Five things that make me happy:
1) The Non-Consumer Advocate had 105,741 hits last month, which is the first time it’s gone over 100,000 since I was on The Today Show.
2) A local blog reader e-mailed me about a great 1998 Honda four-door Civic that her son will soon be selling. My husband is skeptical of such an old car, but I would love to have a zippy little car that gets great gas mileage. Plus, something that we could easily pay cash for would be a huge bonus.
3) I walked down the boulevard yesterday to run errands, which were both productive and extremely frugal:
- I found 35¢ on the ground.
- I was able to buy a gallon of milk for $1.59.
- I’d added an e-coupon to my Fred Meyer loyalty card which gave me a free box of five energy bars. Hello, school lunches!
- I bought a large bundle of organic kale for 99¢, which has since been made into pesto. This was cheaper than the non-organic kale!
- I stopped in at Pastaworks, (amazing gourmet store) and asked if they ever had any large jars to give away. They said they did, so they took my name and number and will let me know when I can come by to pick some up.
4) Leftovers. I rarely buy grab-and-go food, so leftovers are a real treat as it’s just a matter of heating them up or simply eating as-is. I just heated up the last of some leftover red lentil soup (and even swirled a spoon of kale pesto into it.) So delicious! My teenage sons are also huge fans of leftovers and complain mightily if a meal doesn’t provide significant extras.
5) The health and wellness of my family.
Thing that’s pissing me off:
1) I’ve had more spare time on my hands than usual lately, and I seem to be squandering it. I should be working on household projects, writing, fostering friendships and other worthwhile endeavors. Instead I’m goofing around on the internet, puttering around the house and somehow wasting what should be a great opportunity. I know it’s because my focus is all over the place lately, but I should still be able to accomplish something with all the time I’ve been given. Am I just shoulding all over myself?
Now your turn. What’s making you happy, and conversely what’s pissing you off?
Katy Wolk-Stanley
{ 36 comments… read them below or add one }
Yeah a Sunday post! I love your blog so much Katy! I know I’m responsible for some of the extra hits on the blog because I’ve been reading your archives all month!
I just wanted to let you know how much you’ve inspired me. I’ve always shopped at Goodwill/thrift for my family, but you’ve encouraged me to think even more about what I’m buying (or not buying!)
I also started a found change jar. I don’t know why it’s so much fun to me, but I love seeing it fill up. Your $.35 find makes me jealous!
Thanks for the inspiration and your great sense of humor.
Five Things That Make Me Happy:
1. Your frequent blog posts and all the comments from your readers. They enlighten and inspire me.
2. We are not very excited about the Super Bowl but we’ll have nachos for dinner. I have ground beef I bought at a good price that has been cooked and frozen to use with a homemade taco spice blend (no salt or weird ingredients and also cheaper).
3. So far it looks like the latest winter storm will be rain and not snow. We had many days in January disrupted by the weather.
4. I discovered that certain types of knitting do not irritate my thumbs as much as other types. I had mostly given it up but now I am knitting quite a bit with straight needles while reading on my Kindle (always something that was free).
5. I have been faithfully doing the exercises given me by my PT. I feel better now than I did the last time I saw her, almost three weeks ago. It really is worth it to do what they say.
I have the exact same “pissing me off” problem as you do.
Holy cow, that’s a great price on milk!
I’ve been thinking a lot about the amazing good fortune of a healthy and happy family! I am working on funding my HSA, but I recognize that my hard fought savings are drops in the bucket if there’s a serious problem. Thank you for including a healthy family in your happy list!
About 5 years ago, we bought a 1995 Honda Civic. It was an awesome car. It got great gas mileage and literally required no work to it except basic maintenance. When we sold it (because my husband wanted a truck again), we got $500 more then we paid for it.
My parents bought a 1998 Civic in 2002, and that car is still alive and well today … and not for a lack of being driven, either. Age is just a number for Civics!
Everyone needs downtime sometimes. Be kind to yourself. 🙂
I second this motion.
I third. Life’s too short to stress over things that you *should* be doing. As long as your bills are paid and your family is cared for, I think the rest is peanuts… enjoy your “downtime”, however you decide to spend it.
I fourth, but mainly so I can say “shoulding all over myself”. Top ten on the All-Time Best of Katy List.
I stole it from “Sex and the City.”
5 things that make me happy:
1. The birthday celebrations (yes, plural….) for my 5 year old are over. Her birthday is January 5th, so is mine, so let’s just say she had a couple and the “official one with friends” was today. Hubby and I not being the most extraverterd people, it’s quite draining for us, so…. yeah, it’s over!
2. I finally learned how to arm knit, and made an infinity scarf for my mom’s birthday.
3. That I have a hands-on hubby with house chores. So he made supper for tonight and tomorrow (leftovers)
4. Big bang theory!!!!!!! Just discovered this little gem. And Parks & Recreation, of course
5. My amazing 2 little girls, that made my life all worth it
One thing i am not happy about is…
I had leftover wool and wanted to make a scarf for myself, but it got all tangled and i think i will have to just throw it out. And it’s the really good kind too. (yeah, life is hard, i know…!)
Have a great frugal day!
Oooohhhh! That is my most favorite thing to do….untangle knots in yarn, chains, ropes, etc! I always said if I could make a living at “de tangling”, I would. I love the challenge and it is strangely relaxing for me!
Thanks for the post Jackie. Thought I was the only one who finds the detangling process weirdly relaxing!
Just wanted to chime in and say that I have a 1997 Honda Civic that I just love. I’ve had her for about 6 years now, and have probably had less that 1000$ worth of repairs. Her name is Betsy, and she is awesome.
I have a 1999 Honda civic that I have had for 6 years. Its still going strong. It has about 175000 miles on it. I have put more money into it than I like, but most has been maintenance. Everything I had to replace was original to car. I did that when the car hit the 10 year mark. Its a good car and I plan to drive it another 100,000 miles.
It’s a 98 Civic, Katy. Not 96. I’ll have my son call you tomorrow.
I’m a real detail person. 😉
I had some downtime for two weeks when I was on jury duty. I was only called in three days, but I couldn’t start any projects because I might have had to go in the next day. After a day or two of being frustrated at frittering my time away I decided to treat myself to some time off. I watched Supernatural, took naps, read 2 books, and made tasty lunches. It was fun and I got recharged enough to jump back into repainting the kitchen cabinets when JD was over.
1. Got 16 packages of rice pilaf and 4 packages of snack crackers free with coupons at the store yesterday and I found a penny in the parking lot.
2. Glad my son who has the flu is feeling better today. Yesterday was no fun- 102° fever, 2 different care centers to be seen, 2 hours to get in and out and by then our normal pharmacy was closed. Two hours to get Rx filled…fun times!
3. Made red beans and rice in crockpot from leftover ham while game was on. Tomorrow’s dinner done!
4. Got brand new Woodstock windchimes today from another freecycler. They are the large 3 foot long chimes still in the box. I’ve been wanting a set forever and didn’t want to spend $65. My reward for having sick kid!
5. Got all the laundry done! I pay for my electric based on time of day and weekends are lowest rate so best time to do laundry.
My daughter bought her first car last spring, a 1983 Honda Accord. I took it to the mechanic who used to work on my Honda and said, “Fix whatever needs to be fixed.” He gave it a good inspection, we fixed a few things and he mentioned he had installed the air conditioning when the car was new (saw his mark), and said it’s good for another 100K. If you decide to get an older Honda — I’ll send you his contact info.
I had an 1994 Civic and it is still my favorite car. Someone talked me into getting rid of it with 314,000 miles on it and I still miss it.
If it helps, from the time I was an at home person (once my kids started school full time, I have always allowed the morning time to be puttering time and the afternoon to be project time. Morning and afternoon are all relative to each person, and some times my puttering was more organized than others.
For me puttering reading, internet, extra coffee, general pickup and all the sidelines that entails (looking at a quilt and deciding what to do), checking on the garden and so on. After about eleven or so then I work on specific projects, participate in my various groups, sew, and so on and so forth.
Sounds like this plan worked very well for you, maybe I should follow your lead!
With you all on the squandering time. I think a lot of us were on that particular boat in January. And I allowed myself last night.
This week will have to be different. 😀
One thing that made me happy yesterday was the Superbowl. I am not a football fan, but this game that that halftime show were both spectacular! Watching it with my granddaughter was good medicine for us both. And free! I’m really glad I made the decision to spend time in front of the TV for such an amazing event.
Downtime is very necessary in more ways than one. If it truly, truly bothers you, set the kitchen timer for 15 to 30 minutes and do something you view as a non-time squandering activity then go back to squandering ;). The Honda, if it has been taken care of properly, is a good deal even at 100,000 miles +. Hondas and Toyotas typically hold their value and can go past 300,000 if the regular maintenance is kept up.
Mel
1. I’m glad I foraged around for a leftover lunch instead of running to town to buy a quick lunch today. A penny saved….
2. Speaking of which, I found a penny yesterday and put it in my stash. I pick every one of them up. I recently took $3.50 to the bank in just pennies, most of it found change.
3. I’m tired from being up too late, but so glad I watched the Superbowl (we don’t have a television service provider, we get the free TV), since my daughter and son-in-law’s old high school classmate is playing for the Patriots. How fun to see him announce their high school as his alma mater, instead of his college, and how fun to watch him play.
4. I was so happy yesterday to hear my daughter say she needed to mend a shirt’s seam. So many people these days just throw out clothes with only a small seam opening.
5. I’m glad to see our onion patch is hanging in there and growing. I’m hoping to have nice big onions this spring.
And one thing pissing me off — our work place is in a state of flux, and none of us are sure about the security of our jobs. It’s been this way for months, and the tension is killing us.
How exciting that you got to see someone you kind of knew play in the Superbowl! Although, I told my hubby last night that I was glad our kids weren’t pro-quality athletes because I would have hated being the mom of the guy who didn’t catch that play and enabled the Patriots to win!
I totally get the thrill of hearing a player’s high school being announced rather than their college… a former Florida Gators player who went on to the NFL went to the same high school as my kids and whenever they mention his former high school, I’m whooping and hollering over the place… which is weird because I don’t get the whole “school spirit” thing the rest of the time (we don’t do that in France!).
It is really exciting to see someone play in such an big game after watching him play in high school and college, then pro. In such a small town with a single high school of less than 800 students, where almost every one really does know almost every one else, you can bet he gets a lot of support from this football crazy town.
I agree, I could never be a pro-athlete’s mom. I had enough heart problems watching my daughter get tossed in the air as a high school cheerleader!
The phrase “shoulding all over myself” makes me happy! I’ve been trying to ban that word from my vocabulary.
Katy…give yourself a break. You are a human being…not human doing ! Relax and enjoy a bit of downtime ! Thanks for the great posts !
I love found money – every penny of it. Good job!
My 5 things:
1) I fixed chicken fajitas and guacamole Saturday evening. We had leftovers last night. I’m thinking of making chicken tortilla soup with the rest. I had one chicken breast left, out of three, so I stuck it in the freezer for use later.
2) I dropped off an audio book at the Library today and picked up two more. I love shopping at the Library!
3) My oldest granddaughter got her ears pierced for her birthday. I have a small, wooden jewelry box at home that belonged to my Mother and told her she could have it to hold her earrings. That made her happy and me too. She now has something inherited from her great-grandmother and I have one less thing in my house to find a home for.
4) I get dinner out with hubby, his sister & brother-in-law for free tonight. My BIL’s father passed away last week and they had to fly over from Hawaii for the funeral. Instead of flowers, hubby’s Mom sent him money so we could all have dinner together before we leave. I thought that was a very nice gesture.
5) I made egg salad over the weekend, so I can bring sandwiches for lunch this week. I bought some sourdough bread on sale at the grocers Saturday. Cheap, but good sandwiches and it allowed me to use up some Miracle Whip I had in the fridge.
February is a short month and I’m hoping it will be a more frugal one than January!
1. The birds are singing, which means spring will come. Millions of years of spring coming should tell me this will happen, but it is hard to imagine spring when it is cold.
2. My sons are healthy. Long term healthy, but also no one is throwing up or running a fever right now, which feels like a victory.
3. I’m working a little ahead with my homework.
4. Financially, the year is looking better than last year already.
5. My brother asking me for financial advice pretty much made my year.
1. We had a two week break between health insurances. When I got an ACA policy I was assured I could cancel in the middle of the month for a prorated refund of $300. Now they tell me that’s not how it works and I will not get a refund. That information would have weighed heavily on my decision had I known!!
I also have the “pissing me off” problem. I just can’t focus lately, especially at work. I am blaming it on winter.
We have a 1991 Honda Civic and it’s a really great car. I can’t think of any reason not to buy a Honda Civic unless it’s been in an accident or lived near the ocean or something else obvious.
I have a 1998 Honda Civic with 375,000 miles on it. Runs like a charm. You can’t go wrong with a Honda.