Last Week's Thrifty Moves

Sunday morning I got up and made cinnamon rolls and my oldest baked an apple pie.  Apparently we were in the mood to get in the kitchen and do some baking.  It was a lot of fun and a great way to kick off our week.  At least that was our thought, anyway.

Miss Penelope

I'm so sad to share this next part with you.  On Monday we discovered that a raccoon had made its way into our chicken coop during the night and killed two of our four beloved chickens.  We lost Penelope, our Americauna, and Rosemary, our Rhode Island Red.  A friend of ours was kind enough to come over and help me clean up the coop, it was pretty awful, and after we loved on Edith and Matilda for quite some time we set them up with a pretty nice apartment in the garage.  While we are heartbroken and very upset at the loss of our hens we are so grateful to have our two remaining girls still with us.  It is crazy how attached you can get to a chicken.

Rosemary

Unfortunately one of our neighbors insists on feeding the raccoons and buys bags of dog food for them.  We've tried to get them to stop, but they won't.  Perhaps if they'd had to clean up the coop they might feel differently, but it's hard to say.  They really think they are doing a wonderful thing "taking care" of them.  Moving forward we will be working on building a raccoon proof hen house.

Another one of my daughter's beautiful pies

Easy as it could have been I wasn't about to let our little tragedy set the tone for the rest of the week.  I was pretty sad about it, and I still am, but I made myself put a smile on my face and focused my attention on other things and I found that it really helped me a lot to help others and just make them smile.  It ended up being a week of service to others and I'm grateful for it.  It was also another jam packed week for my girls and staying busy was good.

I got my tax refund deposited into my checking account on Thursday.  I'll be sharing with you what I ended up doing with it in my monthly wrap up and I'm pretty excited about that.

Friday we attended my oldest daughter's Honor Band concert at Boise State.  Because my youngest is a student she got in for free, but I had to pay which is fine because admission goes directly to next year's program.  The concert was really nice.

Saturday I awoke to a snowstorm and boy was it pretty outside.  I had to take my daughter to BSU for robotics and fortunately there was hardly anyone on the roads.  On the way home I stopped in at Albertson's to pick up some more pot roasts that were on sale for $1.99 a pound.  I bought three and when I got home I put one in the slow cooker and the other two in the freezer.

How was your thrifty week?

Christmas Project #2 - Gift Bags

Need a quick and easy thrifty project?  This one is exactly that.

After going through all of my Christmas gift wrap supplies the only thing I could come up with that would be nice to have was a couple of extra gift bags.  So I went to Walmart and picked up two plain red gift bags for 98¢ each.

When I got home I went through my stack of Christmas cards and selected two card fronts I really liked.  I trimmed the edges and glued one to the front of each bag.  Doesn't get any simpler than that, for sure!

Love this one!  So cute!

I had a plain white gift bag my daughter had received and thought I could recycle.  The gift giver had written her name on the bag, but I found a card that was perfect to glue on and covered it right up.

One recycled gift bag and one recycled Christmas card!

Now we have three more bags to add to our supplies for the upcoming Christmas season.  I love that we recycled three cards and a previously used bag too.  Of course some of you craftier folks could totally decorate and embellish these more with ribbons, lace and trim, glitter glue, pretty much anything.

My plan when I use them will be to add a stick on bow and one of my handmade gift tags.  Other than that this project took me less than 15 minutes and I was pretty dang happy with that.

Wouldn't this look cute on one of these bags?

Now on to the next project!

My Kitchen Routine

The routine I have for my kitchen is pretty simple and allows me to maintain a nice clean space to prepare meals for my family.  Generally we wash dishes once a day, in the evening, except on the weekends when I tend to cook more and bake.  We each have our own "dish days" and as long as we follow the routine our kitchen is always clean.

When we come home at the end of the day I'll start a sink of hot soapy water and we'll wash any dishes used to prepare our breakfast and lunch in the morning, plus our lunch containers.  Then I'll start dinner and I wash as I go.  Then I drain and rinse the sink.

My collection of vintage Pyrex - perfect for leftovers!

After we eat we all work together to put away leftovers, clear the table and then whoever is responsible for dishes rinses everything and starts a fresh sink of soapy water.  The dish drainer is emptied, the dirty dishes are washed, the counters are all wiped down along with the stove top, microwave, dining room table and the handles to the refrigerator.  Any food that hit the floor is also cleaned up with a rag and if the trash can is full it gets emptied and a fresh bag is put in the can.

Our dish cabinet in the kitchen

The entire routine only takes about 15 minutes.  We allow the dishes to air dry.  When we do our nightly walkthrough dishes are put away and the dishtowel and cloth are put in the laundry basket to be washed.  We get out a fresh towel and cloth every day.

I have to admit, I'm a neat freak and I'm constantly tidying up as I move through my home.  It's a compulsion I am all too well aware of, but you don't need to be a neat freak to have a clean home or kitchen.  Just 15 minutes of concentrated effort everyday is plenty of time to wash your dishes and tidy things up.  And if you happen to have a dishwasher (we do but I prefer hand washing) you can probably cut that time in half.

This is all that we do and when I combine that with a 15 minute weekly deep cleaning we are pretty much set.

Taco Lasagna

We tried a new recipe Sunday and I'll admit, it was good, but it is probably not going to be one of my favorites.  My girls, however, absolutely loved it.  And it made the house smell quite wonderful while it baked in the oven.

Taco Lasagna

1 lb. lean ground beef           

1 15oz. can tomato sauce

1 15oz. can diced tomatoes

1 15oz. can whole kernel corn, drained

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 sm. can sliced olives

1 envelope taco seasoning

1 small onion, diced

1 box lasagna noodles. cooked and drained

2 cups Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese

In a large pan brown ground beef and onions, remove fat.  Add tomato sauce, tomatoes, corn, beans and taco seasoning.  Stir well and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile oil a 9" X 13" baking dish.  Line the bottom of the pan with a layer lasagna noodles.  Place a layer of the meat mixture over the noodles, sprinkle with cheese.  

Repeat until two more times.  Add a final layer with the remaining noodles and meat mixture.  

Cover with remaining cheese and the sliced olives.  

Cover with foil and bake in the oven for one hour at 400°.  Remove and allow to sit 15 minutes before serving.  Serve with sour cream and guacamole, if desired.

This recipe is pretty simple and it makes a lot of lasagna.  It also reheats nicely and would freeze well too.  To be honest I think I'd enjoy this one more if I used corn tortillas instead of pasta, but that is me.  Of course, then it wouldn't be a lasagna now, would it?

Things I Plan To Do When I Retire

Lately this subject has been on my mind A LOT.  So I thought I'd share with you some of the things I want to do when I retire.  I made a list!

Travel

No surprise there, I'm sure, since I did buy a motorhome last spring.  I plan to take it low and slow, however.  I notice that a lot of the van dwellers and RV'ers out there (follow some on Youtube) are constantly on the go heading from one place to another.  I plan to travel at a much slower pace, taking my time to explore and really enjoy the area I'm stopped at before I hop back out on the road.  The biggest reason for that is because travel isn't going to be my only activity.  I plan to do a ton of stuff while I'm out there on the road.

Crafting & Sewing

I plan to take my sewing machine and supplies with me so I can work on projects, do some quilting, crochet and knit, embroider, make clothing, make gifts, make whatever strikes my fancy.

Write Books

I plan to devote a whole lot of time to writing.  I have loads of novels I want to get published and that is a big reason for choosing early retirement.  It is really hard to focus on writing when you have to stop and go to work or take care of a house and run your children to their next activity.  Not impossible, of course, but not so easy either.  I'm looking forward to quiet afternoons in the woods with my laptop (and solar charger) tapping on the keyboard.  I can just imagine it right now too.

Hiking

I love to hike.  I can't tell you how excited I am to be able to strap on my hiking boots and hit the trail.  Great exercise and scenic views, what more can a girl ask for?

Take Pictures

I'd like to get better at taking pictures and what better way to practice than to get outdoors and snap away.  Combine that with hiking. Oh yeah!

Cook & Bake

Of course!  Even if it is just me I plan to cook my meals and do some baking as well.  Inside the motorhome or outside at the fire pit.  Either way it will be a lot of fun.

Fishing

I do enjoy fishing and I have to be honest, sadly I haven't made a lot of time for it.  I plan to change that once I retire.  You can do a lot of thinking and planning while holding onto the end of a rod and waiting for a bite.  And there is nothing quite like a fresh caught fish for your supper either.

Working

What?!  Yes, I may do some part time or seasonal work, because I do like to socialize and let's face it.  A little extra traveling cash wouldn't be bad either.  Or I may boot up my Etsy shop and really give it a go.  Who knows?

These are just a handful of the things I plan to do when I retire.  My list is huge, but totally doable, in my opinion.  I can tell you one thing.  I'm very much looking forward to finding out.

Last Week's Thrifty Moves

Sunday I made cookies and toffee to give as Valentine gifts.  All of the ingredients I used were leftover from our Christmas baking supplies.  I thought that was pretty awesome!  Combined with some leftover treat bags and the handmade gift tags made from items I already had on hand made for a very thrifty gift that delighted everyone I gave them to.  I was pretty happy about that.

My youngest gave me a Valentines pedicure

Sunday was the nicest, quietest day for us and then the marathon began.  It got a little wild.  Our internet quit on us Saturday afternoon so we had no internet because Century Link couldn't send anyone out until late Monday afternoon.  So when I got home to meet the technician I found a door hanger with nothing on it and gave Century Link a call back to find out what happened.  The technician had shown up at 10:30 that morning and because I wasn't home he didn't do anything.  He didn't even try.  I was mad!  That is not taking care of your customers.

I insisted that he come out and they said he would, but when he didn't show up I called him and he got really belligerent with me telling me he'd be out "sometime tomorrow".  Yeah, well long story short the little (enter swear word here) came out and found the construction crew up the street had cut the line.  He never needed me to be home in the first place to figure that out and had he checked at 10:30 they would've had a someone out to fix it that afternoon.  What a jerk!

Our Sunday dinner was good!

Once I got through with Century Link it was a mad dash to get my oldest to robotics, an hour late, then off to the library so I could use their internet.  Then pick up the girl and head back home again to get caught up on the stuff I had planned to do while wasting almost three hours with Century Link.

My oldest made me this wallhanging for Valentines Day
(its made from toilet paper rolls!)

Tuesday I got home from work just as Century Link finished repairing the cut line.  I started supper, ran down to pick up my youngest from cheering at the basketball game, home to eat really fast, then she ran upstairs to change, we all got back in the car, picked up her friend and headed back to the school for an orchestra concert.  My oldest did her homework in the dark while they played.  Then we took the friend back home and discovered she was locked out of the house so we waited for someone with a key.  Then we went home.

What's up Leonard?

Wednesday, my youngest had cheerleader practice so that wasn't too bad.  Thursday my youngest had another basketball game to cheer at so we picked her up, stopped at Jack In The Box with coupons and had dinner, then off to the high school to drop off the oldest to play in pep band at their basketball game.  I lucked out and she got a ride home from a friend saving me an extra trip back to the school.

Love free stuff!  Lotion and oil refill were freebies, body cream $5
These items are going on my gift shelf

Friday the youngest had a school dance, dropped her off first, headed to the mall to use two freebie coupons that were about to expire and a $5 body cream coupon at Bath & Body Works, then back to the high school to drop off the oldest for pep band and another basketball game.  I had just enough time to stop in at the dollar store to pick up a few items on my list and then off to pick up the youngest at her school after the dance was over.  I got home and promptly fell asleep in my recliner.  Again I lucked out and the oldest got a ride home after the game.

Shiny clean floors

Saturday a full day of robotics.  I dropped her off in the morning and headed home to catch my breath and get caught up on my chores.  Needless to say I didn't get all of my 15 minute things done, but I only missed two so not too bad all things considered.  I vacuumed the entire downstairs, dusted the shelves in my bedroom and mopped the dining room floor before I ran a load of laundry.  Then I settled in at my crafting table and made myself chill out until it was time to pick up the girl.  I even let my youngest fold the load of laundry and put it away.  Isn't that nice of me?

I put in a couple hours of overtime at work.  Right now that isn't really the place I want to spend extra time, but we do what we need to and make the best of it.  However, it does appear that things will be improving.  I am cautiously optimistic.

I didn't do any grocery shopping, and other than $5 at the mall and our trip to Jack In The Box we didn't really spend much.  I made our dinner Friday night completely out of leftover items and it was delicious.  Probably the best meal we had all week!  

We ate a lot of sandwiches this week for lunches because there weren't many leftovers.  The girls seemed extra hungry at dinner this week with all the activity going on.  I'm going to have to step up my game this week.

I made some more homemade foaming handsoap solution to top off the dispenser in our downstairs bathroom.  Again I used some shower gel and mixed it with warm water.

So happy my girls are laying again

February is usually a crazy month for us because of how their various activities will tend to overlap each other as they come to an end.  Thankfully it is a shorter month!  After reading this you are a little tired, aren't you?  Ha, ha.

How was your thrifty week?

Sorry I Abandoned You

I certainly did not intend to, but the week got away from me, things piled up and before I knew it, well, here I am.

But I will be back on Monday and I hope I'm forgiven.  I know many of you look forward to these daily posts and it's disappointing when they go missing.  But all is well and I'll get you caught back up on what has been going on around here very soon.

In the meantime know I've been thinking about you all and enjoy a fabulous weekend!