* I bought three houseplants when we stopped at Meijer for something else. I recently joined a houseplant hobbiest group on FB and they are bad influences. I got an Ingrid Ivy, Dragon's Tongue and angel wing begonia (It was not labelled, but someone from the group IDed for me) for $2.99/each. I am really enjoying this hobby. Given my time constraints these days, it is hard to find time for any pleasurable pastimes. This takes relatively little time each day, but I have a lot of fun with it. Plus, it is a great air purifier!
* The lavender plant appeared to be dying, but when I inspected it today, there were some tiny new shoots. Glad I didn't jump the gun and dump it.* I put some more pothos clippings in water to root. I want to have more beautiful plants all around the house.
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| I love this little plant I found in a coffee shop. I can't wait to find a fun bottle to try it myself. |
Cooking/Groceries:
* We have relied on quick and easy meals: spaghetti with sausage and tomato sauce, soup from the freezer, deli meat sandwiches, baked potatoes.
* Trucker brought me breakfast in bed one morning. He woke me up with a glass of juice and freshly brewed coffee (He always tries to plan his consumption so a fresh pot is ready when I wake up). Then he brought up his wonderful french toast with eggs and banana. We sat in bed and talked while we enjoyed our feast. He is so kind and thoughtful.
* We made homemade taco hamburger helper. I sauteed onions and peppers (peppers were already chopped in the freezer), then added hamburger (leftover from the freezer). I made a cheese sauce using cheddar cheese powder, chili powder, paprika, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and the last of a container of chipotle cheddar dip we had leftover. I also added the last of a bag of shredded cheese. I mixed in half a can of refried beans. I mixed all this together with 3/4 lb macaroni. This was incredibly filling with the addition of the beans and lasted for several meals. For those wondering, you couldn't tell there were beans in the mix, except that a small portion was insanely filling.
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| This piece was done entirely with a palette knife. No brush! |
* We made Trucker's taco dip (In hindsight, it does appear we eat nothing but taco-inspired dishes). We had a layer of refried beans, then sour cream and cream cheese, lettuce, peppers, onions, cheddar cheese and black olives. We had it with tortilla chips while we watched a movie. There were enough leftovers for a few more meals.
* We bought a container of crab dip/spread on manager's special for $1.30. We used that to make several sandwiches. It was very flavorful and satisfying.
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| This piece we saw at the gallery hop is far beyond my skill level, but was so inspirational. |
Fun:
* We walked at the mall one day when it was too cold to walk outside. We had a good time laughing at weird fashion.
* We went to the gallery hop. It was magical as always. We got Thai food beforehand using a Groupon. There was a show of scratchboard pieces. I used to scratchboard years ago. Trucker encouraged me to try again. Later that week I made a couple of simple pieces. Two of them were of horses. My work friend recently got a horse so I gave them to her as a celebratory gift.
Frugality:
* I got my insurance packet for the new year. Now that they updated my completion of our wellness program, the cost is actually lower than I was initially told. We will pay $9.50/week ($494/yr) for all insurance needs (health, life, short and long-term disability, AD&D, vision, dental, etc).
* I noticed that the life insurance policy was pending approval for Trucker. I called and they are supposed to send me the forms to fill out.
House and Home:* I bought a bed, finally. We have never found a good bed at a good price, so we have just had a mattress and box springs on the floor. I found a local woodworker selling beautiful pallet beds for $170 for a full. It is a little rough, but has potential. I'll need to send it down, apply fungicide (just in case), stain and seal it. It will take some work, but even with the supplies it will cost around $190. They said that the pallets aren't chemically treated, but just in case, I let it off-gas in a well-ventilated part of the house for a couple of weeks with windows and doors open and exhaust fan on whenever possible. I will add a couple layers of polyurethane. I think that should take care of any issues.
* We rearranged our bedroom to accommodate the bed and get a fresh feel.
Work:
* My job gave us a pizza party one day to celebrate a quality achievement. We got a slice of pizza, a soda or water and a cookie.
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| The city looks magical at night when the moon is full. Even on chilly nights, the gallery hop never fails to revive my spirits. Thankfully, it happens every month! |
* I've been working some overtime.
* Trucker's boss bought them pizza for lunch a couple times.
* Awhile back, I signed up to donate to a local homeless shelter directly through my paycheck during our United Way drive. I was able to select a shelter near where we live. They gave us a punch card for a free drink each month at the cafeteria. I have used that for days that I get to work super early and read in the cafeteria. Each time I do this instead of stopping at a coffee house, I save $1.70.
Future:
* Trucker is in another film. This is a local one. He got cast as a cop, but when he got to filming, they also had him put a ski mask on and do a robbery scene. The next day the director called him and said he did amazing and asked if he could come in for a second day of filming. He got to do a few roles and several scenes.
Health:
* I got free preventative exams.
* We switched to 90 day refills on our prescriptions to save $80-100/year.
* I had a minor procedure done. I'm in a little pain, but it will be fine in a couple days. I feel very fortunate because after insurance and my employer-sponsored health fund, I didn't have to pay anything out of pocket for a procedure that would have cost over $600 without insurance. After having lived so long without insurance, I am thankful every time I can get quality health care instead of having to struggle through home remedies. While I still certainly aim to stay healthy and use some home remedies, there are certain things that aren't practical or best to diy. For example, I once super glued a finger tip back on. It worked out okay and I have no bad numbness or tingling in it, but would prefer to never have to do that again.
Community:
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| This lovely picture stand cost a whopping $3! |
* Daisy offered to let my sister borrow some of the decorations from her wedding. She is so kind and I am very thankful for her.
* We got a new guy in my area. He mentioned that he wanted to catch a ball game, but it was pricey. I ran over to the cabinet where I had left the Entertainment book for coworkers to browse. I showed him a whole page of coupons for sporting events and told him to take whatever he wanted.
* I had a scary doctor's appointment and was really nervous leading up to it. Trucker came with me to the appointment and afterwards, when I tried to turn left to walk back to the car, he turned me right. He said that a donut would make everything better. We went to a local treasure that makes an epic Buckeye donut (yeast donut with chocolate icing and peanut butter). For just $2.50, we had a nice mini-date that made me feel cherished and distracted me a bit. (For the record, all is well, so I can go back to not worrying).
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