December 2025 - Frugal Chatter

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning,
We are also bracing for the ice storm here.

I ran out this morning to Shoppers to grab more Hydrasense, I ran out two days ago and wanted to see how it went because I really wanted to restock at Costco because it is so much cheaper. I am still feeling better, but not better. Today my face is bugging me, but that could be storms coming in but to be safe I went and grabbed a bottle, they had the big bottle on for $16 something, better than full price.

We have a King size comforter we have had for years, I got it as a teenager, neither of us use it now, I usually use it when I am cleaning out the freezer to grab everything in so it has been living in the basement. I threw that in the washer, if we do lose power it would be an extra blanket we can use to keep warm.

I am also running the dishwasher.

I feel like we are well stocked up but might make a few grab and eat options just to be safe.

I have charged all of our devices and downloaded movies, shows and books. Also charging my backup battery supplies.

Happy Sunday Everyone.

[coupon girl]

Afternoon dropped out this morning to pick up some prescriptions at rexall -got a few good deals to put away(3) meyers pine soap for 3.46 for next year ,a gift set at shoppers for 7.20 vitabath (shoppers was so pic ked over )2 lip balms for the girls for easter 2.39 each

Then returned an item that was broken .Then home as the freezing rain has started at 1.00 p.m


I put a gap order in used 2 codes (boxing and sale are the codes)for easter gifts for grandkids got a across shoulder bag from atheleta 13.99 and a top from gap 5.38 and shorts for grandson 6.11 cant beat those prices ,it also gave me free shipping as the reg price was over 50.00.
Yes this is me being frugal shopping ahead .

[walkonby]

I see we weren't the only ones to switch up plans or prepare for whatever the freezing rain brings.
Initially we had a few errands lined up but cancelled going out period! Tomorrow DH has both physio
and a dental re-check on an extracted tooth, so we'll do them all after he's done.
Just hoping the roads will be nicer by then.

[lilo0003]

I also stayed in today, no point in adding to the crazy on the roads.
I had some great shop success yesterday. I stopped at Sobeys only for the honey crisp apples on sale. I found blueberries (pint sized) for 1.99 and clementines for 1.99. I wish I had bought more as the clementines are delicious and we are racing through them. The real deal was the ground chicken and ground Turkey on sale for 99 cents for a 450 g package and the chicken thigh (boneless/skinless) for 3.98 a pound. They had lots so I made sure to hit the 100.00 threshold for my personal offer of 2000 Scene points. To make the deal event sweeter I paid with a gift card I had purchased during the promo event in early December.
Deals like this are hard to come by so this made me happy.

[Frugalbigmama]

Morning!

Fingers crossed- we haven't lost power up to this point. Now the snow is coming down pretty hard and covering the icy driveway/roads.
Another day stuck at home! (I do have a package to pick up but that may have to wait till tomorrow)

Yesterday I ended up tossing the chicken back in the freezer and pulling ground beef out. Made up the ground beef with onions for nachos. I also made a homemade mac and cheese. It just felt like that kind of night and not a chicken/rice/veggie night. Now I guess we need to make dinner again tonight...never ending!
I should really try and get some things done today..... I cut up a pineapple while waiting for my coffee to brew and it is perfect. That will be a nice sweet treat tonight! Guess I should give the fridge a good clean out and then can plan what we should make for dinner. Wishing I pulled a roast from the freezer yesterday....that would have been a perfect plan for today!

I do need fresh air. Will wait till I see the sidewalk plow go by and if he is putting sand down then I may go for walk.

Stay safe!

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning Everyone,
We got the freezing rain yesterday, everything was a sheet of ice but nowhere close to the that horrible ice storm earlier this year. Made me think of Opa because he had no power for over a week but luckily his house is on a generator and so he had no idea.

We have the wind this morning but so far no snow. Keeping all of the devices fully charged just to be safe.

I did not get any cooking done yesterday but did make Homemade Pizza for dinner. When I was digging in the freezer I found some pizza sauce so we decided why not.

Tonight's dinner is a mystery, I was thinking Stew or Potato Soup but Mom has her chicken soup so decided maybe a soup or stew isn't that best idea. Will see what Mom thinks when she gets up.

Starting to feel like this is the never ending cold, it is weird because I am feeling better and feel like I can breathe better but still woke up super congested and doing anything is hard because I feel winded due to the congestion. Will see how Mom is feeling once she gets up.

Happy Monday Everyone.

[harbie]

Yikes! Stay safe and warm everyone that is affected by the freezing weather.

We finally have some clear ish skies and it was a beautiful sunrise this morning. Cold but not like you guys out East so I’m not complaining.

I ordered a Dyson heater/cooling/air purifier yesterday. It was on sale for $200 off, it was the cheapest price on the Dyson site PLUS by going through Rakuten I earned $60. So I saved $260

Just headed to the gym with Dh and then nothing exciting planned for the rest of the day. I have to prep for work on Tuesday and Wednesday then off Thursday and back to work Friday and Saturday.

Stay warm everyone

[lilo0003]

We had heavy rain yesterday and today it’s cold so I expect it’s a sheet of ice, it’s also really windy.
It will be another day of preparing for my annual eat from the pantry/freezer January. I spent much of yesterday cleaning the pantry and moving anything that needs to be used up to one spot. I made a yummy soup with the leftovers squash from Christmas and added some sweet potatoes to make enough for the freezer. Today is mushroom risotto to use up the leftover mushrooms.

[cath007]

I am facing hard time with the only shelter of my city.

I want and I am searching to adopt another cat.

I spotted a 5 months kitten on their webpage .

Felt in love.

I called to visit her in the shelter.

I got the response they put her to sleep because she was in a critical condition.

She was announced on the website of the shelter since December 23....And we are December 29...

In her page it said the reason of abandon to the shelter.

And said no cat in the appt was the reason.

So now I am wondering and questionning myself...

Was that the real reason???

The cats are seen and examinated by a veterinary....but.... well...not at 100% I guess.

So now if I adopt a cat at the shelter.... I wonder if I will know his real health...

And if they are guarantees for those things if the cat have health problems after adoption.

Any advises on that???

*** The adoption fees are 150$ plus taxes.***
With a bag of Royale Canin food kit(100$ value)

The cats are neutered none, undeclawed (since the law), and dewormed.

I cannot live without a cat.It is too empty in the appt.

I want to know the health of the cat.

[walkonby]

@cath007 I hope you find a new love of your life with a beautiful new kitten! I can see the caution you have about
not really knowing the health of the cat you would be adopting. Lets hope they are honest and tell you of any serious
conditions, specially when you are paying a fee to adopt.

It was so darn cold and very windy when DH and I did our errands that we decided to cut our original list of of places
down to 3.

The important stores were hit first, LCBO for DH's Disaronno Amaretto, DS Chocolate Crown Royale and my wine.
Next was PetSmart for Frankie's mealworms, and last WM for the fruits/veg/buns/samosas and milk.
We scored big time on the reduced produce rack where all the items were half price.
We bought a fresh Pineapple @ $1.49, a bag of South African seedless oranges @$2.98, 2 butternut squash @ $2.36
and $2.78 and a massive honey dew melon @$2.98 .

We're making a hearty turkey soup atm, plus another casserole dish of baked Maple/Orange Butternut Squash. We've
made that dish 3 times since Christmas Day! lol.

[Frugalbigmama]

Morning!

Been in the house for 2 days...Time to adventure out. Sticking close to home so will have to postpone night away with DS and his friend (I was taking them for a getaway to enjoy pool/hot tub and a nice dinner and breakfast out. We will have to plan it down the road when his friend is back from school.

Our fridge is pretty empty but still have some things to use up. Romaine lettuce- I have all the stuff needed to make homemade ceasar dressing so that will part of our dinner. Leftover mac and cheese which someone will eat today. DS has been eating pasta for days so no pasta for dinner! Probably chicken and rice and veggies and the salad if I don't find anything interesting in my travels today.

Off to look over the flyers to plan my route today. I hope to stay out for a few hours and get some steps in and fresh air!

The snow is coming down very heavy now but the plows have been out (I can tell since we are on a small crescent and they have actually done ours a few times!)

Have a great day!

[SassyAshley]

@cath007 , I am not cat expert but I honestly feel like you never know.

We have had four cats (between Mom's and Dad's) we got all of them in different ways,

Tigger - My Mom got from a friend's friend who's cat had kittens, other than being fixed and declawed never saw a vet (that I remember) and lived to 22 years old. She was weird as weird could be, did not like hands could only be petted with your foot (hand scared her) and was high maintenance, she knew what she liked and that was all she would accept and did not like human food at all.

Trin - We got from my Mom's BF, he worked for a pet store and she had a medical emergency and had to have emergency surgery to save her life and they said it would shorten her life expectancy so the pet store was afraid to sell her. Lived to 20 and just like Tigger only time after we got her she saw a vet was to be fixed and declawed. She was Sassy as could be, talked back, wanted all the attention and if you didn't get it she was all up in your business and loved human food.

Fender - We got at a Pet Store, had so many issues, I don't even know how many times my Step-Mom had to take he to vet, I believe there were a few surgeries, we believe she was the runt of her litter. I think she around 8 or 10 when she passed.

Midnight - We found at our shop as a baby and it looked like his Mom left him. Only thing with him was he liked to roam free so he was in an indoor and outdoor cat and loved to bring us presents. Only issue he had was he his leg was run over but other than that really no issues even well roaming the outdoors. Even when my Dad and Step-Mom moved he had to stay back with a sibling as we could not make him be an indoor cat. I believe Midnight was 10ish, maybe 12.

I think you never really know sadly.

[SassyAshley]

Good Morning Everyone,
Still snowing here, hard to tell how much snow is really coming down because it is still so windy here.

I was going to go out and shovel but they plowed but haven't shovelled and the snow drifts are quite high, just saw someone else struggle to get through them.

Good news is, it looks like the light stuff.

Planning tomorrow night, we always do appetizers on New Year's Eve. I didn't really pick anything up because I figured I could make it myself, I am thinking the plan is:
Spinach Dip
Mozzarella Sticks
"Fried" Pickles
Brie
Maybe a Potato skin or something

I tried looking up ideas but nothing is jumping out at me. Will see what Mom thinks once she gets up.

I cannot believe Shut Down is almost over, we go back on Friday. Friday is work from home day for me because I will have to get the person from Order Desk I am covering all caught up.

I started on my 2026 bullet journal and my budget journal is not full so I think I am going to use my old journal, I have room to extend most of my trackers and each month gets new pages which I have room for.

Need to dig through my yarn stash, I want a headband I can wear if I do not want to wear a hat (mainly when I am going into work and don't want hat head) so I need to see what yarn I have. I found 2 patterns I like so I will probably make both.

Happy Tuesday Everyone.

[cath007]

@walkonby:

The shelter have kittens yes but also cats differents mixed ages.

***EDIT***: I know it is a shelter I get it but as I read the descriptions many cats have already conditions....

Like dental tartar, tooths problems. hearts murmurs, like need 2-3 treatments for worms,ticks and fleas.

So now I am wondering if all theirs conditions are said at 100%.....

[cath007]

***Chapmans 2026 coupon for Ice Cream will be for 3,00$ not 4,00$ and only good on Super Premium Plus 500 ml Ice Cream.***
Deceived they lowered the value of the coupon.....

***But as Anne said in the blog it could still be free with a sale and PC Optimum points.***

*** The coupon can change during the year ***

https://www.chapmans.ca/coupon/chapm...l-coupon-2026/