All shopped out

Maybe the reason we didn't shop this weekend is because I was tired of hunting for bargains after all the grocery shopping I did. In case you didn't know, the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving and Christmas are great for stocking up on groceries. There are usually more coupons in the paper and there are also lots of sales. Combine the two and you can save lots of money on staples. I didn't do as well as I did during the great pasta stockpile of 2010 when I got everything for free or 50 cents/lb or less. But I did get salsa for free and chicken broth for 25 to 50 cents a can, and some canned soup for emergency meals (free). About half of that savings was coupons and the other half was store club member savings. I really dislike having to join store clubs just to save $, but if I don't join, I feel like I'm getting ripped off. I'm pretty sure I'm skewing their statistics because I buy my fruits and vegetables at other stores where the selection is better and cheaper.

My second trip to the store I didn't save quite as much, but on the other hand, I was running out of room in the pantry.
I'm sure there will be more great sales before Christmas so keep an eye out for the ads.

How we spent Black Friday

We slept in and avoided the crowds, although there were a few things I was interested in. Guess that means I saved some money, although there is always cybermonday to tempt me. Instead, we trimmed the trees at Mom's. Well, actually, Mr. Fix-it did the tree trimming. I did the raking and hauling. Guess we have to do what we're best at. We ended up with a pile about 3 feet high and 9 feet long.
Mom really appreciated it and I was so happy Mr. Fix-it didn't mind helping because I'd much rather he do the tree trimming than Mom (and yes, she would attempt to do it herself). And I think the neighborhood hummingbirds liked the pile since they kept flying around and perching on the pile.

Thankful

As most of you know, it has been a tough year for us. My beloved FIL left us and we're still reeling from that. And there was my car accident. And three people in my department left so we've been short-handed most of the year (and we were short-handed before that). With all that, I'd rank this as one of my worse years. But in other ways, it has been one of my best years. While I knew that family and friends cared and I don't think I took it for granted, I was still overwhelmed by all of the love and support we received this year. Your support and the support of our friends, family, and coworkers have given me the strength to face each day of this difficult year. I read comments, cards, and e-mails when they arrived and reread them numerous times since. Thank you.

Wishing you a Thanksgiving full of love and hope.

My idea of snow

The photo was more effective before the rain and wind blew away most of the petals.

My scrapbook haul

I was asked about my scrapbook haul from a recent warehouse sale and although I'm a bit embarrassed to share, I will. Why embarrassed? Because when you see it all, you'll see that I have no will power, sigh. First, I'll blame
Jennifer McGuire for these Tim Holtz dies. I'm not a huge altered art fan, but I love Jennifer's cards. And she loves Tim Holtz so there you have it. I thought I was doing pretty good to just get three dies. They were $8-10 each.
Then I'll blame my nieces for these. I just learned they like Hello Kitty so I thought I'd make them a Hello Kitty memory game for Christmas. I don't know what I'm going to do with the large dies, but they were only $5 each (how's that for justification?).
And then there's all this...

and this...

Did you know that Sizzix makes stamps? And those small dies? Some were $1.50, but others were only 25 cents each! Despite these great prices, I've pretty much blown my scrapping budget for the rest of the year. I don't think I'll be taking advantage of any black Friday scrapbook sales.

But wait, there's more! Opps, I just realized I left an embossing folder set out of the photos. Really, just one more, lol.

Happy belated birthday FIL

Sorry I missed your birthday last month. Well, I really didn't miss it, but I couldn't join Mr. Fix-it when he brought flowers to the cemetery since I was still at work. We discussed bringing flowers from the garden, but Mr. Fix-it ended up getting flowers from Trader Joes, just like you did for Mom. It was fitting somehow.

I just wanted to let you know how much we miss you. We miss talking about family and playing cards. I miss the old groceries you'd bring over and the weird things you picked up from the trash and the coupons. I miss hearing about how much you got from the recyclers and how it paid for your groceries for the week. I miss seeing you with your grandkids. And with the upcoming holidays, I know we'll miss you even more.

The hills are alive...

with the sound of music. Yesterday, I attended the Sound of Music singalong at a local theater. I convinced a friend to join me (Mr. Fix-it was thrilled he didn't have to join me, lol), convinced since she usually doesn't go out on a "school" night. It was quite a bit of fun, but I think not as much fun as attending a live orchestral performance. I'm hoping this becomes an annual event and becomes more interactive in addition to the singing (hissing at the baroness, flashlights when the Nazis use theirs).

By the way, if you're a fan, Oprah is having a Sound of Music reunion. Depending on where you are, that episode is playing on Thursday or Friday. I'm looking forward to seeing it.

Spicy!

I reorganized our spices. I bought shelves at the Container Store and wondered if I would fill the shelves. Looks like there wasn't a problem with that. In fact, I had to transfer some spices to smaller jars so I could fit everything in and stack some of the smaller jars. I'm thrilled that everything is alphabetized and even better, stays alphabetized. Now Mr. Fix-it puts the spices back in order rather than wherever there is an empty space.Scrapbookers, I've seen a few photos where scrapbookers used the shelves to organize their stamps or Stickles.

Upgrading

This is what Google told me a couple months ago:
Now they'll telling my they don't support my brower. Think I need to upgrade?

(Unfortunately, I can't upgrade the browser on that particular computer for various reasons.)

Panic in the pantry

A few months ago, I checked our cupboards and we were down to two jars of pasta sauce (my go-to meal when I don't feel like cooking) and (gasp!) no pasta. How could an Italian run out of pasta? No, I'm not Italian, but I happen to be married to one.

Here's how an Italian runs out of pasta: when I ask Mr. Fix-it to choose a pasta for dinner, but he doesn't tell me he opened the last box, that's how. Plus it hasn't been on sale for a while. You know I can't pay full price for pasta (for anything really).

But now the pasta crisis is over. Sales + coupons = awesome savings. I'm not such a good couponer that I got all this for free, but anytime I can get pasta for 50 cents (or less) a pound, I'm happy.
That's the shaped pasta. That shelf is now full. The spaghetti-type pasta is stored in a different cupboard:
I think we're set for a while, especially since I bought a few more boxes since I took those photos. Now I'm panicking about where I can store all of this, especially since I've also stocked up on pasta sauce.

October garden

I was thrilled to see my Frequent Flyer iris blooming again. And I'm still getting roses, although they don't seem to last as long as they did this summer.
Lest you think I've got a green thumb or am some sort of gardening wizard, I've got a lot of these too:

Soup!

Mr. Fix-it has been under the weather this week and I think he shared it with me. Must be love, eh? So I made some soup tonight with some homemade broth and mirepoix, plus some frozen veggies and pastina. Good thing I have a well stocked freezer and pantry.

More evidence that I'm a Luddite

We had a little celebration at work in honor of a coworker's upcoming nuptial. I was one of the organizers and got the last-minute suggestion of having some wedding music in the background, probably prompted by my email subject line of "going to the chapel." Hmmm, great idea, but we're all swamped with work (the day of the celebration was carefully selected to avoid clashing with any deadlines) and there was no way I was going to ask anyone to compile a collection.

But wait! I just happened to have a CD compilation of love songs. Yes, a CD, not a collection on an iPod. And no time to ask anyone to convert the CD to MP3s. No time to ask anyone if they had an MP3 collection or an iPod w/speakers. So I brought in my boombox, put the CD on continuous, enjoyed the party. Sometimes being a Luddite works.

Table for one

I finally understand when singles say that they hate to cook for themselves. When I was single, I didn't mind. But maybe it was because I knew I didn't have a choice since I couldn't afford to go out to eat.

Mr. Fix-it was (is) gone for a week and I really struggled with what to eat. The fridge was pretty empty and I didn't feel like grocery shopping and I didn't feel like cooking either (long days at the office will do that to you). I ended up buying a two-item combination Chinese take out because I knew I could stretch that into a couple of dinners and lunches with the addition of more rice and vegetables. We got lunch at work two days this week; otherwise the Chinese food wouldn't have lasted so long and I would have had to think more about food. Here's what I ended up eating.

Day 1: Bunco, so no need to think about food (thank goodness!).
Day 2: Made an omelet and took half for lunch the next day.
Day 3: Bought Chinese takeout.
Day 4: Leftover Chinese takeout.
Day 5: Made potato broccoli chowder and had a friend over (having company was so motivating).
Day 6: Turkey sandwich.
Day 7: The last of the Chinese takeout. I actually bought lunch at work intending to eat it for dinner, but I decided I should finish the older food in the fridge first.

Thank goodness Mr. Fix-it is coming home tonight. I think we'll have homemade spaghetti sauce.

Happy World Card Making Day!

Yes, there is a day for everything, lol. I don't think I'll be crafting today, but I do have some cards to share with you. I made these in August to send to some friends who were doing the Susan G. Komen 3-day Walk for a Cure.

Broccoli Potato Chowder

This isn't an exact recipe; rather, it is something I threw together to use up some veggies. The soup ended up being extremely thick. We liked it, but I think it would be too thick for more people. Feel free to adjust to suit your tastes (including adding more bacon, cream, or cheese).

Ingredients
2 slices of bacon, cut into small pieces
1 medium onion, diced
olive oil, optional
6-8 small potatoes, diced (I used russets)
2 broccoli crowns, chopped
3 cups of water (or broth for more flavor)
1 cup half and half
4 oz shredded cheese (feel free to add more)
garlic power, salt, pepper to taste

Directions
1. Brown bacon and onion. Add a bit of olive oil for flavor or if the bacon isn't rendering enough fat.
2. Add the potatoes and water. Simmer until the potatoes are cooked.
3. Add the broccoli. Continue simmering until the broccoli is cooked.
4. Add the half and half and seasonings to taste.
5. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup.
6. Add the cheese; stir until it is melted. Adjust the seasonings if needed.

Makes about 3 quarts.

My new favorite

I recently was gifted a new cooking pot, something I had been coveting for years, but was too cheap to buy myself. This is the 3 1/2 quart version, and now I'm lusting after the 7 1/4 quart version. Or maybe I should dream big and get the 13 1/4 version like my friend S has. Not that I'd be able to lift it, lol.

I've been keeping the pot on the stove because 1) I'm using the pot a couple times a weeks so why put it away, 2) It looks pretty on the stove, and 3) I don't have room in the cupboard to keep store it.

No more brown bagging it

Got myself a new lunch bag. I've been coveting these Built bags for quite a while and when I saw this one for sale, along with a turquoise version, I couldn't resist.

I had been using a Lean Cuisine/Susan G. Komen lunch bag (it looks like they aren't selling them this year), a gift from my friend V for a few years and was ready for a change.

I like how the bag squishes down when it's empty. My coworker throws hers in the washing machine every once in a while so I know they're easy to clean.

Free Museum Day

Check it out! You still have time to get tickets for tomorrow.
http://microsite.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/index.html

Fancy fingers

My SIL talked me into my first mani/pedi. I thought it was an interesting experience...I think I'll have to repeat it some day. My nails never looked so good. I thought it interesting that the guys in the office noticed my nails first and made more comments than the women (note that there are 3X more women than men in my group).

But I was disappointed that the manicure only lasted 10 days. After a week, there were tiny chips. This is they looked like after a few hours of scrubbing in the kitchen. I did wear gloves and I was trying to be careful. Oh well. The pedi is still going strong though.