I finished painting the bathroom this morning from the leftover living room paint and just finished painting the trim with the paint I bought today for the porch and trim. The color accents the bathroom good and I didn't have to buy extra paint just for the trim. The living room and now bathroom is brazilian tan which is a light nearly white brown. And the trim is forest green.

I also got the ONLY school supply I didn't have for dd, well...she had it but left it at her old school the other day, which was scissors. Other than that, she is completely ready for school. I also bought some Mane and Tail shampoo, or as they say around here...horse shampoo for dd's hair. She's tired of having it short since we cut it two months ago and its barely growing so this will help grow it back, plus after several washings I've yet to get that oil stuff I put into her hair out-:angel2: . I also got the Tea Tree Oil and put it in both shampoo's, her regular shampoo and the horse shampoo. I also got some tacks and a hammer for that 50 cent piece of carpet I bought at the yard sale yesterday. I cut it in half and put one piece on the front porch and then tacked the other piece inside so we're not tripping on it.

Now I have to fix dinner and then start painting outside. We also bought some Wasp spray. We seem to have quite a few around our porch. Not sure where the nest is but hope I can find it and get rid of them...having our grass cut helps too, though he's only cut half of it.- :confus: I still haven't found a lawnmower yet but I got a lead on one. The bus driver gave me the address to a guy that fixes and sells them cheaply.

I SWEAR tomorrow I won't do ANYTHING!!!
:clapp:

Gee Wiz! I can't believe $40 & $60 to mow lawns. Now I know what I want to do when I "grow up." Go to Atlanta & mow lawns!

And jb829, I think that ammonia & toilet paper win the award for most bizzare school supplies. A kazoo & headphones seem almost normal next to that!

Well, we are having some clouds & some sun, but I needed to hang clothes out anyway. I had just gotten my second load on the line when I felt some tiny tiny drops. I got the first load in because they were almost dry, but now it is sunny again. Yeah. We are having nice temp here also, which is amazing for Texas in August. It's only 81 degrees. I've hardly used the a/c.

For dd's school list for Kindergarten her list wanted hand sanitizer, hand soap and a disposable camera!!!

wheww...well im done with the piggy pen. i had to go to my sil lesas house just to get the last board i needed. my bil cut it for me. it fit just fine. and i think its great. and i had all kinds of good help from my kids. so that makes me happy. right now they are out there playing with the piggy.

hope you all have a good weekend
ericka

jb829, thanks for the info. on the weatherbug! I didn't even know that there was a payable version. We only ever used the free version. Hope, anyone that is paying for it didn't go and cancel it because of me!!:angel:

Amonia and toilet paper for school???? That is dangerous!! I guess the roll of toilet paper, will save the school from having to buy so much, maybe the school won't keep paper in the bathrooms, and the kids have to use their own.:confus: ROFLMAO

How in the world do you gat a carton of name brand cigs, for only $10??? Even $28, is extremely cheap!

Ericka, sounds like you have a nice little haven for your piggie!

Emmjean, have fun on vacation!! Enjoy doing nothing but swimming and noting else!

leasmom, I hope you don't do anything tomorrow, as you always do so much, and just reading your posts makes me tired.:tong:

a disposabel camera is a strange school item for a kindergartener, did she actually use it for school?

Only things frugal here are had dinner at my mom's house so I didn't have to cook, tonight. I also bought the robi lice comb at walmart today. Hopefully, it will prevent us from going through what we went through last year.

I am determined for all four kids to get perfect attendance this year.:lol:

Good Evening everybody

Sure glad I checked in here instead of waiting till later, sounds like you guys are chugging right along on the frugal train... good job to everyone.

Erika-

You did get a good deal on the Dawn... mine was 1.27 with the coupons. I did get a good deal on those Mr. Clean Erasers, 2 in a pack after Super Double Coupons, was 29 cents. I also got Mr. Clean Orange Cleaner for 49 cents a bottle after the coupon. Even homemade can't beat that price. I still have tons but that was just too good of a deal to pass up. I got Scott Tissue 4 packs yesterday at Meijers with coupon for I think it was $1.47 a pack, those rolls last 3 times longer than any other brand.

Today was my little friend Madison's birthday, so we had few lunch and dessert. They had one of those Pinata's and her dad was holding it up with a rope.. it was hilarious, as each of the kids came up, he'd raise it real high above their head or move it around and kid with the children, we were all laughing so hard. Alot of fun.

Then we ask the forest ranger if there were any Buckeye trees in the park and he told us where a whole grove of them were, they had already been picked over:bawl:

So we went to another park and hit pay dirt. We filled a whole Aldi's bag with them and are going back early in the morning... one grove of them we found, there was a huge family reunion going on so we'll just go back tommorow.

For those of you new to frugal living.... in Ohio we have what are called Buckeye trees, they are called that because the nut inside the shell looks like a dears eye. Ohio State football fans wear them on a string as a necklace. We make them and sell them on football day at between $5-10 a piece depending on the size of the necklace. We have a vendor's license and have to pay taxes and do all that red tape stuff but it's alot of fun.

Well I'm off to sit in the yard for a bit.

Oh by the way we are having really chilly weather here too. Today was awesome, in the 70's with sunshine and cool breezes, tonight is supposed to be in the 50's.

Take care everyone and keep on pinching those pennies.

Oh btw, another question? What is weatherbug?

Anna

Anna, that sounds so cute watching those little kids trying to hit the pinata. Poor kids!:rednose:

Good job finding all the buckeyes!!

It was so cool here today, at my mom's house we all had on long pants, and sweatshirts.:jaw: :chatt: :chatt: :chatt:

Weatherbug, is a program that can be downloaded to your computer. It gives you up to date weather. (i.e., temp, rain, shine whatever). It also has a special chatter sound, that sounds like a cross between a locust and a cricket, when there is severe weather predicted for your area. (i.e., flooding, tornado so on.) I prefer to just check accuweather and my local weather channel, between the two of them I can tell when it will start raining if rain is predicted.

Anna thats is so great that you found the buckeyes how do you dry them

Karen, that's very cool about getting to see Neil McCoy! :cool: I bet he puts on a great show.

I don't know what's up with the ammonia...I never heard of a school asking the kids to provide cleaning supplies! :-O My kids are both asked to bring in tissues and my DS (middle school age) is also asked to bring in 3 packs of looseleaf twice a year. The teachers then treat it as "community property" so there is paper in every class for the kids to use as needed. It's easier than having the kids remember to keep their binders full. Also I think I need to send in a roll of paper towels with DS.

We went to the county fair this weekend. Not very good really. What a waste of $8 a peice to get in. Did watch tractor pulls. Oh well, now we know. Stopped at a few garage sales, got a few little things.
Erica- I didnt see the first post, but is this a piggie for butcher, or a pet? My son caught a piggie in a greasy pig contest one year at a rodeo. We brought it home, THOUGHT we had him in a pen really good. He escaped and we never found him. :-O
He was cute tho.
So many posts! I wish I had time to read thru them all.

:chatt: Burrrrr it's cold here this morning. It is 58 here , but with the wind blowing it feels much colder.

So what is everyone doing this sunday morning? I have coffee made, will make some waffles and top them with whole strawberries and cool whip. Need to make up some homemade bisquick , have to fill up the container once again.

Off to church after a bit, then want to come back home and mow/weed eat the lawn. The weeds seem to grow faster than the lawn.

Picked some yellow squash yesterday and 1 larger zucchini, so made the mexican zucchini dish for our dinner. My dh had his with rice, I like my'n without.

Yesterday I received my passport in the mail ( which I applied for) am getting excited about my trip ( to Peru). My youngest d bought the ticket for me, so am very thankful for that. I hope no one thinks I am bragging, am just so happy to be able to go.

Enjoy the day


Joy:coffees:

I don't know what's going on with the weather here! It's been so cool. Only in the 60's today. My garden is at a standstill. The tomatos are not ripening. Even the zucchini isn't growing! We need some HEAT!

I agree with you VickiLynn, if we don't get some warm / sunny days soon, the veggie garden will not produce anything.

Feels like fall here, don't even want to think about that .


Joy

Trying to be frugal with this item, but have an over abundance of dill..Anyone want some? I can use just so much, hate wasting it.

Joy

joy you can freeze it in an ice cube tray and use it as you need it in the winter if you would like that. just fill tray with water and dill. then drop in soup, or defrost.

ldyroper....my piggy is a pet. shes a pot belly piggy. and shes about 12 weeks old. she had been living in the house and sleeping in a play pen. but its hard to keep her ....scent down if i keep her in, and shes not big enough to go out on her own yet. so we fixed up an old dog pen for her. the girls and i did. right now she seems pretty happy out there..laying in the shade and sleeping. but last night she kept crying for me to come out and get her. i hated that. shes only a baby and i want her to understand she has to be out side too. she will be about 150 to 200 lbs when she finishes growing. and i cant let that sleep in the bed with me, its a queen size but between me and joe..theres not enought room for all of us there.

not much going on for today. plan to fix the girls tv. get school supplies done and work on the laundry.

have a good day
ericka

Oh yes I know that dill can be froze, have quite a few pkgs in the freezer from last yr, and will have plenty to freeze again this yr.

joy

I didn't start painting last night until 9:00 p.m. until the Matrix went off-LOL! So then I painted the entire thing but I had to get up at 7:00 a.m. and touch up the porch. It looks really good. I did run out of paint though. I need just one of those tiny cans for painting under the porch but it's not necessary. Today I'm sipping on coffee, watching CNN and that's all. Except for dinner, there is no work involved.

I just realized yesterday that dd's 8th birthday is just 3 1/2 wks away. I've been so busy with moving and the car that I didn't even notice how close it is. I'm not sure if I will have a car before dd's birthday and her cousins have already gone to Build-A-Bear with their mom in Detroit, and that was my plan, which was to celebrate dd's birthday on that Wednesday and then celebrate it with her cousin that Saturday. so, I'm not sure if they will be here for her birthday or not. :confus: My mom suggested I take dd shopping and let her pick out her clothes etc. she wanted and to take her to the movies. It will be a school day and while dd will have been in school awhile, I won't have been, unless my schedule is free that day. I will have evening classes mostly this coming fall...plus with trying to find a car, trying to get a gate put up, furniture and appliances...(I'm hoping but don't know if I'll get to do all that), plus starting classes just 2 days before dd's birthday...this is gonna be a pretty busy birthday!!!

not much going on here. i have to pick up ds tommrow at terre haute..its about a 2 hour drive from here. plus i have to take my moms pick up since my bravada is in the shop. soooo im going to make a picknic type lunch for us to take. ill make some kool aid for the kids to drink, and make some sandwiches and take some chips. that way, when we go, i wont have to worry about the im hungry" and have to give in to the stop at every place for a snack delima. plus ill be sure to take gameboys this time. last time i wasnt able to rember that..and the girls were always asking when do we get there. so thats my plan for tommrow. i still havent made dinner yet. and im getting ready to do that. and get things ready for tommrow.

have a good night.
ericka

Leasmom at least you did some resting today. Your post didn't make me quite as tired this time.

Not much frugal here. I did go to k-mart and got a price adjustment on my lay-a-way for kids clothing. I save $30! So it covered the cost of the cost of lay-a-way, plus $25.

Also DS, wanted a narrow dresser like the width of a file cabinet. Kmart had these plastic storage type dressers. So I got him one for $15. :jaw: But, it was definitley cheaper than a wooden dresser.

I do need to do stuff tomorrow but we will see. I'm supposed to be in class but dd is only having a half day so I'll have to miss this class too, which is fine with me-:clapp: :clapp: I only have two more classes after that so I can't wait for it to end. Dd starts her new school tomorrow. The bus stop is right next to our house so she doesn't have to travel far. I have to go knock on this man's door and see if he has a lawn mower for $35. I paid my nieghbor $20 to mow my lawn...the one that says its usually $40. Well, it's been 3 days and he still hasn't finished mowing my lawn... I guess $20 doesn't guarantee that he'll do it all in one day-:confus: I prefer to do it myself!!!

I also need to wash our clothes. We'll have to get on the bus to do that. I'm hoping that in a few weeks I can buy a washer/driver, if not...I may have to break one of my rules and rent one. Whatever works...

P.S. Ericka, that's a good plan. I do that even when dd and I are going on short trips, she seems to think that when she is out side of the house it means she gets to eat fast food or she suddenly becomes starving if we're in a store!!!

Not much frugal here, except that I talked myself out of taking us out to eat this evening, and cooked the .87 salmon fillets...they were pretty good. I got my vacation check today, and Friday I got a check for cashing in my WH stocks, plus the paycheck today...so, I have enought for all the utillities except the cable, and Dearly can take care of that.

I went to Kmart last night, got two pairs of work shoes, and loaded up on my vitamins and Ibuprofen. The shoes should last close to a year, I think, and so should the vitamins...several bogo on them. I spent $76, but none of it was wasted, and to be set for six months to a year is good. Today was a splurge, tho...two magazines, a pair of support hose, and two pints of my beloved Chocolate Cookie Crunch tofutti...that soy-based *ice cream* I love so much. But, that's most likely my ONLY splurge for the month...it's one reason I have a job, y'know.

I didn't mean to say ammonina and toilet paper...I meant ammonia and PAPER TOWELS, lol. sorry for the confusion.

Erika, a friend of mine had one of those pigs, and he was HUGE!!! He was a good five feet long, and I know darned well he weighed over 300 pounds, and was just as gentle as a lamb. The county we live in wouldn't let him have a pig on the property, so he registered it as "Porky the Dog." I swear.

Mom2-4, about the Salems. The little gas station where I get all my cigarettes charges $28.99 a carton, I think. He will take ANY cigarette coupons, as he says he'll always get his money back. Plus, he lets me use as many coupons as I have, up to $18...I get coupons from Winston and from Salem at least once a month in the mail, and I have coupons for both that are to be used by the month. So I buy about two cartons a month. The rest of the time, I buy them by the pack, not quite $10 for three packs, which isn't much different than the carton price. All that money going up in smoke, sigh.

We have a Drive-in fairly close to us that is still operational. :jaw: :cool:


They charge $5 for adults, kids are free. We pop popcorn at home and pack a cooler with kool-aid and ice tea. Total cost $10 + gas.
(Food/drinks I already had on hand-minimal extra cost):popcorn:

The kids really love it and I enjoy the comfort (we take the van, park backwards and let the bed down in back). We also take lawn/camp chairs. Some take blankets also.

The snack bar isn't too bad. They make a good greasy spoon burger for under $2 that they are well known for.:sausa:

We saw SpridermanII last weekend and plan to go see ShrekII on it's second run (missed it the 1st time) in a couple of weeks.

Welcome Griffes:party:

That's the best...being frugal AND having fun with your family at the same time! Our local drive-in was torn down about 4 years ago and there is a retirement community there instead...Since our town was on Forbes magazines top 5 places to retire all the town is becoming "retired" and don't need silly things like drive-in's anymore!

Have fun here...lot's of great ladies and great frugal tips:-D

Sandra:wigg:

:sheep: :sheep: I haven't been in this thread for awhile and it's taken me an hour just to get caught up.

Leasmom~Glad you are using the Melaleuca (tea tree oil). For anyone else who uses it or is interested in using it I have a book that lists different uses and "recipes" for using it. Just let me know what you need it for and I'll let you know how to use it. I keep several bottles in my home and in dd Lici's diaper bag since it has so many different uses.

Phewww :clapp: feels good to finally be caught up:jump2:

OSI - So glad that you were able to find buckeyes for free. Hope there are some left in the patch you need to go back to.

We ended up taking the kids to Home Depot where they have a free workshop every first Sat of the month. This month they made wooden periscopes.

Today DD's Brownie troop went swimming and had pizza. I brought some of the leftover pizza home and DH and DS ate it.

Originally posted by leasmom
For dd's school list for Kindergarten her list wanted hand sanitizer, hand soap and a disposable camera!!!
Leasmom, we had this for Kindergarten too. They used the disposable camera to take pictures of parties, funny things in class and field trips. The kids then received some of the pictures at the end of the year. (Only the girls brought cameras the boys brought something else). The sanitizer was used before snacks or on field trips to cleanse little hands.

Now the ammonia is a new one to me!!

Party yesterday, party today, all that food. Ok so it was frugal that I didn't have to cook for 2 whole days, but both dd's ate so much junk their tummys hurt. AND I came home with a bunch of pork chops too!

Ericka, the party Sat was in Grundy cty., is that anywhere near you? Such a beautiful sm. town out in the country.
Our friends are involved with EMA, they got one of their firemen friends to give kids rides on the truck around town.

I probably won't be back to check in for about a week.
My cuz is coming today (maybe I should get to bed then :-D ) thru thurs. I reg. dd1 for school that day, do lots of laundry then we leave for Des Moines fri. and back on Sun or Mon I can't remember.

I turned into army general mode today after the party...the basement is still not picked up and thats where her fam. will be sleeping. Then dd1 has the nerve to snap at me " you didn't tell me I had to clean off my nightstand too!" oooh I was ticked at her. clean your room means all of it, not just little parts !!!
Right now I'm waiting for the newly mopped floors to dry and checking my emails.
I really should be cleaning, but heck-at this point I may just wake up early and put all the junk into a big plastic tub and stow it in the laundry room :mop:

see you all in a week:walk:

MKS, was it you who needed a KAZOO for school? I saw a whole basket of them at a Cracker Barrel near me. Price was $2.00.
HTH!

My Big Kids are going to the free "recreation day camp" (3 hours long) today. It goes for 2 weeks. You can go as many times as you want. They have it at a park so you can play on the slides & swings, and they bring board games like chess and have other activities too. They have to bring their own snack and drink.

leasmom so glad you got to rest one day i bet your dd is happy she gets to catch the bus outside the house instead of having to get up really early and catch the bus to catch the school bus and you to that must have been so hard on you both.


Well frugal here today is my mom and dad called dd last night and told her thay were taking her school shopping thay take her every year it helps out so much thay told be i had to go to so i could make sure she got what she needed so im going along for the trip.

Erika-Any more on the house? How is that going?

Montanaczech-Thanks for the ideas about the cake. Peach sounds really yummy! I would imagine you are excited about your Peru trip. It seems beautiful there in pictures. My DD godmother is from Peru and shows us pictures.

leasmom-sorry to hear about your paper. That is a major bummer. I will bring along my shovel and help dig a hole for him too!:-P::

Anna-You are so creative! Purses, soaps, necklaces. I have wanted to learn how to do bath salts for gifts. Any ideas on how to get started and where to learn?

Joyce-I teach fifth grade and have for 13 years. Never in my life have I heard of ammonia, or toilet paper!, being on a class list. That is really scary!!

redcardinalbird-How was the Home Depot workshop? I wonder if they allow five year old to attend (maybe with a parent???)

We had a pretty busy weekend. Took the girls to a park, on a picnic lunch, with a friend and her son. We were there for three hours! It was fantastic weather. When we got home my husband came home early and I had to take him to the doctor. Found out he has kidney stones. Had an attack about four to five months ago and refused to go to the doctor. This time I made him go!
That evening I took our girls to the minor league ballgame. Our local grocery store was handing out free general admission tickets. We brought our own snacks and drinks and enjoyed half the game. DH stayed home and rested. He seemed to pass the stone sometime that afternoon.
Saturday my mother in law and her mother and sister took me out to lunch at a fancy restaurant in a local museum.What a treat! Later that afternoon I had a baby shower to go to.
Some friends stopped by in the evening and their child played in the backyard with mine while we visited. I think I slept like a rock that night. I was pooped!
Sunday my DH was better and since he watched the kids most of Saturday it was my turn Sunday so he could do yardwork. I took the girls to church, came home and ate lunch and took naps. After supper, we went to a friend's home to visit. It was a nice weekend minus the kidney stones!

Thanks Barbzy, At least if I go by a Cracker Barrel I can run in & see if they have them also. Of course, it's an hour to the closest Cracker Barrel.
We had rain this morning, so I don't get to mow :saddd: And I haven't started the laundry yet, because I want to hang it out on the line. Maybe it is done raining for the day.

Good Morning all, Yesterday we went to our American Legion picnic. This was our first as we are new members. We were on the dessert list and other people brought salads. The post furnished the HBs and HDs and pop and beer. They had games for the kids too. We got to visit with some of the people we've only been to 1 meeting so didn't know very many people. But we had a pleasant time being outside as it was 92 or more here yesterday.

So when it was time for clean up we helped and so we got to take home some of the left over things that didn't go back to the legion hall. Corn on the cob and some yellow cake. Boy I had my fill of desserts yesterday but they were yummy. I took a lemon pie and a peach pie.


Well I'm off to Walmart. Suppose to be 100 here today :ugh:

And I need an espresso bad!:coffees:

Have been busy all day doing up laundry, preparing some meals ahead of time and packing up the 5th wheeler.
First my dh said yes we are driving down to his nieces program in ND ( she was involved in a swim meet in Australia) which on tues. eve. she will tell all about her mini trip.
Later this forenoon dh says...Oh I think we should just skip the trip , as it will be quite expensive with the gas prices. later the trip is back on again..Yikes that is frustrating.

So have all the necessary stuff done . washed sheets in the camper, dried and remade the bed, prepared a big batch of spaghetti/meat sauce ( froze 1/2 of it) also a fry pan of the mexi zucchini casserole, took the frozen goodies from the freezer and put in the refrig of the camper. We try to only use food from our camper refrig, and not buy food/or eat at resturants while on a trip. It's just too costly.

Had a ring of bolgny and sour kraut with boiled potatoes for our dinner, for supper have a rice/turkey casserole made , so all I have to do is warm it up when ready to eat.

Will visit with everyone on friday.

Joy:wigg:

oh no, kidney stones...My husband had first very first go around with them ( and hopefully his last) on Thursday, passed the stone Friday night. Now he had to take it into his doctore tomorrow so they can tell what kind it is and tell what caused it. I can empathize, simplify.

Started out frugal today, running some errands, paying bills, but everything took longer than it should have, and my daughter is STARVING, of course, so we ended up stopping for fast food, not frugal at all, and more to the point, I just CRINGE when I think of what that stuff is made of. I know I should pack stuff to keep in the car for just those situations. I would love to hear any suggestions you may have out there to avoid the fast food trap.

Sarah

I keep a small container in the car that has wrapped non-perishable foods like: peanut butter cracker packs, granola bars, nutri-grain type bars. I get them on sale of course!
Usually when we go anywhere my kids want to bring a drink for the car so we bring water bottles (refillable). So they've got a drink already, and a semi-healthy snack to hold them until we get home.

Montanaczech- Have a great trip to see your niece!

Sarah- How is YOUR husband feeling? My husband was not able to catch anything to take in yet. Did he do the catch it in the coffee filter?

LoriMae- we must have traded weather. It is in the high 80s here when it is usually in the 100s.

Today has been frugal. I took DD#2 to the Health Dept. They have free speech/language/gross motor skill assessment. You have to make an appointment. She did great except on the gross motor skills. We will have a recheck in six months. They spent an hour with us, working with her, and there were three specialists! It was in the new health department and it was so nice and clean. We were there for an hour and a half. The whole thing was free.
We went to the cemetary to visit my dad's gravesite since it is a mile and a half from the Health Dept. I noticied he did not have any flowers so I called my mom. She ended up inviting us over for lunch. She is only 12 minutes from the cemetary. The girls napped and I planned out my soon to be 2 year old's birthday party. I mailed out some invitations a week ago and hand delivered the other half.
Time to cook dinner, exercise and give the kids baths. Have a great night!

Simplify: My husband is doing better, he missed work on Friday, and is back today. I guess the stone kinda scrapes along as it comes out, so he has had the obvious side effects from that! :. He did catch it in the little coffee filter thing that the docs gave him, if that is what you mean, and now it is rattling around in a little vial. It isn't that big, I think they said 2 mm from the CAT scan. But boy, it literally had him on his knees! A little bit scary, for sure. I don't know how long it takes to tell what the cause is, but I am sure curious. One of the causes the doc rattled off when we were in the emergency room is too much protein in the diet, and that is where my money is at. My guy, he is a meat eater, for sure! But we will see, and take it from there.

Hi everyone, & welcome to the newbies:wigg:

Not much going on here today. Couldn't sleep well & so was up at 4:00am planning menus for the next week. Trying to use up some stuff thats been in the freezer a bit tooooooo long! In fact, DH found a bag of turkey from last Christmas--yikes! Put that on the menu for tomorrow, will make some frugal enchaladas out of it, already had a can of sauce & the cheese & onions---so only had to buy corn tortillias.

At the supermarket I very frugally stuck to my list, big help to avoid impulse buys.

To read all of the costs involved in getting kids back to school I'm really glad mine are now grown up AND paying thier own way. The schools here in California never asked for most of the items on the lists now. Just pens, pencils, paper, folders, binder....until they hit HS....then it did get more expensive.

Way back when I was in school they didn't even make backpacks. I just carried my binder (the old blue cloth ones) & a book or maybe two. Back in the days of skirts & sweaters & saddle shoes & ponytails:-D

:daisy: momperson:daisy:

[i]Originally posted by simplify
redcardinalbird-How was the Home Depot workshop? I wonder if they allow five year old to attend (maybe with a parent???)


They are for any ages. I have seen them as young as two with the parents doing most of the work! :lol: So your five year old would be fine. They explain that they do it to get children use to tools and making things.

I also put in crackers or granalo bars for the kids. If we do stop at McD I tell them they have to get milk and apples with theirs. I saw that Wendy's is now offering health choices too (I believe it was them at least).

Today did not go anywhere as I have a cold. The kids ate the leftover pizza from the Brownie party for lunch and DH at the rest for his dinner.

Everyone is still asleep except for husband who is at work. Thought I would post while I could.
Today I plan on doing a ton of work in my classroom. My mom is watching the girls. I am also tutoring a student from 2-2:45. I am trying to get 1-2 more kids to tutor.
This evening I am going to work on tagging some more clothing for a big children's consignment sale that is twice a year at the fairgrounds. You get 70% of what you ask which is better than most of the consignment stores around town. If your stuff doesn't sell you can either pick it up or they will donate it for you.
Probably do some baking with the girls in the evening too. Spend some time with them and make muffins that I can freeze. Going to make some for our next door neighbor as a thank you. They own a framing shop (for pictures) within their home and gave me a bunch of pretty mats they did not need.
Hope everyone has a frugal and fun day!:daisy:

had a very bad night. very scary for me. as you all know, ive just put my little piggy out side by my bedroom window to sleep. shes been in the house all this tiime, and i thought she needed to be out side to get some sun, and fresh air. so i go to bed last night. befor i made sure my pen was shut, locked, and she was all safe for the night.
at 1.30 am, we hear the dogs attack something outside our window. i dont hear my baby. i fly out of the house, and i cant find a flashlight. so im crying, and trying to get the dogs away, it was the neighbor dogs who dont care about the our pig, and our dogs into it. im thinking that they have gotten into my pen and have hurt my pig. but in the dark i couldnt find her and she didnt come when called. i had my dh move our car to throw light into her pen, and i couldnt find her. i look in her dog house, around the pen..nothing. then i notice my dd has left a baby blanket out side for her to play with. and shes wrapped up in the blanket..snoreing. sooo i snagged her up, brought her play pen back in and put her back in there for the rest of the night. i guess shes gonna have to sleep inside untill i can get over my fear of someone hurting her. but the funny part is the dogs...got sprayed by a skunk. and i feel it was thier own falut.

sooo im tired today and im gonna try to get more sleep. ill be back later.

have a good day
ericka

Not much frugal here lately except staying home and not spending (since we don't have any money anyway!).

VERY cold and rainy here--supposed to be that way all week--YUK. Will have to hang laundry inside and use dryer. OH well.

Having a very difficult time finding a second pair of cheap tennis shoes for the kids to keep in their lockers at school for gym class. Walmart, etc. is even charging upwards of $20 as far as I can see. They may just have to leave their old, icky worn out ones at school for "back ups". That way if they forget to bring shoes (in the winter mostly) they already have them there. Saves me a trip or them from missing gym class.

I think we're pretty well set for school supplies here--maybe a couple last minute things left. School here doesn't start until Sept. 1 so I'm glad we got it done early. Now we can just enjoy what's left of Summer.

Enjoy your day!

rivermom

Good Morning Everyone

Gosh, it's taken me quite awhile to get caught up. We had such a busy weekend (3 days) I am back at work to get some rest.:goof:

Sunday we did the Buckeye hunt again and then went straight from there to the zoo, we didn't get home till after 6pm, we left at about 7am... so we came in had a quick bite of dinner and went to bed. Up yesterday at 5am and off to the state fair at around 8:45 and was there till 5pm. Came home and started husking the buckeyes (we got 500). They are beautiful but believe it or not, not nearly enough. To do the games, we need at least several thousand more. 500 buckeyes will make 27 necklaces, dh I think puts 22 buckeyes to a necklace? So we have alot of work yet to do. The buckeyes are beautiful this year though... I opened one that had 5 nuts in one pod.

One of our friends last year told us he had buckeyes behind his bar/restaurant and we could have all we wanted... well we went over there and he had cut the trees down to expand his parking lot:bawl: wish we'd known, we could've seen if a horticulturist could've maybe transplanted one of them to our property.. they weren't huge like some are.

Oh well I've gabbed on enough for now... will come on again after bit.

Simplify
I think it was you that was asking about bath salts. I think I have that recipe over in the crafts section.

Anna

I thought I was getting a head-start on Christmas shopping. I bought some shirts for my 20 year old DS yesterday. Today, I was looking at the receipt, and it says returns must be made with a receipt dated within 90 days! I'll be returning it ALL today! :(

Sarah, I usually remember to take along in the car a lunch box with a baggie of pretzels, a tiny tupperware thing of raisins, a few bags of fruit gummie chews, and a baggie of dry cereal. Pretzels are one of my favorite things while driving. I don't know why.

Frugal for today...

Hang out wash to dry
Take cash to grocery store
Make menu from items we already have and only buy what is REALLY necessary!

Have a frugal day girls!

Sandra:coffees:

today is gonna be busy busy busy..lol i have to take my dd to councler for adhd help. then my dh to physical therapy, and ds to gutair lessons. plus call the dealer about my car, they are supposed to have a loaner for me today. but i dont know if ill takeit or not. i just want my suv back. plus we have to do alot of laundry and get things done here today too.

and i need to make sure my pen is secure so i dotn worry about my baby piggy.

you all have a good day today....ill be back later
ericka

Ericka,

I imagine you were terrified! And there your baby was, all safe and sound wrapped in the blanket, stinker! I would have done what you did, grabbled that little piggie and brought it inside. Hope you get a little rest in between your errands.



Not much going on at my house, watching the pennies, have promised the kids a trip to Holiday World in Santa Claus, IN. So we're going 8/16. I'm just going to surprise them, they don't know yet about it!

Also looking the sales flyers for the sales on school supplies. School starts the 20th so I better get my butt in gear!

Take care everyone, I'm always here reading.


Lisa
:wave2:

:lol: PIGGIE IN A BLANKET!!!:lol:

Sandra:goof:

Ericka, I am so glad your piggy is okay. I sure hope you can do something about the neighbor's dogs so they won't bother her.

Well today after dd got on the school bus, I caught the bus to the laundry mat. I'm just getting back. I have to finish mowing my lawn. I paid that nieghbor $20, the one that says he normallys gets paid $40 for a smaller lawn than mine and he has YET to finish it and it's been several days. I bought a used lawnmower yesterday:clapp: :clapp: :clapp: but apparently it is a little one-(I know nothing about lawnmowers, I barely know how to start one), so the grass kept getting caught in it which made me think we got cheated again but it does run but the grass is a little high for it so it may take me awhile to finish the rest of the lawn, but I can mow it to keep it low using my mower and that's all that matters.

Dd's birthday is coming up and I had posted that my birthday plans for her are now all in the air. Dd wants a pet and our landlord said that he doesn't want any cats or dogs inside the house so I have to find dd something she can take care of and interact with. She says she doesn't want to be a kid without a pet-:tong: so she mentioned a hamster. I don't like hamsters but if she'll keep up with it and I don't step on it we'll be fine...her birthday though I have to go to one of my first classes and it's for 3 hrs and dd will have to go with me. I'm not sure if I'll have a car then or not but she will have to spend her birthday in school and then in class with me so that won't be much fun for her. I told her we will celebrate it on Saturday. My mom is sending her $100 just for her-(hey she never did anything like that for me when I was little!!!)-so dd will be shopping for clothes that she likes and shoes that day, we will also go see the Princess Diary movie and dd will have to get her pictures taken as well and go out to eat. I don't know if her cousins will be there or not but so far that is what we'll do. Not the birthday I wanted for her...I wanted her to go to Build-a-Bear, but right now I'm not sure about that, it all depends on whether we have a car or not because Build-A-Bear is in Knoxville, which is 2 hrs away.

So, gotta find out about hamsters or something like it. Anyone have these rodents-:-O and would you recommend them for a going-to-be 8 yr old???

Leasmom, I don't mow, but DH always says that if the grass is "too high" it will clog up the mower and make the job take 4 times as long. So if you muddle through and get the grass short, you should be OK to keep it that way. Good luck!
NEXT summer my big DS is going to be responsible to mow front AND backyards. Right now he is an "apprentice" mower and he gets the front yard to do. It's smaller.

leasmom

If the grass is as high as you say, raise your wheels up... there should be a little clicky thing under the front wheels with knotches in it. It won't cut as low as you want the first time but after you've mowed then lower the clicky things back down and go over it again, then you'll have a nice "burr cut" lawn. To keep it like that, you need to mow once a week. If it gets choked up, lift the lawn mower up on it back legs (like a wheeley) and it should spit the grass out... do this every few feet.. sure beats having to restart. Ugh!

Anna

leasmom...I was going to suggest the raising of the wheels too...ours gets to high because dh waits too long to cut it:ugh: but we raise the wheels and it really helps by starting at the highest then going back and cutting it a few days later a little lower until you get it where you like it.

From what I've always heard teddy bear hamsters cute as they are are sometimes grouchy and people have had better luck with guinea pigs (another piggy in a blanket...lol...) also have you thought about a rabbit? There are several varietys ranging in size and can be trained to use a litter box in their cage or in the house. My niece and nephews have one and they take her everywhere and have a harness for her to walk around on.

Hope you find just the right thing for her!

Sandra:wigg:

My landlord sent over the guy he pays to cut the grass before I moved in. The guy charges $25 to mow it every 2 weeks, that's all. So, I'm gonna pay him once a month and use my mower to keep the grass down. I was out there mowing and it DID take forever. I still have a small part left but I think I ran out of gas and I need to get a gas can and some more gas. But, I also borrowed the guys rake for a few days and have been racking the grass clippings which is a WHOLE LOT. This yard is huge and unless I invest in a nice mower-(Walmart has already sold out of their mowers) it will take me hours to mow both sides. I was out there for about 2 hrs just then-whew!

I also need to get a gate up. We have people walking through our yard and it is unnerving!!! I was mowing yesterday and this guy walked right from behind the house and asked us if I was gonna mow with that little lawn mower. That is scary!!! Dd had a girl walked through when she was swinging. I talked to my landlord about putting up a gate, even if I just put one up to separate my neighbor's yard from mine and on the side to separate the street sidewalk from our personal property so people know this is a yard and not an open field then that's what I'll do. I need to find out how much it'll cost me. I don't want anything too expensive but sturdy!!!

We are getting ready to go on vacation.
Nothing like NOT planning ahead. We're leaving Saturday and the plans were finalized THIS morning! :. :-O The only good part was that we were able to take advantage of a little lower price on the place we are renting.

Vacation is a trade-off this year. Usually we stay in a hotel and eat out 2 meals a day. This year we are renting a first-floor home near the beach. We will eat out no more than 3 times all week. I am planning easy dinners to make ahead of time. We figured that with what it would have cost us to stay 4 nights in a hotel and eat out most meals, we could spend the same money and have a house for a week.

We are NOT going to be doing a lot of boardwalk entertainment. Instead we will make our own fun like going to the beach, going to the free zoo, seeing a lighthouse. We will let the kids go on some rides but that fun will be limited.

YOUR VACATION PLANS SOUND LIKE SO MUCH FUN BARBSZY! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?

I DID ABSOLUTLY NOTHING FRUGAL TODAY CAUSE I DID ABSOLUTLY NOTHING TODAY!!!!

ok lets see if i can catch up on everything....lol

patrice..i agree with sandra...our hamsters always bit and i hated the little things. not good for little kids..they dont like to be squeezed..or messed with. a gunie pig..ohh they love to be held and brushed..and loved on. they are more hardy than hamsters..and hardly ever bite. but bunnies are good too. jmho.

barbzy...i do vacations like that...but its easier on us. we have a camper and i keep things in there..altho i just dont have everything ready. i can go on a moments notice to camp. and i love to camp. i love our camper and it needs a bit of work, but its great.

anna....good going on the buck eyes. thats great. maybe this year you wont have to buy some on ebay and get molderd ones too. ill keep looking..maybe i can find some on a ride or something...if i do ..ill let you know.

lisa..did you look on line for good deals at santa clause land?? ro for the indiana coupon book? sometimes you get great deals there. id definatly pack a drink bottle with a pull tip tho. they give free refills on cups..but i dotn think its a pull top and you may like that better than the ones they give..just get that one filled.then transfer it to your drink bottle. or 2 however many you take.

VickiLynn i hate when stores do that. that means that i only buy things on clearnce i know i can use for xmas. no clothes...but i get all kinds of toys, bath products, and things like that thru the year,,and save in a big box and at least have a good head start on xmas.

sandra...i take a cooler with me when i have any running to do. that way i can keep cold drinks, and snacks..or sandwichs with us and avoid the cost of the gimmmeeesss.


whew...think i got everyone caught up..if i didnt..im sorry..

have a good day.it is sooo nice out today.
eircka

I looked up on Petsmart and those guinea pigs DO look so cute and furry. Dd loves bunnies. We had a wild one because there's lots of rabbits running around here, but we didn't keep it. Dd would love to have a bunny but don't they poop all over the place alot? But they are furry and cute.

Does anyone besides Boggz have birds??? Which would be a good pet???

leasmom...I'm sure there is some info on the net about litter box training bunnies...I know my niece and nephews let theirs roam in the house and she comes and uses the box when she has to go...I'm sure there is a right and wrong way to go about that training. I'm not a bird fan myself just because of the noise factor and they are messy...I also am a little leery of being bitten by a hard beak but that's part of training too...jmho:.

Joesbaby: don't feel bad--my van went in today to get rotors replaced and after they found everything else that needed replacing just in order to be "safe"--the bill came to $667.00!!! Apparently a bunch of things that Caravans are notorious for.

There's another $300+ that needs to be put into it in replacement parts, but that is going to wait. It also needs to be winterized and have its 80k check. Still cheaper than new, right? Right? Somebody say, "right". Please.......:chatt:

rivermom hey ill agree with it. i know that to get a newer vehicle with what i want is gonna cost me heavy. but to get a few things fixed on this, and ill have the exact thing i want, for less. i got a 10500 suv, for a bit over 5000. its had some problems, but so far the only thing ive paid for is a new alternator. the rest was under the warrenty. so im hopeing this falls under warrenty too. at least..i can hope right. all i know is i love this suv and its got enough room for what i want. and ill work on it some to make it drive now. ill keep this car untill my youngest drives if i can. shes only 6 now. the car is only 6. i hope it lasts that long.

have a good day
ericka

ps..i had a blazer that had a bad stearing collum, and i took it to a freind of the family, it couldnt be fixed..and i wanted my truck back. he said hed give me my truck..but not my axle. he wouldnt be responsibal for me getting hurt or hurting my kids. at the time..i thougth he was being a jerk, but now..im glad he took the stand on my truck. it was very unsafe. and i could have been hurt. or hurt someone else.

Rivermom, yes it is way better to get all that fixed on your car than to buy new. Just think for a brand new vehicle it would be around $300/month for about four years! So fixing is good!:)

Leasmom, I have guinea pigs, currently we are at 5 yes five, and one is expecting. I just recomend only getting one unless you are definitley sure they are of the same sex!!! Or you will be overpopulated with guinea pigs. Also be sure to get a young one. As we got an older one and she was pregnant when we got her!:jaw:

But, my 4 y.o. carries them around with her all the time. The only thing is they poop everywhere!! But they are not that hard to clean up after.

I still need to pick my girls stuff up that is on lay-a-way. And get youngest dd a pair of velcro shoes for school. And get DS's jeans for school

Today's frugal was using hamburgers that bought premade, that tasted horrible, for meat in spaghetti. I just fried the burgers and broke them up it was just like ground beef, and we really couldn't notice the taste of the "burger" with the spaghetti sauce.

Anna- I will look at the craft section to find out about the bath salts. Thanks!
Erika-How old is your daughter? Was she tested for ADHD? My daughter is five and just went through testing not too long ago on the recommendation of her teacher and the preschool director. I am getting ready to meet with one of the health dept. child guidance counselors to give me input on how to better help her in school and at home. I have been reading alot of library books on it too.I teach alot of ADHD kids but when it is your own it is a different ballgame!
I did get alot done in my classroom today.:clapp:
I did not get muffins baked. Oh well... Have been working on the consignment clothing tagging though and spending time with my daughters.
Had to sign DD#1 up for gymnastics today at the rec center. It is the most nominal place in town and is just three blocks from our house. It is $24.00 for four sessions. I just got paid for the week for tutoring ($30.00). That covered gymnastics. The nice thing is I will tutor for several more weeks before I have to pay for gymnastics at the end of September/beginning of October.:-D

Just thougth I would share a picture of one of DD's guinea pigs:
This is big boy

Awwww...he's SO cute!!!:clapp:

Now I want one:-D

He is cute and I love the name!!! What all do you need with them? I have only had cats and dogs in my life. I prefer cats and really miss our cats that we had to find a home for before moving...:bawl: but this will help dd not feel like a 'kid without a pet' and help her get over them...though I wish I could!!:bawl:

P.S. I racked again...man I have enough grass clippings to make a haybale!!! I still have alot more to rack and I racked for several hours and I STILL haven't gotten it all. This is a huge yard, both sides of it!!! Geez! I also put up one half of a door for dd. It's one of those, gosh I can't remember what you call those things but it's a shutter-looking divider thingy with the two doors attached by hinges that when you open it, it folds up as one...sorry for the confusing description but my mom used to have one to close off the kitchen. Well, I un-hinged it and then attached one of the doors to the HUGE walk-in closest that is in dd's room. The closest looks like another bedroom and will serve as her eldest cousins room/the girls closest. I need another hinge for the other side so it's like a salon door that can be easily accessed but gives her cousin privacy.

patrice..you need a cage or aquraium, a water bottle, a food dish, shreaded litter..(it comes in a bag, and says small animal litter on it..dont get the ceder shavings.it can make them sick,) and food. thats about all. i gave mine some chew sticks every so often tho.hth.

simplify- both my girls, desi 8 and brittny 6 are dignoised adhd. desi is also dyslexic and depressive. we have them both on concerta 18 mg right now, with des getting a 5mg of ritalin after school to level her out. they are talking about putting brit on 27mg of concerta when school starts. but des had that and it made her sick. i dont know if i want to risk it on a smaller child. so i have to think about that. but the 18 mg isnt touching her. patrice also has some great information on adhd if you ask her. shes really smart on that. the meds made desi more level on things..and brought her grades up because she was able to concentrate more. she is in the 3rd grade, brit is in the 1st. if there is anything i can help you with..let me know ok? its very scary when its your own. i know that for a fact.

hth
have a good night.
ericka

Not frugal at all today. Had to register DD at school today and had a whopping book fee and cafeteria fee.

Mom2-4 - if you do not want more g pigs have you asked if the pet store will buy them or trade food/bedding for them? My mom used to raise g pigs. The pet store was always wanting to buy them from her.

Leasmom - We had hamsters and I did not particularly like them as they did tend to bite unless held a lot. Too bad you are not here, freecycle had 3 black ones and the cage free. A friend does have a rabbit and you watch it for a couple of days. They always go to one or two spots to potty. You then put a litter box in these places and they use them.

Redcardinalbird, that will be my option with this new litter. The problem is they are so cute and fun to watch, you just fall in love with them!! Kind of like your own kids.

I thought I separated the boys from the girls on time, but apparently I didn't. Or I have one boy confused with a girl.:eek:

Leasmom, Ericka pretty much covered the necessities for guinea pigs. The most expensive part is the cage/aquarium to keep them in. If you use a cage they often just chew on the cage.

The nice thing about guinea pigs over a hamster is they don't sleep just during the day, they are awake most of the day, and they don't run in their wheel at night. Once again I wish I lived closer to you, I could give you a guinea pig for free. About two weeks ago we gave two away. And like I said, one of ours is expecting.

Good luck and let us know!!

On subject, not sure what will be frugal today. Other than trying to stay out of the stores.

I can not believe the TP, and drinks we are going through this summer. Two Saturdays ago, at the store I bought 6 gallons of water, 3 gallons of milk, two cases of soda,(this mine and dh's, not the kids), and made about three gallons of kool-aid(from spigot water). And it was all gone by the following Saturday. TP, I bought a 12 pack of double rolls, and there was only about 3 rolls left!:jaw: I will have to start assiging rolls again, maybe I will start with flattening the rolls. Only about 2 1/2 weeks till school starts though!

goodmorning mom2-4 looks like we are both up early iv been up since 4am i will need a nap about noon lol..

well frugal here today is trying to keep to my store list and not buy alot of extras so wish me luck

good morning boggsz, you have me beat by 1/2 hr. I was only up at 4:30. And I have been here ever since! Over an hour!:jaw:

Good luck sticking to your list, that is never easy, especially if you have to take your DD with you. No nap for me, even though I will need one!

lol i dought if i get that nap either but i can dream can't I:-D

Yes it is hard with dd with me she always has to have something but we are getting better :wave2:

Good morning everyone! It is raining hard here in OK. I like listening to the rain come down. It has a soothing sound. I am glad it is raining. I had not watered my flowers since Monday morning and they needed it.
This morning dear daugthers and I are staying inside. I think we will bake those muffins for our neighbor that we did not get to do yesterday (plus the house will smell great!). I want to go through younger daughter's closet and drawers and weed out things she does not fit into. I want to consign most of it but also give some to a gal I teach with who has a 15 month old.
I think we will have lots of stories and maybe watch a library video. It is just one of those rainy kind of days.
This afternoon DD#1 has to be tested by her school for two and a half hours. All the kids are having it done and they are not charging extra for it. They want to see how they are doing developmentally (already had DD#2 done at the health dept on Monday). I am going to drop my younger daughter off at my sister in law's and while my older one is being tested, I am going to go across the street and work in my classroom for the two and a half hours.
This evening I have prayer group and am looking forward to that. We are starting "The Purpose Driven Life". My husband gave me a copy for my birthday several months ago. They had them at the wholesale club.
Erika--thanks for sharing about your girls. I am nervous about the meds thing. Everything I have read recommends the child be over six and my DD just turned five. The specialist thinks she should be on it, but my pediatrician says to wait. She is only in pre-K.
Enjoy your day everyone!:-:

Originally posted by mom2-4
Once again I wish I lived closer to you, I could give you a guinea pig for free. About two weeks ago we gave two away. And like I said, one of ours is expecting.


Ok, so she is not expecting anymore, she has two beautiful babies, I just discovered them this morning. So she must have given birth over night!

Neborn guinea pigs really are cute, they are furry, and running around. Not like what I expected.:-O

mom2-4

You all are gonna get me in "big" trouble... now I want to run out and get a guinea pig, they are way to cute!!!!:heart2:

leasmom

On rabbits, they live a very long time... from what I remember in a article I read not long ago, they live about 6-7 years and they do need to be walked daily. They are also very bad for chewing electric cords... my little friend Madison's recently chewed through her tv cord and it caused the electricity to blow, her dad didn't know it had happened till he went around checking all the plugs in the house. Bad bunny rabbit!! This isn't the first time I've heard of this happening to someone I know either. I would also suggest checking with the local humane society. We were looking for a puppy many years ago at one of ours and they had a rabbit there that someone had turned in. Also snakes and a big bird of some kind? They don't just do dogs and cats.

Anna

Last week we ordered a security camera from Best Buy, $75.00 inlcuding taxes. It took over a week to get here, opened the box last night... no owners manual, no power supply:ugh: I called their 800 number and more or less the girl said sorry about your luck, take it back to the local store and we'll credit you the money back. I told her "do you realize how much gas cost in Columbus, Ohio"? and how far away this store is. No satisfaction! Then when we take it in the kid at the counter tried to argue that it wasn't supposed to have a power supply. Dh very patiently taught the kid about electronics. 3 plugs, 2 go to the tv, where does the third plug go? Hmm....? So now we are still without a camera. We looked at ones there to hook into the computer and they were 3X as much as what we ordered plus that didn't include the extra things we would have needed.

Anna

VERY cold and rainy here. YUK. Will be frugal though, since we will just be staying home and cleaning and baking maybe. DHs bday tomorrow, so we'll need to bake a cake for him.

Also need to clean the inside of the newly repaired van. That may be a good rainy day garage project. And/or clean out the garage!

Supposed to be replacing shingles on the garage this weekend, so hoping the rain is gone by then. Planning to use garden veggies and as many ingredients I have on hand to cook for the crew this weekend vs. buying pizza or something. Very low on cash lately. Thinking about crockpot wild rice soup one night and lasagna the other. Easy and filling. Have many of the ingredients already. Need to keep those guys nourished!

May go to the library later today--free free free!

Have a great one--rivermom

anna i am so sorry this is happening to you. i will say..your experience has definatly soured me on the town living. at least out here..i only have to deal with our controlling landlord...not someone torching my things. had enough of that with my xh. lol. but i wish it wasnt like this for you. i come from a small town, we have 5200 people there...and ive lived in town. its just...ive never had the problem you have had with neighbors..now i just look at neigbors diffrently.

mom2-4....ooohhh babies...how sweet....how big are they..what do they look like..can you see them..cna you post a picture??? i love g pigs. but ive never seen a baby. good luck giveing them to good homes. around here, they cost $25 at a pet store. i cant afford that, sure wish i lived close enough id come get one if you wanted to give it to me..lol. have fun with your babies.

simplicity- i put my dd on the meds to make learning easier on them. the peds dr here is someone ive known for years, and i dont think he would recommend a med without the need for it. i didnt want to medicate my kids either..but the remarkable diffrence in the girls learning, and acting at school, is much better then them wanting to hold them back. its a personal choice, there are other options, including diet and natural supplements, look into every option. and do what you feel is best for your children. if you dont like the effects of the meds..you can always ween them off. at least thats what our dr told us. good luck. i know its scary.

no one is up yet but me so im gonna work on my list for the day.
be back later.
have a good day
ericka

Erika-

Yes, big city living in most ways is the total pitts! When times get tough and you are looking around for your blessings, look out your door and count that as one of them. Overall, we love our neighborhood and we have such good neighbors... just a few bad apples have moved in and are wreaking havac on the whole neighborhood. We've had windows broke out of cars, kids in the alley ripping up tomatoe plants and then just splatting them for the heck of it, graffiti sprayed on fences, and in the park on the shelter house, in my opinion it's kids that should be out working at Wendy's or McDonald's that just have too much time on their hands. As my grandma always said "Idle hands are the devils work" and it's so true.

I am going to check Walmarts today on their web site... I wanted to stop there last night but dh was in a evil mood so I just let it go.

Anna

After we came back from Best Buy dh said I want to drive you bye where I found a bunch of Buckeyes in a alley... I went up to the peoples house to ask them if it would be o.k. to take the Buckeyes in their yard (they have 2 trees)^^ and found out that no one lives there:clapp: so free buckeyes:sheep:

We gathered 1 whole Aldi's bag full and a canvas book bag. I am so happy about that. There were still loads on the trees and hopefully we get them before the squirrels do.

Anna

I want a guinea pig TOO! How big of an aquarium would one need? Can you shread newspaper for their bedding? I get the urge off & on to get some kind of little pet for ds. He is five now & able to understand more. I usually talk myself out of it because we have THIRTEEN cats. One needs to go back to the vet today. :ugh:
Yesterday we drove an hour to The Plex, family entertainment center. They have mini golf, go carts, bumper boats, laser tag, batting cages, and all kinds of games that spit out tickets. My ds sold the second most tupperware in a little league fundraiser & we had $50 in gift certificates to use. When we got there we learned it was also Double Token Tuesday. We played golf, all 3 of us played lots of games. Levi picked out his prizes, then we rode the go carts. We ended up only spending $30 of the certificates, so we will be able to go again. It was really nice to have that kind of FREE fun as we will all be in shock in only 7 days when ds goes to Kindergarten. Separation anxiety. I'm sure we (I) will be fine. After the first few days.
We also found a KAZOO !!!!!! It was a cheepy one for $.29, so I got two thinking it may not last. Also spent $5 on a inflatable ball that has a globe on it. I think the hands on aspect really helps kids learn stuff like that. He is only 5, but knows about 10 states because of his Leap Pad learning system. Maybe he can learn the continents. I confess, I wanted it for me too. I didn't learn too much geography in school.
Also, dh & I soaked our feet in equate antiseptic mouth rinse & started using the mix of tea tree oil on are feet. We are already seeing improvement. :clapp:

Shredding actual newpapers may not be a good idea because of the ink that is on there. They do sell newprint by the roll at newspaper offices or printing officies and you could go about it that way.

My dh works and sweats hard esp in summer and is on his feet alot...he's been having trouble with athletes foot, toe nail fungus and peeling calouses...would tea tree oil help with any of this. I know it sounds reaaallllyyyy gross but I want to help the poor guy out!

Sandra:wigg:

ethansamuel-

Athletes Foot and Toenail fungus+tea tree oil= Yes

Also, if you can find Pine Tar Soap locally that will instantly relieve itchy feet... just wash your feet with it the minute they start itching. I sell this (I'm not pushing my product line here, just stating my local customer's opinions) and this is what my local folks have said. It's also good for poison ivy, psirosis and eczema.

Anna

mks..we used a 10 gal aquriam for ours. we kept 1 in there..if you want 2..or more..id go a bit bigger. or one of the really big short plastic tubs. a friend of mine kept 4 in a 20 gal storgae bin. id not use newspaper tho...jmo tho. i always used the papertype shavings from walmart..i think its about 3 for a big block of it.

hth
ericka

I'll see what I can do about the Pine Tar Soap. I used to use Pine Tar Oil on my horses hooves and found that it worked really well. I'll give a looksee around for it.

Thanks Anna

Sandra:wigg:

FRUGAL TODAY WAS CUTTING OUT AN AUTUM LEAF WREATH OUT OF MATERIALS I ALREADY HAVE SO IT COSTS ME NOTHING!

Sandra, That is what we are treating. We have been going back & forth with the athletes foot for probably 2 years or more. We think it is gone, then have trouble again. I think it must get worse in the summer, because I had no symptoms in the winter. I read a tip about treating toe nail fungus with lysterine. I decided it should work for plain old athletes foot too. We got the Wmart brand ($1.77 & we used half the large bottle) & soaked our feet in that. Then we will use the tee tree oil/baby oil daily. I'm guessing for two weeks after symptoms dissapear. Maybe Anna could comment on how long to use it. Yes, it is kinda gross. But we are here to talk about frugal things, not necessarily pretty things. :goof:

I remember reading somewhere that the ink on newspapers is poisonous to humans...in other words, don't use it to wrap food in or to drain fried chicken, etc., so I would guess it could be harmful to the guinea pigs, also. Plain brown paper bags might work, tho.

I had a rabbit, years ago. Never again! He would poop in his water, and drink his water. He would poop in his food, and then eat his food. He pooped everywhere else, too. I'd try to pick him up and cuddle him and he'd scratch and claw and bit me. The final straw was when he chewed thru the electric cord to my washing machine. He was full-grown when I got him, so maybe a baby rabbit can be trained, but I'm not going to be the one to find out, lol.

Nothing frugal happening here, altho I haven't spent any money in a couple days. We have to buy groceries today, I don't even have enough to do a pantry challenge...ok, that's not quite true, and I could do the dried beans and rice thing, but dearly would almost rather go hungry than eat beans and rice...so I guess we'll be going to Aldi's this evening.

Sandra

I personally love the Pine Tar Soap. When I first made it several months back, of course I tried it on myself before selling it to anyone and I like it alot. I don't have the health problems but I just like the way it lathers and the softening of my skin. I started out making what I call "fu fu" soaps but have now geared all my soaps to function rather than fragrances. They sell better here in Ohio... guess we must have a lot of practical minded folks here.

MKS-

I must say I've never heard of using listerine as a footbath but if it works, I'm all for encouraging anything natural versus a prescription that 1. Is outrageously price and 2. causes liver damage.

I'm always looking at labels in the pharmacy area... I had to laugh at this outrageously priced nail fungus nail polish stuff, the active ingredient? Tea Tree Oil!

Unfortunately none of my information states how long you should use it for? I would guess till it clears up. The people I've sold my stuff to when I ask how it was working have just said they have seen improvements but not how long or if they are still using it. I know one girl said it was helping with her psirosis but that she wasn't using it daily (this was for the Pine Tar Soap).


Anna

Anna great deal on the buckeyes free:tong: you all are finding all kinds this year dh still has to look here maybe this weekend he will get time.


You gals are making me want a gpig lol dd had hampsters and it was awful she was sick from the time we got it tell it was goin

Boggz

Just hope we can get enough Buckeyes we need thousands of them, off to a good start but lots of work yet ahead. We will stock our booth first and save some for our clocks as we make the most money off those but we have the most important game at home this year:

Ohio State versus Michigan.

GO BUCKS

Anna

Tea Tree Oil
Where do I find some? DH and I both have a toe fungus....:-O I have been through 3 courses of that liver-damaging medicine and it keeps coming back.
Also, how do I use it? Do I just find a little brush and brush it on my nails?

Anna, I have to say, that coffee soap I got from you is great--so I hope that doesn't fall into the category of "fu fu" soap ROFLMAO I like it; it doesn't dry out my hands--and in the kitchen I wash my hands a lot.

Barbzy-

I get mine at Bolek's Craft Supplies in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. Some of the ladies say you can get it at Walmarts as well. I sell it at my booth in small bottles... I use a ratio of 2 oz. tea tree oil to 2 oz. of mineral oil or baby oil, it's the same thing. Use a spray bottle and spray directly on the nail. I also make a peppermint foot spray that helps with dry caloused feet and it just plain feels good. I use 2 oz. peppermint oil to 2 oz. of mineral oil in a spray bottle. I actually purchase spray pump bottles at Boleks too.

And Barbzy, No the coffee soap is not considered a "fu fu" soap. Here's something else I discovered by accident: the coffee soap is a good stain remover as well as the lemon soap.

Anna

Hi everyone, Wow lots of posts to catch up! We had a great vacation and stayed within the budget!
On Sunday I spent 5.00 on a butternut squash, acorn squase, and 3 sweet potatoes. Made lots of babyfood for:baby: Josh. He really likes sweet potatoes!
The weather here is cool today so have all the windows and doors open. No air conditioner at all this week...the amazaing part has been no complaints from dh he loved having the hotel room nice and cold! Maybe he got it out of his system.
The only other frugal thing I have done today is throw away all the catalogs in todays mail!
Leighann

Lee-

Glad to see you back and good going on the squash for baby food buy.... that is so much healthier for little Josh! No additives, no preservatives, just what God has provided.

I hope your pictures of your trip come out good.

Anna

Welcome Back Lee glad to hear you had a good time

Lee, good going on the homemade baby food! But DO be careful....my older DS was really into those yellow vegetables like squash & sweet potatoes--and his skini actually started to turn a dark yellow from all the beta carotene :jaw: It disappeared after I stopped feeding him those vegetables for a few days ROFLMAO so make sure he eats some "other color" foods too ROFLMAO

My DD was just talking today about what a cutie pie Josh is :bouncer: She just loves babies :heart2:

I am starting to panic a bit :-O since there are 2 hurricanes out there that will likely impact our weather for the weekend. Guess we'd better bring lots of games, books and other "inside" activities with us on vacation! Although DH will want to stand on the boardwalk and watch the ocean during the heat of the storm. :goof: He is so into storms! Most likely we won't get hurricanes but we will get stormy weather and rough seas.

Barbzy-

I was thinking about you... was just talking to a co worker who is a pilot and he intended to fly to MD. this weekend to see the ocean once more before fall but says those hurricanes plan to hit this Saturday. Don't let your husband on the boardwalk... I know how he feels but last year they showed footage of a man who got blown in to the ocean and died from doing just that.

Let's just hope it holds off. I remember storms this time last year and all of us worrying about Nagymom... hope she'll be safe again this year.

Well everyone I'm off for the day... dh and I drove seperately today so he is at home now grilling up hot dogs and brats and putting french fries in the oven about the time I get home it'll all be done and ready... all I have is to bring is my bib:clapp:

Have a good evening everyone and will look forward to talking with all of you again.

Anna

thanks Joesbaby and everyone for the info. I think I'm definately getting the guinea pig. Dd is sleeping now so I'll call while I can to find out how much they cost at Petsmart...ooops, I almost wrote Pestmarts...can you tell I'm a cat person??? It'll be dd's pet, I'm not touching the thing! She's old enough to colean up after him and to put the food etc. in the bowls. She loves to take care of her animals though she never had a little one before, just cats, so this should be a great birthday for her.

leasmom she will be so excited i wish you lived closer to me i have a 10gal tank you could have just amagin if we all lived close we would all have it made :tong:

Nail fungus: I've also read that you can use Vicks Vaporub/medicated salve type medicines--and it works! Worth a try!

Just adding my 2c worth.

rivermom

I do put newspaper in with my pigs, but under their bedding, they still tend to pull it up and chew on it though. I have contempalted several times of not putting the newspaper in anymore on account of hurting them.

Ericka $25 for a guinea pig??? That is outrageous. We only paid a total of $25 for our first three pigs.

OSI, good job on finding the buckeyes.

There are pictures of my pigges at this thread:

http://www.familycorner.com/forums/showthread.php3?s=&threadid=53&perpage=10&pagenumber=2

and $35 for the starter kit which is a 24 inch cage, 5L of Care Fresh bedding, a 16 oz water bottle, durable food dish and 5 lbs of Nutriphase Guinea Pig Food. I wanted to get two but at $26, I think I can only afford one-LOL! But, one would make them really lonely wouldn't it? I know with cats it's always better to have two. Are guinea pigs like that?

patrice..i dont know for sure. i have had one and 2 at a time. i just played with the one more. i think if you keep it company, it should be alright. they are social animals and want to be loved on alot. jmo tho

well my horses got out today, we got them back in, but mom wants me to go get more posts and do the fence better. so i guess i do that tommrow.

have a good night eveyone
ericka

That sounds like a good deal on the starter kit at least. That's a lot of stuff for $35. Maybe you could find the animal somewhere else & get the kit there. I told dh I wanted a guinea pig, he said, "What's wrong with our cats." I do love my cats. I wish I had more time for them. I better wait on that piggy.
We had an unfrugal day. We had to order an exhaust manifold for our car & since it was special order, we had to pay ahead for the part. $573! I am grateful to have a mechanic that I know & trust. So I know it will be worth it in the end. Still hard to swallow. Also made a trip to town to drop off that check & SEE WHO MY SONS TEACHER WILL BE!!!!! We were just too excited to wait till tomorrow evening when we will go to the "meet the teacher" event at the school. They posted the lists of teachers & students at 4:00 & this was the happening place in town. There were probably 20 or 30 people coming & going while we were there. It is comical, but I was right there, wasn't I? Small town life.
Oh, and also, we had started on the project to replace our kitchen faucet. We had the water turned off & so had to eat out. It was a struggle to get the connecting pipes off & the new faucet is on, but those connecting pipes will have to be replaced. That means no water tomorrow either unless I can go get the right parts, put them on myself (my dh works tomorrow & when he works he is gone 4:30 am to 9pm) & take the cat to the vet & go to meet the teacher. If I can do it all, I will feel like Patrice tomorrow. Don't hold your breath. I would prefer about 3 days to get all that done. On the plus side...I don't have to do dishes too soon.

Frugal was staying out of the stores today.

When my mom raised g. pigs. she kept them outside in the spring, summer and fall. They had a small dog house (which we already had from our dog) an fenced it in with chicken wire. Nothing ever bothered them. I don't remember what she kept them in in the winter.

$26 dollars for a guinea pig??? That is outrageous!! Especially the way the little stinkers breed!!

I don't know that they get lonely. I know they really don't become terretorial(sp?). As we had to put Big Boy in a pen by himself, due to him being a boy. And he was fine. Than, which apparently we waited too long, moved Whitey up with Big Boy, they play but, not fight. So, yes they do enjoy a friend, but no, I don't think they actually get lonely.

MKS, $537:jaw: Oh, well better than having that payment every month!!

I also liked your story about going to school to check what teacher your DS got. My DD is just so anxious also, the only thing is they don't tell us when they post it. So we have checked two times now, so I will be waiting now until the 16th.

Not much frugal here. Last night I needed milk so I went to Weis Markets, as they were having a bogo sale. I got 4 packs of 4 double rolls of TP for $3.28. That is only 21 cents a roll. I had coupons, so that helped. Also got a stick of Suave deodorant for 59 cents with a double coupon. And my pepsi was bogo. Other than that nothing here really frugal.

Wish I lived closer to Leasmom, I could save her on the cost of a guinea pig!! Actually she could have two of them! Not to mention, the two guinea pigs, that I got rid of one of them also had four babies, so I am pretty sure that girl will want to get rid of a few guinea pigs.

My kids' school will post the class lists on August 31....so DS is anxiously waiting. We already know who DD's teacher will be--since there is only one 3rd grade. DS knows who he'll have for each class (math, science, etc) but he wants to know who his homeroom teacher will be.

I think I have finally finished getting all the school supplies! :bouncer:

MKS, glad you found a kazoo. I was getting ready to run to Cracker Barrel for you :wigg:

Happy Thursday!
Well, it is back to the classroom again for me. I am hoping to have my room completely ready today and paperwork done on Sunday. I will be glad when the prep work is over.
This evening we are going to our school picnic so dinner will be there.
That is about it here.
:stripes:

Well its raining here so Im going to stay home and that in its self is frugal

I will be leaving shortly to go grocery shopping at the BJ's wholesale warehouse. I plan on sticking just to my list but it is SOOO hard in that place. I have my coupons and my list ready so we will see just how frugal I wind up being.:rednose:

I've been meaning to post my coupon savings from this weekend:

Meijers including instore savings: $13.21

Giant Eagle was doing Super Doubles: Savings $26.06

Not too bad, I've done better but I'll take it.

Last night we had the hot dogs/brats with french fries for dinner using the free bag of Charcoal I got last week with super double coupon. It was one of those single serving bags.. wish I'd had more coupons with me that day.

Then we "shucked" buckeyes. I got fired cause I cut into one of the big nice ones so my new job was keeping count of how many we were putting in the box to dry. 201 and we still have another bag to do tonight. When I say shucked a more accurate word would be peeled, cuz you take a knife, peel the top back and then peel. I'm not sure if tonight we're going to do more or go pick more before the squirrels get them.

Anna

anna i was beginning to wonder where you were.

So you just use the inside of the buckeyei didnt know that when thay dry are thay really hard

Okay, I am going to plead ignorance, because I am from the NW and we don't have buckeyes here at all (at least that I am aware of). Are they like horse chestnuts?

This has been a completely UNFRUGAL week for me. It started at the fast food window on Monday and has gone downhill from there. I am starting fresh today, I hope, and this should be easy because we had to drop hubby's car off last night for service, so he will be using my car to go to work today, which means I won't be going anywhere. So no spending money! Yeah! :)

Sarah

Hi everyone..

This isn't a frugal today thing... but can a frugal last week count? :confus: LOL

When we went to HersheyPark we were very frugal, starting with getting our tickets at GIANT. If you buy the tickets at the gate they are $37.95 and at GIANT $29.95

We took our own food which was mini-sub rolls, cheese, lunch meat, chips, apples and bananas. We froze iced tea the night before to use in the cooler for ice. When we were ready for lunch the tea had melted and was cold to drink.

Food in the park was like $4 for a funnel cake, $2.50 for a bottle of coke, $3 for a bag of cotton candy,$6 for a Bloomin' Onion and on and on! I mean outrageous! We stopped at a pizza shop at home so for our trip it was the ticket prices, $20 gas, and $20 for pizza and soda for 7 of us when we got home! Pretty frugal huh?? LOL

Also.. not for ichy feet, but cracked feet..
coat your piggies with warm candle wax and leave for about an hour. Remove. Rub lemon and sugar into your heels and feet, wash and apply lotion and socks! It REALLY works. My sister in law told me to do that for my heels which were BAD.
That is pretty frugal too... we have wax from candles we have, sugar around the house and you may have to get lemons.
Neat huh!?:heart2:

Cathy,

I am going to try your foot receipe...my feet are RAGGED for some reason this summer. :)

Thanks,

Sarah

Yes, Cathy you can use last week we will excuse you!:tong:

Good job taking your own food to Hersheypark. Hope you had fun, I guess depending on which day you went last week the water rides were not a good idea?

dont know if i posted this ornot....heres what i did frugal yesterday.dh got paid. less than we thought. so i have to redo most of the bills. i do have the money for the phone bill, and bobbys last boat payment. plus lot rent on our trailer. other than that, i spent 10 at cvs and got a full size physic hair jel, 2 deodorents, 2 oxy skin care pads, 2 loreal kids blueberry shampoos, and on that i saved a total of 14.48 and spent 9.49. so that was pretty good.

plus for the kids school books and lunches, i got free books and lunches for all three kids. we make low enough we got that. which helps alot. books were going to be 45 for ds in jr high, and 35 for each dd in grade school. plus lunches are 1.50 each every day. thats alot for us. so im glad we got the help on that.

i put 5 gas in the car, and thats all there. at walmart tho i spent 20 getting spark plugs, toilet paper, female things, light bulbs, and a newspaper. so thats not too bad either.

today i have to make sure i go fix the fence and get that done...or ill be chasing my horse again. lol
have a good day
ericka

I feel I have been somewhat frugal lately. But this week soso. I took my oldest boy(15) school shopping on Monday. I bought 2pr Silver Tab Levis(regularly $48 and $54 ea.) for a total of $12 at JcPenneys. Then took him to TJMaxx( he fell in LOVE :hearts: ) He got 2 tshirts(with skateboarding logos that would have cost me $30 a piece at the skateboard shop) and a Skateboardin logo(Vans) hoodie sweatshirt $19.99( would have cost like $65 at the skate board shop) , emerica bookbag(skateboarding logo) and a shirt for my youngest tshirt. Total $67. Now his shoes I did pay way to much for but I only bought them because he looked so hard at the ones on sale and they didn't have his size in any of them and he even looked else where and tried on shoes he didn't like at all. So I told him to pick out the ones he liked since we got 2pr of Levis for $12. I spent $69 on shoes I'm still twitching about it. but all in all I spent a little under $150 for all and just have to get socks and boxers.
I still have to take my youngest boy and he is the one who is going to be tough. At least I found his glasses yesterday and hopefully I will only have to pay for an eye exam at not New glasses. I hope so.

Originally posted by joesbaby
plus for the kids school books and lunches, i got free books and lunches for all three kids. we make low enough we got that. which helps alot. books were going to be 45 for ds in jr high, and 35 for each dd in grade school. plus lunches are 1.50 each every day. thats alot for us. so im glad we got the help on that.


:jaw: That is well over $80 for just books!!! I keep saying the frugal thing I am doing is staying where I live. We don't have a book fee, unless it is in MS or HS, and they forget to return a library book on time. Or of course if they lose a school book.

Boggz-

The part we use is the brown nut which is inside a green ball, like the ones you sent last year... those were prime buckeyes.

SarahV

Yes, the horse chestnut is a cousin of the Buckeye tree, in fact Songberries in Utah sent us a bunch last year in the fall that were the most beautiful ones I've ever seen.

I have to agree with mom2-4

That's crazy that they make the kids pay for their own books... gosh I didn't have to do that till I went to college.

nocashmissy

Good job on the school shopping... that was quite a bargain 2 pairs of jeans for $12.00.

morelia92

That is definitely a frugal plan for Hersheys. Our trip to the zoo and the state fair was definitely unfrugal.. we probably spent around $100.00 for the 2 of us over those 2 days just eating junk stuff ( I tried to eat healthy) but goodness... water was $2.00 a bottle but soda was even worse! We did take a bottle of water each in the fair and refilled it once but the water was luke warm, Ugh! But compared with going on vacation, hotel and gas fees we spent our vacation time locally and had a good time too. We won't actually get to go on vacation till 2006... all our debts will be paid off in December 2005 including our truck so that spring we will go on a real vacation again.

Anna

they call it text book rental here...i call it a waste of money.

ericka

She wanted to let everyone know she hasn't forgotten you.. she's been really busy with her daughter's upcoming wedding on Sept. 3rd and getting her parents settled in from their move. She emailed me this morning so I thought I'd pass it on.

Anna

cool i wonderd where she had dissapered to ...wondered if her computer got fried too....seems to happen alot now a days..too much time for hackers...not enough to keep them occupied and they have to fry others computers..

does anyone know how to make brats....i dont have a grill..so it would be on the stove..in the oven...i just dont know how to make them.
thanks
ericka

Ericka,

I meant to say thanks for the ideas for our Holiday World trip. I ordered the Indiana info but haven't got it yet. I do have coupons for $4.00 off for during the week. $4.00 per person will help a lot. I like the idea of the bottles too, for putting in the "free" drinks. Great idea!

Lisa
:cool:

Dd's school is $20 for a book fee but we, like Ericka get free lunch and had the book fee waived. Dd will take her lunch on days she doesn't want to eat the food. But mostly she eats there, she wants too.

Today its raining so I can't finish up with raking and mowing like I wanted too. I had a paper due today so I had to finish that. I was up till 1:30 last night. I am threw with my class for two weeks until the fall classes start, but I still have to finish writing another paper. Saturday, dd and I are gonna go look at cars at the used car lot. I'm nervous since buying that crappy Neon so I am gonna look and investigate well before I buy this time.

I've got just a few minutes to grab a bite to eat before dd gets out of school, though she doesn't get home until 4. I have people trespassing through our yard and I want to sit out there and catch them. I have No Trespassing signs but no way of putting them up just yet. I'll figure it out. Have a good day everyone!!!

Erika-

Brats can be boiled in the house. My neighbor does them that way and then cooks on the grill for the flavoring. In the house we use our George Foreman grill, just our choice.

leasmom-

4 tomato stakes, 1 on each corner of the property. Little tacks in the sides and run fishing line around all 4 poles, once low and once high... while it won't stop them it will give a message.

Anna

Originally posted by OSI

4 tomato stakes, 1 on each corner of the property. Little tacks in the sides and run fishing line around all 4 poles, once low and once high... while it won't stop them it will give a message.



I bet it works!!!ROFLMAO

We had brauts for dinner the other night. We just cooked them on our charcoal grill.....Last night we had b-b-que chicken breasts on the grill they weere yummo, I also baked homemade fries man are they good!
Barb,
I will add green veggies soon. The dr said to start with the orange and make sure there were no allergies! He says try for 2 weeks but I think one is suffient Evan never was allergic to anything! I have started smashing up fresh banana to put in his cereal he really likes that..I saw a picture last night of Josh from our trip at the zoo wearing Stevens hat its soooo cute. I know I have to post ,hoping to ducktape dh to computer chair until it is done. lol! I hope your weather isnt horrible for your trip. My sil in South Flordia are battening down the hatches just in case.

Nothing much frugal tonight just going to Curves for my workout, I sure was tired on Tuesday Yikes. The good news is I have lost 20lbs since the end of April! I am restisting the urge to buy more clothes come September though will have to invest in some jeans as I only have sweat pants that are starting to hang on me! I refuse to wear those everyday as I feel sloppy in them. Never have any luck in the thrift store for pants.
Have a good evening everyone!
Leighann

Leighann,

Congrats on the weight loss!!!! :clapp: When I hit that 20 lb mark I splurged at the Salvation Army store!


Lisa:tong:

Those of you that have to pay for school books for school, do you also have to pay school taxes. This is a separate tax that we pay in addition to our fall and spring tax. Everyone out of school that is 18 or older has to pay this particular tax.

I bats for dinner last night, I just baked them in the oven until done(not sure how long it was) ast about 350! They were really good!

Lee congrats on the weight loss!!

Osi, thanks for letting us know about songberries!

WOOHOO!!!:sheep: :jump2: :sheep: :clapp: :clapp:

Anna you know i was thinking you cracked the nut im crazy sorry

Joesbaby - A good receipe for brats is to soak them in beer, onions, can also add mushrooms and/or green peppers. Then just boil all together on the stove after letting sit for a time in refrig.

Our Half Price Book store opened today. We went up then had free refreshments, so kids had a juice box and cookies, I had tea and cookies. We looked at the bargain books first and got a stack of the kid ones for .25 - $1.00 then paid 1.00 0 2.00 for some of their series/chapter books. We also got a couple of vhs for $1.00, a DVD 14.98, vhs 4.98. I gave the kids some money for their choices then we each used a $40% coupon on one item for the vhs, dvd and a hardback book. You also got a free book with each book purchase but there was not a good selection.

Our best buy was at the dollar dealz store where they had a 48 Juicy Juice popsicles for $1.00. The clerk said when they come in they go out fast, it was the first time we saw them. Just wish I had more freezer room to get more than one box. These have a lot less sugar than others.

Boggz-

I know it sounds confusing the way I described the way we have to do them... it is hard sometimes to not just say "that green thingy" smiles. We peeled 200 more last night and then went out and collected more.. must've gotten another 200-300 last night. We went out from 7:30 to about 8:15pm and this weekend we are finally going to our friends property in Galloway.. he has groves of them in the back of his property, he hasn't been checking on them though so hopefully they are still there.

I signed up for our local branch of Freecycle yesterday and here in Columbus, they request that before you take advantage of offers or post a request, that you offer an item so I offerred some extra fabrics that I'm not using and some yarn and geezz lewezz, I got over 30 requests so I've spent a good deal of the morning responding to the emails. It is a great group though and unbelievable the items that are being offerred. yesterday someone had listed a 3 1/2 foot swimming pool with the attachments, they used it last summer and no longer wanted it. And today someone listed a "Shed" one of those that cost around $600-$900 at Lowes, it went quick!

Anna

Lee-

Congrats on the weight loss, good going.

Anna

Happy Friday the 13th! If things that have happened to the gals in my office this morning are any indication, it's living up to it's reputation. The office manager got a speeding ticket and no insurance ticket. She couldn't find her insurance card and of course after the officer pulled away she found it. The girl in my part of the office couldn't get her car started. One of the other girls overslept. Yep, it's quite a day so far!

Frugal, maybe frugal for me. My home PC was just not working right, it was sick. I took it to the repair shop just uptown and he evaluated it. It had so many system errors he just recommended wiping it clean and installing Microsoft Millenium. He also had to replace the CPU, it was overheating. Total cost? $81.50. I think that's frugal compared to the $800 plus my ds wanted me to shell out to Dell for a new one, like Dell would even give me a credit line! LOL. Anyway, I'll be picking up the PC at lunch time. I'll have to re-install AOL when I get home tonight but hey, I'll be back online at home!

Have a good one gals and stay away from black cats, don't walk under ladders and all that good stuff!

Lisa
:sparkle:

OSI I love the freecycle there isnt one in my town but there is one close i was also surprised at he stuff thay give away but its a good thing WOW your doing great getting all those buckeyes that would be hard work shucking them

Well we made it back from our mini vacation. Had a great time. Put on over 610 miles in 3 days, so were wore out.

Spent 2 nights with dh family in ND , attended the presentation of the niece ( who had traveled to Australia /New Zealand ) A People for People oppurtunity.

Drove down to the brother-in-laws ranch and just relaxed for a day too. The peace and quiet of the wide open spaces is something I really enjoy. Was there a meteor shower the other night? Thought I had heard something about it. Out here at the ranch, it's so fun to watch the stars and also the northern lights when they appear.

Frugal today will be just making some hamb's and corn on the cob for our dinner, later this afternoon will drive into the local town and attend the county fair, and a free meal they put on for all the area folks. So no cooking for this evenings supper. ^^

Have the camper to clean up yet, also the begining of next week want to wash off the outside of the camper as we have 9 miles of gravel to reach our ranch and it was so darn dusty, need to get all the dust and grime off it.

Picked my first tomatoes today. 4 in fact. They are the smaller variety, a bit larger than a golf ball, but look darn good. Also 5 yellow squash and more leaf lettuce.

Put the dried parsley and dill in a fruit jar, will just leave it on the counter for easy reach when needed.

Have a great weekend everyone. Keep cool. It's to be in the mid 80's here for the next 3 days. Thank goodness.

Does anyone have some hints as to how I can enter some pics on here , I can't enter any , have tried. Maybe I should just try to do it thru emails. But have a couple nice pics of an evening sunset this past winter.

Joy8-)

Well, I have 3 black cats & my day is fine so far.....SO FAR! Hee, hee. I think in England they are considered good luck. My black cat was bad luck yesterday. Afer a year of ulcers & cortizone shots, he now had high blood sugar & something about his liver.
:ugh: Poor thing. Poor me.
Well, I did get the sink finished last night!!! Yeah me. My dh did the hard part getting the pipes off, but we wouldn't have water in the kitchen if I hadn't got the new supply lines & connected them. (No leaks!.....SO FAR!) Soon I will be washing the backlog of dishes. I got a sample of cascade complete, so this is the right time to use it. I wasn't able to soak & pre scrub dishes & that is what this is supposed to work on. We will see. It sounds pretty caustic, so I probably won't be buying it. All kinds of warnings on the side. Also, got a load of whites flapping in the breeze.

MKS

I did my clothes hanging in the breeze yesterday... I really love it. Ya know that's one thing I noticed at both the zoo and the fair, they were advocating the use of hanging your clothes up outside being good for the enviro