Comfort Food

My much younger sister is studying abroad right now in Germany right now studying abroad. She left before Easter, and she won't be back until August. Thanks to the internet, it's been super easy to keep up with her. We are all loving Skype because we can see her and it's free! Even though she's having a great time, she still misses home.

So this got me thinking about what is home. And part of home is comfort foods. Those foods that just make us happy. That take us back in time.

Below are the recipes of two of my favorite comfort foods. The first one, hamburger casserole, is something my mom has made for decades. She doesn't remember the origin, but she *thinks* she may have found it in Southern Living at some point. Regardless, it's yummy!! It's easy to make for a crowd and to adjust to one's taste, like how I don't put in mushrooms anymore because while I love them, Dear Hubby does not. The second is a classic everyone should know!

Enjoy!



Hamburger Casserole

1 package (8 oz) egg noodles
2 pounds ground beef
1 tsp salt
Pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
8 oz tomato paste
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup cheddar cheese
Jar of mushrooms
1 can French's French Fried Onions

Cook noodles and meat separately. Add seasonings and tomato paste to meat. Simmer. Take from heat and mix in noodles, cottage cheese, sour cream and mushrooms. Top with cheddar cheese and French's French Fried Onions. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes






FRENCH’S ORIGINAL GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE
Prep Time: 5 min. Cook Time: 35 min.

1 (10 3/4 oz.) can CAMPBELL'S® Cream of Mushroom Soup
3/4 cup milk
1/8 tsp. black pepper
2 (9 oz. each) pkgs. frozen cut green beans, thawed*
1 1/3 cups (2.8 oz.) FRENCH'S® French Fried Onions

1. MIX soup, milk and pepper in a 1 1/2 -qt. baking dish. Stir in beans and 2/3 cup French Fried Onions.
2. BAKE at 350°F for 30 min. or until hot.
2. STIR. Top with remaining 2/3 cup onions. Bake 5 min. until onions are golden.

Makes, 6 servings
Tip: You may substitute 2 cans (14 1/2 oz. each) cut green beans, drained or 4 cups fresh, cooked cut green beans.

WOW - I didn't mean for it to be so long between posts!

Let's get the passport update out of the way. I had all of our passports back in hand in less than a month. At least that part wasn't so difficult.

Right now, I'm sitting on the couch by myself watching wall-to-wall weather coverage. Our area has been hit pretty hard tonight by tornadoes and severe storms. It's all been just a smidge to the east from us, but there was evidently a damaging tornado super close to our old house. From what they're saying on the news, it was within a half mile. I know someone who lives out that way, and they've had to leave their home - no damage that they know of yet (it's night now), but no power, etc. Scary stuff!

But back to the real stuff...

I'm trying something new with groceries. I've been doing well with my less than $400 or bust goal, but I've gotten extremely burned on couponing. I don't think I've clipped in a month, so I've got a big stack to do. I've got to get back on track, especially since it's triple coupon week at Harris Teeter.

So my new thing was to drive to Trader Joe's. Yes, drive, so there's an extra expense, but I have a real crush on TJ's. The food is amazingly cheap for natural and organic foods. I can get almost everything I need sans our diet Mt Dew there, which is not the case at Whole Foods. I went to TJ's 10 days ago, and I bought 101 items for $233. I have only gone to HT for soda and milk, so I think that's pretty good! My goal was to stock up at TJ's so I could save money in the long run. The hard part is knowing what to buy. Like I bought some panko bread crumbs because they were there. I didn't really need them. I've just got to get my TJ's groove figured out.

I drove to one of the Charlotte locations, but I think next time, I'll head to Chapel Hill. It's a bit further, but I'm more comfortable with the drive. And how can I pass up a chance to go to The Thrill??

Applying for a Passport - The Saga

We're gearing up for our 10th anniversary this summer, and Dear Hubby wants to celebrate by taking a nice trip using our tax return. We haven't decided where we're heading yet, but we're definitely thinking about leaving the confines of these United States, which means we really need to get our passports renewed. Everyone has one except E Belle, but all of ours have expired. No biggie for me and Dear Hubby as we can apply via mail, but for E Belle and Little Man, we had to apply in person.

I got strangely excited over this process, but I felt like I was in my element. I spent five years completing government immigration forms and compiling personal documentation for those trying to work US. I could do this in my sleep! I read over what was needed, got everything together, printed everything out and was ready to go.

I wanted to go to the acceptance facility in the post office at our mall, but I found out this morning they only took applications by appointment, and the next available appointment was a week away. However, there was another post office with a passport facility that took drop ins, so off we went.

E Belle and I arrived around 10:20 am. There were two couples in front of us, so we waited. No problem. Then the first clerk working all of a sudden left right in the middle of what she was doing, and another clerk came up to complete the work. Okay...

Of course, E Belle decides she needs to go potty. My newly potty trained girl has got to go! At this point, we've been in line nearly 30 minutes, and there are people behind me. I ask one of the post office employees where the restroom was, and she said, "We do NOT have public restrooms here for anyone. You have to go to McDonalds." I know the world does not revolve around my 2 year old, but I get so frustrated when little ones get denied facilities! But, I get security precautions, too. Yet I didn't know what to do! Lose my place in line or risk an accident? After a few minutes, the clerk told me that I'd still be next in line if I took her, so off we headed to the seedy McDonald's all the way on the other side of the large parking lot.

Now we're back. I proudly hand over my two application packets. Evidently, I'm like the only person in the history of this office to have downloaded the forms online. The guy seemed to not know what to do! He was puzzled initially over my submission of the waiver Dear Hubby signed giving permission for the passports in abstentia. He asks where the passport pictures are. I told him they're stapled to the application where it says to staple 2 photos to the application. He says they aren't supposed to be like that and got frustrated. WHAT? It says right there on the form to submit two photos and staple them!! They take the photos off, then proceed to attach one photo upside down to the birth certificate, then reattached one photo to the application. Okay......

Then he asks me where the second page of the application was. I told him right there on the back of the first page. He says no, it's not supposed to be like that. !!!???!!! He goes and makes a copy of the second page, then just attaches it to the packet. So there's two pages of the same thing, but that's fine. It's not even a page that has to be signed. (For the record, I reviewed the instructions again once I got home. This is print requirement is not mentioned, nor is it mentioned to disregard to photo attachment instructions, either).

Right before he starts to review the forms, the man says, "I've been here since 9. It's my lunch time." It's all of 11:15. He gets up and lets a third person take over. This new person says he won't sign off on the package because of the copied second page, and he wants me to complete an all new application. He said, "If I'm going to put my name on this, it's going to be done the way I want it done." I start to argue. I have filled out literally thousands of State Dept forms. This is ridiculous. So, the original reviewer comes back, signs off on the package but doesn't review it, then leaves for his very important lunch. In any other job, he would have had to complete what he was doing, then leave, but I digress.

The third clerk starts to review everything, gets through E Belle's application just fine, starts to do Will's and asks me where the second child is. I said, "He's at school." He says, "He has to be here." At this point, I'm really about to lose it. I said, "Why? He's a minor! He's 6! He can't sign!" The man says that he was surprised no one told me before, but he has to be there. So I get E Belle's application submitted, then head out the door to get Little Man.

I will interject at this point that this was my oversight. This was on the website. I just missed it.

I drive all the way back over to our side of town to pull Little Man out of school. It's 11:45, so his academic day is basically over. We jump in the car and drive back to the post office. I still had the already signed off on application in hand (maybe I could have mailed it myself with that stamp and signature, now that I think about it...), stand in line again, and get his app filed. The clerk (still the 3rd one) asked to see his eyes so he could verify color, even though he never asked about E Belle. Whatever.

We finally left at 12:35.

I guess what frustrated me so much here was that I felt that at times, I was being jerked around because they could do whatever they wanted. They could have told me that the photos had to be stapled upside down despite the instructions on the form, and nothing I said would have been any good. It didn't matter that I had followed the online instructions (except about bringing Little Man!) when it came to completing and printing the forms. It didn't matter. I was dealing with stereotypical government employees who know they don't have to provide good customer service. It was bureaucracy at its finest. And heaven help us if this same bureaucracy takes over our health care.

It's snowing here. Yes, a good Southern snow. And I've been hearing my transplanted Yank friends complain all day about how Southerners have their little panic attacks about snow, make fun of us, etc. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever. I love the few times a year that we are blessed with a white blanket of disruption. I don't care that I don't know how to drive in the snow. I just don't go out! I like that we aren't socked in all winter. I like that snow isn't that common around here. I'm definitely made to live in the South, just not too much further South than here! It's too humid much further south, but that's a different story...

It seems like we either get winters with no snow, or we get a ration of good stuff. This appears to be a year of the good stuff. Being snowed in makes me 1) want to work on crafts; and 2) hungry. I have been hungry all day! I made a disappointing batch of peanut butter balls this morning. Well, disappointing to me since Little Man and Dear Hubby love them. I'm making banana bread in the morning, and I've got the ingredients to make my first ever King Cake. Yeah, I know it's not Mardi Gras yet, but it's like a trial run seeing as I've never made one before.

I also used today to make my very first Pioneer Woman (thepioneerwoman.com)recipe! I'm kind of late on the game on making one of her recipes, and I'm kicking myself now that we've enjoyed such a good dinner. Why didn't I try her sooner!

I chose this recipe because it's made with cube steak. Yes, I know I just watched Food Inc. last weekend, but I was careful with my meat selection. I paid a bit more for the meat, but the total cost of this recipe for the four of us was less than $10.

You can find the full recipe for this delish sandwich at thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/marlboro_mans_f/.

So, I set about slicing onions and sweating them in butter. Yes, butter. Not in Paula Deen quantities, but close.



While the onions were cooking, I set about emptying the dishwasher.



After I finished that little task, I cut up the meat and seasoned it with Lowry's.



I cooked the meat as described in the recipe, but I had a problem with it being too watery in the pan. It didn't get quite as brown as I'd have liked. I drained the meat, but in retrospect, I shouldn't have drained as much as I did as I didn't have as much gravy as The Pioneer Woman did in her pictures.

But here's the finished product:




I didn't add any cheese, and it was absolutely fine. But I think you could easily add some provelone or similar cheese with good results. The Pioneer Woman indicates that you can tweak this to your taste, but we like it the way it is!

Caught myself being cheap

E Belle broke her arm Sunday night. We have no idea how, even though we were all very close to her. She was playing in the floor near some furniture, then she suddenly screamed. The ER docs said Sunday night it was a dislocation, then we got a call Monday morning saying it was actually broken, we needed to come back. E Belle has proven herself to be a brave girl and has adapted to her ginormous splint and sling with grace. She'll have the splint for a week, then she'll have more X rays to see if they can find out more about the break, and we'll go from there. We don't know if this is a short term, medium term or long term issue right now.

But her mama sure did try to skimp to no avail!

Of course, her long sleeve shirts don't fit over this mass of bandages and plaster she's sporting. My first thought was to just stick her in short sleeves. We have heat! Preschool has heat! The car has heat!

But then I dropped her off at preschool yesterday. Once I took off her coat, her teeth started to chatter. Poor baby! Crazy me seemed to have forgotten that we're in the middle of the coldest streak we've had in 25 years. It hasn't been this cold since I was Little Man's age. Why do I have my baby in short sleeves?

So I immediately headed over to Once Upon a Child, a local children's resale store, and grabbed some sweatshirts and long sleeve t's - 5 tops and a brand new sleeper for just over $20. I cut off most of one arm, sewed a little cuff, and tada! My E Belle can be warm.

My original idea was definitely not a good one. I shouldn't have tried to be cheap at the expense of the comfort of my child. Poor girl's already dealing with a sling and splint. Why make her cold? This was a bad time to try to be cheap. I was still frugal - I got what I needed at a good price.

Manna from heaven

It's really hard on almost anyone when the bottom looks like it's going to fall out. You know what I mean - those little and big things that happen as part of life and home ownership that just come at ya when you are least expecting them.

That's what happened to us. And my frugality isn't what saved us. It was God. Just like He provided food for the Israelites as they wondered around the desert in the form of manna, He provided for us this week. And just like manna, which was provided just for that day with the instruction to not be greedy, not to store it or it would go bad, this gift was also just the right amount. In sharing this, I am only doing it to thank God and share our blessing with others. It's not in any way meant to be braggardly. We've been there, done that when it comes to financial woes. We've gotten by when the income was $1300 a month and rent was $800. It's not about us - it's about what God has provided.

I'll go back to the beginning of December. The first issue was our property tax. We pay these ourselves at the end of the year instead of having an escrow account (long story), but due to poor planning, well, we were in a lurch, but it was handled. Not great, but okay, we'll deal, we can make that bill.

One day in early December, I noticed an inch wide stream of water pouring down the wall in our bedroom during . Not good. Got a guy to come out and check out the problem. Turns out, the flashing on the roof at the chimney was not done correctly a few years back, resulting in a water seep. Great. Estimate - $1600. Yikes! And right at Christmas. We had someone else come and do a patch fix, and so far, it's worked okay, but not perfect. We've got to take care of the flashing soon. Ka-ching!

Then our most used TV went out. I know, I know, TV isn't a necessity. But it went out a few days before Christmas, and ironically, we had discussed forgoing presents for me and Dear Hubby and just getting a new one anyway. We decided to wait instead. Suddenly, the TV stops turning on, and there ya go.

Four days after Christmas, we got hit with the Big One. Our gas furnace that covers our main level and our basement stopped working completely. Get our regular company to come check it out, and we're told all kinds of stuff, including that to repair it, we're looking at $1K, but it couldn't be done for another week because the part had to be ordered. They couldn't get someone out for an estimate until the next day, and with the New Year holiday, that meant four more days without heat (and we've got lows in the teens right now). Got another company for the furnace estimate, and another long story somewhat short, we weren't given the whole story - there was actually a crack in the pan in the furnace, which was downright dangerous, and even if we did the $1K repair, we were at risk for a CO2 leak (and no, he wasn't just trying to get us to buy a new furnace - we already passed on the repair and were buying a furnace anyway). So, we got a new furnace. MAJOR ka-ching!!

Now to God's blessing. Dear Hubby has worked his tail off at work this year, but with the economy, things were down. It wasn't his fault, the work just wasn't flowing like normal. We didn't expect a bonus at all, but he got one. And you know what? When we add all of our expenses above up, it comes out to almost EXACTLY the amount of the bonus check that landed in our hands the day after the furnace died. YES!! God provided EXACTLY the amount we needed. No more, no less. Just like the manna from heaven. God knew what we needed. He knew that we were going to be in dire straits - we were looking at HAVING to go in to more debt, which just makes our stomach churn. Yes, he gave us some fun funds in there, too, but He provided. Thanks be to God!

Smile.ly—Be Heard. Be Happy.

Smile.ly—Be Heard. Be Happy.

Just signed up for this. It's a site where you can earn freebies, trials, etc. Still working on exactly how everything works. You get "smiles" based on the number of missions that you complete. These "smiles" move you up through the ranks, thus earning you more opportunities.

Thanks MoneySavingMom!

Cooking from the Pantry

I've been inspired!

In January, MoneySavingMom is doing a month of cooking from the pantry. I've got a stockpile, I'm looking to cut my grocery bill even more, so I'm going to try! I'm not going to do it for a month, but maybe a week. I'm going to see how her first week goes before I try it, too. There's something intimidating about it to me for some reason. Why can't I cook from my pantry and my stockpile? We'll see how this goes!

Watch for updates...

My Savings Goals - 2010

I'm not really a resolutions kind of girl, but there's nothing wrong with setting goals, right?

In 2010, this is what I want to do to keep practicing a more frugal lifestyle:

*Raise my coupon savings to over $1000;

*Get our grocery bill to $100 or less a week. Currently budgeting $120 a week;

*Not get burned out on coupons and utilizing my resources;

*Reduce our non-mortgage debt by at least $7,000;

*We are having to buy a new TV soon since our main TV died last week, and I pledge to only pay cash;

*Only buy clothes that the kids really need, mainly for E Belle. I'm already seeing that she's got quite a summer wardrobe. She doesn't need a Gymboree spree;

*Look even harder for good deals.

As you can tell, I've got several food oriented savings goals. I feel like that's the easiest place for us to cut, and it's one of the areas that I have the most personal control over. We'll see how this goes! What are your goals?

Grocery Game - Second Attempt

Before the cashier hit the total key at Harris Teeter today, the screen read $183.30.

After she hit the total key and ran the coupons through, the screen read $98.38.

The Grocery Game is definitely helping me shop the sales at HT, but I was hoping to see more coupon usage as well. My coupon savings only totaled $8.15 today, which is kind of low for me.

But one of the couponing elements that I have a hard time with is when to use a coupon and when not to buy the item at all. Today, I'd guess that 90% of my coupons went with an item that was on sale, making the item free, nearly free or cheap. I've gotten burned in the past by using a coupon on an item not on sale, only to find it on sale the next week. So, my new guideline is only buy items with a coupon when they're not on sale if I absolutely need it for that week. Not just because I can.

The best sale today was the buy 1, get 2 free on chicken breasts. I saved more than $30 just on chicken alone today because I bought six packs. I'm up to my eyeballs on chicken, but it's a rich deal when you pay $16-ish for nearly 10 pounds of chicken breasts.

Of course, right in the middle of my free trial, I find out that I have won a subscription to a competing website called the Savings Angel! I'm very happy to have won, and I look forward to checking out the new site and being able to compare it to GG. We'll see!

The Grocery Game - First Attempt

I finally got talked in to trying The Grocery Game. You can get a month's trial for free, so I figured I'd give it a shot.

I've been very hesitant about trying TGG because you have to pay to get the information. There's so much out there that's free, and since the point is to save money, I didn't want to spend money.

So, I signed up late last week. First of all, the lists go up on Friday, with a final list on Sunday after the coupons for the week are released. This allows for a list that contains unadvertised specials, not just the flyer specials, which is what the free sites have. The list is color coded to indicate which items are free after coupon, good deals and decent deals. It also includes original price, sales price, how many to buy, coupon match and percentage off.

I headed down to the local Harris Teeter this morning, list in hand. How did I do? Well, my end savings weren't much more than usual. However, I bought an absolute ton of groceries for $108, and my weekly budget is $120. I've got so much stuff to put in the stockpile I've been dreading it all day. The $108 also includes items I don't normal buy at the store unless I can get them for a steal like Ziploc bags, aluminum foil, etc.

TGG took a lot of the thinking out of the process for me today, and I appreciate that. If I think about what I would have bought this week without the list, I would probably have spent the same amount and got less stuff. I wouldn't have known that I could get a bag of steamfresh veggies for free, or a strip of yeast for free.

Right now, my monthly budget for groceries is $480 for my family of four. I'm trying very hard to get it down to $400. I'll update and let you all know if TGG is the secret to getting it down for us.

I've gone Deceptively Delicious

Yep, I've done it. I'm two years late to the party. And I've been taken in by none other than Jessica Seinfeld. Yes, I have issues with how she and Jerry Seinfeld married. I don't advocate getting married then wanting a divorce by the time you go on your honeymoon, then quickly marrying someone else. But no one asked me........

I was at the library a week ago and saw her cookbook. Again. I'd tried The Sneaky Chef but really didn't like it at all. I browsed Deceptively Delicious (hereafter called DD), and I decided to give it a shot. If you aren't familiar with the concept, you make a bunch of fruit and veggie pures and sneak them into food where people can't tell that they are there. Since me and E Belle are about the only veggie eaters in the house, I've been looking for ways to up our veggie intake.

I got home and pureed the almost 100% brown bananas sitting on my cabinet. The next day, I made the DD French Toast. What a hit!! Little Man and E Belle couldn't get enough. And it was soooo easy.

So I roasted some sweet potatoes and steamed some carrots, then pureed them. Now, I hate carrots. I despise carrots. I sometimes call them the Food of the Devil. No joke. I hate them that much. But if I don't know I'm eating them, then I'll do it.

I have since made chili (pureed carrot), applesauce muffins (pureed carrot) and Greek dip (pureed chickpeas and artichokes). And you know what? They've all been a success. What I like about her recipes versus The Sneaky Chef is that her recipes are, well, normal. I'd try just about all of the recipes if I could. Nothing out of the ordinary. No crazy ingredients other than some of the veggies. The recipes just read as if they make good food.

The cookbook has its detractors, and I think some of the criticism comes from people who haven't read it. Even when you're sneaking in the veggies and fruits, you don't leave them off the plate on their own, either. It's just another way to get some good nutrients in our bodies. You still should be serving veggies on the side, but you don't have to worry so much if your kiddos aren't eating all of their green veggies when you've got some stashed inside. It's also only deceptive if you make it that way - I don't hide what's in there from my kids. And finally, some say cooking DD is a lot of work for a little benefit. When you're only putting 1/2 cup of a veggie into something that serves 8, that doesn't break down to a lot per serving. But it's something. It's more than they were getting. And sometimes the veggies can sub for something in the recipe for something not so healthy, like using sweet fruits to replace some sugars or using veggies to thicken instead of something like corn starch.

And how is this frugal? Well, I found a use for those bananas instead of trashing them! Also, I've spent so much money on veggies that never make it into our bodies. This way, there's less veggie waste. I'm at least using what I'm buying. You can also use frozen veggies instead of fresh without sacrificing on taste or cooking prep, and that's a savings.

Of course, we don't eat DD every night, but I'm definitely sold on the concept!

Free Apples at Earth Fare

Print out this coupon, get a FREE 3 pound bag of honeycrisp apples at Earth Fare!

http://view.earthfare-email.com/?j=fe62157371610c7f7116&m=fec815747367037f&ls=fdf1127177610775711d7774&l=fe9415797666017c73&s=fe9612717d61067d76&jb=ffcf14&ju=fe2315757c670274771677&r=0

I love honeycrisps. When you get a really good one, it tastes like candy!

Thanks Money Saving Mom!!

Coupon for homeopatic kids products

One of my big things lately is trying homeopathic products. While I definitely reserve a place in my medicine cabinet for the more mainstream products like Tylenol, Delsyum and the like, I have begun to incorporate an initial, more natural treatment for all of us. These products aren't for the green crazies, either! Ever tried Zicam? Well, that's homeopathic! My family thinks I'm nuts, but I don't see what's wrong in trying something that's been used for centuries to treat common ailments.

I use primarily Borion and Hyland's products because those are the most familiar to me right now. I recently received a package of samples for kids from Borion, and it will be interesting to see how they stack up to the ones I'm already using from Hyland's. Right now, I'm loving the Hyland's Cough Syrup with Honey. It worked really well with Little Man, and he doesn't like honey.

The downside to almost anything you put in your medicine cabinet is that it gets expensive. So to help you out, check out the link below for a $1 off coupon for Borion products.

http://children.boironusa.com/images/BoironChildCoupon200909.pdf

Also, check out your clearance tables at CVS/pharmacy. I was at a local one last week, and they had several different Hyland's products on super dooper clearance. I picked up cough syrup for 79 cents, and I grabbed three boxes of their Sniffles and Sneezes for Kids for 69 cents. No, there's nothing wrong with them. Homeopathic meds also don't expire like conventional meds, so no worries there! It just might be worth checking out if you're stopping by soon.

Free Seventh Generation Detergent Sample

I have tried Seventh Generation detergent in the past, and I thought it was pretty good! Get a free sample here to see what you think:

http://www.seventhgeneration.com/offers/liquid-laundry-trial-samples?gclid=CK2dkfjixp0CFSFRagodCVprrg

Just over halfway through the month

And we're doing pretty well on our budget. Just got on to Dear Hubby this afternoon because I found out he spent TWICE on his mom's birthday present than we agreed. But in all fairness, I only spent about 30% of what we had budgeted for my mom's present, so the damage wasn't as bad as I first thought.

I did pretty good at recording spending for the first few days, then the guilt set in. I just felt soooo bad keeping track! Dear Hubby reminded me yesterday that that's part of the point.

Dear Hubby gets paid twice a month, so we break apart the month into two sections. We did pretty good during the first half! I even paid cash for my $284 dentist appointment last week, and we still didn't come up short. Our insurance reimbursement paid for all but $2, and that check is going into savings tomorrow, not checking. That will take care of some of our savings plan for the month!

The second half of the month has already taken a few hits I didn't expect, like a sick doctor's visit for Little Man. Even though our copay is only $25, it still adds up. It still counts. We also ended up spending more on Dear Hubby's mom's birthday lunch due to extenuating circumstances, and I certainly hadn't budgeted for that.

And the great budget blaster of all is just around the corner - CHRISTMAS!! My goal is to actually make some presents this year, especially for the kiddos. As if my kids or my nieces need yet another plastic toy. This is one of the things I'm considering making for E Belle:

http://makeitandloveit.blogspot.com/2009/02/fort-table-cover.html

I guess I really should be entering the spending instead of blogging!

Budget, Smudget

We were doing so well in the spring. We had our envelope system working. Our budget was on paper and discussed every month.

Then the summer came.

I guess we got cocky. We stopped writing out our budget. We were trying to keep up with money in our head. Game over - we lost.

This has been a difficult month money-wise, and we don't know why. Yes, there was the $200 a/c maintenance and freon bill that we didn't expect. It was money here, money there. When you're not keeping up with it, it will filter through your fingers in no time.

So, last night, we sat down and did our October budget. It's done. Supposedly, we'll be able to put a lot back into savings and still have some cushion. Which leads us to ask, "Where is our money going?" When we put it on paper, we have plenty. Why is there not plenty at the end of this month?

Hopefully, we'll get back on track this month. We've got some big stuff to take care of at the end of the year. I know we can do it, we just actually have to stick with it.

Arts and Crafts

I sometimes still think I'm not a very crafty person. I don't know why I still have this thought in my head! I have absolutely no credibility on that. I scrapbook. I do rubber stamping. I now make items with a sewing machine. Yeah, I do crafts.


I sometimes have felt guilty that I didn't do more stuff like crafts with Little Man when he was small. At the time, though, I worked 20 - 30 hours a week from home. It was a nearly ideal working situation, but it was still working. But even if we I had been a full time SAHM, I'm not sure he would have liked the crafts. To this day, he has no time, no patience to do anything artful.


I recently got in with a small improptu buying club through my mom's group. I was able to snag more than a dozen seasonal craft kits for less than $12 from Oriental Trading Company. So far, E Belle and I have done two kits - a Johnny Appleseed puppet and a squirrel.

I wasn't sure at first what to do with our completed crafts. I ended up hanging a piece of hemp twine over our back windows, and I secured it with push pins in the top of the wood (no one will ever see those holes!). I then pinned the items to the twin with clothespins. As we do more items, we'll just keep adding!

Not only does this showcase E Belle's craftiness, but it also gives us a cheap decoration! And yes, these are E Belle's actual work. I did do some, but I had to let go and let her put things the way she thought they should. Thus, our squirrel has sideways teeth. But who cares, right!? It's my E Belle's.

The dress is FINISHED!

I did it!! I finished the dress!

Okay, so it wasn't as cheap as I was hoping. It cost about $35 when it was all said and done. I could have picked a cheaper fabric, as my fabric cost alone was nearly $20, and that was with a coupon. I used a minky dot-style fabric, which then necessitated the purchase of a walking foot to make sure the fabric didn't pucker when sewn. The pattern also called for the use of a double needle to finish the hems. That was at least inexpensive, and now I know a new technique!

Like anything else I ever do, I know where the imperfections are, and I hate that. But, it got lots of compliments today on its first wearing!

I paired it with a pair of white tights and black shoes. It was super cute!! E Belle seems to find it comfortable. When she first put it on, she just twirled around and around.

Now I can't wait to make something else!

Another Disney frugal post - Dining!

Okay, so you're finally on your vacation at Disney. You've got your room, and you're heading to one of the parks. Then you realize you are hungry! That's when it hits you. Disney doesn't just want to take you out of the real world to play, they also want to take you out of the real world when it comes to food prices.

I'll be honest. We don't even BUDGET for food at Disney. We just have a spending money budget and go from there. But we've been enough times to know how to play the game.

1. The Disney Dining Plan - Ah, what a beautiful thing. Kind of. I love the idea of prepaying for your food, and Disney has started to provide more options for those who just want the quickie meals all the way up to those who want to have a sit down meal 3 times a day, every day.

We have been using the standard dining plan, which Disney calls Magic Your Way Plus Dining (you will learn that EVERYTHING has a Disney-fied name very quickly!). This currently includes 1 table service meal (entree, non-alcoholic beverage, dessert and tax), 1 counter service meal and 1 snack a day for each night of your stay for $40 per adult, $13 per child ages 3 - 9. While the prices haven't gone up on this much in the past several years, the value has declined. Three years ago, the table service credit included an appetizer, entree, dessert, non-alcoholic beverage, tip and taxes!! Then they dropped the tip, then this year, the appetizer. You can use them in any combination - if you have the credits and want to eat three table service meals in one day, that's fine! It's not a per day allotment, that's just how you buy the credits.

But still, we find it a very budget friendly option. I like knowing that I already have paid for a lot of my food prior to my trip. We like the table service options, and they can certainly add up. For example, my entree alone at Le Cellier (filet mignon with mushroom risotto) was $36. It's easy to get a good value for your money with little effort. You just have to make sure you actually use all of your credits!

2. Bring your own food - Sounds kind of obvious, but if you are flying, is this something you would do? We fly, and yes, we pack food and drinks for the kiddos. This year, I brought Capri Sun-style drink pouches, as well as just little snacks that fit great in both a suitcase and diaper bag and yet won't crush. When E Belle got thirsty in that hot Florida sun, I didn't always have to go run and get her a $2.50 bottle of Dasani. I just pulled out the drink pouch.

3. If on the dining plan, figure out what your cheapest meal of the day will be, then use cash - For us, this was almost ALWAYS breakfast. The exception was our character breakfast at Chef Mickey's. All other breakfasts were eaten at the quick service area in our resort. We're not big breakfast eaters anyway, so we were happy with things like bagels and a drink. Even so, breakfasts ran close to $15 just for simple breads.

4. Get the resort mugs - If you stay in property, get one for each member of your family who can drink from a cup (we didn't buy E Belle one). They're about $13 a piece, but you can use them to refill your drink the length of your stay in your resort's quick service area. When drinks are running $2+ a piece, this is a quick money saver. In the end, you take home the mug. I still have mugs from about 15 years ago when they were new and smaller. Technically, you aren't supposed to use these at different resorts, but I'll confess - when we were staying at the Polynesian, we did use our mugs at the Grand Floridian when we ate at their quick service one day for lunch. Disney's really made doing this pretty easy because the mugs no longer are resort specific, meaning the one you get at the Conteporary is the same that you get at Pop Century. I really hate this because I liked having the resort specific ones, and Disney's made it easier to abuse the system. Not promoting doing this, now, but it is possible. *Note* you cannot use these mugs in the Parks.