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Archive for October, 2011

I-bonds

October 28th, 2011 at 07:55 pm

I bought $5000 in I-bonds from Treasury Direct yesterday. I will make over 4% for the next 6 months and more than 3% for the following 6 months. I've made the most on these bonds in the last few years since banks keep dropping what they give. I wish you could buy more than $5000 online. I haven't found a local bank that sells the paper version. I read that next year is the last year you can buy the paper version.

I had 12 books on hold when I went to the library this morning. Guess I won't be reading many of my books for awhile. Smile

I went to Walgreens this morning and got paid to buy 2 tubes of Crest toothpaste. Cost was 2 for $5.50. I used 2 $2 coupons so I spent $1.50 plus tax and got an RR for $3.50 back. I'll donate both tubes. I also got 3 packages of Ponds facial wipes with a 5 ct bonus back, (30 ct total), for $3.99 - 1.25 coupon or $2.74 each, which is a very good price.

I finished reading the library book Heart of Valor by Tanya Huff. Sci/Fi - very good.

Wile E Coyote

October 27th, 2011 at 06:38 pm

I've always been a Looney Tunes fan and the road-runner/Wile E. Coyote ones are my favorites. I caught one yesterday on TV. As I was watching I realized why I like Wile E. Coyote so much.

1. He doesn't give up. He keeps trying scheme after scheme to catch the road-runner. Even after serious set-backs, such as falling off cliffs or getting blown up, he keeps trying.

2. He keeps learning. He is always reading a book to learn how to do things better. He tries to improve his skills, to do a better job.

3. He doesn't blame others when his plans fail. He doesn't sue the Acme company when his misuse of their products causes harm to him. He doesn't blame anyone else because he can't catch the road-runner.

4. He's optimistic. He always thinks that next time will be better and he'll actually catch the road-runner.

5. He's ingenious. He's always coming up with new plans and new ways of using the materials he has available to plan ways of catching the road-runner.

Those are all good traits and after all, he's just trying to get dinner, something everyone would do in his situation.

We got a little bit of snow yesterday so walked at Walmart. I went to the pharmacy to pick up more test strips for my glucose meter. I've dealt with the pharacist a couple times on prescriptions, but wouldn't say I really know her. When I left she said "You're looking great, how much have you lost?" That made me feel good, even almost strangers are noticing the loss.

We ate at Village Inn afterwards. They give out free pie on Wednesdays. I gave mine to my dad. I have 2 $1 off gallon of gas points at King Soopers and gave my dad one of those to use this month too. I still have half a tank and won't fill up till sometime next month.

I finished reading Indulgence in Death by J.D. Robb. Mystery - excellent.

Footloose

October 25th, 2011 at 07:02 pm

I took my youngest niece to see Footloose last night. It was really good. She liked it and now wants to see the original. I had it on VHS for years, but she didn't care to watch it then. The oldest niece was the one who liked musicals. This was pretty close to the original, but I think I like the original just a hair more. Spent $15

We went to Applebee's for supper. They gave us a card and said if we liked them on Facebook we could get 15% off the bill. She used her cellphone to do that and we saved $3. Spent $21.24

I paid using my Discover card which is giving 5% back on restaraunts and movies this quarter.

She was in a talkative mood and I learned alot about her life for a change. It was nice. Sometimes she's not interested in talking to grownups and you can't get 2 words out of her.

I was looking at the Target ad and I saw they have Halloween costumes for dogs at $15. I just cannot fathom buying a costume for an animal, blows my mind.

I finished reading the library book Jace by Sarah McCarty. Paranormal - very good.

roasted pumpkin

October 24th, 2011 at 07:22 pm

I've only had pumpkin from cans before. Yesterday I bought a baby pumpking for .50 and decided to roast it. I washed the skin very well and cut it into bite size pieces. I seasoned it with olive oil, salt, pepper and cinnamon and roasted it at 425 for 25 minutes. It was very good. I had it with salmon and a spinach/romaine salad with tomato and onion and a vinegrette dressing.

I'll definitly try this again. I think I'll try cutting the pumpking a freezing some and see if that will work for the months when baby pumpkins aren't in the store.

I went to the Dr this morning with my blood pressure readings and she agreed I can go off of all of the meds. After I get results of the blood tests today I may be able to go off the glipizide too. I wanted several tests and she was very happy to order them for me. They took 5 large vials and 2 small vials of blood. I was fasting since I figured they would. I should get results next week - looking forward to seeing where I'm at. Hoping for improvement in several areas.

I finished reading the library book City of Jade by Dennis L. McKiernan. Sci/Fi - good.

cute

October 23rd, 2011 at 07:16 pm

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 1,158.36
RX total = 256.32
Discounted Gift Cards = 207.19
Total = 1,621.87

I'm having to use my laptop to post now and I have a real hard time with fat-fingers on the keypad, so I may have more typos than usual. It's why I prefer a desktop for any writing tasks.

Cute is the latest word my youngest niece uses to describe old people and things they do or say. Babies are cute, puppies are cute, calling old people cute is basically dismissing them as not worth taking anything they say seriously. It gets annoying after awhile, when I hear her say - "Grandma's so cute, when she does/saya ..." I'm sure I'm being lumped into the cute stage, if not now, then soon.

When I was a kid I used to read almost all the Sunday comics in the paper. Now I only read a couple, I find most of them to be dumb and not even close to funny - another sign of old age? Smile I always read Dilbert and Rose is Rose. I think Rose is Rose is really cute in the sweet sense of the word Smile

Safeway sent out some really good coupons in the mail this week for free salsa, rice, marinade, and salad dressing. Plus a $4 off 4 lbs of frozen chicken breasts and $10/$50 coupon. Used them all this morning. The $10 off paid for all my produce. I'll donate the rice, dressing and marinade.

I finished reading the library book Wild Instincts by Sarah McCarty. Paranormal - very good.

craft fair

October 22nd, 2011 at 08:01 pm

Mom and I went to the local craft fair this morning. It was wall-to-wall people, which I hate, but she needed someone to go with her, so I did. She does stuff for me all the time that she probably doesn't care that much for either. There was some interesting items, when you were able to squeeze thru and actually look at something Smile I got mom a bday gift. A xmas flower arrangement that lights up - $45. She got 3 xmas gifts, some homemade jam and some chocolate/orange almonds.

I finished reading the library book Tiassa by Steven Brust. Sci/Fi - ok.

haircut

October 20th, 2011 at 07:22 pm

I've been putting off getting a haircut hoping Great Clips would come out with a coupon. They finally did in Tuesday's mail, so my haircut was $6.99 and I spent $9 with tip.

I've been looking for brazil nuts to buy and finally found some at Walmart. 1 lb for $8 I roasted them at 200 degrees for 40 min today. Pretty good. Plus one of the best sources of selenium. I eat one a day.

I read on Money Saving Mom can get a free 1 year subscription to Kiplinger's here

Text is https://www.americanfamily.com/lp/OctKip/?tcode=AF-VEM-8010008543 and Link is
https://www.americanfamily.com/lp/OctKip/?tcode=AF-VEM-80100...

I finished reading the library book It Happened One Season. Romance short stories - pretty good.

how cruel

October 19th, 2011 at 11:40 pm

As part of her blood clots mom was tested for sleep apnea recently and they found she quits breathing more that 2 hours every night. So she had to get oxygen yesterday. She slept with it last night, but didn't get a lot of sleep. She needs to get used to noise of the machine and the feel of the tubes.

My sister is out of town and my youngest niece was supposed to spend Sunday night with her father. They got into an argument and he told her she was a waste of air and he didn't want to see her again. How cruel! Even if he apologizes, she will never forget he said that to her. She's 17 and she called her mom crying and said she didn't want to stay with him overnight, so she stayed home by herself. She's more than old enough to do that, just not very reliable, so sister prefers to have her stay with someone. Mom offered, but niece wanted to stay by herself.

So last night parents and I took her to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. Sister's was supposed to be home late last night. Mom, dad and I all ordered 6 oz sirloin medium well. Dad's and mine were closer to medium rare, so we waited and waited and waited for someone to come back and ask how the steaks were. By the time they did and we told them they were undercooked everyone else was done eating. So we just said we would take them home and cook them ourselves. They ended up giving us both steaks for free. So I just paid the tip and will have steak with green beans and mushrooms for dinner tonight. They are usually pretty good, we haven't had bad steaks in a long time there.

I finished reading the library book Jared by Sarah McCarty. Paranormal - very good.

free ink and batteries

October 17th, 2011 at 08:32 pm

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 1,117.02
RX total = 256.32
Discounted Gift Cards = 207.19
Total = 1,580.53

It was raining this morning so I met mom at Walmart to walk. Stopped at Staples first and got 2 16 ct packages of Duracell AA batteries and one blue ink cartridge. Spent $20.21 using my 8% discounted gift card and will get $19.98 back in a rebate check on the batteries and $2 when I return the ink cartridge.

I used 2 .50 coupons on the batteries and I had a $10 staples reward coupon for returning 5 ink cartridges last month and a $5 off of $25 Staples coupon that I printed out. I will donate one of the packs of batteries to Toys for Tots for xmas and keep the other.

At Walmart I picked up my new glasses, I like them. I spent $4.44 and got unseasoned rice wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, 4 packages of Covergirl makeup sponges, 2 Swiffer duster starter kits, with 5 refills and 2 Swiffer 10 ct duster refills.

I had 2 $8/2 coupons for the Covergirl products. They were $2.94 each which gave me $2.12 in overage. I had 2 $1 off Swiffer starter kits and 2 free Swiffer refill coupons when you buy a starter kit. I'll donate all the sponges, but I love Swiffers and they are usually pretty expensive so that was a good deal. I have one more of those coupons to use.

I had planned to go to King Soopers also and get some produce, but didn't remember until I was pulling into the garage Smile Ah well, I'll go tomorrow.

I finished reading the library book Stay the Night by Lynn Viehl. Paranormal - ok

Pumpkin pudding

October 16th, 2011 at 06:35 pm

I made this yesterday and it's not bad. I serve it with whipped cream on top. I wasn't that fond of the texture, it's kind of like oatmeal and was hoping it would be more like pumpkin pie.

1 tsp butter
1 15 oz can pumpking - not pumpkin pie mix
4 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups half and half
2/3 cup granular Splenda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
pinch salt
pinch numeg
1 tsp ginger

Grease slow cooker with butter
In large mixing bowl, combine remaining ingredients and mix well.
Pour into slow cooker crock pot, cover and cook on low for 3 hours.
Transfer crock to refrigerator and let cool
Makes 6 servings, top with whip cream

I'm still working on my PC issues. Fortunately I have the backup laptop. I believe the issue is with the updated IE that I installed.

I finished reading the library book Hexed. Paranormal short stories - excellent

updates

October 15th, 2011 at 09:29 pm

Thanks for the virus software suggestions. I spent several hours yesterday and today uninstalling the old software and installing superAntiSpyware, AVG virus protection and malewarebytes on both my PC and laptop. Most things are working but I can't get my hotmail email account on IE on my PC - works on the laptop. The screen is just blank, no error message to debug. I can get email on foxfire, but can't send any messages. Also can't post on this site on my PC - hope it works when I do it on my laptop.

Now I need another recommendation. I'm thinking about asking for an MP3 player for xmas. I know nothing about these, but I thought it might be nice to have one to play audible books and podcasts when I have to walk by myself.

I finished reading the library book Dream Called Time by S. L. Viehl. Sci/Fi - very good.

free anti-virus software

October 13th, 2011 at 07:21 pm

The anti-virus software I purchased last year is going to expire next week. Does anyone know of a good free one to download?

I saw tons of kids out playing today on my walk. Not sure why school is out since we just had Columbus day. But it was a perfect day to be outside, sunny, light breeze and about 66 degrees.

I just read that peanut butter prices are going to go up 20 - 40% this year because the peanut crop wasn't good. I'll have to buy a couple jars next time I go to the grocery store.

I finished reading the library book Master of Shadows by Angela Knight. Paranormal - very good.

grass fed beef

October 12th, 2011 at 08:53 pm

The meat supplier for grass fed buffalo and beef that I got ground beef from this summer at the farmer's market has restocked. They were located in my town yesterday afternoon so I stocked up with 20 lbs of grass fed ground beef at $4.50/lb. That's an excellent price for grass-fed beef. Spent $90.68

My blood sugar monitor has been reading high for the last week or so for no reason I can figure out, so I bought a new Walmart brand one this morning for @ $9. 50 test strips were only $20. That's an excellent price on the test strips. The new meter reads 10 points lower when compared to the old one, which is much better. I read somewhere that the Walmart brand monitors tested the best in the labs for accuracy.

I finished reading the library book When Gods Die by C. S. Harris. Mystery - pretty good.

home insurance

October 11th, 2011 at 06:49 pm

paid my yearly home insurance today $147. It's basically renters insurance since the HOA pays for the townhome structure insurance.

Mailed 2 books for paperback swap. Spent $4.80. I'm over 20 swaps now.

I got 2 free Quest protein bars in the mail. Tried one and it's too dense for my taste.

Went to the library and picked up 3 more holds. I've had so many library books come in lately that that's all I've been reading. Haven't read any of my own books for quite awhile. I'm finally starting to catch up, maybe by the end of this week I'll be able to read one of my own.

Finished reading the library book Quicksilver by Amanda Quick. Romance - very good.

water increases

October 10th, 2011 at 09:55 pm

My sister and I drove up to see my niece yesterday. They confronted the roommate and she yelled and screamed and said they were all horrible people, but then agreed to move if they would give her money. They agreed just to get the argument over and then talked to the landlord. The landlord is supposed to give her eviction papers today and she has till the 28th to move out.

The landlord also put deadbolts on each girls room, so they are all hiding all their stuff in their rooms. My niece has all the dishes and knives in her room. Makes it hard to have meals.

She was tired and worn out from all the drama, but looked amazing. She has the knack of taking all kinds of clothes and combining them in a way that looks different, but fantastic. I would never come up with the combinations she does. It doesn't hurt that she has a perfect figure. Her hair is bright red right now. Both of my nieces go thru tons of color changes on their hair.

We took her to Red Robin and then walked around the mall for an hour and my sister wanted to leave. I couldn't believe it. What's the point of driving two hours up and two hours back to just spend two hours with her? Didn't make sense to me.

I recieved a newsletter from the homeowners assn and they say if the town I live in goes ahead with a planned water increase, it could cost each homeowner more that $400/month. I think/hope their math is wrong. I did the math and think it's closer to $40/month, either way it's a big increase but I could definitly deal with $40/month better than $400/month - especially for water. $40/month would be almost $500/year for water. I can only wait and see what the final result is.

Water's a big issue in Colorado and we have lots of areas where they've built too much and are having a hard time supplying the new homes. I've been here 11 years this year and when I moved here there was plenty for years, but since then they've builts 1000's of homes and commercial businesses so it's no wonder they are running out.

They also sent a letter saying you now had to have a parking permit to park in front of the units. Apparently they sent one for free in 2005, but since I park in my garage I threw it away. Now all your visitors have to have a permit too, so I need to get one for parents and friends when they come. $25 but it's forever I don't have to renew it every year. Too bad I threw the other one away, but who knew they would change the parking rules 6 years later Smile

I finished reading the library book Caleb by Sarah McCarty. Paranormal - very good. Also finished the library book The Council of Shadows by S.M. Stirling. Paranormal - also very good.

snowing

October 8th, 2011 at 07:45 pm

we're getting our first snow storm of the season. Big, fat, fluffy snowflakes and very, very wet. We've got about 2" accumulation right now, but the ground has been so warm I'm sure much more fell and has been absorbed in the ground. It's a perfect day to curl up with a book and a throw.

Went to Rosie's for dinner last night and spent $11.05.

Talked to oldest niece for a while last night. She's having major roomate issues. That was the first luxury I bought for myself, living on my own and paying a large amount of my salary for the privilege of not living with anyone else.

She has 3 roomates and 1 of them is bi-polar. The other 3 went to a judge to try to get a restraining order on her, but he said no. I guess they were going to tell her to move out last night, haven't heard the results yet. The landlady came in and changed all the locks yesterday.

The bi-polar girl put Nair in one of the girls shampoos. Fortunately she figured it out before using it. She has a huge afro, lots of hair. That would have been a very mean trick.

It's lots of stress for all of them on top of school and working and partying Smile, but they don't need the stress.

I finished reading the library book Ghost Story by Jim Butcher. Sci/Fi - very good.

10%

October 6th, 2011 at 07:59 pm

I forgot to weigh yesterday morning so did it this morning. I finally lost 10% of my body weight. This was one of my main goals. I've slowed down considerably since the first couple of months, but I have a lot against me. My age (over 50), hugely overweight, menopause, diabetes and no gallbladder to name a few. But all progress is good regardless of how slow.

Went to Walmart and picked out new eyeglasses. They are purple Smile The frames were $25, but including the lenses (bi-focal) I spent $164.

I used the $40 gift card I got for Shell a few months ago, when I cashed in $20 of Discover points. I've been buying gas because I had $1/Gal points and was getting 5% back on my credit card until the end of Sept. Gas was $3.35/gal, so I got just under 12 gallons, but it was free.

I finished reading the library book The Ideal Man by Julie Garwood. Romance - excellent.

eye exam

October 5th, 2011 at 07:49 pm

I got my eyes checked yesterday - spent $141.00, they are healthy and my prescription only changed a little from a year and a half ago. I'm going to go ahead and get new glasses with the new prescription so I will have a back up pair. I couldn't find my glasses the other day and I thought it would help if I had another pair I could use in case I lost/broke them for good.

I went to the used bookstore with a list of books after the appt and that was a mistake, my pupils were so dialated I couldn't read my list, so only got 2 items and then came home.

This morning I ate my usual breakfast and then about an hour later went for a walk with mom. Same schedule as most mornings. After mom left I went to run some errands. In Walgreens I started feeling really bad, clammy skin, sweating, shaking. I decided not to do any of my other errands and went home - about 1/2 mile away. I decided to check my blood sugar when I got home and it was clear down to 63, so ate something to bring it up. I've had a few times lately where it went down to 69 and didn't feel that bad. This is the first time I've expierenced hypoglycemia. I think I may need to modify my meds. I plan to see my dr, later this month and see where I'm at on my A1c test and maybe get off one more of the meds.

I've been watching a lot of the History series Ancient Aliens on TV. The thing I find the most interesting is all the different spots around the world and the amazing things people have built. While I'm open minded to the theory of ancient aliens I have a problem with some of the conclusions. Mostly I think they take away from the greatness/creativity of humankind. It's alway humans were too stupid to have done something so great, they had to have help. I think that shortchanges us as a species. Also, some of the reasonings are ridiculous. Like someone from another world needed man to create large structures lines on the earth so the aliens could find their way around. I think that if someone could create a spaceship and travel across the universe, they don't need lines on the ground to show them the way to a place on earth! Smile But a very interesting show regardless.

I finished reading 2 more library books Split Second by Catherine Coulter. Mystery - very good. And Hunt the Moom by Karen Chance. Paranormal - ok.

losses

October 1st, 2011 at 08:11 pm

This quarter I lost more than 8% of my networth. It's a good thing I don't have to withdraw any money to live on right now. I will need to take out about $10,000 before the end of the year. I may end up taking it from my short-term bonds since I don't want to sell any of my depressed stocks. But that's what asset allocation is for.

I measured this morning and lost 1" on my hips and 1/2 on my thighs, nothing on my stomach, which is where I really want to lose some. I'll weigh in the morning and hope to see more losses Smile

I finished reading the library book Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon. Paranormal - very good.