January 2019 Frugal Chatter thread (New Year, new calendars)

[Natalka]

i am so sorry your trip was less then expected. . i will say Gordon Blue is a new to me term.....
..

I hadn't either until I realized that is what my husband calls it - he is from Eastern Europe and English is like his fifth or sixth language....
We correct him, but it just comes out that way for him still!

@Angela273 - so very sorry your holiday was not great. Any chance you could get recompense from the resort, travel agency, or?

[flemeth]

Memories Holguin
It’s a resort on the beach. Some people quickly contacted their travel agents and left the resort within a day. More cost, but it looked like they could afford it.

@Angela273 Thanks a friend stayed there years ago and hated it and also had lots of complains. Sorry

[Angela273]

I hadn't either until I realized that is what my husband calls it - he is from Eastern Europe and English is like his fifth or sixth language....
We correct him, but it just comes out that way for him still!

@Angela273 - so very sorry your holiday was not great. Any chance you could get recompense from the resort, travel agency, or?

I’m not really sure, but it’s something I want to look into. There were some issues with the flights as well, but that’s considerably less time than the amount of time spent at the resort. Believe me, I didn’t post it all here.

[SassyAshley]

Good Evening Everyone,
I caved last night and we ordered pizza, by the time Mom got home and my adrenaline came down I was done and just did not have cooking in me.

Went and got 2 more types of band aids and I cannot get any of them to seal my finger properly. Not sure if it is where to the cut is but none of them seal water tight. It was funny, before I went Mom was asking if I really needed more band aids but when I got home and couldn't get them to work and I mentioned the dishes really need to be done she gave me more ideas of products I could pick up tomorrow.

Not much got done around here today, I have a waterproof band aid on but I am not sure it is sealed well enough to stick it in water for a long period of time to do something like wash dishes.

We did clean out the fridge and I took out 2 bags of garbage, the kitchen garbage was already full and although we did not have a lot to throw out from the fridge I was afraid it might leak so I took them out.

I was going to do some meal prep today but this week is going to be weird. Mom works tomorrow night so I am on my own for dinner (we both have leftovers we will eat), Tuesday I am in a meeting that is supplying Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, then Wednesday I am in day 2 of the meeting where again they are supplying Breakfast and Lunch. My meeting is by Mom's work so we will carpool Wednesday and do a little shopping once she gets off work. I am hoping to be out a little early and can go to Costco before Mom gets off work. I will need to come up with simple meal prep for next weekend as I have a family event Saturday which I am not sure how late it will go. Then Thursday Mom is working a weird shift again won't be home for dinner. So really the only night we will eat together will be Friday.

Hope everyone has a wonderful night, think I will go look for some inspiration on Pinterest and come up with a meal plan for next week.

[coupon girl]

angela so sorry about the trip -at least the beach sounds nice for the kiddies I have never been to a resort ,we have just gone on cruises and a road trip out west years ago

giselta-my back is killing me too ,hubby did 3 driveways today with the snowplow (we use our neighbours as we gave him money towards it years ago)but I shovelled what the snow plow left ,man its freezing out

Well I didn't make it out to shoppers for sat/sun specials as our street just got plowed at 5.00 p.m -oh well saved a bit of money -lol

I made a lovely seasoned chicken breast with mashed potatoes and gravy and steamed carrots ,the chicken was lovely

[lizzie bargain]

DH and I had a pretty lazy day but we did get out for a walk now that the mild air blew in yesterday-we also wached Bohemian Rhapsody-what a great movie! Really enjoyed it. Now for the lunar eclipse-the next door neighbours, who hubby went to Wyoming with to see the solar eclipse, are bringing their binoculars over a little later.

[lilo0003]

@Sass eyashley they make a product that is basically glue for your skin. You may want to see if you can find it. @Angela273 we had a similar experience with Cuba. I Do not understand why people keep going back. But I did lose weight while there.

[Angela273]

I’ve washed all the kids bedding since we got back. All the clothes are washed, just dress clothes left. Long day of laundry, but almost caught up on absolutely all of it.

[Giseledta]

Buses are a go here... -29 with wind chill... the kids are going to be cold.
All Christmas stuff is put away.. i need 10 min to just make sure the bins are put properly...
Donation people are picking up today.
meatloaf is supper
oldest starts her new job today.
i have a child off this week... so that will make it easier on me. so that will be certainly nice.

[flemeth]

Good morning all.
Another cold day here. It will be indoors for me.
Dinner will be Chicken with something else that I can’t think of right now
Will get the main bathroom clean at some time today, also have lots of laundry to put away.
I will also tidy up the family room.
Stay warm all and bundle upmif going out

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning Everyone,
I got an email last night, the family event for this weekend has been cancelled. It was Bro's wedding, they were going to have a family only ceremony but bro and fiancee have the flu and the docs have said even if they are better by Saturday her Mom cannot come because of her counts. So it is on hold as they were doing a family only ceremony so her mom could be there with the plan that in a couple of year they will have a large ceremony or a destination wedding.

It is freezing here, I have cranked the heat in my office but am still cold sitting at my computer. It is a busy day around here as the water is frozen and I think we might have a truck that won't start as it is still sitting where the employees park, normally it gets moved during business hours.

Not much else going on, better get some work done as I have to leave early for a meeting. Have a wonderful day everyone and for those in this deep freeze keep warm.

[Frugalbigmama]

No school here today. DS woke up at 8:30 to tell me there was no school. I told him that was why he got to sleep in lol. Silly kid.

Regarding Cuba. I've been once. I was told to not book at any resort below 4 star rating and to not expect fancy food. Our resort was wonderful, the food-we didn't starve. We could have an omelette in the morning and there was always a grilled meat/veggies at dinner and a pasta bar. I really missed salad though (no lettuce) and the beach was amazing. I will go again.

[flemeth]

@Frugalbigmama if you don't mind me asking which resort did u stayed at. TIA

[Ciel]

I’m not really sure, but it’s something I want to look into. There were some issues with the flights as well, but that’s considerably less time than the amount of time spent at the resort. Believe me, I didn’t post it all here.

Sunwing is a known operator that usually has a problem or two or three with some charter flights (when they return to Ontario or head out to the Caribbean destination) each winter season. Upside is that your family got its sunny holiday in winter, so I hope the kids remember some of the fun things you did as a family!
As for Cuba--some cousins and an aunt have visited in August (cheaper deals during hurricane season) but I have not heard any comments about the foods or quality of food or service (only comments about how lovely the warmth is in Cuba). CHIN Radio is doing a second Winter Picnic this month in Cuba (tour returned there last year after 2017's foray into Panama) and usually Italian singers and performers join the charter. Will post a link in case you may try Cuba again but with a group (hmm, it's not on in January at all this year, but in February!)

[Ciel]

Saturday's walk home from the library-found 99cent bundle of reduced carrots (about 6 large ones). I ended up making cream of carrot soup at home using the dried sage that's been on top of the pantry since the end of November. Not the same aroma and flavour as dried tarragon, but it was good enough. Ate that soup over the weekend! Did a lot of shovelling that evening too but Sunday's sunshine was worthwhile!

Obtained 40 cents in bottle refunds (two bottles from home) on Sunday afternoon-did not do a longer walk due to the biting wind but worked up some sweat under my scarf and gloves! So many windrows on the sidewalks-it was like parkour for pedestrians-up one side and down the other, hopefully with snow not shifting under a foot when trying to get over a drift.

Today's morning-popped into Value Village to get the two flannel men's pj bottoms (they were still there-Docker brand) for 50% off ($5.65 in total) then did some grocery shopping at Walmart. Brought my cart along as I had my mittens over my gloves to preserve my hands! Odd to hear the weather forecasters discussing the morning's -20C with a windchill making it feel like -32C but....
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QOTD
Has your dryer with an electronic display ever flashed you an error code in a deep windchill when you tried to start a dryer load?

A-I had that happen today-I tried a second time. Then pulled out the manual which indicated it was a temperature sensor issue. The air was so cold in the dryer due to the vent pipe. I feel the issue will be resolved tomorrow when the daytime high is closer to -12C. The dryer's only been in use just over 4months!