Thank You For Your Service and Sacrifice!

   
As we celebrate Memorial Day, we pay tribute to those who have given their lives in our nation's wars.
                                                                            - John M. McHugh



                                                          Thankful blessings,
                                                                   Lisa

Thankful Thursday

                    The Earth laughs in flowers!

                                              - Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

 

 

I am thankful for the beauty of flowers!

How can you not smile when you see them?

 

Blessings to you all,

Lisa

 



Trash to Treasure

I wanted to show you what I have been working on lately! 

  I had an old lamp that broke and decided to upcycle it.

     I saved the shade for a garden totem and was going to trash the stand but I thought I may be able to make a bird bath or garden trellis out of it.  I decided on the birdbath.  One of the legs on bottom was broken so I took the other 3 legs off and it was the perfect height to be able to see it from inside the house!  I bought a large platter at the Goodwill last summer thinking it would work as a birdbath bowl and it did work perfectly!  I just used E6000 glue to attatch the bowl to the top and let it dry overnight.  Here is my $3.00 Birdbath that allows us to see the birds from our livingroom window!

I just love it!!  What do you think?  My camera is not working so I apologize for the poor quality phone pics and the finger in the corner but you still can get the gist of my birdbath!

How have you upcycled things for yard decor or yard art? Please share any pics in the comment section or leave the link to your blog pics!  I would love to see what you came up with!!

Creative Blessings,
Lisa

PS  Remeber to put a pre 1982 penny or two in it to help prevent algae. 1982 and newer pennies are mostly zinc and won't work!

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Last Week's Frugality

Hello,
  Hope you all had a great week!  I have had a very good week myself!

 I posted some redneck wineglasses on a Facebook yard sale page and sold 4!  I cleared $20 on them!!  Cha ching!!
 
 I had a  grad cake order and cleared $22 on it!  Yippee!!! 

  Our local Meijer had hotdogs on sale for $.69 per pkg.  I was able to add 10 to my freezer stash.  They also had cake mix for $1 per box and as I have a wedding cake to make in June and my Granddaughters birthday cake in 2 weeks, I added 20 boxes to my pantry.

  I added 2 jars of pepperoncini to my Christmas stash this week--both were on sale at Meijer. Walmart had jars of roasted red peppers cheap so I bought one of those for my Christmas stash also.  I now have all canned veggies/olives for the antipasta tray I serve on Christmas eve. My Christmas stash list (on the side) is growing!! Every bit I pick up early will make the holidays much better financially!

  My Goodwill trip was pretty successful--I found a top for just $1.39 and it is nice enough to wear to work.  I found thank you cards for an upcoming shower and a bag of stuff--4 pkgs. beading cord, leather cording and miscellaneous odds and ends for $1.00.  This will be great for bracelets for gifts!!

  I saved $.30 per gallon on gas using my Kroger points. 

  I purchased a nice looking rhubarb plant to add to my garden.  Perennial veggies are awesome!  I look forward to Rhubarb pie and jam for years to come.  While this was a small outlay of cash it is an investment for our future pantry!

Well, that is about everything for me!  What have you saved money on lately?

Frugal Blessings,
Lisa
 

Thankful Thursday

Family is not an important thing.  It's EVERYTHING!

--Michael J. Fox

 

I am most thankful for my Family!

(Heavy pic warning!)

 

 

 

Who or what are you thankful for?

Thankful Blessings,

Lisa

Last Week's Frugality

  

My wonderful Momma! Happy Mother's Day!

     Hey everyone!  Hope this post finds you healthy and happy! I hope all of the Moms out there had a great Mother's Day--I sure did! Last week was a little better than the previous week for frugality.  Just a little!  LOl!!

   We did have a great week with our DD#2 graduating from college with her BSN in Nursing.  A very expensive dinner to celebrate followed, although we did combine it with Mother's Day!  So we saved a little by combining the celebrations.

  I used my handy dandy metal stamps to make a necklace for Kait for Graduation.  Stamping was harder than I first thought, but it turned out ok I guess.  She liked it!
 And even though I spent $20 or more, I have enough supplies to make several more necklaces for gifts!
 
  I packed my lunch 4 out of 5 days.

  Our local County Market grocery had a buy 8 save $8 sale.  Included in that was Miracle Whip which I use a ton of during the summer months-Potato salad, 7 layer salad, tuna salad, and more!  The price was $3.49 and with the sale it came down to $2.49 which is a better price but I noticed $1 off coupons on some of the jars!

That made them $1.49 each!  Cha ching! Can you say deal????  I bought 5 for my pantry stash!  I picked up several other items to make my 8 deal.  Can you say very excited?

  I was able to use a baggie of the chicken I cooked and then froze 2 weeks ago.  I thawed it and then placed it in a 2 qt. casserole.  I made chicken gravy with a packet mix and added a can of cream of chicken soup. I used a pkg. of Stove Top stuffing mix mixed with 1/3 cup water and 4 T butter.  It is very dry, but then add it to the top of the chicken and gravy. I sprinkled a 1/4 cup of cheese over it and baked for 40 minutes.  This is a keeper recipe! Comfort food at it's best- that whips up in a flash!  You could make it healthier by making your own gravy and stuffing-just remember to make the stuffing very dry as it will absorb liquid from the gravy.  The best part is the crunchy  stuffing with cheese on it!  Yummy.  It was a a complete pantry meal for us using my precooked frozen chicken( that was $.49 per lb.). This is an awesome recipe to use up left over turkey and chicken-remember for Thanksgiving! We had this for an early lunch before graduation Saturday-I put it together and popped it in the oven to bake  while we were getting dressed.

  I put my tomato plants out to harden up last week.  I will be planting them soon!

  Walmart had a clearance sale on girls clothing and I was able to find several items for my granddaughter.  Her birthday is fast approaching and a few pieces are for Christmas.

  Speaking of Christmas, my Christmas Club account is up to $105!!  This makes me so happy!  I also bought the start of my antipasta tray ingredients--garlic stuffed olives!
Gosh we love them. My goal is to purchase one item every week for my Christmas stash. You can see what I  have so far for my Christmas Stash on the side margin.

That is about it for me !  So what did you save money on last week?  Please share so we can all learn from each other!

Frugal Blessings,
Lisa



 

 

Last Week's Frugality Or Not!!

    Last week was not a frugal week at all!  I took two vacation days and both were very costly!  Day one Tom and I both had Dr. appointments.  Can you say $80 in  copays? Cha ching!!   Then add the cost of several new prescriptions and we were close to $150.  After my come to Jesus appointment with my diabetes Dr., I had to purchase/invest in food that I am able to eat.   My diabetes has honestly been out of control so I have to eat right and get my numbers down. Add about $100 to the days total. OUCH!
  Day two was better but still costly.   I took my Mother to her physical therapy and then the Goodwill.  Since we were gone so long, we ate out for lunch.  I was good and just had a hamburger with only half of the bun and an iced tea. But still it was an expense.  We stopped by the grocery again for a family reunion on Saturday.  I purchased the ham and a #10 can of green beans to take.  I was also asked to make my strawberry trifle. So all in all, I spent at least $30 on food and drinks for the reunion. Cha ching again!!
  Hopefully, I can get back on the frugal bandwagon next week. But wait....Kait graduates from NKU Saturday!  That means we will be running around picking up the grandmas using extra gas, going to the pinning ceremony on Thursday and then Graduation Saturday.  Guess what we are doing for her Graduation and Mother's Day?  Going out to eat after graduation. Dinner for 12 at O'Charley's.  Major Cha ching!!!!!
  I guess it's a good thing I get 3 paychecks this month!!  Thank you Lord!

  Have you been able to save money lately?  I need your inspiration to get back on the band wagon so please share!

Blessings,
Lisa
  





















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Pinterest Inspiration

I made several purchases yesterday!  I bought copper pipe, 3 drill bits. chain, and wire.  Can you guess what I am going to try to make from Pinterest?

Crafty Blessings,
Lisa

Last Week's Frugality

   Hello All!  Hope this post finds you well!  The last few weeks have been pretty hectic around my house- Several family members have ended up in either the hospital  ED or admitted inpatient.  Crazy, crazy times but everyone is doing better!  They do say these things go in 3's you know!  They sure do at my house!!

  I have been able to add several things to my pantry in the last several weeks.  I found a red, white and blue cake mix on sale for 73 cents at Biglots.  This will be perfect for the 4^th of July!  I also found a pkg of Oreos cookies for 73 cents as well.  They are the mint ones from Christmas but my DD#2 love mint everything so I picked these up for her. 

  I did find some Easter chocolate candy a couple of weeks ago on clearance and picked up enough to use for chocolate chunk cookies at Christmas.  I put it in freezer bags and then put in the freezer.  Every little bit bought ahead helps!

   Our Meijer had canned green beans 3 for $1. I bought 12 cans to add to my pantry.  The Crystal light was $.99 each when you bought 8 so I added 8 of the lemon tea flavor to our pantry.  We enjoy this during the hot summer months.

   The Goodwill  had a ton of stuff last Saturday!  I found a food mill for only $4.  I have been pricing the nut and spring on Lehmans and they were over $8 plus shipping so this was a steal!  I picked up a scrub set for my soon to be NICU nurse DD#2 for $3.29.  Very good shape!  I found a jelly jar for 50 cents and got that.  I found a large stainless bowl for $2.  Came in handy when I was picking and processing my dandelions for jelly!   I found 3 gently used books for my niece’s Birthday.  So I really scored big time!  I just LOVE the Goodwill, don't you?

  My Granddaughter and 2 nieces were at my house Sunday and I had them pick dandelions for dandelion jelly!  They had a blast picking and my niece Cora (almost 4) wanted to help put the flowers in jars before she left.  I tried explaining I had to make the jelly first, but she wanted to help with the “Jelly Flowers” and didn’t want to go home!! Such a cutie!   I can just imagine what her daycare teachers are going to think when she tells them she picked Jelly flowers!!  Smiles!! My petals are steeping as I write this!  And to my brother who called me a “hippy” - Thank you!  I’ll take that as a compliment!  Lol!

   My Christmas Club account is up to $90!  I know this doesn’t seem like much but it will be a blessing to our family during the holidays.

    I am arranging the bouquets for a friends  daughter’s wedding.   Susan brought me a pot of lavender when she brought the flowers over to me.  Couldn’t have given me anything that I would have liked any better- Thanks Susan! 

That’s about it for me for last week!  What have you saved money on?

Blessings,

Lisa

 

April Showers.........

 

 

      April showers bring May flowers!  But what do Mayflowers bring???

                                                  Pilgrims!

Funny Blessings to you all,
Lisa