my clotheslines

These are my clothesline lines before, except where the blanket is hanging from the swingset.  That one I just put up so I could hang out all the quilts.  The clothesline in front had to be sacrificed for a playhouse that is attached to the swingset on this side.  The post became legs for the playhouse.

I needed the clothesline space though so I improvised.  I attached the boards from the tore down clothesline to a tree and the backside of the post for my other clothesline (which is also attached to the garage).  It works but is just temporary.  Next year I am getting a "real" clothesline!

view from the other side. 

~Jess~

What I am making today.

I get the pretend maple syrup.  You know the cheap stuff.  I believe it is $1.49 at Aldi.  I dislike the real thing.  Yuck!    Anyway, we are having breakfast for dinner and I am making my own homemade strawberry pancake syrup.

Strawberry syrup recipe

If this works out I plan to make my own syrup from now on.  I will buy the maple flavoring and make my own artificial maple syrup.  It should cost pennies to make and be a bit healthier than the stuff I buy.  My girls would eat waffles and pancakes every day if I would let them so we go through a lot of syrup.

cooking the syrup

I changed the recipe a bit.  I only added 1/2 cup of sugar and add 1/2 package of strawberry flavored jello (mostly for color but a little for sweetness too).  It seemed a bit too thin so I added a 1/4 tsp of cornstarch to 1 tbsp water and stirred it into the syrup mix.  I strained out the leftover strawberry mash and we are putting that over angel food cake for dessert tommorrow!

~Jess~

meat sale and wrapping tutorial

I went to a meat sale today.  I spent $65 and got

That is just over 32 pounds of meat.

or

an average of $2.03 per pound.

The average is higher than I would have liked due to R wanting baby back ribs.  Without the ribs it would have been $1.75 average...much more to my liking, but R works hard so I can stay at home so he deserves a "treat" once in a while.

Once I got home with all the meat, I proceeded to wrap it into meal sized portions.  Here is a tutorial on how I wrap meat.  I wrap this way because the meat stays fresh longer and prevents freezer burn for a longer time frame.  I cooked ribs last night that were from April 2009.  They got misplaced in the freezer.  They were still as fresh as the day I froze them.  That's some good wrapping!

First I take a piece of Reynolds Freezer wrap.  Place it waxed side up.

Then I stick my meat about 1/3 of the way in from a corner.  This paper wasn't ripped square but you can get the idea.

Then I fold the first corner over the meat, pressing down to flatten the meat and release any air.

Then I bring in the sides. Again squeezing out any air.

I fold the sides in to make a point at the opposite end and I crease the folds, squeezing out any air as I crease.

Bring the wrapped meat over, flipping it onto the creased area.  Again sqeeze out any air.

bring the end over the top of the wrapped meat.

The very edge of the paper should be just a triangle shape.

Secure the triangle using one piece of freezer tape.

label the package with type of meat and date packaged.

For meat with bones I do it essentially the same but I add one step.

I place meat on plastic wrap.

Wrap the meat with the plastic wrap, making sure to squeeze out as much as as possible.

and then proceed with the wrapping.

Ta-Da!  lots of meat wrapped and ready to freeze!

bottom 2 shelves.  Very bottom is all ground beef

2nd from botton is (from left to right)

in the box: Ham, pork ribs.

white wrapped: beef roasts

 clear packaging: ring bologna

top box right side: pork chops

bottom box rght side: Bratwurst

top shelf: chicken, frozen pizzas

2nd shelf: veggies, fries, onion rings,

3rd shelf: steaks, pan of muffins that I need to wrap, cottage cheese (I buy it marked down and freeze it for use in lasagna), homemade strawberry freezer jam.

freezer door

margarine, breadsticks, homemade waffles, ground turkey, butter, pizza sticks, pearl onions, cocktail weiners

garlic bread, juice concentrate, pie crust, cheese, sausage links.

~Jess~

quilts and more quilts.

I am covered in quilts.  HA!  but seriously, I have one almost done for a friend for Christmas.  Just need to tie it.
O's is done and waiting for tying.  Matching pillowcase also made...on a whim.  The pillowcase matches the back of the quilt
square are cut for K's quilt and mostly cut for the youngest neice's quilt.
Instead of tying the quilts which is probably one of the most relaxing things to do, I decided to "fix" the quilt I picked up yesterday.  I had a sheet that was *almost* big enough so I used that for a new back.  By new back I mean I just sewed it right onto the quilt, over the old back.  There is one corner of the old back that is in good shape so I left that corner exposed.  IDK.  It seemed like a good idea.  Kinda show what the quilt originally looked like.  It looks a bit goofy IMO, but this is a HEAVY quilt and will be a good winter quilt for us.  I stood on the scale with it and it added 10 lbs to my weight.  YIKES! I think it is going to be too heavy for O though.  Originally she wanted the quilt but I don't think she will like the bulkiness of it.  I think it will be alright.  I do NOT do show quality quilts.  I do utility quilts.  Ones that are meant to be used.  They are not perfect but they are made with LOVE...that's what's important..IMHO.

the back-ignore my fabric mess.  That is next on my list of things to tackle.

different view of the back

the top.

~Jess~

surprise dig n save trip

I adore the dig and save outlet in Madison.  If you are in Madison and have a couple hours to spare, check out ST Vincent de Paul dig and save outlet at 1900 S park st.  They are open from 10-5.  I believe they now accept debit cards but cash is best. 

A few scores today.  There were more however the rest are quilt stuff which I will take pics of later.  One of the quilt things I picked up is a completed quilt that the backing is tore in a couple spots.  I plan to fix that. 

purple hoodie for Kait and a shirt for Kait

this is going to be the backing for my youngest neice's toddler bed quilt

Levi and Gap carpenter shorts for R

shirts for Liv and Kait (SO, Old Navy, Children's place and something else)

childrens place and Levi shirt for youngest neice, hello Kitty shirt for Liv,children's place pants for youngest neice, peace shirt for K

Gap shirt, skirt and some PJ pants for K, Dora PJ shirt for O

Gap and Lands' End fleece for K and/or O, Sweater Dress K had to have.

pants, PJ pants, shorts for K

Between mom and I we FILLED the trunk of her car for $40.  Sweet!

~Jess~

house is done and more

The contractor finished the house on Friday.  Hooray!  Now we started planning for a deck for next spring and rain gutter. 

Today R and I blanched and prepped 36 ears of corn for the freezer.  We also chopped 5 vidalia onions for the freezer and added 2 diced green peppers to our freezer stash of green peppers.  We planned dinners for this week too.

It has been 2 weeks since my surgery and we are finally getting back into the swing of things. 

I started a Christmas present quilt and have a tote Christmas present pieced.  I just need to do some more sewing.  I scored a huge bag of fabric (25 lbs or better) for $6.50 at a local thrift store.  Some of that will become potholders for Christmas gifts, as well as totes and quilt squares.  I have a ton of sewing to do before Christmas!

the next couple of months are winter prep mode around here.  Not only do we do outside winter prep, we also do inside winter prep stuff.  Which is stocking the freezer with the delicious veggies of summer so we can enjoy them in the winter.  We also stock meats and whatever else we feel like (zucchini bread actually freezes really well!). 
~Jess~

updates

It's been a long time since I update the blog. 

The house is coming along nicely.  Unfortunately, the contractor needed just a bit more siding and a window got broke on the way to the house so we are waiting for those two things for the project to be completed.

The week before last was an awful week here.  Monday was the only good day.  Tuesday I went to the ER and was admitted.  On Thursday I had surgery to have my gall bladder removed.  I came home Thursday afternoon. Also on Tuesday my Grandma passed away and due to my surgery I was unable to attend the funeral.  Friday a limb fell from a big tree in front of the house and hit the front porch.  It caused minimal damage however the tree needed to be removed.  Saturday we had some people come over to help cut down the tree and one of the guys was injured pretty badly (broken wrist, bruising, gash above an eye).

Saturday night K and I went to see Montgomery Gentry at a local theatre, however I just could not get into it.  I was hurting and worried about my friend and didn't enjoy the concert.  K did manage to get 2 feet from Troy Gentry however.  That was a highlight. 

Thrifty things:
I scored a new printer at the thrift store for $3.  It is identical to what I had and just bought a bunch of ink for.  I was glad for that.  I couldn't return the ink because it was a 4 pack and I used 2. 

I have been collecting fabrics and flat sheets from garage sales and thrift stores for quilt making.  I currently have a full large tote box.  I will be making 5 quilts for Christmas and 3 tote bags so I am trying to do it cheaply. 

Late in August we are having a cookout/house is done party.  Trying to plan for that on the cheap has proved to be interesting.  Will post more about that once I get some RSVPs back and know how many people plan to come.

~Jess~

Walgreens this week (so far)

by the numbers:
10 mens gillette bodywash
6 Herbal essence products
Total retail price: $73.84
my OOP $36.90 (includes $3 for a Father's day card)
RR banked up as of right now $30.50
My oop if I count the RR as cash=$6.40 ($3 was a card so essentially only $3.40 on body wash and hair care stuff)
total amount saved as of now:$49.45

amount of transactions left to do
6 for hair products
2 for bodywash

Then a couple for super cheap mountain dew for R.  That is the reason I am banking up the RRs.  Soda is on sale 4/$14 and get back $4 in RR so I can get 4 12 packs of soda, use 3 of my $4.50 RRs and pay 50 cents plus tax OOP and get back $4 in RR..which I will use in the following weeks on pullups. 

My OOP could have been less if I was rolling the RR into multiple transactions, BUT with only one Walgreens in town I try to stay lowkey.  They all know me by now though :)


Rumor has it that the new rewards program Walgreens is going to limit the Register Rewards.  That is the reason I am stocking up on this stuff now. The only thing I still would like to stock up on is some women's bodywash.  Just waiting for a good (FREE) sale!

~Jess~

curbside find from the neighbors

They were throwing it out so I asked if I could have it.  They said I could so here it is.  A new outside toybox..for free!

So I know I said I was going to do a spending challenge but K got sick and we had some things going on this weekend.  We didn't spend a whole lot but I am not doing a challenge right now.

We went to a parade on Saturday and a lady had a float that was advertising her homemade laundry detergent.  I was lucky enough to get a sample.  It is EXACTLY like mine, which I thought was super cool.  Then I let a little of my "inner hippie" out when talking with the neighbor tonight about the laundry detergent.  She was out in her yard and asked if we went to the parade.  I said yes and then she asked if  got a sample of that laundry detergent.  I said sure did. She said she ended up buying some and I said it is just like the stuff I make.  That shocked her that I make my own and I told her it ends up costing about $2 for a 5 gallon bucket since I have to leave out the borax (Rodney and Liv react to it).  I offered to teach her to make it if she wanted and she said she was going to try this stuff out and if she liked it she would have me teach her.  Cool!  I love to share my knowledge with those who are receptive :)

~Jess~

upcoming Walgreens deal

next week Walgreens will have Herbal Essence hair care for $2.99 and get back a $2 RR and gillette and old spice men's bodywash $4.49 and get $4.49 back in RR.  After coupons this stuff will be free (only paying tax).

I ordered coupons from the coupon clippers dot com.  Great site.  I have used them multiple times.  Excellent customer service. 

My plan is as follows:

1 herbal essence $2.99-$1 coupon=$1.99 + plus tax OOP get back $2 RR

then:

2 gillette bodywash $4.49 each-buy one get one free coupon-$2 RR from herbal essence=$2.49 + tax, get back $4.49 RR

I am going to bank up the $4.49 RRs and use them to get soda for R which is on sale 3/$12 and get back $4 RR when you buy 3.

3 12 packs $12
2 on sale dish soap (I need it anyway and I will need a filler to bring the cost up the the RR amount) $1.98 (99 cents each)

$13.98 + tax total
-$4.49 RR
-$4.49 RR
-$4.49 RR
= $.51 + tax and get back $4 RR


When it is all said and done I will end up with:

11 total herbal essence shampoo and conditioner
10 gillette body wash
4 old spice bodywash
6 12 packs of soda

all for about the regular retail price of the soda (which I would be buying anyway).

I haven't done Walgreens in a while so this is a good week to jump back in.  After this I will only need to pay attention to deals on cold medicine and pain relievers for awhile.  We will have plenty of the other stuff again.





~Jess~

menu planning

I have always been against menu planning.  It is just not for me.  I hate knowing on Monday that I am going to have chicken stir fry on Friday.  UGH!  I like variety and spontaneity in my meals.  That being said I am going against myself a bit and giving it a try.  I am not planning out day by day rather I am picking 5 weekly meals and making them when I feel like it.  I will make sure I have those ingredients on hand on Monday and go from there.  Some people plan out Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks but we are making it easy and starting with just dinners.  Some people menu plan based on what they have on hand and what is on sale.  Some plan around on sale meats.  I am planning around our fresh veggies.  A little odd, perhaps.  But I hate to waste fresh veggies.  We have plenty of meat so I don't need to plan around whats on sale.  Whats on sale has already been stocked in my freezer.  I am not planning for weekends because we never know what is happening on the weekend until the weekend so I will wing it. 

We have a lot of food in the freezers and cupboards so look for a no/little spend on food challenge soon :)  like starting Friday.

This weeks menu

beef roast with mashed potatoes and carrots

beef and chicken shishkabobs with pepper, onion and mushrooms, chicken rice as a side

BLTs with mac n cheese

grilled chicken bacon ranch salads

tacos with spanish rice

easy, right?





~Jess~

successful recipe hack-cinnamon raisin biscuits like Hardee's

4 cups self-rising flour
3/4 cup shortening
2 cups milk or buttermilk
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup raisins

1.Mix flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and sugar.

2.Blend in shortening with a fork until mixture is fine.

3.Add milk and stir until just mixed. Add raisins and mix.

4.Add cinnamon and mix until swirled through batter. Do not mix batter any more than you have to.

5.Scrape batter onto well floured surface. Flour top and pat down with hands until 1/2-inch thick.

6.Cut with 2-inch cutter and place on greased baking pan.

7.Bake at 400°F for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

8.Frost with powdered sugar glaze icing.

I didn't have self rising flour so I added another 2 tsp of baking powder and another tsp of salt. I used regular shortening but I think butter flavor might taste a bit better but IDK for sure.

I used 1 1/2 cups raisins and dried cranberries. We cut the dough with a egg shaped cookie cutter.

For the glaze I just dumped powder sugar in a bowl and added a dash of milk and a dash of vanilla. I mixed and it was a bit dry yet so I added just a dash more milk and it worked well. it called for whole milk but skim worked just fine.

the biscuit in the pic with the whiter icing is actually a store bought one from our local grocery store.  Mine taste better than the store bought. HA! 

~Jess~

updated garage sale shopping list

Back in April I posted a shopping list of things I was looking for from garage sales this year.  Here is an update of that list on what I have found and what I am still looking for.

My 2010 garage sale wishlist




sofa (has to be just right though so I doubt this will happen) happened today!

kitchen chair (I don't have matching furniture now so I don't care that it matches anything) no longer need because I found a computer chair for $5

computer chair (then we wouldn't need the kitchen chair) hooray I got it!

jeans and t-shirts for R I have found a few shirts and some jeans for R.  He is set for a while now

jeans for me found 2 pairs today

wafflemaker *found at Goodwill*

eccentric plates and glasses still looking but haven't found any I really liked yet but this isn't a need

yard tools (shovel, hoe, etc) I have this stuff now but wanted to upgrade so this isn't a need.  I have passed up some on sales when I thought they were too high. 

bigger wheelbarrow kicking myself on this one.  I stopped at an estate sale a few weeks ago and bought a coffee table.  They had a wheelbarrow there for $2 that was nice.  I thought about getting it but had no way to haul it.  Later I got the jeep and it was gone.  Oh well.  I could have asked them to hold it but I do have a wheelbarrow...it is just not very deep.

good clothesline poles (I am thinking metal) I built a new wooden clothesline so I really don't need these now.

size 7 and up girls clothes I need to take inventory on this.  I have amassed quite a bit but I need to sort by size now and see what I need yet

summer dresses for K and O found quite a few

handmade quilts found a nice one today and have been collecting fabric for making my own.  I still am keeping an eye out though.  I love quilts.


~Jess~

This deserves a post all on it's own!

I know I said I would just update the other post with more garage sale scores but this one deserves its own post.

couch

loveseat

$40 for the SET!  OMG!  I am excited!

and

$2 for this quilt at a church rummage sale.  As you know I adore quilts.  I couldn't believe they only had $2 on this.  I scooped it up like it was a winning lottery ticket.  Yeah, I am a dork but so what! 

~Jess~

garage sales 6/9-6/12

I know this is early but there were a couple sales yesterday already here!




So yesterday I got a small 2 section dish for our new kitten 25 cents

a set of measuring scoops (I have wanted some of these for a long time) 75 cents

and 2 full size and 1 queen size flat sheets for 25 cents each. I use them as quilt backing so when I find them so cheap I am ecstatic. I haven't been quilting lately as it is so nice out but when winter comes again I will be doing lots of quilts as Christmas gifts.


Today there were a lot of sales and we got

a brand new never used stand up cheese grater that I am going to use for laundry soap making $1

a walmart sized plastic bag full of fabric 50 cents (most of it was already cut into squares for quilting but the one piece that I really wanted to make my MIL a handbag for Christmas is cut just perfect for a handbag!

lands end jeans for K (like new)$1

7 or 8 shirts for the girls 25 cents each. I didn't count. I just grabbed and checked them out . They were all character ones (ariel, mickey mouse, disney princesses, and tinkerbell) and 1 brewers shirt. My DH loves the brewers and wanted to get the girls a shirt anyway.

new car cup (sippy cup) for O 25 cents

sandals for me 50 cents. I was super stoked to find these. I NEVER find shoes in my size at garage sales so I was happy about this!

throw rug for the living room $1...just what I was looking for!

computer chair $5...very nice!

a couple of sandbox toys for the kids $1

lands end sandals for K 50 cents

strawberry shortcake sandals for O $1

nice pair of skechers for K (2 sizes too big but they were like new so I couldn't pass that up. I will put them in the tote of her next size clothes. Her feet grow fast!) $1
~Jess~
*will update later this weekend if I go to anymore sales*

hanging baskets

I wanted to hang 2 baskets of flowers from my front porch.  I told R and he said go ahead and get some.  Well I went to day and WOW!  the cheapest baskets were $17 EACH!  Too much for me.  So I ended up buying 6 4 packs of flowers at $1.49, 2 hanging baskets at $1.99 each, and 1 big bag of potting soil for $1.99.  Just under $15 and 30 minutes of my time and I have 2 hanging baskets on the front porch now.
That is less than the cost of just one of the not so nice looking cheapy baskets.  Now that's thrifty!


~Jess~

somewhat thriftily splurged on myself today.

I splurged on myself today. 

You see, I have psorasis on my legs, elbows and scalp.  I have been dealing with it for over 10 years now and I just deal.  It doesn't bother me.  However, the stares when I wear shorts in public do.  They don't bother me so much for me but they do bother me for the kids.  No kid wants their mom to be the "freak mom".  It is so hot in the summer wearing pants all the time.  I wear shorts around home but I won't wear them in public.  Today I bought a couple long summery skirts.  They were on sale for $19 each and I had a coupon for $10 off if you spent $50 so I also got a couple tank tops and a pair of athletic pants for volleyball. 

After I got home from shopping I made an appointment for a haircut and an eyebrow wax.  The wax was $5 if you got a haircut at the same time.  I was in dire need of a hair cut and I have never had my eyebrows waxed.  I always just plucked so this was something new and I LOVE it.  I look so much better and feel much more feminine.  All together today I spent about $80 on myself but it was worth it.  I feel MUCH better about myself.


~Jess~

Thursday and Friday Garage sales

Thursday:
Tinkerbell shoes for K 25 cents
gap jeans for K $1
Bratz purse for K 25 cents
bobble head cat and a braclet 25 cents
a couple shirts 25 cents each
big wheel trike that makes motorcycle noises for ) $3

Friday
shorts, jeans, shirts for K about $6 total (got quite a bit for this
:real life princess dress" for K $2
Thomas Train for O $2
4 stuffed care bears $1
Mickey Mouse shirt for O $1

and from the thrift store
cowboy boots for k for the concert $2
budweiser fabric for the quilt I am making for R $5 for almost 3 yards.

just a few of the clothes

this pic is not very good.  These actually look much better than this pic shows.

~Jess~

new shelves in the garage and more

Some pics of the shelves I built in the garage.  Dad is giving me some L brackets so I will have a few more shelves and pics of them later.

hanging bar for stuff

Other stuff:

swingset painted

swingset before~this was taken in March

toy storage area

garden is growing

~Jess~

been neglecting my blog again

but it's for good reason.  I have been busy with the block grant stuff and painting, getting ready for the completely redone outside of our house.  I wanted to repaint the front porch and side porch.  I got the front porch done before I ran out of paint.  I hope to do the side porch soon but we need to do something with the sides before I can do too much with that. 

I also built a new clothesline, painted the poles for the clotheslines (I have 2 now), painted the garage door, painted the kids' wooden swingset, and have been just plugging away on house projects.

In the midst of all this painting, I had a garage sale as well.  R and I made about $165 total from our stuff, my brother made $15, and the kids made about $10.  My parents and a friend made about $10 together.  Not bad for 11 hours of garage sale.I probably made about $10/hr with the time I spent on setup and actually running the sale.

~Jess~