Category Archives: Life

5 Things Friday

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1. The school year is in full swing and I am busy. One of the main reasons I am busy is the major overhaul project of rebuilding/making useable the metal building at the end of our driveway. We took down the entire structure which was a metal tube frame and are working on rebuilding.  I am hopefully that by this time next week, the project will be complete and I have been taking pictures to share at the end.
2. Zach’s JV football team is currently 2-0. Yesterday, his game was cancelled because of storms. Unfortunately, we had driven an hour, and sat in the parking lot an hour before it was cancelled.
3. Zach was able to get his driver’s license this week.  Our driveway is getting crowded. But it is nice to not have to drive someone everywhere every day. I am excited and looking forward to this new chapter/season of life.
4. I am happy to report that all my meal preparation over the summer is working.   We are also working hard to use up items before purchasing. I was able to reduce our grocery budget for August by $300 and plan to reduce more in $400.
5. We have planned Kendall’s graduation cruise. This is an item she has talked about for several years.  We will be cruising in April.  I hope it will be all she wants!

Saving on Saturday- When Life Gives you Lemons Edition

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This year we have new neighbors move in beside of us.  Nothing concerning until he came over and started asking about the property line.  I did not even get concerned then. Next he said that he was having a fence installed to help keep some of his animals from coming over to our house. Sounds like another great idea as I am not fond of having goats on our deck. Next we noticed that he marked the property line from front to back but still I was not all that concerned. We left for our beach vacation and the work started that same day. This is the view we came home to…

 

Frist this is extremely close to the road, 23 feet from the center with 30 feet being the state right of way.

Next it is just ugly you put the back side of the fence toward us!  This fence goes from the road to the woods.  We began talking about how we improve the appearance from our side. Now is where the saving money comes in.  After talking and checking prices we decided to add pickets on our side.   The total cost for just the pickets and nails to attach was $875.  I am going to estimate that we saved the same amount!

 

Tuesday Thoughts- Camping at the Beach!

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The one rule I stated when we first purchased the camper several years ago was “no beach camping”  I stuck to that for at least three years. But the convivence of taking everything I want together with the cheaper rates that camping offers along with lots of discussion with my kids. We decided to give it a try.

I am a convert, we will be camping at the beach for many trips to come.  I wanted to make sure I had a record of things that worked and things I might do in the future.

I bought a small plastic pool for $10 in April. This worked well as a extra place to wash feet and shoes. We dumped it each day and clean totally at least 3 times. I am going to just use as a shoe catching spot on future non beach trips.

We used the outside shower to rinse several times that just our feet were dirty. We also bought a water hose sprinkler to use to wash off all the beach toys. It was so nice to be able to wash all the beach toys by the camper on the last day. Everything air dried and was put away!

We always keep our bath baskets outside.  But each day before going to the beach we packed our baskets so that no one went inside the camper after going to the beach instead we grab our baskets and headed to the bath house. Even swim suits were washed at the shower and hung to dry!  No extra sand inside!  A huge bonus was that I did not clean any sand from a shower!  The pressure at the bathhouse was high but it did remove the sand.

We placed a “screen room” around the picnic table which was a good spot to keep out bath baskets during the day!  It was also nice to play cards with a few less bugs outside.

Everyone took a turn for vacuuming the camper each night at bedtime. This also made a huge sand difference.

The rain was a big problem with a sand parking spot. Next time we are going to get a concrete pad so that should make things a tad bit easier.

We ended up eating at the camper the most we ever had and we even ate more at the camper than when we stayed at a house.  Ice cream for desert was a treat at least 3 nights but the cost was worth it and much less than meals out.

Five Things Friday

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  1. Today is Zach and Kendall’s official last day of school.  Neither one has been to school over half a day this week. Nor has either one gone every day this week.  I have 7 days left but really only 6 as I have appointments next Thursday so I am taking that day off.
  2. We have been getting a small harvest from the garden everyday.  I have been able to freeze a couple of bags of shredded zucchini and 4 more bags of squash casserole. Zach was able to pick blueberries but they did not make it inside the house.
  3. The weather continues to be strange and on top of that our pool (community) is currently not functioning and we have yet to have a swim team practice.
  4. We have been able to obtain some wooden platelets with goals to build a garden box to grow potatoes with easy opening/dumping door. Increase the height of the greenhouse by 2 feet to allow Matt to use comfortably and as the structure for a hydroponic growing system.
  5. Lily has decided that she wants to pursue a certification that will allow her to work with immigrants. This is an answer to prayer and exciting and scarey all  at once.

5 Things Friday

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  1. The weather is always or maybe just the Spring weather is crazy. For the first time that I can remember, I caved and turn the air on for a couple of weeks in April. The temps were in the 80s and the house was miserable. Much to my surprise last Sunday, it was cooler outside than inside so I turned the air back off. I am watching the temperature like a hawk.  It appears we have switched two weeks in April for two weeks in May. I will likely be turning the air back on again this Thursday. Middle of May is usual for the air.  Uggh but at least I saved some money.
  2. The weather also effects how the garden is growing. I did not think there was a chance of getting a Spring harvest due to how quickly it turned and stayed warm.  But with the cooler temperatures for the past couple of weeks, We managed a decent harvest of radishes and the broccoli plants out front are huge. I am doubtful we will get a broccoli head but I am willing to give it another couple of weeks before pulling and feeding them to the chickens.
  3. When the kids were younger, before a Disney trip we would start walking a mile a day as a family. This was usually at least 2 or 3 months before going so that no one would complain about walking. Last year, we did this with Braxton as he was too big for a stroller.  Matt and I have started walking because we don’t want to be so sore and tired from our short trip.  We don’t even have a month but my goal is to get 10 miles in as prep.  So far we have managed 2 but at least it is consistent and something to prepare for.
  4. Summer count down is on, Lily is finished with college and the graduation ceremony is this weekend.  Kendall is finished with her Spring semester which means she has finished an entire year of community college. Kendall and Zach have 4 weeks of school left and I have 5 weeks left!
  5. Zach has switched from baseball to football and this past week was our slowest week until Summer. He and Kendall both have meetings and Life Guard training for the next couple of weekends as well.

5 Things Friday AKA What I did for Spring Break.

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1.We, Lily and I planned a short but packed Disney trip for the end of May, approximately 2 weeks ago.  It is something I am convinced we all need and will enjoy. So, in anticipation of the trip, I am going to save as much money as possible between then and now.  I would love to have $1000 but that is going to be a stretch.  The catch to the saving is that it has to come from extra money, not money that I am budgeting. I have worked out the budget for May already, so this is truly going to be a challenge. One caveat is that money left over from the grocery budget can be counted as savings. In addition, I am also going to say no Amazon buying unless absolutely needed.  I will try and deduct this amount from any savings we get.

2. This is week has been both the kids and I week of Spring Break. I have really really tried to get alot of things caught up and prepared ahead for the next month as well. Which hopefully will help with the goal above. Braxton has been with us for at least half of four out of 5 days this week. He is actually enjoying screen free time!

3. One of the areas I have focused on this week is outside both for gardening and landscaping. I have spent $300ish on additional plants, soil and mulch. This includes paying Zach for lots of hot work applying mulch and helping getting the yard looking it’s best.  I have been able to purchase 2 hydrangeas for $14.00 each on clearance, along with several other “clearance” plants that have helped to completely fill by Greenstalk vertical planters. I found angel trumpet trees on Facebook marketplace. Zach helped me repurpose by painting several older planters with a fresh coat of paint which I think turned out great!

I will give a better garden update on Sunday, but we have not lost any plants from transplanting, and we have a watermelon growing!  I am so pleased. Several hours and bags of dirt went to finishing up the planting space. My goal is to finish all the Spring planting today!  I really only have one area to plant now that the dirt is filled.

4.. The other area that I have worked on this week is cleaning and organizing parts of the house. One was the living room, where we found a 5-gallon bucket of water sealant. Zach used this outside as well. I also moved all the plants outside for the fresh air and sunshine.  The living room is so open now it is amazing!  I also spent time filling and organizing the canning closet. I added 28 jars of beef stock and 8 cans of white beans.

5. I also planned to work on getting our food together for the next 4 to 8 weeks (until Summer break). I actually made multiple trips to Costco and Food lion. I also attempted to use up items in our freezers.  I am proud to say other than 1 lunch at McDonald’s for $10.69 We have eaten at home all week. This is huge! I have made multiple batches of sour dough and frozen some.

Overall this was a great productive week!

Thursday Thoughts

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Lots of things are happening. Wanted to share a few thoughts with you.

  1. Our trip to Florida was different this time.  First, we drove my car instead of the Tahoe.  We chose this because of the holiday travel. I did not want to be pulling a camper on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.  By driving the car, we were able to stop for gas less, make better time, eat at a drive thru and overall spent about half the amount on gas as we normally do. Next, we purchased lighten lanes to use at Disney- This was a true luxury.  We were able to watch 3 shows, ride all the rides we wanted except 1 (Rise of the Resistance) in a shorter day at Hollywood Studios.  I am not convinced that we will need this in the future but they did make things much easier and quicker.  Finally we enjoyed staying at hotels but even Zach said he preferred the campground and staying in the camper to a hotel room.  I really missed the extra luggage space as well.
  2. Both kids are on the swim teams which means 3 days a week practice with one usually a morning one. We have two meets before Christmas Zach has also started baseball workouts which are also three days a week.
  3. The weather has made a massive change with snow and wind which means extreme cold, and I DISLIKE the cold. The benefit is that we are having lots of soup this week!
  4. My friend Nancy and I are planning a Christmas Dinner party. I am excited and really do enjoy cooking when I don’t have to hurry or worry about it.  I am hopefully to have some time to sit and plan and hopefully even share how I am planning and preparing for it.
  5. Because of the party, I would like to have our house clean and super clean. I had a house cleaner come this week on Monday and another cleaning scheduled for 3 days before the party.   I also am making a short list of extra chores that just need to be done ahead of time.
  6. In preparation for the party, I want to try out a dinner roll recipe and see if I can get decent results.  I hope to accomplish this on Saturday along with making Reindeer Crack.
  7. Most of the Christmas decorating is complete.  I decided to only put up a Disney Village and one LARGE tree.  I did add a couple of decorations to the kitchen but legitimately about half of the regular decorations.  We have not decorated the outside except for Matt who has installed permanent lights.  Another Saturday goal is to pull out and get the outside decorations done.
  8.  I currently have purchased and wrapped all Christmas presents!  I am super excited and proud of this accomplishment.
  9. My work continues to be stressful.  This school year has been one of the hardest for me.
  10. My mother’s surgery is scheduled for next week. This is to finally get her heart back in a normal rhythm.  I am praying this get her back some energy.
  11. We are headed back to Florida on the Saturday after Christmas. This trip has two purposes: celebrate Christmas with Haley and David  and bring Lily home!
  12. I am in total agreement that December is just as busy if more busy than the month of May!

Five Things

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  1. This has been a better week for me. I have been able to enjoy work and am actually staying somewhat caught up.  I hope to continue this routine as the first of this school year has been rough and I am glad to not dread coming to work.
  2. We are headed to Florida for Thanksgiving. We have travel alot more years than we have stayed at home on Thanksgiving. My only disappointment is the temperature in Florida are suppose to be in the 70s , I was hoping for 80s.
  3. Thanksgiving is late this year, the last week of November so I have decided to go ahead and decorate!   I hope by the end of the weekend to have all the decorations that I am going to use both inside and outside in place.
  4. Zach has already started practice for Baseball in the Spring,  He is continuing to swim.  This means that staying at home all evenings was short lived but much enjoyed. I am glad that he finishes baseball around 4:45 instead of 5:45.
  5. I think we have settled our plans for Christmas/ New Years so now I definitely need to get my plans together for the beach next year!

Successful Saturday

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Today was an awesome day!  I have been behind and feeling overwhelmed for a season, so I need to celebrate even small wins!

Today Matt was able to get the new permanent light up and working on the house. He was able to get a couple of new electrical outlets placed last week so that puts up finished up with another one of the projects we have taken on.

I decided that we needed to pull up a flower bed on the side of the house under my office window. We have attempted for at least 5 if not 10 years to get something to grow in this area.  It only gets probably two hours of sunlight a day.  Zach spent a couple of hours removing the bounder and scrapping up the mulch.  I purchased two bags of grass seeds; Zach was also able to get the seed out in the yard and in the area where he removed the “no grow bed”   Hopefully we will get some pretty grass from this attempt.

I was able to get our Halloween box of decorations and outfits packed up and put away as well. I also did some food rotation in order to keep up using what we have and reducing the need to purchase more food.

I got meal prepping done, including our soup for dinner for tomorrow. I also planned the meals for the week.

Amazon returns have been done.

Suitcases have been unpacked and returned.

The house is not dirty but not clean and I am finally starting to feel like we can breathe!

5 Things Friday

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  1. One of the areas that I have been struggling with getting and keeping the house clean. For the past many years, I have been paying different kids to complete cleaning around the house. But currently, both the girls are working pretty much every day, so no time for cleaning.  One purchase we have made is robot vacuums’. One for the upstairs, main area of the house and a second for the living room which is down a set of steps.  Matt is in charge of emptying these. It is getting easier to remember to turn them on and I think we have been able to remove all the things that they get caught on.
  2. Our house projects are getting completed. The bathroom and deck should be completed before the end of August. We have decided that we need to have a couple of additional electrical outlets installed including one dedicated for the camper. We still need to order and install a new front door.  One last project will be once the bathroom is done, we are planning to build shelves in the closet area.
  3. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed today. We are heading to me returning to work full time and I still have several things on my personal list that I want to tackle this summer.  I am waking up without an alarm and trying just to do the next right thing. I am actually looking forward to the trip to take Lily as this will force me to just stop and enjoy the ride.
  4. My garden has been so crazy this year.  I have been able to harvest and preserve many items but June was extremely dry and July has been the wettest on record.  I am planning to post pictures because I think my garden looks more like beginning of July instead of the beginning of August. That is not a bad think but may mean lots of preserving even after I return to work.
  5. I had not planned to participate in August in the “Every Bit Challenge”  I return to work in the middle of the month and with our trip at the first of the month I did not think I would be able to preserve much at all. However, that has not been the case so far. Yesterday, I made 3 bags of grilled chicken, 5 bags of cubed chicken and 6 bags of shredded chicken. Today, I canned 5 quarts of broth and made 6 bags of tomato sauce.

Bonus List of Every Bit Counts Challenge list:
3 chicken and broccoli casseroles
20 pints of salsa
45 quarts and 12 pints of spaghetti sauce
4 quarts of baked beans
4 cheeseburger pizza bags and dough
3 cheeseburger Pies
30 omelet bags
chicken spinach lasagna
2 million Dollar Spaghetti Pies
6 bags of squash casserole mix
Frozen blueberries
Frozen bananas
4 pints of strawberry syrup
15 quarts and 3 pints of beef broth
21# of canned shelf stable ground beef. These are in pint jars so approximately 1# per jar.
4 meals of Sloppy Joes canned in addition to our lunch for Saturday as well.
30 Salisbury steaks cooked and vacuum sealed in the freezer.
30 Cheddar Bacon Hamburger patties
38 Regular plain Hamburger patties!