH, fortunately, loves beef and barley vegetable soup, so that is what I put together. I made it in my huge one so we will have leftovers for lunch and possibly enough to freeze.

Last night I froze what we had leftover of pork stew. The pork stew was made of leftover pork roast and some vegetables. We had enough for supper and a lunch and still some leftover.

Since we don't eat out very much, it is a treat. Last night was fun not only because we ate out, but also because we met some good friends. They are like us...very frugal and she cooks a ton and they eat leftovers too. We know another couple who are to point they eat almost every meal out...they are the ones complaining they don't have money. No kidding.

Well, I guess I better get back to my school work. Monday will be here before you know it.

It is has been a hectic couple of weeks around here. School has kept me quite busy and then Easter. Last week we received a call saying the flooring guys would come Monday to lay the vinyl. On Saturday we received a call saying the carpeting came in and they would also lay it so Saturday afternoon and evening was spent moving stuff to prepare the areas.

We were concerned that our house would be torn up for days with work in 3 rooms. Two are small, but still...

We received a call saying they would come at 1 p.m. on Monday. DH and I looked at each other and figured they would come, deliver the stuff, tear up a room and leave.

The three rooms were the laundry room, a very small bathroom, and a bedroom. The first two were vinyl and the second was carpeting. The guys unloaded and the next thing we knew, all three rooms were torn up.

Yikes...but we were pleasantly surprised...the guys worked until 8:30 and finished everything. I'm probably going to offend some folks here, but not once did I see them take out their cell phones to check to their messages!!!!! Could it be they decided it made more sense to be productive?

Anyway, we were delighted and my husband gave them some money to get some food on the way home. It has taken the past few days to get everything in place, but we are extremely pleased. We have lived in our home for 16 years and we have replaced all the flooring. Some of it needed to be replaced before we did it, but we always save up and pay cash for it.

Last weekend before we moved everything I decided to try and organize my kitchen a little better. I checked out books from the library and studied them. I can say I was frustrated because these pantries and drawers looked perfect, then it dawned on me if they were being photographed for a book, of course they were show room perfect. DUH! Anyway, I have some things to donate and my pantry is a little better organized. I also re-seasoned my cast iron skillets since I was cleaning and organizing. I have decided that my pantry will not look show room perfect, but it works for me. Plus, many of my items aren't in perfect containers. I have many of my pastas in jars to keep them fresh and bug free. I do use my pantry and it isn't for show.

I saw a recipe on Facebook for making zucchini chips. Slice them thin, mix with 1 T of olive oil and salt and pepper, bake at 450...sounds yummy. I just happen to have some zucchini in the fridge so I think we will be trying this.

Just typing the title makes me chuckle. It goes back many years ago when the rage was getting those electric warmers and buying those wax things to make your house smell nice...long before Scentsy...which was then a step up from buying dried leaves, buds, and flowers and soaking them in water and warming on the stove. A friend of ours wanted to know what that good smelling stuff was and we told him potpourri. He, though, to be the weirdo that he was, would pronounce it POT pooree. OK, I digress.

Another busy week at work, but that is OK. I did have some random thoughts this week.

We have a mix of ages at work. We have some young staff who are in the 20s, then we have a couple in the 30s, and the age goes all the way to 67. We have one gal who is near 50 and loves to brag that she wears her high school daughter's clothing. I've concluded that the fashion industry truly hates women. The whole skinny jean or skinny pant is one example. We have some gals who are not heavy or overweight, but when they wear these skinny jeans, it shows bulges and lumps and makes them look odd shaped. We have some who are wearing tights and are wearing either shirts or very short minidresses and there isn't much left to the imagination. Then there are those of us who are overweight. Recently there was an article in the paper saying that plus size teens are finding it difficult to locate age appropriate prom dresses simply because they aren't being made. I am not in the market for a prom dress, but I can tell you finding clothing if you are short and overweight is very difficult unless you want to wear stuff that is either ill fitting or huge designs. And I could go on about how much more clothing costs for women than men, but that is another post. Sheesh!

We hit a few flea markets and thrift shops yesterday. We didn't buy a whole lot, but it was nice getting out in the sunshine.

DH has been cleaning up the yard. It has been a hard winter for us and the yard and trees and bushes have taken a beating. But he did come in and tell me some good news! The garlic we planted last fall is coming up! Hope springs! He is now encouraged and is planning his vegetable garden.

The past few weeks have been busy and stressful. My principal had knee replacement surgery and due to state testing coming up, there was a lot of work that needed to be completed paperwork wise before the actual testing. Besides the testing, other things were coming due and much of this has become my projects. I'm not complaining. I don't mind pitching in and helping out. But, I come home so exhausted and weekends are spent catching up on domestic things as well as working on school things.

I met someone who is truly someone who doesn't get it finance wise. She thinks she knows all. But it is sad. She gave me some career advice that was both unwanted as well as unnecessary -- I should become an administrator to get more money...that's where the money is. Well, yes, in the way, it is. But, to me there's more to taking a job than the money. Especially one in administration. I have the degree, but I decided that the stress of such a job would do major harm to my health because I am a worrier. Besides, to be a great school administrator one needs to be a leader who can motivate people to do things and know what is right for students. It's more than money.

Anyway, this gal was telling me how she knew she had to make more money so she wouldn't have to eat cat food. This was pretty laughable since she drives a newer Mercedes, has expensive clothes, has a very fancy manicure, and apparently likes to eat at fancy (read expensive) restaurants. Cat food indeed.

So, stress has been on the menu and I need to relax. But I thought I would check in...I have been reading posts here and there trying to keep up with everyone. Hope spring is coming and things slow down a bit.

It's another cold, winter Sunday in the Midwest. We received snow on Friday, a dusting last night, and the forecast for tomorrow is freezing rain. I'm saying it: "UNCLE!" I think we have about a foot of snow on the ground from all the snows. Our driveway is treacherous with snow over the ice.

OK, enough feeling sorry for myself. We have power and heat and we can still get out if we need to. We attended church this morning.

Brunch was scrambled eggs, sausage, and pancakes. DH was a happy boy. I have enough leftover eggs and pancakes for a lunch this week. Supper will be sloppy chicks and there will be leftover for a couple of lunches.

We hit Walgreens today because they had Maxwell House coffee on sale. DH said he read that coffee prices will probably go up since there has been a drought in Brazil. I normally wait until coffee is on sale anyway, so I have been waiting. I don't drink a pot a day, but I like having some every morning so I did get some while it was on sale. Our local paper had an article on a local business that roasts coffee beans and how they serve specialized coffees. I, apparently, am not a coffee prude. On Saturday I make a little extra and on Sunday I just microwave a cup before going to church. I'm sure the coffee experts are just cringing. I rarely throw out coffee...if I make too much, I often put it in the fridge and serve it over ice for iced coffee. Maybe I'm just a cheapskate. I just hate to waste stuff.

A few years ago I attended a conference and they served coffee and hot tea. With the tea, they even served little jars of honey. I love honey in my tea! So, I grabbed one and used it, but kept the little jar. It has come in handy when I take my leftover pancakes because it has a nice metal cap that seals. I put a little honey in it so I can put it on my pancake at lunch. See...I really hate to throw things away!

This is going to be a crazy week. We have parent conferences after school two nights. We were supposed to have one night last week and one night this week, but 7.5 inches of snow changed last week's date to this week.

Anyway, I'm trying to figure out some meals for this week.

For brunch today we had eggs, sausage, and pancakes. There was enough leftover for from lunches. Tonight's supper is sloppy chicks (sloppy joes made with ground chicken), a salad, and chips. I made a large fruit salad yesterday that we will have at meals this week.

Monday night will be pork tenderloin roast with mashed potatoes, cottage cheese, and a salad. I will use the leftover pork to make a pork stew for lunches. We had vegetable soup last week and I saved enough so DH can have it for supper Tuesday night while I'm at school.

A friend of mine gave me some ground beef, so I'm going to use some of that and make goulash. That will be supper Wednesday night, then DH can have it again Thursday night when I'm at work and I can heat it up for a meal when I get home.

Friday night is Valentine's Day so we have reservations.

Our pastor is a very kind person. He started his sermon with a reminder to all the men in the congregation...Valentine's Day is coming up this week so don't forget...and card selection is pretty slim on the actual day. He said the reason he knows all this...he forgot one year and didn't get a card and had an unhappy wife, and one year he waited until the day of. It certainly got a chuckle from the congregation.

So, what are your plans for Valentine's Day?

Yep, I have 'em! Baby, it is cold outside and supposed to get colder.

Today is snow day 5 for us. All area schools cancelled school because of the snow. Once it started yesterday afternoon, it came down hard and fast.

I decided that instead of working myself into a frenzy, I would just enjoy the day. So, I got up and exercised and then showered, then enjoyed coffee and some reruns on television. Lunch was a leisurely find what is in the fridge and have a buffet, and I had already put stuff in the Crockpot for beef and barley soup. I had arranged for the guy to plow our driveway and he showed up on schedule and did a wonderful job. He even plowed part of our street so we could get out if need be!

As for spending, I'm not doing any. I'm catching up on reading and emails and just enjoying the day.

As for my feet, I'm going to find my slippers!

A friend I work with stopped to talk to me the other day. She was all excited. In the past few months we have been talking finances when we are alone and a couple of months ago she decided to make some changes in her life. She started a diet and she started looking at ways to truly save money. She figured getting a control on different areas of her life would help her.

She was so excited to tell me about a couple of things she started doing. Around Christmas she and her hubby paid off their credit card bills. They found they had extra money since she was dieting and not going out to eat. So she then decided she was going to try and save up for things and pay cash.

She also decided to start meal planning and cooking ahead. She made up some casseroles and put them in the freezer. She said she is looking for ways to use up foods and it has saved her money.

The other day she went to Kohls to buy something. If she used her credit card she would save extra and get some special deal. So, she used her credit card and then immediately took the cash she had saved and paid off the credit card. She said she had a difficult time describing how happy it made her feel. She feels successful...she has lost weight and has taken control of her finances. I would say she is a success story!

Sometimes I think we need to reflect on our own successes. It is easy to get bogged down by a problem or situation. I am going to make a generalization, but I think everyone on Saving Advice has the desire to improve their finances. Some are willing to make bigger sacrifices, but we each had to start somewhere. For some it is easier than others. But, we need to celebrate our success whether it is large or small.

I look back on my own life. I'm not rich by any means, but I am comfortable. I have far more stuff than I need, far more clothes, a good house, a nice vehicle, and money put aside. I am blessed. Yet I get frustrated when I let something slip by me. I feel guilty if I spend money a lot of the time. If I compared my life to my parents' lives, they would consider me rich. They grew up during the depression and their retirement years were pretty slim. It was a hard scrabble life for much of their time. I had the idea of getting an education basically beat into my mind because they wanted me to do better. And, I believe I have.

I started saving money earlier. I earned a degree and have worked hard to continue to improve so I had the opportunity to make money. And, I have been blessed that I did not have a lot of unemployment in my life.

Sometimes I compare my life to others I grew up with. One person has done extremely well and I think part of it is because they came from some money and weren't afraid to take risks. I am not a risk taker and I wonder if I had taken a few risks, if I would be better off. Then I look at another person who did take some risks and this person is barely scraping by. Who knows what my life could have been.

Anyway, take a moment to pat yourself on the back for the fact you are taking the time to think through how to improve your life and celebrate that!

Yesterday was a busy day. We went to church and afterwards came home and I fixed brunch. We buy sausage patties from an Amish bulk goods store and we don't eat them all at one meal. So, I thought instead of cooking them all, I would reserve a couple to add to my ground beef for meatloaf. After eating and cleaning up, we went to Walgreens to get a few things that were on sale. I have their card and I wonder if they notice we only buy stuff on sale.

Anyway, the rest of the day was spent working. I did housework and laundry. And I got a few of our meals ready for the week. Last night was sloppy chicks (sloppy joes made with ground chicken). The leftovers will be a couple of lunches for DH. I put beef and barley vegetable soup on the slow cooker for Monday's meal. This will give us leftovers for lunches. I also mixed up the meatloaf to bake off Tuesday night. I will add potatoes and a friend gave me some homegrown and canned green beans so we will have that. Saturday night we had a pork tenderloin roast so I used that to make pork stew. I was cutting up vegetables for the soup so I just chopped a few more. I checked the freezer and we still have frozen tilipia so that will also be a meal.

We had hit some thrift stores Saturday and found a few items for our booth. My only complaint is one store doesn't seem to wash their items so they were sticky and grimy. I spent some time washing everything. I usually wash everything anyway, but I hate it when it is filthy. I marked the items after this.

At Christmas time my church has a bazaar and we usually go to the luncheon to support the women's mission work. While there I perused the second chance room of donated items for sale. I found one of those mini Crockpots that you can take with you for lunch. It was brand new in the box for $7. I have used it 5 times already and it is handy. It keeps soup hot, but not scalding and sure beats waiting for a microwave. Hence, the reason I am making lots if soups so I have lunches.

I went to bed pretty beat last night. I am glad I have today off for a holiday to rest up. I have already fired up the slow cooker and am ready for another day.

Before Christmas a gal I work with did a staff invite to one of the hottest home parties in our area: you pay a set fee and attend the party and then when you get there you put together meals to stuff in your freezer so you have meals available. Supposedly you get ten meals at 5 servings each. The price is about $120.

I guess I'm an old prude, but it just doesn't appeal to me. I'm sure if you broke it down, the price isn't outrageous, but one is at the mercy of the host/hostess on what the chosen meals are. We don't like hot/spicy stuff and if that was on the agenda, that would be money wasted.

I'm all for free enterprise, but personally, I'm not paying someone to chop some vegetables and cut up meat and this sort of thing. And, I kind of wonder about the 5 servings, but alas, I'm a skeptic.

I have noticed quite a few sites popping up about cooking for a month or making stuff to put in jars. Someone posted this link on Facebook today and I did look at it and it looks like it has some possibilities:

http://www.savebiglivebetter.com/2013/04/472-easy-meals-in-a-jar-recipes.html

First of all, I like the fact jars are used. I do use plastic bags, but I really prefer using glass. But, I'm also kind of liking so much isn't in the freezer. Right now my freezer is kind of full of chicken stock, tomato sauce, and turkey breasts.

Anyway, eating at home saves money and I'm sure my friends probably saved money by heating up some of the stuff they did at the party, that is, if they remember to fix it. But, do you cook for a month or make many freezer meals in advance?

We actually saw a little sunshine today here in Central Illinois...after all the snow, frigid temps, high winds, and dreary days...it was a welcome sight. We had some rain yesterday and although folks were complaining about it, it did make a bunch of the snow go away!

I was upset last night because I thought I lost my scarf. In the winter I keep one with me because cold air bothers my breathing and I often have it over my mouth and nose. I did find it...not only did the expense of replacing it bother me, I'm not sure I would find another. This one is kind of old and it does not contain any acrylic. My skin breaks out when I get around acrylic.

We went to the grocery store last night. DH had hit Aldi and got most of the items we needed there, but there were a few things we needed that Aldi didn't provide. I left in a bad mood. I know the Feds claim there is no inflation, but it seems like we get less and less each time we go to the grocery.

I wanted a new Crockpot to replace one I have. Read: want, not need. DH walks at the mall in bad weather and he found one he thought I wanted, but we weren't sure it was the right size. Maybe on new ones they list the size, but on mine which is kind of old, I could not find the size. He chose well. We went to Sears, bought it, and I used a rewards card and got another dollar and some change off of it as well. I guess what shocked me was this chain store is like a third smaller than it used to be. I knew they hadn't been handling clothes like they used to, but it was scary. I wonder if Sears will be another store filing for bankruptcy soon.

We hit some thrift stores today. It doesn't seem like they are putting much new things out. One in particular we know has a huge storeroom full of things because they take things in year round and keep things for when the specific season is upon us. Are any of you finding the same thing?

We did treat ourselves to brunch out. It was nice to get out and visit before we did our running around. I put a turkey breast in the Crockpot this morning and that will be supper with potatoes and a vegetable and some fruit for dessert. We will have something else with the leftover turkey...I like to think we get our money's worth. I usually make a casserole with stuffing and the leftover gravy. Someone mentioned to me the other day they made turkey soup so I might have to look into that as well.

Years and years ago when in college, I remember asking my mom for a hot pot. She found one on sale. I think I got it for Christmas or my birthday. Since they are so close together, it is hard telling.

I was covetous of this white metal electric pot before I received it. It barely held two teacups of hot water, but this magic little pot in the dorm room meant hot tea or hot chocolate or hot water for instant soup. And believe me, when I got one, it was well used by both my roommate and me.

Back when I was in school, we had pop machines (soda vending to those of you not from Central Illinois) and that was about it on our college campus. My snack cache' consisted of a jar of peanut butter and saltines and an air popcorn popper and popcorn. I didn't have a fridge so I couldn't have butter and didn't know about the salt with the artificial butter. Money was tight for me back then. My parents didn't have a lot either. So, having the pleasure of hot tea or instant hot chocolate was such a treat.

I believe I wore that hot pot out and by then I was out of school. I thought I wouldn't need one because I had a stove and tea kettle.

And there's some pleasure to having the tea kettle boil and whistle...but it isn't as efficient or economical as a hot pot.

So a few years ago when a store was going out of business I decided to buy a hot pot to use at home. I got quite a bit off of it and I bought a Rival because I have had such good luck with Rival Crockpots. This puppy has to be almost ten years old and I use it frequently.

I brew tea for iced tea quite a few times a week. I love a cup of hot tea so I often use it for that. When I need hot water for something, out comes the hot pot and it is pressed into service.

A friend gave us some hot chocolate mix and DH loves anything with chocolate. He shoveled around the mailbox and said he was really cold. I suggested a cup of hot chocolate and he was all for it. I return to work tomorrow and I told him how he could use the hot pot for hot chocolate himself. He was astounded it was that easy.

I love DH dearly, but he's not a mechanical type of guy. He can make toast and reheat in the microwave, but other than that, I'm not sure he feels comfortable with appliances. He was pleased the hot pot was as easy as putting in some water, plugging it in, waiting for the water to get hot, and unplug and use.

I do think it saves us money. I can't imagine buying already made iced tea. And although you can put tea bags in water and it makes tea, I do think brewed tea has a little different flavor. Plus, since it doesn't take a lot of power and time to heat water, I think it is more economical than using the stove. I know someone could say use the microwave, but I'm always unsure of heating water in the microwave. I either get it too hot or it isn't hot enough. But that's just me.

So, something as simple as a hot pot is such a pleasure. And I think I hear another cup of tea calling my name!

I live in Central Illinois. We had a snowstorm yesterday and like much of the country, we have extremely cold temperatures. Wind chills are in double digit negative numbers. Brrrr!

Friday night and Saturday were interesting in our city; people posted photos of the run at grocery stores. I guess many of them ran out of things on the shelves.

Yesterday was my birthday and we originally had planned on going out for pizza with some friends. We changed our plans with the blowing snow, cold temps, and terrible conditions. Since I had anticipated going out, I didn't purchase buns at Aldi for our normal Sunday night sloppy chicks. We had them, but I had no buns, so I baked bread yesterday. I baked small round loaves that after cooling, we sliced for buns. Not too bad and certainly pretty reasonable money wise. I did not plan on hitting the stores Friday night or Saturday just for a package of buns! We had been watching the weather and did our grocery shopping Thursday since I'm off from school.

I imagine most of you have stuff in reserve in your pantry and freezer. I know we do. We eventually would need to replenish some things, but DH was talking last night about how we didn't have to brave the craziness at the grocery stores. I like to find things on sale and stock up.

We are going to pay someone to plow out our driveway. I'm sorry, with over 8 inches of snow received, and then drifting, I am not going to shovel in weather with wind chills of -35. The hospital bill will be more than what we pay the guy to plow our driveway. Maybe that's a weird way of looking at it, but I know it will make me sick if I get out there with my asthma. DH has a little heart condition that we don't want to make worse so I don't want him out in it either plus he froze his lungs a couple of years ago and can't handle extreme cold like he used to.

Hope everyone is warm and safe.

The last day of 2013. Wow. I'm a bit melancholy simply because change is often difficult. I was thinking about 2014 and although one always hopes it will be a good year, there is always the fear of the unknown. I could go into rational and irrational fears, but I won't because it could be a downer.

Last fall we were asked at a meeting to talk about something exciting we did over the summer. People had these grandiose stories. I felt like there was something wrong with me. We didn't do tons of stuff. We did take a short vacation and although it was enjoyable, I was happy to get home. I like being at home with my loving husband enjoying the simple things like coffee in the morning, cooking, and reading. It was enjoyable feasting on the stuff from DH's garden. We had fun getting stuff for the booth and setting it up. I am not an exciting person overall. I get more enthused about going to the library than going to the mall. I like to learn.

This morning my husband left to go deliver library books to a shut in. I was straightening up the kitchen and then getting stuff ready to put in a pot to make soup. I sort of reflected on how blessed I really am.

I have a loving spouse who is loyal and kind. I have wonderful friends who care for me. I have a nice home that is warm on these frigid days. I have enough to eat, and more clothes than I really need. I have a good job. I live in a country that allows me many freedoms and rights as well as responsibilities. So, I realize I am blessed.

Looking back on 2013 it was a good year. I saved money and spent money. I learned some new things. Hopefully 2014 will be equally as good.

Our soup is basically a mixture of frozen tomato sauce I made last summer from DH's tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, basil, and oregano. I cut up some celery we had in the fridge and added the remainder of the sloppy chicks (sloppy joes made with ground chicken) we didn't eatafter having it for two meals, and some pasta shells sitting in the pantry. Economical as well as healthy!

Life is kind of like that soup I am making. There are certain non exciting things that are the basis, yet other things that make it flavorful. Hope you have a delicious new year!

A friend of mine had a birthday this week. Her daughter asked what she wanted and she said how about a tea party?

As a kid I remember having a little plastic tea set and the doll and I would imbibe, but I never have been to a true tea party.

DH asked if I had tea and crumpets (he certainly watches too much T.V.) and I said no, but there were three kinds of tea and scones and sandwiches and other goodies.

We all sort of dressed up. Dressing up wasn't a prerequisite, but I think the nature of the party made us all want to. Not everyone knew each other, but we all shared the affection for our friend. It was a delightful way to spend the afternoon. I wasn't too sure because I'm not a big party person, but everyone was friendly and we talked and mingled and it was just a very civilized afternoon.

There were vintage tea cups and we oohed and aahed over them. Most were handed down from different family members.

Maybe the English have the right idea after all!

Hope you and yours had a blessed Christmas. We had sufficient to suffice and it was very, very nice!

It's Christmas Eve and I'm doing yet another breathing treatment before I change clothes for Christmas Eve services.

So, to amuse myself, I decided to open the spam folder. Talk about surprises!

I can meet my love match on match.com! Hmmm. Bet my current love match who is cleaning up after supper would be surprised! Not that I'm looking...don't get me wrong. (BTW, DH cleans up after supper...I do all the cooking. Yes, I know, I am very blessed!) EHarmony is so excited they sent me two emails within an hour. I am a very popular person for never having visited either site!

I can keep my penis size forever or so the email says. Golly, that is something I've always wanted...not. I'm female and I don't have penis envy. There's another company with the same sort of offer. Talk about barking up the wrong tree...

My scholarship application is being processed. Even better! I've been out of college over 30 years. Wonder if it is retroactive to then? Imagine the interest on that money...bet I can get my Ph.D.!

There's a KIA clearance going on just for me. Land o'goshen...they apparently don't know me well. Personally, I try not to buy foreign made cars...long story, but my dad drilled in me to buy American. There's also an extend my auto warranty one...is that on my current vehicle or the new Kia?

Two emails from the same company about a platinum credit card...Wow, they really must want me own one. I have two credit cards and that's enough for me at this point. But wait...there's more! Someone is willing to loan me $2500 quickly...might need that if I get that credit card and use it for extension stuff.

Someone is offering me a special Kohls card...I am a popular gal...over 30 spam in one day, and here's another jewel...I can learn a foreign language in ten days. No offense, but I'm having problems remembering English...ask any teacher and we constantly question our own spelling and grammar because both have been butchered so much by students.

Well, I'm gratified to know I'm such a well rounded popular individual...it is always nice to be wanted.

My breathing treatment is over so it's time to get ready for the real stuff. But, thought I'd add a little levity.

Merry Christmas!

Santa came early around here...A friend stopped by Saturday night to drop off a gift. She has told me she didn't know what to get me this year. So, a big part of her gift was quarts of homegrown canned green beans. She also gave me a quart of applesauce and a quart of tomato sauce. All of which she worked hard on canning. Talk about a thoughtful gift! We love food around here and homegrown and canned is about as good as it gets. Little to no salt and no preservatives! Yay!

We are without a Christmas tree this year. No pity please. I'm not writing this for sorrow. It wasn't planned, but time and weather kept DH from getting a live tree this year. We are OK with it. He likes a live tree, but doesn't want to get one too early because it dries out. Two weekends ago we had a big snow and this weekend it rained and rained. He went yesterday when the rain let up and the tree farm he has always gotten one had closed for the season.

So many of the folks I work with have been so ill the past couple of weeks. I had hoped I would keep from getting ill, but Friday I started getting ill. Because of my asthma and allergies everything usually settles in my lungs so I'm trying to keep on top of it with breathing treatments. But, it could be so much worse.

In the newspaper today, a person who is in charge of a homeless drop in place said they have served over 2000 unduplicated patrons. For a city around the size of 74,000, that is a lot of homeless. It certainly makes me appreciate what I have so much more.

I haven't posted for a couple of weeks. Part of it is I haven't had much to add. Part of it is I have been fighting something that apparently won. I have been under the weather and hopefully with Christmas break will begin to rest up and feel better.

I hope all of you have Merry Christmas with lots of love and joy.

Hopefully everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with plenty to eat and people to love.

Our Thanksgiving was wonderful; my brother and his wife joined us and we had a good meal and good fellowship. We are truly the dysfunctional family poster children. My brother is 19 years older than I am. We have the same mother, but different fathers. He was basically an adult when I came along so we didn't grow up together. When I was a little kid he and my mom got into some fight and they didn't talk to each other after that. Forty some years later my mom dies, I call him to tell him, and since then we have tried to work on building a relationship. I know that sound weird as adults, but my mom was the type of person if I had tried to be friendly to him while she was alive, she would have made my life absolutely miserable.

I did some baking yesterday. I tried a recipe I tore out of the paper a few months ago. It is a honey sweet bread and it was pretty good. Below is the recipe if you want to make it for yourself or for treats to give away for Christmas:

Honey loaf

3/4 cup coffee
3/4 cup honey
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
3/4 cup canola oil
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teapoon ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Whisk together the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another bowl. Slowly add the wet ingredients and whisk smooth.

Scrape batter into a greased 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Bake about 45 minutes. If the top is starting to brown too much, at this point, cover with foil and bake another 15 minutes. Cool 30 minutes in the pan, then tip out and cool completely on a wire rack.

I served it with some butter spread on it...yum!

Three days (not counting today) until Thanksgiving. We have a typical menu and rarely stray from it. DH and I enjoy what we have and why change it?

Hubby made our weekly trip to Aldi for our normal weekly stuff last Friday. He said it was crazy busy. Of course it was...people were buying for their holiday. He said he was glad he wasn't fighting for turkeys or ham. We had bought ours earlier and bought other stuff ahead of time before the big rush. For those things that aren't perishable, it is nice to buy them on sale and have them on hand instead of fighting crowds and searching for this and that?

Anyway, we have invited some family and a couple of friends and we look forward to their company. Which brings me to this next item. We haven't heard from this one couple for awhile. No emails, no phone calls. Suddenly they want to see us. One hates to always think there is a motive, but... Anyway, part way in the conversation there was a hint of they didn't know what they would do for Thanksgiving. The hint was brought up and then expanded actually. They have family, but really, they don't want to fix a meal. Part of me is sorry we didn't invite them. But, in reality, we don't have room. It isn't like they have no where else to go.

I mentioned to DH that a few years ago when my mom died, two different friends invited us to Thanksgiving because they didn't want us to be alone. Very kind and very thoughtful. These friends are not the ones who gave us this hint of wanting to join us. So, I'm just going to live with my guilt.

In other things, one of the local credit unions is offering a CD for 2% for 54 months. I don't want to tie up our money for that long for 2%, but I am hoping it means maybe interest rates are starting to go up a bit.

It is really cold here...well below the usual average. I'm happy to be home and warm...let's say I'm thankful!

This has been a busy and spendy weekend. The expenditures were planned so I'm not going to beat myself up over them, however. Suze Orman might disagree, though!

We went to concert and I had purchased the tickets last summer. Since it was in a town an hour away, we decided to make a day of it. We had received our Christmas Club check so we did some Christmas shopping, had a nice dinner out, and went to the concert. It was a fun time, although a late night. It made getting up for church a little difficult, but we did it.

Today was spent cleaning and fixing. DH raked leaves and cleaning gutters. I did some housework as well and then replaced our mailbox. Seems the neighbor kids liked playing with the door a few years ago and weakened it. It finally fell off on one side. We bought the new mailbox last week as well as new towel rack that would replace the other one that we had tried to fix with no success. I have that replaced and clean towels. I also put peeled and cored apples in a Crockpot to make apple juice and applesauce, so I think it was a productive day.

My comment about Suze Orman...we watch her most Saturday nights and usually agree with her, but we have noticed she seems to want people to do nothing anymore, except save money. Or maybe that is just what we are picking up on. We have savings and investments, and our house is paid off and we don't carry balances on our credit cards. But somehow, I think she would say not to buy Christmas gifts, but invest the money instead. If we were in debt, I would agree, but I guess I'm getting to be a rebel to some extent. We think if we have money in the bank, no debt, we should feel like we can splurge and go out to eat once in awhile, take in a concert, and buy gifts.