Almost every Sunday I fix the same thing for supper: sloppy chicks which are like sloppy joes made with ground chicken. Not exciting, but DH likes them and it means we have a hot meal and he has a couple of lunches besides.

Being frugal, I have noticed that there are times when DH doesn't use all of the sloppy chick mixture. There usually isn't enough for him to have a good sized sandwich. So, I usually put it in a small container and put it in the freezer. Yesterday, I decided to see how many of these containers I had and if there was enough for a meal. So, after taking all the dibs and dabs out, I had enough for a meal and leftovers too.

Before church I put some beans to cook in the Crockpot. I soaked them overnight. I thought they would be a nice addition to sloppy chicks. Actually what gave me the idea was I saw some baked beans on sale in the grocery flyer and thought I should use up some of the dried beans I had in the pantry.

It is beautiful here in Central Illinois. Actually fairly warm...feels like early summer instead of spring. DH worked very hard to put in 9 tomato plants, 2 rosemary plants, and 2 sage plants yesterday. Normally he plants on Mother's Day weekend, but since the forecast is calling for temps in the 80s this week, he thought it was safe to plant this weekend and give them a head start. His radishes, onions, and lettuce are all up and his carrots are just beginning to pop through. Hopefully it will be a productive gardening year!

I was thinking about how much we save by repurposing some of our leftovers. We spent around $142 this week at Aldi and County Market. A couple of things weren't food items, but cleaning items that were on sale and I had coupons. Considering that money goes for 7 breakfasts, 6 lunches and 6 suppers, plus snacks, I don't think that is too bad. We eat a balanced diet with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. We have cut down on our meat consumption...I may buy a small pork tenderloin roast and it will make up 2-3 meals. And the freezer and Crockpot are my good friends as they store and cook for me.

At lunch Friday we were talking about meals. Food is a big topic at lunch, imagine that!

One lady was talking about making a casserole...she has to eat gluten free so it is tricky to find things. She said she added a dash of this and that and when she finished, it was so good her husband told her she could make that any time she wanted. She laughed and said she just started pulling things out of the pantry and fridge.

I made vegetable soup last week and DH said it was best he's had in a while, and that wasn't a reflection on bad soup on my part. He said it just seemed to have lots more flavor.

I admitted the chances of making it again the same were pretty slim. The overall idea would be the same, and I used tomatoes I canned which made it different. That is a given. I had been using stuff in the pantry as far as tomato things that needed to be used before they got too close to the use by date. But that isn't the reason.

You see, my secret was for the past couple of months I've been saving those bits and pieces of vegetables we didn't eat. How many times did we have green beans where we had so few left over that it wouldn't be enough for a serving, but...

Same thing with some the roasts...I kept the onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms that were let over. The same with zucchini and squash that I had roasted. I had a decent sized bag of leftover vegetables that had been cooked and we didn't eat all of, but not enough for another meal.So, I bought some beef on sale and browned it. I dumped all vegetables in the soup, added some fresh onions and some other vegetables and cooked it with chicken broth I also had in the freezer. Added the tomatoes and barley and yowza...what a soup.

We had two and half meals out of that soup and considering most of it was leftover vegetables, I felt like we saved money, not to mention eating healthy.

It's just rainy Saturday.

DH and I did a couple of errands and were pleased to get home and dry off.

I'm enjoying myself with a cup of tea and reading SA blogs before I begin house cleaning. That silly maid didn't show up again and neither did the laundress. So, it falls on me. But, seriously, I am blessed to have a nice home and clothes and sheets to wash.

Work has been all encompassing and I have come home exhausted both mentally and physically. We begin state testing again next week so meal planning is very important.

Last time we had state testing (about a month ago) there were some nights it was very tempting to go out. DH offered and I refused. Afterwards I point out that we wouldn't have eaten any sooner (I really don't like fast food), and it would have cost more and certainly wouldn't have been healthier.

My principal was kidding me the other day about my big Thermos of coffee. He said he sees me with it every day. He's correct. I do have it. I "fix" the coffee pot every evening so all I have to do it turn it on when I get up. No, I don't set the timer because I unplug it after I get my coffee and plug it in when I'm ready for it to brew. Anyway, he was sort of making fun of me in a meeting about it and I said, well, it's far cheaper than buying coffee at the gas station every morning...you see, he buys his every morning. I know he looks at me like I'm a crazy woman for my Thermos, but it not only saves me money, but I get to fix coffee the way I like it.

Yesterday's lunch was basically a clean out the fridge type lunch...some leftovers and an apple. I take a lot of leftovers though and my lunch buddies have gotten to the point where they ask me for recipes because they like what I'm eating. Every time I eat something repurposed, I feel like I've saved some money.

Not much on the horizon as far as my life...trying to get through to the end of the year and stay healthy. Although people were complaining about the rain today, we are below our average for this time of the year. DH has started his garden and was kind of hoping a nice rain would help his plants. He's looking forward to a little warmer weather and has been planning on what he's going to grow...we have a very small area...and what he wants to eat. Truly, the way to his heart is through his stomach.

Heard lots of conversations at work about all the places people were going this weekend. Lots of shopping was involved. Other than groceries, there isn't much we need or want at this point.

I'm wondering if I'm getting old when I don't have to been entertained every minute and I don't have to worry about going out, but am happy with being home with my love and enjoying a cup of tea. Or perhaps I've just become a little more wise.

It's a beautiful day here...sunny, not too cold. DH is out starting the garden. He feels he got a late start...the ground was too wet two weeks ago and then last weekend he was down in the back. At least he's starting and he's happiest playing in the dirt.

I haven't posted much lately simply because I haven't had much to say. I didn't want to post simply to post. I've been reading the blogs, and every so often commenting.

We are starting to get some financial statements...some look good, some showed a little loss. Just a sign of the times, I guess.

One of the people I know who was gung ho about watching spending has fallen off the savings band wagon. The query is do you say something and risk getting this person upset or just hope they realize the error of this? I know, rhetorical question. I'm choosing not to say anything because I don't think it would be well received. I also know this person might respond that we spend money. I won't deny it. Most of our big expenditures are planned. We will be celebrating out 25th wedding anniversary in June and we hope to take a trip as part of it. We have vacation money saved up so it simply will be using part of the fund for that. We had to have a branch cut that was too far off the ground for a mere mortal to get, and we had the money set aside. We go out to eat with friends, but it is money budgeted. Plus, I'm older than this person, and I have fewer bills because I've been paying stuff off and saving.

After all the storms we've had the past few days, the lovely, calmer weather is a true treat. Hope you are enjoying beautiful weather as well. I'm off to continue cleaning since the maid didn't show yet again...she never shows! LOL

I know it sounds contradictory, but sometimes I have to spend some money to save some money.

Last weekend we made three trips to Farm and Fleet. Fortunately it is very close to our house. But we saw a garbage can on sale and needed to replace ours since it has split. (DH has also wanted a mini tiller so he looked and bought...he said as he gets older it is getting harder to kneel and try to spade the soil by hand. I don't think we will actually save money on the tiller because he doesn't have a big plot, but he's happy. I figure I'm lucky he loves working in the yard instead of out boozing and getting into trouble.)

The third trip was to take the lawnmower there to get a tune up. It hasn't been tuned up or the blade sharpened in a number of years. We dropped it off and they worked on it and we picked it up today. It came to $62 for the tune up. Far cheaper than purchasing a new mower and since the mower still worked before taking it in, I think it was money well spent. So, I think in the long run we will save money by spending some.

Today I put a turkey breast in the slow cooker. The slow cooker is one I bought at a flea market for $10 a few years ago. It works great, looks nice, and although I have other slow cookers, it is a just the right size for this meal. That turkey breast will make up at least two meals so having spent money on that slow cooker a number of years ago, I think I'm saving money by cooking at home.

Speaking of slow cookers, I have 4 of them, counting the one previously mentioned. They are all different sizes. The $10 one is actually programmable which makes it even nicer, but I think I've saved a ton of money by using these wonderful appliances. So, by spending money, I've probably saved a bunch.

I opened up a jar of green beans I canned last summer. I'm not sure I saved very much money by canning since I had to buy some of the stuff outright to get started, but I do think they tasted better than the stuff from the store and I will have the jars and rings for the next time I can. Maybe I'll save money.

I've been watching thrift shops for canning jars and have purchased quite a few of the smaller pint ones. I read you can freeze things in these if they are straight up and down if you don't fill it to the very top so there is room for expansion. I did freeze some tomato sauce last summer with some of the small jars and I think it helps me save money as I use this stuff. I have also been using the tomatoes I canned last summer. Tonight, I finished up with the equivalent of about 5 quarts of broth. I had made chicken broth earlier this week and put it in the fridge to chill and today I had a bunch of turkey broth and it is also going to be frozen. I like keeping broth in the freezer so I have it when I want to make soups and stews. I spent money buying chicken and turkey for meals and used the leftover broth to freeze so I have it for other things.

I've been stocking up on things like soap and shampoo since there have been coupons for the stuff we use as well as sales. There was a sale on buy one, get one free and then there was a coupon for 50 cents off in the paper, so I felt like I had a good deal. It is stuff we normally use so I felt like although I didn't need two bottles right now, by buying them and having them, I'll save money so I don't have to get them at full price when I'm actually totally out.

I bought some orange oil when it was on sale awhile back and used it to wash and moisturize our kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities and bathroom trim and doors. That stuff isn't exactly cheap, but I think it sure helps preserve and clean the wood and hopefully help me save these pieces.

I spent $3 to wash my vehicle the other day at the car wash. It's not perfectly clean, but we've had so much salt on the roads and streets from this winter and although our snow is gone (hopefully won't return for a long time), when it rains, the puddles still have salt. I felt the $3 to wash the vehicle will help me save my vehicle from the damage salt could do to it.

So, I've been spending. We will be spending some big bucks in a bit...we are going to have insulation installed in our crawl space. We had an energy audit and he was shocked there wasn't any insulation down there. We are also going to add to the insulation in the attic. We are talking spending big bucks, but hopefully in the coming years, it will make our power bills a bit more reasonable and hopefully the floors a whole lot warmer.

Do you agree? Do you have sometimes have to spend money to save money?

Life seems to be flying by lately. We are doing PARCC testing and my days at work seem to be getting longer and longer as I go in even earlier to get the computer lab ready before we begin testing. Testing means walking and monitoring and trying to keep both students and teachers calm. It almost seems like my life is a little out of control since I am so busy with the testing and can't get too much else done. I'm coming home totally beat and my back and legs are tired and sore. I've been wearing sneakers and have two different pair I alternate.

This weekend I was trying to play "catch up" with stuff at home. I haven't felt like doing a lot of cleaning or laundry during the week so it means I'm trying to do all of this on the weekend. I've done fairly well on keeping dinner on the table most nights. It means a lot of planning which I don't mind.

Yesterday I was so tired and achy that after church and brunch I relaxed on the couch for an hour and took some Ibuprofen. Right now strep throat and the flu seem to be taking our school by storm and I don't want to get ill for a number of reasons, one being my missing testing would be a big problem since there doesn't seem to be anyone who would step up to manage it. Fortunately the rest and the meds seemed to help. I was still tired, but less achy and I did get my housework and laundry completed. I also put together the dough for some homemade bread. And I put short ribs in the Crockpot for tonight's supper and I can say they were delicious.

I was thinking last night about a neighbor of mine. When I was three, my folks moved from a country setting to the city and bought an old store building. My dad worked for Coke, but he also wanted to run a furniture store. So we moved and I stood in the back yard (not really a yard because it was all gravel) calling "Simon! Simon! Simon!"

The Chipmunks were popular when I was younger. A neighbor thought at first I had a brother, but when none showed, she finally said, "Yes!" and she became Simon to me for the rest of her life.

She was quite the blessing to me -- taught me many things including how to cook.

Every week she would bake bread. She had a certain recipe that she baked for her husband because he was diabetic. I remember smelling the wonderful aroma and if I were lucky that day, she would cut off part of the end, or heel, and butter it, and that would be our treat. It was wonderful and she was wonderful.

Yesterday as I put together the ingredients for some bread, I thought how fortunate I was to have had her in my life and the fact that I watched her and learned how to bake bread. A friend of ours had a bread machine and she said she couldn't get a decent loaf out of it. DH says he is amazed how easy I make it look. I've even demonstrated bread making for some of our classes at school because we think it is important for our children to realize bread doesn't just come from the store.

My friend, Simon, also taught me about making use of things and not wasting and stocking up when things are on sale.

More importantly, she loved me and made me feel like I had worth. I just hope that I do the same for someone else.

After yesterday's snow storm, today it is clear and sunny, but cold. Hey's it's winter in the midwest and I'm blessed to have a snug little home with central heating! Yesterday was certainly a no spend day because we didn't leave the place.

Tomorrow DH goes to make the last car payment on his vehicle. We did get a loan for three years, paid it off in two, simply because we figured we better have some kind of loan to keep our credit scores going. After this month, the car "payment" goes into savings so we have money for a good down payment on the next vehicle down the road.We haven't had a mortgage for a number of years so we thought we ought to "borrow" a bit of money for a little bit of time.

I was glad to see the stock market closed up on Friday due to Greece working out some financial deal. It sure would be nice to get some money on investments since interest rates for savings and CDs are so darn low.

After church we had brunch and then we did some house cleaning. I try to clean by a certain schedule and touch up in between.

After cleaning it is bill paying then I reward myself with some email, Facebook, and SA time.

I check my spam folder every so often to make sure something hasn't gotten in there that shouldn't before I clean it out. I have to chuckle at some of the things in that folder...I guess the spammers must think I'm a guy because there are lots of emails for enlargement of a piece of anatomy I don't currently possess, "ladies" wanting to meet and marry me, women wanting to date me and sleep with me, as well as the usual garbage of credit, insurance, Dr. Oz treatments, and printer ink. I often wonder how these folks get my email since I'm not visiting singles' sites, insurance sites, or ink sites. It would be amusing if it really wasn't so sad...I haven't gotten any from the contests lately...for awhile I was getting bombarded with I was a winner. I don't enter many contests so I don't think I'll fall for any of that.

Supper will be sloppy chicks. I have two after school/evening meetings this week, so I had to think what I could fix that DH could heat up for himself and I could take and heat up at work for my menu. The pork roast and the soup will make up two meals for us so the menu looks sparse:

Scrambled eggs, sausage, grits, toast, fruit salad
Sloppy chicks
Pork tenderloin roast with carrots, onions, celery, and mushrooms and baked sweet potatoes and roasted potatoes
Chicken and rice soup

We had new grocery open up and I feel like we are reaping the benefits. It is a second store for one group and the coupons have really started coming out. They had a coupon of a box of Creamette spaghetti for 59 cents with the coupon, limit of 2. I didn't need spaghetti, but we bought them and they are stored in the freezer for when we do.

Since this company has had a lot of sales and such, the other large grocery company has stepped up with sales and coupons. I am no longer loyal to one store. I have decided I am loyal to us and saving us money. This store sent me coupons for some free items based on what I've bought in the past as well as cents off coupons for things. Between their savings and Aldi, we have spent less than $60 on groceries for this week. I really like this penny pinching!

It's Sunday again. This week was one of lots of stress and lots of work and...well, it seemed to go on forever at some points and sped by at others. I was glad when Friday night came, but I was so exhausted, I could barely think. DH hit Aldi and we picked up a few things at a local grocery. This store had sent some coupons and we got some good deals on things we usually buy so no complaints here.

Yesterday we ran errands and hit thrift shops. We did eat dinner out at a nice restaurant for Valentine's Day.Both food and service were great, so it was quite the treat.

After church today it was house cleaning, laundry, and cooking. I tried a recipe for snickerdoodle bread someone posted on Facebook. I didn't have the cinnamon chips, but made it like the recipe for everything else. DH loves snickerdoodles and he really liked the bread. It was a nice treat for him. I baked two loaves of white bread. I will be sharing my bread bounty with a friend. A couple of weeks ago she made two apple pies and gave us one so I'd like to do something back for her.

My little group of gals has grown to be a little larger group of gals who are bringing their lunches on Thursdays and we are talking about finances. Last week, as a lark, I emailed them an assignment to list 5 things they do personally to save money. They laughed and kidded me about the "homework." So, while we ate, we shared our five things. We made a master list and put it on Google docs so everyone could add if they wished and we had a nice time. One of the other ladies is going to come up with an assignment for this week. We decided to trade off so no one feels like anyone is really in charge. We started a Facebook page for our group so we can share articles so we don't fill up our email boxes.

Last Thursday I found a dime in the parking lot of one of the buildings I frequent. I posted about it and said it put me up to 17 cents. I got a lot of ribbing about it, all good natured, and today at church, one of our friends dropped a penny on the floor and picked it up and said I had found it. He proceeded to put a penny in the pew where we sit and gave me one more before he left just laughing. I call him my penny angel and I'm now up to 20 cents. Hey, it all adds up.

This is going to be a weird week as far as meals. A couple of weeks ago I made a huge batch of soup and froze half of it for this week. I have parent-teacher conferences Tuesday and Thursday nights from 4-7 so I will take some soup with me to heat up at school and DH can heat some up for himself on Tuesday. I plan on making mini quiches so we can do the same thing on Thursday.

My menu plan for this week:

Scrambled eggs, sausage, grits, toast, fruit
Chili
Pork loin roast with carrots, onions, mushrooms, and celery, mashed potatoes, cottage cheese, bread
Vegetable soup
Leftover pork roast and I'll probably roast some potatoes
Mini quiches

It's cold here, but we might get up to an inch or so of snow tonight into tomorrow. I am not going to complain too loudly. Last winter was horrendous with the frigid temps and all the snow, and even that isn't as bad as what New England is experiencing. Got to count our blessings when we can!

A couple of weeks ago two of my coworkers told me at one of our meetings they weren't going to go out lunch; they asked if they could join me because they brought their lunches.

These are two nice young ladies. They are not the ones who have made snarky comments about my lunches or Thermos. One comment they did make was they realized I was right that going out to eat was an expense that they didn't need at this point.

So, our conversation start talking about saving money and we started comparing notes on what we are doing. Both are young and have young families and started talking about life insurance. I had the opportunity to explain the difference of term and whole life and the pros and cons of each. There is an insurance company that is visiting during faculty meetings and they are offering to meet with individuals about life insurance. But, like most of these meetings, it is a sales pitch. So they were happy to get information so they went into these meetings well informed.

Our conversations aren't entirely financial. We started out this week talking about coupons and saving money and wound up talking about recipes.

It's nice to have some others who want to save money and be able to talk about it with them. And I'm especially pleased they are younger so they will realize the benefits of this instead of trying to play catch up when they get my age.

Remember the movie "The King and I" where the king learns all about Etc.! Well, that's sort of my thinking today...this and that and etc.

Paid some bills, balanced the checkbook, and guess I'm ready for another week. We had an unexpected expense in the last month. Our garage door spring broke. Neither of us are handy so we had to pay to have it replaced. Believe me when I tell you, it would have cost more in medical bills if we had even attempted it. But, fortunately we have the money to do so.

A planned expense was some home repairs. Seems our exhaust fans in our bathrooms were never vented outside. So, the humidity was sent to the attic. This caused problems with this so we had to have the attic treated and then pay someone to have the fans vented outside. Our next step is to get more insulation both in the attic and in the crawl space. We had an energy audit last fall and these were things he suggested. Part of having a house is keeping things up, but it is never easy. Besides the expenditures, it is always a challenge to get someone out to work on stuff. I don't get it. Our little city is still having big unemployment so lots of folks are putting off having things done so you'd think it would be easier to get folks out to do work. In a word, no. I call and leave messages and no one returns the call. It is frustrating. It's not like we don't pay them. Oh, well. The first stage is taken care of and onto the next.

We went to church and came home and fixed brunch. After brunch I went to work on chopping vegetables for three different meals this week: pork loin roast, sloppy chicks, and Italian Wedding Soup. The pork loin will actually be two meals because we always have leftover meat and vegetables. It is easier to chop everything at one time so that worked out. So, in about an hour, I have the legwork done. Not bad. I teased my husband that I'd have more time to read and goof off if I didn't cook so much and perhaps we could eat out every night. Fortunately he knows I was kidding because I'm cheap and I like knowing what we are eating.

A friend at church gave me some cooking magazines she didn't want. I'm looking forward to perusing them after awhile and then will pass them on.

Hope your Sunday is wonderful.

Thursday night after supper I commented our fridge looked bare. It usually does and by Friday, it is almost scary. Friday lunches around here (I take mine to work and DH fixes his at home) are normally what we haven't eaten so far and we are finishing up. During the summer Friday lunches often look like a poor buffet...a little of this and a little of that. I hate to waste food and I try to plan carefully so that we use what we have.

That being said (or written in this case), I posted on Facebook the query of when do you grocery shop...a schedule or when you run out of things. The answers were all over the place. A couple said before retirement they planned and scheduled it every week. A few said they go weekly and shop by what's on sale. Then there were a few who go when they run out of things.

I am not a spontaneous person. I'm not sure whether that is good or bad. For me, I have to know what I'm doing and what we are eating and I look at the sales and plan my grocery lists by what is available, what we need, and what is on sale that we can stock up on. I then make my menu plan based on that list or lists. This week was a three grocery store shopping spree.

Every week DH hits Aldi for the basics...eggs, milk, fruits, vegetables, dairy, and chicken and pork roast. I supplement with the other two stores, County Market and Kroger. Well, between these two days, we bought something at all three, due to sales and need. I think I shop on a schedule for two reasons...I like to plan and know what we are eating and I like to save money by watching sales.

The late Mike Royko wrote in his Chicago newspaper column that he used to go the store and buy the same things each week, and he and the kids would fix the easy stuff and leave the harder stuff. He claimed he decided they wouldn't go to the store until all the frozen chicken was eaten, the flour used, and the eggs and onions were devoured. He said there were some creative, but strange meals, but he felt like he taught his kids something -- be creative or marry someone who can cook.

So, do you shop on a schedule or go when you run out of everything?

It's back to work Monday for me. So, Wednesday and Thursday nights I went through the grocery ads to help plan my grocery lists and menus for the week. We normally shop at least two stores...one is Aldi and we get eggs, milk, dairy, fruit, and fresh vegetables there. In fact we buy the bulk of our groceries at Aldi. Then I shop at one of the bigger stores usually consulting the ad. Sometimes we hit all three, but that isn't normal. DH buys the Chicago Tribune on Sunday and they have far better coupons that our local paper so I scored $15 off in coupons for things we normally buy this week. We also went to an Amish bulk food store yesterday and stocked up on a few things we get there. So, for now, I'm pretty well stockpiled on a number of items.

For my birthday a friend shared some hamburger, sirloin, and chuck steak with us. She and her husband purchase a cow with a daughter in her family. So, I look forward to use this. For Christmas this same friend gave me some of her homegrown and home canned green beans. Nice friend, eh?

Some of the meals I have planned include:

- Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans
- Scrambled eggs, sausage, cheesy grits, toast
- Sloppy chicks and potato patties (made with left over mashed potatoes sauted in a little oil with Panko
- Oven baked chicken, cous cous, honey glazed carrots
- Italian vegetable soup (made with ground beef, vegetables, pasta)
-Pork tenderloin roast, roasted potatoes, carrots

The pleasure of cooking some of these things is I have leftovers. I peeled extra potatoes to cook and mash so I could make the patties. The extra meatloaf will make meatloaf sandwiches for lunches. The pork roast usually winds up being either pork stew or pork stir fry, or another pork supper as I heat the pork back up and then put barbecue sauce on it before serving. The sloppy chicks can also be lunches or I can add a little more tomato sauce and serve it over pasta. DH talks about how many ways I use leftovers. But he doesn't seem to mind; he says he eats like a king.

Each week I make a fruit salad and we have it at least for one meal.

Different couples we know complain how cooking is just too hard. Then they go out. Then they complain they are broke. One couple doesn't go to the store until they have nothing left in their pantry or fridge. So, that means multiple meals eaten out.

It takes planning. I know it does. But it is kind of fun too. What can I find that is on sale that we like? How can I save a few pennies here and a dollar or so there? Sometimes I try to figure up what a meal cost us and then compare it to what we would have spent if we had eaten out. I try to make it a game...how much money can I save us without compromising on healthy food? Or what did we save that can be spent on something else?

I do believe that people who don't bother to plan for their meals also don't plan for other things in their lives, like their retirement. Two people I know are always eating out and then complain how they can't make it on their pension and/or Social Security. I think most of the people at SA are planners. I read your blogs and the forums. I learn from them and I hope you learn from mine.

Today has not been a no spend day.

It hasn't been a bargain day either.

It has been one of those days you save up for.

Today is my birthday. DH took me shopping at a clothing store that had sent me a 15% off card for my birthday. I found some items that were 40% off and using the 15% and then using my credit card, also received 5% off. That was nice, but it still cost money. But, I did find some new clothes.

We went to a pricey restaurant for my meal. No balloons, no singing waiters, just an excellent dinner with fabulous service. It was nice and relaxing and wonderful.

I didn't worry about the cost or saving money or feeling guilty. All those days I scrimped and saved...all those overworked leftovers...all those coupons clipped and sales studied...it enabled me to be like a queen today.

Now tomorrow...I go back to being ordinary penny pinching me!

It's cold here in Central Illinois with a few snow flurries. Guess it is to be expected since we are truly in winter.

Here are the books I've read so far in 2015:

Book #1: "Almost True Confessions" by Jane O'Connor. Murder mystery by the same author of the "Fancy Nancy" series.

Book #2: "Kitchen Organization Tips and Secrets" by Deniece Schofield.

Book #3: "Top Secret Twenty One" by Janet Evanovich.

I won't finish a book today. After church, spent most of the day doing housework. That darn maid, laundress, and cook did not show up at the house yet again!

We did make it to the library yesterday and I checked out a couple more books and some magazines. I most certainly get my tax dollars' worth out of the library.

I did splurge this week. I wanted new curtains for my bathroom. It has a small window. I was very frustrated that so many places don't carry anything but 84 inch panels. I refuse to go to Wal-Mart because I consider it the evil empire. Our K-Mart is barely hanging in there, but they did have a set of two short panels and valance for the pricely sum of $13 with tax. I think I paid $9 for the ones I had been using over 10 years ago, so I think I got my money's worth out of them. I shoved them in the laundry and they will be washed, dried, and folded in case I want or need them for something else.

Last summer we went to a garage sale and someone had two sets of sheers for $1 each. They were just what I was looking for to put in my husband's den. I tend to re-purpose our curtains. The ones in our computer room had at one time been in the living room for a number of years. I still have some of them in the linen closet in case I need them for something else. A couple we know thinks we are super stingy when it comes to spending. I spend money, I just hate to spend it foolishly. They had their curtains custom made to the tune of $1500. Wow...I told them I don't think I've spent $1500 on all the curtains in my house, including the ones sitting in the linen closet. Of course this couple complains about not having money...golly, wonder why!

A friend of mine also does a lot of cooking like I do. We were comparing notes about menus and it was funny, we both planned a couple of the same meals. Maybe great minds do think alike!

Reading some of your blogs, it is interesting how many of you are taking inventory of your year. For some it has been a fabulous year and for others, not so much.

Hope 2015 is a year of blessings and joy for all of you.

I don't make resolutions. It isn't that I don't need to improve, but being a realist, I rarely keep up with them. I do have a couple of things I'd like to see if I can carry out.

Last year a couple of my friends listed the titles of the books they read throughout the year. I'd like to do that as well.

We went to the library today and I'm on my never ending question to figure out how to better organize my kitchen. I tease DH we need a bigger kitchen with more storage. I also know if we had a bigger kitchen with more storage I would just find more things to fill up that storage.

One goal that I continue to have is to living below my means. I believe most of you share that goal.

As we say goodbye to 2014 and look forward to 2015, hope it is a wonderful night and a lovely year.

Yes, indeedy, it sparkles and shines, and cools and freezes. Since the fridge was starting to look bare, I took the time to pull everything out and clean everything. It wasn't bad, but it made me feel like I had accomplished something. While I was doing this, sent DH to Aldi for our weekly run so when he got home, I had things organized and it looked tidy.

I used some of our left over ham and made ham and beans. I had left over cornbread so it made a nice supper.

Since I'm still recovering from whatever it was (or is) I didn't leave the house. I really had no desire to fight the crowds for the returning or the sales. I took down a bunch of the decorations, did some breathing treatments, and rested in between. I have some books and magazines that are due tomorrow at the library, so I wanted to finish those so I can return them. It would have been a no spend day if we hadn't had the Aldi run, but that's OK. It was a planned expenditure.

Had an interesting phone call yesterday from a relative. Seems they wanted to bake an apple pie, but had no apples and wanted to know if the local grocery was open. Really? On Christmas Day? All I can say is everything is done last minute and then mews when things don't work out. We are sort of put on the spot because they claim to have little savings, lots of bills, and we have so much. I will agree, we are blessed. But I am a planner. I plan meals. I plan shopping. I plan savings for Christmas. So, I know this makes me sound like Scrooge, but I have trouble feeling a lot of sorrow for their predicament.

Hope you had a good day after Christmas and Boxing Day for those of you who celebrate it.

Life has been hectic with work, illness, and Christmas.

We went last weekend and DH picked out his tree, brought it home, and decorated it. It used to be you'd choose the tree and they would make you wait for a ticket and then send you in to pay. This year they immediately send you in to the "showroom" with ornaments, Christmas decor, candles, etc. I guess to give you more time to be tempted.

Perhaps I've become a cynic, but all I said to my husband as I looked at the inflated prices was...just think, come June, much of this stuff will be at garage sales for next to nothing.

We hit garage sales and thrift shops last summer. I found brand new rolls of wrapping paper for 50 cents and a $1.00. I found Christmas candles that were new and in the package with the price tags still on them for less than a fourth. And I bought Christmas cards that were brand new and very reasonable.

As baking goods have gone on sale, I've been stocking up. Last weekend I created 5 baskets of goodies to give as gifts and I baked some more cookies today for gifts. Last summer a thrift store has a dime sale and I pick up really nice baskets. I make sure they are clean and I wash them out as well. They make for a nice presentation. I did repurpose a bowl like vase last weekend when I took some goodies to a friend in the nursing home. It was one of those bowls for fresh flowers that had a sponge in it and the bouquet in it. It was just the right size to put fudge and cookies in (with waxed paper on the bottom and the sides) and foil on top to keep it fresh and could tell her not to worry about returning the bowl.

To add to my "stash" we put in money each month for a Christmas Club. We received the check in November and DH and I went shopping when things were marked down, and things are paid for. No debt! Woo hoo!

I know the economy depends on major Christmas shopping, but my economy depends on my staying within budget. Having a Christmas stash has sure helped. How about you, do you have a Christmas stash?

Last night the weather forecaster said there was a chance of frost. That meant DH and I got busy in the garden getting stuff out just in case.

DH planted some large pots with carrots. He did that because the bunnies kept eating them when they were planted in the ground. Wow, did he get a bunch...Bugs would be envious!

Last spring on Facebook someone shared something about taking the end of celery and putting it in water for a couple of days and then planting it. We figured why not try it since it didn't cost anything. We did get celery out of it. It wasn't as large or thick as the original, but not bad for something basically free.

DH also planted bell peppers and he picked them. He only had 3 plants and we've been enjoying them off and one the past few weeks, but he picked what was there and there were over 15.

We also picked the few tomatoes that were on the vines and the onions that were still in the ground and the small squash.

And, I cut some herbs so I could dry them.

Fortunately it didn't frost so we can still get a few things we didn't pick (there are some green tomatoes we left just in case) and I will still use the herbs until they freeze.

But, this afternoon, soup was started. So much of it came from DH's garden. It contains garlic we harvested earlier, onions, squash, tomatoes, celery, peppers, carrots, and some of the herbs. I am going to add some green beans and some barley. I am making a huge pot so we have it for a meal and some to freeze for another meal.

I was teasing my husband...how about getting a cow next year so we can beef and vegetable soup? He didn't think the city or the neighbors would approve.

In the paper's cartoons today, Blondie and Dagwood invite the new neighbors over for supper. These newbies were highly critical of the food and decor and said to come over anytime they wanted some food suggestions. Ironic? Yes, since Blondie has her own catering business. It reminded me of a couple we invited over for supper a few years ago. I never professed to be a fancy cook, but most of the meal was made from scratch. The wife informed me she had a better recipe for meatloaf and that her cornbread was better than mine because she used Jiffy. She would then tell me how she would fix this and that and how good it was. I wonder if they realize they have never been invited back.

Lots of people are posting photos on Facebook for throw back Thursday. It is interesting to see these. I haven't shared any and maybe I should get ambitious and do so.

Thursdays at our house are sort of throw out days, at least when it comes to the fridge. Except I'm not throwing things away, but pulling them from the fridge to finish up stuff from the week. I hate to throw away perfectly good food and it saves us money eating at home.

It has an added benefit because I can clean the fridge when there is less stuff in it.

Today I took soup for my lunch in a little Crockpot. I bought it at a rummage sale last year and it has been handy. Someone asked me if I got up early to make the soup and someone else replied, "No she didn't. That is probably a leftover and we love to see what she brings for lunch." Pretty cool, eh?

Do you have a day where you finish up the leftovers?

It seems like this week passed by quickly. Each night we watched the PBS program on the Roosevelts which meant I wanted to have supper finished and cleaned up and things ready for the next morning so I could sit and enjoy. Between home and school, and school has been busy, I feel like I haven't had any downtime.

One of our stores has had penny pincher coupons near the beginning of the month. If you spend $50 and use that coupon on one of the items, you get another coupon for 10% off your entire order during the last week of the month. I wouldn't buy something and spend $50 just to get that coupon, but it has worked out this month that what the coupon was for was something I normally purchase and I did spend over $50. So, I spent last week culling my other coupons and checking the sales ad and made a pretty extensive list to either buy things I normally buy during the week and playing stock up on things I like to keep on hand. DH was surprised at how many things we had in our cart yesterday, but he knew my plan.

We get to the checkout and everything goes through and then the clerk scans my loyalty card and money starts coming off, she starts inputting my coupons and again, the balance gets lower. I'm feeling kind of proud of myself and the person behind me gets irritated. She starts griping to the checker that she is in a hurry and she has some place to go.

This kind of irritates me because she saw how many things we had put on the belt to begin with. There were other lanes open and they weren't full, most just had one other person in them.

The checker never says a word. She just looks at a coupon, never says a word to me, then proceeds to "read" the coupon. I honestly think she was paying the person back for her bad attitude. I thought at first there was something wrong, but no, she just starts taking her time finishing the coupons and then running the 10% off.

It isn't extreme couponing, but for us, we thought we did decently: the original bill was $173. With everything we saved over $41. And we have a few more things stockpiled in the pantry as well as our regular groceries.

That was the good news. The bad news is my hand mixer died. I sort of thought it was having problems, but I thought maybe I just put too much stuff in the bowl last time. Oh, well. It worked for 12 years. My friend was telling me hers last over 25 and I wanted to say it was probably back before they made things to dispose of. Oh, well.

The Roosevelts program was certainly good and I'm glad we had the opportunity to view it. I learned quite a few things.

The maid didn't show up yet again (she never has) so I guess I better get busy finishing housework.

One of the local grocery stores had a penny pincher booklet earlier this month. They had coupons on stuff that went beyond the regular sale price. On three of them, if you used your loyalty card, spent $20 overall, and used one of these coupons on the advertised item, you could receive another print out for 10% off your total grocery bill later on in the month, excluding alcohol and cigarettes. Not too bad of a deal.

So, DH and I went through the ad last night since this was the week the 10% ticket was good for. We made a list and I pulled coupons for stuff. We did a little stocking up on things we normally buy anyway, but with the coupons and the 10% off, we felt we had a good deal.

Last night we hit Kroger's and Walgreens for some of their loss leaders and he went to Aldi yesterday morning for our usual shopping. I like the idea of having a full pantry and getting bargains besides.

Today after our little stock up run, I reorganized the pantry and put the new stuff in. It is crowded, but I can at least see things.

Someone posted on Facebook a photo of a wall of canned goods from someone's garden. I will admit it, I drooled. Someday I hope to be adept enough at canning and have the produce to do that.

Besides the house we have shelves in the garage where we keep some of our things. I'm getting quite a collection of things that we bought on sale or had a deal. Nothing like Extreme Couponing and their stockpile, but it makes it nice to have things on hand so I don't have to buy some of the same things every week.

A gal I used to work with used to go the store before every meal. I wonder if she still does that with three kids and a full time job. I tried to convince her she needs to look at the grocery ads and plan her shopping that way and and if something nonperishable is on sale this week, buy a couple of extra so you have them instead of paying full price next week or the week after. She thought I was nuts. I wonder if she has changed her ways.

Where do you store your extra things?

A gal at work brought in some of her extra produce this week: tomatoes, zucchini, hot peppers. The first day the tomatoes were disappearing rapidly. The zucchini also left and the peppers...what peppers? The second day? Well, one of the two zucchini was taken and most of the small tomatoes were left. I took the second zucchini since no one else wanted it. I assumed people would gallop and get the rest of the tomatoes by the end of the day.

Nope. They were there yesterday and were starting to ge soft. They came home with me and I used them when I canned some of ours. I didn't have a huge amount to can and the extra 3-4 helped. I just hate seeing food go to waste. And I like the idea of having stuff preserved in some form. I have dried herbs and frozen some tomato sauce earlier as well as minced garlic and put it in olive oil in the fridge. I imagine I will be shredding the zucchini and freezing it for zucchini bread.

In our paper was some article about a Korean official eating Ramen noodles five times a week and how unhealthy they are and what poor choices he's making. Yeah, food high in preservatives can do that to a body. I heard a Pepsi commercial saying they are currently offering their product made with "real" sugar for a limited time. I wonder if the sales are good if they will continue to offer it. I wonder if many producers will get away from the mostly preservative laden processed lines. Probably not. I'm sure the bottom line will be profits. Plus people love cheap, even if it isn't healthy.

I realize some people have to have the Ramen noodle diet due to financial issues. But when there is free food available like the produce, I'm shocked that people don't want to be bothered with cooking or preserving it. There's something reassuring to me knowing I have a few things in the pantry ready for use. And free is always good!

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.

For three days this week, I had training for school. So, I was delighted to have some time for some kitchen therapy today.

Many people I know do not like cooking, but I do, especially when I have time to take my time and work in my kitchen. A friend graciously shared some green beans with us from her garden. I cleaned and snapped them and cooked them in some chicken broth I made earlier this week.

DH's tomatoes are doing quite well, so I used some of them to make marinara sauce. He brought in some onions for me to use as well as basil. The kitchen sure smelled wonderful.

Kneading dough is relaxing so I have also baked some honey wheat bread for tonight's meal and beyond. What is it about the aroma of baking bread?

Supper tonight is turkey tenderloins, mashed potatoes, green beans, sliced tomatoes, bread, and cottage cheese.

Plus I think my stress level has dropped!

We will have leftover turkey for another couple of meals and extra bread...good sandwich making and saving some money as well!

For the record, I don't collect bricks.

My husband would disagree. He swore I put bricks in the garbage bag in the kitchen. I tried to tell him I was helping him stay healthy by doing some weight lifting, but he didn't buy it.

Actually, I'm not sure what was in the bag. I don't remember putting a lot of stuff in there. We recycle as much as we can and I don't use a large amount of stuff with wrapping. I think he just likes to gripe about something.

We had another meeting with our financial adviser today. After our discussion last week, we decided to move some of our money out of money markets and ladder CD's so it is still basically liquid, but makes a little more than the pittance we are getting now. We have our money in a bank and a credit union. The credit union was great, but the bank, well, they were a pain when we tried to make a withdrawal. They wanted us to work with their financial adviser whom they called over and he said he could put our money in an annuity. We explained we didn't want it tied up like that and he said it was our best bet. We asked if it was linked to an insurance company and he said yes and how wonderful it was.

Sorry, we aren't interested! It shouldn't be that difficult to withdraw your own money. We weren't taking it all out, just part of it and the hard sell didn't endear them to us.

I've worked with our financial adviser for 28 years. He was decent to me when I had little and is still nice...it isn't the money or investments. He's just a trustworthy, kind man.

DH was telling him how we shop at Aldi, hit loss leaders at the grocery store, and how I rework leftovers. Last week we had a pork tenderloin roast for one meal, then I cut it up and with the broth from the roast, cooked it with onions, carrots, zucchini, and celery to make a stew with crushed tomatoes. After the stew, I let it cook down a little more so it was thicker and served it over rice. Three different meals from one piece of meat.

I roasted squash tonight as well as potatoes. Since they were not all eaten, I put them with stew meat and other vegetables and some leftover green beans and we will have beef vegetable soup tomorrow night. I have been freezing the leftover soup so I can thaw and heat it up on those days when I get home too late to fix something. Fortunately DH loves soup.

Our squash plant is doing quite well and I look forward to making soup from it. Anyone have a good recipe they are willing to share?

Last week when we went to the library, I ran across a book in the new section entitled, "Bargain Fever" by Mark Ellwood. It stated that paying full price is so "passe'" It was an interesting read and as I told DH about it, he wanted to read it as well. It was a pretty easy ready and pointed out some interesting facts, so I would suggest it if you are going to the library. The author explained how some high end stores have secret sales and how Americans no long want to pay full price.

As far as bargains, I think I found one the other day. A friend was having a garage sale and we went. She had two new packages of sheer curtains and they were a dollar each. Just what I wanted for my husband's den. I had bought some curtains on sale a few months back and put them up, but didn't want to pay for sheers since they weren't on sale. So glad I waited.

We picked our first zucchini and our tomatoes are starting to come on as well.

We met with our financial advisor as he did a review and a projection. He felt we were in a good place and our frugality pays off. It was nice talking to someone who "gets" it. He understands about saving money, even the little stuff. It is always nice to be validated.

My dear husband has a very small area for a garden, but what he does have, he makes good use of. He was delighted tonight to bring in 5 ripe cherry tomatoes. With the lettuce and radishes from his garden, it made a nice salad for our supper.

I tried a new recipe tonight called parsley potatoes. DH planted parsley and I wanted to use some of it. He liked the recipe. I found it on this site:

http://www.copykat.com/2011/09/27/parsley-potatoes/

I also made herb biscuits with some of the herbs he has planted. The biscuit recipe is simple -- 1 cup of flour, a teaspoon of baking powder, 3/4 cup milk, 2 tablepoons of may, 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Mix together and bake in a greased muffin tin. I have baked them at 400 degrees and today I baked them at 325...just extended the length of the time ... I had them with turkey tenderloins as well as green beans and it made a good meal and lots of leftovers.

We recently returned from vacation. We saved and paid cash for the entire thing. It was a bus trip with a church group and we have traveled with them before. We had a great time and some fabulous meals. We toured the Biltmore, Charleston, Savannah, and Chattanooga. It was nice trip, but I am so happy to be home. A dear friend watched over DH's garden and watered from our rain barrel and things look lush.

DH has planted green onions, carrots, and bell peppers too and we look forward to enjoying those in the future. We planted garlic last fall and hope we get a good crop of that as well. It's nice eating homegrown stuff. And eventually, it pays for itself.

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.