June 2023 Frugal Chatter

[SassyAshley]

A very slow morning here but I am here for it.

I have slowly been emptying the dishwasher, started well I made my breakfast.

I have opened all of the windows and there is a nice breeze that keeps blowing through so enjoyed my time on the couch with my tea.

Then I decided to do some computer work, I remembered there were 2 emails I forgot to send yesterday. I do not expect them to be answered over the weekend but now I know they have them to address Monday morning.

As well I had some personal computer work I needed to get done so I decided to work on that for a little bit.

Pretty sure nothing big is getting done today and I am good with that.

But needed to decided on Dinner, I am think Mozzarella Chicken over Pasta or Lemon Chicken with Rice and Veggies.

[Ciel21]

@SassyAshley Bro has some version of this yellow Hot Shot item-might be from Amazon and without a hose (he was actually using it yesterday).https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frUszE1v7T0

or this https://www.amazon.ca/Comforday-Hand...33887833&psc=1

[Ciel21]

Heat last night-that breeze disappeared after 9pm. Had tiniest bit of rain sprinkle after 8:30pm just as I went to take my laundry items off the clothesline. Saw today there are videos of hail in the Toronto area yesterday night! Did not feel cool air enter house until about 4:30am then I finally slept. Had a strange short dream of late father (in attire I recognize from the 1970s) telling me I owe him $40K! Just before waking prior to 7am. Must have been that extra Dr Pepper Zero Sugar pop I had during the night-I kept getting that or the other pop since I felt so hot (back of head was hot too-need to plan a haircut soon).

The library has the a/c on and most people have been coughing-must be the pollen (I just experienced a minute long coughing fit that teared up eyes and prompted a vomit reflex-weird). A few days ago I noticed mulberry trees releasing a yellow rain of pollen while I was outside.

Such a blustery cool sunny day. Might be ideal to make Greek style roasted potatoes for supper as I bought some reduced price citrus (lemons & limes) yesterday.

Not sure why CHCH weather forecast showed big rain for Monday yet when I checked the Weather Network locally, there's only a slight chance of rain? Any rain would be good for the garden plus parts of lawn remaining bare and parched from hosting leaf piles for 6 months.

Clothing styles being recycled-when I was looking at a BurdaStyle issue preview online, I saw that a future issue has a dress back opening (think inverted trapezoid) with crossed fabric ties circa mid-1990s (when Burda World of Fashion had 5 variations on what style details fit into that same trapezoid opening on dresses-there were 5 models sitting next to each other in different solid colour dresses). Of course, I was at Denningers this week and I forgot to look at the magazine rack for new issues!

Walmart has 37 cents packs of Mr Noodles. I will be stocking up soon as I have paid 69 cents per pack for three of them recently at another grocery store. Just need to glance at two more digital flyers before I forget.

Anyone having any lottery luck on scratch tickets or the big draws?

[Ciel21]

Summer issue of Longo's Experience magazine is online and available in-store too:https://www.calameo.com/longos/read/...23b00c384dfa01

No more mention of the delivery service in the issue but the website still shows it.

[harbie]

Wow June sure snuck up quickly.

We’re back from vacation and back to work. Boy, it sure is hard going back after having a fabulous time away.

7 days, 1840 ish kms, a 34km bike ride, countless steps walking all over and we loved every second of it.

We actually spent what I think is a very reasonable and “cheap” amount.

Hotels $873 and these were new Best Western, Prestige and our favourite lodge in cranbrook.

Diesel $180 ( one tank up plus driving around 5 towns along the way and still had 60km left when we filled up in cranbrook after arriving and driving around the first day! )

Groceries-24C at RCSS on an online grocery pickup order using points.

Entertainment $60 for 2 bike rentals for a 24hr period

Food $250 for McDonald’s coffees along the way and each morning, 2 times eating out at 2 must stops for vegan food. Totally worth it

Total $1363.24 for 7 days. $194.75 per day is pretty good in my opinion


Glacier National Park


34 km ride from Cranbrook to Kimberley


Ride view


Fuel after the ride lol

[coupon girl]

Hubby an i went to a local farmers market store i spent $48
apples were .99 a pound not sure which ones but cheap
leaf lettuce $2.49
tomatoes 2.20
crumpets 2/4.00
really nice bacon from the deli 8 slices $5.20-so good i just had a blt so yummy for lunch.
2 duchie donuts 1.59 each way better than timmies-yumm
plus a few other veggie items and fresh bread and turkey luncheon meat


Hubby's brother and his wife came for a visit ,nice.Doing laundry and took a tricycle to the young couple across the street from the grandkids .We had it given to us it was 12 years old and all metal construction,neighbour loved it for her 2 year old daughter.


Harbie -trip looks lovely ,who worries about money on vacation nice to splurge a bit sometimes.

[harbie]

I forgot to add that while we spent very little on our vacation (we had a kitchenette in our main lodging but also wanted to splurged a bit) we spent a boat load when we got home . We bit the bullet and purchased our own bikes! . While I hate spending the $$$ I just keep telling myself it’s an investment on not only our way of entertainment but also our health. So money well spent.

We don’t have the hitch or rack yet so we had to ride them home after woke on Thursday 7.5km and went out yesterday after work for another 6 km ride around our area and the plan is again today after the sun cools down a bit. So we are getting our money’s worth.

[harbie]

@coupon girl I love farmers markets. Maybe we will ride to one . I really need to restock the veggies since I’m down to 1 red onion, 3 romaine lettuces and a couple of celery stalks.

The plan is to get my rear in gear and write and stick to a meal plan based on our pantry and sales only. Wish me luck. Thankfully my garden is producing lots of lettuce, some kale and lots of French breakfast radishes. Now if the tomatoes and peas will hurry up I’ll be good. Oh, and 12 heads of Russian garlic (scapes are getting ready for removal) and my once pathetic looking dill is now THRIVING!

[lilo0003]

@Ciel21 we got the hail in Oakville. DH and I were sitting on a friends patio when it started and we all had to mad dash and grab the food to get it inside. But it cleared up quickly and we could return to our party fun.
RCSS was insane today. But grocery shopping is done and the menu planned for the week, until Thursday at least. Then it’s DS2 and I until next Tuesday. I used some PCO and was able to take advantage of my SDM offer, it was not a great but I was able to earn 10000 points and finally get butter on sale, but it’s sad when 4.99 a pound is considered a sale.

[flemeth]

@harbie your pic are beautiful. It seems like you and your DH had lots of fun so money well spent

[SassyAshley]

@harbie , looks amazing, those photos are beautiful.

[SassyAshley]

Got the bare basics done today.

Dishwasher has been emptied and reloaded, it really needed to be emptied yesterday but I didn't feel like it when I got in from work.

I was going to leave the hand dishes for tomorrow but did them well I was making dinner.

Dinner was Creamy Chicken Mushroom Skillet, which is a one-pot meal with Orzo. We had some leftover cooked Broccoli fridge in the fridge so I tossed that in for some extra veggies.

Finished watching Firefly Lane with Mom, now we need to find something new to watch. Think we might watch another season of The Challenge.

Spent a good chunk of the day working on my bullet journal, it feels good to have it set up for June. Makes me feel like maybe I have just a little bit of organization in my life as right now life just seems chaotic.

Wrote a meal plan for the week. Tried to get a nice mix of good meals but some quick fixes if we need them. My schedule for the week is still up in the air.

Planning my prep for tomorrow, not a lot of veggies to prep but will knock that out and then do some cooking for the week.

Enjoying the cooler temps today, we have the windows open and it is nice to air the house out. Even with the AC units running it has felt a bit stuff the past couple of days.

[Frugalbigmama]

lol @SassyAshley - I posted in the May thread after you . I just picked the most recent one not even reading that it was May.


Up early today! Almost tempted to go to RCSS- I think they are open at 7am. Maybe I will just to be able to take a walk around without all the people.
Need to grab Hellmans- Have a personal offer (Special price and points) and coupons. DS loves his Hellmans!!

[SassyAshley]

@Frugalbigmama , 7 am grocery shopping was my favourite during the height of the pandemic as no one else was in the store and I can get in and get out. Even now, I enjoy it as some quiet me time where I can walk the store alone and take my time. I find it peaceful.

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning Everyone,
Slept in again, ugh, my fault I woke at 4:30 with every intention of staying up but I decided to lay back down until 5, nope fell back asleep and woke up at 7 am. Oh well, guess my body needs the sleep.

I have some prep to get done today, some stuff we need to use up, just looking for recipes to use it up. I want to make something different, I feel like I just keep making the same recipes. Hoping if I focus I can just knock it out as I do not want to spend the whole day in the kitchen.

My Bullet Journal is ready for June but still need to work on my budget pages. That is my goal for this afternoon.

I really need to focus on Dinners this week. Work has been kicking my butt and by the time we get to dinnertime right now, I am so tired the last thing I want to do is cook but also I usually still have hours of work to get done. So dinners need some help but I am determined this week we can get back on track.

I am also going to work on balance in life again this week. Normally when I train someone I have a few days usually 2 to 3 days where yes, life is insane work takes over and I work from when I get up until when I go to bed. This is because I spend my day focusing on them and then do my work before work or after work but my current trainee has been in training for 2 weeks now and is going into week 3. I am going to be honest, I feel like I am breaking a little, I am worn down, and I am exhausted but I do have help at work. So I am going to go through and see what I can get someone else to help me with this week so hopefully even though I have a staff member in training I can have a little more balance. As well, I have already told the parties involved I cannot train every day this coming week as I have been sent a bunch of stuff only I can do that I need to focus on. So for sure Monday is a work-from-home day, not sure about the rest of the week yet, will see how Monday goes.

Also, not sure if my Pinterest is trying to tell me something but all of a sudden it is full of crochet patterns and I have not looked up any patterns in months, maybe this is a sign.

If I want to knock out my prep I better get started.

Happy Sunday Everyone.