December 2019 Frugal Chatter-finding the light among the hustle

[coupon girl]

Morning

giseledta-I had a mother-in-law like that and I have been married 40 years but she passed away xmas eve day 7 years ago and I went into work that day also .I realized when I first met her the hug she gave me was half there ,nobody was good enough for her 5 boys or her one daughter to be exact.When I tried to tell her why we only visited her 2 times a month (if that ) she pointed her finger at me and said "you are the problem",she once bought my son a t-shirt and a toy when they were little and not my daughter (they are 2 and a half years apart) so I didnt really cry a tear when she passed neither did my daughter .So as a mother-in-law I will never tell my daughter-in-law I wish she would stop spending etc as I try to be a kind mother-in-law


We just got in from Toronto ,boy that was some drive yesterday took and hour and 45 minutes as we left at 1.00 p.m and we babysat Sebastian from 3.30 til 8.30 didn't even have to put him to bed and he was such a joy I gave him 2 little paw patrol cars,my daughter/hubby came in from being out and bought him a puzzle at value village a 60 piece one and he did it also .

My daughter made 65 Belgium cookies and gave me 20 to bring home so nice of her ,the drive home this morning was easy .Oh and I slept 7 hours down their basement in a spair room hubby and I have when we sleep over -maybe I slept so long as it was so much cooler down there and I loved it .

[Giseledta]

coupongirl.... kind mother in law is the route to go . i totally agree with you . hugs

[SassyAshley]

Good Afternoon Everyone,
Thank you for the kind words. Mom could not make it to work yesterday due to the weather and I was done work by 1 pm (nice surprise last year it was 6 pm) so we ended up spending some time together yesterday. We did not have a formal conversation but as soon as she got back home (she tried to go to work but turned around) I threw it out there "since you are home you wanna help me clean." She was not happy at the idea but she did. Well we were working she made a few comments and normally I blow them off to not start something but yesterday I was like okay you know what I need to say something so:

When she said we were never going to get the house cleaned up, I pointed out I have been trying but one there is so much "stuff" it isn't like in a few hours or even a day you can clean a whole room so she needs to look at it in sections. Also I pointed out I cannot do this alone as not everything is mine and she needs to let me know what to do with her stuff as at the end of the day we cannot keep it all.

She also commented that I was getting stuff done but something along the lines of how much I was getting done. So I pointed out I could probably get more done if every night I did not have to come home and do things like clean up the kitchen cause dishes aren't in the dishwasher. Also maybe we (or her) need to stop letting the dishes pile up, if there are only a couple dishes just wash them then they are done. I admit huge pet peeve here, I hate cleaning the kitchen and waking up to find 1 or 2 dishes in the sink, it makes me stand there and go REALLY!?!?!?!?!?

I think what gets to me the most is yes there are things she cannot do, due to her medical issues and I will do them, I will even take on more of the housework but not when nothing is getting done outside of what I do.

I might talk to her a bit more tomorrow as we are going out after work to do some shopping and sometimes I find talking in the car is best as you cannot avoid the conversation.

So all and all I am happy with what we got done yesterday, especially since I had to get up at 5 am as I had to start work at 6 am. I can admit normally when I get home from work when we go in at 6 I crash when I get home but yesterday I pushed through and got the following done:
Ground Beef is dealt with, 1 package is Taco Meat, broken up and in the freezer, one package is cooked and packaged for later use in the crock pot or instant pot (I do not like when it is not browned) and the last package has been broken down into 1 lb packs and are in the freezer.
Burgers from the freezer that were on a cookie sheet and taking up way too much room and have been sucker sealed and back in the freezer
We had a bunch of bags of items we bought at Bulk Barn or Costco that needed to be sucker sealed and out in the basement, all of these except the crasins are done
Also put away everything that was in the basement but not in bins or on shelves in the stockpile room
As well as just general tidy up, normally I hate to throw anything out but right now I am just like we are not using it, we have not found a purpose for it, we cannot sell it so out it goes. Filled a garbage bag which I took out today.

So all an all yesterday was a good day, I will post about today a little later. Hope everyone has a wonderful day

[coupon girl]

sassy -glad you got to talk a bit with your mom and she helped out a little ,may be the start to a good new year for both of you

I just popped over to fortinos to get my son-in-law his non-alcoholic beer 5.99 for 12 bottles for xmas ,then picked up a lacey pair of panties for me .97 in joe fresh ,oh and 3 warm pairs of mens socks were on for 4.94 -they didn't ring up right so I went to service desk and she said scoop saved 11.30 and 3 nice pairs of mens socks -maybe a pair for hubby ,son and son-in-law

I donated to the paramedics at fortinos 2.50 cash and 2.50 the other day into the salvation army bell in limeridge mall ,hey it all helps out .

Supper tonight fish French fries and carrots -easy peasy

[SassyAshley]

Good Evening Everyone,
I spent most of today working on Christmas prep and was worried a bit as I got no cleaning done as my Christmas prep took longer than expected bit with that being said:
Cranberry Butter
Lentil Soup Mix
Pear Butter
Pumpkin Butter
Are all done

Previously I made:
Taco Seasoning
Garlic Garlic Mix
Everything Bagel Seasoning

I still have a few things to make but I think I am in a good placed now but tomorrow I have to go out and buy packaging. Last year I bought really nice glass jars for everything and it cost me quite a bit of $$$, this year I am using plastic as from what I have seen everyone recycled the nice glass jars I bought when they were empty. So this year I am hoping to find a cheaper plastic option.

As well kitchen is clean as I cleaned as I went and also emptied the dishwasher as it was turned on last night.

Well I was waiting for the last butter to finished I found a small area in the living room to clean. We have random bit blue tote in the living room which is only still there as it is covered in stuff so we could not get to it. So I cleaned this off, sorted everything. As well I found 2 boxes of papers, one is mine and one is Mom so I started going through mine and have cleaned out about half of it.

All of a sudden I have broke out with a rash on my legs so I cannot really stand or walk right now as it really hurts, good news is I got all my stuff done before it got painful down side is I cannot stand to make dinner so I have asked Mom to grab something on her way home. We have not had take out in weeks but I am still feeling guilty. Any little thing right now makes me feel guilty but I do not want to push stand and walking as I have to work tomorrow so hoping this is better by morning.

Since I cannot stand or walk right now I am sitting on the couch shredding old papers. Makes me feel better that I am getting something done.

Alright well time to get back to my shredding. Hope everyone has a wonderful night

[Angela273]

The entire house has been vacuumed. All the kids are bathed. I customized one of my shirts and sewed a pair of dress pants. The fourth load of laundry is in the washing machine. Dh and my work clothes are done. I’ll still have a couple more loads of laundry to do, but it can wait.

Ds and I prepared for some crafts.

[lilo0003]

I had a nice surprise when I picked up the mail. We did a home energy audit when we did the renovation and furnace in the spring. The auditor said it would take 4-6 months to get the rebate cheque. The program switched to Enbridge recently and we had the money in less than two months. We did pay for the audit but it still resulted in about 1400.00 so it was worth the time.
Finished the last of the shopping today. Next weekend it will be groceries for the Christmas meal and I have 200.00 in points set aside. Our son is doing beef Wellington again. So I picked up the tenderloin at Costco today and it was not even too crazy. Only 4 more days of work until I am off.

[greentires4me]

@lilo0 03 that’s a nice little nest egg of 1300$ do you have to pay taxes On it?




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[greentires4me]

I get paid on tWednesday. I think some u get there’s Tuesday because some times checks get issued first, before direct deposit. But I never have to worry about a missing or stolen check.

Things totally suck right now I hurt my toes bad. I got my period yesterday. I get paid on Wednesday. I am not sitting on a nest egg for PCO points. I choose to shop elsewhere. Which is unlike me to do.

I might go to Walmart today to check out ugly Christmas sweaters but I really need some things there. And have $20 burning in my pocket.

I went to the hospital the other night and they check out my toes and did xrays. My toes are healing nicely now.



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[johnb56789]

I get paid on tWednesday. I think some u get there’s Tuesday because some times checks get issued first, before direct deposit. But I never have to worry about a missing or stolen check.

Things totally suck right now I hurt my toes bad. I got my period yesterday. I get paid on Wednesday. I am not sitting on a nest egg for PCO points. I choose to shop elsewhere. Which is unlike me to do.

I might go to Walmart today to check out ugly Christmas sweaters but I really need some things there. And have $20 burning in my pocket.

I went to the hospital the other night and they check out my toes and did xrays. My toes are healing nicely now.



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Pay day for me this Thursday and it will be a little smaller than my normal (from two days of bereavement during that pay period), but the next two will be a little bigger than normal (Stat pay for Christmas/Boxing Day, and my 4% Vacation Bonus in mid January for 2019)

[SassyAshley]

Good morning Everyone,
We are going shopping tonight after work, I think we will go to Costco and whatever we cannot get at Costco will determine where else we need to go. I need to re stock on some spices now that most of my Christmas cooking is done. I still need to make:
Peach Butter
Apple Butter
Chocolate Butter
Honey Cinnamon Butter

The last 2 are actually butter based and do not involve any cooking so I will probably do those one night after work. I might also if I get home on time tomorrow make the Peach Butter, I cheated and bought frozen peaches which will take a little longer to cook down but way less time on the prep as there will be no peeling and chopping.

I was cleaning up the stock pile on the weekend and discovered we are running low on a few things, I need to watch for Salsa to go on sale and we need more Maple Syrup. The Maple Syrup kind of annoyed me as obviously someone has been using it and not telling me as we have 4 bottles and when I went down yesterday we only had 1 left which has now been opened. Another pet peeve of mine, I do not care if you use or eat it, but let me know as literally a couple weeks ago Maple Syrup was on sale and I when I saw it went no we do not need any we still have tons in the basement.

I am thinking over Shut down I might go down and reorganize a bit. I notice ever year some of our food choices change a bit, some things we eat less of, other things become a bigger part of our diet so I will reorganize based on this as some sections are over flowing right now. Good news is from what I can see other than a few things maybe 5 things (2 cans of evaporated milk, 2 cans of eagle brand and there was 1 other thing I saw) there is not a lot that expired on us.

I really want to try to get a bunch of meal prep done over shut down so if something like last night happen with my legs there is something quick and easy I can pull out and just heat up.

Good news is my legs are not really hurting today but I am being careful, trying now to walk around too much as we have to go out tonight and I do not want to irritate them.

Alright well time to get back to work as I need to leave early for an offsite meeting. Have a wonderful day everyone.

[Frugalbigmama]

Good Morning!!!

Had too much fun on the weekend so this week will be busy with the last week at work before 2 weeks off and getting ready for Christmas which I have lots to do.

Tonight we are making Vegan friendly pasta and meat"less" balls. I hope it doesn't taste horrible lol

Finely got to take a look around the Chinese food market near us. Some great deals on veggies. I told my guy since he is on the road for work and passes by it daily he should go there and see what is reduced (reduced is wrapped under the reg stuff and wasn't at all bad unlike Superstore/No Frills and the garbage they try to sell at the reduced price) We are really eating well so this will really help. He bought egg plant the other day and I am curious what he is going to make

Have a fantastic day everyone!

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning Everyone,
Forgot to mention I am going to have to talk with Mom on our drive today as I am worried the work around the house might stop as Christmas has been moved to Bro's place instead. This means that push to get things done is gone but I still need this move ahead.

I am also kind of worried about the living room as I brought up the fact that the couch and a broken chair we need to get out have become her crafting her area and was told there was no where else to put it. Not quite the answer I wanted.

Could be an interesting drive

[Ciel]

@SassyAshley -healthy rep that you had the first talk about the cleaning workload at home! The rash-that's awful! Be sure to wash that tote to ensure whatever set off your rash is not on the tote.

My own mother this morning decided she wanted me to go to Value Village (50% off clothing @greentires4me (for sweaters!), bed & bath, shoes & accessories TODAY) to find sheers for the living room. Except I said no, as she shut me down a few times when I raised the matter earlier (and my situation with health is getting more painful, which is not worth telling her as she is not feeling it).

Yesterday, I decided not to risk going out to the party as Saturday pm, I got sloshed by two passing vehicles (I swore loudly after the first strike) on my street, so I laundered everything when I got home and took a shower. Seeing the Sunday morning sky look half sunny, half brooding cloud of snowflakes gave me permission to watch two movies and enjoy the tv to myself in the morning. I also was able to watch The Game Changers documentary on Netflix and was surprised by how some athletes have figured out they have more endurance or strength by changing to vegetarian diets. Several football players for one NFL team (Tennessee Titans) have made the switch after some of them were eyeing the meals one of their teammates was getting from his chef wife! She now makes their meals and sends them to the stadium daily. Will visit the website to see which recipes are posted--like everyone else, I have a palate that likes some tastes and textures and disregards other ones, so I am looking for options to try.

The large plastic jar of Unico olives is nearly empty. Think I better get some replacements today so I don't get scolded for eating almost all of them (usually twice per day, I have a few tablespoons of them). Plan today also includes going for the often-postponed haircut, given the weather forecast for colder weather and more snow Tuesday night/Wednesday and looking to see if there may be discounted shoes to buy for winter wear.

So far the morning is holding off on snow or sloppy stuff--I'm grateful! Saturday was a slushfest. The roof emptied one side during Sunday afternoon and I shovelled the piles off the sidewalk. At least sibling finally sold one of his cars (but I told him off for not helping with the shovelling).

[Ciel]

@greentires4me Just posted a Salvation Army Thrift store sale that starts today-50% off Christmas items until Dec.25.