Sunday deals and recipe

I made a trip to the store today to pick up the "sale items" and the weekly regulars (milk, fresh veg's,etc).
No Frill's had a store coupon for $5.00 off 10 participating products.  I combined it with some coupons I had for the products and got some great deals! Plus I ad matched some things too.

Grands reg. $1.98 each on sale for 98¢ > I paid 33¢ each

Cereal reg. $3.68 each on sale for $1.98 each > I paid  93¢ each

Cake mix reg. $1.48 on sale for 98¢ > I paid 48¢

Frosting reg. $1.99 on sale for $1.48 > I paid 98¢

Smuckers Jam reg. $1.78 each  > I paid 97¢ each (ad match - Fareway)

Pizza Rolls reg. $3.68 each on sale $2.88 > I paid $2.10 each

I also got :

Cat litter 25lb bags reg. $4.98 each > I paid $1.99 each (ad match - Fareway)

Charmin toilet paper reg. $10.63 on sale $5.98 > I paid $4.98

Vidalia onions reg. $1.69 lb > I paid 69¢ lb (ad match - Fareway)

Carrots 2lbs reg. $1.79> I paid 69¢ (ad match - Super Saver)

Total worth $55.58 > I paid $26.14

I had a few other items in the cart too.

My coupon total was $9.25

Today I made granola and granola bars. They are awesome!

A big "Thank you"  to Megan at Daily Essentials and Deals  (she has great step by step pictures).

Recipe

Mix in a bowl:

4 cups quick rolled oats

1 cup wheat germ

1/3 cup flax seed (ground)

1/2 - 3/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

1-2 cups mini chocolate chips (opt.)

other options (I did not use these)

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup almonds

In another bowl mix:

1/3 cup canola oil

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup water

Then put wet ingredients into the dry and mix well.

Preheat oven to 300* and spray pans with cooking spray.

For this batch I spread 1/2 onto a cookie sheet loosely for cereal

and pressed the other 1/2 of the batch into a 8 1/2 x 11 baking dish (press firmly to make granola bars).

Bake the loose batch until lightly brown on the bottom about 25 minutes. Lightly stir one time halfway through baking.

For the bars in the baking dish leave in a little longer about 35 minutes. Until lightly brown around edges.

Once the bars cool, just cut and store sealed!

Ovens vary so you will want to keep an eye on them to make sure they are not overcooked.

Next time I believe I will add some pecans. This is so yummy I can't wait til breakfast!

Gasp! We picked more tomatoes today (2 plants are now officially dead though). I have enough to put up 3 more quarts of Spaghetti Sauce which I will do after work tomorrow ( at least that is the plan, lol). I am feeling better that my garden has not been a total bust!
I did find that I have 1 pumpkin growing ( out of 12 plants) and 1 acorn squash (out of 6 plants). Ho-hum! LOL. I don't foresee me canning lots of pumpkin this fall as I had hoped.

Back to work tomorrow - Ugh! I actually have to work the whole week. I was enjoying having a day off a week (sometimes 2). (I have next Monday off though he-he ,)  School starts Tuesday Aug. 17.

I timed this just right to finish up before my show -
"The Gates" is about to come on. LOL.
Good Evening!

The Truth Is......

I have found that their are some misconceptions about frugal/thrifty people. Or at least there are about me and why I am frugal and thrifty.
First let me say that we are far from wealthy nor are we poor or struggling to get by (although I will say "been there done that").
I drive a 2010 vehicle, we own a "Harley", we have a modest but nice home.  I have all of this "because" I don't spend frivolously, rarely pay full price, use coupons, shop at yard sales and thrift stores.
Used is not always a bad thing and who will know unless you tell . When I do buy new  - I buy "quality".
 I call myself "cheap" because I am unwilling to "spend" my hard earned money on full price (which is always too much).
As I say we do not "struggle to make ends meet". We pay cash for everything. Sometimes that means we have to "save up" before we buy.
I do not flaunt or brag about what I have. I am not jealous of what others have or obtain. I keep to myself and I guess that leads others to believe I am jealous and "poor".
I do like to brag - about saving money! That is why I have this blog and to share with others how they can too with a bit of perseverance, self control and frugality.
I would love to have comments from others on the subject and how they have been perceived by others for their frugal - thrifty ways.
Have a good evening!

Tax Free Friday!

Today and tomorrow my state does not charge taxes on clothing. My son and I got up early to hit some stores. We left about 8:00 a.m. only to find that most the stores we wanted to shop at were not open until 9:00 a.m.
We never waited in any lines and parking was even close.We were actually surprised that there was no "mad rush" at any of the stores. I expect that will happen this evening when people have their checks and are off work. Tomorrow will probably be the worst.

First stop - Kohl's! Before leaving the house I checked my e-mail and "sure enough" there was one from Kohl's with a coupon for 15% off my entire purchase!

Tek Gear athletic shorts (orig price $20.00)> $8.00

 Atari shorts (orig $14.00) >$2.80 

 Apt 9 shirt (orig. $24.00)>  $4.80

Black shirt (orig $10.00) > $3.00

 and Tony Hawk shirt red (orig 30.00) > $17.99

Total value $98.00 > I paid $31.10 (my coupon was worth $5.49 and no sales tax which would have been $2.18)

All were on the clearance racks except the Tony Hawk shirt - it was "on sale".

On to "gordmans". Here is where we bought the most stuff and saved the most.

Black athletic shorts (orig $20.00) > $7.00

 Mecca Black shorts w/belt (orig $40.00) >$16.00

 Mecca Denim shorts w/belt (orig) 40.00 > $14.00

 Mecca jeans (orig $44.00) >$18.00

  purple shirt  (orig $28.00) >$11.00

 green shirt (orig 24.00) > $12.00

 Tap out shirt (orig $24.00) > $7.00

 Tap out shirt (orig $24.00) > $7.00

All were on the clearance racks!

                 Total worth $244.00 > I paid  $92.00 and no sales tax which would have been $6.44

They also gave me a card for 15% off any single item AND a $10.00 gift card!

That was it for clearance racks but we hit some great sales.

At K-mart we bought:

 a pack of Hanes t-shirts (reg $9.99) > $8.50

Rte 66 denim shorts (reg $22.99) > $11.49

Total worth $32.98 > I paid $19.99 no sales tax which would have been $1.40

To Shopko:

Airwalk shoes (reg $25.99) > $19.99 no sales tax which would have been $1.40

Target :

Hanes socks (reg $7.98) $5.00 but I paid $4.00 since I printed off the coupon from their website!

no sales tax which would have been a whopping 28¢! LOL

Hot Topic:

Buy one shirt get 2nd 1/2 off

Total worth $$35.00 > I paid $27.50

no sales tax which would have been $1.93

The total sales tax I saved today was $13.63

It may not seem like much but I'd say it paid for my gas and part of our lunch.

New Design

Yes I have changed the design again. I have just not been able to find something that fits me, other than the black. I think the black made it to hard for people to read so I changed to this. Let me know your thoughts.

It's Blog Hop Friday

I am checking out some new blogs today. It's fun to find new blogs. Try it just - click on a button.

                                                                I'm going to read some new blogs now. Have a good evening!

It's Already August!

It's already August and what a disappointing Fall it will be with so little from my garden this year. I know I am not alone though, as others in the area have said the same of their gardens.

I managed to get a little less than 3 quarts of spaghetti sauce canned from the few tomatoes we got. I even have a couple tomatoes for our BLT's too.

Mailbox finds

It's been awhile since we had many "free samples" come to the mailbox. This week we started getting some again.

My son has become somewhat disinterested in this mailbox freebies though. LOL. It seems all I get anymore is feminine product samples. I got a diaper , Lanacane, Olay body wash, and some water flavorers too. 

 

The plumbing is done. Actually it was done on Tuesday night. It is so great to have water pressure. They also ran plumbing for the new bathroom we are putting in the basement. We will start on that next year.

The weather has still been nasty humid. I would love to get back to working on the landscaping in the front. I have decided to go ahead and do the landscaping blocks after all. It just makes for a nicer look.

The mower broke again (after my last report  of it breaking and Dave fixing it).

We had to end up borrowing a mower today. The lawn has not been mowed in 2 weeks and though it hasn't grown all that much it was starting to look unsightly.

 Flipping It For  $$ 

Bought at thrift store for 98¢ sold on ebay for $6.00

 Brand New never used - got it off freecycle (for free ) sold on craigslist for $5.00

 paid 20¢ for unopened vintage kit at thrift store sold on ebay for $8.47

 It's back to work tomorrow so I will say Good Evening!

Saturday finds

I was in the area of Target today, so I used up my coupons that were expiring- today! LOL.
Not a whole lot but still better than paying full price.

I paid 24¢ (reg $2.24) for the Bagel Bites, Busy Bones $1.09 (reg $2.84), Beggin Strips $1.09 (reg $2.34), Tide (reg 97¢) They paid me 3¢ each (LOL).

Total value $10.33 > I paid $2.33

All thanks to coupons!!

I was in the area of Fareway also so I stopped for their sale stuff.

Van Camps were 4 for $1.00 with an in-store coupon,  (reg 68¢ each) Wheat bread $1.09 each (reg 2.29 each) Ball lids $2.19 each (reg $2.89 each) my coupon was buy 2 get one free so I actually paid $1.46 each, Era 32 load (not shown) (reg 3.99) on sale $2.99 I paid $1.99.

Total value $22.25 > I paid $10.64

I have quite a grocery list started for tomorrow. I am hoping I have enough tomatoes to at least put up 3 quarts of spaghetti sauce. We have been able to get a small bucket of them and I see there are maybe half dozen more out there (if they are any good). This years garden has not gone well due to ALL the rain. My squash and pumpkins are not producing fruit. I am going to attempt to pollenate them myself tomorrow. The Roma tomatoes are almost dead. I have had only 1 pepper out of 3 plants. Not many jalapeno peppers either like usual. Green beans I have harvested twice from (not many) and they are about done. The pole beans have not produced hardly anything. Cucumbers are doing fair but seem to be stunted. carrots have nice tops but nothing below.

We not only had an over abundance of rain we have had a problem with moles in the garden this year too. They did not bother it last year. They have also killed off some of the plants the shade garden I started.

I have never had a garden go so wrong on me before.

Anyway, I am going to try some new recipes for making my own Ranch dressing and Italian dressing.

If I think they are good I will share them.

It's late so I will say Good Evening!

Friday Blog Hopping

I have been blog hopping again! I have found some great new blogs to read and follow.  I hope you also find some that you enjoy to.
Just click on any of the buttons and check them out.

























                                                                                                            

Sunday

Can you spot the little fawn? I barely saw it when we went for a ride to check the river. So cute!

Yes, I missed Saturday again. Ho-hum. LOL
It was a "not so good day" and progressed that way all day.
First the lawnmower broke. I reached down and grabbed the pull thingie, gave a yank. Then there I stood a piece of rope with a plastic handle dangling from my hand. Thankfully I have Dave, who can fix just about anything.
With the heat and humidity the swimming pool was starting to turn green. Ugh! The pump had gone out. I checked around and the cheapest pump in town started at a mere $300.00, I didn't pay that much for the pool! This was the second pump we have been through. The one that came with the pool expired on us last year. Luckily someone Dave knows, gave us theirs since their pool leaked. (At this time we have no friends willing to part with their pump). So I got on the great "find anything website" aka - Craigslist! Voila! There was one right here in my town for $50.00! 
The guy told us he bought it new for $129.00 used it a month and a half.  He moved and got rid of the pool.
We went over last night and he plugged it in and he even said "if it doesn't work", bring it back I will give your money back. WOW you don't hear that often. Very doubtful he was scamming since we know where he lives.LOL.
It is a really nice pump and better than the others we had, but, we found that the hoses were bigger and would not fit onto the ports on our pool! NOOOOOOOO!
Again I am so lucky that I have Dave who can "figure something out"!
The pump is all hooked up now and pumping out all the algae!!! YAY!  Dave is my hero!!
The guy said while we were there, "do you have a use for this area rug"? He said "its not that old and we don't want it". I checked it out and it is definitly "not very old"! My son was overjoyed when I stuck it in the truck and he asked what "the heck is that". (WOW sometimes it's the oddest things that can make them happy LOL).
He has been working on the rec room in the basement. The tile floor is old, ugly and chipping away. Now he can cover it and that is what he did as soon as we got home.
Dave's "plumber acquaintance" was just here. They will be doing the plumbing Tuesday. Yahoo!! I won't know what to do with "water pressure" LOL.  We are getting a discount, because > Dave is going to help him. Further we will be paying very little for the copper pipes and fittings. Most of it is coming from Dave's work. (No, it is not used). As I have said before - you would not believe the stuff that comes into the scrap yard.
Dave's boss told him he could set aside any new stuff that comes in that we can use for the plumbing job. We will just be buying anything more we need at Menards. This will be very helpful because copper is not cheap.
We are not having the drainage done, just the water pipes. The plumber is going to give us an estimate though on replacing a drain pipe under the floor and adding a spot for a toilet. Then I will have my second bathroom! We will be doing most of the work for that ourselves, with him coming in for the "official stuff".
When I found this house 3 years ago it had everything on my list that I wanted, except one>a  second bathroom!
You rarely find everything on your list of must haves. I fell in love with this place when I walked in the door. So when it came down to my list and it was just the one thing - I accepted it, because, Dave "knows people" and plumbing. The reason we are having a plumber in though is, although Dave knows plumbing, he is 1) not licensed and we have city laws on that, 2) he is not a professional and therefore it takes alot longer (like days). I cannot be without water for very long. The plumber said it would be done in about 5 hours. $30.00 an hour. WooHoo I can handle that!

                                                             Deals of the day!

Hyvee was having a coupon sale, I got the Brownie Mix for 49¢ (reg $1.58), mac & cheese 17¢ each (reg 58¢ each), brown sugar 99¢ (reg $1.89), Sara Lee Bread 99¢ (reg $2.28) the Kool-aid was on sale for 10-77¢ (reg 8 - $1.00) I had a coupon for $2.00 off C&H sugar when you by 10 Kool-aid so I paid 88¢ for the sugar!

Value $12.25> I paid $4.80

 The river is up and they said it would crest today. This is where you used to "back down to the river" and drop your boat. This was last night so I expect this area where we were parked is now under water.

 This is the Missouri River.

Moneymakers

Bee costume for child, bought at a yard sale for $1.00. Sold on Craigslist for $10.00

Vintage canister set still in the original packaging, bought at thrift store $1.00 sold on Craigslist $5.00

Paid $1.98 at thrift store for this juice set - sold on Craigslist $7.00

Thanks for stopping in. Have a good evening!