Weekly Goals Update: Week 6

1.  Disaster Preparedness
I struggled with week six which is evacuation preparedness.  The area where I live is normally where people evacuate so I have no idea where we could go.  I ended up not doing much at all with this.  I am more focused on being prepared to stay at home.


2.  Makeover the Garden
This past week Toby and I cleaned out the bee garden.  I was surprised to see that many of the flowers have already started to sprout back out.  This area of the garden should just need maintenance.  I purposely chose flowers that would self-seed and regrow each year.


3.  Organize Recipes
I went through a few more cookbooks this past week to determine if they were worth keeping or not.  This week is supposed to be rainy so I plan to go through at least one section of my personal recipe books.


4.  Have 13 No Spend Grocery Weeks
We made a trip to a store we rarely shop at to stock up on W's juice and fruit cups.  I already have a list made for this week so I my no spend week will be later in the month.


5.  Focus on Saving
I mentioned in my Frugal Friday post that I seriously priced toilet paper last week.  While it was not an enormous one time saving over time little bits add up to a large amounts.  It pays to know what a good stock up price for your area is.  The toilet paper scenario is a good example of what I want to do this year.  It is all about the little things.


6.  Have Fun
I know raking in the yard is not most people's idea of fun, but I loved it.  That was the highlight of my week.

Weekend Book Reviews

Murder Borrowed, Murder Blue by Stephanie Blackmoore is the third book in the Wedding Planner Mystery series.  I have read the previous books, but it is not necessary to enjoy this one.  Mallory's wedding planning business and bed & breakfast is doing well.  Now she has the chance to plan a wedding for actress Dakota on a reality television show.  She also got coerced into hosting the Winter Ball for a nearby girls' boarding school right before the big wedding.  When a body is discovered at the ball, Mallory adds solving a mystery to her project list.  I adore this series.  Mallory is a great lead character, and the supporting characters (human and animal) only add to the charm of this series.  I enjoyed all of the twists and turns of the mystery and am already looking forward to the next book.

Niki Jabbour's Veggie Garden Remix by Niki Jabbour shares 224 new plants to add to your garden.  I am always on the lookout for something new - as in no one else I know is growing it - to include in my garden.  I loved that the author took plants you probably already grow and gave you options related to them.  I was happy to see some of my favorites included such as tomatillos, fish pepper, and cucamelons.  I was excited to find some new varieties of eggplant and spinach to try.  I got some good information on growing tomatillos which should increase my success.  This is a wonderful book for any gardener that likes to grow outside the box.

disclosure:  I received these e-books through NetGalley but was not otherwise compensated for these reviews.  All opinions are my own!

Weekend Book Reviews

5 Habits of a Woman Who Doesn't Quit by Nicki Koziarz takes a look at the book of Ruth in the Bible.  The author provides plenty of real life examples of times she has quit or life has been less than perfect.  I appreciated her honestly as life can be very trying at times.  The author related the five habits to Ruth, but the book falls a bit short if you are looking for in depth Bible study.  I did find it encouraging and worth reading. 

Ginger Bolton is the author of Survival of the Fritters, the first book in the Deputy Donut Mystery series.  Emily, once a 911 operator, is now the co-owner of a doughnut shop.  She works with her father-in-law who is a former police chief as well as her feline Deputy Donut.  When one of the shops regulars, Georgia, does not show up to meet with her friends, Emily goes with them to search the house.  Georgia is dead in her home, and Emily has a mystery to solve.  I enjoyed the premise of this book as well as the characters, but it seemed to drag on and on.  In addition to it being slow, the story was repetitive.  Emily would repeat herself.  I might blame the slowness of the book to the fact that it was the first and would read a second book.   

disclosure:  I received these e-books through NetGalley but was not otherwise compensated for these reviews.  All opinions are my own!

Frugal Friday

Since I skipped last week I decided to go for ten frugal things this Friday.

1.  I picked a cabbage from my parents' garden.  While free cabbage is good, as a bonus the rabbits got to eat the extra leaves.

2.  I took advantage of a free 8x10 from Walgreens to get an Easter printable for the frame that stays on the kitchen counter.


3.  I checked the herb seeds I had left from last year before I ordered any.  It saved me some money since I did not order unnecessary seeds.  Most seed are good for more than one year so it pays to save any leftover seed.


4.  One of the fruit cups I purchased for W's lunch had molded even though the expiration date was months off.  I called the company to let them know of the problem and to tell them how much he enjoyed their product.  This past week I received a check to cover the cost of the replacing the product.


5.  I dropped the thermostat temperature two degrees thanks to the warmer February temperatures.  I hate, hate, hate to be cold so we keep our house a bit warmer than most people.  You have to choose where to save and when to spend a bit.


6.  Our oldest cat Lucy has taken to sleeping in the back bathroom since it is quieter there and generally puppy free.  I looked at getting her a cat bed to sleep in.  Instead I took an old pillow and old pillowcase for her to sleep on.  She ignored it for about a week but has finally decided to sleep on it.  I am happy that she has a soft, comfy bed and that it was completely free.

7.  I stuck to the menu plan this past week which also meant I stuck to my grocery list and budget.


8.  I started working on our taxes.  This is one of my least favorite chores, but it is easy with Turbo Tax.  Even though I do pay each year for the software, preparing our taxes myself is much cheaper than having someone else do them.


9.  I shopped around for the best price on toilet paper this week.  Lately I had gotten into the habit of buying it where it is convenient.  This week I seriously checked prices.  I saved nearly 20 cents per roll. 


10.  I earned enough Swagbucks for another Lowe's gift card.  That should cover the lumber for another raised bed. 

Pantry Challenge Aftermath

I do not want anyone to think that just because the pantry challenge ended that I went crazy with grocery shopping.  I did stick with my change of using cash for my purchases.  I increased my budget to $40 per week.  I am still focused on making good use of what is in the pantry.  I planned meals this past week around what was on hand. 


I did splurge a bit on some America's Test Kitchen cookbooks (*Amazon Kindle Daily Deals) this past week.  I am looking to cook healthier foods.  I got a vegetarian cookbook.  W is quite open to meatless meals, and I thought this would give me some more ideas.  I also bought a Mediterranean cookbook for some healthier options.  Finally I ordered a cooking for two cookbook.  If for nothing else, I can use the cookbook to make meals for myself while W is at work.  The cost of the cookbook was just over one frozen grocery store dinner.  The food I make will be healthier and tastier.

I did have some additional spending.  You see while most of America made resolutions to lose weight in 2018 I am trying to gain some.  I do not want to do it by eating junk food and empty calories.  I spent on better for me food - nuts, dried fruit, Larabars, and protein powder.  This was separate from my regular grocery spending.  I have tried eating just what we had around the house with no real progress so it was time to order some foods with additional calories.  I got better deals on Amazon than I could locally. 


Is anyone else dealing with health necessary food spending?  I know some people have allergies and intolerances that can make grocery budgeting a challenge.  Do you feel that eating healthier has an effect on your grocery spending?

Weekly Goals Update: Week 5

1.  Disaster Preparedness
Week 5 is pet care.  My focus is on having the supplies that I need to care for them as we are more likely to be stranded than need to evacuate.  I make sure to keep extra food on hand as well as water.  For the outside animals we have a water barrel that stays full of water.  The garden almost always has something for the chickens and rabbits to eat. 


2.  Makeover the Garden
I did not work on the garden this past week.  I expect very little will get done outside until March.  I did order the first set of herb seeds that I need. 


3.  Organize Recipes
I went through the appetizer, bread and side dish sections of my recipe books.  I want to work on a couple more sections this week.  My long term plans are to sort through my cookbooks and add any frequently used recipes to my binders so they are easier to find. 


4.  Have 13 No Spend Grocery Weeks
I did go grocery shopping this past week.  I do plan to skip grocery shopping at least one week this month.


5.  Focus on Saving
I used a coupon this past week to get a deal on treats for Toby.  We continued to go to two grocery stores in order to get the best deals.  I used some Amazon coupons to get a few deals that were better than anything available in local stores. 


6.  Have Fun
I am trying to remember if I did anything particularly fun this past week.  I guess I will just have to do better this week!

Weekend Book Reviews

Scone Cold Killer by Lena Gregory is the first book in the All Day Breakfast Café Mystery series.  Gia's life falls apart when she discovers that her husband is a scam artist.  She divorces him and moves south to Florida to start her life over.  She never bargained for the wild wildlife or finding her ex-husband dead behind her new café.  Now she must solve the mystery to prove her innocence and save her café.  I enjoyed this first book but would like to see the characters develop a bit more as the series progresses.  The setting was fun, and the twist on the café is a fun one.  I look forward to a second book in this series. 

Libby Klein's Class Reunions are Murder is the first book in the Poppy McAllister Mystery series.  Poppy heads back to her 25th class reunion with her life having taking a very different path than she intended.  She uses the reunion as a chance to catch up with her aunt, Ginny.  Poppy receives an odd invitation from the high school bully, Barbie, who made her high school years miserable.  When Barbie ends up dead, Poppy is the top suspect.  Poppy is an unusual cozy mystery heroine, but I mean that in the best way.  Even though everything is going wrong, Poppy sets out to improve her life.  The book had a nice sub-plot that leads well into the start for a second book.  I am looking forward to more of Poppy and Ginny in book two of this series!

disclosure:  I received these e-books through NetGalley but was not otherwise compensated for these reviews.  All opinions are my own!