Another Little Reason to Drop Cable/Satellite

You can view full episodes of shows on Disney Jr. Now my little boy can see the Chuggington's show he's been talking about.

Seriously, between the library, free redbox rentals, hulu, and by using our netflix account thru the Wii- we never miss having cable. We still have too much to watch. You can also go to other network sites to view full episodes of tv shows. I occasionally watch The Bachelor and Hoarders on my laptop while I fold laundry. I found old Bones episodes on hulu and have really enjoyed those recently too.

Add another 25 cents to the total

From now on I think I'll just list any $1,000 goal money on my side bar.

Found a quarter in the washing machine.

What's For Dinner: Chik'N Enchiladas

This will be my first time making enchiladas but I'm excited. I have to do some tweaking of the recipe I found (no pepper) but no big deal. I'm going to bake a sweet potato for our side dish.

Yum!

Mo' Money

Found a dollar in the K-Mart parking lot.
Discovered 75 cents in the washing machine.

Received a check from Ebates.com for $25.92.

Baby, It's Cold Outside (and inside)

Normally my husband is the one who's the big money saver around here. But, not when it comes to our heating bill.

I finally stopped turning the thermostat down to 67 because every time I did he would complain, tell me I was crazy for freezing us to death to save a few bucks, and turn it back to 72. I don't know. It's pretty cold in here since it's hanging around the teens outside. My feet are cold.
The kids don't seem to notice either way. I guess running around like a crazy monkey helps.
But, I have this idea that the colder it is outside, the easier it is to feel warm inside with a lower temperature. See, 60 degrees in our house right now would feel like a heat wave compared to what's outside.
So, I'm gonna go fiddle with the thermostat. Honey, you were warned.
Pardon me while I go find my fuzzy socks and make a mug of tea.

What's For Dinner: Homemade Skillet Helper

Sometimes I have no idea what I'm going to make. Even if I start thinking about it early in the day. So, 5:30 rolled around and I decided to just start chopping and cooking stuff and see what happened. Apparently, the result was good enough that Big Girl had two helpings and
Hubby requested that I make my skillet concoction again. So before I forget I'm going to write down what I did.

Heat a tablespoon of sesame oil in a skillet
Then toss in:
1 shallot chopped
4 cloves of garlic- diced

Cook the garlic and shallot until lightly browned then add:

1/2 bag frozen Trader Joe's Stir Fry Vegetable mix
1/2 cup of frozen peas
About 8 chopped up veggie chic nuggets- chopped
2 cups of egg noodles
Enough water to cover the top of the food in the skillet

Sprinkle in: celery seed, some seasoned salt, some onion powder, a little paprika, and some vegetable gravy powder.

Cook on medium until all the water is absorbed and the noodles are soft.

Found a Penny- Lose A Pound

I found my first bit of parking lot change yesterday. Add a penny to my $1000 goal.
I'm really going to have to kick in gear soon so I can start adding those numbers up. I don't think trolling parking lots is going to get us there very soon.

I started back up on Weight Watchers again. Luckily, I haven't gained much since I quit doing it a few months ago. But, I also still have a long way to go. Tonight I start going to zumba once a week again too.

Lots of other busyness here with two kid's birthday parties this month. February is craziness here.
As for Valentine's Day I don't think Hubby and I have anything planned. I don't want anything else to do right now anyway.

What's For Dinner: Tomato Rice Soup and Clearance Rack Bread

I found a box of Mississippi Delta Tomato Rice Soup in the pantry. I added a few chopped up pieces of veggie meat chunks and a few tablespoons of thick cream. A small loaf of cottage bread I found on the clearance rack tonight rounded out the meal.
I topped the piping hot bowls of soup with chunks of queso fresco.

I'm the only one that really likes this soup. Luckily for me we have leftovers.

Newest Additions to Our Fur Family

Here we have Sarah the cat and Road Runner the mouse. They aren't really new though. Sarah was adopted last May and Road Runner was saved from being snake food in November.
Unfortunately, you can't see Sarah's silly face because she's sleeping (in my daughter's barbie clothes drawer). Imagine a smudge of mustard across her top lip and a blot of black ink under her chin. She's quite comical and sweet which is a bonus.

Links & Thinks

Angel Food Ministries
I made my first Angel Food Ministries purchase yesterday. The main reason I haven't bothered to order before is because the main food boxes are pretty heavy on raw meat. Now they have an assortment of boxes so I picked three that were heavy on fruits and vegetables and had canned meat products that I can easily donate. I don't know that I'm saving money but I won't have to buy fruit or veg for a while after I pick up our boxes.

What's On My Mind
I don't very often feel lack. Sure there are times when I feel stifled by our careful spending. Sometimes I want to spend a lot of money on a nice pair or shoes or a purse. Sometimes I want to have my car repainted so the scratches and dings don't show. Sometimes I want to consider a trip to Disneyland without thinking about cheap air fare and free hotel nights. But those times are pretty rare.
Being poor has been on my mind a lot lately. How much could I learn from someone who truly has a hand to mouth existence? What am I leaving out in an effort to be frugal? I'm sure that my online shopping would be in sharp decline. How much extra money would we be able to send towards reducing our mortgage debt?
Along with that I've been thinking about going back into the work force. For this Mama who has been out of work taking care of kiddos for ten years attempting to enter the working world in a recession is more than scary. But I've having that nagging feeling more and more lately that I'm not pulling my weight and I am beginning to feel obsolete. Thinking about putting my kids in day care doesn't help. I would be spending more on day care than I would make most likely.

Two New Blogs I've Been Enjoying

I am the Working Poor

Food Stamp Cooking Club

Having a Nice Ice Day

We don't have the snowy blizzardy downfall yet but I can hear the ice pellets hitting even with a ceiling fan and the speakers booming from the kids movie. School was canceled and hubby elected to do some work from home today (amen).

I have the fireplace cleaned out and hubby loaded it with our backyard log/stick debris. I am ready with granola bars, muffins, boiled eggs, and peanut butter if our power goes out. I set out extra candles in case we need them. I do wish I had a 72 hour emergency kit prepared.

Now I just have to go about my normal day with no where to go.

Laundry (natch)
Dishes (natch)
Reading (decadence)
Baking (snickerdoodles and bread machine naan)
General Tidying and Taking Care of Cluttered Up Flat Surfaces
Snuggling!
Hot Cocoa
Indian Food for the adults. Something similar to this curry recipe but with fewer ingredients since I don't have much but sweet potatoes, chickpeas, peas, onions, garlic and ginger.
Comfort Food for the kiddos- ramen noodle soup or pbjs.