Today I am . . .
- Freezing my 25-lb bags of Bob’s Red Mill flour and oatmeal to kill any cooties before I decant them into various containers.
- Annoyed that my younger son announced this morning that he doesn’t actually like oatmeal.
- Enjoying that I transplanted some rosemary into a large pot, (garbage picked of course!) where it will get rained on instead of waiting for me to remember to water it.
- Planning on walking over to my mechanic’s and asking them if they have a lead on any great used cars. It’s been nice to do the one car thing for awhile, but it’s starting to get in the way of our daily life. (For those who aren’t up to date, our car was totaled in November.)
- Planning on watching a library DVD of Richard Linklater’s Before Midnight this evening.
- Clicking around on Swagbucks to earn another Amazon gift card before the month is up.
- Sitting still and letting the sunshine soak into my tired old bones. (It’s cold outside, but no one has told the interior of my house.)
- Not giving even a single care in the world about the Super Bowl.
- Pretty much, just taking it easy.
Now your turn. What are you doing today?
{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
Repotting houseplants, now that we’re starting to see a definite gain in daylight here in Upstate NY. (Besides, it’s been snowing all day, and it’s therapeutic just to have my hands in potting soil.)
Planning seed catalog orders with our favorite neighbors (the ones who shared their fantastic mushrooms with us last fall).
Joining Katy in ignoring the Super Bowl (we’ve been doing it here for decades) and taking it easy.
Finished making the chicken noodle soup, I started yesterday. It was from my .97 lb chicken last week at Fred Meyer. We ate on it for 2 nights, I cooked bones down for soup, then boiled a second time for broth for my dog. We can really work a chicken lol
Steamcleaned all the big area rugs, as the weather is so unseasonably warm and dry. I hung them outside to dry.
Spent a couple of hours paying bills, e-mailing and faxing paperwork here and there. It’s just a great feeling to sit down, do it, and be done with it. I’m working hard recently to quit putting paperwork off.
With the good weather, I raked up some, and went on an egg hunt. My hens keep laying out in the woods. So you have to go out with a long stick, and move ferns about to try and find them. We tend to call this… going on a lion hunt!!!
Also did some laundry, but just couldn’t quite get the mood to want to hang it outside. We live at 1100 hundred feet, but I assume it’s foggy down by the river, as I’ve heard fog horns !!! Kinda cool.
Also not into the super bowl. I got an e-mail from someone this morning that said “Go Hawks” I had to think about it for a bit
So if you freeze a 25 lb bag of oatmeal to kill any bugs, you don’t have to worry about it again after you decant them into smaller containers? One freeze does the trick? Does that work for rice too? I almost bought that 25 lb bag of rice at Costco but we don’t have the freezer space for a bunch of smaller jars. I could freeze the big bag once if that would work.
I’m just freezing it once.
We freeze all our grain products; they bypass the kitchen and go directly to the deep freezer in the garage. No more bugs in the canisters/boxes or the kitchen. The freezing kills them and their eggs so no worries that that they will come back to life later.
However, this doesn’t prevent waste in the event bugs do get in to the containers AFTER you’ve frozen the contents. So one needs to make sure to get containers with really good seals.
Oh yes, I tighten those lids!
Figured out how to go to Saratoga’s Chowderfest tomorrow without using any of their styro and plastic disposables. (A trash nightmare.) Little ball jars, lid after use, no leakage, wash later at home. Own spoon and cloth napkins, carrier bags made of old tee shirts. High tomorrow 14 degrees, terrible wind chills, and yet I’m anxious to go to see if this system works!!
It did not work! Workers said they were prohibited from putting the soup in my container. They would put it in their plastic cup and then I could pour it in my container. Claimed these are health department rules. At least I used my own spoon and cloth napkin. Will have to follow up with health department on this. I bring mug to coffeeshop and they fill it. I bring quart jar to restaurant for soup and they fill it.
Hmmmmm…
By the way, you should have seen the trash from single use plastic spoons and styro and plastic cups from 20,000 people sampling many many soups. Good chowders though!! Very good. Plus a visit to Northshire Bookstore (we have no bookstore in Glens Falls).
Grocery shopping today. YUCK, I think they should just send me my groceries monthly and I will pay for them when they get here. LOL
I went to only three stores to shop today, Aldi’s, Walmart, and Sam’s Club. I spent most of my allowance at Aldi’s and came home with a buggy full of food. I went to Walmart because they sell some things I can’t seem to find anywhere else. So I spent a little bit there, but I got to go out one of the Speedy checker allies and that means I didn’t buy very many items. Doesn’t It?
I then went to Sam’s and bought some things that are cheaper there than anywhere else so we then came home.
I had to spend 90 minutes putting things away, but since I really haven’t shopped for groceries since Nov. I didn’t do bad. I spent $300.00 so I feel Good!!!!
The putting everything away is just so exhausting, Why is that?
When I do a big stock-up shopping trip once I month, I just empty out all the cold stuff right away and then lie down on the couch for half an hour before I can face the rest of the bags!!
I enjoyed Before Midnight – watched all of them Tonight I am finally watching Chef on netflix per your recommendation.
Ooh . . . enjoy! I absolutely loved “Chef!”
I loved Chef too! Borrowed it from the library awhile ago, noticed this week it is now on Netflix.
I loved it too! Thanks for the recommendation. Very upbeat and happy ending. The only problem was it made me hungry :).
-Today I bundled up the Little Miss and we teetered through the snow to get to a friend’s house for a play date.
-I made a nest of pillows and blankets in the stairwell to pretend nap (my favourite game).
-I discovered how easy Lebanese garlic sauce is, so I’ll probably make garlic potatoes tomorrow with the leftover sauce.
-I’m geeking out and playing around with my new budgeting software.
Getting ready to go on vacation, which coincides with our anniversary, like most years. Did one last load of whites, paid one more bill, made a couple lists for my daughter who will care for the cat and the house while we are away. Made meals come out so that we should be able to eat the few leftovers for tomorrow night. I have a wedding shower to go to tomorrow afternoon and we leave Sunday for a couple weeks in Florida. Will lay out some clothes for packing before I leave for the shower tomorrow, and hope I don’t forget much. Also worked on my decluttering project—today’s installment was cleaning off a very cluttered desk top and organizing all those greeting cards that charities send out hoping for contributions. Last time I donated them to an assisted living home. I’m organizing them to save up until I decide what to do with the next batch. Not finished yet, but progress has been made.
Yesterday I went to the grocery store for $41 worth of specials and one essential–milk. It was the week they let you double 4-$1 coupons, and I bought two good deals on meat and stocked up on cat food, giving 24 cans to the Community Cats of our town, which feeds ferals. It was at the lowest price it gets to, so a good time to contribute.
Have a great vacation! Perfect time of year.
Safe traveling and enjoy your time in our beautiful state. BTW 71 degrees and sunny yesterday!!
I’m loving the Superbowl…talk about frugal entertainment….taunting my students all week, watching the great , funny commercials online for free, betting in my work pool for 5 bucks, watching the game for free….with good friends! LOVE the Superbowl!!!! Go Patriots! (it’s most fun when your team makes it)
I made a loaf of bread and did laundry in the morning and rode my horse all afternoon! Yay sunshine!!
Superbowl fever here in Seattle! Go Hawks!
It never failed, as soon as I stocked up on something my kids were eating, they would tell me they were tired of said food. I felt like I couldn’t win. Too soon they grow up and you have to learn to shop for two again…not as easy as it sounds.
Today i am….
* so tired of the snow and the cold (minus 35 degrees again, brrrrrr!)!!!!!!
I need sun and warmth!!
* thinking (for the hundredth time…) about quitting sugary deserts for good, since they do nothing good for me physically (i am really overweight) nor mentally (so addictive)
* going to the pool with my 3 year old for swimming lesson
* baking cake for my 5 year old birthday party tommorow
* watching The Interview on Netflix, tonight, with hubby
Have a great frugal day!
today i am…
still patiently (ha!) waiting for baby # 4 to be born… my due date is monday though all my babies were late I can’t help but hope. I’m beginning to think maybe you really can be pregnant forever. I’m hoping the full moon next week will do the trick.
– burning wood in the woodstove cause me and the little ones are home all day- the thermometer reads 10 degrees! we moved a few months ago and I’m still figuring out all the tricks to this house. It’s set up pretty energy efficient but our propane bill last month was rather alarming. Been doing laundry and dishwasher on the off peak hours for our electric bill and burning wood in the woodstove while we’re home to help out the thermostat.
– stocking the freezer with meals! Our house came with an old freezer in the basement and it’s really changed the way I shop (never had a full freezer in my own place before). I’m learning to shop when things are at their lowest (yay tightwad gazette for teaching me so many awesome tricks) and stow away in our handy dandy freezer downstairs. It’s something I really couldn’t do in our old tiny condo.
– I only realized the superbowl was this week when I was checking the grocery circular and there was all sorts of “big game” promos. I had no idea.
I can’t believe it’s Saturday already! Where did the week go?
Today I’m…
… going to make a double batch of air-popped kettle corn to take with us to the Civil War battle reenactment that we are attending. We’ll also bring our own water bottles. We’ve been attending as a family most years for the past 13 years so it’s more family nostalgia for me as this point than historical nostalgia… my babies are so grown up that they no longer qualify for the child’s fare 🙁
… trying to muster the energy to make mashed potatoes this morning before we leave so I can make cottage pie when we get home tonight with a minimum of effort and no be tempted to order out. We haven’t ordered out all month, which is a huge savings for me (I realized that we’d been spending $200-$300 a month in various eating out/ordering in expenses last year. So much for being frugal!). Also I’m super proud of my teen daughter for deciding to pack a lunch instead of buying lunch from school… she’s eating healthier and it’s saving me about $45 a month!
… enjoying dehydrated strawberries and pineapple in my morning quick oats (from Aldi!). I got them super cheap at Aldi and Save A Lot in the past month and dehydrated them to avoid food waste. They’ve been little nuggets of deliciousness every morning!
… tonight I will be downloading the videos that I took of my oldest son’s jazz concert last night (he’s a Jazz Studies major). The videos won’t be great but I don’t care because I’m going to extract the audio and upload the tunes to my ancient iPhone 4 so I can relive the concert while I do the dishes or walk to the library. Great music always makes tedious chores go by much faster!
… also going to print a Superbowl bingo game that I found for free on the Better Homes & Gardens site (BHG.com/SuperParty, contains lots of printables for the big game). I don’t really care about it this year either as I hate Tom Brady with a passion and the Hawks don’t do anything for me, but hubby will be watching so it’ll be a way to spend time and have fun together. Or I might decide to go take a bubble bath and borrow his Kindle Fire so I can watch something on Netflix at the same time…
Have a great weekend!
Today I am:
Having a quiet day at home with my family. It’s cold out and we’re tired from a busy week. Meal prep will be minimal – there’s a rotisserie chicken and leftover Buffalo Chicken pizza available, as well as a bunch of other stuff.
I’ll cut coupons from the last two Sunday newspapers. I don’t use many anymore but sometimes I save a lot using them. When I’m done I’ll pass the rest of them along to someone I “met” on Freecycle.
I also have a bunch of items to list in Freecycle. Since I like to do porch pick-up it’s better to have good (not wet) weather for that, since our porch is not covered. Our weather has been crazy every few days.
Baking and freezing the delicatta(sp?) squash and washing the greens that came in our winter CSA bag this week.
Maybe you could entice your son with some oatmeal cookies, oatmeal cake, oatmeal bread, or baked oatmeal instead of just a bowl of the stuff. Oh, and don’t for get granola and granola bars!
I’ve been using a modified version of frugalgirl’s granola for awhile now and my family loves it- not to mention it makes the house smell amazing!
We’re expecting a snowstorm with blustery winds and temperatures tonight, so I
1. thawed a chicken so I could make creamed chicken, noodle soup, and burritos tonight and finish tomorrow.
2. visited Mom and put her medications in order so I do not have to get out tomorrow
3. found portion size containers on sale for a buck each–glass good ones!
4. bought frozen vegies to be dehydrated
5. finally learned to make a good cup of coffee! I used Britta water, really good coffee beans, and an old fashioned perculator. Mmmmm!
6. invited the single ladies in the neighborhood over tomorrow (if we can get out) for a chicken smorgasboard. That’s my super bowl party, but we will probably play cards ha ha.
Glass containers for a bucks apiece? That’s a great deal!